n6 A Century of Family Letters [CHAP, rx 



a black night-cap and iron-heel boots, who we hope will 

 make us accomplished dancers. But it is a secret, as we 

 think ourselves too old to learn and are ashamed of it. 



We are going to-night to a soiree at Mme Catalani's. We 

 dined there the other day and had rather an odd day. There 

 were two Italian ladies there, sister-in-law and niece of 

 Catalani, and a very vulgar Frenchwoman, who all talked 

 as fast and loud as possible. After dinner Catalani called 

 Charlotte over to her, whisked off her handkerchief, pulled 

 down her shoulders, pinched her stays together, and declared 

 she held herself like a grand-papa. You would have laughed 

 to see Charlotte in the hands of two or three foreigners 

 pulling her about so, and paying her plenty of compliments 

 into the bargain. She submitted to it all wonderfully well 

 considering. We are getting quite dissipated, invitations 

 are coming in so fast. And now, my dear Harry, I shall 

 finish this letter to Frank, because the poor man has scalded 

 his leg and is laid up. So you must send him this letter, 

 and do not let it be a week on your window first. So good- 

 bye. 



My poor dear Frank, How come you not to have left off 

 your old trick of killing and maiming yourself, do you like 

 it still ? I think you are quite right about Gil Bias, and 

 therefore it is not a book that I care whether I read or not. 

 Mamma and Charlotte and I dined the other day at Mr 

 Newnham's, where we met the great traveller Baron Hum- 

 boldt, 1 who is the most amusing man I have seen a long 

 time, and talks faster than anybody but Dr Darwin, but so 

 clear that you can hear all he says. He was talking a great 

 deal about the Northern expedition that Hensleigh's friends 

 know so much about. He said that beyond a certain 



northern latitude the Aurora Borealis is never seen. . . . 



I 



1 Alexander von Humboldt (1769 1866), the great naturalist, 

 whose travels in S. America had made him famous. Those travels 

 with all the wonders of tropical scenery are described in his Personal 

 Narrative ; and it was in part the reading of that book that made 

 Charles Darwin eager to accept the offer of the post of naturalist 

 on the Beagle. 



