Kind messages, that pass from land to land;
Kind letters, that betray the heart's deep history,
In which we feel the pressure of a hand,--
One touch of fire,--and all the rest is mystery!
_The Seaside and the Fireside: Dedication_. H.W. LONGFELLOW.
Every day brings a ship,
Every ship brings a word:
Well for those who have no fear,
Looking seaward well assured
That the word the vessel brings
Is the word they wish to hear.
_Letters_. R.W. EMERSON.
And oft the pangs of absence to remove
By letters, soft interpreters of love.
_Henry and Emma_. M. PRIOR.
Here are a few of the unpleasant'st words
That ever blotted paper!
_Merchant of Venice, Act iii. Sc. 2_. SHAKESPEARE.
I will touch
My mouth unto the leaves, caressingly;
And so wilt thou. Thus from these lips of mine
My message will go kissingly to thine.
With more than Fancy's load of luxury,
And prove a true love-letter.
_Sonnet (With a Letter)_. J.G. SAXE.
Jove and my stars be praised! Here is yet a postscript.
_Twelfth Night, Act ii. Sc_. 5. SHAKESPEARE.
Go, little letter, apace, apace,
Fly;
Fly to the light in the valley below--
Tell my wish to her dewy blue eye.
_The Letter_. A. TENNYSON.