P. S. The evening post came just after I had finished, and brought me
a welcome letter from you. I open this for a few lines of answer.
Freddy must be _mad_. I hope to God, V. R. will keep his head. Can’t
you persuade him to go to South Africa? As long as you have made up
your mind not to see him till all is over, I should think it would be
a positive relief to have him where you _can’t_ see him. And if there
is danger--do pack him off. Who do you suppose can be putting Freddy
up to such devilment?--that creature? She may see revenge in it. Do
be careful. If you came a cropper now--I read your letter to Bertie
and he says he wishes you would chuck the whole thing and come over
here to us, and wait patiently for Freddy’s several diseases to finish
him. But I told him he never had been deeply in love--and he said he
was jolly glad he hadn’t. Well, I’ll say a prayer for you, out in the
forest--although I don’t believe it does a bit of good to pray for
any one but yourself. My theory is that by the intense absorption,
concentration, and faith of prayer, you put yourself into magnetic
communication with the great Divine Force pervading the Universe and
draw some of its strength into yourself. Sometimes the strength is
physical, or rather is directed to physical ends, as when one prays
a pain out; and at others one draws strength enough to endure and
overcome anything--but not without that intense concentration. The mere
babbling of a petition does no good. There you have the result of my
inner observations. Try it for yourself.