ABSTRACT
The old folk were all right on Wednesday night & Thursday when I was with them at Winchester – rather overdone with polite callers. Hope I shall be underdone in that way at Worth. Was there all day on Friday. Dench and his slouch of a bricklayer have made more progress, but the latter is one of the roughest of workmen, and a trifl e shifty – a straight line to him does not coincide with Euclid,3 but does with the parlour chimney top. Dench is anxiously willing; and I am willingly anxious to get into the place by the end of this month – after a week’s fi res have been set going. The parlour is used as mess room by the workman and is the only dry room, for a fi re is generally on there.
