LETTER 372. TO MR. MURRAY.

"Ravenna, May 20. 1820.

"Murray, my dear, make my respects to Thomas Campbell, and tell him
from me, with faith and friendship, three things that he must right
in his poets: Firstly, he says Anstey's Bath Guide characters are
taken from Smollett. 'Tis impossible:--the Guide was published in
1766, and Humphrey Clinker in 1771--_dunque_, 'tis Smollett who has
taken from Anstey. Secondly, he does not know to whom Cowper
alludes, when he says that there was one who 'built a church to
_God_, and then blasphemed his name:' it was 'Deo erexit
_Voltaire_' to whom that maniacal Calvinist and coddled poet
alludes. Thirdly, he misquotes and spoils a passage from
Shakspeare, 'to gild refined gold, to paint the lily,' &c.; for
_lily_ he puts rose, and bedevils in more words than one the whole
quotation.

"Now, Tom is a fine fellow; but he should be correct; for the first
is an _injustice_ (to Anstey), the second an _ignorance_, and the
third a _blunder_. Tell him all this, and let him take it in good
part; for I might have rammed it into a review and rowed
him--instead of which, I act like a Christian.

"Yours," &c.

* * * * *

LETTER 373. TO MR. MURRAY.

"Ravenna, May 20. 1820.

"First and foremost, you must forward my letter to _Moore_ dated 2d
_January_, which I said you might open, but desired you _to
forward_. Now, you should really not forget these little things,
because they do mischief among friends. You are an excellent man, a
great man, and live among great men, but do pray recollect your
absent friends and authors.

"In the first place, _your packets_; then a letter from Kinnaird,
on the most urgent business; another from Moore, about a
communication to Lady Byron of importance; a fourth from the mother
of Allegra; and, fifthly, at Ravenna, the Countess G. is on the eve
of being separated. But the Italian public are on her side,
particularly the women,--and the men also, because they say that
_he_ had no business to take the business up now after a year of
toleration. All her relations (who are numerous, high in rank, and
powerful) are furious _against him_ for his conduct. I am warned to
be on my guard, as he is very capable of employing _sicarii_--this
is Latin