The terrace is but little altered ... it is lined
from end to end with boxes of orange-trees. The vine-trellis has
prospered, and extends nearly to the end. I have purchased the
vineyard below the garden, and in front of the house made it into a
lawn, which is watered by the water of the fountain.... In a word,
strangers come to see the place, and in spite of my pompous
description of it I think you will like it.... If you come, you will
find a tranquillity which you cannot have in London, and a friend who
has not passed a single day without thinking of you, and who, in spite
of his defects, his foibles, and his inferiority, is still one of the
companions who suits you best."
More letters followed from both sides in a similar strain. Yet Gibbon
quailed before a final resolution. His aunt, Mrs. Porten, his mother,
Mrs. Gibbon, his friend, Lord Sheffield, all joined in deprecating his
voluntary exile. "That is a nonsensical scheme," said the latter, "you
have got into your head of returning to Lausanne--a pretty fancy; you
remember how much you liked it in your youth, but now you have seen
more of the world, and if you were to try it again you would find
yourself woefully disappointed.
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