226 A Century of Family Letters [CHAP, xvi 



at work digging for the worms. 1 I must go and take him 

 an umbrella. Leo went off last night. Aunt Caroline is so 

 ambitious for him that she thinks it a great pity he should 

 settle down to such humdrum work as his present employ- 

 ment; 2 but I don't agree with her. I think, however, I 

 have no ambition in my nature. It would not have given 

 me much pleasure George being a rising lawyer, except as 



fulfilling his wishes. 



Goodbye, my dears, 



E. D. 



F. has had great sport with the stones, but I thought he 

 would have a sunstroke. 



BASSET, Monday [June, 1877]. 



. . . We are really going to Stonehenge to-morrow. I may 

 stop at Salisbury and read my book and see the Cathedral, 

 but I shall go if I can. I am afraid it will half kill F. two 

 hours' rail and a twenty-four mile drive but he is bent on 

 going, chiefly for the worms, but also he has always wished 

 to see it. 



BASSET, Wednesday [1877]. 



. . . We started from here yesterday at 6.45 on a most 

 lovely day only alarmingly hot. We had telegraphed on 

 Monday to George to meet us at Salisbury, and there he 

 was at the station at 8.30 a.m. with our open carriage 

 and pair, looking very bright and smiling, and I think he 

 enjoyed it more than any of us, though he had seen it twice 

 before. 



The road is striking and ugly over great cultivated pigs' 

 backs, except the last two or three miles, when we got on 

 the turf. We loitered about and had a great deal of talk 

 with an agreeable old soldier placed there by Sir Ed. 

 Antrobus (owner), who was keeping guard and reading a 

 devout book, with specs on. He was quite agreea-ble to 



1 He was observing the effect produced by earthworms in gradually 

 undermining and covering up stones through bringing earth to the 

 surface in the form of castings. 



2 He had left Malta and was Instructor in Chemistry at Chatham. 



