From Horace Darwin to Emma Darwin [January 1881?]

Dear Mother,

I’m going to write to you on the firm paper because it is so beautiful, although it is defrauding the company. It seems to me that it is months since I wrote to you last, so I am going to try and make up by writing a long letter now. You know that things are smooth at Bry. Sq. I was there on Sunday last, & Effie & I got on pretty well, but we did not see much of each other, & did not talk much when we were together. I had some nice long talks with Tom. On Sat. night Ida & I & the two boys went to the Pirates, wh. we enjoyed much. I saw Leo. on Sat. afternoon & again on Sun. he seemed to bear it with his usual placidness. On Sunday afternoon we took a long calling expedition, Mr. Farrer starting with us. By “we” I mean only Ida & I. We tried to find Mab, but she was out, & then Mr. Easton & she was in Egypt. & then the Jamie Farrers. & then home to 5 oclock tea with Godfrey & Hope & Cecil. & than a quiet evening word game. The dance was to have come off tonight, but I got a telegram to say that it was put off so I have not gone. I’m not sure anyhow that I should have gone as I might have got stuck. I had intended to consult the Station master first. I shall go up to town again on Friday, & shall hope to find Pouter better. I’m afraid George will be gone but I want to tell him about the shop, wh. will bore you. If he is gone will you forward this. M^r. Pye the fore man is a success. He does a lot of work himself, & looks after the shop well, & what makes me like him is that he likes working from my drawings. He will own that he is wrong, which I think is a most important thing. He certainly knows a great deal about the subject, & works very quickly. Every thing in the shop now is being made from my design. Cathetometer, A new section cutter, Pendulum experiment, Apparatus for exposing 4 photographs instantaneously, at known intervals apart; this is for Lenny & is for photography explosions. Frank calls it the Photo basto scope. Also the Actinometer is being finished off. All this has made me very busy, & it had to be done in a short time or the men would have been standing still. There is lots more work in hand for me; Alteration to Artificial Resperation, Heliostat, Complete Battery, & lots more in the dim future.