thought about, you both, even much, much more.  You will never know how I love you both; or what you have been to me in America, and will always be to me everywhere; or how fervently I thank you.

All the working of the ship seems to be done on my forehead.  It is scrubbed and holystoned (my head—­not the deck) at three every morning.  It is scraped and swabbed all day.  Eight pairs of heavy boots are now clattering on it, getting the ship under sail again.  Legions of ropes’-ends are flopped upon it as I write, and I must leave off with Dolby’s love.

    Thursday, 30th.

Soon after I left off as above we had a gale of wind, which blew all night.  For a few hours on the evening side of midnight there was no getting from this cabin of mine to the saloon, or vice versa, so heavily did the sea break over the decks.  The ship, however, made nothing of it, and we were all right again by Monday afternoon.  Except for a few hours yesterday (when we had a very light head wind), the weather has been constantly favorable, and we are now bowling away at a great rate, with a fresh breeze filling all our sails.  We expect to be at Queenstown between midnight and three in the morning.

I hope, my dear Fields, you may find this legible, but I rather doubt it; for there is motion enough on the ship to render writing to a landsman, however accustomed to pen and ink, rather a difficult achievement.  Besides which, I slide away gracefully from the paper, whenever I want to be particularly expressive.....

——­, sitting opposite to me at breakfast, always has the following items:  A large dish of porridge, into which he casts slices of butter and a quantity of sugar.  Two cups of tea.  A steak.  Irish stew.  Chutnee, and marmalade.  Another deputation of two has solicited a reading to-night.  Illustrious novelist has unconditionally and absolutely declined.

    More love, and more to that, from your ever affectionate friend,

    C.D.

His first letter from home gave us all great pleasure, for it announced his complete recovery from the severe influenza that had fastened itself upon him so many months before.  Among his earliest notes I find these paragraphs:—­

“I have found it so extremely difficult to write about America (though never so briefly) without appearing to blow trumpets on the one hand, or to be inconsistent with my avowed determination not to write about it on the other, that I have taken the simple course enclosed.  The number will be published on the 6th of June.  It appears to me to be the most modest and manly course, and to derive some graceful significance from its title.....

“Thank my dear ——­ for me for her delightful letter received on the 16th.  I will write to her very soon, and tell her about the dogs.  I would write by this post, but that