ELLERAT. 133 



hundred, so as to be sold for twelve shillings, and to be a counter- 

 part of the Isle of Palms. 



" The first and longest poem is entitled ' The City of the Plague,' 

 is dramatic, and consists of nearly four thousand lines, or between 

 three and four thousand. The scene is laid in London, during th<- 

 great plague of 1GG5, and the poem is intended to give a general 

 picture of the situation of a plague-struck city, along with the history 

 of a few individuals who constitute the persons of the drama. 



"The second poem, 'The Convict,' is likewise dramatic and in 

 blank verse, and its object is to delineate the passions of a man 

 innocently condemned to death, and the feelings of his dearest 

 relations. It is between two and three thousand lines. 



" The third poem is a dramatic fragment, entitled ' The Mariner's 

 Return,' about six hundred lines, and principally consisting of 

 descriptions of sea scenery. 



"The remainder of the volume "will be made up to the length 

 deemed necessary for poems of a miscellaneous character, in rhyme 

 and blank verse. 



"It is not my intention to publish this volume unless I dispose 

 of the copyright; and the sum I have set on it is £200. 



"If you feel any inclination to purchase it of yourself, one word 

 can do it; if not, one word between friends is sufficient. 



" If you determine against purchasing it of yourself then you 

 can inform me whether or not you would be willing, along with 

 Murray, or Miller in Edinburgh, or any other bookseller, to give 

 me that sum for the copyright. 



" If you determine against having any thing to do with it, as a 

 principal, on these terms, then, for the present, the subject drops." 



Mr. Smith appeai-s to have declined the sole responsibility of the 

 publication, which was ultimately undertaken by Constable, along 

 with whose name those of Smith and of Longman appeared on the 

 title-page. Shortly after this communication my father paid a visit, 

 to Elleray, probably for the purpose of inspecting the state of the 

 place, and making arrangements for letting it. On the 31st of Oc- 

 tober he reports his progress to his wife : — 



"Elleray, Friday night, Oct 31, 1815. 

 "Dearest Jane: — I am not to blame for not having written 

 before this night, owing first to a mistake about the post-night ; 



