Dea⟨r⟩ Sir.
⟨Wh⟩en I am playing ⟨o⟩n the piano, and anyone ⟨co⟩mes, and looks over me; ⟨I⟩ am afraid they will ⟨loo⟩k at my hands, and ⟨I⟩ am so afraid of their ⟨being⟩ red that they blush, ⟨though they⟩—were not red [before.]2
When my governess spoke of my hands ⟨ ⟩ being long or able ⟨to⟩ stretch, or drew a⟨ttention⟩ to them, they ⟨blushed.⟩ I once said this to ⟨ ⟩ I forget who, I think on⟨e⟩ of my governesses, she said “Oh yes, of co⟨urse⟩ everyone blushes in th⟨eir⟩ hands.”
I hope you will not think I am trying to hoax ⟨you⟩ because I could ⟨not⟩ do such a thing, and ⟨w⟩ould be disgusted ⟨at⟩ anyone who did.
Yr. truly | Maria Isabella Snow.
⟨I⟩ used to feel my hands ⟨ge⟩tting redder and redder, ⟨the⟩ more they were looked ⟨at⟩ I say they “used” ⟨ ⟩ise since I left the ⟨ ⟩room, I never play ⟨ ⟩, so I have not seen it lately—
Please cite as “DCP-LETT-13842,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on