Seward House
Badsey
Evesham
20th Feb 1906
My dear Kathleen,
I must write to you this evening & send May’s letters & diary as you will be wanting to see them, especially if you did not get a letter yourself. The Frisco mail was late & we got the letters yesterday & this morning I got a letter by Italy which was dated Jan 3rd, a week or so before the others.
You did not enclose Marian’s letter as you spoke of doing, if you have answered it, perhaps you will send it us next time you write.
George & Anna came down last Thursday & the weather ever since, until today, has been horrible. Yesterday it poured most of the day & I was thankful that we were asked in to tea at the Byrds, as it made something to do. Anna seems very cheerful, she has of course brought down a photo of Mr Gillio; he is rather good looking quite a foreign looking face. She will probably have to go to the very middle of Africa when she is married, they go as far as Uganda & from there have to walk, or be carried by natives in a sort of chair.
Juliet is having her long promised little party tomorrow, not very many children however, there are so few about & some couldn’t come. In the evening Father & I are dining at the Geoffrey Keen’s & the next day we go, all of us, to Progressive Whist at the Vicarage!
You will be sorry to hear that Bert Idiens has got typhoid fever, he has been laid up for nearly three weeks with what was supposed to be influenza, & the doctors could not understand why his temperature kept up so high, & at last on Saturday declared it to be typhoid; they hope it will only be a mild attack, but of course he will want a lot of care & they have two nurses for him. I was enquiring on Sunday morning & the Orchard girls were also there & I could not help inwardly smiling at Flora’s anxiety to find out whether the nurse (only one had arrived then) was old or young! She is about 25, so Flora may feel a bit anxious lest she should be too nice.
I expect Father told you last week of the flirtation between Miss Byrch & Mr Wilton! It has actually come to an engagement, certainly a case of “never say die” as she must be at least 55. I had a letter from Mrs Byrch yesterday in which she says that May is coming to stay with them, & she is looking forward to hearing about old friends.
George & Ethel are going to the Bachelors’ dance at the Drill Hall on Friday. I hope they will both enjoy it.
I hope some of your many lectures may prove interesting & be a little change from the dead level of sameness.
Did I tell you I asked Aunt Lizzie to speak of you to Miss Frodshaw & tell her you would be wanting something in September; she is headmistress of a school in South London & might hear of posts sometimes.
With much love
I am
your loving mother
Eugénie N Sladden
P.S. Mary Sears’ baby christened last Sunday Mary Kathleen. We are sending Arthur’s money to get himself a leather tobacco pouch & silver watch box, both things which he wanted.
Please send May’s letters back here, and send the diary on to one of the boys with directions to forward to the other two.
We cannot find Juliet’s corals, she remembers taking them off in your room when she came from Mrs Ashwin’s, have you by any chance got them in one of your boxes?
