Yours obediently, RICHARD F. BURTON."
"THE VlCE-CHANCELLOR, OXFORD."
In due time came the reply:?
No. V.
ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, OXFORD, November 6th, 1886.
"Dear Sir,
"I will remove from your mind the belief that I treated your former letter with discourtesy.
"I may say, that it did not appear to me to contain any question or request which I could answer. You informed me that you had made formal application in September for a loan of MSS., and your letter was to complain of the delay in considering this request. You told me that you had learned from the Librarian the cause of the delay (the want of a quorum), and that he had intimated that there would probably be no meeting formed before October 30th.
"You complained of this, and suggested that the statute regulating the lending of the Bodleian books should be speedily revised.
"As I had no power to make a quorum, nor to engage that your suggestion should be adopted; and as your letter made no demand for any further information, I thought it best to reserve it for the meeting of the 30th, when I communicated it to the Curators.