The following key accompanied the letter on its publication:—
1. Agnus = Charles Lamb.
2. Lepus = Julius Hare, author of "Guesses at Truth."
3. Janus = The writer in the "London Magazine" who signed himself Janus Weathercock.
4. Nalla = Allan Cunningham.
5. Opium-eater = De Quincey, author of "The Confessions of an English Opium-eater."
6. The Poet true = The writer who assumes the name of Barry Cornwall.
7. The English Petrarch = The Rev. Mr. Strong, translator of Italian sonnets.
8. Mistress Gupp = A lady immortalized by her invention to keep
muffins warm on the lid of the tea-urn.
9. Rip Van Winkle = E. V. Rippingille, painter of the "Country Post
Office," the "Portrait of a Bird," &c.