“Praise from thy pen ’tis mine with pride to boast,
He best can give it who deserves the most.”
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“Honourable, indeed, is that approbation which is
bestowed by those who have themselves been the constant objects of universal
applause. Accordingly, I esteem the encomium you confer upon me in your letter
of March 4th, received through the hands of your excellent nephew, my intimate
friend Mr. Daulby, as a distinction of the highest and
most illustrious kind. After saying thus much, I must tell you that I have read
over and over the works of you, with which you honoured me, at the same time
with infinite delight and great benefit to myself. I should have regretted to
leave this world without their perusal. Your divine writings reflect high
honour upon our times; they are neither an idle show
222 | LIFE OF WILLIAM ROSCOE. |
‘Alme pater divû! sævos punire tyrannos,
Haud alia ratione velis, cum dira libido Moveret ingenium, ferventi tincta veneno, Virtutem videant, intabescantque relicta.’
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“I trust and hope Mr. Daulby will
have the goodness to be faithful interpreter to my sincere love and profound
respect for you. He is now leaving this country; and, of course, he has lodged
a needle in my heart which pricks it with incessant desire to see him return
soon again. Our mutual adieu will render my desire still keener. I envy his
friends (endowed with every
LIFE OF WILLIAM ROSCOE. | 223 |
“As to the rest—as you, dear Sir! has begun to love me, I beseech you, remember me constantly; and when you sacrifice to Love and Charity, allow me some little share of the excess and overflowing of your goodness. May I be so happy as to see you here? Be sure Danemark will receive you gratefully, with open arms, as the man of truth and her best defensor against her ferocious enemies, Canning and Co., in the fatal year 1807. In the mean time, be pleased to accept, with your congenial goodness, some trifling specimens of my studies. Your good nature will so much the more readily grant my presumption a pardon, as it confessedly does not deserve it. I have the honour to remain for ever, with faithful attachment, and profound esteem and respect,” &c.