Thisoughttohavegonelastmailandwasforgotten。MybestexcuseisthatIwasengagedinstartinganinfluenza，towhichclassofexploitourhouseholdhasbeensincethenentirelydedicated。Wehadeightcases，oneofthemverybad，andone-mine-complicatedwithmyoldfriendBluidyJack。LuckilyneitherFanny，LloydorBelletooktheconfoundedthing，andtheywereabletorunthehouseholdandnursethesicktoadmiration。
Someofourboysbehavedlikerealtrumps。PerhapstheprettiestperformancewasthatofourexcellentHenrySimele，or，aswesometimescallhim，DavyBalfour。Henry，Imaunpremeese，isachief；thehumblestSamoanrecoilsfromemptyingslopsasyouwouldfromcheatingatcards；nowthelastnightsofourbadtimewhenwehadsevendowntogether，itwasenoughtohavemadeanybodylaughorcrytoseeHenrygoingtheroundswithaslop-bucketandgoinginsidethemosquitonetofeachofthesick，ProtestantandCatholicalike，topraywiththem。
ImusttellyouthatinmysicknessIhadahugealleviationandbegananewstory。ThisIamwritingbydictation，andreallythinkitisanartIcanmanagetoacquire。Thereliefisbeyonddescription；itisjustlikeaschool-treattomeandtheamanuensisbearsupextraordinar’。ThestoryistobecalledST。IVES；Igiveyouyourchoicewhetherornotitshouldbearthesubtitle，’ExperiencesofaFrenchprisonerinEngland。’Wewerejustgettingonsplendidlywithit，whenthiscursedmailarrivedandrequirestobeattendedto。ItlookstomeverylikeasifSt。Iveswouldbereadybeforeanyoftheothers，butyouknowmeandhowimpossibleitisIshouldpredict。TheAmanuensishasherheadquiteturnedandbelievesherselftobetheauthorofthisnovel(andIStosomeextent)-andasthecreature(！)
hasnotbeenwhollyuselessinthematter(Itoldyouso！
A。M。)Iproposetofosterhervanitybyalittlecommemorationgift！ThenameoftheheroisAnnedeSt。Yves-heEnglisheshisnametoSt。Ivesduringhisescape。ItismyideatogetaringmadewhichshalleitherrepresentANNE
orA。S。Y。A。，ofcourse，wouldbeAmethystandS。Sapphire，whichismyfavouritestoneanywayandwasmyfather’sbeforeme。Butwhatwouldtheex-SladeprofessordoabouttheletterY？Orsupposehetooktheotherversion，howwouldhemeetthecase，thetwoN。’s？Thesethingsarebeyondmyknowledge，whichitwouldperhapsbemoredescriptivetocallignorance。ButIplacethematterinthemeanwhileunderyourconsiderationandbegtohearyourviews。IshalltellyouonsomeotheroccasionandwhentheA。M。isoutofhearinghowVERYmuchIproposetoinvestinthistestimonial；butImayaswellinformyouatoncethatI
intendittobecheap，sir，damnedcheap！Myideaofrunningamanuensesisbypraise，notpudding，flatteryandnotcoins！
Ishallsendyouwhenthetimeisripearingtomeasureby。
Toresumeoursadtale。AftertheothersevenwerealmostwhollyrecoveredHenrylaydowntoinfluenzaonhisownaccount。HeisbutjustbetteranditlooksasthoughFannywereabouttobringuptherear。Asforme，Iamallright，thoughIWASreducedtodictatingANNEinthedeafanddumbalphabet，whichIthinkyouwilladmitisaCOMBLE。
Politicsleavemeextraordinarycold。Itseemsthatsomuchofmypurposehascomeoff，andCedarcrantzandPilsacharesacked。Therestofithasallgonetowater。Thetriple-
headedassathome，inhisplenitudeofignorance，preferstocollectthetaxesandscattertheMataafasbyforceorthethreatofforce。Itmaysucceed，andIsupposeitwill。Itisnonethelessforthatexpensive，harsh，unpopularandunsettling。Iamyoungenoughtohavebeenannoyed，andaltogetherejectandrenegatethewholeideaofpoliticalaffairs。Successinthatfieldappearstobetheorganisationoffailureenlivenedwithdefamationofcharacter；and，muchasIlovepicklesandhotwater(inyourtruephrase)IshalltakemypicklesinfuturefromCrosseandBlackwellandmyhotwaterwithadoseofgoodGlenlivat。
Donotbotheratallaboutthewall-papers。Wehavehadthewholeofournewhousevarnished，anditlooksbeautiful。I
