"Nov. 29. 1813. Monday.
"You will act as you please upon that point; but whether I go or
stay, I shall not say another word on the subject till May--nor
then, unless quite convenient to yourself. I have many things I
wish to leave to your care, principally papers. The _vases_ need
not be now sent, as Mr. Ward is gone to Scotland. You are right
about the errata page; place it at the beginning. Mr. Perry is a
little premature in his compliments: these may do harm by exciting
expectation, and I think we ought to be above it--though I see the
next paragraph is on the _Journal_[113], which makes me suspect
_you_ as the author of both.
"Would it not have been as well to have said 'in two Cantos' in the
advertisement? they will else think of _fragments_, a species of
composition very well for _once_, like _one ruin_ in a _view_; but
one would not build a town of them. The Bride, such as it is, is my
first _entire_ composition of any length (except the Satire, and be
d----d to it), for The Giaour is but a string of passages, and
Childe Harold is, and I rather think always will be, unconcluded. I
return Mr. Hay's note, with thanks to him and you.
"There have been some epigrams on Mr. Ward: one I see to-day. The
first I did not see, but heard yesterday. The second seems very
bad. I only hope that Mr. Ward does not believe that I had any
connection with either. I like and value him too well to allow my
politics to contract into spleen, or to admire any thing intended
to annoy him or his. You need not take the trouble to answer this,
as I shall see you in the course of the afternoon.
"P.S. I have said this much about the epigrams, because I lived so
much in the _opposite camp_, and, from my post as an engineer,
might be suspected as the flinger of these hand-grenadoes; but with
a worthy foe, I am all for open war, and not this bushfighting, and
have not had, nor will have, any thing to do with it. I do not know
the author."
[Footnote 113: Penrose's Journal.]
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