da Vinci) had hung in our room. 'Tis light
and pretty.
"Who art thou, fair one, who usurp'st the place
Of Blanch, the lady of the matchless grace?
Come, fair and pretty, tell to me
Who in thy lifetime thou mightst be?
Thou pretty art and fair,
But with the Lady Blanch thou never must compare.
No need for Blanch her history to tell,
Whoever saw her face, they there did read it well;
But when I look on thee, I only know
There lived a pretty maid some hundred years ago,"
This is a little unfair, to tell so much about ourselves, and to advert
so little to your letter, so full of comfortable tidings of you all But
my own cares press pretty close upon me, and you can make allowance.
That you may go on gathering strength and peace is my next wish to
Mary's recovery.
I had almost forgot your repeated invitation. Supposing that Mary will
be well and able, there is another _ability_ which you may guess at,
which I cannot promise myself. In prudence we ought not to come. This
illness will make it still more prudential to wait. It is not a balance
of this way of spending our money against another way, but an absolute
question of whether we shall stop now, or go on wasting away the little
we have got beforehand, which my evil conduct has already encroached
upon one-half. My best love, however, to you all, and to that most
friendly creature.
Pages:
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185