vent for the little girls and their governess, who
all send "love and duty to papa and mamma."

There is another letter to Bessie, still in London, though the parents
have returned to Oxford, which gives a happy picture of last days there.
Bessie sends as farewell presents some of the little chains which she
makes, and the sisters sew them together for her. The father receives a
farewell presentation of plate, the elder girls darn rents in the gowns
of their friends, the Fellows of Brasenose, and so on it runs:--

MY DEAR BESSIE--I write to you now in a great hurry to tell you to
send Mr. Melville's chain to-morrow by Mr. ----, as I expect we
shall see him some time to-morrow, and I could sew it for him. I
sent the mat on Tuesday, and when he came to tea in the evening he
said he must come to thank you for it to-day; but as I told him he
would not be able to see Sarah and Henrietta after this week, he
seemed to say that he should wait till next week to see you, which
I hope you will think quite fair. The plate was presented to papa
yesterday. The address was short, but a very nice one, and I
suspect chiefly written by Mr. ----. Papa's answer I have not seen,
as he had only one copy, which he left with the Vice-Principal. We
were none of us there, which I am almost sorry for, although it
would very likely have been too much for us. Papa is delighted
beyond measure with it.... We went last night to drink tea at
aunt's, and then went to sleep at the Barnes's. We are going to
dinner there to-night and sleep, for there is not a bed here. The
glasses and all the pictures are gone, and that has made the house
more deplorable than ever. Miss A. is here now, and seems pretty
well. You know that Mary and I have been mending Mr. A.'s gown for
him.

He came this morning for it and stayed some time. He said he could
not have got it done anywhere else so nicely; that is a long darn
that Mary did for him. The B.'s have told Mr. W. that they will
keep their acquaintance with him for our sakes, so that he will not
be quite deserted; are not you glad of it? Will you ask Miss Lander
to send word where she left her Punch and Judy? If she doesn't
remember, I daresay it will be found; but we have not seen it.
There is a chance, I believe, of Mr. A.'s taking Selham, but you
must not say anything