TALBOT2790

Nice

Thursday January 9^th 1834

My dear Henry

I suppose que tu m’en veux ¹ for having been so long answering your two letters, which amused me extremely, particularly the last; & I have no doubt you are anxiously expecting an account of the Eclipse. ² We saw it in perfection – the night was magnificent, without a soupçon ³ of a cloud, & we descended to the terrace, where we examined it through one of the best telescopes I ever saw, lent us by M^r Lacroix. ⁴ We could see distinctly, even with the naked eye, the mountains & craters through the shadow, which was of a dingy red colour, deeper towards the side whence it came, & getting gradually lighter, till the edge towards close to the light was of a bright blue colour – when the Moon was totally eclipsed, she had the appearance of a dark yellowish red paper lantern, or perhaps more <illegible deletion> that of one of those thin indian-rubber balls Bimbo ⁵ plays with, with a candle behind it. This is a very unscientific description, but it is exact, & I think will give you a clear idea of it. Pray tell me in return whether you saw it, & if there was any resemblance between the moons of Paris & Nice –

I have not time today to tell you the secret of the grafts, which I shall reserve for a future occasion; but I must tell you I gave M^r Lacroix your message, who seemed rather hurt at it, & said that not only had he answered your letter by return of post & sent it to Paris, Poste Restante, but that at the same time he wrote upon the subject to L^d Granville ⁶ also – so you see you have accused him à tort ⁷ – Pray tell me whether his letter ever reached you –

We have been bothered lately by the Governor stopping all Galignani’s, ⁸ on account of some articles quoted from the Times, ⁹ I think, against the Sardinian government – he gave them up however upon remonstrances being made, but stopped them again without any fresh motive – M^r Lacroix again interfered, & they have been again restored – but His Excellency does not seem to be a steady cha< mpion. ¹⁰?> Anemone Hortensis has been in blow ev<er> since y<ou> went, in one spot going up the <text missing> to Villafranca – & on the 30^th Dec^r we found under the olivetrees <sic> at Cimiers, a double Scarlet Anemone Coronaria, I think – the outside petals were broad – like a double English garden Anemone –

Addio caro fratello ¹¹ – let me hear again soon – I received Horatia’s ¹² of the 29^th yesterday.

Y^rs aff^ly

Caroline

Angleterre
Henry Fox Talbot Esq^r M.P.
Laycock Abbey
Chippenham
Wilts.