371—to John Murray
Dec. 4, 1813.
Dear Sir,—I
have
redde through your Persian Tales
, and have taken the liberty of making some remarks on the
blank
pages. There are many beautiful passages, and an interesting story; and I cannot give you a stronger proof that such is my opinion, than by the
date
of the
hour—two o'clock
,—till which it has kept me awake
without a yawn
.
The conclusion is not quite correct in
costume
: there is no
Mussulman suicide
on record—at least for
love
. But this matters not. The tale must have been written by some one who has been on the spot, and I wish him, and he deserves, success. Will you apologise to the author for the liberties I have taken with his MS.? Had I been less awake to, and interested in, his theme, I had been less obtrusive; but you know
I
always take this in good part, and I hope he will. It is difficult to say what
will
succeed, and still more to pronounce what
will not
.
I
am at this moment in
that uncertainty
(on your
own
score); and it is no small proof of the author's powers to be able to
charm
and
fix
a
mind's
attention on similar subjects and climates in such a predicament. That he may have the same effect upon all his readers is very sincerely the wish, and hardly the
doubt
, of
Yours truly, B.
Footnote 1:
Henry Gally Knight (1786-1846), who was with Byron at Trinity, Cambridge, and afterwards distinguished himself by his architectural writings (
e.g. The Normans in Sicily,
1838), began his literary career with
Ilderim, a Syrian Tale
(1816).
Phrosyne, a Grecian Tale; Alashtar, an Arabian Tale
(1817), was followed, after a considerable interval, by
Eastern Sketches
(about 1829-30). If the manuscript of the first-mentioned volume is that to which Byron refers, he seems to have changed his mind as to its merits (March 25, 1817):
"I tried at 'Ilderim;'
Ahem!"
