I remain, sir, yours truly,
Robert Southey.
To George Offer, Esq.'
The following letter was addressed to Mr. Major.
'Keswick, April 25,1829.
Dear Sir,
You will perceive by the return of one of your treasures, that the precious parcel arrived safely. I have read through the 'Dutch Original,' and made notes from it;—there is not the slightest resemblance in it to anything in the 'Pilgrim's Progress. The three striking circumstances which you mentioned of the 'Hill of Difficulty,' the 'Slough of Despond,' and 'Vanity Fair,' do not afford any ground for supposing that Bunyan had ever heard of this book; or that even if he had read it, he should have taken one hint from it. Here the incidents are, 1st that the wilful Pilgrim stops in a village crowd to see some juggler's tricks at a fair, and certain vermin in consequence shift their quarters from some of the rabble close to her, to her person. 2nd. That by following a cow's track instead of keeping the high road, she falls into a ditch. And 3rd. That going up a hill at the end of their journey, from whence Jerusalem is in sight, she climbs too high in a fit of presumption, is blown down, and falls into the place whence there is no deliverance. I am very glad to have had an opportunity of comparing it with the French translation, in which, as you may suppose, every thing which is national, and peculiar, and racy, is lost.
The author's name is not to be found in 'Poppen's Bibliotheca Belgica.' Another and larger bible of the same country, ought to be on its way to me from Brussels at this time, and there I shall no doubt find an account of him. But the inquiry is not worth much trouble, seeing how completely all imitation or even resemblance will be disproved by an account of the book. By the by, it cannot be very rare in its own country, seeing it was popular enough for a French translation to be re-printed more than a hundred years after its first appearance. Believe me, dear sir,
Yours faithfully,
Robert Southey.'