My dear Christabel Here is another Gosling for us, and I should think a good one. She is a granddaughter of Dr Arnold her father being Mr T Arnold, and Frances Peard knows her well, which is almost equivalent to an introduction to a [sic turn of page] I send you her letter that you may see the nature of the bird and also consider of the Guernsey goose. I think we had better have her ... continue reading

My dear Christabel Thank you and Edith for taking the Bandits’ Bride, I hope your collections will prosper. We have £163, and want £700 if we build a masters house, £400 if we content ourselves with a school

Have you written to Miss Arnold, or shall I accepting Miss Clarke I find Grace Latham has not time, so perhaps we had better accept Miss Budd and Miss Llewellyn. Scotland has sunk away from us, so I suppose ... continue reading

My dear Christabel You and Mary Arnold are very decidedly the best this time, so I don’t send any others.

You will have to reform the scheme of travelling as Mignonette and Sparrow Hawk both resign in much haste

yr affect Mother Goose

Cackle Mother Goose having gone out on her broomstick she has had to delay the answers. They are not many in number this time, for Chelsea China’s popularity and Windermere’s Wars of the Roses are decidedly the superior articles. Cricket is the next to ask the questions.

Mignonette and Sparrow Hawk retire

My dear Florence I am very glad to hear of you again, and I hope the touch of frost will not be felt at Bournemouth; it has spared all our flowers as yet. I waited to write because Christabel was coming to make up our plans for the new volume. We will try to put in 'Purification' poem for February, but I am afraid poems do not get much payment. I wish ... continue reading

Dear Mr Macmillan

Thank you very much for sending me this very severe review in the Academy. I feel annihilated, and if my old name does carry off this edition, I will gladly rewrite what calls for it. I really did not know that German criticism had overthrown so much of the old Spanish standard histories to which I trusted, especially for a mere epitome of the old Gothic kingdom, and as I did not want ... continue reading

My dear Mr Macmillan

Very hearty thanks for your kind letter, I will thankfully correct my own careless blunders, of which I know three. I have sent to the London Library for one or two of the authorities but ‘Dahn’s great work’ is not there at all, unless it is more recent than my catalogue, and I don’t think I could properly understand it if I had it

I will keep to the old lines of the ... continue reading

Dear Madam

I am exceedingly sorry for this, but I have nothing to do with those advertisements which are entirely the publisher’s affair I will send him your letter at once

yours truly C M Yonge

Dear Mr Innes

I think you must have heard from Mrs Lennard by this time, as she mentioned, in a letter I had yesterday, having heard from you. I was out all day and could not write.

Miss Hugessen is ill and cannot do her paper this month but there are to be retrospective questions. I think the same notice will do. I will write the notices but I think I shall have to ask for an ... continue reading