RECORD: Litchfield, Henrietta Emma. [1871].09.14. Letter to Jane Lushington. CUL-DAR245.500. Edited by John van Wyhe (Darwin Online, http://darwin-online.org.uk/)

REVISION HISTORY: Transcribed by Christine Chua and edited by John van Wyhe 11.2023. RN1

NOTE: See record in the Darwin Online manuscript catalogue, enter its Identifier here. Reproduced with permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library and William Huxley Darwin. The volume CUL-DAR245 contains correspondence and papers of Henrietta Emma Darwin, later Litchfield.

Jane Lushington née Mowatt. Married Vernon Lushington in 1865. Henrietta met Richard Litchfield through their friendship. Close family friends.


[1]

Hotel Sonnenburg Seelisburg Lucerne

Sept 14. [date added later:] 1871

My dear Jane,

Your kind & affectionate letter followed us here, after some wanderings, which will account for my delay in answering it. The fact is we have rather changed our plans & have stayed on in Switzerland which all our letters have been sent to Italy.

Thank you very much for writing to me. It will make a

[1v]

beginning of our new relationship & I hope, as you say, that we shall meet very soon after we come back to England. […]

[2]

underground station & a few other little necessities.

I believe Richard has not written to you since the wedding which we think a model one.

It was so nice to have no fuss whatever, a wedding cake seemed like a festivity. (I hope they sent your children a good lump to eat to our happiness.)

You know Richard even did without a best man. This was very good on his part, but it made such a difference to

[2v]

my Father to have the house absolutely quiet. He was in such a particularly low nervous state that I was afraid my eldest brother would have to give me away, which neither my Father nor I should have liked, but I am glad to say he did manage to come to church & since I have had good accounts of him. This has been such a comfort to me – it would have been very melancholy to leave home just when I was most wanted.

We are in a lovely place here

[3]

The hotel is on the edge of great cliffs […]

[3v]

people are so free we can change our minds as often as ever we like. […]

With Richard's & my love to you all.

believe me, yours affectly

Henrietta Litchfield


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Citation: John van Wyhe, ed. 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. (http://darwin-online.org.uk/)

File last updated 19 November, 2023