Transcription
Versailles Sunday 7 march
1824
My dear Hill
Having just received intelligence from / [Gralton] that his brother in law is about to start / at a short notice for your rural village, I / am enabled to thank you, which I do most / cordially, for your prompt compliance with my / request, for the full information you gave me, + / the considerate manner in which you trans = / mitted your letter. Its contents have decided / me to have nothing to do with the proposed Ex = / =hibition, which had reference to Pompeii, + I have / therefore contented myself with writing a review of / Mazois’ Pompeii which I send to [Longman’s] / by this opportunity for the next Edinburg if they / choose to accept it. __ [Gralton] returned last / Tuesday from a flying visit to London, where he / has bargained with Colburns for the second /
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Volume of his Highways + Byways _ I have read the / Ms _ there are 2 tales _ the Bear Hunter, + the [Vouée] au Blanc, the former of which is excellent, the latter but / so so.
I met Washington Irving t’other day at / Paris who declares he has little or nothing for the / Prefs, tho’ he is collecting material for a novel __ I / am so little at Paris that I really rarely see Perry / but heard of him thro’ Mrs [Kerney?], whose sister keeps / a boarding House at Chaillot where it seems a Mrs / Smith applied for reception, stating herself I believe to / be a Widow, but some circumstances in her conduct / exciting suspicion she was watch’d + discovered to be / a particular friend of Perry’s _ About a month ago / I dined with the latter who seems to have same gay / chaps about him, + I suppose is enjoying himself / a la made de Papa _
I had no idea that your Copper / Concerns could keep you so closely confined, but / whenever you do come acrofs me shall of course see you, our present plan being Boulogne till the / Autumn, + then probably England _ Italy I have / for the present postponed, not abandoned, + if you per= / =severe in your intention should be most happy / to accompany you. We are all quite well except / Eliza, whose nose continues to give her great
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Annoyance. St Ronan’s Well I do not much like _ the / 2 first Volumes being extremely tedious + trifling, just to / bump our the quantity, + the third tho’ interesting not / very natural _ Still it is a wonderful production for / one who has written so fast + so much, + abounds / in characters, slight + sketchy, but not one of them / a repetition of himself _ Scott is a wonderful fellow, / + if the public will go on receiving such little / tattle as the 2 first Vols of Ronan’s Well, it is / obvious that he may go on writing to eternity _
The Westminster is [??] [every?] / [page torn] + I should think would not / [page torn]-e root _ I have prefsing applications / [??] to write for the Cambridge new / Quarterly, but have declined _
I hope [Duby’s] wife + family are / better _ remember us most kindly to them - / My Wife joins in most cordial remembrances /to yourself with
My dear Hill
Your sincere friend
Horatio Smith
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[ADDRESS]
Thomas HIll Esq/
[New Inn]
Wyck Street
London
[POSTAL MARK - see page]
[POSTAGE STAMP - red, oval]
8-MORN-8
17-MR
**1824*Transcriber
Kathryn AlexanderLanguage
English
