I know you have too much judgment to let an
overdose of vanity spoil the blessing and turn it into a misfortune.
After all though, age will come on, and it is well you have something
better than a nice face for friends to turn to when that is changed.
I hope this excessively cold weather has not harmed you or yours
much. It has nipped me severely, taken away my appetite for a while
and given me toothache; in short, put me in the ailing condition, in
which I have more than once had the honour of making myself such a
nuisance both at Brookroyd and Hunsworth. The consequence is that at
this present speaking I look almost old enough to be your
mother--grey, sunk, and withered. To-day, however, it is milder, and
I hope soon to feel better; indeed I am not _ill_ now, and my
toothache is now subsided, but I experience a loss of strength and a
deficiency of spirit which would make me a sorry companion to you or
any one else. I would not be on a visit now for a large sum of
money.
'Write soon. Give my best love to your mother and
sisters.--Good-bye, dear Nell,
'C. BRONTE.'
TO MISS ELLEN NUSSEY
'_April_ 21_st_, 1847.
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