ver
saw; his face and ears were exquisite, his form and color magnificent,
his voice appalling, and the expression of his countenance the
tenderest, sweetest, and saddest you can conceive; I cannot imagine a
more beautiful brute. After admiring him we went to the stables, to see
a new horse Lord Dacre has just bought, and I left him being put through
his paces, to come and indite this letter to you....

We leave this place on Monday for London, at the thought of which I feel
half choked with smoke already. The Friday after, however, we go into
the country again, to the Arkwrights' and the Francis Egertons', and
then to Germany; so that our lungs and nostrils will be tolerably free
passages for vital air for some little time.

God bless you, dearest Harriet. I have filled my letter with such matter
as I had--too much with myself, perhaps, for any one but you; but unless
I write you an epic poem about King Charlemagne, I know not well what
else to write about here.

Ever affectionately yours,
FANNY.

THE HOO, Sunday, August 1st, 1841.
DEAREST HARRIET,

I wrote you the day before yesterday, and gave you a sort of journal of
that day's proceedings. I have nothing of any different interest to tell
you, inasmuch as our daily proceedings here are much of a muchness.

We return to town to-morrow afternoon, to my great regret; and I must,
immediately upon our doing so, remove the family to our new abode. I am
rather anxious to see how my father is; we left him in very low spirits,
... and I am anxious to see whether he has recovered them at all. I
think our visit to Sutton, where we go on Friday, will be of use to him;
for though he cordially dislikes the country and everything belonging to
its unexciting existence, he has always had a very great attachment for
Mrs. Arkwright, and perhaps, for so short a time as a week, he may be
able to resist the ennui of _l'innocence des champs_....

I am well, and have been enjoying myself extremely. I love the country
for itself; and the species of life which combines, as these people lead
it, the pleasures of the highest civilization with the wholesome
enjoyments which nature abounds in seems to me the perfection of
existence, and is always beneficial as well as delightful to me. I rode
yesterday a fine new horse Lord Dacre has just bought, and who