wishyoucouldseethehall；poorroom，ithadtobeginlifeasaninfirmaryduringourrecentvisitation；butitisreallyahandsomecomelyplace，andwhenwegetthefurniture，andthepictures，andwhatissoverymuchmoredecorative，thepictureframes，willlooksublime。
JAN。30TH。
IhavewrittentoCharlesaskingforRowlandson’sSyntaxandDanceofDeathoutofourhouse，andbeggingforanythingaboutfashionsandmanners(fashionsparticularly)for1814。
Canyouhelp？BoththeJusticeClerkandSt。Ivesfallinthatfatedyear。IndeedIgotintoSt。IveswhilegoingovertheAnnualRegisterfortheother。ThereisakindoffancylistofChaps。ofSt。Ives。(ItbeginsinEdinburghCastle。)
I。Storyofalionrampant(thatwasatoyhehadmade，andgiventoagirlvisitor)。II。Storyofapairofscissors。
III。St。Ivesreceivesabundleofmoney。IV。St。Ivesisshownahouse。V。TheEscape。VI。TheCottage(SwanstonCollege)。VII。TheHen-house。VIII。Threeiscompanyandfournone。IX。TheDrovers。X。TheGreatNorthRoad。XI。
BurchellFenn。XII。Thecoveredcart。XIII。Thedoctor。
XIV。TheLuddites。V。Setathieftocatchathief。XXVI。
M。leComtedeKeroualle(hisuncle，therichEMIGRE，whomhefindsmurdered)。XVII。Thecousins。XVIII。Mr。SergeantGarrow。XIX。AmeetingattheShip，Dover。XX。Diane。XXI。
TheDuke’sPrejudices。XXII。TheFalseMessenger。XXIII。
Thegardener’sladder。XXIV。Theofficers。XXV。TroublewiththeDuke。XXVI。Fouquetagain。XXVII。TheAeronaut。
XXVIII。TheTrue-BloodedYankee。XXIX。InFrance。Idon’tknowwheretostop。Apropos，IwantabookaboutParis，andtheFIRSTRETURNoftheEMIGRESandalluptotheCENTJOURS:
d’yekenanythinginmyway？IwantinparticulartoknowaboutthemandtheNapoleonicfunctionariesandofficers，andtogetthecolourandsomevitaldetailsofthebusinessofexchangeofdepartmentsfromonesidetotheother。Tenchaptersaredrafted，andVIII。re-copiedbyme，butwillwantanotherdressingforluck。Itismerelyastoryofadventure，ramblingalong；butthatisperhapstheguardthat’setsmygeniusbest，’asAlanmighthavesaid。IwishI
couldfeelaseasyabouttheother！Butthere，allnovelsareaheavyburthenwhiletheyaredoing，andasensibledisappointmentwhentheyaredone。
ForGod’ssake，letmehaveacopyofthenewGermanSamoaWhitebook。R。L。S。
ATSEA，S。S。&MARIPOSA，FEB。19th，’93。
MYDEARCOLVIN，-YouwillseefromthisheadingthatIamnotdeadyetnorlikelytobe。Iwasprettyconsiderablyoutofsorts，andthatisindeedonereasonwhyFanny，Belle，andIhavestartedoutforamonth’slark。Tobequiteexact，I
thinkitwillbeaboutfiveweeksbeforewegethome。WeshallstaybetweentwoandthreeinSydney。Already，thoughweonlysailedyesterday，Iamfeelingasfitasafiddle。
Fannyateawholefowlforbreakfast，tosaynothingofatowerofhotcakes。BelleandIflooredanotherhenbetwixtthepairofus，andIshallbenosoonerdonewiththepresentamanuensingracketthanIshallputmyselfoutsideapintofGuinness。IfyouthinkthislookslikedyingofconsumptioninApiaIcanonlysayIdifferfromyou。InthematterofDavid，Ihaveneveryetreceivedmyproofsatall，butshallcertainlywaitforyoursuggestions。Certainly，Chaps。17to20arethehitch，andIconfessIhurriedoverthemwithbothwingsspread。Thisisdoubtlesswhatyoucomplainof。Indeed，IplacedmysinglerelianceonMissGrant。Ifshecouldn’tferrymeover，IfeltIhadtostaythere。
AboutISLANDNIGHTS’ENTERTAINMENTSallyousayishighlysatisfactory。Goinandwin。
TheextractsfromtheTIMESIreallycannottrustmyselftocommentupon。Theywereinfernallysatisfactory；so，andperhapsstillmoreso，wasaletterIhadatthesametimefromLordPembroke。IfIhavetimeasIgothroughAuckland，IamgoingtoseeSirGeorgeGrey。
NowIreallythinkthat’sallthebusiness。Ihavebeenrathersickandhavehadtwosmallhemorrhages，butthesecondIbelievetohavebeenaccidental。Nogooddenyingthatthisannoys，becauseitdo。However，youmustexpectinfluenzatoleavesomeharm，andmyspirits，appetite，peaceonearthandgoodwilltomenareallonarisingmarket。
