ABSTRACT
In Baghdad Layard collected many letters from his family in England and he wrote a series of replies in which he recounted his adventures and told about the many ruins he had seen. He had to address the question of his plans for the future, of course, but his letters were unclear and the only obvious conclusion was that he had given up the idea of going to Ceylon. That left only one option: returning to England, even though it was not obvious how he was to support himself there. So many changes had taken place in his family's affairs since he left London that he saw the situation as radically different. The uncle in Ceylon had been declared bankrupt, so there was not as expected a good basis for him to start from out there anyway; also his other paternal uncle, Nathaniel, had been in difficulties and uncle Benjamin had been forced to assist. All this had resulted in a new and closer relationship between Layard's mother and Benjamin and Sara Austen, which he felt made it possible for her to move to London and live close to them. In a letter to his mother he developed his own interpretation of the situation:
Should you be once settled in London and a right understanding exist between yourself and my uncle and aunt, which I trust is now the case, the great, in fact the only reason for my having left England and forfeited what those who knew me considered most excellent prospects, is at an end. You must know and those who were acquainted with my feelings whilst in England well knew my reasons for quitting my country; my uncle was probably ignorant of them and I studiously endeavoured to conceal the true reason not wishing to render him uncomfortable…. Whilst in London, you may remember, that I was far from happy. Indeed I had my books which were to me always the best of friends but I had no home and after nearly six years residence alone and in lodgings without the society I longed for and without a circle in which I found myself truly welcome I resolved to leave England and seek a home in some other country. 18
