On the subject of the young people that you are interesting yourselves about, I will have the pleasure to talk to you, when I shall see you.  I live almost out of the world and out of the sphere of being useful; but no pains of mine shall be spared, if but a prospect opens of doing a service.  Could I do all I wish, and I indeed have grown helpless to myself and others, it must not satisfy the arrears of obligation I owe to Mr. Williams and yourself for all your kindness.

I beg you will turn in your mind and consider in what most comfortable way Miss Isola can leave your house, and I will implicitly follow your suggestions.  What you have done for her can never be effaced from our memories, and I would have you part with her in the way that would best satisfy yourselves.

I am afraid of impertinently extending my letter, else I feel I have not said half what I would say.  So, dear madam, till I have the pleasure of seeing you both, of whose kindness I have heard so much before, I respectfully take my leave with our kindest love to your poor patient and most sincere regards for the health and happiness of Mr. Williams and yourself.

May God bless you.  CH.  LAMB.

Enfield, Monday, 22 March.

LETTER 508

CHARLES LAMB TO MRS. WILLIAMS

Enfield, 2 Apr., 1830.

Dear Madam

I have great pleasure in letting you know that Miss Isola has suffered very little from fatigue on her long journey.  I am ashamed to say that I came home rather the more tired of the two.  But I am a very unpractised traveller.  She has had two tolerable nights’ sleeps since, and is decidedly not worse than when we left you.  I remembered the Magnesia according to your directions, and promise that she shall be kept very quiet, never forgetting that she is still an invalid.  We found my Sister very well in health, only a little impatient to see her; and, after a few hysterical tears for gladness, all was comfortable again.  We arrived here from Epping between five and six.  The incidents of our journey were trifling, but you bade me tell them.  We had then in the coach a rather talkative Gentleman, but very civil, all the way, and took up a servant maid at Stamford, going to a sick mistress.  To the latter, a participation in the hospitalities of your nice rusks and sandwiches proved agreeable, as it did to my companion, who took merely a sip of the weakest wine and water with them.  The former engaged me in a discourse for full twenty miles on the probable advantages of Steam Carriages, which being merely problematical, I bore my part in with some credit, in spite of my totally un-engineer-like faculties.  But when somewhere about Stanstead he put an unfortunate question to me as to the “probability of its turning out a good turnip season;” and when I, who am still less of an agriculturist than