Letter X. To the Same

He sends copies of the Introduction to the Devout Life for several persons.

End of February, 1609.

My God! how welcome will you be, my dear child;

and how dearly do I feel my soul embrace yours.

Start then on the first fine day you see, after your horse has rested, which, doubtless, cannot well have been sent back to you till three days ago, on account of the rains which have fallen in this country. I wish that you may have a good and happy journey, and that my little daughter may not suffer from the fatigue of the road, but arriving in good time in the

• Forty days' mind.

evening, and sleeping well, I hope she will be all right.

M. de Ballon so greatly desires that you should make your stay with him, that I am forced to desire it also, for the good friendship he bears us.

Madame du Puits-d'Orbe had written to say she wanted to come with you; but the season is not proper for her, nor could I wish to have her in so inconvenient a time as Lent. I wrote to her then to wait for the true Spring, and to come in a litter, so that if one of her sisters wishes to accompany her, she may be able to do so without the dread of having to come on horseback. I send the one book for her, the other for Mademoiselle de Traves, according to your desire. The Father de Mandi asked me for one: if you give him the one you have, I will give you a better one here; besides, we must console him. I should like to send some to several persons; but I assure you that only thirty altogether have come into this country, and I have not been able to supply a tenth part of those to whom I ought to give them. It is true that I am not in very great trouble about it, because I know that there are more yonder than here.

Still I thought I ought to send one to M. de Chantal, and that he would be offended if I did not; so here it is.

What more have I to say to you, my dear child?

A thousand things, but I have not leisure for them, as

I want Claude to start without any more waiting.

Only be sure that I am quite full of joy and satisfac-

F F tion because your Groissy* speaks not only with respect, but with quite an affectionate love of you and your two fathers, and, which pleases me most, of my dear little Aimee. I tell you the truth, he could not give me more pleasure than by this, and truly I hope that all will go on very well, and that there will remain no subject of discontent to anyone.

Do not be sorry for having written to me about the twelve-hundred francs; for you must not be sorry for anything which occurs with me.

Well then, I shall see plenty of miseries, and we will talk of them, I hope, as much as we like.

My mother wants you to make your little rest at Sales, where she will await you to accompany you here; but do not think that I will leave you there without me: no, certainly not, for either I will wait for you there, or I will be there as soon as I know you are. I do not write to your good old attendant (commere), for I shall have leisure to entertain her fully: and I confess that you have given me much pleasure by putting her in your train, although for her I shall perhaps have to put myself to expense, in order that on her return she may give a good account of my magnificence. You see I am already laughing in my heart at the expectation of your arrival.

• A brother of St. Francis.