In December, 1837, Carlyle wrote a very remarkable letter to a
correspondent in India, which has never been printed in his works,
and which we are enabled to give here entire. It is addressed to Major
David Lester Richardson, in acknowledgment of his "Literary Leaves,
or Prose and Verse," published at Calcutta in 1836. These "Literary
Leaves" contain among other things an article on the Italian Opera
(taking much the same view of it as Carlyle does), and a sketch of
Edward Irving. These papers no doubt pleased Carlyle, and perhaps led
him to entertain a rather exaggeratedly high opinion of the rest of
the book.
THOMAS CARLYLE TO DAVID LESTER RICHARDSON.
"5, Cheyne Row, Chelsea, London,
"_19th December_, 1837.
"My DEAR SIR,
"Your courteous gift, with the letter accompanying it, reached me only
about a week ago, though dated 20th of June, almost at the opposite
point of the year. Whether there has been undue delay or not is
unknown to me, but at any rate on my side there ought to be no delay.
"I have read your volume--what little of it was known to me before,
and the much that was not known--I can say, with true pleasure.
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