Livy darling, Dob DolbyⒶemendation is tha theⒶemendation same jolly good fellow, & says heaps of pla pleasantⒶemendation things about you & Clara1explanatory note—among the rest that you, in face & nature & everything, are the most perfect woman he ever saw or knew—which is simply what any one would say, & so it does not surprise me. It is thoroughly & completely true, as I know of my own personal knowledge.

But r Ⓐemendation this reminds me of that Oxford theatrical performance. The students allowed their pups to roam about the stage at will, & occasionally the dogs would fight & then the performance had to wait till it was finished.

If a student desired to visit a friend opposite, he stepped over the balustrade of his box & took the near cut across the stage through the performers. Occasionally a student walked across the stage, borrowed a pup “off” of a friend, walked back & nursed & petted it at his leisure.

Dolby says he cannot take a great pianist there, because the boys won’t stand a long, dreary, instrumental piece of music. They keep up their best decorum till nature breaks down under the pressure, & they thenⒶemendation they begin to talk across the house at each other about the weather & the crops, & such things, & then if the dreary piece still goes on, they begin to talk to the pianist himself, & ask him about his family; & who com was the author of that piece of music; & what it costs to get a piece of music like that written; & how does a man go aboutⒶemendation possibly composing a piece of music?—does he have to understand music, or does he just blast away, hit or miss, & set it down on a piece of paper as he goes along? &c. &c.

Dolby said that when he took Dickens there,2explanatory note it was plain that there was going to be a fearful rush, & inasmuch as the seats were all sold, days before, there would doubtless be plenty of students on a lark, who would insist on going in anyhow & standing up. The authorities warned him that a squad of policemen would be necessary, but he wouldn’t have them, but determined to stand at the door of entrance himself. Sure enough, by & by came two stalwart student-aristocrats who tried to shove by him; he barred the way; he said “Where are your tickets, gentlemen?” “Got no tickets—here’s the money.” “Can’t admit you without tickets, gentlemen.” “You can’t, eh?—we’ll show th Ⓐemendation you that that is a lie.” Dolby said, “You are a blackguard.” They were astounded at this familiarityⒶemendation. Then the speaker said to his friend, “Why this fellow’s got some spirit”—then to Dolby, “My dear sir, I didn’t mean any harm, & I’m very sorry; & to testify it, if there’s anything I can do for you, just name it & I’ll do it.”

“You can do me a very great favor, sir. If you gentlemen will just stand at this door a quarter of an hour & not let anybody in without a ticket”;—

“We’re your men!—just stand aside.”

And they kept the door most efficiently. When Dolby came back, by & by, the rush was done, the rushⒶemendation raid of the students had failed, with the two champions, & Dobl DolbyⒶemendation said, “I’m very much obliged, gentlemen, now you can go in without tickets,” & in they went.

Douglas Straight has just called.

Good bye my darling, I do wish I were with you or you were with me.