42 A Century of Family Letters [CHAP, n 



Elizabeth Wedgwood to her aunt Madame Sismondi. 



MAER, Wednesday, 5 June [1839]. 



... I have been enjoying three weeks of Emma's com- 

 pany. She and Charles stayed a fortnight here, and I went 

 on with them to Shrewsbury, Eliza [Wedgwood] kindly 

 taking my place here meanwhile; and the feeling that she 

 was procuring me a great pleasure, and the retirement, 

 made her, I think, quite enjoy her week. It was agreed by 

 all the members of the colony that Emma's time was so 

 short she could not be spared to divide any of it amongst 

 them away from Maer, and that they would all come and 

 see her here, so that we had the whole of her visit. It was 

 rather spoilt by Charles being so unwell almost the whole 

 time of his stay in the country, and Emma not very well 

 herself. Charles got some of his father's good doctoring 

 and is much better again, but I suppose he is feeling 

 the effect of too much exertion in every way during his 

 voyage and must be careful not to work his head too hard 

 now. His journal is come out at last along with two other 

 thick volumes of Capt. Fitzroy and Capt. King of the same 

 voyage, but I have not had time to read it yet. It is a great 

 pleasure to see Emma so entirely happy in her lot, with the 

 most affectionate husband possible, upon whom none of her 

 pleasant qualities are thrown away, who delights in her 

 music, and admires her dress. I quite agreed with all your 

 good advice to her on that head, and I even mean to dress 

 well myself, now the credit of the family rests on me. 



You do give me some very nice doses of poison, dearest 

 Jessie, if I believed anything about them except that you 

 love me but of the rest of what you say so beautifully, I 

 hope I do feel most gratefully the truth. There cannot be 

 a happier or easier task than making the lives comfortable 

 of my father and mother. There never were people who 

 gave so much and required so little. Indeed it often makes 

 me ashamed and touches me very tenderly to see my father 

 get up to pay me some little kind attention that would 



