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. . . . I am curious to know what you think about the restoration of the Papal titles, etc., in England.
It strikes me that all compromises like that of Puseyism must now be given up; and, however indiscreet it may have been in the good Pio Nono——as foolish people called him—to throw down the gauntlet, nothing remains for your National Church but to fight it out with him on the most absolute grounds of Protestantism, or to fall before dissent in its many forms.
However, I am only a looker — on from a great distance.
Dominus providebit. Protestantism, in some shape or other, must prevail.
Mrs. Ticknor is writing to Lady Head, . . . . but there is no harm in adding her kindest regards to mine and the daughters' for both of you. Duplicates in such cases are like surplusage in law, non nocent.
Yours faithfully,
To Sir Edmund Head.
Boston, January 7, 1851.
my dear Sir Edmund,—Mrs. Ticknor some days ago told Lady Head that the fine copy of good old ‘Abbot Martinez’ had come safely to hand, and I now add my sincere thanks for it, as a curious book, out of which I have already dug one fact of some consequence to me, which I was never able elsewhere to settle as exactly as I wanted to. I like these old chronicling histories, full of monkish traditions, and often waste a deal of time over them.
Lately I have been looking again over another sort of book, on similar matters, and—so far as I can judge—one of very accurate and rare learning; I mean Dozy, ‘Recherches sur l'histoire politique et litteraire de l'espagne, pendant le moyen âge,’ Tom. I. The author, I believe, is a Dutchman, and certainly writes in most detestable French; but his knowledge of the Arabic history of Spain, and his access to original materials for it, are quite remarkable.
The way in which he shows up the Cid as a savage marauder, who burnt people alive by the dozen and committed all sorts of atrocities, sometimes against Christians and sometimes against Moors, with a considerable air of impartiality, is truly edifying.
Once he hits upon a man who had seen the Cid, and so gives a coup-de-grace to Masdeu, if indeed that person of clumsy learning has survived the blows given him by others.
For all he says, Master Dozy gives the original Arabic, with translations, and generally relies 