DearFrank:
IamterriblysorrytotellyouthatIhavelostthevaluablebookyouweresokindtolendmelastweek。Ireaditeverydayandintendedtofinishitnextmonth。
LastnightwhenIcametomyroom，itwasnowheretobefound。Iwilltrytorecoveritassoonaspossible。IfIfailtofindit，Iwillgetanewbookforyou。
ButIamafraidCnitcannevertaketheplaceoftheoldone。Oldbooksarelikeoldfriends。Oncelost，theycanneverbereplaced。
Theyareconnectedwithcherishedassociationswhichthenewonescanneverhave。Andforthisirrecoverableloss，Iamtoblame。Iwassocarelesswithmythings。Thisisawarningtometobemorecarefulinthefuture。
Yourstruly，
Tom