RONALD HAYMAN
205
contemp t. T he letter is seasoned with endearments all underl ined–
some bland, some peppery:
my angel, my lo lly, my little bow-wow,
dear turt ledove, my little mother, heaven ly cat, violet from the Garden
of Eden,
and
fres h pork of my thoughts.
He explained that he was fond
of pork and a te very little of it in prison .
He p romises
to
gra tify her reques t for his dirty linen and repeats
his own reques t for clean linen . He peremptoril y reitera tes his demand
for a box of a certain size
to
contain the drawings she has been sendin g
him . He jokes about the one of a beautiful boy, which prompts him
to
write out an anecdo te a bout a Cardinal who customaril y receives a
fresh virgin in his chamber each morning before starting on the day's
work . One day the ma tron who suppli es them sends u p a beautiful boy
in girl 's clothes. T he gentl eman of the chamber is outraged, but, after
putting on his spectacles, the Cardinal smiles benefi cen tly: " Peace,
peace, my fr iend. We shall deceive her in her turn. She will think tha t I
have been deceived."
