"_Addio, tutto caro_," she writes; "I shall
receive you with the greatest joy, when you can come. If it were
only possible to be nearer to you! for, except the good air and the
security, this place does not please me." And again:--"How much I
long to be near you! You write nothing of yourself, and this makes me
anxious and sad. Dear and good! I pray for thee often, now that it
is all I can do for thee. We must hope that Destiny will at last
grow weary of persecuting. Ever thy affectionate." Meantime Ossoli
writes:--"Why do you not send me tidings of yourself, every post-day?
since the post leaves Aquila three times a week. I send you journals
or letters every time the post leaves Rome. You should do the same.
Take courage, and thus you will make me happier also; and you can
think how sad I must feel in not being near you, dearest, to care for
all your wants."
By the middle of July, Margaret could bear her loneliness no longer,
and, passing the mountains, advanced to Rieti, within the frontier of
the Papal States. Here Ossoli could sometimes visit her on a Sunday,
by travelling in the night from Rome. "Do not fail to come," writes
Margaret. "I shall have your coffee warm.
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