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Escrick. - Is son of a poor labourer; afflicted with heart disease which might at any time prove fatal; has studied and composed poetry; hopes Tennyson might read some with a view to its publication; no relative or friend is capable of judging its merit.

Embossed notepaper, Escrick Park, York. - Did not know there was an ailing poet in Escrick [Robert Ripley]; will ensure he does not starve; poet's eldest brother has army prospects, 'the rest of the family are not very interesting'. Regrets Lord Derby's defeat, as Lord John Russell can only agitate the country with a radical Reform Bill; Milnes' prospects at Pontefract.

Escrick. - Thanks for manuscript and gift; enjoyment of Milnes' poems; will accept offer of another book of poetry or literary biography; fond of Coleridge and Keats; Lady Wenlock unlikely to lend books as she has never spoken to Ripley. Will try to correct grammar and shorten poems, as Milnes suggests. Earning little as gardening is too strenuous for his chronic 'ossification of the heart'; pain of attacks and difficulty in breathing; would like a clerkship. Concludes with 'the workman's wish of the season, a Merry Christmas to you'.

Refers to Robert Ripley.

Re Robert Ripley.