From Emma Darwin to Sara Darwin [30 October 1880]

My dear Sara

Bessy began a letter to you today; but callers came in— We have quite cast Ida off our minds again, & if Horace had not unluckily been by himself on the Thursday when her feverishness came on, he wd not have been so m. alarmed— She remained uncomf & nervous for a day—not liking to hear a word from the outside; but now she is quite comf again— F. has been so unwell till today that he has done hardly any thing but sit at home— The 2 walks he took brought on faintness & some pain about the heart—so we were greatly rejoiced when D^r Clark examined him carefully & pronounced the heart quite sound— He attributes all this discomfort to eczema which will not come out. He is much better today & we had a pleasant sight of the Huxleys this morning  They are all about a foot taller & ever so much handsomer than when I saw them last; but what chiefly pleased me was Mr Huxley's strong opinion that F—should not accept the Presidentship of a Soc. which is to be formed to protect Physiologists from unjust prosecutions— D^r Lauder Brunton told him that owing to jealous among D^rs they c^d not fix upon a Pres. which the others w^d be willing to serve under; but that all w^d accept F. & at the first moment he almost felt it a duty to undertake it. I felt a great dislike to the idea as involving so m. worry & R. was strongly of opinion how bad it w^d be for him tho' they called it being Hon—Pres. F. also on reflection thought it w^d not be a right thing to undertake only nominally—& now he has seen D^r Brunton again & they do not mean to ask him I am thankful to say— He w^d certainly have had to decide questions & it w^d have worried him to death, besides all the obloquy & calumny attending such a burning & odious subject— Frank & Bernard are very happy together at home— They have tea together which I suppose B. feels very snug. as he said ""There's nobody at all to come & look at us—thats one good thing""— Frank asked him for a bit of his bun, to wh. he agreed but said ""Don't take the part with the orange peel on it for goodness sake""— I saw Laura today for a few minutes & I was encouraged by the look & expression of her face— Her D^rs do not think her in danger now, but she must go abroad wh. is very difficult for her to arrange— We have seen Effie & T.H. & At Fanny came to lunch here today w. pleased me much as making me feel so like old times.

yours my dear Sara. | E. D

George is up for 2 days. He had the little Baron at Cambridge & did it all most energetically w. him— He is quite in a rapture w. the gracious Frenchman—who says ""What a good fellow is Léonard—"" That good fellow is larking at balls w. the Brasseys but you will find him at Down— Don't you think Friday will be too near Xmas day for travelling—that you had m. better come Wed. or Thursday—

best love to W^m—

I want to see the Ffiend's fierce letter