Julian has been parading round the garden this morning,
blowing a trumpet which papa brought him from Chester, and dragging
after him a portentous wooden cannon, which would not help to gain the
smallest battle. It is actually a sunny day! . . . A very great joy it
is to Rosebud to see the lovely little English robins come to pick up
crumbs. They excite a peculiar love. They have great faith in man, and
come close to the window without fear. They have told the linnets and
thrushes of our hospitality, and the linnets actually come, though
with dread and trembling; and they carry off the largest crumbs for
their families and neighbors. The English robin is very dear. . . .
Mr. Ticknor has been to see De Quincey, and says he is a noble old man
and eloquent, and wins hearts in personal intercourse. His three
daughters, Margaret, Florence, and Emily, are also very attractive and
cultivated, and they are all most impatient to see Mr. Hawthorne. . . .
We are all going to Chester first on a Sunday, to attend the Cathedral
service with the children. How very singular that this dream of mine,
like so many other dreams, is coming true! For I always wished
earnestly that the children might go to church first in a grand old
cathedral, so that their impression of social worship might be
commensurate with its real sublimity. And, behold, it will be so,--for
they never yet have been to church. The echoes of those lofty vaults
are scarcely ever silent, for an anthem is sung there every day.
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