It is agreed that the work shall be printed in two volumes in quarto on royal paper, with the prints used in the Spanish edition printed by A. B is to procure the copy of the translation at his own expense and A are to furnish the plates for this and any future quarto editions, the cost of print and paper being divided equally between them. If B is obliged to furnish Jervas with fifty sets of books he is to pay A £25 as well as the cost of the print and paper for them. The net profits in this and any future editions printed by A and B shall be equally divided, and if they print the book in any other size the costs of engraving the plates shall be equally borne and A shall allow Mr (John) Vanderbank’s designs to be used. The property of a moiety of the translation shall be vested by B in A, but the property of the original quarto plates, after being used, shall remain in A.
On Boccaccio and Don Quixote.
Pension Palumbo, Ravello:- Has little to say, as life is ‘quite uneventful’. They [he and the Frys] usually have the place entirely to themselves. Visited Mrs Reid’s garden the other day: it is ‘not so fine and big as the Cacciolas’, but has some nice trees’, and he will go to sit there occasionally. Mrs Reid has said he can go whenever he likes, though she herself is too ill to be called on at the moment. Believes the ‘present Lacaita [Charles Carmichael Lacaita]’ is her nephew. There are ‘many other places’ he can go, ‘especially a garden at the top of the cliff’.
The Frys ‘usually spend their day in their studio’; Roger has just had ‘rather a bad cold’, but Robert thinks Helen ‘is all right’. They ‘read Don Quixote aloud in the evenings, having first read ‘the beginning half of [The Casting Away of] Mrs Lecks & Mrs Aleshine [F. R. Stockton]’ which they found here. Robert has done a lot of work since coming here; there has been good weather, except for ‘three wet days last week’.
Has received her letter, and the bills: it was quite right of her to open those. His letters have now begun to ‘come direct’. Is glad his father is ‘keeping well’, but wishes ‘he would not go back [to London?] too soon’. Does not yet know when he will go to Florence, but does not think it will be for some time; expects he will not stay there long. He and the Frys may visit Naples soon; does not know how long George will be there, but expects he will have left by the time they go.
2, Cheyne Gardens. - They [he and Janet] have been 'reading nightly' from Bob's "Don Quixote" with 'great enjoyment'; today 'the most beautiful lot of Tourgenieffs in a delightful binding turned up' [perhaps a wedding present?]. Will take one away with him next month. Says in postscript that he has 'been hearing from Desmond what a jolly time you have had'.
Trinity College, Cambridge. - Apologises for not replying sooner to Bob's letter; blames the weather, which 'has brought germs of indolence'; has done no work for a fortnight except reading Euripides' "Medea" and "Electra". Stops writing as his 'hands were dripping with heat'; continues on Monday morning when it is cooler. Has been to breakfast with [Jack?] MacT[aggart], who sold him Dal[housie] Young's "Defence of Oscar Wilde"; this 'makes the mistake of imitating Oscar's style' so readers will 'say that the good sense of it is discounted because it is obvious that the writer was under Oscar's influence'. Says he will not talk about the [General] elections; asks if Charley minds; was very sorry [that Charley was not elected], though he did not want Lord Rosebery to be in again just yet, and expects 'the enormous majority will bring the Tories to grief sooner'. Wonders if Bob is still at Wallington; hopes he was not 'awfully tired' by their trip to Shap. He himself had a 'pleasant journey' reading "Lord Ormont [and his Arminta]"; does not think he has ever read anything 'so exclusively spiritual... nothing of what George Moore calls exteriority, & scarcely any action'; could call it 'the revolt from naturalism' except that [George] Meredith has never been in that movement. Enjoyed their time in the Lakes very much; shame 'we & the weather weren't in better form', but they saw some 'beautiful things'. In London, saw Duse in her 'finest part, Magda' [in Sudermann's "Magda"]. They have been "very frivolous" in Cambridge, and '"Gerald Eversley's Friendship" has been a great delight' and has been read aloud; is afraid their 'brother [in the Cambridge Apostles] Welldon has done for himself.' Is reading "Don Quixote", and finding 'delicious things every now & then, but much dulness [sic]; has a 'wretched old translation', whose only recommendations are that Swift was one of the subscribers, and there are 'some funny old pictures which open out like maps'. Is leaving today; will spend tomorrow night with the Russells and start for Germany on Thursday evening; gives his address for the next month in Hildesheim. Gives a limerick beginning 'There was a young man of Madrid...'
(Place of writing not indicated.)—Sends a list of notable words and phrases in Shelton’s translation of Don Quixote.
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Transcript
June 17, 1867
Cervantes
During a perusal of Shelton’s Don Quixote, the writer noted many remarkable or obsolete words and phrases, a list of which he begs to present to the author of the “Bible Word-book.” {1} Ignorance of the Spanish language may have caused the compiler of this list to set down what are merely too literal renderings, or erroneous translations, and possibly some are errors of the press; but it was thought advisable rather to note all than to suffer the loss of any worth recording, by too narrow a system of selection. The edition used—the only one accessible—was that of 1731, in 4 vols., said to be printed “verbatim” from the oldest copy. Of how far this is true the writer cannot judge. While disliking the notion of sending an anonymous communication, the sender hopes Mr. Wright will appreciate the motive which induced it in the present case,—a fear lest it should be thought that an obscure individual desired to thrust himself into the notice of his superiors.
