From H. E. Litchfield to Elizabeth Darwin [late 1870s]

tinctions & made them only feel their common humanity & I shd. say they just about worship the ground he treads on. Then there was a little more singing & then short & nice feeling but not v. interesting speech of I. Hughes  Then a slightly lengthy speech of one of the old set of college men. It wasn't really long but very short speeches were best. Then a really charming little speech by me of the present students—saying that tho' he had been so short a time at the College no one could be there at all without coming under R.s influence—. It was so pretty & sincerely said. After this there came the reading of the address. Mr. Tansley read it & that was the thing that made me have the biggest lump in my throat. I send you a copy—isn't it a charming address—so simple & unflummery & yet as strong as words can make it.

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begun to be taught music on Tonic Sol fa principles. & R. says I'm very clever & that it must have been bad teaching that made me sing out of tune— He now declines to have a pi cos he says it will stop me learning to sing.

I've also brought 9s worth of plants, wh. R. thinks v. extravagant  Tell Father that R. shares his dread of the Workhouse. I must say the Workhouse looms rather big before my eyes & I'm gng t class my accounts & see where the Dickens the money has gone to. There never seems to be too much of anything—& I'm sure I never have any thing I don't want—& of course one can only economize in the things one doesn't care about.

Goodbye dear B. | My blessings on your Dancing | your HEL

Please cite as “FL-1089,” in Ɛpsilon: The Darwin Family Letters Collection accessed on 29 March 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/darwin-family-letters/letters/FL-1089