1839] Hensleigh's New Office 33 



does not think it will be at all a hard place. He will be 

 employed from 10 till 4, about four days a week. Fanny's 

 maids have been very uneasy at the shortness of our house- 

 maid and are afraid that she is not tall enough to tie my 

 gown. She is about the size of Betty Slaney, so I hope 

 Fanny set their minds at ease on that point. Our dinner 

 went off very well, though Erasmus tells us it was a base 

 imitation of the Ivlarlborough Street dinners, and certainly 

 the likeness was very striking. But when the plum- 

 pudding appeared he knocked under, and confessed himself 

 conquered very humbly. And then Edward is such a 

 perfect Adonis in his best livery that he is quite a 

 sight. Fanny and Hensleigh slept here, and Hensleigh 

 went the next morning to the office. Catherine has very 

 considerately sent us a Shrewsbury paper that we may 

 see ourselves in print, and as she drew us up sTie has all an 

 author's feelings on the subject. Cha.rles is not quite used 

 to my honours yet, as he took up a letter to me the other 

 day and could not conceive who Mrs C. Darwin could mean. 

 He has set to his work in good earnest now. The Lyells 

 have called and we w r ere rather sorry to miss them. Yester- 

 day we settled to sit up in state till four o'clock, to see all 

 the crowds who should come, but there only came two 

 callers. We then walked in the Regent's Park and were 

 caught in the rain, which agitated us both a good deal for 

 fear of spoiling my best bonnet. It however was none the 

 worse. I am very much pleased that Papa wants a draw- 

 ing of me. I don't know whether Mr Richmond is come 

 back. I will go and get it done when you have settled who 

 is best. 



Charles desires his best love to you. Will you tell Mary, 

 with my love, that I forgot to tell her about Pitman's Lec- 

 tures, which I wish her to have as a Keepsake from me, 

 and Elizabeth is to get it bound for her. 



]Vly mother told me that when they came to London it 

 was considered impossible not to keep a man-servant, though 

 they would have been much happier with only women- 

 servants. 



