"Dear Sir,--I regret to inform you that the aspidistra has
perished. It never took kindly to us and started wilting on
the second day. As regards other _objets d'art_ once in the
drawing-room, but now seeking the seclusion of the box-room,
we are in a little difficulty. Before letting it go my
wife took the bearing of the marble how-now from the bamboo
what-not and made it 28° 20', quite forgetting, unfortunately,
that the what-not had also decided to lie fallow for a season.
Consequently, while the direction of the what-not-how-now
line is definitely fixed, their actual positions remain
unestablished. Is it too much to hope that when the time comes
for them to seek again the purer air of the drawing-room they
will be able to rely upon the guidance of an old friend like
yourself rather than upon that of two comparative strangers?