This place is beautiful--a burst of roses. Your friend Beaucourt (who
_will not_ put on his hat), has thinned the trees and greatly improved
the garden. Upon my life, I believe there are at least twenty distinct
smoking-spots expressly made in it.
And as soon as you can see your day in next month for coming over with
Stanny and Webster, will you let them both know? I should not be very
much surprised if I were to come over and fetch you, when I know what
your day is. Indeed, I don't see how you could get across properly
without me.
There is a fete here to-night in honour of the Imperial baptism, and
there will be another to-morrow. The Plorn has put on two bits of ribbon
(one pink and one blue), which he calls "companys," to celebrate the
occasion. The fact that the receipts of the fetes are to be given to the
sufferers by the late floods reminds me that you will find at the
passport office a tin-box, condescendingly and considerately labelled in
English: