Transcribed from the 1901 Macmillan and Co. edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org LETTERS OF EDWARD FITZGERALD IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. II London MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1901 _All rights reserved_ _First Edition_ 1894. _Reprinted_ 1901 {The "Little Grange," Woodbridge: p0.jpg} LETTERS OF EDWARD FITZGERALD _To E. B. Cowell_. 88 GT. PORTLAND ST., LONDON, _Jan._ 13/59. MY DEAR COWELL, I have been here some five weeks: but before my Letter reaches you shall probably have slid back into the Country somewhere. This is my old Lodging, but new numbered. I have been almost alone here: having seen even Spedding and Donne but two or three times. They are well and go on as before. Spedding has got out the seventh volume of Bacon, I believe: with Capital Prefaces to Henry VII., etc. But I have not yet seen it. After vol. viii. (I think) there is to be a Pause: till Spedding has set the Letters to his Mind. Then we shall see what he can make of his Blackamoor. . . . I am almost ashamed to write to you, so much have I forsaken Persian, and even all good Books of late. There is no one now to 'prick the Sides of my Intent'; Vaulting Ambition having long failed to do so! I took my Omar from Fraser [? Parker], as I saw he didn't care for it; and also I want to enlarge it to near as much again, of such Matter as he would not dare to put in Fraser. If I print it, I shall do the impudence of quoting your Account of Omar, and your Apology for his Freethinking: it is not wholly my Apology, but you introduced him to me, and your excuse extends to that which you have not ventured to quote, and I do. I like your Apology extremely also, allowing its Point of View. I doubt you will repent of ever having showed me the Book. I should like well to have the Lithograph Copy of Omar which you tell of in your Note. My Translation has its merit: but it misses a main one in Omar, which I will leave you to find out. The Latin Versions, if they were corrected into decent Latin, would be very much better. . . . I have forgotten to write out for you a little Quatrain which Binning found written in Persepolis; the Persian Tourists having the same propensity as English to write their Names and Sentiments on their national Monuments. {2} * * * * * In the early part of 1859 his friend William Browne was terribly injured by his horse falling upon him and lingered in great agony for several weeks. _To W. B. Donne_. GOLDINGTON, BEDFORD. _March_ 26 [1859]. MY DEAR DONNE,