She has replied urging us to come to her house, and promising
entire seclusion and rest. So, since you departed, we have been
passing with a kind of comprehensive skip and jump over remaining
engagements. And just the evening after you left came off the
presentation of the inkstand by the ladies of Surrey Chapel.
"It is a beautiful specimen of silver-work, eighteen inches long, with
a group of silver figures on it representing Religion, with the Bible
in her hand, giving liberty to the slave. The slave is a masterly
piece of work. He stands with his hands clasped, looking up to Heaven,
while a white man is knocking the shackles from his feet. But the
prettiest part of the scene was the presentation of a _gold pen_
by a band of beautiful children, one of whom made a very pretty
speech. I called the little things to come and stand around me, and
talked with them a few minutes, and this was all the speaking that
fell to my share.
"To-morrow we go--go to quiet, to obscurity, to peace--to Paris, to
Switzerland; there we shall find the loveliest glen, and, as the Bible
says, 'fall on sleep.'
"_Paris, June_ 4. Here we are in Paris, in a most charming
family. I have been out all the morning exploring shops, streets,
boulevards, and seeing and hearing life in Paris. When one has a
pleasant home and friends to return to, this gay, bustling, vivacious,
graceful city is one of the most charming things in the world; and we
_have_ a most charming home.
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