Letter to <persName ref="#Talfourd_Thos">T.N. Talfourd</persName>, [1822 July 23] Mary Russell Mitford Lisa M. Wilson Mary Russell Mitford Society: Digital Mitford Project University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg Elisa Beshero-Bondar Transcription and coding by Lisa M. Wilson Proofing and corrections by James Rovira First digital edition in TEI, date: 24 May 2014. P5. Digital Mitford: The Mary Russell Mitford Archive Greensburg, PA, USA 2013

Reproduced by courtesy of the The John Rylands University Library.

Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License Digital Mitford Letters: The Mary Russell Mitford Archive The John Rylands University Library Mitford-Talfourd Correspondence: Letters from Mary Russell Mitford to Thomas Noon Talfourd: vol. 665 JRL English MS 665 no. 11 Coles no. 39 Letter from Mary Russell Mitford to T.N. Talfourd, 1822 July 23 .

Quarto sheet of paper (likely torn from folio sheet folded in half to form four quarto pages) with correspondence on 1 and address leaf on page 2, then folded in thirds twice more and sealed for posting.

Address leaf bearing two postmarks, both illegible. One black, one red: circle with crown (text illegible).

A portion of page 1 has been torn away under the seal. There is also a large rectangular tear on the opposite edge of page 1.

Partial red wax seal.

 Someone cataloging the letters, apparently other than Mitford, numbered each on page 1. This letter numbered 11.

Mitford’s spelling and punctuation are retained, except where a word is split at the end of a line and the beginning of the next in the manuscript. Where Mitford’s spelling and hyphenation of words deviates from the standard, in order to facilitate searching we are using the TEI elements “choice," “sic," and “reg" to encode both Mitford’s spelling and the regular international standard of Oxford English spelling, following the first listed spelling in the Oxford English Dictionary. The long s and ligatured forms are not encoded.

I had better tell you that Foscari is at last gone off to Mr. Kemble.--The last Act rather better than when you saw it because in transcribing the glaring patchwork got a good deal softened down & harmonised harmonized --I told him that I should be ready to make any other alteration if this did not please him (by the way people say that Mrs. C.K. is the critic--Is it so?) & begged him to have the goodness to let me kn ow? his opinion after he had read the Play--I tried as much as I could by implication, without an actual fib, to make him believe that the plan was his own--& indeed he did say something of "If Fosc ari a sword"--though as you well know in this Act, as in mos t of the others--the good design is your's--& the bad execution m ine--but it is now fairly off my hands--& I will hope--if I ca n--Do you really think it has any chance?--I am now unde cided what to do--& half resolved to try Julian--I last--& between us we shall certainly find out th e --which was more than Sir Walter Scott did in the matter of Hallidon <sic resp="#lmw">Halidon</sic> Hill. Shall I try? I would not if I had a better plot--or indeed any historical plot--but not having any other plan in view I think I may as well try--provided I can recover that full possession & love of the subject which I had six months ago & which was almost an omen of success. But I am afraid of the level scenes--afraid of the whole character of the Count In Mitford's play, Julian , Count D'Alba is a villainous character who is obsessed with Julian's wife Annabel. which ought to be voluptuous luxurious glowing--such as Ben Jonson or Massinger would have drawn con amore--but which I could not if I would--& would not if I could--That character so done Coles differs from editor's reading here of the previous two words. Coles has "{ . . . } none" (letter #39, p.195, note 4) would have filled up the level scenes with magnificent pictures--but now I am almost sure that it will be unequal. Not a line of his character is written yet--I have only the beginning & the scene in the second act which you have seen--& the death of the father in the 4th--& now I think to do the Catastrophe next--If I do any. Shall I? I confess to you that I do not expect to succeed--Do you think it worth while worthwhile to try?--This is a strange encroaching way of looking as if I hoped for an answer--but do not write unless you are quite at leisure--Do not let me again interfere with business or pleasure or repose--Pray do not--I know your kindness, & should be as sure of it as of my own Mother's if I never saw your hand writing handwriting again.--God bless you my dear friend--Pray forgive this tedious scrawl --accept the kindest remembrances & believe me always

Most gratefully your's M.R. Mitford.

Have you heard that Mrs. Coutts has bought Whiteknights Coles proposes Whiteknights Park "an estate near Reading which belonged to George Spencer, fifth Duke of Marlborough (1766-1840)" (Coles #39, p.197, note 8). This seems a plausible bit of gossip, since, although the Duke declared bankruptcy and put the house's contents up for auction in October 1819, the house itself did not change hands until 1824. See "Whiteknights Park," & "George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough," An opposing argument is that Mitford clearly wrote two words, lifting her pen after "White." It's not clear what the second word is.--What an infamous report is that respecting Mr. Macready & her? Coles has the previous two words as illegible (Coles, #39, p.197, note 8).My Father to my great astonishment laughs at it--but surely it is no joke--how indignant he must be at such a calumny.
Reading July twenty three 1821 To T. N. Talfourd Esqre. 1 Oxford Circuit