"50 Wimpole Street.
Decr 1.
My dear Mrs Jameson
I receive your letter, as I must do every sign of your
being near & inclined to think of me in kindness, .. gladly, .. and assure
you at once that whenever you can spend a half hour on me, you will find me
enough myself to have a true pleasure in welcoming you .. say on any day except
next saturday or the monday immediately following."
Hmm...wonder what she has planned for Saturday and Monday?
"As soon as I heard of your return to England I ventured
to hope that some good might come of it to me in my room here, besides the
general good, which I look for with the rest of the public, when the censer
swings back into the midst of us again. And how good of you, dear Mrs Jameson,
to think of me there where the perfumes were set burning! it makes me glad &
proud, that you should have been able to do so. Also the kind wishes which came
with the thoughts, (you say) were not in vain—for I have been very idle &
very well—the angel of the summer has done more for me even than usual,
.. & till the last wave of his wing, I took myself to be quite well & at
liberty .. & even now I am as well as anyone can be who has heard the
prison-door shut for a whole winter at least, & knows it to be the only
English alternative of a grave. Which is a gloomy way of saying that I am well
but forced to shut myself up with disagreeable precautions all round—and I ought
to be grateful instead of gloomy. Believe me that I shall be so when you
come to see me, .. remaining in the meanwhile most truly yours
Elizabeth Barrett B–"
As for being idle, we will allow her a bit of a, shall we say 'exaggeration' because she certainly she is never going to whip out her portfolio and show Mrs. Jameson the sonnets she has been writing about a certain Mr. B. Otherwise, perhaps she has been a bit idle.
No comments:
Post a Comment