ve just undertaken another grand task. You must
know, I have purchased a large lump of wild land, lying
adjoining to this little property, which greatly more than
doubles my domains. The land is said to be reasonably
bought, and I am almost certain I can turn it to advantage
by a little judicious expenditure; for this {p.079} place
is already allowed to be worth twice what it cost me; and
our people here think so little of planting, and do it so
carelessly, that they stare with astonishment at the
alteration which well-planted woods make on the face of a
country. There is, besides, a very great temptation, from
the land running to within a quarter of a mile of a very
sweet wild sheet of water, of which (that is, one side of
it) I have every chance to become proprietor: this is a
poetical circumstance not to be lost sight of, and
accordingly I keep it full in my view. Amid these various
avocations, past, present, and to come, I have not thought
much about Waterloo, only that I am truly glad you like it.
I might, no doubt, have added many curious anecdotes, but I
think the pamphlet long enough as it stands, and never had
any design of writing copious notes.

I do most devoutly hope Lord Byron will succeed in his
proposal of bringing out one of your dramas; that he is your
sincere admirer is only synonymous with his being a man of
genius; and he has, I am convinced, both the power and
inclination to serve the public, by availing himself of the
treasures you have laid before them. Yet I long for "some
yet untasted spring," and heartily wish you would take Lord
B. into your counsels, and adjust, from your yet unpublished
materials, some drama for the public. In such a case, I
would, in your place, conceal my name till the issue of the
adventure. It is a sickening thing to think how many angry
and evil passions the mere name of admitted excellence
brings into full activity. I wish you would consider this
hint, and I am sure the result would be great gratification
to the public, and to yourself that sort of satisfaction
which arises from receiving proofs of having attained the
mark at which you aimed. Of this last, indeed, you cannot
doubt, if you consult only the voices of the intelligent and
the accomplished; but the object of the