Jan ; 3rd ; /93 darling Mary, / I have just / heard a rumour that your / husband also has taken this / terrible illness - but appa- / rently favourably - if the / first is true I earnestly / hope that the second may / be also. Don't write your self - but if Fräulein cd. / possibly send me a note I / should be very grateful. / Only one fortnight to - / day you were here - looking / so unfit for a finger's / weight of care or trouble / to be laid upon you - it / makes my heart ache to / think of what you have gone / through since. I feel selfish / to be sitting here in peace / and safety - I wish and I / wish I could do something / for you. First thing in / the morning my thoughts / fly to you, and last thing / at night, but I know that / I cannot imagine what / you are feeling or how you / are situated. Loneliness, with / regard to fellow creatures, is / a great part of all our self- / feeling - but in such times the / souls flies straight to its / watchtower of strength - its / idea of God, and finds / a kind of help which words / cannot express. So, my / darling, when you now 'shut / the door upon yourself', may / you find strength and in- / durance communicated to / you by the Sprit which / is our life - & may the way / that your little loved-one / has gone not seem a / strange one. The poor / house - it had its baptism of / fire, and now death has / entered into it - but soon those / things cannot shake the founda- / tion of love on which it stands. / My dear dear girl and / my beloved friend, I am your / devoted / Georgie.