ssession of
robust health, we have not noticed the gradual approaches of decay;
we did not know its symptoms: the little cough, the small appetite,
the tendency to take cold at every variation of atmosphere have been
regarded as things of course. I see them in another light now.

'If you answer this, write to me as you would to a person in an
average state of tranquillity and happiness. I want to keep myself
as firm and calm as I can. While papa and Anne want me, I hope, I
pray, never to fail them. Were I to see you I should endeavour to
converse on ordinary topics, and I should wish to write on the
same--besides, it will be less harassing to yourself to address me as
usual.

'May God long preserve to you the domestic treasures you value; and
when bereavement at last comes, may He give you strength to bear
it.--Yours sincerely,

'C. BRONTE.'

TO W. S. WILLIAMS

'_February_ 1_st_, 1849.

'MY DEAR SIR,--Anne seems so tranquil this morning, so free from pain
and fever, and looks and speaks so like herself in health, that I too
feel relieved, and I take advantage of the respite to write to you,
hoping that my letter may reflect something of the comparative peace
I feel.

'Whether my hopes are quite fallacious or not, I do not know; but
sometimes I fancy that the remedies prescribed by Mr. Teale, and
approved--as I was glad to learn--by Dr. Forbes, are working a good
result. Consumption, I am aware, is a flattering malady, but
certainly Anne's illness has of late assumed a less alarming
character than it had in the beginning: the hectic is allayed; the
cough gives a more frequent reprieve. Could I but believe she would
live two years--a year longer, I should be thankful: I dreaded the
terrors of the swift messenger which snatched Emily from us, as it
seemed, in a few days.

'The parcel came yesterday. You and Mr. Smith do nothing by halves.
Neither of you care for being thanked, so I will keep my gratitude in
my own mind. The choice of books is perfect. Papa is at this moment
reading Macaulay's _History_, which he had wished to see. Anne is
engaged with one of Frederika Bremer's tales.

'I wish I could send a parcel in return; I