If her conversation is what it was—­and more so, her hospitality, her generosity—­and her admirable management of the girls and the house is as A1 as ever.  I never saw a prettier, jollier, nicer set of girls.  H——­ is growing very charming, I think.  I believe the secret of her success, in spite of that extraordinary fitful intellect of hers, is that one never learns anything well but what one learns willingly, and that she makes life so much more pleasant and reasonable that the girls work themselves, and so get on.

It’s getting late!  Good-night.  I wish we met oftener!

Ever your very loving sister,
J.H.E.

Have you seen March A.J.M.?  I particularly want you to read a thing of mine called “Our Garden.”  I’ll send it if you can’t get it.

For Private Circulation Only.

(Oh, Charles!  Charles!)

Time, 2 p.m.  Julie in bed for the sake of “perfect quiet.”  M.M. “without a moment to spare.”

“I SEE I’m tiring you—­I shall NOT stop—­I haven’t a moment—­I can’t speak—­I’ve given lessons on the mixed Languages this morning—­and paid all my bills—­Mr. B——­ has called—­he’s better-looking than I thought, but too much hair—­and the BREWER all over—­you look very white—­you’re killing yourself—­why DO you DO it?—­and U——­’s as bad—­I mean D——.  Dear me! what a pleasure it has been!  When I THINK of Ecclesfield!!!!  You are NOT to kill yourself—­I forbid it—­why should you work for daily bread as I have to do?—­Our bread bill doesn’t exceed L4 a week—­I mean a month—­TEN pounds a month for groceries and wine—­spirits we never have in the house—­you’ve seen all that we have—­when I was senseless and Dr. F——­ called—­when the other doctors came he left his card and retired, but we’ve employed him since—­he ordered gin cloths—­they sent out—­when the bill came in I said Brown!  BROWN!  BROWN!!—­what’s this? GIN!  GIN!  GIN!  WHO’S ’ad GIN!  They said YOU!  Such is life!

“Dear, dear, IT is a pleasure to see you—­but I see your head’s bad and I’m going—­I MUST dress.—­May I ring your bell for the maid—­a black silk, Julie, good and well cut is economical, my dear.  No underground to Whiteley’s for me!  Lewis and Allenby—­they dress me—­I order nothing—­I know nothing—­I haven’t a rag of clothing in the world—­they line the bodices with silk and you can darn it down to the last—­I eat nothing—­I drink nothing—­I only work—­I never sleep—­I read German classics in bed—­Lessing—­and the second part of Schiller’s Faust—­I give lessons on it before breakfast in my dressing-gown—­this morning the young ladies hung on my lips—­I know the lesson was a good one—­It was the Sorrows of Goethe.  Last week Dr. Zerffi said—­’All religions are one and one religion is all—­particularly the Brahmas.’  It was splendid! and none of the young ladies knew it before they came.  But Poor Mrs. S——!  She didn’t seem one bit wiser.  I sent him