DEAR HENRY,--Very welcome in the parcel was your letter, very precious
your thoughts and tidings. It is one of the best things connected with
my coming hither that you could and would keep the homestead; that
fireplace shines all the brighter, and has a certain permanent glimmer
therefor. Thanks, ever more thanks for the kindness which I well
discern to the youth of the house: to my darling little horseman of
pewter, wooden, rocking, and what other breeds,--destined, I hope, to
ride Pegasus yet, and, I hope, not destined to be thrown; to Edith,
who long ago drew from you verses which I carefully preserve; and to
Ellen, whom by speech, and now by letter, I find old enough to be
companionable, and to choose and reward her own friends in her own
fashions. She sends me a poem to-day, which I have read three times!