From Elizabeth Darwin to Horace Darwin 28 February [1873]

My dear Horace.

I am glad to say that the Langtons have made a start at least they have got as far as Sandgate where they are going to wait at some friend's house till they can cross but I should think they would not wait long as it must be calm. Uncle Charles is better they say.

I was in London on Monday and Tuesday. I stayed two days with Henrietta and went to my lecture which was interesting but I have such fearful difficulty always to find my way it is at the University College and it is a complicate way along passages and I have the dread of bursting into some of the men's class rooms which would be awkward. He has a very small audience to lecture to which must make it very flat for him poor man.

It was a fearful day as there had been a heavy snow I had a cab with two horses. I also went to see some pictures the Old Masters for the last time and a collection of Masons where Uncle Rase's donkey looks better than it ever does in his drawingroom, some of his pictures are very lovely particularly The Harvest Moon which was at the Academy. I found poor Mother very bad with a cold and headach when I came back on Wednesday but she is better today and I hope will be pretty spry for Mr Pryor and Mr Moor on Saturday.

At last we have got a house it is in Montague Street quite close to Henrietta which will be nice but I am very sorry for Father's sake that we shall not be near Uncle Ras as he used to go in every evening. This time I am afraid he won't see much of him as Uncle Ras is not the man to come to us often. William was here last Sunday with a cold as usual he always comes here to have fiery musterd poultices, he was very busy learning Italian tavelling sentences and reading all sorts of books about Rome.

We have been reading The Mill on the Floss in a gulp as we had no other book it is capital I had forgotten how good it was. Rob is such capital fun isnt he.

I am glad you have got some decent people at last. Aunt [J] says in a letter to Mother `"That was a beast of a girl your George honoured by addressing.

Did George ever get a letter from Richard Hen asked if he had said any thing about it but she thought it had been lost.

We are going to send you off the Fortnightly soon there is a very hot article of Albert Dicy about Napoleon almost too fierce I think though there is no doubt that the newspapers talked a good deal of bosh about his death.

Louisa is still down at the other house ditto is Amy. Major Kempson is coming on Saturday if he is well enough. but he seems pretty bad poor man.

When I was in London I went to dine a 31QQQQ it is not such a nice hous as Cumberland and they have somehow managed to make their drawingroom look very ugly crammed up with furniture. They are going to have the Alfred for their first visit. Mother is longing to have them but I think her ardour has been cooled for a bit, of course it will be the right thing to do sometime. It will be a bore for George if he has to go to Homburgh again.

The Langtons are bringing a meat sausage for him, and Mother has told William not to mind about the tobacco.

Yours ever dear Horace. | E Darwin.