My dear Christabel, I should not have been so ungrateful if I had not been laid up, first by being deluded into eating some Scallop fish that everybody else flourished upon, and then by a wicked chair, which cast its hind leg as I was sitting down on it, and strained my back - Not till lately have I had the energy to pack up the Answers and write to you. I shall be very thankful ... continue reading

My dear Christabel Here is the pay for Minne’s Knight, with many thanks. I conclude you are at home. You will see proposals for a monstrous Goose affair in the next packet, but I shall get help in the selection of the essays. I hope you will do the Snow and Sun next year

Who asks our question next? I should think Hanbury Mills must be a great success, every body seems to ... continue reading

My dear Arthur I think the redingote is wrong- but the geens and gaskins were worth having. Why should I not mean the Aryan classifications to be based on Grimm. I meant it for a pleasing exercise but I fancy only our spiders of a superior order will attack such a web!

Adams is my authority for durst being an old verb like burst, and is he not generally trustworthy? Certainly I never ... continue reading

My dear Arthur I should have written yesterday only that the Bp of Salisbury came to see a sick old farming man, and was a sight for sair een, who took up all my morning. I shall look out for the Maypole - my Sub is going to bring up the weeded Spiders this afternoon- 17 Chrysostoms! I think your Spider will have five competitors with the Aryans. I fully expect someone will take ... continue reading

My dear Miss Freeman I see how it has been about your Pleiades. You see we printed a large slice of them, though not the whole and we did not think you would care for the mutilated remains.

I cannot tell how we missed returning your St Chrysostom.

Three more sums have come in but no regalia

Yours sincerely C M Yonge

My dear Miss Freeman I am very sorry if there is any mistake about one of your webs. Did you send an address and a stamp with it? We cannot return them without the latter, as when we get 20 answers or so it would be large undertaking for our finances!

If yours was late, it may have missed mention in the printed list. I get the whole parcel sent down on the first day of the ... continue reading

My dear Miss Freeman Many thanks for the extract. I am very glad the answer has come to be gibbetted! People ought to have the penalty of exposing themselves so wonderfully.

You and Moneyspinner (Miss Marriott of Hythe) are the most effective Spiders.

I have taken her sum, because she did it in a conversation, but your nines, for nobody else attempted them

Yours sincerely C M Yonge

My dear Emma

I know nothing about Miss Butt, I suppose she has not vanished from the face of Creation as she sent me a rather foolish little book the other day called Lads and Lasses, but without any letter or clue to her whereabouts, so I think she had better be simply disregarded till we hear of her again. I cannot recollect what was the Concatenation that introduced her. I am very angry ... continue reading

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. I know that Arabia has not affected the language, but I think they possessed the country I like all this about the 5 sons ... continue reading

My dear Christabel

Here are only two Goslings and those very poor ones. Mayfly says she has had no questions since April. Moreover Frog is going to be married in September so do not you really think it would be better to give a coup de grace to the Goslings and let them turn into Spiders. Somehow I think we might let each spider in rotation send me up a few questions to ... continue reading

Mother Goose & the last Gosling of the original brood, faithful where few were faithful found having eaten goose together on Michaelmas day solemnly dissolve the ancient Brood. Having begun with 12 intimate friends & cousins who actually did 4 questions once a month it has come to only two once in two months & of those generally only one answered by a few - while there is little acquaintance between many[.] It ... continue reading

My dear Miss Macmillan

If you will send me a short account of the Working Women’s College I will gladly put it in. Perhaps it will be best to do so when everything is settled. I wonder how much the women read the papers, I suppose they may be more alive to public matters than their sisters in the country, but even the men at our village reading room care much less for papers than for ... continue reading

My dear Christabel

I heard of both your troubles from Mary Lund, Miss Finlaison’s scholar whose brother is with Ernest, but I much doubted where you were. I dare say your coming home made a change that was good and refreshing to all. It was sad indeed to lose this second boy, after all the sorrow for the first I hope the little girl is strong.

The Squire has spread happily into three volumes. ... continue reading

Dear Miss Yonge,

I hope to send you in a day or two a small book I have written about travels in Iceland which were made by me chiefly on the track of various old Sagas, in which I was greatly interested. The book indeed treats of the country from the point of view of its literature. I need not say how pleased I should be if my old friend the ‘Monthly Packet’ liked it enough ... continue reading

consciously – in extremity breaks his heart over it and is converted by his failure. I have had my head very full of it. I want to know what you think of the Apples of Sodom, for we have various controversies about it, Christabel thinks the one religious man becoming morbid and accustomed a mistake and likely to promote the popular fancy about good men and clergy, and Miss Bramston says ... continue reading

My dear Bath Brick

Skelton was poet laureat to Henry VIII & Rector of Diss in Norfolk. I am afraid he was not a very respectable person & I do not know his poems. Your ‘Tact’ is the chosen one this time

Yours very sincerely

Arachne

Dear Bath Brick

I cannot tell how space may stand at the make up of the number but if I can I will put in your appeal

yours truly C M Yonge