TALBOT3007

Vienna

14 Nov^r

My dear Henry

I sent you the concluding part of Bertolonis 1^st vol¹ some time ago which I hope you received. I wrote to Horatia ² at Geneva a letter I suppose she never got – when I think they are at Nice I will try again – but I hope to hear from you first –

Our affairs in Oriente ³ are in an odd state – if they come before Parl^t this session pray attend to them – A Gentleman just come from Persia saw the 30 000 men going to attack Ibrahim or at least to resist an attack he is meditating on them – How can one interfere in Mesopotamia? ⁴

Sir R. Vyvyan ⁵ is here I think he is quite a person for Metternich ⁶ to know so I am going to take him there tonight.

I send you a pamphlet about glykoskops do you know them?

The Kahlenberg is a name for the hills W. of Vienna abutting on the Danube – if the town had been immediately at their foot it would have been a great advantage. They & the Bisamberg are botanically interesting.

M^r Endlicher ⁷ did not make his promised journey so ex nihilo nihil fit ⁸. he is pour le moment ⁹ more antiquary than botanist & has been to Mondsee following up his discoveries. I will send you seeds during winter – Have the French introduced any Nouveautés ¹⁰ from Algiers? I believe Allium Bertol: is A. striatum – ignota patria ¹¹ – A. flavum has a numerous head of longstalked small wax yellow sweet faint scented flowers – stamina exsected day by day in a curious manner even if the flower be detached – a galvanic vitality. Only alliaceous if bruised. What I consider A. paniculatum I have only found about Bagni di Lucca It is dark red few flowered, stamina exssected, nearly scentless & grows in clefts of rocks – Yours with a bunch of greyish straw coloured flowers I take to be A. pallens common about Italian gardens – I do not now make out that you have been anywhere.

Have you got Reichenbach’s Centa ¹² It is excellent as to plates & very cheap & puts all disputed & ill figured plants side by side for comparison – It is so cheap that I dare say it is not dear even in London

The voyages by steam to the Levant are more in the air than in the water as yet. Pray write.

Y^r Aff

W F S