To Manuela up in Montreal on Mittens

Good to hear that there is such a thing as heat up there! They do say that mittens can slow down reading---especially studied has been the mittens' effect on one's reading of Latin. It was even further determined in the more advanced study that one's reading of Catullus is nearly stalled with the use of mittens. "Mittens are worse than manacles" was the slogan in the pioneer studies done by one of the leading institutes on research of the effect of mittens on everything from arithmetical counting on the fingers to speed reading of the ancient languages. While the mitten was unanimously regarded as the principle protagonist in delaying one's ability to finish a pamphlet let alone a textbook, the scarf and down parkas were also implicated in the decrease in the grasp of grammar in general and Latin grammar in particular. However, I confess to having difficulty (and I'm not even wearing mittens) in understanding such a correlation between clothing and conjugations; but then again how can one argue with a study funded by the leading centers of learning and research? 

All this to say that I am quite glad on hearing that you will not be one of the statistics in these findings on mittens and other winter appendages! 

And since contemplating the latest study on mittens has enlightened me as to the possibility of mittens themselves being the culprit in the oversight in the uncut pages in Pickwick going unnoticed. I may contact the Institute in the Management of Mittens and perhaps they can lend more insight into this mystery. 

So Manuela, keep reading well, and of course I trust that you will continue to turn the pages of Catullus without the use of mittens.