[Sir Theodore Martin, Scottish poet and author.] Autograph Letter Signed to ‘Mrs. Thomas’, discussing the Duke of Wellington’s mode of pronunciation, elementary education, King Lear and Shakespeare scholar H. H. Furness.

A good letter, not the least of whose interest lies in the fact that it provides first-hand information about the Duke of Wellington. See Martin’s entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. Begins: ‘Dear Mrs. Thomas, / Your variant of the King Lear story will, I am sure, delight Mr. Furness. Unfortunately King Lear has already been dealt with by him. It forms one volume of his magnificent Edition. But he loves every thing that concerns old England. My own impression is that Shakespeare had seen & talked with many Welshmen, & did his best to record their mode of speech as well as the peculiarities of their character. Scotchmen he had fewer opportunities to observe.’ He continues on the subject of the word ‘Rome’, which he as often pronounced ‘room’: ‘The great Duke of Wellington so pronounced it, just as he always said “Lunnon” & not “London.” In poetry of the 17th & 18th Centuries the rhyme almost always implies the pronunciation “Room.”’ He bewails ‘Elementary Education’, asking if it will cause the loss of traditions and ‘manners & morals of an older day’. Although the weather is ‘bitterly cold’ both he and Lady Martin are ‘all the better for being here’. The letter concludes: ‘I am writing in a day or two to Mr. Furness & shall send him on what your Quarrymen have said, along with the variant.’