From Emma Darwin to H. E. Litchfield [10] April 1881

Dearest H—

I will mend my bill of yesterday if I have time. The play turned out very successful—but the ladies' artistic dresses were so m. prettier than the fashionable ones w. were quite hideous. Also B's soirée w. the little Tomkins was q. prosperous—

I have been warning Pauline not to allow him to be rude to her— She is too empressée to please him; but I think that may mend—

We were reading Carlyle's will yesterday. How could he leave little Aitken only 500 (besides the house &c)  He ought to have considered her exactly like a daughter. I can't make out that he did leave her the Reminiscences only the imperfect copy—

We have been m. interested w the land bill & think the plan of Gov^t paying $\frac{3}{4}$ quite impossible to pass—& yet it is r. unworthy of Gladstone to ask more than he thinks reasonable, to allow for beating down— I think Lord B—will recover & a most distressing illness it must have been— We had a comical call yesterday—2 young Stevens from Cornwall— They were quite surprized that F. did not recognize them. I did remember the face of the eldest a very wizen yellow little boy— They were vulgar enough in spite of the eldest having been at Oxford— The youngest was articled to an Atty & was vulgar—looking down on all his belongings— Truro &c in a most snobbish way—

We offered luncheon & sent kind messages & F told them how differently the parish had gone on since their father's time— They stayed a moderate time. (Such a nice day. It may be quite hot—but every thing looks fizzled & brown) 

Which day shall you come? It is nice to think of—

Alice makes out a happy life of her very dull one—& is not the least afraid of her step—father e.g. telling him she shd not mind his giving £5 or £10 but shd not stand £100— He is utterly without measure in generosity. yours my dear | w. my love to R— | E D—

I am so glad W^m is allowed to go to work— Sara was so m. better I hope she was not killed by her 2 days in London