Page:The Homes of the New World- Vol. II.djvu/169

Rh beloved mother; and do the best we could with what was wrong if we could not make it all right. And as for me, do not be uneasy; my little travelling fairy goes with me on the journey, and with the help of God, helps me on all occasions; and since that good sea-bathing I feel again that I have courage to encounter the Giants of the West, and I think that the very sight of them will cause my strength to become as that of a giant, if I were but easy about you!

August 23rd.—Your letter from Marstrand! Ah, thank God for it! It made me really happy; for your former letter had made me deeply anxious. Ah, how glad I am that you feel yourself improving again, and that you are again able to enjoy life; I bless that sea-bathing, and thank God and hope that all will be well with you for the future. Next year we must all four labour for the establishing of your health, I, you, sea-bathing, and homœopathy. And what a pleasure, and how amusing it was, to hear you speak so charmingly and cheerfully of one thing and another: about the entrance of the crown-princess into Stockholm; yes, how delightful it was that she was so beautifully received, and that she is so good, and looks so agreeable! I wanted to hear something about her; I should have liked to have been among the people who scattered flowers over her, and have joined my shout of “Welcome!” to theirs.

And Jenny Lind is actually on her way to America! A terrific welcome awaits her; she will be lucky if she escapes with life! The fame of her beneficence, and her fine disposition, still more than that of her powers as a singer, have opened all hearts and all arms to her, and an angel from Heaven is not as perfect as people imagine Jenny Lind to be, and would not be half so welcome. The Americans are born enthusiasts, and I would be the last to reproach them with it. No human being, and no nation either, can ever become anything great, if they are