Dear Diary,
What do you think of this letter, from a daughter to her father? It is in reference to the death of her father's sister, her aunt:
"We are terribly saddened by the death of your cherished sister, our dear aunt; but our sorrow at losing her is as nothing compared to our concern for your sake, because your suffering will be all the greater, Sire, as truly you have no one else left in your world, now that she, who could not have been more precious to you, has departed, and therefore we can only imagine how you sustain the severity of such a sudden and completely unexpected blow. And while I tell you that we share deeply in your grief, you would do well to draw even greater comfort from contemplating the general state of human misery, since we are all of us here on Earth like strangers and wayfarers...."
Those are the words of Sister Maria Celeste, written to her father, Galileo Galilei, from San Mateo in Arcetri, 10 May 1623. - GALILEO'S DAUGHTER, Dava Sobel, pp. 3, 4.
What a dear child she must have been! Of Galileo's three children, she alone was his confidante and reflected his intelligence. She proved herself a very sensible and hard-working individual, on behalf of the Church and her father. What an inspiration she is, to this very day.
The day was indeed beautiful, DD. I did more work on the grounds today, as payment toward the high cost of utilities this time of year. Ironic, that I, the gardener of this estate over 20 years ago, should now return and bring it all under control---as resident-gardener. I will have to take you outdoors, Dear Diary, to show you about. It is truly beautiful here, on Walden Pond............
C...