Write me of your
projects, and address me at that place. How can Mr. Alston,
consistently with his views of business, leave the state for five or
six months, as you have proposed, for your Northern tour?
Of the voyage to France I have written to you both about a fortnight
ago. I heartily applaud your judgment, and the motives which have
influenced it. You may by-and-by go in a manner much more
satisfactory.
How very oddly your letters travel. That of the 30th March arrived on
the 15th, instant; and yesterday, those of the 6th and 13th by the
_same_ mail. To solve this phenomenon, I am led to believe that they
have moved with a velocity proportioned to the spirit which was
infused in them by the writer. Thus, the first crawled with a torpor
corresponding with its character. It reminded me of the letter of a
French lady, which I have shown you as a model of elegance. "_Mon cher
mari, je vous ecris parceque je n'ai rien a faire: je finis parceque
je n'az rien a dire_." This was, indeed, the substance of yours; but,
being spread over a whole page, the laconic beauty was lost, and the
inanity only remained. The second, a grave, decent performance,
marched with becoming gravity, and performed the Journey in
two-and-twenty days; but the third, replete with sprightliness and
beauty, burst from the thraldom of dulness, and made a transit
unparalleled in the history of the country.
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