noon
The whole stood thus : -- ` Bormola , 11 p.m. , February 28th , 1855 . ` Dearest Albinia , ` I hope all has gone fairly well with you in my absence , and that Sophia is well again . Could I have foreseen the condition of affairs here , I doubt whether I could have resolved on leaving you at home , though you may be spared much by not being with us . I landed at noon to-day , and was met in the harbour by your cousin , who had come off in a boat in hopes of finding you on board . He did his best to prepare me for Gilbert 's appearance , but I was more shocked than I can express . There can no longer be any doubt that it is a case of rapid decline , brought on by exposure , and , aggravated by the injury at Balaklava . Colonel Ferrars fancies that Gilbert 's exertions on his behalf in the early part of his illness may have done harm , by preventing the broken bone from uniting , and causing it to press on the lungs ; but knowing the constitutional tendency , we need not dwell on secondary causes , and there is no one to whom we owe a deeper debt of gratitude than to your cousin , for his most assiduous and affectionate attendance at a time when he is very little equal to exertion .