human
My dearest Tom,--Can it _really_ be true that you have a pension of £300 a year? Mrs., Mr., two Misses and young Longman were here to-day, and tell me it is really the case, and that they have seen it in two papers. Should it turn out true, I know not how we can be thankful enough to those who gave it, or to a Higher Power. The Longmans were very kind and nice and so was _I_, and I invited them _all five_ to come at some future time. At present I can think of nothing but £300 a year, and dear Russell jumps and claps his hands for joy.... If the story is true of the £300, pray give dear Ellen £20, and _insist_ on her drinking £5 worth of wine _yearly_ to be paid out of the £300 a year.... Is it true? I am in a fear of hope and anxiety and feel very oddly. No one to talk to but sweet Buss, who says, 'Now, Papa will not have to work so hard, and will be able to go out a little.' ... _N.B._--If this good news be true, it will make a great difference in my _eating_. I shall then indulge in butter to potatoes. _Mind_ you do not tell this piece of gluttony to _any_ one.