From Emily Belper   8 October 1856

Dear Professor Henslow

I must have appeared very ungrateful for not having sooner acknowledged your great kindness in taking so much trouble on my behalf, & sending me so many valuable papers & memorandums. They are full of suggestions to me, and I only hope that I may be able sometime to carry out some humble imitations of some of your many thoughtful & practical plans for the good of your people— I should have written sooner but we have had much anxiety during the past week, & I have had scarcely half an hour at my disposal— In addition to a hurried visit to London to see my poor sister Lady Romilly who is suffering from a most painful & distressing illness, my mother’s maid has been dangerously ill at Kingston, and in a state which required the greatest care & watchfulness. She is thank God now doing well, & we came up to London again yesterday for a day or two, & I must take advantage of this my first quiet evening to express my gratitude to you. I feel I scarcely ought to say how admirable I think your school sermon— It will I hope serve as a stimulus to me— for I feel my shortcomings very much. It is so easy to rest satisfied with tolerably good behavior, discipline & reading writing & arithmetic & yet leave untouched so may points that form the mind & character & inform the habits— but I shall try, & only wish you were near enough to come & find fault a little some times— Your visit was a very great pleasure to us, & I only regret that your archaeological researches were so unproductive— Some other time I trust you will come again, & if possible bring a daughter with you as you wld not encourage me to hope that M. ^rs Henslow could be induced to take so long a journey. It would give us so much pleasure to show you some of the aspects of interest in our neighbourhood— My husband begs to unite with me in my kind regards to you. Would you allow me to add my kind compliments to M. ^rs Henslow though I have not the pleasure of knowing her

Believe me | yours very truly & obliged Emily Belper

[P.S.] Thank you for the 2. ^d enclosure. May I keep all the documents you have sent. I hope this is not very greedy of me?