iSS 2 -] EDUCATION. 381 



Our long silence occurred to me a few weeks since, and I 

 had then thought of writing, but was idle. I congratulate and 

 condole with you on your tenth child ; but please to observe 

 when I have a tenth, send only condolences to me. We have 

 now seven children, all well, thank God, as well as their mother ; 

 of these seven, five are boys ; and my father used to say that 

 it was certain that a boy gave as much trouble as three girls ; 

 so that bond fide we have seventeen children. It makes me 

 sick whenever I think of professions ; all seem hopelessly- 

 bad, and as yet I cannot see a ray of light. I should very- 

 much like to talk over this (by the way, my three bug- 

 bears are Californian and Australian gold, beggaring me by 

 making my money on mortgage worth nothing ; the French 

 coming by the Westerham and Sevenoaks roads, and there- 

 fore enclosing Down ; and thirdly, professions for my boys), 

 and I should like to talk about education, on which you ask 

 me what we are doing. No one can more truly despise the 

 old stereotyped stupid classical education than I do ; but 

 yet I have not had courage to break through the trammels.. 

 After many doubts we have just sent our eldest boy to 

 Rugby, where for his age he has been very well placed. . . 

 I honour, admire, and envy you for educating your boys at 

 home. What on earth shall you do with your boys ? Towards 

 the end of this month we go to see W. at Rugby, and 

 thence for five or six days to Susan * at Shrewsbury ; I then 

 return home to look after the babies, and E. goes to 

 F. Wedgwood's of Etruria for a week. Very many thanks 

 for your most kind and large invitation to Delamere, but I 

 fear we can hardly compass it. I dread going anywhere, on 

 account of my stomach so easily failing under any excite- 

 ment. I rarely even now go to London ; not that I am at 

 all worse, perhaps rather better, and lead a very comfortable 

 life with my three hours of daily work, but it is the life of 

 a hermit. My nights are always bad, and that stops my 



* His sister. 



