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remain in Sussex. But I must frankly say, your arrival here this Summer would harrass my Heart & Soul beyond Expression, & rob me of that Quiet, which is so necessary for the studies I wish to pursue, & which indeed is the only blessing of human Life, that I can \have/ much hope to possess, or anxiety to preserve; for as to Health, Opulence & Pleasure, the two last were never Idols of mine & the first has so frequently deserted me, that I have learnt to be contented without her –

I am going in a few days to visit a new literary Friend on the other side of London, & to pass a week or two with Him in conferences on the work I have undertaken. Pray let me find a Letter from you, as I pass thro London, directed to me at Romneys, & be so kind as to let it arrive there on Saturday next, as I do not mean to be above two or three days in Town. – Mary must attend me, as the only valet I have; & I mean to station Tom with a Friend, that I can make Free with, while I myself visit a Stranger, who, tho I have not yet seen Him has shewn a disposition to treat me with infinite Kindness.

The Time of my return to Sussex must depend on the Answer I receive from you, & think me not severe, my dear Eliza, when I say, that nothing but a kind & friendly assurance from you, that you will not surprize & distress me by any hasty excursion to this County, can enable me to come home to my favourite Solitude with that tranquillity [sic] of Spirit, which is so necessary for all literary Labour, & especially to a person, whose body & mind have been shattered like mine –

God almighty bless you, & give you tranquill [sic] & placid Spirits! –

If you think there is any degree of Harshness or Cruelty in this Letter, pray shew it to your excellent Friend M^rs Nicholas, & she will assure you, if your own Heart can want any such assurance, that it is the Letter of a Man, who, tho' Heaven allows him not the power of making you happy, is ever solicitous for your Good, ever kind to you in Reality, when He least appears so, & ever entitled to your affection, Esteem, & Obedience.

Farewell & believe me
Ever your affectionate
H

Eartham
Sunday
May 6 1792