S.--Pray let me have the proofs. I sent _all_ to-night. I have some
alterations that I have thought of that I wish to make speedily. I hope
the proof will be on separate pages, and not all huddled together on a
mile-long, ballad-singing sheet, as those of 'The Giaour' sometimes are:
for then I can't read them distinctly.
[Footnote 1: In 'Accepted Addresses; or, Premium Poetarum', pp. 50-52
(1813), 'Address' xvii. is from "Lord B----n to J. M----y, Book-seller."
The address itself runs as follows:
"A Turkish tale I shall unfold,
A sweeter tale was never told;
But then the facts, I must allow,
Are in the east not common now;
Tho' in the 'olden time,' the scene
My Goaour (_sic_) describes had often been.
What is the cause! Perhaps the fair
Are now more cautious than they were;
Perhaps the Christians not so bold,
So enterprising as of old.
No matter what the cause may be,
It is a subject fit for me.
"Take my disjointed fragments then,
The offspring of a willing pen.
And give them to the public, pray,
On or before the month of May.
Yes, my disjointed fragments take,
But do not ask _how much they'll make_.
Perhaps not fifty pages--well,
I in a little space can tell
Th' adventures of an infidel;
Of _quantity_ I never boast,
For _quality_'s, approved of most.
"It is a handsome sum to touch,
Induces authors to write much;
But in this much, alas! my friend,
How little is there to commend.
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