From Emma Darwin to Fanny Allen [30 May 1867]

My dear Aunt Fanny.

I did not write for the hope of a letter but it was a great pleasure to receive one from you. I do care about reform to a degree, but when one sees the Tories giving all we ask one has not the excitement of a struggle. I am glad the Fenians are not to be hanged, not for love of them though. It was a pity the Gov^t held out so long.

I am sorry you are reading such a painful book as Sylvia & it might have just as well ended happily.

We returned from 3 days at Cambridge on Saturday. My companions were Amy Crofton, & Lucy who both met me in London & Lizzy went with me. Wed. was a most bitterly cold & snowy day, but the girls were all ready for enjoyment.

George met us at our Inn ⁠⟨⁠⁠⟨⁠&⁠⟩⁠⁠⟩⁠ after dinner walked us about. Then we had a carriage & drove 3 miles to a boggy meadow by the river side to see the boat races. We put on every sort of cloak & managed not to catch cold. It really was a fine sight seeing 20 boatfuls of handsome athletic young men row slowly by up to the starting post, all in handsome uniform of different colours. In about $\frac{1}{2}$ an hour we heard the starting gun & then the noise of shouting & the crowd rushing along on the towing path opposite & presently the first boat shot by, the young men with naked arms no hats & only Jersey's on. It seemed a great exertion especially to those who were rowing badly even to my ignorant eyes.

The Cam. is too narrow for more than one boat so that when the hindmost bumps the one before, the foremost gives up & goes to the side. The boats in starting are all ranged at a certain distance from each other & start at the same instant. It is the thing to drive home as fast as possible from the race & our horses chose to go like mad so that we quite enjoyed it.

Then we went very hungry to drink tea with George. Fish, cutlets & every sort of tea cake. He has a very nice room in Trinity. The 2 following days were much the same rushing about all day, varied with a most elegant breakfast at Franks & ditto lunch at Swettenham's Claret cup & all sorts of elegancies from the Trinity kitchen. We had Cicely & Clark. & the Langtons to teas & joined the Langtons in several things. They look very comfortable & Lena perfectly harmless but I c^d not help making a contrast between her & Amy Crofton. Lena is cordial too & evidently likes to be intimate with Ed's relations. Our last mg. was the most brilliant as the weather improved & the boys joined us to go to Ely which is very grand. Then we came home bringing Amy with us & parting with Lucy again to go straight home to L.H.P. from London. It seems that Jos is still obliged to have a daughter to sit up with him as he requires a meal in the night. He is now carried to a sofa on the same floor as his feet are perfectly helpless & all his joints still painful.

However in Caroline's last letter she is satisfied with the progress. One likes Lucy very much but not from what she says. She is very feeling & affectionate. She seemed rather shaken & low with all the nursing when first she joined us, but quite cheered up & enjoyed herself heartily. I hope the 2 others will come to us now for a little refreshment. I wonder whether Harry & Jessie hav⁠⟨⁠⁠⟨⁠e⁠⟩⁠⁠⟩⁠ left you. I hope they have not been in a hurry, as he seems far from strong.

Goodbye dearest Aunt F. | yours E.D.

Charles is horridly tired of his big book & thinks nobody ever wrote so badly before, it requires so much correction. Henrietta helps him & is of real use.