1 8 A Century of Family Letters [CHAP, i 



she is a fit companion for children. If filled, as I suppose, 

 with the notions common with uneducated Welsh persons 

 I am sure she is not. She would have been a fish out of 

 water, and you would not have known what to do with her. 

 Above all things preserve the agreeableness of your home. . . . 



I wish to heaven I could make you chear up. I owe you 

 a spite for being cast down for nothing. My love to all your 

 party, and I am and ever shall be, your affectionate J. W. 



I go to Gunville to-morrow for good. 



Mrs Josiah Wedgwood to her husband. 



MY DEAR Jos CRESSELLT, Sept. 1st, 1800. 



Contrary to your calculation, I received your letter 

 of the 28th this evening, and it has made me very happy. 

 I now hasten to write you my last dispatch from Cresselly, 

 but I must make it short, as it is late, and I have taken a 

 long walk which has tired me. I have been a fool to make 

 myself at all uneasy upon the subject, when I knew at the 

 same time that you would not be angry with me, but I don't 

 know how it was, I thought you might feel uncomfortable, 

 and indeed I felt so myself at the thoughts of our meeting 

 being deferred. I have always written to you from the 

 feelings of the moment, and perhaps I have sometimes given 

 you a stronger impression of my being out of spirits than 

 was just. John Allen and Mackintosh have enlivened our 

 society very much, and I think my Father begins to relish 

 society more than he did. I fancied he was a little afraid 

 of Mackintosh at first, but he has now found out that he is 

 by no means overbearing, and he finds himself comfortable 

 in his company. 



I am very glad I did not pursue my two schemes with 

 relation to M. Allen and M. Ridgway, and I think you are 

 perfectly right in what you say. I had no notion that our 

 house was in so backward a state when I thought of Harriet 

 [Surtees] paying us a visit, but if I find it inconvenient when 

 we get to Gunville it will be very easy to put them off. 



