From Emma Darwin to Sara Darwin 21 September [1878]

My dear Sara

I wonder how you are today; we are bright & calm & have had quietish S. W winds since Sunday—

The Litches came on Thursday very brisk from 3 days at Cheltenham, in order to see R.s sister Mrs Juke & her horried husband; it was all quite smooth; but quite as long of his society as they c^d bear—

We are having the Teesdales to dinner today, & it is to do for some years tho' if it were not for tiring F. so much I sh^d not mind as he is amusing & an everlasting talker. His clergy son & wife will be of the party also—

Uncle Hensleigh came home from London very full of an awful fiasco which has just taken place in the spiritual world; & which seemed to amuse him as much as it did the unbelievers.

William & his partner were seized at a séance at the Hague, & after a tremendous struggle secured & searched & John King's beard & various hanks— all v. much dirtied & worn were found on Williams' another beard & bits of slate pencil to fit into a flat machine to write between slates on the partner— The "Spiritualist" is horror struck but wishes it to be made quite public—

The comical part of it is that Uncle H's faith in the existence of John King is not the least shaken, tho' of course he does not doubt the roguery of W^ms F. always sits at our window early in the mg. & saw an odd sight today— a little brown creature darting across the lawn pursued by black birds & thrushes proving to be a Dormouse & a short time afterwards a weasel trying to follow up the scent also pursued by birds—

F. was glad to see that he quite lost the scent—but he was puzzled why the birds pursued the innocent Dormouse'

Laura Foster comes today. I am glad also for M^rs W's sake.

Yours my dear Sara. I hope you will do us credit (in the way of English feeding I mean) on that side of the water | my best love to Dear old W—

my best love to Theo–-