I sat in my chamber while my wife came to me, brought by friends who carried her there against her will. The room was full of noise and laughter, a sharp change from the heavy accounts I had been crushing all day. We drank and talked until the candle burned low, forgetting the tangled sums that threatened to break my brain.

I ask you to remember when duty pulls you down into dark corners of your own making, that there are moments of light waiting just beyond the door. Do not let the work steal every hour from your heart; find a place where you may be merry again, for it is better than any ledger I have ever balanced.