Seward House, Badsey
8th October 1896
My dear Kathleen
I have just come back from a second evening at the Bazaar & feel too tired to attempt more than a small sheet of paper. We are sending you a few of the things that were not sold, for your bazaar on Saturday & hope they will go off then. The walnuts will do for May’s stall & if we can find a few violets or other flowers we will send them also, but the flowers are nearly over. We had anything but nice weather yesterday for the bazaar, but not withstanding had a lot of people there and got on very well. We took about £56 yesterday & I should think £6 or £7 tonight, but of course there are a few expenses to come out of it; however as we all started by saying we should do well if we cleared £50, we are all well satisfied. I won a lovely drawn-linen afternoon tea-cloth in a raffle, fancy that! it was marked 15 shillings. And tonight Father won a nice woollen mat, priced 7/- so, though we are both stone-broke with buying things, we have really got something for our money. I really had a capital lot of things for my stall, Mrs. Wilson’s sister sent me nearly £2 worth & really some were very nice things & Miss Corbett also sent a splendid lot. I took charge of the rummage stall, while Ethel sold at our stall & the bran pie, went round with cigarettes, etc. Jack undertook to put Cyril to bed last night as he came back earlier than we did, & I think his experience was rather like Uncle Harry with Budge & Toddy!
Arthur was 8th in his form & 7th in set the first week; George was 4th in form, had the highest marks in English & second in Scripture for the fortnight, so that is very good indeed; I do hope that means that he intends to work this term. The 3 stamps had not been sent to him, but they shall go this week. We also had our Harvest Thanksgiving Service last Sunday, the Church was unusually well decorated, we had a good many helpers, & Joseph Marshall lent simply heaps of begonias & other nice plants. Mrs. Wood & Miss Lucy (the new governess) did the pulpit very well. I did the font, we had begonias and ferns at the bottom, [?] or pale pink, virginia creeper & green grapes round the top & white flowers round the ledge with a few pale pink or cream roses & a white cross with maiden hair fern. I hope you are both keeping well, I should like a little health bulletin put in before long. With much love to May & yourself, hoping your sale will be very successful.
I remain
Your loving mother
Eugénie N. Sladden
P.S. The paper knife in poler work was made by Mabel Butler. I daresay it will sell at Clewer, it is very nicely done.
