showed them to me was very [civil], and, understanding that I
was the famous Chevalier, carried her kindness as far as I could desire.
The Italians understand nothing of being in a hurry, but perhaps it is
their way.[510]

_January_ 24.--The King grants the favour asked. To be perfect I should
have the books [out] of the room, but this seems to [hurt?] Monsieur
Delicteriis as he, kind and civil as he is, would hardly [allow] me to
take my labours out of the Studij, where there are hosts of idlers and
echoes and askers and no understanders of askers. I progress, however,
as the Americans say. I have found that Sir William Gell's amanuensis
is at present disengaged, and that he is quite the man for copying the
romances, which is a plain black letter of 1377, at the cheap and easy
rate of 3 _quattrons_ a day. I am ashamed at the lowness of the
remuneration, but it will dine him capitally, with a share of a bottle
of wine, or, by 'r lady, a whole one if he likes it; and thrice the sum
would hardly do that in England. But we dawdle, and that there is no
avoiding. I have found another object in the Studij--the language of
Naples.

_Jany_. 2[5?].--One work in this dialect, for such it is, was described
to me as a history of ancient Neapolitan legends--_quite in my way_; and
it proves to be a dumpy fat 12mo edition of Mother Goose's Tales,[511]
with my old friends Puss in Boots, Bluebeard, and almost the whole stock
of this very collection. If this be the original of this charming book,
it is very curious, for it shows the right of Naples to the authorship,
but there are French editions very early also;--for there are
two--whether French or Italian, I am uncertain--of different dates, both
having claims to the original edition, each omitting some tales which
the other has.

To what common original we are to refer them the Lord knows. I will look
into [this] very closely, and if this same copiator is worth his ears he
can help me. My friend Mr. D. will aid me, but I doubt he hardly likes
my familiarity with the department of letters in which he has such an
extensive and valuable charge. Yet he is very kind and civil, and
promises me the loan of a Neapolitan vocabulary, which will set me up
for the attack upon Mother Goose. Spirit of Tom Thumb assist me! I
could, I think, make a neat thing of this, obnoxious to ridicule
perhaps;--what then! The author of _Ma Soeur Anne_ was a clever man, and
his tale will remain popular in spi