His letters, which had hitherto been very natural and pretty, began to smack of the library, and please less than those written in early boyhood.

His pen was overcharged with the metaphors and phrases of other men; and it was not till maturing powers had enabled him to master and arrange the vast masses of literature which filled his memory that his native force could display itself freely through the medium of a style which was all his own.

In 1815 he began a formal literary correspondence, after the taste of the previous century, with Mr.Hudson, a gentleman in the Examiner's Office of the East India House.
Aspenden Hall: August 22, 1815.
Dear Sir,--The Spectator observes, I believe in his first paper, that we can never read an author with much zest unless we are acquainted with his situation.

I feel the same in my epistolary correspondence; and, supposing that in this respect we may be alike, I will just tell you my condition.

Imagine a house in the middle of pretty large grounds, surrounded by palings.