I give Lady Burton's reply
because it shows how much she appreciated the kindness of her friends:
"October 31, 1893.
"MY DEAR LADY GUENDOLEN,
"I cannot tell you what pleasure your very kind letter gave me. I feared
that you and all your family had forgotten me long ago. I was, and so
was Richard, very much attached to the Duke and Duchess; they always made
us welcome, they always made us feel at home. I delighted in the Duke--
so clever, so fascinating, and he was my _beau ideal_ of a gentleman of
the Old School, whilst the kindness of heart, the high breeding, and the
wit of the Duchess attached us both greatly to her. You were such a very
young girl that I knew you the least, and yet you are the one to be kind
to me now. The ones I knew best were poor Lord St. Maur and Lady Ulrica.
Let me now thank you for speaking so truly and handsomely of my dear
husband, and your kindness and sympathy with me and my work. It is
quite true! If you knew what a small section of people have made me
suffer, and the horrible letters that they have written me, you would
feel sorry to think that there were such people in the world, and when
I reflect that it was that class of people who would have received the
manuscript with joy, I know how right I was to burn it. It was not the
_learned_ people, as you imagine, who regret this, because there was no
learning to be gained from it.
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