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are, which is the important part. Elsie when she was a child thought it was her father sitting on the floor, so you see it was a likeness if Rob when he sees it thinks it is, I will give it to him; last summer a dealer [[?]] came out and rummaged in the garret of Beaufresne carrying off a lot of canvases, and I burned the rest, but kept this portrait, too good to destroy and which I would not like anyone but Rob to have - I had a letter from Elsie she says it was such a merciful end to her Father's "splendid happy life". That is of course true that
 it was a merciful end, and it is of course selfish to want to keep one's own here if it is to suffer, yet one cannot help missing them [[? fully]] I feel as if a force had gone out of my life and left me so much weaker - I think you are so right in keeping up, if possible, friendly relations with Elsie - The will was a such shock to me, but Elsie had nothing to do with it.  I am astonished that little Lois gets nothing during her father's life unless he marries again.  I know his mother [[?]] want Ed to marry again, she told me so when she was here last spring. It would not be my way of seeing things, if he can find a sensible woman to take him it would be best for him to marry, in my opinion.
The whole of Paris is down with the grippe, and I am now having a little attack, the weather has been so cold and so changeable -- we all long for spring - I expected to join the Havemeyers in Spain in March, but Mr. Havemeyer is too busy repulsing the attacks on the Sugar Trust to leave home, and