182. DEAR, GREAT MAN,

For a long time I have been wishing to write to you, but had not
the courage to do so. Alas! how can I speak to you from my heart?
Today a sheet of paper with a red border comes under my hand; so
many symbols are comprised in that colour! It is devoted to love,
it is the purple of kings, and the image of human blood. It is
therefore suited to both of us: to you as the emblem of your
sovereign genius, to me as that of an ardent attachment, the
flames of which are my happiness and my glory; to both of us as
the sign of the wounds which destiny has inflicted on us without
touching our souls. Need I tell you how much I should like to see
you again, and how sincerely I desire that your sojourn in London
will be agreeable to you in one way or another? I can do nothing,
nothing, except the best thing of all: to love, to bless, to
admire.

Your affection is very dear to us; continue in it; it is the sun
of our starless sky.

May God be with you. Our hearts are always yours.

CAROLYNE.

March 27th, 1855.



183.