thank you for your kind letter. We
are a little puzzled about your where-abouts: Miss Wordsworth writes
Torkay, and you have queerly made it Torquay. Now Tokay we have heard
of, and Torbay, which we take to be the true _male_ spelling of the
place, but somewhere we fancy it to be on "Devon's leafy shores," where
we heartily wish the kindly breezes may restore all that is invalid
among you. Robinson is returned, and speaks much of you all. We shall be
most glad to hear good news from you from time to time. The best is,
Proctor is at last married. We have made sundry attempts to see the
Bride, but have accidentally failed, she being gone out a gadding.

We had promised our dear friends the Monkhouses, promised ourselves
rather, a visit to them at Ramsgate, but I thought it best, and Mary
seemed to have it at heart too, not to go far from home these last holy
days. It is connected with a sense of unsettlement, and secretly I know
she hoped that such abstinence would be friendly to her health. She
certainly has escaped her sad yearly visitation, whether in consequence
of it, or of faith in it, and we have to be thankful for a good 1824. To
get such a notion into our heads may go a great way another year. Not
that we quite confined ourselves; but assuming Islington to be head
quarters, we made timid flights to Ware, Watford &c. to try how the
trouts tasted, for a night out or so, not long enough to make the sense
of change oppressive, but sufficient to scour the rust of home.

Coleridge is not returned from the Sea. As a little scandal
may divert you recluses--we were in the Summer dining at a
Clergyman of Southey's "Church of England," at Hertford,
the same who officiated to Thurtell's last moments, and indeed
an old contemporary Blue of C.'s and mine at School. After
dinner we talked of C., and F. who is a mighty good fellow in
the main, but hath his cassock prejudices, inveighed against
the moral character of C. I endeavoured to enlighten him on
the subject, till having driven him out of some of his holds, he
stopt my mouth at once by appealing to me whether it was not
very well known that C. "at that very moment was living in
a state of open a------y with Mrs. * * * * * at Highgate?"
Nothing I could say serious or bantering after that
could remove the deep inrooted conviction of the whole company
assembled that such was the case! Of course you will
keep this quite close, for I would not involve my poor blundering
fri