Shrewsbury.
July 25th. 1832.
My dearest Charles
On the 31st of June we were delighted to receive your letter from Rio
dated 6th of April, and on the 5th of July (this month) we
received your second letter and Journal dated 25th of April, with the
interesting account of your expedition into the Brazils. I cannot tell you how
i July (this month) we
received your second letter and Journal dated 25th of April, with the
interesting account of your expedition into the Brazils. I cannot tell you how
interesting and entertaining we find your letters and Journal, and what great joy it
gives all the house when we have such happy accounts of you in every way. I run to tell
Nancy and some of the other Servants, and the pleasure is universal over the house, as
everybody loves you, and thinks of you, my dearest Charles. It is so delightful too to
find how wonderfully your Voyage answers, and how excessively you have enjoyed yourself.
I do not think any pleasure can be more vivid than your's must have been. I had no idea
before I read your Journal of the extraordinary beauty of the Tropics. If you wish to
have my Criticisms, I must say I think your descriptions most excellent, and
gave me most lively pleasure in reading them. I was so interested I could not bear to
stop reading it, till I came to the end, which was the case also with Marianne and
Caroline, who both admired and liked it exceedingly. Your Journal & Letters were
sent on to Marianne, Caroline and myself, at the Sea, where we have been the last three
weeks. Susan read the Journal aloud to Papa, who was interested, and liked it very much.
They want to see it at Maer, but we do not know whether you would choose that, and must
wait till we hear from you, whether we may or not. It shall be kept most carefully for
you.— The same Packet contained a note from Capt Beaufort, which I dare say
you will be curious about, so I will copy it out. ``Capt Beaufort presents his
Compliments to Miss Darwin, with the enclosed letter, and perhaps she will pardon the
liberty he takes in adding that Capt Fitzroy omits no opportunity of expressing the
unqualified satisfaction he feels in Mr Darwin's society—and in
his last dispatch he says ''D. is equally liked and respected by every person
in the Ship``. Admiralty. June 29.''— Susan
wrote to thank Capt Beaufort for his politeness.—
This is the 5th letter going to Monte Video, April, May, June, July
& August. It is a pity that April was not directed to Rio, but we were obliged
to follow your original directions.— We were rather puzzled by your writing by
a slip of the pen, I suppose that the Beagle was to sail back to St Salvador on the
7th of March, but you must have meant to write May.
It is a very nice scheme your remaining stationary at Botofogo Bay. I can conceive no
thing more extraordinary and interesting than to be quietly living in a Brazilian
Cottage,— but do not let the Cottage put the Parsonage out of your head, a far
better thing, and which we were rejoiced to hear continued to be a vista to your
prospects. I hope you will in all probability find Fanny Wedgwood disengaged
and sobered into an excellent Clergman's Wife by the time you return, a nice
little invaluable Wife she would be; I will not quite promise
though that you will find her disengaged, as another Clergman, Mr Paget
Moseley, Brother to Mrs Frank Wedgwood, is said to be paying her very
sedulous attention; but he is such a vulgar, fat, horrid man, I do not think it is
possible she will have him. I must tell you a little scene that took place between them.
They were admiring some Flowers in the Greenhouse, when Mr Moseley
declared he could show some far prettier flowers, and out of his pocket produced a scrap
of paper, on which Fanny had scrawled some little flowers some weeks before. Emma was
by, and was near choking with laughing at the man's odd manner, and Fanny's
amazemen<t.>
Professor Sedgwicke has been so continually calling here of late at all the most
unexpected times, tha<t> I think the next piece of news you will hear,
will be that Susan has turned into Mrs Sedgwicke.— The last time he called, he was on his road to Cader Idris. When we were at the Sea (at Rhyl, in Flintshire, not far from
Abergelley, an ugly place) we made the usual little Tour to Bangor and Conway, and also
to your old Acquaintance, the Orme's Head, which Caroline is so delighted with, she
quite longs to build a house there.— The Rhyl is a very ugly Sea Coast, and I
found it quite a Plas
Edwardes and got heartily sick of it.— We
have been reading a Review of Mr Earle's Voyages in the South Seas, in Mr Lytton Bulwer's Monthly Review; his book is much praised, and I think must be very
entertaining.— I am very curious to know how often you get Newspapers, and how
much of the Public news you know. The Papers will hardly tell you how much the Cholera
has broken out again in London, and spread all over the Country; it is so strange its
appearing this second time so much more among the higher classes. Mrs
Smith (Lord Forrester's Sister's) death was the most frightfully sudden thing; she was
at the Opera on Saturday Night, was perfectly well till Luncheon time on Sunday, when
she was suddenly seized, and was dead by 12 at night. She suffered agonies;
every Physician in London was sent for, but they wasted 2 hours in disputing
before they could do any thing.— We are free from it yet in
Shrewsbury.— The County Members are canvassing about all Shropshire, for the
Reformed Parliament. Mr Pelham and Mr Whitmore are
undisputed for the South of Shropshire, and Sir Rowland Hill, Mr Gore and
Mr Coates for the North of Shropshire, which will be a disputed
election. Mr Coates is the only Whig among them, and he is a very poor
one. Mr Biddulph is to stand a Contested Election for Denbighshire with
Lord Kenyon's Son, which is a very foolish thing, as he is almost certain to lose. Poor Fanny will not have a very pleasant or easy life I am afraid;
the old Mother, Mrs Biddulph is so odious to her, and Mr
Biddulph is such an exacting Husband.— It is too bad of Erasmus not writing to
you, he is such an idle creature, and he is so engrossed with Paganini I
suppose.— I long to hear from you again, my dearest Charles. You cannot think
how it rejoices my heart, when we get a letter from you.
God bless you always & believe me, with every body's Love, yr
most affectte| E. Catherine Darwin.
