//CLARA//
Palacio Real, Madrid October 12th, 1879
My dearest Eleanor,
Since my return to Madrid, I have found the halls of the Palacio strangely hollow. It is a curious thing. We shared but a handful of days in Newport, yet those fleeting hours have rendered the familiar sights of my home quite dull by comparison. I never realized how much I had grown accustomed to the music of your laughter until I was forced to live without the sound of it.
I write to you with the most excellent of news. My father has granted his formal blessing for my visit to the States. My bags are already being prepared, and I shall be on a vessel before the month is out. It seems impossible that so brief an acquaintance could leave me so restless, but I find myself staring at the horizon, wishing the tides would move faster.
