From Emma Darwin to H. E. Darwin 30 April [1866]

My dearest Body

I wish I had written some days ago, but I thought then it was too late for Mentone. So I will send this to Elinor who will know what to do. You will have had a letter from Aunt Eliz. & Lizzy. I am so sorry about poor E. & will be quite careful. I do not believe however it is a thingto make her give up hope of getting over it.

I am so glad to think of your exped. to Mentone. That little village D^u Cannet sounds wuite lovely, but I suppose you cannot help falling upon what is lovely wherever you go—

Now for news. On Friday Lizzy & I joined the Harry's at Hamlet with Fechter. I enjoyed it very much but I did not fall in love with him & I had rather see something else than Shakespear. He however made parts affecting that never appeared so in reading it. Saturday I got my horrid job of Miss P. done Aunt Eliz. charitably coming with me which made me not mind it half so much. We saw the matron ferit a very nice sensible woman who gave a very bad account of Miss P. in all ways, which I saw was the case when she came in. She was far more miserable & irritable than I ever saw her & full of the wildest accusations against the Hawkshaws. So that is over for 6 months or more. This m^g. I saw D^r Wood & his account was bad enough. He says her behaviour to the others is so rude & intolerable that he cannot let her sit with them. & she is the most troublesome patient he ever had. In the evening Papa dressed up quite tidy in his dress suit & went to the Soireé at the Royal Soc. which he has been wishing for years to do. It felt quite cheering to see him go. He staid more than an hour & saw every one of his old friends, who were all delightfully cordial as soon as they found out who he was, which they never did tell he told them owing to his beard. Gen. Sabine presented him to the P. of Wales. Only 3 were presented & he was the first. He made his most respectful bow & the P. muttered some little civility which he c^d not hear. The P. looked very nice & gentlemanlike but utterly uninterested in any of the things & curiosities. Papa was very much pleased with having gone. Yesterday was rather too fatiguing—a long call on M^r Grove something about forces. then a long call from Sir C. Lyell. who was so polite to Lizzy standing up & talking a little to her. She smiled & looked her best & a little more society would make her manners quite nice. Then the Harry's came & we had a pleasant evening((whenever poor Tim w^d hold his tongue which was not often, Uncle Harry looked as tired of him as Hamlet was of Polonius)). Jenny is decidly nice ready & gracious. She & Aunt Jessie are consulting D^r Garrod & quite right to have a painstaking man instead of D^r B. J. We go home tomorrow & Papa has been quite long enough & is beginning to feel the over excitement. Tonight Lizzy & I are going to do something profligate perhaps the Philharmonic. I have been quite well & enjoying myself the last 4 days or 5. We saw the Thorleys just moved into their new huse but very uncomf. with nothing arranged. It will be a great improvement on the old one. Poor Emily looked half dead.

Papa has seen & done every thing he wanted. Lizzy & I are going to have the carriage & do a few odds & ends. She aims at a small cameo brooch which I will give her. Good bye my dear. How I hope you are getting as strong as you were before. Ellen & G. were charmed with your account of Du Cannet & the lazy family which part alone I read them.

They are invited to assist at the H. Lubbock wedding atSt George's on May 8.^th^

yours E. D.