Letter from Thomas De Quincey, Rydal, to James Augustus Hessey, 1824 April 19 : autograph manuscript signed.

Sending the second half of a bill and asking Hessey to pay certain creditors on his behalf; saying that a manuscript is on its way and that he does not need to see the proofs, should he not arrive in London in time to see them there; referring to his opium addiction: "I have been reduced to this miserable dilemma: if I take no laudanum, I am in a state of semi-distraction - and cannot arrange my old thoughts, still less pursue fresh trains of thought : - on the other hand, if I take some 12 or 15 drops of laudanum - a violent indigestion comes on in 2 or 3 hours, and after that a return of bilious symptoms;" writing "I am anxious beyond measure to get as much published in this No. as possible;" commenting on how accurately a past article was printed; adding "In spite of the untoward circumstances under which I have written, the whole is - in substance - brought into the shape and arrangement which satisfy my own judgment and wishes;" writing in a postscript about the omission of the "De" in his name on the bill; saying "Excuse my paper : I have none better than this grim-looking sheet;" mentioning that he has just finished translating an article from German by a Mr. Schnachenberger; giving his opinions in detail about the current issue of the London Magazine; saying that he thinks Charles Lamb's article on "the ludicrous masquerade of physical nature in the hands of Chinese artists" is a failure; pointing out various printing errors: "The Ital. Sonnets are incorrectly printed and pointed. I'm the man for punctuation;" referring to William Hazlitt's writing on Windsor Castle; concluding "I have no seal : will you put yours to my letter - which, being to my wife, I should be loath to have pried into by such good but curious people as sometimes volunteer to carry our letters from Ambleside."