William Hone to Matthew Davenport Hill, 15 November, 1823 An Electronic Edition William Hone Kyle Grimes

For publication in the Hone Correspondence section of the William Hone BioText, http://honearchive.org. The letter is published under a Creative Commons license, details of which are accessible from the BioText homepage.

Transcribed from the original in the British Library, Add. MS 41071, ff. 10-11; the note at the end of the MS suggests that this is a draft of a letter that would eventually contain some additional material, though not likely relevant to the issue with the Edinburgh Review.

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William Hone to Matthew Davenport Hill, 15 November, 1823.British Library, Add. MS 41071, ff. 10-11. [return] — -TEI-
45 Ludgate Hill
15 November 1823. My Dear Sir

You have my sincere thanks for interfering in my behalf with your friend concerning his mention of my name in the last Edinburgh Review & for your communicating the result of your kind offices.For the context of this letter, see Hone's letter to Francis Jeffrey, 5 November, 1823. [return]

I hope that I accept this gentleman's "most unqualified & unfeigned regret" & his tendered explanation of the mistake through the next Edinburgh Review in a spirit somewhat kindred to his own. The visit that he generously thinks due to me I cannot allow him to pay. In such a case I would not receive a personal apology even from an enemy--but this gentleman who could not bear me ill-will & only wronged me by misconception would do me more than right & embarrass me by his condescension. If I ever have the honor of knowing him, I shall meet him with great respect from the promptitude & ardor of his acknowledgment & you will oblige me by assuring him of this, and that, if he will permit me an opinion, neither he nor I ought to regard the incident with the slightest unpleasant feeling.

Mr. Jeffrey in his immediate & right-gentlemanly notice of my letter to him promises to write me his determination as soon as he receives his correspondent's explanation & advice. I therefore cannot doubt that your friend's healing beam will be reflected from the great Northern-light.

By the way, the piracy of Moore's Melodies was first shown to me by our friend Jo. Parkes and I rated the dog as a receiver of stolen goods so soundly that he cannot forget it. I am as thorough a hater of this species of robbery that I loathe the sight of a pirated work, never read one, nor ever would obtain one even for the most intimate friend. Parkes knows well my uniform animosity & warfare against this nefarious practice--pop the question to him.

(Mem: Conclusion of this on other matters of no consequence)This final sentence confirms that the MS letter is either a draft or a copy. Especially when he was writing in a semi-formal mode to persons with whom he was not particularly close, Hone often produced and then filed drafts. [return]

W Hone

[Hone's note for his letter file:] Edinburgh Review - 1823 To M D Hill Esq. 15 Nov.