TALBOT3555

Lanelay ¹
Friday

My dear Henry

We are very sorry to hear that your reason for not coming further off now is anxiety on M^r F’s ² account again, we hoped he was gradually tho’ slowly mending, your poor Mother ³ must be worn out both mind & body I am sure, most sincerely do I feel for her & all of you. – I had written you a note to the Cardiff P. O as you desired saying how glad we should be to see you & how much Isabella ⁴ wished you to come to see her in her own house. & we still hope tho’ put off the visits are not lost. – What an eventful year this had been in our family. I wish the mercies we have received made as clear an impression as the afflictions do. Christiana Nicholl’s ⁵ escape is not likely to be forgotten nor I hope the bulk of the little treasures that have been added to the general stock of the family but there are many others which are too soon lost to sight & I fear to our recollection too. – Poor Stavordale’s ⁶ death is indeed a heavy blow to his Father ⁷ & all, Stephen ⁸ will feel it deeply for they were strongly attached to each other both were of remarkably affectionate dispositions I think. – Christopher & Lady Charlotte ⁹ are at Penrice ¹⁰ & I hope recruiting from the toils & annoyances of the Election &c in the peace and quiet which are some of the great charms of Penrice. –

Your Aunt Mary ¹¹ has been remarkably well considering her anxiety for others, and the hot weather which is in general too much for her. We had hope [sic] to shew you many things even in our poor Garden foreign importations & natural beauties transplanted from the hills. we have made a kind of Rock work round a little pond partly for safety least [sic] any one should tumble in & partly for plants. John Llewelyn ¹² in his return from Bath called at Millers & brought us a present of a quantity of pretty little things, they are mostly over now but the Campanula Hostii continues to look gay & the orange Anagallis is flourishing very nicely. – My cuttings from your Nice Honeysuckle failed owing I suppose to the cold weather (for I have no heat & the hot bed was not made then). I wish you would get your Gardener to strike some next spring. – My love to my cousins big & little. ¹³ Ela must be very amusing now I am sure. We have four of Jane’s ¹⁴ Children here & there are three at Merthyrmawr ¹⁵ with their Governess; the two Eldest are going abroad with them for a few weeks. M^r Nicholl ¹⁶ is better & I hope the tour will do him good, they were to start for Rotterdam on the 19^th of this Month – I do not know where they have positively settled to go. – There has been a great blight on fruit trees again this year & now the plums which did set have been falling off so I suppose we shall have none, I conclude it was a wind, for in sheltered places the trees have not suffered so much. This is charming weather for the Harvest. –

I am your aff^ate coz
Mary

H. Fox Talbot Esq^re
Laycock Abbey
Chippenham