[Thanks her for her kind words about his verses on the Inauguration; tells her about his new poem of two or three hundred lines which he has been working on in spite of pressing official duties; the poem is a ghost story set at an old convent in the vicinity of Rome and entitled The Skeleton Monk , "It contains several scenes which might be effectively illustrated -and although it is rather brief, for such a purpose, if it were possible for me to have it handsomely printed in clear large type - interspersed with such illustrations as could be prepared by Darley -I think it might be made an attractive little book"; and asks "Have you any acquaintance with Senator Hunter of Virginia or Crittenden of Kentucky ? If it were possible for me to gain an influence over either of those gentlemen at this time, it would probably be almost equivalent to obtaining a fortune."]