Letter from Anna Mary Howitt, London, to "Nannie" Anne Leigh Smith Bodichon, 1854 October 4 : autograph manuscript signed.

Writing to "Nannie," or Anne Leigh Smith, to say that she wishes she could have set off to meet her in Sussex, but it was impossible; describing how they are preparing for her father to return and making changes in their house; noting that they have given up their home on Avenue Road, and how they are having "one of those domestic revolutions of which one has unpleasant anticipations but from which one has much after comfort"; expressing gratitude regarding how everyone has given her time to paint; describing feeling "used up"; apologizing for troubling Barbara with her last letter, which referenced how she was feeling unwell even though she feels she "ought to be very well and in good spirits" since they are in the country; expressing regret that she has not done all she set out to do in painting, but thinking about the pictures that she intends to exhibit in the spring; hoping that her father and Charlton will return safely from Australia in the fall so she can be at ease; noting that she does not think of herself as strong and well, "but its effect is far more mental than physical showing itself in a sort of terrible melancholy that seems at times to seize upon me"; referencing the Scandinavian mythology about the worm that must always gnaw at the roots of the Tree of Life; feeling that actions can dispel this sense of anxiety; instructing her friends not to worry about her health; hoping to hear about how Nanny, Bell, and Barbara are doing.