Duringthelastweektheamanuensiswasotherwiseengaged，whereuponItookup，pitchedinto，andaboutonehalfdemolishedanothertale，onceintendedtobecalledTHEPEARL
FISHER，butnowrazeedandcalledTHESCHOONERFARRALONE。Wehadacapitalstart，thesteamercominginatsunrise，andjustgivingustimetogetourlettersereshesailedagain。
ThemanageroftheGermanfirm(Ostrange，changeddays！)
dancedattendanceuponusallmorning；hisboatconveyedustoandfromthesteamer。
FEB。21ST。
Allcontinueswell。Amanuensisbowledoverforaday，butafootagainandjolly；Fannyenormouslybetteredbythevoyage；Ihavebeenasjollyasasand-boyasusualatsea。
TheAmanuensissitsoppositetomewritingtoheroffspring。
Fannyisondeck。IhavejustsuppliedherwiththeCanadianPacificAgent，andsoleftheringoodhands。YoushouldhearmeattablewiththeUlsterpurserandalittlepunningmicroscopistcalledDavis。BelledoessomekindofabstruseBoswellising；afterthefirstmeal，havinggaugedthekindofjeststhatwouldpayhere，Iobserved，’BoswellisBarredduringthiscruise。’
23RD
WeapproachAucklandandImustclosemymail。Allgoeswellwiththetrio。Boththeladiesarehangingroundabeau-
thesame-thatIunearthedforthem:Iamgeneralprovider，andespeciallygreatinthebeauxbusiness。IcorrectedsomeproofsforFannyyesterdayafternoon，fellasleepovertheminthesaloon-andthewholeshipseemstohavebeendownbeholdingme。AfterIwokeup，hadahotbath，awhiskeypunchandacigarette，andwenttobed，andtosleeptoo，at8。30；arecrudescenceofVailimahours。Awoketo-day，andhadtogotothesaloonclockforthehour-nosignofdawn-allheavengreyrainyfog。Havejusthadbreakfast，writtenuponeletter，registerandclosethis。
Badpen，badink，badlight，badblotting-paper。
S。S。MARIPOSA，ATSEA。
APIADUEBYDAYBREAKTO-MORROW9P。M。
MYDEARCOLVIN，-Havehadanamusingbuttragicholiday，fromwhichwereturnindisarray。Fannyquitesick，butI
thinkslowlyandsteadilymending；Belleinaterrificstateofdentistrytroubleswhichnowseemcalmed；andmyselfwithasuccessionofgentlecoldsoutofwhichIatlastsucceededincookingupafinepleurisy。Bystoppingandstewinginaperfectlyairlessstate-roomIseemtohavegotridofthepleurisy。PoorFannyhadverylittlefunofhervisit，havingbeenmostofthetimeonadietofmaltineandslops-
andthiswhiletherestofuswereriotingonoystersandmushrooms。Belle’sonlydevilinthehedgewasthedentist。
Asforme，IwasentertainedattheGeneralAssemblyofthePresbyterianChurch，likewiseatasortofartisticclub；
madespeechesatboth，andmaythereforebesaidtohavebeen，likeSaintPaul，allthingstoallmen。IhaveanaccountofthelatterracketwhichImeanttohaveenclosedinthis……Hadsomesplendidphotostaken，likewiseamedallionbyaFrenchsculptor；metGraham，whoreturnedwithusasfarasAuckland。HaveseenagooddealtooofSirGeorgeGrey；whatawonderfuloldhistoricfiguretobewalkingonyourarmandrecallingancienteventsandinstances！Itmakesamansmall，andyettheextenttowhichheapprovedwhatIhaddone-orratherhavetriedtodo-
encouragedme。SirGeorgeisanexpertatleast，heknowstheseraces:heisnotasmallemployewithanink-potandaWhittaker。
Takeitforallinall，itwashugefun:evenFannyhadsomelivelysportatthebeginning；BelleandIallthrough。WegotFannyadressonthesly，gaudyblackvelvetandDuchesselace。Andalas！shewasonlyabletowearitonce。Butwe’llhopetoseemoreofitatSamoa；itreallyislovely。
Bothdamesareroyallyoutfittedinsilkstockings，etc。Wereturn，asfromaraid，withourspoilsandourwounded。I
amnowverydandy:IannouncedtwoyearsagothatIshouldchange。Slovenlyyouth，allright-notslovenlyage。SoreallynowIamprettyspruce；alwaysawhiteshirt，whitenecktie，freshshave，silk，socks，Oagreatsight！-Nomorepossible，R。L。S。
