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Down Wed

Feb 16 1881

My dear George

I got your letter of the 9th this mg. & I was very glad to find that your bad bout had not pulled you down more. The politics are as flat as ditch water now the Irish fun is over. Bessy returned from Basset yesterday. Wm & Sara had a pleasant dinner at the Sellars, meeting only the brother & his wife (Gertrude Smith that was)

I suppose Mrs Gladstone is a wonderful goose ─ she was in the house when Gladstone was attempting to speak & interrupted

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so many times by the Irish, & kept saying "Poor dear, he has not had his egg flip. Then she asked Lady Granville whether her carriage was waiting, & at last went off in a cab to get the egg flip ─ tho' how she cd get it or give it to Gladstone I can't think. I was sorry to hear that the sober hardworking Forster is given to gambling ─ w. is hardly credible. Fr. gave his long promised lecture at Keston (a rechauffié of his former one on plants & insects). He had quite a brilliant audience. Mrs Whitmore & Isabel Mrs Ned Normans

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Lord Sackville &c & he came home pleased & owning that it had been a success ─

Leo is quite well, but greatly pulled down which (is) a wonderful improvement to his appearance ─ F. thanks you for your translation. He is actually not going to answer the foolish man ─ (I must own he did write to say he has recd the letter but cd not read it) ─

WM struggles on heroically about French with very little progress ─ Sara is plagued w. constant headaches & her nose has turned naughty.

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Yesterday was bright & warm & I got out of door w. I don't very often manage. Fr heard about M'Lennan ─ from Mrs W. He has a man attendant, but frightens him by storming at him when things go wrong ─ so I think he won't be there long. Fr rode & saw Mrs M. the other day. The fever still continues but he is no worse

She looked better ─ Alice said that you had made out that M'Len. Therm. was not accurate & that the Dr (a homeopath) had found it too high, & he told Alice that Mr M. felt quite flat that his temp. was so much lower than he thought.

[from page 1:] F. has lost eczema & is pretty well ─ yours my dear G─ E.D.

Uncle Ras has been very unwell keeping his bed─