Letter from C [Charles] Pritchard, Freshwater, to Sir John [Frederick William Herschel] Rather keep Herschel's Homeric manuscript he sent it off and gives thanks for the pleasure of reading it. He discusses the encouragement of English hexameters through Herschel's translation of 'The Iliad' citing the example in Book 4, the wounding of Menelaus, where Herschel has 'distanced all previous' versions, so perfect that he is almost a covert to English hexameters, but he notes his reservations. [Philip Stanhope] Worsley is there, but Pritchard prefers [William] Cowper's 'Odyssey' to his. He does not think the Spenserian stanza would suit 'The Iliad'. The best chance would be to break up the epic and adopt various metres to the fragments, with hexameters getting a share. 6 January 1866