BLACKWELL FAMILY KITTY BARRY BLACKWELL 1879 BLACKWELL, ALICE S10 Undercliff
St. Leonards-on-Sea.
15-3-79
My dear Pic,
We have been rejoiced
by 6 fine days within ten days
quite a novelty in our
experience this winter--one
of the finest days was the
13th when Prince Arthur & Princess
Margaretta were married.  He 
seems a really good fellow like
his father, & P. Margaretta looks
in her photos like a very bright,
amiable, little German schoolgirl
Of course Court Circulars call her
beautiful-the photos don't show
beauty-but I think she has plenty
of brains.  There have never been 
any nasty stories about the Duke 
of Connaught or about his brothers the
P. of Wales & Duke of Edinburgh  He
[*promising
servant.
Aunty only has 
occasional 
twinges
of neuralgia
now.  Love 
to Agnes-tell
her her 
letter shall
be answered 
very 
soon.
Addio,
K.B.
more 
shortly.
I too was poisoned
by badly cleaned pots
at 10Y and tried 
a little of yr
mode of
[illness?]
Am all
right
now.
Love to
L. tell
her 
she 
is 
expected 
at
Rock
House*]and P. Leopold seem to take after
their Father - morally, German [?]
We have not yet possession
of Rock House - people won't
turn out - want us to buy their
old furniture, (lodging house at that)
wh we won't do. If things turn 
out from Taylor's as we have
been told, ruined, we may
have to buy furniture, but if
simple, we'll at any rate have
it new and clean.  
Aunt B. has
been having a horrid time
 with neuralgia. A hard, growing [?]
red spot, appeared a fortnight 
ago just below her left shoulder
blade, She thought she was in
for a carbuncle.  Not being able
to see her back we called in a
homeopathic doctor here to give
diagnosis -- he said it was 
shingles, in learned tongue

must go home, as representative
of the European Blackwells, to
the first wedding among
the pics. This summer it
wd be inconvenient to go, on
account of settling down
in our new houses. Zoe Underhill
wrote a few weeks ago saying
that she and the children
were "rejoicing that Summer
was coming, as Kitty wd come
with it.' She must not
forget to plan to give us our
share of a visit home - we
all expect her". I should like
to see my dear little people
again very much.
Aunty's talks, and the book
when in mss., have done
one good piece of work if
they never do another - 
Zoe is devoting her life
to bringing up our dearchildren rightly. If care, and
perfect confidence between
children and parents, can
ensure upright lives for 
[Tattie?] and Pinky, they will lead 
them. I must tell you of a 
funny question of Pinky's - 
she asked Zoe one day, "Whether
the sole of her foot, was the
part of her that went to
Heaven"! Queer jumble of ideas
children must have of things.
March 29th; Rock House.
Exmouth Place. Hastings. Thus
you are to direct, till notice
to the contrary -- that will be
long in coming I think!
We came to this house
on the 25th, bitter E.N.E wind blowing,
and the first snow we have
had in this part of England
falling. A nastier, rainier, more
uninviting day you cannot

imagine. (Scrap from Daily News
duly expresses our feelings when
we found ourselves on 25th plunged
into the depths of winter again.)
We are staying at Exmouth
Lodge, directly facing Rock
House, till the needful papering
& painting is done. Every
scrap of paper is torn off
the walls, for the whole is
to be repapered and painted.
If not very fine, we shall
be clean & not vulgar - that
is, our papering & painting
will not be like 999.999 out
of every 100.000 houses in England.
I have told you how Hastings
climbs the hills directly from
the Sea, & that therefore every
nook and corner is taken
advantage of to place a house -
we find that one corner of 
the wall of our house rests on
a rock - hence the name - Rock HouseIt will probably be three weeks
before we are actually in the 
house.
In this house lodge
Miss Betham-Edwards the novelist
& a curate of one of the churches
near by. Mis B-E. has written
several novels - "Kitty" - "The Sylvestres,
"Patricia Kimble (?)" &c none of wh
I've read. Her little Sketches of
A Year in Western France, "A Winter
With the Swallows" are interesting
& lively I think. She is a small,
plain, little woman, with hair
(black) much tinged with grey.
She is lively in talk, very
social and very helpful &
kind-hearted. The Curate I've
not seen. He only gets warm
meat twice a week - all the
other days cold - I believe, from the
testimony of my nose, that he
has a perpetual round of mutton.
He & Miss B.E. were guests at a dinner
the other eve - she says he ate
enormously. Mis B-E. & we have
dine together thrice - She is so
glad of a little sociability.
We have engaged a very

