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ED; E757| 52
L52.1Hayley12'04; E757|
To William Hayley Esqre Felpham
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near Chichester, Sussex
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Sth Molton St 4 Decr. 1804
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Dear Sir
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I have omitted so long to thank you for your kind &
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admirable Present in hopes to send Proofs of my plates but can no
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longer wait for them but must express my own & my wifes high
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gratification in the perusal of your elegant & pathetic Poem. To
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say that Venusia is as beautiful as Serena is only expressing
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private opinion which will vary in each individual, but to say
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that she is Your Daughter & is like You, to say "tis a Girl.
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promising Boys hereafter" & to say God bless her for she is a
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peerless Jewel for a Prince to wear & that we are both highly
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delighted is what I could not longer omit to say.
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---Proofs of my Plates will wait on you in a few days. in the
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mean while I conclude this hasty scrawl with sincere thanks for
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your kind proposal in your Last letter. I have not yet been able
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to meet Phillips--Wilkes was not out when I calld nor any more of
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Washington. But I have mentiond your Proposal to our Noble
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Flaxman whose high & generous Spirit relinquishing the whole to
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me was in some measure to be Expected. But that he has reasons
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for not being able to furnish any designs You will readily
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believe he says his Engagements are so multiform that he should
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not be able to do them Justice. but that he will overlook &
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advise & do all that he can to make my designs (should
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they ever be attempted) What he Can. & I know his What he
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Can will be full as much as he pretends so that I should not
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fear to produce Somewhat in this way that must be satisfactory
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the only danger will be that I shall put my Name to his Designs
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but if it should fall out so he has Enough & to Spare & the World
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will know his at once & I shall glory in the Discovery. for
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Friendship with such a one is better than Fame! -- I was about to
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have written to you to express my wish that two so unequal
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labourers might not be yoked to the same Plow & to desire you if
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you could to get Flaxman to do the whole because I thought it
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would be (to say the best of myself) like putting John Milton
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with John Bunyan but being at Flaxmans taking his advice about
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our Engravings he mentiond his having recievd a Letter from you
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on the same Day I recievd mine & said somewhat, I cannot tell
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what, that made me think you had open'd your Proposal to him-- I
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thought at any rate it would not be premature to tell him what
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you had said about the Designs for Edward the first. & he advised
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it to be done as above related
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I will soon speak with Phillips about it if you will favor
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me with a line of direction how to proceed.--Hope in a few days
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to send Proofs of Plates which I must say are far beyond Any
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thing I have ever done. For O happiness never enough to be
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grateful for! I have lost my Confusion of Thought while at work &
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am as much myself when I take the Pencil or Graver into my hand
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as I used to be in my Youth I have indeed fought thro a Hell of
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terrors & horrors (which none could know but myself.) in a
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Divided Existence now no longer Divided. nor at war with myself I
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shall travel on in the Strength of the Lord God as Poor Pilgrim
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says
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My wife joins me in Love to You & to our Dear Friend &
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Friends at Lavant & in all Sussex
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I remain Dear Sir Your Sincere & obliged
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WILL BLAKE
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