Chipping Norton
July 22nd 1877
My Darling Eugénie,
I am glad to have a quiet hour this Sunday evening to answer your dear letter received yesterday, it made me very happy to read it through and through, and to feel how good and true my darling’s love is, ah, my own, I know that in your affection I have all I could wish for, all my life, and far more than I merit, but you will believe me, dearest Eugénie, when I say that I will always try to make you happy.
So you have heard again from May, I like to hear you say that she speaks kindly of our engagement, it makes her seem quite a friend to me as well as to you.
I am sorry my last letter was delayed, it was not at this end for I posted it in plenty of time.
Yesterday I wrote to Charlotte returning a letter from Bessie (Dil’s wife) forwarded by my Mother, it was a nice chatty letter about the children and interested me, I told Charlotte she should have copies of the vignettes when they came to hand, I sent Mother the others (the upright one of you) with which she was pleased, she thought yours very good and did not complain at all of mine, I suppose you called as you proposed to see Braun about the others.
Tell Joe I shall be most happy to see him here whenever he likes to come, the sooner the better, I fact, dear, I should be sorry for any of your brothers to come over without paying me a visit and I do not forget that Joe is, deservedly I should say, a favourite brother.
Fanny will make quite a little stay with you, it appears, on her return which will be nice for you, you do not see a great deal of your sisters now.
I heard through Mother of the birth of Polly’s child, Fred wrote asking Charlotte to let Grandmamma know.
I am very busy budding roses now, I have a large piece of ground in Willie Bliss’s orchard behind his house planted with stocks, all these 800 I am going to do and from the maiden blooms next year I hope to reap the reward of my trouble in still higher prizes and if possible “the cup”, should they be in bloom at the right time that ought to be almost a certainty, I have some more stocks elsewhere to do and altogether have about 1200 buds to insert this season! I am a tolerably quick hand and can do about 20 an hour but even at that rate it will be a pretty good task, while at work I like to remember that somebody will enjoy the flowers next summer the produce of my work, perhaps too I am vain enough to think all the more for that reason! What a lot of roses I shall then have, between one and two thousand!
In another month my gladioli will be in bloom, I hope to take two or three prizes with them at various places, our flower show is on August 31st and I have always as yet been first with them there.
Before the rose bloom is over I must send you a few more buds as the others seemed to be appreciated, so some time this week or next I must get a little box and pack some off.
I thought of you to-day when feeling sleepy in the afternoon as you confessed to a similar feeling lately and I think the close weather is apt to make one so.
I have been thinking of four weeks ago to-day and felt such a craving to lay my head upon my darling’s breast, as I did then, and feel the throbbing of her dear gentle heart, that heart so truly mine, what happiness there is in that sweet thought!
Do you remember our walk that Sunday evening? I often think over the happy hours I spent with you and feel all the better for thinking over them.
So you do not expect to get over to England till September, well I must be patient till then, and will be, but it is only natural that I should want to see my Eugénie again very much, gaze into her sweet face, and read once more the love that always glistens from her bright blue eyes.
Good night my darling girl, may you ever feel happy in the full possession of all the best affection of
Your own loving
Julius Sladden
Postscript Monday Morning
I was delighted to receive your note together with the vignettes when I came in to breakfast.
I like them very much, especially the one you selected for me which I have this moment taken in my hand and kissed, for the face seems almost to speak its love as I look fondly at it. I shall hope to receive the enlargements all safe before I write again and then I can tell you where I have placed it &c.
I enclose a cheque for £9.4.0 which I shall be glad if you will pay for me when convenient, perhaps when doing so it will be as well to order half a dozen more, each, of the vignettes, as I find I shall want more to give away.
I forgot to tell you when writing yesterday that your portrait had two very fine specimen roses by it of that deep colour you admire.
Goodbye darling, once more I kiss your likeness and say “how much I love my own Eugénie”.
I wonder whether you will find the kiss I have left on my name?
