August 12. 1897 My dear Murray I am much in / need of your help in a little / matter – and briefly it is this - / There appeared a week ago in / one of the newspapers some reproductions / from designs by Richmond for the / new mosaics in St. Paul’s / And one of them – an outstretched / figure of Christ on a tree whose / branches filled the lunette was so / very like the one I made for St. Paul’s / American Ch. In Rome, that the / similarity was noticed by many / & reported to me. / And I ? having a little / controversy with Richmond on the / subject / I was under the impression that / my treatment of the subject was / new – but I know too well how / memory fails me – and it may be that / Christ on the Tree of Life has been / done before – but I can’t remember / it. In the newspaper account / of the designs it is stated that / he found that treatment in an / old MS. But in a letter / from him to-day he say that / he found it in S. Clemente. / Could you find out for me if / there is any such design there / either in the Church or in / the pictures of the underground / church – it may be so – but / I should like to know for / certain – it still would not / affect the extraordinary resemblance / between my design of 4 years / ago, & his of to-day – but / still if it is possible to know / what the S. Clemente design is / I should be very glad. But not if it occasions you much / trouble – you may now be in / Rome, or may know some / Roman archaeologist who could / tell me. I specially don’t / want you to take trouble about / it – but I know no one lese / to appeal to. / believe me / Always your affect. / E. Burne-Jones
private / August 13th dear Murray. I wrote last night to / you about the mosaic bother - / this morning comes a letter / from R. [Richmond] - the authority is / no longer a MS - nor anything / in S. Clemente - it has / changed to S. Agnese in Rome / & to Sculpture in Rheims - / So don't bother at all / about it - I can't pursue / the matter all over / Europe - Come & see me / when you come back. / Yours Affc. EB-J