INTRODUCTION lxix

feelings of delight,” which were associated with his ideal of girlhood were seen unfolding in his little Irish pupil. Sesame and Lilies was written, he says, for one girl;¹ it was she from whom in real life he drew his ideal.

The girl, even in her teens, was deeply religious, and, though she learnt much and gladly from her friend, she was perturbed not a little about his soul, and grieved at his wandering in Bye-path Meadow.² Among the materials which were put in type for the intended continuation of Præterita is a letter written from Rosie in London to Ruskin at Lucerne. Some extracts from it will show how religious yearning was mingled with the affectionate admiration which she felt towards him:-

“It is the day after Christmas Day and I have just got my Christmas letter; and though I don’t know your address, I have been wanting to write to you so much that I am answering it directly-and first St. C. you know you shdn’t write to me when you ought to be getting yourself warm; couldn’t you have thought of me just as well running up a hill and getting nice and warm, like a good St. Crumpet, than sitting cold writing; you know you needn’t write to tell me you have not forgotten me, need you St. C.? and yet I can’t help saying I was looking for a letter, I wanted so much to know what you were doing and thinking (I mean a very little bit of it) this Christmas.... I have told you I can see some things quite plain, and I have been living at Lucerne all Christmas week; am I not there still, talking to you, though I didn’t ‘yowl.’ You know I only call ‘yowling’ feeling like a dog with his nose up in the air outside a shut door, because some one has kicked, or perhaps because some one has not stroked you. Yowling is only for self; I do not call it yowling to be sorry for those who are suffering, yowling is only right sometimes, but there is always something to be sorrowful about for other people-sometimes also a great deal to be yowlful about for self, and even in Christmas times. But I did not yowl about Harristown, hardly thought about it, it was almost all Lucerne, only just dreamt about home and our cats and the people last night, and that was somehow joined on to a dream about you. So our thoughts are crossing I suppose St. C., and I thought particularly the day before Xmas, and Xmas day evening, is it not curious? ... I was sitting on my table opposite to the window where I looked straight at the dark night, and one star Venus glowing straight in front. When I leant my head a little I could see the long line of lamp lights with a sort of bright haze over them getting smaller in

¹ See Vol. XVIII. p. 47.

² See Ruskin’s letter to C. E. Norton, of June 2, 1861 (Vol. XXXVI.).

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