SIR

3pp., 4to. 71 lines closely and neatly written. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with minor repairs to wear with gummed paper. Addressed, with three postmarks (one Portsmouth), on reverse of second leaf, to 'John Hervey Esqre | Ballangrew Cardross | by Stirling | N. Britain'. He reports that his regiment arrived at Minorca a few days previously 'from Fitwan Bay': 'on our leaving the coast of Africa a separation of the Fleet took place one half went direct of [sic] Malta & the other to this place to get Provisions, and water'.

8vo: 1 p. Good, laid down on the reverse of the front free endpaper of a copy of Andre Maurois's 'The Life of Sir Alexander Fleming' (London, 2nd imp., 1959). Reads 'Thank you very much. We would be delighted to be with you on Nov 12th. I think all is well with me now & I am off to Edinburgh on Monday. | Yours sincerely | [signed] Alec. Fleming'. The context is explained on pp. 265-6 of the book. 'In October 1953 he was due to make a speech at the opening of 'Les Journees Medicales' in Nice. Two days before the appointed date, he woke up with a high fever. He himself diagnosed pneumonia.

The document is 1p., 4to. It is in fair condition, on thin aged paper, with the remains of two red wax seals, and backed with paper. With the receipt stamp of the London & County Bank. The letter is in French, and signed 'Persiani' and relates to a payment from the Russian exchequer, drawn on Baring Brothers of London, to Alexandre Mintshaki, son of 'Son Excellence Mme. Sophie Mintschaki, défunte'. Malet's note reads: 'I certify the above to be the signature of Monsieur Persiani 1st. Secretary of the Russian Legation at Athens.

1p., 8vo. With mourning border. In fair condition, on aged and lightly-ruckled paper. After exclaiming 'How kind of you!' Pinero explains that he has been 'inoculated regularly since the autumn, and it has done me no good'. He continues: 'No, I won't say that; I might have been worse but for the injections.' He concludes by stating that he will show Shore's letter to his doctor, 'to prick his conscience'.

1p., 12mo. In fair condition, on creased and aged paper. Docketted on reverse: 'Ld de Blaquiere to Sir R A | 1772.' The letter begins: 'It may give you some pleasure to hear, & it may be of some use to you, to know; that Ld. Harcourt is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. I have not however the merit of giving you the intelligence, it is, by my Lord's desire, and His Lordship tells me [last four words deleted] that I shall certainly attend him to that Country as the principal secretary.' He concludes by inviting Ainslie, on Harcourt's behalf, to dinner the following day.

1p., foolscap 8vo. In fair condition, on aged paper, with minor repair to reverse. A printed document, completed in McKenzie's autograph and signed by him, with the signature of 'Glasgow' at the head. Note: Frederick Pirani was appointed acting professor of mathematics at Melbourne University in 1874, and in 1893, he was elected to the New Zealand parliament."

1p., 4to. Good, on aged paper, with small central spike hole made by recipient. The letter reads: 'Mr Bowyer begs Mr Hookham will send him the following Books as soon as possible | Parkhursts Lexicon for the Greek Testament[;] Smarts translation of Virgil; a translation of Sallust; there is one I do not know by whom it is translated it is in columns one side English and the other latin.' Postscript: 'Send them to Lady Bowyer Tunbridge Wells Kent'. A note in a contemporary hand at the foot of the page identifies the author as 'Sr. Geo B MP on Cathc.

Both documents 1p., folio. Both in good condition, on lightly-aged laid paper, the first with pin-holes from its attachment to another item. The first letter relates to 'the Expences incurred in constructing the Royal Military Canal', with reference to a 'Letter from Sir B[rook]. Watson Bt' and 'Lieut. Col. Brown's Accounts for expenditure'. The second letter again deals with communications from Watson and Brown, the latter 'enclosing Accounts & Vouchers for the Expenditure on the Royal Military Canal & Rampart'.

