much obliged to him? or that in fact I was not, and am not, convinced and convicted in my conscience of this same overt act of nonsense?

     “I shall try at it again:  in the mean time, lay it upon the shelf
     (the whole Drama, I mean):  but pray correct your copies of the
     first and second Acts from the original MS.

“I am not coming to England; but going to Rome in a few days.  I return to Venice in June; so, pray, address all letters, &c. to me here, as usual, that is, to Venice.  Dr. Polidori this day left this city with Lord G * * for England.  He is charged with some books to your care (from me), and two miniatures also to the same address, both for my sister.

“Recollect not to publish, upon pain of I know not what, until I have tried again at the third Act.  I am not sure that I shall try, and still less that I shall succeed, if I do; but I am very sure, that (as it is) it is unfit for publication or perusal; and unless I can make it out to my own satisfaction, I won’t have any part published.

     “I write in haste, and after having lately written very often. 
     Yours,” &c.

* * * * *

LETTER 276.  TO MR. MURRAY.

     “Foligno, April 26. 1817.

“I wrote to you the other day from Florence, inclosing a MS. entitled ‘The Lament of Tasso.’  It was written in consequence of my having been lately at Ferrara.  In the last section of this MS. but one (that is, the penultimate), I think that I have omitted a line in the copy sent to you from Florence, viz. after the line—­

        “And woo compassion to a blighted name,

     insert,

        “Sealing the sentence which my foes proclaim.

     The context will show you the sense, which is not clear in this
     quotation. Remember, I write this in the supposition that you have
     received my Florentine packet.

“At Florence I remained but a day, having a hurry for Rome, to which I am thus far advanced.  However, I went to the two galleries, from which one returns drunk with beauty.  The Venus is more for admiration than love; but there are sculpture and painting, which for the first time at all gave me an idea of what people mean by their cant, and what Mr. Braham calls ‘entusimusy’ (i.e. enthusiasm) about those two most artificial of the arts.  What struck me most were, the mistress of Raphael, a portrait; the mistress of Titian, a portrait; a Venus of Titian in the Medici gallery—­the Venus; Canova’s Venus also in the other gallery:  Titian’s mistress is also in the other gallery (that is, in the Pitti Palace gallery):  the Parcae of Michael Angelo, a picture:  and the Antinous, the Alexander, and one or two not