From E. B. Ramsay   3 September 1831

My Dear Henslow

I ought to have written to you before & purposed doing so, but have had some grievously distressing & perplexing business to attend to – I now am desirous of assuring you that there is no need to find yourself to the least inconvenience in expediting the affairs since there is really no cause for haste & you may require to take time & are frequently absent from Camb: Long may your beloved wife be spared to you My Dear Friend! – may God be merciful & gracious under all dispensations – it is delightful to me to read your resigned & pious dispositions & to notice the association you have made between them & the beloved memory of my brother – May you never lose hold of the motives to resignation to consolation & to a calm anticipation of the future, which the gospel so abundantly affords –may you never feel them less vividly than you do at present & may you immerse yourself in them more & more – I have expressed this awkwardly & clumsily but you will see that I mean to convey to you my best wishes – Do not put yourself in the least out of the way on my account – My Sister has desired me to send her kind regards & grateful thanks – indeed we all deeply feel your kindness – I wish to consult you about the books – I found that they are almost all perfectly useless to me – I have for some time found the necessity of devoting myself exclusively to my own professional business. I have a great demand upon me for new sermons & I have no time for my studies those w. ^h bear upon that point – hence books on Mathematical subjects – on Botany, Classics & modern languages are in fact no use to me – My idea is therefore to return certain books on general subjects & to agree with a bookseller at Camb: to take these the rest in the way of exchange for certain other books – on divinity, church hist: & morals w. ^h I am desirous of possessing. This (if it could be done) w. ^d perhaps be better than a sale by auction – I mean w.d oc[ca]sion less trouble. You do not mention your brot[her –] I suppose he is better – may God be with you in all you have to bear.

M. ^r Ash of X [Christ's] Coll: has been here – we did not see much of him – but were much pleased with his kind & sympathizing manner – he is extremely intelligent & agreeable – M. ^rs Ramsay desires her kind remembrances

& believe me | your’s very truly | E.B.R.

I have a very kind letter from D ^r French – If you would take the trouble (perhaps it w. ^d be somewhat awkward for me doing it) to write to Lady Charlemont – I sh. ^d feel obliged it is certainly worth while to have the chance of regaining any lost volumes – I have a few here w. ^h he brought. I like your idea of “the Strangers” of St Peter – Every day’s experience shews me more & more strongly my “stranger” state–