From Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin [19 December 1885]

My dear William

I hope Sara will not leave her journey here till the day before Xmas day it is such a bad day for travelling, & I hope you both will stay as long as you can, & we shall have some quiet days together after the rest have returned home, as well as the day before they arrive—

George came to the Grange on Thursday, & was in a whirlwind of business about leaving home—

Maud is decidedly better & the D^rs advise her going to Down as soon as she can— They hope it will be on Tuesday— She takes now 20^9^. of Quinine in one dose—once a day— She is longing to leave Brighton & have the baby— It is a most engaging little thing & apparently was delighted to see George & crumpled itself all up with smiles— We had a bad smell in the house, & so I sent her over to Frank's until we can find out what is amiss— A Cambridge Improvement Sanitary man & Horace are going to inspect today.—

I am pleased to find that I can keep the baby comf— wh. I never could w. Eras—& I shall be very sorry to part with her— No hopes of Ida & she now thinks it will not happen till Xmas— She is perfectly well—

What do you think about Home Rule—my puzzle is how they can possibly protect the Landlords— The scheme will certainly be attributed to Gladstones wishing to outbid the Tories. It is nice to think how soon we shall see you (at least if we can circumvent the drains or the read rat whichever it is)

My best love to Sara— yours my dear W— | E D