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be the [P?]acts for their consolation,
for doth not the poet Laureate say?
"'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all".
and another
"There's naught in this life sweet
If men were wise to see it
But only melancholy,
Oh, sweetest melancholy!"

But the occupation of the
fates is game, so far, at least,
as I am concerned for there
is naught for them to comfort.
It's all a blank.

I am indeed fortunate in
escaping the signs of this winter
in the North. All, except Californians,
agree in pronouncing this a good
place to winter, so far as climate
is concerned. The proportion of
cloudy to clear days is very
small here, and when clear