TALBOT3528

Lacock Abbey
June 28 –

My dear Henry

I am agreeably surprised to hear that you think of returning – for I had made up my mind that I should not see you again for ever so long –

There is a letter come for you today of very respectable appearance which I think ought to be forwarded to you as you do not positively say that you are coming down immediately. – I will therefore enclose it to M^r Strangways ¹ with a line from myself to say you are aware of it & will probably send to his house for it. – Yesterday I had an unexpected visit from M^r Bowles ² a few minutes after twelve – He brought with him, M^r Mitford, a friend & brother Poet to see our Abbey – At first M^r Bowles pleaded ill health & refused to get out of the Carriage; upon which I sent him a message expressive of my regret that you were not at home to shew the Abbey to his friend – & saying that I would come & speak to him at the door, as he would not come in – But by the time I had my Bonnet on & was proceeding to the hall, he had changed his mind & met me in the South gallery. – But instead of sitting down quietly, he immediately became anxious about his friend whom he fancied he had left sitting in the Carriage – although the friend was in fact busily engaged in admiring the Cloisters &c – under the guidance of Cooper ³ – Not finding him in the Carriage we pursued him into the Cloisters – but he had fled from thence also – & M^r Bowles’s agitation might have been become [sic] serious – had not M^r Mitford at length joined us – hearing that we were in search of him – We then returned to the Library & M^r Bowles gave me a detailed account of the Column which is going to be built in honor of Maude Heath from a design of his (M^r Bowles’s) – I am to be presented with a Memoir of his Life. – I learnt from him that M^rs Moore ⁴ is at Sloperton, ⁵ but whether alone or not I could not ascertain: – I feel a great wish to go over & see her if you approve of my ordering a fly for that purpose – or I could write & ask her to come here & sleep, which would be still more agreeable – for then she would see the garden & the Children. ⁶ – I often wish I could hire a pony occasionally for the use of our little Carriage – I should find it so very convenient as well as beneficial – for much walking does certainly not suit me at present. Yesterday however I think I performed wonders by walking as far as Notton ⁷ – to return a visit to M^rs Peck – I went by the Turnpike road & returned by the Lane passing Rae bridge ⁸ – I found it was a good hour’s walk independ^tly of my visit – & it rather fatigued me although there was a fresh cool breeze – Haymaking is proceeding vigorously in the adjoining fields; I rather regret its not being close to the windows this year – it used to be so deliciously fragrant – I visited Caroline Copse on Saturday with the children, – only six days since we were there together yet the Columbines had passed so rapidly out of Flower that there was scarcely a vestige of them left – I believe E[la]⁹ thought that I had chosen a very strange walk for her & rather a troublesome one – for the ground path skirting the hedge in the Corn field is not quite so smooth as a gravel walk, & the long grass had the impoliteness to spring occasionally in her face as we passed along – I do not see much progress among the plants in the Greenhouse since I wrote last. – except indeed that new seeds are continually springing up – I noticed today various large colonies of Euphorbias which will doubtless rejoice your heart – There are in flower – Veronica bachofenii. Malva purpureata – Trifolium cherleri – Hare’s foot Trefoil, none of which strike me as being very remarkable – The Scilla cupani is almost out & promises to be fine – In a pot marked Canna lutea from Nice – there is a healthy-looking groupe of plants wh I dare say you know of – One of them has flowered – & it proves to be no Canna lutea – It is a blue ringent flower, something like a very small Prunella only a different shade of blue – Where the flower has dropt off there appears a little black seed – this I believe is characteristic of the Cannas – but then it is not yellow & therefore not what it professes to be – beside the Greenhouse there is a pretty pink flower – Knautia orientalis. –

The parcel which Harriot ¹⁰ sent to you for me, is a very precious one – so I hope you will take good care of it – I am quite pleased that you have been to see them again in Queen Anne St ¹¹ I have had nice letters from my Sisters ¹² this morning. –

Ela has a little blunt wooden fork with which she makes hay under the trees – & today the cart & horse have been out to carry it the heap of hay from one place to another

Y^r aff^cte
Constance

Henry Fox Talbot Esq^r
31. Sackville Street
London