And now the figures of other old friends of Charles Lamb, gradually (one
by one), slip out of sight. Still, in his later letters are to be found
glimpses of Wordsworth and Southey, of Rogers and Hood, of Cary (with whom
his intimacy increases); especially may be noted Miss Isola, whom he
tenderly regarded, and after whose marriage (then left more alone) he
retreats to his last retreat, in Church Street, Edmonton.
From details let us escape into a more general narrative. The latest facts
need not be painfully enumerated. There is little left, indeed, to
particularize. Mary's health fluctuates, perhaps, more frequently than
heretofore. At one time she is well and happy; at another her mind becomes
turbid, and she is then sheltered, as usual, under her brother's care. The
last Essays of Elia are published;--friends visit him;--and he
occasionally visits them in London. He dines with Talfourd and Cary. The
sparks which are brought out are as bright as ever, although the splendor
is not so frequent. Apparently the bodily strength, never great, but
sufficient to move him pleasantly throughout life, seemed to flag a
little. Yet he walks as usual. He and his sister "scramble through the
Inferno:" (as he says to Gary), "Mary's chief pride in it was, that she
should some day brag of it to you.
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