Amidst the political excitement and the family interest of the summer, the following comes in almost like the Fool in 'King Lear' or Caleb Balderstone in the 'Bride of Lammermoor.' It refers to a proposition--surely one of the strangest ever submitted to a publisher--which, in ordinary course, had been sent to Reeve for an opinion. And this is what Reeve wrote:-- _To Mr. T. Norton Longman_ _Foxholes, August 24th_.--Your correspondent is the coolest fellow I ever heard of. He not only proposes to complete Macaulay's 'Lays' by some new ones, but to re-edit and correct the original Lays, which, he says, 'are very irregular.' His own verses have not a spark of poetry or fire in them; they are mere trash, and he is an impertinent fellow. Here the Journal has:-- _September 7th_.--Went to Exeter with Christine; 8th, to Chagford and Dartmoor; 10th, back to Foxholes. _29th_.--To Holyhead and Penrhos with Christine. Bad weather at Penrhos; gout in hand came on. _October 2nd_.--To Knowsley; Lord Lyons there. _6th_.--To London and Foxholes. Christine went on to Chesters. On the 20th, Mrs. Ogilvie came from Scotland. November 2nd, James Watney died. _From Count Vitzthum_ Paris, November 7th. Dear Mr. Reeve,--I beg you to accept kindly a copy of my memoirs 'St. Petersburg and London,' 1852-1864, which Cotta will send you from the author. Please to remember, if you find time to read these two little volumes, that it is a German book, written for Germans, by one who is neither Whig, nor Tory, nor Red; who is very fond of Old England,, but has nothing to do with your party feelings and prejudices. I see men and things, not from the English, but from the European standpoint, and leave it, as far as possible, to the leading men of the day to tell their own tale. If you find time, read the book and tell me what you think of it. Yours very truly, VITZTHUM. _To Mr. T. Norton Longman_ C.O., _November 12th_.--My old friend, Count Vitzthum, formerly Saxon Minister in London, has sent me his 'Reminiscences of St. Petersburg and London from 1852 to 1864' in German, 2 vols. This is a book of extraordinary interest to the English public, full of conversations and confidential details of Prince Albert, Lord Palmerston, Lord Clarendon, Disraeli, &c.--quite a contemporary political history, as amusing and interesting as Greville himself. Vitzthum knew this country well, and all its society. I shall write on Monday [15th] to thank him for the book, and I propose to ask him whether he has made any arrangements for the translation of it. I am not much in favour of translations; but this book is of such peculiar and exciting interest that I should strongly recommend you to secure it if possible. I think the Taylors, who did Luther, would undertake the translation. I think this an important affair.