From Emma Darwin to H. E. Litchfield [24 October 1881]

Dearest H.

We were so glad to have R's card with the wonderful fact of a good passage for it was rough & stormy here. How provoking about your thumb as I am afraid it is likely to happen again—

We are most comf. here & we had quite a brilliant 5 o'clock tea last night— Rayleighs— J.W.^s & a sister of Mrs J.W Lady Bonham who had been w. the Lowells at Madrid thro' that fearful illness. Miss Gladstone & a little American Miss Wilcox who was nearly out of her mind w. the honour & glory of seeing F.

When most of them were gone Ida introduced her 2 him & he had a little talk w. her besides chaff w. Miss G. on her having said something solemn when she lunched here about the Irish arrests. As they were going away something was said about the steep steps & Miss G. said to her friend ""I suppose you feel that it does not signify now whether you break your neck or not. I went to Kings on Friday & speculated on the dismal garden on Sat. mg—but I have been very dead these 3 days— I feel revived today & am going out in a fly— Ida is perfectly well & eats walnuts every evg. F's great horror. She is such a size—

Horace had a sharp attack of sickness on Friday night & he is not v. well now—but Ida says he has never been bad since that time at Down when he gave up going to Abinger.

Geo. is unusually well—

We are probably to meet Sir Henry Mayne at lunch—

Horace & Ida have no difficulty in keeping things within moderate compass. The wretched Bessy is going to Ireland in about 10 days; she will go by Scotland so as to have a short passage— I long to know how Bernard got on those 3 rainy days & that At F did not worry herself about him—

F's best of loves & he is delighted that you are safe home from those horrid foreign parts— Goodbye till Friday—by 4.12 I guess—

Yours my dear | E.D

F. was very dead for 2 days & Bessy ditto w a bad cold—but we have been v. happy