Should the accompanying list be found to be valueless, doubtless Mr. Wright keeps a waste paper basket, and————
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{1} Add. MS b. 74/5/4.
Apartado 847, Madrid, Spain. - Hopes that his father has by now 'quite recovered' from his fall, and that Hearn [the butler] is well again; supposes they are at Welcombe by now, so will send this letter there. Will stay at Madrid while he is in Spain, which may be for two or three weeks longer; it is a 'pleasant enough city', and not too cold at present. Usually goes out into the countryside by tram to work, and comes back when it gets dark. Has made some 'interesting friends here through [Oswald] Sickert' with whom he has been staying: 'young journalists and literary men', of whom two or three have 'a great deal of talent'. Can now read a Spanish newspaper 'fairly well', and don Quijote [sic] 'with the help of a translation'; however, he has not yet got used to the pronunciation, which is 'very guttural, and much more difficult than Italian'. The acting he has seen at the theatres 'seems very good, if only I could understand what they say'.
Bessie 'writes cheerfully', and Julian 'seems to be quite happy and in good spirits'. Robert hopes to go for a day to visit Toledo, and perhaps Segovia, before he leaves, but will not try to go south to Malaga or Granada, as 'there seem to be strikes everywhere'. The Spanish are 'going through a major industrial crisis', but Madrid is unlikely to be affected, since it is 'not an industrial city'. Luckily, they have 'a very good and liberal minded premier, Sanchez [de] Toca, who is nominally a conservative, and 'will probably steer them through their difficulties, if he is allowed to remain in power'. This is however 'doubtful, since the military juntas and the reactionaries hate him, and are trying to turn him out'.
On headed notepaper for the Harrow Philathletic Club, with 'The Grove, Harrow' added in Robert Trevelyan's hand:- Charlie visited on Saturday, and they 'had a very pleasant day'; he saw 'the school do very well [in a cricket match], and Nigel [Bertrand Nigel Bosworth Smith?] nearly making a 100 runs' and get 'into the XI'. The 'Boz family was in as great a state of excitement' as when Robert's father visited. Charlie's hat was 'broken by a cricket ball'.
The school Greek play will be 'fairly good', but he does not think the English one [Poole's Paul Pry] will. Thinks the Don Quixote will suit him 'very well', as 'all [he wants] is to read it, and some of the pictures are amusing'; must not read it now and waste his time. Asks her to tell his father that he has 'met the Old Harrovian with the Majenta [sic] scarf whom he met at York station': Cook, 'an old Welldonite' [Thomas Percy Cooke?], whom Robert believes was 'rather a friend of Charlie's'. Met him yesterday at supper with Welldon, after 'reading for [his] last time' in Chapel.
Hears his father is coming on Thursday; asks if he is also coming on Speechday. 'Ted[d]y Butler is a beak here for a short time while Owen is ill'. Moss also 'is ill of influenza'; Robert is 'very sorry for him'.
On headed notepaper for the Harrow Philathletic Club, with 'The Grove, Harrow' added in Robert Trevelyan's hand:- Thanks her for the money, which will keep him going 'for some time'; has given G[eorgie] his share. Georgie's place [in his form] was 'very satisfactory'.
Has 'at last' stopped raining; hopes the weather will stay fine. Has broken the [Harrow] Philathletic Club's ivory paper knife and must get another; proposes doing so from the money he has in the Post Office bank. Does not know how much it will cost, but expects about a pound. Asks if she could get him a replacement and suggests sending the broken one in the post so she can see it; then wonders if it would be better to wait until she visits and he can show it to her.
Hopes they [the Liberal Party] will 'win North Bucks' [the Buckingham by-election being held that day]. Cannot think of a book [for a birthday present?], except perhaps a translation of Don Quixote [originally written as Don Quichotte], which he has been reading parts of recently. Is 'getting on well with the prose [composition]'.
La Fortezza, Aulla, Lunigiana. - He and Bessie are 'comfortably settled in this castle' which is a real one: he is not mistaking a hotel for a castle like Don Quixote. Describes the surrounding countryside. The Waterfields have been here for almost a year; gives details of the building and its history. He and Bessie are well, though have had bad colds recently. Hopes his parents are enjoying their time in Rome; had thought they would return for the election; everything seems to be going well [for the Liberal Party] so far. Hopes Charles may still get an appointment; is sure he would deserve it. Haldane at the War Office is 'rather comic', but he 'may just be the right man for the job'.
Jebb's death is 'very sad'; Robert had little opportunity to see him, but the one time he heard him talking at length, he thought him 'delightful'. Bessie sends love and will write soon. Robert is 'well started' on his work again; thinks this place will be as good for wriring as Ravello.