"But I love the sea in all its moods, by day or by night, when it lulls me to sleep.
"Sometimes I speak to it, sometimes I sing to it, or rather with it, for it is the same sea over which my darling brother sailed so long ago.
"At sunset I seem to love it best, Keppel."
When the burning golden Rose of the day
Droops down to the Western sea,
And the amber and purple flush of the sky
And the crimson glow of the sea,
Ebb, ebb away,--fade, fade and die;
While the earth all mantled in shadowy grey,
Washes her brow with a restful sigh
In the cool sweet dews of the morning.
Then the letter goes on to tell of all the fun and capers of Bounder and herself, and how lively and lovely is Bounder still, and how she swims far out with him into the sea, and, when tired, puts one arm over his strong neck, her head on his shoulder, closes her eyes, and allows him to swim back with her to the sandy shore.
"And the boatmen are so kind, Kep," she adds, "and carry me and Bounder into their boats and take us for long, long sails.
"You ask me if I am pretty. Some say I am.
"But good-night, dear Kep, and sound be your sleep, 'rocked in the cradle of the deep.'
"Your ever loving,
"SISTER MADGE."