The pain in my knee
Would not suffer me
To drink your bohea.
I can laugh and talk
But I cannot walk;
And I thought His Grace would stare,
If I put my leg on a chair.
And to give the knee its former power,
It must be fomented for half an hour;
And in this very disagreeable state
If I had come at all, I should have been too late."
JOHN MURRAY, 4_th June_ 1843.--"My youngest brother died suddenly,
leaving behind him 100,000 pounds and no will. A third of this therefore
fell to my share, and puts me at my ease for my few remaining years."
MRS GROTE, 17_th July_ 1843.--"I met Brunel at the Archbishop's and found
him a very lively and intelligent man. He said that when he coughed up
the piece of gold, the two surgeons, the apothecary, and physician all
joined hands, and danced round the room for ten minutes, without taking
the least notice of his convulsed and half-strangled state. I admire
this very much."
"I much doubt if I have ever gained 1500 pounds by my literary labours in
the course of my life" (31_st Aug._ 1843).
C. DICKENS, 21_st Feb._ 1844,--"Many thanks for the 'Christmas Carol,'
which I shall immediately proceed upon, in preference to six American
pamphlets . . . all promising immediate payment!"