Seward House
Badsey
9th November 1898
My dear Kathleen,
We were pleased to have your letters from Byfleet. I expect you both enjoyed your little outing & I hope you found Aunty pretty well. This afternoon I have been down to the first of the Mothers’ meetings at the Vicarage, I have promised Mrs Price to try & go at least once a fortnight & help her with the reading. I have promised to provide tea for them once a month & Mrs Price will do the same & perhaps one or two more to do ditto as I hope the poor ‘Mothers’ will have rather more comfortable meetings than last winter. I am trying to collect some vegetable etc. to send to Kilburn next week; several people, about seven I think, have promised to send me something so I hope to fill a sack or two for them. I had another letter from Miss Heath today, Arthur is getting on very well & she rather hoped the doctors would allow him to get up a little while yesterday evening; he is getting very tired of bed she says. This evening we have been packing up a little basket of apples & walnuts for him. Father will be passing though Hereford tomorrow & will send them off from there. Our photo proofs arrived today, one of Father’s is very good, I think, the others we do not care for, though it improves on acquaintance; mine are both pretty good, but at present we are only ordering the one that makes the best pairs to Father’s. You will be glad to hear that May & I are really sensibly reducing the piles of work in the ottoman, of course we are a long way from the bottom as yet, but it is some satisfaction to put away mended, some of the garments that have been there for a good many months. Fancy the dining room bells being actually mended? Won’t it be a comfort this winter not to have to go into the hall every time we want to ring the bell. Baby is rather restless this evening. May is up with her now, & I must release her & let her go to bed, so must finish this epistle. Tell Ethel I have found some cambric if she would like a piece sent her.
With much love,
I am
Your loving mother
Eugénie N. Sladden
