March? '88 My dear Mrs. Ward I wanted to read / in your book you so kindly / sent us before writing to / thank you for it - and / now I am a third part / through and must send you / a message, though I shall / never make it pretty / enough. now, a third / part through means very / much to me, who reads / very slowly beginning at the / title page, and missing / nothing - Every clever / person I know could read / it all in a day - and perhaps / my way is not so much / reading as the exercise of / morality - at any rate / it interests me deeply, - and / I think it a lovely book - / - not one least bitter word / in it - threading your way / through intricacies of parsons / so finely and justly - / of course it interests me - isn't / it all about the old life / I remember and felt so / rebellious about? as / each new one came on the / scene I wondered if now / you would fall upon him / and rend him - but you never / do - personally I feel / grateful you are so fair to / fanatics for I suspect I am / one - I hope it ? / well. / certainly I never thought I / should ? a book about / parsons - my desires lying / toward "time upon once / there was a dreadful pirate" / but I am back again five / and thirty years, and feeling / softened and subdued with / memories you have wakened / up so piercingly - and I / wanted to tell you this / I feel too as if I knew / you now in a way that / a century of London acquaintan / -ship would never have helped me to - which is more / interesting to me than you. / I hope people will like / it as I do - though I hope / also you won't mind overmuch / the book has a heavenly / atmosphere - fine clean / thin air, better than any / Alps to people. / Yoursvery sincerely / E Burne-Jones