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Real glad to hear from you once more, as by yours of 18th—The death of Mrs: Gilchrist is indeed a gloomy fact—she had cancer, & suffered much the last three months of her life with asthma—for a long time "every breath was a struggle," Herbert expresses it—the actual cause of death was dilatation of the heart. Seems to me mortality never enclosed a more beautiful spirit—
The trouble ab't my eyesight passed over, & I use both eyes now same as before—I am living here, rather monotonously, but get along—as I write, feel ab't the same as of late years—only the walking power seems quite gone from me, I can hardly get from one room to another—sometimes quite force myself to get out a few yards, but difficult & risky—
O'Connor seems to be holding on at Washington—I think he is middling well, except the leg power—his "gelatine legs" he calls them—will pass over I rather think—
I drove down yesterday (Sunday) to my friends the Staffords, 10 miles from here,
& staid three hours, had dinner &c—I go there every Sunday—So I
get stirr'd up some, but not half enough—three reasons, my natural
sluggishness & the paralysis of late years, the weather, & my old, stiff,
slow horse, with a lurking propensity to stumble down—
The "free will offering" of the English, through Rossetti, has amounted in the past
year to over $400—I am living on it—I get a miserable return of
royalties from McKay, my Philad. publisher—not $50 for both
books L of G. and S D for the past year
John, I like both the names in your note—I cannot
choose—if I lean at all it is in favor of "Spring Relish"
Merry Christmas to you and 'Sula