12th of January 1852
My dear Papa:
I hope you are quite well, and that the weather is not so disagreeable in London, as it is here to day.
Charles’s cold is much better: but we have all of us more or less colds; so that we have not been able to go out and look at the flowers.
The water field is nearly all flooded, and if the rain continues to fall like yesterday and today we shall have a very fine inundation.
We have guessed all your riddles except the last which we are not quite sure about. We have also made some for you to guess. What town in Ireland is like a carriage upset? – Carlon. Which is the coolest place in Scotland on a summers day? – Ayr. What part of Scotland is the meanest way to the gallows? Galloway. What town in Ireland is nearest to London? – Londonderry?
What is the town which an Irish-man names when he is irreverent? A
What is the town in Ireland which you name when you wish a bad horse to move? M
What is the Welch town where people subsist only on lamps? R.
Which is the county in England where there are the worst roads? E.
Which is the English county you name on your return from the chase? M
Good bye, dear Papa, Your affectionate daughter
Matilda
The letters are to show you which of us have made the riddle.