Herpes. He had the horror
himself so told Aunty that the
red surface wd appear in front
on left side, but wd confine itself
to that side - wh it has - but that
for ten days or three weeks
she wd suffer agonies from
neuralgia & nervous irritation.
All of wh she has verified. Her
digestions & appetite have kept
good, & I've fed her well. We may
say she is recovering - last 
night she had her first good sleep
for [7] 8 days. We had some cranberries,
after eating steadily at them,
the 3d day, at bottom of the 
dish, we found a bit of lead as
broad & as long as my little
finger; this attack began while
we were innocently eating leady
cranberries, so it is evident
that the cause of the trouble
is lead poison.I want to know whether you have
heard of Geo Washbourne's proposed 
visit to Somerville. I strongly 
suspect Aunt Nettie of still
wishing to have him as a Son-in-law. 
Aunt Nettie wrote me a
note some time ago telling
me of Floy's rejection of the 
attentions of the young Dentist - 
immediately adding the news
of G.W's visit in March & saying
Floy had still a good deal of
interest in that young man. 
Dear me, if he should
capture our Floy! I suppose we
must give them our blessing 
as there seems nothing morally
bad about the young man - but 
I fear poor F.B.B. wd have a hard 
life, as neither the young man, nor his
immediate ancestors have 
shown the power of getting on
in the world. It wd be rather
aggravating too for her to marry just 
now. Aunt B. has always said that I

Rock House  
St Clements  
Hastings
July 9th 79
Cara Mia Pic --
You are unquestionably Capt
Kidd's greatest treasure -- at least 
this revived Kidd's. Here have I not 
written for so long that you might 
well growl at me, yet not a word! You
continue to write like a blessing
as you are. If ever you feel blue, and 
think you are no good in the world, 
just think of me, and take heart of 
grace -- it is something, be 
even a feminine's chief treasure.
I've had two letters from you in 
as many days. There's richness! I 
await no. three with interest, as I am 
curious to know the impressions that 
Vassar makes upon you as a place, &
whether, after so many years co-education, 
you greatly miss the boy 
element in the college. I suspect you 
know, that you wd find V. dull if you 
studied there. Now I, not having your 
experience should be right happy thereand be so smitten by graceful young 
women that life wd be blissful - that 
is supposing graceful young women 
to be found there.
To get rid of a vexatious matter at once, so 
that I may peacefully talk about yr 
four latest letters- far more satisfactory. 
You must know our poor boy has 
been, & is going on in a bad way. Aunty left his
last so long unanswered that I feared she 
meant to drop him altogether, but she didn't. 
Then he left her's so long that I made up 
my mind he was so bad he didn't dare 
write. But last week a letter came. 
His letter said he wanted to visit England 
this summer. When I was told this, I was 
scared, and at the same time glad. Then 
I was told that he wd receive no encouragement 
to come. I remarked 'if he wants sea-air 
he had better go to Holstein the part of the 
Baltic provinces taken from Denmark. 
The beach is good, the ways are German & 
it is nearer". If I had spoken truth I 
should have said "let him come to 
us." I know the poor fellow wd get good from 
a visit - be strengthened for a renewed 
fight in that horrid City. He has no
strength of will & the life being 
evil there, he is completely carried away. 
Everybody is against him too. Not even 

his sisters help him. I shouldn't have 
an agreeable time, but that wd be 
no matter if he cd be saved. You see
tho' Aunty has the theory that men & women 
should be friends & can be without any 
love-making, still I've never 
quite found her practise come up to her
theory. Certainly I never had any chance 
to be anything accept a "nonentity & a bore" 
to the person in question, & should
not now, if he spent three months 
here. He won't come tho', I feel certain. 
Aunty says she cdn't introduce him 
to her friends  -- if she does believe
what she has written in her book, of 
course she cdn't. Principles stand 
much in the way of ones inclinations 
frequently! I think 'tis quite right 
he should not be introduced into 
families & yet 'tis hard to cast the 
poor boy off as it were, when a little 
help now might yet make a good 
man of him. I'm disgusted enough 
to find how very far from comfortable 
[to] it wd be for me to see that poor 
boy. You may make what remarks 
you like about this, but, if you don't 
lock up my letters, as I do yours, docremate this sheet.
I should like to know young lady how 
I am to keep track of all the attractions.
It seems to me tho' that Mr C. is the 
most troublesome of all whose 
acquaintance I've yet made. I never
supposed you wd go thro' such a series 
of Smitations - never. Our elders 
might turn up their eyes in
utter amazement having probably 
forgotten their own doings in the 
same way but I find it all marvellously 
interesting. Only I confess if any 
Smitation was likely to prove 
mutual, I should feel indignant 
that I cd not witness some of 
the proceedings. After long foreshadowings 
of possibilities in the future, I've
made up my mind, even if 
I am not present during the C---
not to feel jealous -- that is if he 
deserves you. Few wd in my opinion. 
I've been frequently told of various 
agreeable things wh will befall me
"when Alice marries", but I don't 
believe in one of them except that