TALBOT4497

Florence.
Thursday April 28^th 1842

My dear Henry

I received your letter ¹ of the 18^th this morning, in which you announce your intention of setting out in 10 days; if you are exact therefore, you will depart this very day; by which means you will miss a letter I wrote to Mamma ² on the 23^rd saying that we should stay here till the 15^th May – I hope however this will meet you at Frankfort, in time to prevent your staying with Uncle W^{m 3} as long as you both w^d like – It is a very cruel case to be so hunted & pressed for time as one always is – but it seems to me your only chance of finding us here, is to come on immediately; our present intentions being to leave this on the 15^th & no later, for reasons of health as you know – it would be getting hot for the children afterw^ds & Ernest ⁴ wants to have the Baths as soon as he can – at the same time you well know also that it is impossible with his health ever to fix a day positively – but such are our intentions; by our putting off till the 15^th you gain a week – & if you arrive by that time, & we should be unexpectedly detained longer, we shall at any rate have the pleasure of seeing something of you – Before I forget it, remember to enquire for us Casa Laggerswärd (it is a Swedish name) Borgo la Croce, close to the Porta S^a Croce, 2^o piano ⁵ – where we have a spare room for you. – I hope I explain everything as clearly as you wish, tho’ I cannot pretend to do so with the conciseness of w^h you gave sundry examples in y^r letter. – We mean to go by Verona, the Tyrol, over the Brenner, by Innspruck [sic] to Munich – so you made a marvellous good guess – I individually had a great wish to cross the Stilvio, w^h w^d equally have taken us to Munich – but that is out of the question they say, as it is not likely to be open for a month to come, being the highest of all the passes – 8000 & odd – at any rate, open or not, Ernest will not entertain the notion of it at all; & he says that sh^d you be too late to catch us here, you cannot fail meeting us on the road between this & Munich, or at Munich – tho’ it w^d hardly be prudent to wait there, as there is no telling what might befall us on the road to detain us – The greatest difficulty lies in the affair of the carriage, as Horatia ⁶ cannot buy one here till you come, (tho’ we know of 2 or 3 pretty good barouches & brizkas to be had;) we cannot add another to our train of 4 carriages – we sh^d be continually stopped for want of horses, besides the useless expence to Horatia as long as she can travel with us – Ernest advises you should buy one at Munich & bring it with you – But the best plan is to come here in time – Ernest has just told me that if you c^d not manage to be here by the 15^th he w^d stay half a week longer to enable you to arrive – but that if you possibly ca c^d do so, he hopes you will, as it will be an inconvenience to him stay^g beyond the 15^th I hope at any rate you will be able to nick it somehow – Ernest is better a good deal & drives out – We have had a few people to dinner two or three times – & been to the french play – Give my best love & Horatia’s to Uncle W^m Tell him we saw C^t Zamoiski ⁷ who dined with us one day on his way to Nice via Paris –

^Yr very aff^te Sister
Caroline

On a rough calculation I think we cannot be less than 11 or 12 days getting to Munich at the quickest We will write to Munich –