From Emma Darwin to G. H. Darwin 25 January 1881

My dear George

We rec^d your Friday's letter & Card from Dartm. on Sunday & yesterday, (what a snow storm it must have been) your 2^nd letter. It had been perfectly calm with no snow here since the great storm, & we were rejoicing to think what a good beginning you w^d have & were m. disappted to find you were still on land. The Therm. rose much on Sunday & there was a sort of thaw in London— It has been 16° several nights & was 22° last night. The Lyells brought us word of 3° below zero at Bury— but F. thinks it c^d not have been fairly placed—

⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ had neither Crayley nor young ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠—but we did very well—

Rosamond is sensible & very nice but has a little of the family want of humour— Arthur nice too but dull & a little tedious. They both play well on the P. F. & with the blessed word game, (in w. FR. weighted or handicapped himself so as to give them a chance) we did v. well—

They had just come from Barton where the style of fun for the young people seems of a very rollicking nature. The young party had a separate table & on discovering a hole in one of the dinner napkins they proceeded to tear them all up, & one Arthur M'Murds put his head thro' one & showed himself off &c the old party— to Lady B's great horror & no wonder— It was a most ill-bred proceeding— The housekeeper was hard pressed for napkins & sent in a set of beautiful fine very old ones— Another trick was doing up the menus like darts & shooting the servants or the old table, also having a battle on the stairs at night w. slippers & candlesticks (as I understood) I think Lady B. must be good natured to put up with such doings.

Leo. is going on well & had numbers of visitors & is positively to move to Chatham on Friday— Alfred is Alas! on the tapis again— He wrote to say that he was v. uncomf. & the food bad, & U. Hens. at once wired to him (without even telling At F.) to come straight away— It seemed such an insulting way to the host & hostess to take him away in such a manner— Huxley's appt to fisherying Inspectorship is 700£ a y^r

He says "I had never so much as thought of the App^t; but Harcourt wrote me a v. considerate letter, to the effect that he had made up his mind if ever he had the power, to do something to improve the position of men of science—& as this post involved light work, he thought I m^t take it & be all the easier."—

"The difference to me will be this—that whereas for the last 20 y^rs I have been obliged to make as much again as my official income—the new App^t £700 a y^r) will about do that business & relieve me from the necessity of bread-making— So 3 cheers for Harcourt, of whom I know v. little— & who I believe has acted wholly out of a regard for Science"—

London is detestable w. no water & the horses falling. Your first letter from Madeira w. be most interesting. How I hope you are at this moment a good many degrees S. F's eczema still makes him uncomf

Yours my dear | old man | E⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