In February 1887 two little ones came to her for a short stay at Batala on their way to England,—the tiny grandchildren of her brother, Mr. St. George Tucker. Children had always a great attraction for her; and immediately letters became full of the small pair, their pretty ways and sayings and doings. Miss Tucker had to make arrangements for their journey home. Writing on March 17 to her niece, Miss Edith Tucker, she exclaims:—
‘O these children! they are such darlings! Edie will not be three till the 19th, but she is as sensible as if double the age; and seems to take a sort of care of her brother. She is such an honourable little girl too. Mrs. C., the very nice matron here, has been very much struck by this. “It must be hereditary,” she said; “she could not have got it from her ayah.”[118] ... My heart feels very tender towards the loving pets, whom I shall never see on earth again. God grant us a joyful meeting before the Throne!...
‘I sometimes think how proud dear Sir Frederick Abbott[119] will be of his descendants. Please congratulate him and dear Lady Abbott from me.’
In another letter, about the same date, and also on the subject of the children, written to Miss Alice Tucker, A. L. O. E. speaks of having been kicked by a horse in a small Muhammadan courtyard,—happily not a severe kick. The horse struck out sharply, but she had just stepped back, and the force of the blow was also broken by the umbrella which she held. She escaped therefore with only ‘a harmless contusion.’ It might have been a very grave accident.
On March 26 comes a short letter to Mrs. Hamilton, jubilant at the thought of a visit from her friend, Mr. Francis Baring:—
‘To-day my darlings embark on the wide, wide ocean, dear little “travellers by land and by water”! What sweet blossoms of the fourth generation grow on our honoured Father’s family tree! I am sure that you think your pet no exception....
‘I received a note the other day, which made my heart joyful: it was from Mera Bhatija.
“He’s coming again! he’s coming again!
Oh, but he’s been long awa’,
Far frae his ain,” etc.