[71] I am out of practice, so
_deputize_ you as legate,--_ambassador_ would not do in a matter
concerning the _Pope_, which I presume this must, as the _whole_ turns
upon a _Bull_.
"Yours,
"BYRON.
"P.S. I write in bed."
LETTER 13.
TO MISS ----.
"Cambridge, June 30. 1807.
"'Better late than never, Pal,'" is a saying of which you know the
origin, and as it is applicable on the present occasion, you will
excuse its conspicuous place in the front of my epistle. I am almost
superannuated here. My old friends (with the exception of a very few)
all departed, and I am preparing to follow them, but remain till
Monday to be present at three _Oratorios_, two _Concerts_, a _Fair_,
and a Ball. I find I am not only _thinner_ but _taller_ by an inch
since my last visit. I was obliged to tell every body my _name_,
nobody having the least recollection of my _visage_, or person. Even
the hero of _my Cornelian_ (who is now sitting _vis-a-vis_, reading a
volume of my _Poetics_) passed me in Trinity walks without recognising
me in the least, and was thunderstruck at the alteration which had
taken place in my countenance, &c. &c. Some say I look _better_,
others _worse_, but all agree I am _thinner_--more I do not require. I
have lost two pounds in my weight since I left your _cursed_,
_detestable_, and _abhorred_ abode of _scandal_,[72] where, excepting
yourself and John Becher, I care not if the whole race were consigned
to the _Pit of Acheron_, which I would visit in person rather than
contaminate my _sandals_ with the polluted dust of Southwell.
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