TALBOT1175

Paris

9^th March 1824

My Dear M^r Feilding,

Nicole ¹ went to London instead of Paris, so that you had better write to him yourself, his direction is

Nicholas Sisberg
at Miss Cook’s 48 Wimpole S^t –

He wrote me word he was at present with Lady Isabella S^t Lawrence, merely however for a job – John ² & I arrived here last night, we have experienced very bad weather all the way, and today it has rained torrents all day giving a very unfavourable first impression of Paris – We have only been out to read the papers at Galignani’s ³ & coming home I lost him, and as he has not yet made his appearance I conclude he is wandering over Paris enquiring for the Hotel Wagram ⁴ if indeed he remembers the name. His servant calls it the Hotel Vacarme, rue de la Paix – We proposed staying here 3 days but today must count for nothing.

I went with Sir Christopher ⁵ one day to see M^r Perkins’s new invented Steam Gun, ⁶ it is an extremely long musket barrel screwed into his steamengine and pointed at an iron plate at the end of the room, The water is heated to twice the boiling point and on turning a cock the steam rushes out of the barrel with great fury, and after a few moments brings along with it a shower of balls, three per second, without intermission till they are all exhausted – They fall from the iron plate quite flattened as if discharged by gunpowder The experiment is most striking, Sir Christopher was lost in astonishment and reflections upon the change it may make in the art of war – M^r Brunel ⁷ the famous Engineer is going to make a tunnel under the Thames at Rotherhithe – It is to cost £200,000 which sum was immediately subscribed – The length will be 1200 feet, to sink only 14 feet beneath the bed of the river – Sir Edward Codrington ⁸ who is a great promoter of it told me it was sure to answer.

My love to all & believe me
Yours aff^tly

Henry Talbot

Monsieur
Monsieur Feilding

Gentilhomme Anglais ⁹
Gênes
Italie