Montague House
15 September 1871.
My dear Sir,
Half an hour after posting my letter to you, I found your letter of 1 September between the leaves of my work-book. I believe I replied to your question on nu bila. I think you will see in p 758 that <cuneiform> can hardly be “who.” I agree with you as to Spiegel’s translation in p 927 – The passage in p 935 is difficult. I should think Sennacherib’s images were worn out and thrown into a pit, good enough for confining enemies. I forgot how Smith renders the passage, but think I have nearly followed him. I am glad you are printing again, and shall be more <illeg> to get your K 131. Is it from the photograph?
I shall not discontinue my work till I am worn out; I only spoke from a feeling of increased weakness, which Worthing has not yet begun to relieve; considering that I did not print my first sheet till nearly the end of my 71st year I could hardly have expected to do so much. I am by no means weary of my task, and I hope to die in harness; in fact I should be wretched without it, being deprived by many infirmities of the activity I delighted in when a younger man.
Your note refers my unhappy Napúkória of p 957 th is as good a proof your penetration as of Smiths cleverness; I have his p. 32<5?> here, but I never have read anything beyond his p 300 until now, and I am astonished at his sagacity. But although I have brought with me a hundred weight of mss, I fear I have not got the sheet 16 of vol. III, and cannot therefore go further into this, until I go home again. The sheet may be here, but in lodgings my papers are quite disarranged. I am however obliged to you for the notice. I shall try to give the whole of to-morrow to the latter sheets of Smith’s really valuable book.
I fear you will hardly read this, my hand is so shaky; and I suppose I must attribute to my slow writing the frequent omission of words. I have more than an hour in writing this.
Yours faithfully
Edwin Norris.
H Fox Talbot Esq
&c &c &c