University of Edinburgh

Royal Observatory

Edinburgh

Saturday, Sept. 10, 1904

Dear Mr Holloway,

Father has been in bed for such a very long time & unable to write that he has asked me to answer one of your letters for him. He thinks about you a great deal & hoped that you & all your family are very well. It must be very nice for you to be able to have a big family gathering at Christmas with all your children & grandchildren round you. Father has been very ill indeed but the last five days he has been much better & wants me to say that he hopes to be out of bed again in a very short time.

I know that he would be very glad to hear from you if you can find time to write to him.

Mother got rather ill with all the work & anxiety of nursing Father but is now much better again & is down again today for the first time. My doctor sister is at home & a very great help indeed to all. She had a post in Rousay, Orkney, but a locum is doing her work there at present.

Agnes got very unwell with all the anxiety at home & has been sent away for a complete change. She is now companion to a girl of about her own age in the far North of Germany in Pommerania & likes the place & the people immensely.

I got 3 months leave from India to go home & see Father, but unfortunately 6 weeks out of the 3 months vanish in travelling. It was a great delight to find Father comparatively so well after the bad news I had had.

Father wishes to remind you that when you & he built the little observatory at Gorton you were just about the age that I am now (26).

With kindest regards,

Yours very sincerely,

T. Copeland.