From K. E. Farrer to G. H. Darwin 20 February [1874–7]

My dear George—

I am most ungrateful not to have written & thanked you sooner for y^r. very kind & full letters. [Yr] great question has been settled as you imagined it w^d. be—for Eton—tho' we c^d. nowhere induce anyone to say boys came up knowing much—still in general people seem to say they do about as well as other boys. Of course Th [H.y] had a considerable Eton bias & Tom was delighted when he heard [illeg] result of [illeg] decision. Claudie will be just [illeg] reverse of Tom, I suspect devoted to games & sociable & not so thoughtful or [working] a nature. Our friends will cease to be [illeg] now on [illeg] school question, for I suppose we shall let Noel follow Claudie, as a matter of course we have just come back from a very pleasant Sunday at Balliol. Jowett is a wonderfully sociable hospitable man—to have these parties every Sat & Sun thro'out Term year after year. Do you hear that poor Ras is losing William? & I have [illeg] finding of a new man for him wh. is rather awful.

Ever dear [yours] | affect^ly yours | K.E.F.