From Emma Darwin to H. E. Litchfield [16 December 1881]

Dearest H—

We had a peaceful & pleasant evening Fr & R. talking geology partly—. Frank came to dinner & bustled off to the Linnean afterwards & home at night— He brought word of Mrs Smiths of Patterdale sudden death, which will be a terrible blow to Mrs Ruck, as I think she cared more for her than for any one— Bernard, before Frank came away, said ""I think I had better go upstairs now—for I fear I shd cry.""" When he was at dinner w. Fr he said—""Now nobody can come & look at us—that is one good thing""— Fr brought him an aerated bun & added him to give him a bit of it ""Don't take the part with the orange peel on it for goodness sake""— I went this mg early to Dr C— He is resolved to come & see F—for his own pleasure I think. I told him about the pulse & he said that shewed that there was some derangement of the heart, but he did not take a serious view of it— He said he must avoid walking when he had the pain. I told him what F's feelings were, of the evil of discouragement as affecting his working powers— He gave me a prescrip for a comforting dose which he was confident wd relieve his distress or pain— He spoke affectionately of George & said he felt confident he was attaining rather a higher standard of health & of his wonderful energy & industry & that he thought his mind in his [life] was equal to his father's— I asked about Ada & he said he had great hopes she wd get well, but that it was ""a bad sort""—also that it was v encouraging her not having had another attack w. I thought she had had.

We have had a comf. sight of Rose—& F. has failed in seeing Romanes & he feels poorly & uncomf. & I am very glad D^r C. will see him tomorrow p.m as he always cheers him— Bessy will tell you her plans w. are complicated

yours my dear—

My best love to H. & Ida. I shd have liked to see her w her baby before it gets the least stale—

By the way Mrs Shaen told Bessy that she had a talk w. Effie, who takes quite nicely the fact of your being w. Ida as one of the unavoidable consequences of an unhappy state of things

I guess you will hear sooner of Laura than we shall one is afraid of worrying Mrs Synott—