He has suffered
enough since we met;--it has ploughed furrows in his life. He has
done all he could, and cannot blame himself. Our outward destiny looks
dark, but we must brave it as we can. I trust we shall always feel
mutual tenderness, and Ossoli has a simple, childlike piety, that will
make it easier for him.
MARGARET AND HER PEERS.
Pure and peaceful as was the joy of Margaret's Florence winter, it was
ensured and perfected by the fidelity of friends, who hedged around
with honor the garden of her home. She had been called to pass through
a most trying ordeal, and the verdict of her peers was heightened
esteem and love. With what dignified gratitude she accepted this
well-earned proof of confidence, will appear from the following
extracts.
TO MRS. E.S.
Thus far, my friends have received news that must have been an
unpleasant surprise to them, in a way that, _a moi_, does them great
honor. None have shown littleness or displeasure, at being denied my
confidence while they were giving their own. Many have expressed the
warmest sympathy, and only one has shown a disposition to transgress
the limit I myself had marked, and to ask questions.
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