TALBOT3243

[fragment]

Lacock
Saturday 9^th April
Dear Constance

I intend to leave this on Monday and go as far as Reading that evening, and on to London on Tuesday morning. There was a great fire at Bromham last night, the paupers burning the cornricks & barns, as if that was the way to bring more food into their mouths.¹ The loss probably falls on some unlucky insurance office in London. Yesterday James took it into his head to take a walk to Bath & back, having noticed that my stock of tea was exhausted he thought it a fine opportunity to go and purchase some. So he set off at five o’clock in the morning & returned at eleven, having performed the distance very expeditiously – A few more of your seeds are up, as the Yellow horned poppy. I have planted out a good many of them that are getting too big for the Greenhouse, but it rains everyday which renders gardening difficult – It is however warm enough at present to be very pleasant. The birds are very numerous I believe all the singing birds in the county know this place & visit it in their rambles. I have some good Arbor Judæ’s coming up from the seed I gathered in the Villa Melzi.² Quantities of things are making their appearance above ground, out of doors,