From Emma Darwin to G. H. Darwin 31 January 1881

My dear George

The frost took its departure on Wed. last & very delightful it has been & the snow has disappeared miraculously quickly.

The cows came galloping out w. their tails up floundering about. We may hope to hear from you in less than a week's time. F. met w. the account of a dreadful storm at Lisbon, but I hope it did not reach you— Leo. got back to Chatham on Friday quite well, as he hopes, I think Eras. must miss him. I hope the Horace's will soon be back at their own home—

The visit has been utterly painful & dismal. Effie civil & doing the proper thing, but Ida feeling all the time on a piece of thin ice— They mean if possible not to go there again, & Mr F. has taken no pains to shew that he cares about having Ida— Hope & Godfrey are there & she is q. cordial & affectionate to Ida— Alfred wrote home to say that he was v. uncomf. & the food bad— so U. Hensleigh telegraphed without even telling At F. for him to come straight away— w. was v. insulting to his host— & Alfred has joined his wife & had a reconciliation. The Litches are here, and we are all so m. at one on politics that it is no longer a tabooed subject.

Hen. & Bessy are to go to the H. of Commons on Thursday night & see if Sir John can get them in— I wish they might hear Gladstone. We are reading Livingstone's life (a very tiresome book) but giving such an odious account of the Boers that I quite hope we shall not give them self-government— Sir John's speech also made us quite of that opinion & they are only 40,000—

Mr Fegan is doing great good in the village, if it will but hold. He has converted wicked old Reeves, & Brookes said he did not think he w^d even look at a public house.

He has a meeting of men at his house on a Sunday p. m. & John Lewis is also a convert. & a great many more, & temperance seems to be a regular accomp. of conversion. F's eczema keeps him still below par & he has a great deal of trouble w. signing papers about the removal of cattle (there is foot & mouth disease about) the papers are so abstruse & troublesome that it takes a long time. I remember v. hating madcap Violet as it is dismal.

I keep on spending a long time over the papers & admiring Gladstones speeches— they are so full of energy—

Bessy is going to London & on to Basset for a week or so—

yours my dear G. | E. D

Fr. called in at High Elms for 5 o'cl. tea yesterday!!!