MS Hampshire Record Office: Sturges Bourne Collection: 9M55 F55 1p2
My dear Miss Bourne,
Our difficulties are so far lessened that the married servant I mentioned once to you can come for a few months to teach both house and kitchen work, so I do not think we shall take a laundress unless some very splendid ready made article should turn up, as we do not want to have too many people about, & hope to keep Mrs Attwood till after June, for the sake of experience & sick cookery.
Frances is very well & strong so I daresay it will go very well In the mean time there are great alterations, as the march of luxury prevents modern babies from living as Julian and I did.1
I am afraid the dirt was the part that was literally true of the Paul here – in fact, with Wm Smith always abusing him, & putting forward the shoe transaction, it was not till quite the end of his stay that Mr Wither perceived how good a boy he was, rather from the reports of the other boys than what he saw of him, and the washing & dressing were exactly the main facts.
I suppose it was so with Mr Cope – and I don’t think either that Mr Cope any power with Lady Jane – who held him as elderly ladies often do youthful curates – especially considering little Miss Jane.
I always feel it fair to say that I have treated poor ‘Farmer Willum’, as the people call him rather as Miss Brontë did the Yorkshire school, he was hard, but not so hard and the eggs, though truly made the accusation, were the excuse in spring not autumn. Another thing made it impossible to help him, his odd proud independence which spurned gifts & even a supper at Mr Wither’s. I should not have believed in him if he had been in a book. East London is by a clergyman’s daughter there, real experiences. Miss Taylor has been ill and I fear will not do much more though she hopes to finish the oak. I send a trilobite explained by a lecture at Winchester College, & an edifying monster he was – if ever I do the crustacea it will be nice to get him, I am glad the Salsburgs do not come only 1 year apart. Remember us if a nurse turns up – we are afraid of a great lady.
Yours sincerely
C M Yonge