TALBOT3405

Bowood ¹
9^th December

My Dear Henry

I am very sorry your people could not have our horses to take them as far as Bath, for we were obliged to use them ourselves to come here the very same day. But it seems the Britzka² would not have contained your quantity of things, and they were obliged to have even two Carts for which there was found only one Driver, so Wright ³ volunteered his services for the other. It seemed to me that Lydia ⁴ was taking an amazing deal of lumber, bedding, house linen toys & all manner of etceteras which would have been much cheaper found there, & seems but a penny wise mode of proceeding, however she said she had her orders, so I could only speed her on her way by making all our servants help to pack up & dispatch them as quick as possible, to catch the Coaches at Bath, as on Sunday it appears they do not go, which strikes me as quite new & is probably owing to Sir. A. Agnew. ⁵ It is very odd you have not received by this time all the bad news I sent you about the storm, tho’ it was unluckily enclosed to William, ⁶ who I could not guess had left Abbotsbury ⁷ as nobody mentioned it. I asked you some questions in those letters which I wish you would answer.

I am afraid you will be horridly bored at Sidmouth L^y Lansdowne ⁸ spent two Months there with poor Kerry ⁹ four years ago, & thought it the dullest place she ever was at. However it is an experiment which (I hope may succeed but which I think) will fail, and then I cannot understand so great a déménagement ¹⁰ for only one Month.

One of the windows of the tower was entirely blown out, & a sheet of lead off the house, in addition to the disasters I told you of before. Think of Lord Lansdowne’s ¹¹ escape; a stack of chimnies [sic] fell into his bedroom!

The top of Salisbury spire was blown off¹²

We are off to Melbury ¹³ Monday Morning

[envelope:]
Calne ¹⁴ December tenth 1836 Lansdowne
H. Fox Talbot Esq
Sidmouth