Dear Miss Roberts, I hope your correspondence with Mr Neale has been satisfactory, and also with Mr Mozley. If you have not heard from him yet, I should think you had better write again and ask his decision. Certainly I think it would not do to dwell on the other name of the Arbor Vitae, the Legend of the Blessed Thistle I do not know. I had not heard that the Wren was our Lady’s bird, ... continue reading

Thank you, I have seen the Times. Sir William Heathcote told me there was such an article, but he had not had time to read it, so I had to wait till morning in doubt whether it would be knock-down one, and it was rather a relief that it was not all abuse. It is very amusing to see how Miss Wellwood comes in for exactly the same abuse as if she was ... continue reading

Dear Miss Roberts, Carlisle Cathedral is a very pretty sketch, and will be very acceptable to the Monthly Packet, I think however it will be better to keep it for next year perhaps, if we and the Packet proceed and prosper as hitherto, so that it may be the opening of a series which promises to be very useful and interesting, I will consult a very good archaeologist at Winchester about the rugged [sic] staff ornament ... continue reading

My dear Miss Butler Thank you for your message. I do not think Rudolf requires to return to you for he stands so much alone that he only needs to be taken out.

Thanks too for the derivations, I shall trouble you with plenty more, I have no doubt, when I am at home with my list, and see my way out of the Latin derived names. I am to go home this afternoon after ... continue reading

Dear Miss Roberts, I enclose a paper sent by my archaeological acquaintance with all the information he could gather respecting the Ragged Staff, I hope it is what you wanted.

I am sorry for your want of success with the Garland. My father is going to London for a day or two early next week, and will see Parker, He says if you would trust us with a specimen of the illustrations and explain your plans as ... continue reading

Dear, good old slave, How nice and kind and understanding your letter was, and how thankful one should be for such friends! ...

The worst will be over when we hear from Julian, poor boy! Till then it seems like bearing the first stroke. But I am sure it fell mercifully as far as we were concerned, and the flow of feelings that meet us from all is very gratifying.

I believe my uncle, always living in his ... continue reading

My dear Anne Mamma is writing to Uncle James so I think Puslinch must hear at the same time otherwise I should like to save Uncle Yonge the anxiety.

Papa has been over working himself with spending whole long days without dinner upon Julian’s preparations, and yesterday after going to Portsmouth to take leave of him, and coming home very late, a sort of seizure came on like an exaggerated headache. We sent for Mr Lyford ... continue reading

My dear Marianne I thought often of your saying papa would be the worst of us, for we have had a terrible night. After the long day at Portsmouth he came home, and about 10 o'clock at night a sort of attack came on that frightened us very much, and we sent for Mr. Lyford who cupped him, which relieved him much, and he has been getting better since, though still with very bad oppression and ... continue reading

My dear Marianne Your letter was the pleasure of sympathy that I knew it would be. We have been going on what seems a long time, with a great deal of severe pain in the head, which gets better late in the afternoon, then he sits up, overtires himself, and makes it worse again. Yesterday mamma had one of her worst varieties of headache, as might have been expected, but it mended in the middle of ... continue reading

My trouble has come; he had a second attack and died at six to-night.

Mamma is too like Amy, excited with thankfulness. I dread what it will be; I don't think we half believe it yet.

You will write to me; perhaps I may write to-morrow, but I can't tell. We have Mr. and Mrs. Keble helping us to-night. Oh what will the waking be! So many of our Psalm superstitions have come true.

Your most affectionate C. ... continue reading

My dear Mr. Yonge Incapable as I am of doing any thing today, to do nothing is worst of all, so I will try to thank you for sending me two comforters and for enduring for the sake of those who are anxious about you, the great grief and sorrow I know it is to you not to join the family and friends tomorrow

I have many obligations to you, and amongst them that of having given ... continue reading

My dear Mr Yonge, Such an outpouring as your letter which I had last evening was, gives me great pleasure, and I hope you will continue to write to me when you feel inclined. What I most dread is the want of companionship for Charlotte She had been used all her life to discuss with, and refer to her Father everything that pleased and interested her, and these happy evening when he came hope ... continue reading

My dear Miss Millington This is a very amusing chapter, and I am glad to hear that Blue Mantle directed you to the right quarter for the next subject to be entered into heraldry. It seems to be an inexhaustible fund of curious information. I am overhurried today so pray excuse my blundering

Yours sincerely C M Yonge

My dear Mary I hope this mild day is doing every thing for your father’s cure, I wish more for his own sake than mine that he could have been here, but the necessity of allowing half the county to shew their respect made it much more trying to the family.

I seem to be out on a visit, and I do not know how I shall get on when we resume our old habits. Anne ... continue reading

Dear Miss Roberts, I do not like to leave you longer without a few words of thanks for your kind letter. We were indeed most mercifully aided and supported in our time of greatest need by all the help the Church affords, or rather the Lord of the Church. It was not one of our least blessings that our Church (of which my Father was almost the sole architect) is so close to the garden that ... continue reading

My dear Papa, I feel greatly obliged to you for writing so often. I fear your leisure will decrease rapidly now, that you are able to resume your out of door occupations, to say nothing of all the Confirmation Children, and also such an increase in the colony within doors. I hope you will not find yourself quite overmatched by the half dozen grandchildren, and obliged to retreat to the top of the House, ... continue reading

Dear Sir, There are a few slight corrections of the ‘Heir of Redclyffe’ which I will send in a day or two. I am glad to learn that this edition has sold off so well, but I think we should take it into consideration whether it might not be better still further to lessen the price. I have been much urged by influential persons to publish a large and really cheap edition, such as would ... continue reading

