different are our fogs at Blackdeep! They may be thick, but they
are white and do not make us miserable. I never shall forget when I
was last in Fortyacres and saw the mist lying near the river, and
the church spire bright in the sunlight. The churchyard and the
lower part of the church were quite hidden.

What a mercy Jim was not trapped by Dolly, for I suppose it was she.
Jim is not the first she has tried to get. You are quite right.
She might have broken your heart, and I am sure she would have
broken Jim's, for she is as hard as a millstone.--Your loving child,

ESTHER.


BLACKDEEP FEN, 3rd December 1838.

Your letter made me feel unhappy. I am afraid something is on your
mind. What is the matter? I was not well before I went to Homerton
the last time, but maybe it was not London that upset me. If you
cannot leave, I shall come. Let me hear by the next post.


HOMERTON, 5th December 1838.

I told Charles I was expecting you. He said that your sudden
determination seemed odd. 'Your mother,' he added, 'is a woman who
acts upon impulses. She ought always to take time for
consideration. This is hardly the proper season for travelling.' I
asked him if he would let me go to Blackdeep. He replied that,
unless there was some particular reason for it, my proposal was as