TALBOT4040

Sunday

My Dear Henry

I wish you would tell me the day of the Assizes ¹ which is of some consequence to me, as the Drawing Room is on the 5^th and I am afraid my new servant (that is to be) will not be able to leave his place by that time, so that I shall be on the [illegible], unless the assizes happen to be after that time. I think by this time you must be in possession of all the arrangements, so pray let me know. Yesterday we dined at Lansdowne House. ² I met there M^r Sedgwick & D^r Buckland ³ who I got acquainted with, for he sat next me at dinner & is not shy. [illegible deletion] He expressed a wish to see some of your circular crystals, which I promised to send him. But where are they to be had?

They all abused Arago ⁴ & said he made the French hate the English, but M^r Hayward (the translator of Faust) ⁵ said Arago had not influence enough in France to produce such an effect. D^r Buckland displayed several views of the Landslip at Lyme & explained its causes.

The cold is excessive & we feel it more after the muggy winter. All the pipes are frozen which is miserable. M^r Moore ⁶ is still here, & Russell ⁷ is to sail for India in March. I write you everything & you send me meagre replies. –

Monday –

This is a case of real distress, I was told the assizes were at Winchester the 5^th of course at Salisbury several days after. It is to be hoped that Lady Caroline Wood ⁸ will part with her footmen sooner that she at present intends, or I shall be literally without anybody. I suppose as you say nothing about hats you accede to the round ones. Constance ⁹ broke the bad news to Horatia ¹⁰ very gently and tenderly – but she is very painfully affected by it, and has cried to that degree that she cannot appear this Evening at Lady Mintos! ¹¹ She looks upon it as the last living relic of –

Poor Horatia! Her heart is too tender for this rough world.

William ¹² is the only one of the family that is perfectly calm & philosophical in the reverse of fortune. Louisa ¹³ wrote to Lord Melbourne & Lord Palmerston, ¹⁴ and talked to Lord Holland & Lord John, ¹⁵ & has Exerted herself as much as is possible to do. Today She is to talk it over with Lady Palmerston, ¹⁶ but it is difficult now for Lord P– to undo because Lord Leveson & M^r Abercromby ¹⁷ have got what they asked for. W^m is still going on at the Foreign Office. I am glad to see there will be a contested election at Morpeth to plague them. Lord P. kept it a secret from W^m that Lord Leveson was to vacate his seat, on purpose to prevent a Tory contesting Morpeth. I know nothing of Caroline, ¹⁸ she never writes, Amandier ¹⁹ is at Hopwood Hall, Old Miss H. who was always her great friend in the family is become Superannuated & in a very melancholy state

Wright ²⁰ begs you will recollect that the Coachman’s hat should match the footmen’s & hopes you will not forget to send the measure of his head that Lincoln may make them all at the same time & alike, or if the Coach Man’s is made in the Country he thinks he should send an exact description of these. He falls into despair when the post comes in & brings no answer from you to all these questions. He says he is willing to take any trouble for you if you will only say what the things are to be, & indeed now there is no time to be lost. So pray do answer by return of post.

I am writing in the greatest hurry – Carriage at the door & millions of things to do, so I can’t read over to see if I am clear