My dear Miss Ludwig

We thank you sincerely for your heart-felt sympathy.² We have had a bad time of it; but Emma is nicely recovering, & came down to the drawing room for a little bit to day.³ She had considerable fever. Leonard travelled too soon, & was injured by the journey.⁴ Poor little fellow, he has been so patient during all his terrible illness; he will be months before he will be strong. We hope to move to Bournemouth in about a week, if both patients go on well.⁵ Elizabeth Wedgwood is here, & has been, as usual, the most unselfish & devoted of nurses.—⁶

Horace is going on well & only occasionally has a baddish day.⁷ Etty⁸ is accustoming him to have no one to sit with him at night; & she has so much judgment & kindness, that she will do it well. It is a horrid bore, but we have been forced to engage a second house at Bournemouth, & so shall not be all together.— Emma sends her love & will write when she is strong: she hopes that Horace will soon be able to do some lessons, & then it will be capital for him to have you to return. But I hope we shall then have got him out of his invalid habits. Poor little man he has often cried, when he has tried & failed to write to you. And no wonder for nothing could have possibly exceeded your kindness to him.— What a wretched summer & spring we have had! We had a very nice letter lately from Louisa, written with so much feeling.⁹ I fear some things are very uncomfortable at the school; but she seems determined to bear them with excellent spirit. I sincerely hope that you have been happy & enjoyed yourself at home with as few drawbacks as this weary world permits.

My dear Miss Ludwig— Yours very sincerely | C. Darwin