TALBOT3172

Lacock

28^th Nov^r 1835

My Dear Mother

I have this morning received a letter from Kit ¹ announcing his marriage with Lady C. Butler. ² He desires it may remain a secret for the present, but as he says he has written word of it to you, I conclude that I may mention the subject. He invites me to be one of the trustees of his marriage settlements, as he was of mine, which of course I shall very readily consent to. I think she is likely to prove a very affectionate wife & make him happy. I suppose you will receive the intelligence without much surprize, since you asked me many months ago whether it was a true report, or not. I hope it may turn out very prosperously. –

We are going to stay at Lacock at any rate some weeks longer before we migrate anywhere else. Last week we had a splendid Aurora Borealis, which I thought augured mischief somewhere, and I see by the papers a tremendous hurricane in the north of Scotland. The weather is excellent for the season, very mild & open, good planting weather, but I am too busy with other things to profit much by it. Caroline ³ is going to Bowood ⁴ for some days; we expect her then to return here. Alas! Lord V. ⁵ is laid up with the gout at Blickling, a bad cold at first, afterwards turned into that – fortunately he is where he will be made comfortable by the kindness of relations. Caroline is going to write to him to ask if he wishes her to come, if not she will stay with us till he is well enough to come & fetch her. I like Bimbo ⁶ very much, & I think he will be clever. – If I was rich I should not think of letting Lacock, but as I cannot afford two country houses it becomes a more difficult question – It is a residence not well suited to me; I like high and dry, rather than low and damp – My wish to live somewhere else keeps increasing – However of course I have no thoughts of letting it before the time we agreed upon, that is three years from the present time.

Moore & M^rs M. ⁷ & a young lady dined & slept here day before yesterday & were very amiable – Poor Kerry ⁸ is attacked in the Times ⁹ for undue interference with the Devizes Election, in having said to a voter, you had better vote with us, for we are powerful – which it appears he did not say. I don’t see much harm if he had said so. – Sir Francis Burdett ¹⁰ is attacked in all the Minist^l journals for his letter to O’Connell, ¹¹ which letter I highly approve of. So does Moore. I am surprized to find M^r Raphael blackballed by the Royal Society, 3 to 1, in consequence of his row with O’Connell. – I cannot see anything particularly against him in that transaction, he offered to purchase a seat in Parliament – what of that? in these days! How people strain off a gnat, and swallow a camel!

Your aff^te

Henry

What I should like would be, could I afford it, to live somewhere else & visit Lacock now and then, in the summer. Caroline & Fitzsimmons ¹² are occupied in transplanting the 2 trees which were planted when she married, to a more congenial spot, within the grounds –

Miladi
Miladi Feilding

Poste Restante
Nice
par Antibes
France