TALBOT1297

[written on the same sheet as a note by Lady Elisabeth - see ]

Laycock Abbey
19^th August

My dear Henry

I was very glad to hear of your having got safe on your journey as far as Chaumont & hope to hear soon of your arrival at Geneva with more favourable weather. We have had two very fine days one of which we spent at Bowood; ¹ the garden was quite charming, & we were glad to shelter ourselves from the heat of the sun in the grottos near the cascade – I suppose you have heard that the Duke of Clarence ² has resigned, that L^d Grey ³ is to be first lord of the Admiralty, that M^r Pal. is going to resign, that M^r Dawson has publicly renounced his opposition to the Catholics, that we have acknowledged the blockade of Madeira, ⁴ & that L^d Shrewsbury ⁵ has been franking letters?

Ld & Lady Lansdowne & my cousins ⁶ set off Monday for a tour through Germany by Francfort, Munich, the Splugen & Como to Florence – they mean to return to Bowood ⁷ by Christmas, but I think the temptation to go on to Rome will be too strong – Mama ⁸ has given up the idea of going to Cowes, but we are going instead to Blandford races, then through Devonshire to Sir C. Lemon’s ⁹ & L^d Morley’s, & end with Moreton & Melbury. ¹⁰ This fine weather has done Horatia’s ¹¹ cough a great deal of good & I hope the change of air will cure it entirely. – Mama had a letter from Uncle William ¹² the other day from Pic di Monte, some where in Samnium I believe, in which he appeared delighted with the country & every thing belonging to it – & well he might, at least to judg[e]¹³ from his description of it – How I envy him! he appears to be in the heart of the mountains, & saw the sun rise on the Abruzzi & Adriatic from the [illegible] of Monte Miletto; it is the very country I always wished to explore – the Valle d’Inferno must be a most romantic situation; I should like to go & pass next summer there – He found Rhinanthus Elephas somewhere in those environs – Horatia forgot to tell you that Comellina Cœlestis was in blow in the kitchen garden, planted by you – & we have also lovely Dahlias, Tiger lilies & Lobelias. –

We have been reading lately Hajji Baba in England, ¹⁴ which amused us all excessively; I found in it two capital derivations from the Persian, which you know is so like the English language; Almacks, from al mags, the pith, cream or essence of society, & humbug, from chum wa hum which in my opinion has a most expressive sound.– J’espère que tu m<’> écriras une bien longue lettre au plustôt, avec bien des détails sur tes aventures &c. – Addio carissimo fratello, je t’embrasse bien et souhaite que ton absence ne soit pas de longue durée – ¹⁵

ta sœur affectionée ¹⁶

Caroline

P.S. L^d Grey’s appointment is only a rumour yet, & will not take place unless emancipation is made a cabinet question. – Let us both make a journal of the weather as we did at Rome; I should like to compare the climate of Laycock with that of Switzerland – Don’t forget. Lebe wohl. ¹⁷ –
you cannot think how pretty the Dungeon door looks now the great nails are in

Mons^r
Monsieur Henry Fox Talbot
Poste Restante
Genève
en Suisse