2pp., 12mo. In fair condition, on aged paper with small closed tear along fold line. He is not sure whether, 'as a Permanent Official', he could attend Campion's meeting in Cambridge on 24 October, 'though I very sincerely wish well to your cause'. He has in any case 'accepted an invitation to a great dinner which the Lord Mayor gives on that day to Sir F. Roberts who goes to India as Commander in Chief.' He is not a great attender of public dinners, 'but this will be a large gathering ofr Indian soldiers and civilians, and I could not decline'.

2pp., 8vo. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper, with slight discoloration to reverse of second leaf, which also bears traces of mount along one edge. Addressed, on reverse of second leaf, to 'The Attorney General | &c &c &c | J R G Graham'. This letter - an unusually detailed survival for a communication from one officer of state to another during this period - concerns a House of Commons debate on the 'Moral and Religious Education of the Working Classes', held on 28 February 1843, and extensively reported in The Times, 1 March 1843, pp.3-4.

Austen-Leigh's three letters are all signed 'R A Austen Leigh'. ONE: ALS to Vellacott. 3 May 1942; 'as from | D2 Albany | Piccadilly W.1'. 2pp., 12mo. He asks if Vellacott can 'enlighten me on the following point - I am editing some letters of Dr. Goodall, who was Provost of Eton 1809 to 1840. There follows a sixteen-line transcript of a letter written in May 1838 from Goodall to his brother, regarding which he writes: 'Who would Mr.

3pp., folio. Bifolium on grey paper. Addressed on reverse of second leaf to 'A. J. B. Beresford Hope | Esq | Arklow House', with Penny Red stamp and postmarks. In good condition, on aged paper, with some discoloration to the reverse of the second leaf. Printed in red at the head of the first page: 'THIS REPORT IS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL.

1p., 4to. In very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. With envelope, addressed by Cubitt to 'C F Stuart Esqre | 20 New Norfolk Street | Park Lane', with red wax seal and postmarks, and docketted 'Mr Cubitt. Engineer'. He has received Stuart's letter of 17 May, and has 'since seen Mr. Buchanan with all the Reports Plans Instr[ucti]ons &c &c relative to the question of interference with Lord Blantyre's property', and he will 'more fully examine' them 'during the recess of Parliament'. He has 'also seen & consulted with Mr.

The case was fully reported in The Times, with the issue for 14 April 1842 reporting the pronouncing of the sentence of death on 'Robert Sandys, a stout built Irishman, having a pale and haggard appearance, who was found guilty at the last assizes for this county [Chester] of the diabolical murder of his children by poison, in order to obtain a few pounds from a burial society of which he was a member'. 4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Headed 'Private' by Graham.

2pp., 12mo. In fair condition, on aged paper, with traces of mount adhering at head of reverse of leaf. Regarding Smith's 'note with reference to the selection of a gentleman to fill the office of Chaplain at the Portland Convict Depôt', he writes that he must 'defer the consideration of this question, as it must necessarily be yet some considerable period before the works at the Island are sufficiently advanced for the reception of Convicts'.

4pp., 16mo. Bifolium. On aged and worn paper, with small spike-hole on one leaf. The letter begins: 'I am sorry to say that the poor man from whom I removed the large tumour has died of Erysipilas - It is a great pity - but one of those results over which we have little or no control - Perhaps the inflammation was a kind of continuance of that which he had on him when the operation was done'. He points out that 'at the present time the Hospital [i.e. King's College Hospital] is remarkably free from Erysipilas - a thing which few of us in London can boast much about in general'.

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. On aged and worn paper with small spike-hole to one leaf. The letter begins: 'A hare and a pheasant delivered here the other day with F.A.B. Reading upon the parchment card - the initials, I immediately concluded of my old friend Mr. Bulley and the first information that he still lives after a certain bloody deed performed upon him many months ago.

1p., 12mo. In very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. 'If you would ever care to look round King Edward's very archaic Oxford abode, I can shew you it, with engravings of its details in his day - coloured and otherwise. It is a nice old house - half Elizabethan, half Queen Anne.' He concludes by explaining that he is 'at Westminster all the middle days of the week, save in the recess', and so requires notice. From the H. E. Wortham papers.

