TALBOT1164

Penrice ¹
Feb^y 16

My dear Henry

I ought to have written to you on your birthday to have wished you many happy returns of the day, but tho’ I neglected to do so I hope you will not think we did not think of you & wish you were here to spend the day merrily with us as we used to do in former days! – We miss you very much but have no right to complain, as you have so short a time to remain in England, however I hope we shall never pass so many years without meeting again, if we live. – Charlotte ² has not been so well for the last two or three days, her head has been aching & she has seldom felt equal to joining our party in the evening or playing on the Piano forté however she is better today & took a walk with Mamma. ³ – Isabella ⁴ has been out hunting one day but saw very little however she got a good ride which she is very well satisfied with; Emma ⁵ has been gathering bunches of primroses which are delightfully sweet much more so than the garden ones we think. they were both very busily employed in helping Christopher ⁶ clear the ivy from some fine young oaks & cut down some little blights on Saturday. – Mamma has been very busy in her way & I in mine since the weather has become fine, we had two days last week of wetting fog which was very unpleasant for out of door work. – M^r Dillwyn ⁷ has been here for a day & I took him a famous stroll in the rain to seek for curiosities on the sea sho[re]⁸ however we found very little but we were more fortunate the next day & procured some shells which he wished to have. he has been dissecting shell fish lately & shewed us a beautiful tongue of a whelk & one of a limpet! – We have got about a dozen Roman coins which were found in a quarry on the old road to Swansea, they are silver, about the size of sixpences & tolerably perfect they are mostly about Adrian’s ⁹ time. I have heard that formerly some were discovered near the same place so I think some Roman must have buried his money there when they were at Lloughor. ¹⁰ I wish there were other curiosities to be found there but I suppose they cared for nothing but their money so I should find nothing [if] I went to hunt. – All send their love to you

I am your aff^ate coz
Mary

1824. Swansea Feb^y Sixteen Chris^er Cole ¹¹.
W^m Henry. F. Talbot Esq^r
17 Sackville Street
London.