Chipping Norton
May 1st/77
My own dearest Eugénie,
As I am going out this evening, and expect to rather busy all day to-morrow, I will write to you this morning as I dare say you will not object to receive an early answer to your last.
It was so thoughtful of you, my darling, to go and fetch your photograph for me, I rather expected to receive it and should have been a little bit disappointed if I had not, I call it a capital likeness, though perhaps as you say a little too dark, and I have put it in a pretty frame over the fire place in my sitting room, the other two in the double frame I have hung up in my bedroom where I see them the first thing when I wake, and every night I shall always look at them the last thing, and say, good night my own dear Eugénie, I like often very often, my darling, when alone to speak your name aloud as if I were near you!
So you would like me to send you some verses of my own? well it is such a pleasure for me to do anything I think will please my Eugénie that I will try what I can do some time when I am in the mood, but I always feel inclined to tear up my productions when finished as they are so far below what I would wish for them to be.
George came yesterday evening I enjoy having him here so much, he says Mother is better and is looking forward to seeing me so I must write in a day or two and tell her I am coming, I knew, dearest one, that you would wish me to go, but it was nice of you to say so, I know you have experienced the blessing of a good Mother, and I often think that I should have had a less enabled idea of what a true woman is if I too had not been similarly fortunate. Do you know the lines?
“Happy he
With such a Mother! faith in womankind
Beats with his blood, and trust in all things high
Comes easy to him, and though he trip and fall,
He shall not blind his soul with clay.”
I am glad you liked the lines I copied out for you, do you know I guessed beforehand which you would prefer, it certainly is a beautiful sentiment beautifully expressed.
I looked at your rose tree the other day it is shooting nicely but the wind is still so bitterly cold that it is not yet in leaf or in fact any of my roses, that particular tree, darling, shall have a special place in our new garden and it shall always be known as your own tree and no one, not even myself, shall gather from it but its owner, it is a good strong tree I think and may probably last many years but for all that it will not wear as well as our love, my own true loving Eugénie.
We had a grand battle over the church pews and succeeded in polling 301 votes to 254 a majority of 47 in favour of applying for a faculty to carry out the alterations so I am in hopes it will be granted.
I hope your opera will go off successfully on Saturday, I shall like to hear how you get on.
I hope Joe is better, I am afraid sometimes I am rather selfish and do not remember that when I crown my happiness by bringing my darling to her new home others will feel the gap in their circle, but then you know they must come and see us, and when they find you happy, as I hope and believe they will Eugénie, that will be a gratification after all, won’t it?
Do you have a delivery of letters on Sunday morning, I am not certain and should like to know.
And now I must say good-bye for the present, as George wants to go out, he says he has arrived to help comfort me! fancy my wanting any comfort when I have your love!
Good-bye again and ever believe me
Yours most affectionately
Julius Sladden