2pp., 4to. Aged and creased, mounted in windowpane on leaf removed from album. Liscard Hall was built for the former Mayor of Liverpool and slave-ship captain Sir John Tobin. Allen writes that since arriving there he has 'painted too little subjects', and that he has 'a wish' to 'leave them behind me - but not unframed - size of Pictures 16in: x 12in:' If Cobbett does not have 'two tolerable frames of that size' he asks him to order two: 'I do not require the "best double distilled - extra hyper - superfine" - but something tolerably good looking'.

1p., 12mo. On trimmed wove paper. Aged and worn, with traces of mount on reverse. 24 lines, arranged in six four-line stanzas, beneath the title 'New Version to an Old Nursery Rhyme.' The poem - based on 'Sing a song of sixpence' - begins: 'Sing a song of Thousand Guineas, | Pockets full of brass; | Rate-payer's money's nought to me, | I'll squander it like an ass. | Sing a song of Royal Visit, | Ain't I a man of sense | To shake hands and sit with Royalty, | At Rate-payers expence.

Four pages, 4to, bifolium, minor staining, fold mark, mainly good condition. Sir Walter orders a pair of boots for fishing, giving full detail of dimensions etc. John Younger, boot/shoe maker, saying first of all how long it takes and what steps he'd altready taken (29 Sept.) and then giving instructions on how to use and maintain the boots (including a response to Walter Scott's revelation that he wears worsted stockings under large boots. I'm informed that this was supposed to have been pasted into a copy of Younger's Autobiography (as it was into the NLS copy).

3pp., 4to. On bifolium. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, with closed tears along fold lines. He begins: 'Dear Sir Edward | I owe you & the Council of the "Artists General Benenvolent Institution" a most humble &

26pp., 12mo, paginated [527]-552. Unbound and stapled. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper, with rusted staples and punch-hole in top left-hand corner. Scarce: no copies traced on either COPAC or WorldCat.

1p., 12mo. In good condition, on aged paper, with a closed tear along a fold line unobtrusively repaired with archival tape. Addressed at foot to 'F. Palgrave Esqr' (he would not be knighted until 1832), beside which Palgrave has written: 'Mr. Crofton Croker. | Author of Fairy Legends of the South of Ireland &c.' The text of the letter reads: 'My dear Sir | I ought to apologize for not replying to your invitation for Wednesday evening last. - My excuse must be that I did not return to town until yesterday and that your note reached me on Friday at Brighton.'

3pp., 4to. In very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. With stamped envelope, bearing Bhavnagar and Harrow postmarks, with typed address to 'R. T. Hughes, Esq. | Aboyne, | Harrow-on-the-Hill. | England.' He begins by thanking Hughes for the 'very pleasant surprise' of 'the unique photograph'. 'It is very kind of you and Mrs.

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Docketted by recipient 'Mr. Robinson on my Spanish portraits.' A pencil note identifies the writer as 'Hy Reeve', perhaps the journalist Henry Reeve (1813-1895).

3pp., 16mo. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged paper. He is posting a watch, which he describes as his 'small offering to Michael'. 'Please tell your husband that my wife is honestly much pleased with the excellent drawing of my "honest phiz", as Calverley calls it, though from her intimate knowledge of the original she thinks certain points open to criticism.' He continues in the same vein on the same topic for a page.

2pp., 12mo. In fair condition, on aged paper, with slight creasing and chipping at head. In answer to an enquiry, he states regarding 'the Portrait of the Marchioness of Abercorn' that 'though Mr Moon & I have not yet completed our arrangements I consider that the Plate is his property & not mine as you appear to have been informed'. He concludes by thanking him 'for the favorable opinion you are pleased to express both of the plate in question & the engraving'.

1p., 4to. On blue-grey paper. In good condition, lightly-aged. He has been trying to get her a acopy of the print, but will not be able to until the following Tuesday. He hopes that this is not too late, and it will give him 'much pleasure in sending it up'.

1p., 12mo. Good, on lightly-aged paper. 'Allow me to thank you and through you the members of the Hertfordshire Arts Society for your kind congratulations upon the honour the King confers upon me and upon the Gallery in the work of which I am privileged to assist'.