My dear Miss Butler Here is Aunt Louisa’s Berne chapter, which with its Ogre fountain will, I think, be considered very amusing. I hope you will be able to let me have her conclusion next week, as she will then finish with the volume, always satisfactory, as not leaving straggling chapters for another. However this may be asking much in this week, and when I suppose next month is already bringing you preparations and ... continue reading

My dear Mary I could hardly help writing a note last night before I went to bed, it seemed so long to have known about Harvey without saying a word. I do not know whether I mentioned that we were to spend Saturday in a shopping expedition to Southampton & so no chance of writing then, but so it was. You will quite understand how little I mean the words to apply to herself ... continue reading

My dear Miss Butler Many thanks for Basle, which will do very well. I am only sorry it had to be finished at an inconvenient time. And many thanks for Aunt Louisa altogether. She has been a very pretty pleasant portion of the Monthly Packet. I am sorry all the pages in the Packet were settled so that I could not get in even a verse of Gertrude, one of the people I ... continue reading

My dear Mrs Blackburn I have bought myself a Grimm, and studied all the Thumbs that have come in my way, and have come to the conclusion that the way to make him pretty will be after all as you suggested, to begin with King Arthur. The unmitigated nursery legend with all the swallowing and the tricks is not poetical, and must have been vulgarized. So I will take what of Round table stories will suit, ... continue reading

My dear Mrs Blackburn That you may see the earnest has begun I send you the beginning of Tom on inspection, but please let me have him again or I shall forget what articles of fairy furniture have been used up. I like the work very much, and where you see numbers put I mean to have notes, and quote my authorities, Drayton, Ben Jonson, Shakespeare, Geoffrey of Monmouth. In this way I think pretty bits ... continue reading

My dear Alice, I wrote instantly to thank Dr. Moberly for his good news, but the cart was missed on Sunday morning. Tell us if Margaret has seen the brother, and what she said of him, and tell us who the boy is like and whether he is large or small, dark or fair. Three days of well-doing make us think you will soon be ready for ‘Heartsease’; there will be plenty for ... continue reading

My dear Mrs Blackburn Many thanks for your photograph which I am very glad to possess, as it is pleasant to have more than a visionary notion what one is writing to.

I cannot find any authority for Tom Thumb’s father being a miller, in one of your books he is a ploughman in the other a woodman, and in Grimm a peasant, so as he seemed to be quite well to do, with a cow ... continue reading

My dear Miss Roberts, I have nothing to say in excuse for myself, but that somehow I had the impression of having written to thank you for the two last Cathedrals, so that between putting off at first and forgetting after wards, it has been neglected, and I am very sorry for it. We read them at the time with much interest and I shall be glad to use them when the time for them comes. ... continue reading

My dear Marianne . . . But all this time you have not heard how I had three walks between College and St. John's house arm-in-arm with the Bishop! Don't you call that preferment?

We went to the Cathedral with the troop of Moberlys, and I am glad my first sight of him was in his lawn sleeves. I never saw a face of which one would so much say it was inspired. ... continue reading

My dear Alice, The Warden has asked Charlotte and Anne to dine there to be ready for the evening meeting; but at all events they will come to you first, about 10 o'clock, to go with you to the Cathedral. You would have enjoyed a walk with us last evening in a part of Cranbury quite unknown to us, where we found some beautiful lady-fern and a dragon-fly surpassing in beauty. And so ... continue reading

Dear Sir, My new tale of ‘Heartsease or The Brother's Wife’ is now complete. I am willing to publish it in the same manner as the ‘Heir of Redclyffe’ and if you are ready to undertake it, will forward it to you, as soon as I have heard from you. At your convenience, I should be glad to know the state of the account of The Little Duke.

Yours faithfully, C M Yonge

My dear Mrs Blackburn, Herewith is a ‘Heartsease’ which I don’t expect you to like much except one character in it. I wonder if I judge rightly which of them you will tolerate, not that I shall tell you beforehand.

The time for the Little Duke’s second edition is come, so would you be so kind as to give directions to have another 2000 plates struck off. It is to be a cheaper affair this ... continue reading

My dear Miss Roberts,

Many thanks for the paper on Gloucester. It came in a good time for a cousin was staying with us whose home is close to Gloucester, and her brother a minor canon who has all its antiquities at his fingers ends. She set down the yew tree to ask him about, but as she went home in haste to prepare to set off in a week to spend the winter in the ... continue reading

Mamma told you of the wonderful début of Violet. I only wonder whether she will thrive as well when the critics have set their claws on her; the home critics are very amusing in their variety and ‘characteristicalness’ (there's a word!).

My Colonel correspondent complains of the babies . . . .Sir W. Heathcote says the will would not stand; Judge Coleridge falls foul of the geography of the Lakes; and so ... continue reading

My dear Mrs Blackburn, We are rather in distress for the eight folds of paper, as the width of the back depends on them, and orders should be given to the binder, so if they have not set off would you have them sent to me at Deer Park, Honiton, whither it seems finally settled that we are to go on Monday. If you could also send me the impressions of the other illustrations we could ... continue reading

My dear Miss Roberts, Here is the first part of your Cathedral sketches. I think I must put them in every alternate month, as there is a ‘press of matter’ and they will better bear a long interval than would any continuous narrative. I waited for them to reply to your last letter, I always feel it a kindness to be written to as if I was a personal acquaintance, so pray do not apologize for ... continue reading

My dear Mrs Harris We have had a long time to wait before I could write to tell you of my brother’s arrival.

The British Queen was so slow in her progress that all her coal was exhausted and they were obliged to burn their top masts as they put into Falmouth.

His arrival at eight o’clock last night, thin but not otherwise looking ill, though he is not fully recovered, the climate entirely overpowered him even before ... continue reading