Alleyn Rd
10 December 1885
My dear Chris
You are a nice one not to have answered my letters, never mind. I forgive you and send a Christmas card to show it – hope you will like the card, dear.
I suppose you will be having Alex with you soon now. I expect you will find him very much grown. I hope the voyage has done him good. How are you? I suppose the dances are beginning about now – are you going to many? I hope you will enjoy yourself always if you are well.
Chris, I expect you will be surprised to hear that I am living here in Dulwich. I am
living with a Mrs Traill, more for a house. I do the housekeeping – keep all the money, and do all mending and several other things. I can tell you, my dear, I simply never have time to myself – have no time to do my own mending and very little time for letter writing. The latter I am not sorry because letter writing runs away with a lot of money and that, as you may guess, I have to be careful of. I feel very comfortable here.
I wish Walter could find something to do, but times are so hard just now, that it’s difficult for anybody to get anything to do. Never mind, we must have patience and wait until something turns up. I sincerely hope it will soon – Walter and I will be glad as you may guess, oh, Chris. I am so fond of my old boy.
We are going to have a very hard winter – there is skating going on, it’s time we had snow – there has been none for the last three or four years.
I am going to Bedford, Cardington, to the Maldens for the New Year. I shall be glad when the time comes for me going, I shall be away a week I think.
Give my love to Alex and ask him to write to me soon – you also. Don’t forget – there’s a dear. May and Mary are at school in Ramsgate – they seem to be very happy and comfortable. Jessie is in Westmoreland, Jean at Miss King’s looking out for something to do. Gardener is still at Essilmont looking after the garden – he seems very lonely without us all.
Mrs Traill has given me a season ticket for the Crystal Palace, so we go whenever we can. The others have one as well. There are six in the family – Mrs Traill, three boys and two girls. They all treat me as one of themselves – never go out without me, so it’s rather nice.
I am afraid there is not much news in this letter but there is nothing going on just now in Dulwich. My address here is Miss E, C/o Mrs Traill – Oakley – Alleyn Rd, West Dulwich. Please write soon and say how you are. I wonder if you will see the Mater and others at all.
Good bye for the present — wishing you and Alex a merry Xmas and a Happy New Year.
With much love to you both from your loving Sister
Edith Elmslie