1851-1853] Stories without an End 149 



many places you have been to, almost everywhere I think, 

 so you will be able to tell me very long stories indeed one of 

 those nice stories without any end to them." 



He often accompanied the Hensleigh Wedgwoods on their 

 summer outings. In 1852 he seems to have parted company 

 with them at Melrose. 



Erasmus Darwin to Mrs Hensleigh Wedgwood. 



DEAR MlSSIS, LONDON, Aug. 23rd [1852]. 



You have probably forgotten everything about Mel- 

 rose by this time after all your highland wanderings. . . . 

 You did not half see Melrose. I went in the evening to the 

 river side where I sat for more than an hour admiring 

 the sunset reflected in the water. The river there is very 

 broad and shallow and was quite alive with boys fishing 

 up to their knees in water. ... I had a lady in the [railway] 

 carriage who was on her way to meet some of the smashees 

 in the railway accident in which Mr Grainger was killed, so 

 we had some comfortable talk. Her sister was in the middle 

 seat and hardly felt it, while the lady sitting by her side had 

 her seat torn from under her and her legs broken by the 

 engine slicing off the side of the carriage. 



From Berwick, I had the sweetest little angel that ever 

 you saw, a bride apparently not very long, and I was afraid 

 I was de trop, but as we got towards York, we became fairly 

 good friends and they hoped I was going on to London with 

 them, as they were in great alarm they should have four 

 blacklegs from the York races. This qualified compliment 

 of keeping out one blackleg put me in despair about York, 

 so I changed my train and went on to Normanton, with five 

 blacklegs all rather brandyfied and all smoking. We had 

 not gone ten minutes when we came to a perfect imbroglio 

 of trains, which delayed us a long time, and we made up 

 time at the rate of about sixty miles an hour, but were too 

 late for the other trains, which caused no few impre- 

 cations. 



I called at Chelsea on Sunday evening and found Mrs 



