dearest Oldie Here is Burney's final news / about the destroyed drawings - and / a list of the work lost - a miserable / packet it makes. - the photograph / mentioned was for me. he seems to / have worked desperately hard, poor little / fellow and the work is burnt ? / any of us could see it - he sent / me your letter of comment - which / I felt to be rather disheartening - / and I am responsible for the way / to which he failed to do what / you wanted - for I told him to / facsimile the forms with all his / might, and draw everything in clear light - for in all reproductions of / mosaic surfaces it has bothered / me extremely that in the shadows / I never could see one bit of / the figures - and I could / imagine the shadows but not the / figures / and I thought you wanted careful / maps that you could depend upon / and argue from. - so I misled / him - telling him really what I / wanted - we ought to have talked / it over together first and then I / could have said what is the truth / that he is so much more fitted / for the work I set him to than / for yours - for his strength in / colour is not great - but I / don't know in the world when / we shall find any one to take / his place in drawing - for I / know no one who can copy / so faithfully and well, who / would be content to do it or / put aside his own work for a / year to please us. - and now / the Devil has got it his own / dear flames about three months / hard work - which can't be done / again - but I suppose if it won't / I shall see them hanging up at / the devil's parlour. / Can't you give some more publicity to / the cry for funds - for instance / Litchfield (an old friend) wants / to subscribe but says - where? / and who will receive it - and / is £200 or £1000 wanted - and / he says others ask the same / - perhaps the people are really / burning to subscribe - won't you / give them a chance? of course / they won't, except Lichfield / who will - but they won't be able / to say how much they wanted / to. / And now what shall we do next / about St Mark: Rooke is / coming back to have his baby - born / then he will have to do his / own work at least for a time. / I know nobody else - only a few / enthusiasts who can't do anything. / and one or two who could copy / pretty well but who would hate / it all the time - bur confer with / me and say what you want and / I will try and find it - / your very / battered Ned