[undated; ca. December 1865*]

    My dear Nicholson,

        I cannot remember the longitude or latitude of my hearing from you or writing to you, and do not know whether I have to apologize for neglecting you, so absorbed (it seems) have I been. I cannot even tell whether I told you of my two months' devotion to Cuneiformism, and my study of the Medo-Persian and Scythian inscriptions as promeletemata of an article in the November Fraser's Magazine.

        I found the Assyrian useless to dabble in: it is so vast, so fragmentary, so embarrassed by dogmatic hypotheses and assertions, and deterring complications, that one must give oneself wholly to it for any chance of getting to its foundations. But I feel on perfectly solid ground in Medo-Persian or Scythian. Difficulties in them are like difficulties in Greek or Sancrit: this is all. In the Assyrian, I do not yet know whether to believe at least half of the characters, and many fundamental alleged principles; and I get no satisfaction in what I read. . . .

        The eight millions in the U.S. who are to be educated, stimulate me. I am dying to get into relations with some who will be practically engaged in it. . . . I was very gloomy about American affairs four or six weeks ago. The President seemed running fast to ruin. But his plans have happily broken down so early and so decidedly, that he is probably himself ashamed of them, and the people have rallied to oppose them. I now trust that all will come right.

[*Sieveking places this letter between 9-63 and 8-64; however, the mention of the article published in the November 1865 issue of Fraser's Magazine requires a later dating. Moreover, Newman's reference to his "gloomy" outlook in regard to American affairs appears to allude to those feelings expressed in his letter of 9-65 to Nicholson.—T. E. Jones.]