TALBOT3274

Hôtel de Londres
Place Vendôme
4 Mai 1836

My dear Henry

I am quite dispirited about returning home, which always seems to recede as I advance - c'est le tourment des souffrances de Tantale. ¹ We have been here a fortnight & ever since the first two days M^r F. ² has been confined to the house with rheumatic gout, of which he has never had the least touch since he left England. This is most vexatious in every way, it gives a pretext for thinking that the South is absolutely necessary to Health & thereby destroys tout mon avenir, ³ & it makes us stay here spending oceans of money without any pleasure, and it has altered him in the course of twelve days from being an active, alert & young looking man (as he was at Nice) into an infirm old one, not able to move even from one sofa to another without crutches. He is annoyed & out of spirits himself & presses me to go to England with Horatia, ⁴ but we could not abandon him in that manner - & She would be unhappy to do so as he was unable to do your commission I took charge of your letter to M^r Arago, ⁵ and stopped in the carriage opposite a petite poste ⁶ & saw it put in with my own eyes. Since we have been in the North the weather is detestable, la fête du roi ⁷ may day was dark, cloudy - with occasional showers of Snow, so that the people exclaimed que le bon Dieu était Carliste, ⁸ and every day since it has rained & hailed, the streets are muddy & we never see the Sun - a great contrast to the Brilliant skies we have left. Entering Nice was la vraie fontaine de provence ⁹ for M^r F. - I fear you will find him much altered, & oldened more than his years will account for. We found M^r Montgomerie ¹⁰ here, he seems to amuse himself very well, it is ten y^rs since he was here before - Elise Hunloke ¹¹ & son mari ¹² le marquis de Casteja ¹³ are here at this moment, She seems very happy & is much improved both in looks & manner, being thinner & quieter. He seems a grave & very sensible man - & to admire her very much. People generally like their contrasts.

I have just heard of M^r Bowles's ¹⁴ death - & regret him extremely as one of the few who have the moral courage to speak their real sentiments in this age of Cant.

Tell Caroline ¹⁵ I am going to look for the Elementary book she mentions & that I have executed her commission at Genoa & brought her seven pairs which must be quite enough. a trip to M^r Edgcumbe will do Constance ¹⁶ good & much better than Glamorgan at this season

H.F. Talbot Esq^r
31. Sackville Street
London
Angleterre