MS Mrs Clare Roels
My dear Christabel
Fernando is here and we have read his first five chapters with much enjoyment the only observations I have to make is that the little girls would have been Leonor and Catalina, and that surely Portugal was held by the Moors till Henry of Burgundy conquered it.1 I know that Arabia has not affected the language, but I think they possessed the country I like all this about the 5 sons and their mother very much indeed I expect the poor old S P C K is more timid than ever after the recent uproar and that Fernando is not of a Protestant tendency2 Miss Dundas wrote those papers on L E from her Edinburgh experiences and you see we gave Miss Kennedy’s reference for finding out about the Cambridge differences.1 Miss Finlaison is going up on the 13th of March for the ‘pass’ Oxford one, the first – they tell her to take up German and French grammar and composition, arithmetic and algebra to simple equations. I should think Girton would be likely to get the examiners into a groove. One thing, I don’t think these exams have been made known enough We are amazed at the swarms of enquirers I expect that a dead set at accuracy is being made, to cure female inaccuracy, and that therefore direct cramming tells.3 I am enraged with my Spiders for being tame about the Battle of Lepanto it seems to be out of the line of their sympathies4 Our pupil teachers have both got 1st class in Scripture examinations, and of our senior girls we have 1 first class and 2 seconds
yours affectionately
C M Yonge
I will write again when I have finished Fernando, but Lent evening services will hinder ones reading aloud You shall hear when we have done