“My friends, who have seen the piece, absolutely disapprove
of it. Dr. Stonehouse says, it is a low, dull, spiritless
thing; that, I am no more fit for such kind of writing than a
carrier’s horse to run a race. He read it, he tells me, to some
ingenious ladies, who have a regard for my character; and they
declared, they would come over to Weston, and would, upon their
knees, (if it were needful,) solicit me not to publish it.
Amidst such a diversity of opinions, how shall I determine?”