From H. E. Darwin to H. E. Wedgwood 1867

Dear Teapot—

Though you've no right to another letter so soon seeing I wrote to Ef I'll just fill up my 1^d. worth. Please give enclosed to Sophy—though I do think M^r. J. might have trusted y^r. powers of giving the needful directions how to get to this not quite desert place to which you have been once or twice—nevertheless I've obeyed orders which in the case of fidjets is the safest plan—

We have had a strange visitor since I wrote & a very amusing one too. Did I ever tell you about the enormous bear I found on my arrival making it dangerous to go into the best room as he was put there for a mat & has an enormous head to tumble over & 4 large paws with sharp slightly upturned nails which tear y^r. gown & scratch y^r. legs? Cos if not this Kowalewski who is the Russian translator of Papa's new book, sent it as a gage d'Amour—& when he wrote to say that he was coming to England on purpose to see Papa we had to have the enormous thing in the drawing room where we endanger life & limb over it many times every evening & where it gives the boys frequent opportunities of swearing— On Tusday evening in he walked not even waiting for the bell to be answered which I suppose is Russian manners—not near so well-favoured as his Bear—but tho' v. v. v. ugly quite nice & remarkably amusing. He knows everything about & in England—the name of everybody—every book on every subject—every country & every language—& he is only 27 to have done it all—I think it must be cos he is a Russian & not because he is clever—or else—& this is an uncomfortable solution for we 11 hourers—cos he does without sleep & reads all night—He gives a wretched account of the state of Russia the government does every thing in its power to suppress thought & education—even Sunday Schools being abolished & Lending Libraries discouraged—that the Greek Church is too childish for the educated classes & they, including many of the Priests, believe nothing instead—whilst the Peasants are utterly bigoted— He says it is very difficult to keep safe in Russia—there are so manny ""leetle conspiracies going on"" but that if these conspiracies were to succeed they cd do no good for only a military despotism could arise—as the people have no idea of any representative government—or indeed any ideas at all—that perhaps one in a thousand of the peasants might read & write but that then they wd only read very old religious books— But amongst the higher classes there must be a great deal of reading— Only think of 4 editions of Buckle—several of the ""origin"" & all English books of any name are translated. We talked a little of Russia & India & he said they had the greatest difficulty to know what to do with what they had got— Altogether it was very interesting to hear him—but I must waste no more time in writing to you my Boy & I daresay you'll have had laugh about Russian—

your H. E. D.

He gives an odious account of Dagmar's Housband & says she is miserable

P. S. I've been to another at Home at ""Some peoples"" & I wished for you it was so pitty—If the truth must be told it was at Lady Crans—the whole valley was full of corn in shocks & the lawn as smooth as a billiard table & brilliant green with a mass of flower beds & gigantic devoniensis on the house—It really was beautiful. I went with El. my proofs are staring me reproachfully in the face—