LETTER250

letter250

charleslambtofannykelly

july20th,1819.

dearmisskelly,—yourinjunctionsshallbeobeyedtoatittle.ifeelmyselfinalackadaisacalno-how-ishkindofahumour.ibelieveitistherain,orsomething.ihadthoughttohavewrittenseriously,butifancyieedbestinepistlesofmerefun;puns&thatnonsense.youwillbegoodfriendswithus,willyounot?letwhathaspast"breaknobones"betweenus.youwillnotrefuseusthemnexttimewesendforthem?

yoursverytruly,c.l.

doyouobservethedelicacyofnotsigningmyfullname?

n.b.donotpastethatlastletterofmineintoyourbook.

[writingagainofmisskelly,inthe"hypocrite,"intheexaminerofaugust1and2,lambsays:"sheisintruthnotframedtoteaseortormenteveninjest,buttoutteraheartyyesorno;toyieldorrefuseassentwithanoblesincerity.wehavenotthepleasureofbeingacquaintedwithher,butwehavebeentoldthatshecarriesthesamecordialmannersintoprivatelife."

misskellydiedunmarriedattheageofninety-two.

"breaknobones."herelambmakesoneofhispuns.by"bones"hemeantalsothelittleivorydiscswhichweregiventofriendsofthemanagement,entitlingthemtofreeentrytothetheatre.withthisexplanationthenextsentenceoftheletterbecomesclear.]