Volume 80: Lady Sarah Macarthur letters to Elizabeth Macarthur-Onslow, 1863-1890

you count you will find making 6 ladies & 9 gentlemen – I give Mrs Norman to Capt Gilmore as I think he & she may find an endless variety of subjects – Tomorrow Major & Mrs White come to us from Guernsey – that night we shall be alone – next day I purpose a drive to the C- Palace & the Bancrofts at dinner Sun day quiet Monday we go to another party at Miss Burdetts The Whites may go to the theatre Tuesday Blank – Wednesday a dinner at Sir D- Coopers – Where I have proposed that Mrs W- goes in my place – Wednesday The Great Bazaar – President The Princess of Wales- & I have an endless Lunch – Thursday we have another dinner party

in Scotland

Swindrige House 9th Sepr

My dear Elizabeth

Seeing by to days Telegram the wind at Plymouth still West, I write on the chance of your getting this tho' I dare say you would rather be off – but should you have had the same weather we have – a "Howling Storm" you are better on Terra Firma – from being here yr letter was a day late reaching us – we were rejoiced when we heard your two Aunts, and Mary were with you – and all the more delightful from not having been expected. Of course your Mothers Photo is not perfect, yet as a likeness and a remembrance, it is very welcome – & in some respects

very nice, I am glad you have got ours – we have not, but Mrs Hutchison told me in a late letter that the pictures had come, so some day we shall have the Photo's I am very glad you are getting your Grand mothers done and hope it may be well done, and we be also able to get the same –

I feel sure 38 could not be injured by your being there, we truly rejoice we had a home, so situated [original text crossed out- so] that you could benefit from it, and I sincerely trust that we may all have merry days

there together – and that at not so distant a date – I feel we have been most fortunate in having the Hutchisons as care keepers of our house – and I also regret that I can greatly agree with you in your opinion of Alice she has not at all im proved – she during a time of non Cookesin in winter did very well and showed such a decided taste for cooking – I had made up my mind to give her a course of lessons at a cooking school & give her notice that I should only keep her till she got another place – thinking she was getting beyond our place of kitchen maid but here we have her – her cooking is much less good than it was – and she seems

careless about doing better so I make up my mind to part with her by xmas unless she turns over a new leaf –

We have a letter from Mr Macleay to day urging us to go to Kinrara where they now are – & are to be for a fort night – but we are for the next three weeks engaged at most without a days break therefore we cannot go – We have met twice lately a Mr and Mrs Dixon who were of the party in Sir C. Nicholson's & Mr Macleays visit to Denmark they seem to have been a most merry party – Mr Macleays name was Old Botany – Sir C= Old Geology – & some one name I forgot old – Antiquary – the adventures of each – laughed at by the other – the erratic