"You are to know that, if I had not had the body moved, they would have left him there till morning in the street, for fear of consequences. I would not choose to let even a dog die in such a manner, without succour--and, as for consequences, I care for none in a duty. Yours, &c. "P.S. The lieutenant on duty by the body is smoking his pipe with great composure.--A queer people this." * * * * * LETTER 403. TO MR. MOORE. "Ravenna, Dec. 25. 1820. "You will or ought to have received the packet and letters which I remitted to your address a fortnight ago (or it may be more days), and I shall be glad of an answer, as, in these times and places, packets per post are in some risk of not reaching their destination. "I have been thinking of a project for you and me, in case we both get to London again, which (if a Neapolitan war don't suscitate) may be calculated as possible for one of us about the spring of 1821. I presume that you, too, will be back by that time, or never; but on that you will give me some index. The project, then, is for you and me to set up jointly a _newspaper_--nothing more nor less--weekly, or so, with some improvement or modifications upon the plan of the present scoundrels, who degrade that department,--but a _newspaper_, which we will edite in due form, and, nevertheless, with some attention. "There must always be in it a piece of poesy from one or other of us _two_, leaving room, however, for such dilettanti rhymers as may be deemed worthy of appearing in the same column; but _this_ must be a _sine quâ non_; and also as much prose as we can compass. We will take an _office_--our names _not_ announced, but suspected--and, by the blessing of Providence, give the age some new lights upon policy, poesy, biography, criticism, morality, theology, and all other _ism_, _ality_, and _ology_ whatsoever.