Letters of John Keats to Fanny Brawne: Written in the years MDCCCXIX and MDCCCXX and now given from the original manuscriptsKeats, John
General
Letters of John Keats to Fanny Brawne: Written in the years MDCCCXIX and MDCCCXX and now given from the original manuscripts
Keats, John
Brawne, Fanny, 1800-1865 -- Correspondence; Keats, John, 1795-1821 -- Correspondence; Poets, English -- 19th century -- Correspondence
your Beauty, who would have God-bless’d me from you for ever:
who were plying me with disencouragements with respect to you
eternally. People are revengful—do not mind them—do nothing
but love me—if I knew that for certain life and health will in
such event be a heaven, and death itself will be less painful.
I long to believe in immortality. I shall never be able to
bid you an entire farewell. If I am destined to be happy with
you here—how short is the longest Life. I wish to believe in
immortality[52]—I wish to live with you for ever. Do not let
my name ever pass between you and those laughers; if I have no
other merit than the great Love for you, that were sufficient
to keep me sacred and unmentioned in such society. If I have
been cruel and unjust I swear my love has ever been greater
than my cruelty which last [_sic_] but a minute whereas my Love
come what will shall last for ever. If concession to me has
hurt your Pride God knows I have had little pride in my heart
when thinking of you. Your name never passes my Lips—do not let
mine pass yours. Those People do not like me. After reading
my Letter you even then wish to see me. I am strong enough to
walk over—but I dare not. I shall feel so much pain in parting
with you again. My dearest love, I am afraid to see you; I am
strong, but not strong enough to see you. Will my arm be ever
round you again, and if so shall I be obliged to leave you
again? My sweet Love! I am happy whilst I believe your first
Letter. Let me be but certain that you are mine heart and soul,
and I could die more happily than I could otherwise live. If
you think me cruel—if you think I have sleighted you—do muse it
over again and see into my heart. My love to you is “true as
truth’s simplicity and simpler than the infancy of truth” as I
think I once said before. How could I sleight you? How threaten
to leave you? not in the spirit of a Threat to you—no—but in
the spirit of Wretchedness in myself. My fairest, my delicious,
my angel Fanny! do not believe me such a vulgar fellow. I will
be as patient in illness and as believing in Love as I am able.
Yours for ever my dearest
JOHN KEATS.
XXXVII.
I do not write this till the last,
that no eye may catch it.[53]
My dearest Girl,
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