Page 250 - of-human-bondage-

by the second post.’
It was from Hayward and ran as follows:
My dear boy,
I answer your letter at once. I ventured to read it to a
great friend of mine, a charming woman whose help and
sympathy have been very precious to me, a woman withal
with a real feeling for art and literature; and we agreed that
it was charming. You wrote from your heart and you do
not know the delightful naivete which is in every line. And
because you love you write like a poet. Ah, dear boy, that
is the real thing: I felt the glow of your young passion, and
your prose was musical from the sincerity of your emotion.
You must be happy! I wish I could have been present un-
seen in that enchanted garden while you wandered hand in
hand, like Daphnis and Chloe, amid the flowers. I can see
you, my Daphnis, with the light of young love in your eyes,
tender, enraptured, and ardent; while Chloe in your arms,
so young and soft and fresh, vowing she would ne’er con-
sent—consented. Roses and violets and honeysuckle! Oh,
my friend, I envy you. It is so good to think that your first
love should have been pure poetry. Treasure the moments,
for the immortal gods have given you the Greatest Gift of
All, and it will be a sweet, sad memory till your dying day.
You will never again enjoy that careless rapture. First love
is best love; and she is beautiful and you are young, and all
the world is yours. I felt my pulse go faster when with your
adorable simplicity you told me that you buried your face
in her long hair. I am sure that it is that exquisite chestnut
which seems just touched with gold. I would have you sit