Gloucester House
Surbiton
31st December 1884
My darling Husband,
I was so glad to receive your nice long letter with such good accounts of our dear little ones, how I long to be with them all again & give them all a good hug! I must wish you a very happy New year, I hope dear, you may have less anxiety & worry than in that that is past, & that we and our dear ones may all be blessed with good health. I have been for a little drive in the brougham today & am feeling all the better for it, Papa went with me. Poor little Lily continues very ill, though no worse than before, the doctor calls it low fever, but if diarrhoea should set in, it would become typhoid.
I am glad to say we have persuaded Fanny to have Mrs Johnson to attend to her at night, as she is very restless & also requires pretty constant nourishment, I am afraid poor Fanny will have an anxious time with her. Frank is better but not well yet; the other children have gone to Richmond this afternoon for Mary’s Xmas tree, won’t Kitty enjoy seeing her first tree? She seems to have made good friends with Uncle Charlie last night.
Thanks for the Evesham Journal. You are quite right about the children’s money, Baby’s box is the new one. Next Wednesday will be the meeting of the lying-In Charity, which it seems I am never to attend, would you mind giving Mrs Allen Haynes my subscription & ask her to pay it in, I daresay she will be going to the meeting. I am going to write a line to Essie Burrows & ask her to come & see me if she is still at Chislehurst.
I heard from your Mother & Miss Savory this morning, don’t forget to give the latter my message about the children’s lessons. I manage the stairs better every day now, though going up is still rather a job. I am glad to say Fanny thinks of going to see Dr Priestley on Friday if nothing presents. Now my darling, you are to be good and not work too much of an evening, you must go out & see your friends. Have you seen the Mayor yet? no doubt he will be interested in my health, as I wrote to the Lady Mayoress the other day & declined the ball, telling her of my misadventure. Kiss all my pets for me, fancy dear Babs standing up by a chair, oh! how I should like to see him. Goodbye, my darling, a very happy New year to all of you, & much love from
Your very affect wife
Eugénie N Sladden
P.S. Did the children get any presents besides what we left for them?
