TALBOT4699

16^th January
Champs Elysées N^o 26

My Dear Henry

The first thing I saw after my arrival here was the enclosed you never told me you had taken out a patent for covering metals. Who is this man who has invented a motive power? ¹ I imagine it is quite different to yours.

In the Algemeine Zeitung is the following “Our London correspondent had yesterday an opportunity of seeing one of the most important documents of Modern times, the Treaty of Peace with the Emperor of China. at the Foreign Office a man was unloding [sic] Bags heavy with Letters & despatches & throwing them on the floor of the Hall. He enquired for M^r Collens ² the purchaser of Talbot’s invention of Kalotype, ³ a process differing from the Daguerrotype inasmuch as the impression is always taken off on prepared paper. He was taken to the top of the house where He found M^r Collen in a small room with closed shutters & busily engaged in making a fac simile of the treaty by the aid of artificial light.⁴ The document is 4 f^t long. One copy is ordered for the Queen, ⁵ to be framed & glazed & hung up at Buckingham Palace.” Why did not you do this for her Majesty?

We had a tedious journey being kept 3 days at Dover by the weather. at last being quite disgusted with Dover we embarked with Lord & Lady Normanby ⁶ in the dark at 5 in the Morning & had a very rough passage of two hours & a half, the quickest that can be. & it was lucky we suffered ourselves to be persuaded by Lord Normanby for otherwise we should have staid at least 3 days more at odious Dover Then I was so tired at Abbeville I was obliged to rest, in short we were seven days from London to Paris!!! Have you met with S^t John’s Manners & Customs of Ancient Greece? ⁷ He strenuously insists on the unity of Homer. How any scholar can come to any other conclusion he cannot imagine. Amandier ⁸ says £2000 is too much for this region, peut-être la moitié ⁹ would be brought to bear & she has not written to you because you told her you preferred an arrangement avec [M?] le Rebours. ¹⁰ Adieu, pray write to me & tell me how often you have changed your schemes since I saw you. I long for the day which shall see me returned to Laycock & hope to spend the Month of March with you there

[envelope]
W. H. Fox Talbot Esq^r
Laycock Abbey
Chippenham
Wilts
England