From W. E. Darwin to Emma Darwin 6 April [1890]

My dear Mother:–

We were very glad to get our nice long letter. The wind has now got into the S. W. so I fear that we shall lose the pleasant bright weather which suits you so well. Horace is now getting well over his slight relapse, & I think that by Wednesday or Thursday he will be quite fit to go to Bournemouth. Ida has secured nice lodgings, but of course the food is a risk. Horace thinks that the sea may do him good as well as the chicks, so he hopes to stay there a fortnight. When he has quite got over this little fall back I think he will find that he has made real progress since he has been here. Ida has been unwell with a very bad cold, & has been in the house for the last two days, Buffy is such a quiet good girl that she gives her no trouble. Our plans are getting fixed I think; first we go to Leamington to see Miss James, as Sara has long had this visit on her mind; after staying there a few days we shall go to the Lakes, as I fancy Spring there will be very charming if it is not too cold. We had an idea of going to Shrewsbury from Leamington, as Sara would like to see the Mount, & if we had gone there we should have gone on to N. Wales, but the wind has shifted against Wales at present. It is disappointing that the Leonards have found Gibraltar a failure & that Eliz is no better, it must make it dismal for Leo: he was much too modest not to speak to Sach. Darwin about the machine, I hoped he would have more brass. He will now soon be back again & looking out for some work & I hope the Board will find him something of value to do. I think that this illness has made Horace takes to books much more than he did, it has been very pleasant having them here. I am glad to hear that Uncle Hensleigh keeps comfortable in spite of his tendency to bronchitis. I see Snow has written a little article on Midsummer night's dream in the Contemporary, which I found pleasant to read. Horace says that the article in the same by A. Dicey on the Referendum is very well worth reading. I am keeping for my Sunday reading Prof. Robertson Smith's very stiff book on the institutions of the Semites, if I stick to it I shall find it interesting, as the style is not tiresome. Spring is coming rushing on, & our daffies are in perfection, we have some of the Horsefield big ones, but they are almost giants & look unnatural, our rhodos are coming out, & Rogers garden will soon be worth seeing.

We are very glad to hear that Maud is going on so well, I fear Geo. had set his heart on a boy, I never quite see why girls are so looked down on. It seems quite odd to be spending our Bank holiday, instead of coming to you. I mean to come to Down later on.

Goodbye, dear Mother your affect. son | W. E. D