From Emma Darwin to H. E. Litchfield [12 September 1870]

My dearest Body

It is v. pleasant to feel well again after my 9 days poorliness & I can't think what took me. It was not good M^r & M^rs Rowland, as F. of course put it down to, (tho he is dreadfully deaf) we have been v. rich in letters, 1^st Richard's pleasant & full journal for w. thank him m. Then y^rs to B. & todays to F. w. affected him & pleased him m. If I don't get my head turned amongst you all it will be a wonder; but I feel it like F. making me out to be so very ill always! only a proof of his affection & therefore he does not succeed in making me think myself so very sick or so very good. Nothing happened on Sunday but a most lovely day & walk & croquet w. Alice Massingberd. On Monday I was in bed. Lena, Ed & Alice were treasures about the school children, & w Bessy who had to receive them all by herself, every thing went off capitally. They all worked till past 7 & I lay in bed & troubled my head about nothing. Alice enjoyed it as m. as Lena. On Monday night Horace came very jolly & well. He has a good time in all respects, has worked hard, is v. fond of Brown, & has really learnt to dance well as he modestly assures me. The ball only cost ££3 a head w. was wonderful & was most successful. When I told him that R. liked Lenny the best of the brothers he said warmly "Everybody does, he is so much the nicest". I said "O! I don't know, I think you are all very nice." "Oh yes I dare say we are, but if you were to ask any of us which we liked best, we sh^d all say Lenny"— He has been down to the Ven. P. who is still bad (send him some message, for I think y^r wedding finished him up) & then the L's came up— After coffee he proposed a ride to Edmund who passed it on to Alice who seemed m. pleased. Lena made stricted enquires as to Flyer's character before she w^d let her go. I am pleased to see how m. chat and laughing there is between N. and Horace. Poor little Cinder has been lost for 2 days. It has caused a burst of indignation thro' the house. Jane was sure she was starved.—M^rs Tasker turned it out at night &c However, she was found at John Lewis's; & now the evil tongue takes another direction, viz. that the Lewis meant to keep her & so did not tell, when enquiries were made. This is the last day of the L's, & H. & Bessy are gone down to tea. They will be a sad loss to Eliz. I send you a nice letter of QQQQ. Geo. & F. want theirs kept for journals & so I will give you the facts.

Geo's last was written in a sweet little cabin all to themselves in the Pacific Railway actually on their way to California & finding they sleep capitally & are enjoying everything. They had got beyond Omaha & had some Indians, fine looking men & wretched looking women. Wed. mg.

Jane is in bed with lumbago & fainting & I am sure is in for an illness, but M^rs Evans thinks it is a capital joke & does all the work. She will have M^rs Os today. Tomorrow Horace will start Bessy & L. Anne & take her to the Railway if he can be got up in time. I hope we shall manage D^r Hooker on Sat. week & I am afraid M^rs H. It was quite pathetic how much pleased poor old M^r Rowland was at having seen F. again. He said he had been afraid he was quite slipped out of his memory but now he should feel that he was reinstated. Tell R– we have enjoyed Old Town folks extremely. What a pity it is that M^rs Stowe had not strength of mind to finish at the end of the 1st vol when it was all fresh, instead of dragging out the dregs of the herronages as very tiresome men & women. I ended with quite sympathizing with Hessy & Miss Lois in grudging that lazy Sam all the good things he got. We have 2 Sec. on the tassis. We shall have 50 I believe. The 2 families of Normans clashed on Friday, unluckily M^rs H. Norman was 1^st & so went away. M^rs G. found it almost too tiresome so ask any thing about your marriage, so I soon shared her & got her own affairs; & I like her in spite of manners. The Langtons were m. impressed with Sibell as manners when she brot her children, & said she c^d not listen to a word. Effie wrote such a pleasant long letter to Bessy wanting to know abt wedding. She had hardly slept a nights for thinking what a figure Hope w^d be & how miserable Anne w^d be.

She hopes to meet w. the Lichfields but thinks it not hardly proper. In short she seems in the best of spirits. Poor Elinor is still very unwell & doubting what to do, whether to go home which Alice entreats her not to do mistakenly I sh^d say—

We are in fall cry about Sec. & lodgings but she is not a fast writer. Little Powellies is here so I must stop. I have looked up the little Edlene & the poor man looks to be starving poor I am quite glad to think of that £5—