Pièce 148 - Letter from C. J. Holmes to R. C. Trevelyan

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Hacon & Ricketts, The Vale Press, No. 17, Craven St., Strand, London. - Is answering Trevelyan's letter at one, 'partly for the pleasure of writing the above amazing date' and also to reassure him 'about the Shakespeare': had taken Trevelyan's letter as 'confirmation of [Thomas Sturge?] Moore's verbal request', so his 'early married life won't be embittered by the arrival of two sets'; in fact he would probably need to go to a bookseller if he wanted a second set. Now will 'turn... from these prosy things' to picture Trevelyan composing Pindaric poems to the 'Hieron of our latter day Syracuse' [Pindar wrote praise poems for that ruler, while the Athenians later mounted a military expedition against Syracuse, which Holmes compares to the present-day Second Boer War]: the 'simple Paul Kruger will smile at the new & glorious pedigree' which Trevelyan invents for him and performs to the accompaniment of his 'bride's Χρυσεα φορμιγξ [golden lyre: a reference to Pindar's first "Pythian Ode"] in Pretoria or 'Johannisberg [sic]'. Meanwhile, he hopes Trevelyan's Pindar is 'unencumbered with [John William] Donaldson's superfluous & interminable notes'. Wishes him 'good wishes for the end of this self satisfied century'. Postscript saying that Trevelyan should write directly to Moore if he wants his proofs, as they have none at the Press.