you to come, let not my letter."

Well did Shakespeare know that such a letter must make an instant
appeal to the sweet heart of Portia: "O love!" she cries, "despatch all
business, and be gone!"

All great poets are masters of a splendid prose, and had Shakespeare
written some notable work of prose we may be sure it would even have
surpassed the noble utterances of all his wonderful contemporaries.

It has been said that no language in the world has yet ever lasted in its
integrity for over a thousand years. Perhaps printing may confer a
greater stability on present languages; but whenever English is
displaced, the sun of the most glorious of all days will have set.

Your loving old
G.P.



6


MY DEAR ANTONY,

I do not think that men of letters often search through the old law
reports for specimens of fine prose, but I believe that here and there,
in that generally barren field, a nugget of pure gold may be discovered
by an industrious student.