(TIME AND PLACE UNCERTAIN)

I HAVE castigated you,at least with the silent reproach of my thoughts,because this is the second packet that has arrived without a letter from you.You cannot escape the penalty for this crime by your own advocacy:you will have to call Marcus to your aid,and don't be too sure that even he,though he should compose a speech after long study and a great expenditure of midnight oil,would be able to establish your innocence.In plain terms,I beg you to do as I remember my mother used to do.It was her custom to put a seal on wine-jars even when empty to prevent any being labelled empty that had been surreptitiously drained.In the same way,I beg you,even if you have nothing to write about,to write all the same,lest you be thought to have sought a cover for idleness:for I always find the news in your letters trustworthy and welcome.Love me,and goodbye.