r my father, and an indulgent good-will
toward me, which I do not hope to find elsewhere. I like Bath very
much; I have not been here since I was six years old, when I spent
a year here in hopes of being _bettered_ by my aunt, Mrs. Twiss. A
most forlorn hope it was. I suppose in human annals there never
existed a more troublesome little brat than I was for the few years
after my first appearance on this earthly stage.

This town reminds me a little of Edinburgh. How glad I shall be to
see Edinburgh once more! I expect much pleasure, too, from the
pleasure of my aunt Dall, who some years ago spent some very happy
time in Edinburgh, and who loves it from association. And then,
dear H----, I am looking forward to seeing you once more; I shall
be with you somewhere in the beginning of June. I have had my first
rehearsal here this morning, "Romeo and Juliet;" the theatre is
much smaller than Covent Garden, which rather inconveniences me, as
a novelty, but the audience will certainly benefit by it. My
fellow-laborers amuse me a good deal; their versions of Shakespeare
are very droll. I wonder what your Irish ones will be. I am
fortunate in my Romeo, inasmuch as he is one of my cousins; he has
the family voice and manner very strongly, and at any rate does not
murder the text of Shakespeare. I have no more time to spare now,
for I must get my tea and go to the theater. I must tell you,
though, of an instance of provincial prudery (delicacy, I suppose I
ought to call it) which edified us not a little at rehearsal this
morning: the Mercutio, on seeing the nurse and Peter, called out,
"A sail, a sail!" and terminated the speech in a significant
whisper, which, being literally inaudible, my mother, who was with
me on the stage, very innocently asked, "Oh, does the gentleman
leave out the shirt and the smock?" upon which we were informed
that "body linen" was not so much as to be hinted at before a truly
refined Bath audience. How particular we are growing--_in word!_ I
am much afraid my father will shock them with the speech of that
scamp Mercutio in all its pristine purity and precision. Good-by,
dear H----. Ever your affectionate

F. A. K.

P.S.--My mother desires to be particularly remembered to you