Pagina 387 di 483

"It gave me the greatest pleasure to receive a letter from my

uncle dated at Paris; you are no longer at a formidable distance,

and I may hope to see you in less than a fortnight. My poor

cousin, how much you must have suffered! I expect to see you

looking even more ill than when you quitted Geneva. This winter

has been passed most miserably, tortured as I have been by

anxious suspense; yet I hope to see peace in your countenance and

to find that your heart is not totally void of comfort and

tranquillity.

"Yet I fear that the same feelings now exist that made you so

miserable a year ago, even perhaps augmented by time. I would not

disturb you at this period, when so many misfortunes weigh upon

you, but a conversation that I had with my uncle previous to his

departure renders some explanation necessary before we meet.