Received 23-5-92
Answered
Laurel Lodge
Lancing
6 April 1892
Dear Chris
Many thanks for your letter which I received last week. I am glad to know that Alex’s house has turned out such a success, and hope he will be comfortable in it.
This last winter has been rather changeable, the cold weather came in jerks, one day it would be fairly warm and the next there would be a hard frost. Archie, Edie, the boys and I had a few days skating but not as much as we would like to have had. It snowed a good deal, and that made the ice quite soft and soppy.
I expect you have heard by this time that Edie has a situation in the London Fever Hospital, Islington, as linen and store-room keeper. She is very comfortable indeed there. I think she gets a good many visits from the aunts as she is not far from them.
As you can guess we spent a very quiet Christmas down here, and just fancy, I have not had one dance this year. It was very dry, and then to begin the year nicely, Papa got ill, and did not come down stairs for over five weeks. Then Mama got knocked up with nursing him, and was in bed for a fortnight.
So altogether, we have had a nice time of it. Fayers has left us now as Mama only wants to keep one servant. So we only have Ellen now – there is more work of course, but we get on very nicely.
Jessie came over one day during the winter to see us, and she asked us if we cared about seeing the pantomime at Brighton. We said yes, so she sent us tickets for “Goody Two Shoes” at the Theatre Royal, and Edie, the boys, and I, went. We enjoyed ourselves very much.
We had Mr. Inglis down to stayed with us for a week quite lately, he suffers a
great deal from gout, and it take shim a very long time to walk any distance. He started on Sunday for church a quarter of an hour too soon, and we did not think he would arrive in time, but he actually did.
Papa goes up to town every week now – he has just got himself a season ticket. He is going up tomorrow, and perhaps Mama will take Coral, Essil, and I over to Brighton to get some summer things, as the weather has become hot so suddenly.
Give my love to Alex and ask him to answer my last letter when he gets time.
With much love to you both, from all, and me from your loving Sister,
Mary
Do you not think I have become very good? I am a Sunday school teacher, and my class consists of 7 boys, their ages are between 7 and 9.