lodged, and attended, as any reasonable man of fashion in his travels. I would have you have that pocket-money that should enable you to make the proper expense, d'un honnête homme. In short, I bar no expense, that has neither vice nor folly for its object; and under those two reasonable restrictions, draw and welcome. [Same date.]
A Portrait.—So many of my letters have miscarried,
and I know so little which, that I am forced
to repeat the same thing over and over again eventually.
This is one. I have wrote twice to Mr.
Harte, to have your picture drawn in miniature,
while you were at Venice, and to send it me in a
letter: it is all one to me, whether in enamel or in
water-colors, provided it is but very like you. I
would have you drawn exactly as you are, and in
no whimsical dress. I lay more stress upon the
likeness of the picture, than upon the taste and skill
of the painter. If this be not already done, I desire
that you will have it done forthwith, before you
leave Venice; and enclose it in a letter to me; which
letter, for greater security, I would have you desire
Sir James Gray to enclose in his packet to the office;
as I, for the same reason, send this under his cover.
If the picture be done upon vellum, it will be the
most portable. Send me, at the same time, a thread
