30 Bruton Street, Berkeley Square, W. - Hopes Bob is still at Naples; his letter [15/270] made him 'extremely dissatisfied with London'. Has seen [Wilde's] "Ideal Husband" acted mostly by understudies, which 'showed it up rather'. Has also seen '"the 3rd Mrs Tanqueray twice' ["The Notorious Mrs Ebbsmith", Pinero's follow up to "The Second Mrs Tanqueray"?]; thinks it 'really superior to the 2nd' though 'not nearly so thrilling'; Mrs P[atrick] C[ampbell] is 'splendid', as is [John] Hare. Next week the Independent Theatre is putting on 'a wonderful French company (bossed by a descendant of Edgar Poe [Aurélien Lugné-Poë]' performing [Ibsen's] "Rosmersholm" and "Master Builder", and two plays by Maeterlinck, whom Marsh will see at an At Home he is attending on Monday. Hopes Bob will 'find some relics of the orgies of Tiberius [on Capri]'; tells him to write 'a lost book of Tacitus'. Asks if he knows of the theory that what is known as Tacitus's work was in fact 'the work of Poggio Bracciolini'. Bob should '[r]oll Messalina & Agrippina & Lollia Paulina into one for the heroine, and invent some entirely new form of vice'; should be easy as 'there don't seem to be so very many'. Is reading Thomas de Quincey's autobiography ["Autobiographic Sketches"?], 'one of the most entertaining books [he has] come across'. Will write again when he has a permanent address for Bob. Has just been invited by Shipley to dinner with a 'Scotch novelist' [John Watson, pen name Ian Maclaren] so must spend the afternoon reading his novel '"[Beside] the Bonnie Briarbush' it's foolishly called'.
Rowmore House - Is glad to hear that the Park side accommodation promises to be comfortable; glad to have the reviews of ['Adonis, Attis, Osiris'], Miss [Isabella?] Anderson has been reading the book and the reviews; is glad he likes the Skinners; wonders who will be head of Westminster College, hopes it won't be Ian Maclaren [John Watson], has no patience with him or Mr [Samuel Rutherford?] Crockett, who 'degrade themselves from the high office to write rubbishy tales'; she was afraid at one time to read James' book, and did not read all of it, but now she is not afraid, and thinks that if he continues to dig, that he 'will find Him in it all'; Mrs Marryat has his book and wishes to come see her; Evelyn Ireland is ill with measles; Mr [Walter Edward?] Ireland is due to give a lecture on his visit to Italy; has been reading [Sir Walter Scott's] 'The Pirate' and 'The Fortunes of Nigel'.