Even took note of it at all, This is the 'nub' -
'i hope the warm weather is doing your lungs good - I WAS AFRAID WHEN YOU
WAS BLEEDING YOU WOULD DIE - give my respects,' etc.
That is all there is of it - simply touch and go - no dwelling upon it.
Nevertheless it was intended for an eye that would be swift to see it;
and it was meant to move a kind heart to try to effect the liberation of
a poor reformed and purified fellow lying in the fell grip of
consumption.
When I for the first time heard that letter read, nine years ago, I felt
that it was the most remarkable one I had ever encountered. And it so
warmed me toward Mr. Brown of St. Louis that I said that if ever I
visited that city again, I would seek out that excellent man and kiss
the hem of his garment if it was a new one. Well, I visited St. Louis,
but I did not hunt for Mr. Brown; for, alas! the investigations of long
ago had proved that the benevolent Brown, like 'Jack Hunt,' was not a
real person, but a sheer invention of that gifted rascal, Williams -
burglar, Harvard graduate, son of a clergyman.
