From H. E. Litchfield to Emma Darwin [1871 or later]

Dearest Mother,

The Lairds have persuaded us to stay on another day so here we are till tomorrow. Yesterday we went to St Marys & the poor old Mount & to try & find Mark Briggs. I guess St Mary's has been restored since Father's day, but it has been very well & tastefully done. It is a beautiful old church with a grand E. window. They keep it always open & you walk in & out as you like. In the morning R. & I went to the Quarry which they get at very easily by a ferry without going all down to the English bridge. I thk there never was such a pretty public walk for a tour & we sat there a good time & then pulled up into the town & home in a fly— After deep cogitation we settled to call on M^rs. F. we felt sure they'd hear of our being here & we didn't want it to seem as if they weren't fit to be called on—& as they were out no harm has happened. The people were out at the Mount & the maid servant gave us permission to walk abt the grounds. All the pretty walks in the bank house have been let to grow up so that you don't see the river & are stuffy & dank, & you [don't] see the river from up above either—at least I didn't without standing on the wall & then you get a distant peep. The little summerhouse where all children used to play is a ruin, poor old house— Mark was out but a good natured neighbour offered to run & find him she said he w^d be so dreadfully disappointed to miss us. However he cdn't be found—but Miss Laird has asked him up to the servants dinner, (he's to dine up in a cab) wh. his neighbour seemed to thk he'd like very much so we shall see him.

Let me see I wrote before her exped to Haughmond Abbey wh. was very successfully managed—we had tea there & then walked along under the woods for abt a mile a most lovely walk. Unfortunately it was an ugly E. wind day so only the near things looked pretty & the view of Shrewsbury in front of the hills was invisible, but one cd see how very pretty it must be— We are gng somewhere else today but I forget the name— How happy you are now [illeg] have in the train— Tell me abt Aunt F's journey— Many thanks for yr nice lng letter— Your H.E.L.