October 4.
My Dear Young Friends,
How lovely of you to have stopped by!
I am never averse to company; it has been one of my great joys in a long and often lonely life. Had you come in the evening, I should have welcomed you in person with the greatest of pleasure. However, since I suspected you might choose to arrive during daylight hours, I thought it best to be out.
I have left you a small token of my appreciation; someone very near and dear to one of you is now in the place where I occupied my days until I decided that other quarters might be more congenial. She is very lovely, Mr Mears—very toothsome, if I may be permitted a small bon mot. I have no further need of her and so I have left her for you to—how is your idiom?—to warm up for the main event. To whet your appetites, if you
