A 848: etext transcription

The fragment, by itself an autonomous text, appears, in part, as a trace (text altered) in a fair-copy draft of a letter (A 847) possibly composed in early 1885 (THJ) and found among Dickinson's papers at the time of her death; the provenance and addressee of the letter remain unknown. In this case the opening lines of the fragment—"Peter took the | Marine walk | at a great | risk -"—constitutes the trace; it is an allusion to Matthew 14:25–32: "And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased." The closing lines of the text—"I think | I am correct | but the | Apostles | misgive | me"—are not incorporated into this letter or into any other extant composition, and Dickinson's final intentions toward the fragment as a whole remain unknown. Underscoring Dickinson's sympathy with Peter and her skepticism, the fragment's final lines may have been deliberately omitted from the letter in order to preserve its more orthodox tone. Dickinson's handwriting is unusually large and ill-formed, suggesting that she was ill at the time of the fragment's composition or that she was writing under unfavorable circumstances, in darkness, for instance, or from her bed. For other examples of distorted handwriting, see A 809 and A 879.