verses to suit his "Agricultural Magazine." The Doctor, in the course of
the conversation, mentioned a poem called "Epigoniad" by one Wilkie, an
epic poem, in which there is not one tolerable good line all through,
but every incident and speech borrowed from Homer. George had been
sitting inattentive seemingly to what was going on--hatching of negative
quantities--when, suddenly, the name of his old friend Homer stung his
pericranicks, and, jumping up, he begged to know where he could meet
with Wilkie's work. "It was a curious fact that there should be such an
epic poem and he not know of it; and he _must_ get a copy of it, as he
was going to touch pretty deeply upon the subject of the Epic--and he
was sure there must be some things good in a poem of 1400 lines!" I was
pleased with this transient return of his reason and recurrence to his
old ways of thinking: it gave me great hopes of a recovery, which
nothing but your book can completely insure. Pray come on Monday if you
_can_, and stay your own time. I have a good large room, with two beds
in it, in the handsomest of which thou shalt repose a-nights, and dream
of Spheroides. I hope you will understand by the nonsense of this letter
that I am _not_ melancholy at the thoughts of thy coming: I thought it
necessary to add this, because you love _precision_. Take notice that
our stay at Dyer's will not exceed eight o'clock, after which our
pursuits will be our own. But indeed I think a little recreation among
the Bell Letters and poetry will do you some service in the interval of
severer studies. I hope we shall fully discuss with George Dyer what I
have never yet heard done to my satisfaction, the reason of Dr.
Johnson's malevolent strictures on the higher species of the Ode.

["Thy Black Back"--Manning's Algebra.

Dr. Anderson was James Anderson (1739-1808), the editor, at that time,
of _Recreations in Agriculture, Natural History, Arts, and Miscellaneous