. have not performed their task well; at least the literati tell me this; and I think
I
could write a more sarcastic critique on
myself
than any yet published. For instance, instead of the remark, — ill-natured enough, but not keen, — about Macpherson, I (quoad reviewers) could have said,
"[Alas], this imitation only proves the assertion of Dr. Johnson, that many men, women, and children, could write such poetry as Ossian's."[2]
I am
thin
and in exercise. During the spring or summer I trust we shall meet. I hear Lord Ruthyn leaves Newstead in April. As soon as he quits it for ever, I wish much you would take a ride over, survey the mansion, and give me your candid opinion on the most advisable mode of proceeding with regard to the
house