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	  <div class="unav"> <a href="../../index.html">The Galileo Project</a> &gt; 
        <a href="../../family.html">Family</a> &gt; <a href="../maria.html">Maria 
        Celeste Galilei</a> &gt; <a href="../daughter.html">Galileo's Daughter: 
        Letters and Essays</a> &gt; <a href="../letters/26nov1630.html">26 November 
        1630 </a></div>
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      <br>
      <p class="heading">Letters of Maria Celeste: </p>
      <p class="letterdate">26 November 1630</p>
      <p class="main_text">Most Beloved Lord Father</p>
      <p class="main_text">Sunday morning at the fourteenth hour, our Suor Violante 
        passed on to the other life; seeing how she suffered her long and debilitating 
        illness with great patience and compliance with the will of His Divine 
        Majesty, we can piously hope that she has gone to her salvation; and indeed 
        for the past month she had been reduced to such a miserable state, unable 
        even to turn over in bed by herself, and struggling so to swallow the 
        tiniest bit of food, that death seemed almost desirable to her as the 
        final end of all these trials: I wanted to let you know before now, Sire, 
        but it was impossible for me to find the time, which remains scarce even 
        now, to write; wherefore I will say no more except that we are all well 
        here by the mercy of God; and I want to know if the same is true of you, 
        and of those close to you and especially of our little Galileino. I must 
        also thank you for the quilt you sent me, which was really more than I 
        deserve: I pray the Lord to reward you for all the good you have done 
        for me and do continually, by blessing you with His holy grace in this 
        life and granting you the glory of Paradise in the next: and here with 
        all my heart I send you my love together with Suor Arcangela and Suor 
        Luisa. </p>
      <p class="main_text">From San Matteo, the 26th day of November 1630. </p>
      <p><span class="main_text">Your most affectionate daughter, <br>
        S. M. Celeste</span> </p>
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