L E T T E R S

511Letter Nr. 127La Grande Trappe, November 9, 1837Praised be Jesus Christ!O my dearest and most beloved M. Caesar! Should you punish my formerneglect in responding to you severely that now you send me no word at all aboutyourself? Mercy! Have mercy! Please, correct yourself as soon as possible, andwrite a lengthy and readable letter relating whatever pertains your history,statistics and diplomacy from the time when we parted, particularly the last, thediplomacy, or the state of the negotiations that concern the continuation of yourdynasty 592 .How is my dear friend Caesar doing? Let me first embrace you for a while.Let me first rejoice in the hope that you will read these few words, so incapable ofexpressing all my sentiments of friendship, gratitude, and my eternal love for himin Christ Jesus. What do you hear in your heart and in your soul? I trust in Godthat it is peace; that despite many incidents, peace is there.Above all, it is important to guard this peace from God. In my prayers thisis what I ask for my benefactor and brother in Christ. I also ask for success in allyour undertakings: first of all, in matters of the heart, in all that pertains to mother,and in what pertains to your relationship with that one lady friend, lookingforward in hope to a sacred bond with her who would be your one companion inlife.Thanks be to God, I am writing this letter, begun is such a spritely manner,from La Trappe. Not knowing where to address it, I am sending it in care ofJohn 593 . It will be short. I have not yet finished my retreat. I have not finished andsettled my accounts with God. It is no wonder, then, that I am incapable of592 This refers to the agitation of the monarchists in favor of the ―Czartoryski dynasty.‖593 John Grotowski, a newly converted Polish Protestant.