TALBOT1195

Malvern Wells
July 9^th

My dear Henry

Your letters have been a very great pleasure to us both as descriptions of interesting things and as marks of affection which must be always received with joy however well convinced we may be of your sentiments beforehand - but somehow you have found out exactly the things we want to know about so I hope you will go on, though I confess I do not deserve it but as Hamlet says treat us not according to our deserts but your own generosity! I have had your letter ¹ from Venice & Bella & Emma ² have had theirs from Vienna - We have been here about a week - M^r Lemon Aunt C. & Augusta ³ are here - he is going on mending & they are very well we live very near them and dine and drink reciprocally at each others dwellings - the weather has been too wet as yet for us to make any rural expeditions - but the hills are soon dry and we walk between the showers - the sunsets here are beautiful - All the Maiden Newton ⁴ people are at Cheltenham and we are trying to make them come here to see us I don't at all know how long we stay so you had best direct still to Penrice ⁵ as it makes but a day's difference - did you get a letter ⁶ Bella wrote to you at Venice? Perhaps you have heard how ill Kerry ⁷ has been if so you will be glad to know he is recovering fast - it was an inflamation [sic] of the lungs which he caught by exposing himself to the cold too soon after the measles - he was in great danger for some days - Jane ⁸ is still in London - very well and so are all belonging to her - Aunt Harriet ⁹ and her daughters are at Cowes and so is Kit ¹⁰ - yesterday was the day fixed for the Giulia ¹¹ to race with a M^r Smiths' yatch [sic] we are anxious to hear the result - it was a beautiful day for the purpose. The Framptons enjoy the bathing and shell picking at Cowes exceedingly Don't forget to send me in a letter D Kennst du das Land ¹² We have never got the drawing Caroline ¹³ sent to Emma - by what conveyance was it sent? Our present German studies are very humble consisting of "Der Kinderfreund" it is amusing and in a pretty style - There were I think only three of your mixture of seeds come up when we left home - the annuals you sent Mama ¹⁴ were all very flourishing then, and I hope we shall go back time enough to see them in beauty - your iris lusitanica blew beautifully and the next day the head was eaten off by a rabbit! these tiresome creatures have quite enraged us we have killed five or six yet still we cannot get rid of them though we cannot find where they come in - I wish I could tell you something of our plans but the truth is we have none - sometimes we talk of staying here till September - sometimes of going to Cheltenham sometimes of going into Dorsetshire in the Autumn - Pray ask Caroline or Horatia ¹⁵ to write to me for I would lose something for want of asking though I have little hopes of their compliance which therefore I should be the more grateful for & I promise to answer 'upon my word' I wish I knew as well what you would like to hear about as you contrive to do for us instead of making you read this long rigmarole & bestowing all my tediousness upon you - but it will at least shew you I am still your affectionate cousin Charlotte

Mary ¹⁶ & Bella are very well & she will write to you "incessament" Mama & Emma & I are pretty well M^r Lemon and Aunt Charlotte are going to town for a few days to Miss Lemon's wedding ¹⁷

à Monsieur
M^r H. Talbot

Baden Baden
Ratstadt
München
poste restante