From H. E. Litchfield to Emma Darwin 29 August [1873]

Dearest Mother

I’ve got two letters to thank you for dated Sunday & Tuesday   You’ve been very good about writing   I thought Gen. Strachey fell short of agreeable but I put it down to his wife who was a clever trampling sort of woman who took the lead in conversation. I am amused at hearing of your cricket hunt. I am sure it is something in the year for they appeared at Bry Street last week & nearly drove the maids mad but they daren’t kill it because of bringing bad luck. How foolish you were not to kill it when it was out in the balcony. So Polly felt James’ old charm. She is the most constant little doggy that ever was made.

I don't think I’ve written for 2 days which have been full of events for Villars namely the appearance of the great Josephine Butler with a frightfully ugly son & M^r Stewart Frank’s beloved M^r Stewart if you remember about him. They came up to see the Stansfields for a night M^r Stansfield is I gather a regular out & outer. & I think that your opinions about Woman are a shibboleth without wh. you can’t enter the wives circle. Not but what she is not very civil to me introduced & made Josephine come & sit by me on the sofa—but then I think she thinks I’m v. young & may be converted. However whatever were their opinions they made a very pleasant party. There is something particularly taking in M^r Stewart—such a fresh bright nature—not at all like an ordinary bored young man—& very young looking. R. was v. glad to meet him as he had heard he was open to nobbling for W.M.C. & so they had a good talk. We first dined together & then went into the Stansfields salon & staid ever so late. Josephine has the remains of great beauty & I can quite understand how she captivates mens souls. There is something very commanding & fascinating in her eyes. She told me a little about that wonderful Theodosia Marshall who talked to me about squashing fools at the W.M.C.. She must be a very remarkable woman—tho’ she is the dau^r of an employer—& an employer of the old school. She has got the complete confidence of the men & they tell her everything—about their trades unions & everything else & talk of her as Theodawsia Marshall. I am sure Horace’s Marshall can't be sound in his views about women. She talked about him with just the slightly disparaging tone that Theodosia did. We discussed spiritualism & the distinction betw materialism & non materialism. & pulled a great many peoples character’s to pieces & had very good fun. I shd think M^r Stansfield was quite a mystic in faith. & one saw in him the regular politicians view of the utter worthlessness of physical science. He couldn’t conceive what was the interest of inquiring into spiritualism if you gave up the supernatural origin of the manifestation. That such a trifle shd occur as the law of gravity not holding was nothing—of course you might enquire into it if you had nothing better to do but it really didn’t signify

I must go to lunch & finish this afterwards if I’ve time if not goodbye I’ve been much better these two days but not walking much. R. gone off for a long days walk.

your HEL