From Emma Darwin to H. E. Litchfield 2 October [1881]

Dearest H.

I am very sorry that our Cambridge visit will prevent our having the first blush of you from abroad. F. is rather done up however & we had better not put it off you must come as soon as you can after our return. The beaut. weather (now for a week) made the Pattricks visit very easy—as both of them enjoy out of doors & Bessy took them to Chevening & Holwood— Bernard quite enjoyed Ethel, tho he informed Louisa that he was glad she was going. She is a very confiding nature & thinks men especially trust worthy. e.g. climbing on F's knee &c. The sisters are really going home next week & I gathered that the brothers maintained them; but [Wilhelmina] must be a feeble little body to consider that doing the housework for those 2 is enough so that she hardly joins in her sister's dress—making & the elder sisters eyes are so bad that she can only do the cutting out & fixing. Mr Patt. is a tasteful cultivated man & sat w. Fr every evg. till 10 o'clock over their cigarettes so that F. had little fatigue. He & Cam. are v. fond of each other.

Poor Pearce is impelled to go to service again— She has had no work for a week or 2 & a wicked fellow lodger has stole some jackets & dress she was making & so it throws her quite behind hand— I am sure it is best for her—so you think of her if any thing shd turn up. Dr Moore & Mrs came on Sat & Joanna & Susie [Tileri] so we got Miss Tomkins & her brother done & it was quite suitable & word game most successful— Mrs Moore is very engaging & quite pretty enough to be pleasant to look at— Joanna said so cordially several times how sorry she was not to have been at Florence while you were there that it r. nonplussed me & I c^d only say I hoped you wd see her in London before she went. Susie is a satisfactory girl heavy looking but sensible & w. as quiet a manner as Rosamond's so I suppose that comes naturally from living w. a Horner— She wd be handsome w. a little brilliancy added on 

They have spent most of this day at R—bourne & the gents are gone to meet them walking home. Tomorrow mg I am going to look over poor Q.A. & see what I want over here. (you heard that we have got Sales' field)—

George came home pretty brisk having enjoyed his last few days & the beaut. country. He went to Raglans from the Crawleys & was so surprized to see the Farrers drive up—(from the Halls)  They or perhaps he invited him for this Sat & Sunday to Abinger, & I am r sorry he did not go. Dr Moore is not so hopeless about Ireland— He thinks the peasantry will perceive the benefits of the land bill in spite of Parnell's teaching.

I am so bloody minded I c^d almost wish for civil war to put an end to this system of terrorism—which causes more suffering I do believe—

Lord Derby's article is very hopeless

At Fanny & H—come on Wed. & Fr. B. go to Aberdovey on Thursday— He says he is r sick of work, & counting Strasburg he has had a long spell of it.

I wrote to you at Pisa & I believe to Siena— It was provoking R. filling up his last day w. a headache.

What a strange slowness of civilizing the way the Italians treat their babies— I shd have thought the constant intercourse w. foreigners wd have brought in new ideas—

It will be nice seeing you but I feel as if you had but just gone—not exactly the style of M^me. de Sevigne.

We are reading Miss Thackeray's book about her & is so well done & concise I think Mr Ritchie must have helped—

Yours my dear | E. Darwin