PE thanked for commenting on B's (warm) review of PE's Heraclidae (?). Visit to Oxford and meeting with Gaisford. Sales of Museum Criticum - Murray (see Row 174) has printed 1,000 copies, whereas the total possible readership must be ca.300! Proposed visit to London, where he hopes to met PE (apparently for the first time) - PE has vetoed The Grecian, so B suggests The Hummums. Typos in Valpy's Iconographie. Punning jokes on Butler's Geography.
Mild text. crit. of Heraclidae. Liber Fossianus. Progress of printing of Persae - B anticipated by PE in Classical Journal, but this will have to be acknowledged in the addenda. Frr. of Alcaeus in next ed. of Museum Criticum.
Date probable, in view of preceding. Staying at The Hummums rather than at Eastey's. Too busy to visit St Mary Cray, but hopes to see PE in town. Lack of contributions to Museum Criticum - hopes for some notes on the Medea from PE.
Staying with the Spencers at Althorp. Persae on the point of publication. Begs for the Medea as soon as possible.
Further textual question. Agamemnon proceeding very slowly.
Year per Horsfall. Proposal to print the collation of the Agamemnon in the Museum Criticum, if PE does not object.
Beginning to review PE's Heraclidae. B in a contract with Constable, not Murray (but is this sarcasm?). PE writing in Gentleman's Magazine as Graeculus. PE and B both criticised by one Bailey. PE to send criticism to Hermann.
Nautical metaphor re B's inferiority to PE as critic. Some remarks on errata in Heraclidae. Plans for a Callimachus, to be dedicated to Earl Spencer. Prosiness of Eur. Helen. 'Mourning Bride' (Congreve) translated in Dictionnaire Historique as 'L'Epouse de Matin.' (Samuel) Butler to translate a poem by Lucien Buonaparte (sic) (Charlemagne, or The Church Delivered, publ. 1815). B's Callimachus progressing - Elegies his forte, Hymns s'sad stuff.' Inferior quality of 2/3 surviving Greek poetry - critics gain credit for sorting out the texts, but do not thereby improve the world.
Loss of only child. Possible reconciliation with Butler? B's review of PE in Quarterly Review. Printing errors in Museum Criticum. Books from continent held up by weather. Persae ready apart from collation of one ms. Barker mounting a campaign against Monk.
Year determined by 1816-02-21. Encloses 3 of Hermann's Opuscula, to be returned to Mawman's booksellers when finished with. 'in haste, for the trout await.'