Byron’s Reply to Percy – 114

Dear Companions of the Villa,

It is a rare thing to see husband and wife weave their visions together so well. Mary gives us a house, Percy a school, and between them I begin to imagine a city worth inhabiting. Were I less proud, I might ask for a room in it myself.

I will not gainsay the joy of these designs — yet I cannot help but wonder what feeds such houses and schools, what keeps their lamps lit when the night grows long. But let that question wait. For now, let us linger in the light of their architecture, before I trouble you with darker weather.

— Byron