Letter from Anna Mary Howitt, London, to Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon, 1859 August : autograph manuscript signed.

Writing to Barbara to thank her for the promise of one of her drawings as a wedding present; remarking that she will go to see the exhibition when she returns home; hoping that she and Bell are enjoying their time together in Sussex; describing the scenery and sunsets in the countryside, and how nature benefits both herself and her mother; postulating that she will be married next month, though she does not know where she will be married; describing how the idea of a ceremony is disagreeable to her and Alfred; noting that if they were to have a ceremony, she would have asked Barbara, Bell, and others; feeling she does not have the strength to plan an event like this; feeling that she and Alfred have long been truly wedded by God already; describing her health; deciding that she will not immediately start painting and writing again until she is strong enough.