TALBOT5890

Lacock Abbey
Sunday Feb 21

My dear Henry

I wish you joy of having secured such a pleasant house and so cheap!¹ and now that you have actually signed the agreement it will not slip through your hands like the 2 others – Caroline ² has been so kind as to send us for perusal your animated description of the house – by which it appears there is abundance of rooms – Are there any beds now in those 2 small drawing rooms or the 2 back dining rooms? which you say might be & have been used as bed rooms? – I think (if you don’t wish us to go up on Saturday) I should prefer Monday for moving – We can pack the chief part of our things on Saturday – & leave home by the 2 o’clock train on Monday – Evans ³ & the H. Maid can go up either Thursday or Friday as you think best – or if you wish them to go Wednesday on account of being really useful in forwarding the preparations, I will spare them. – But on this point will you kindly give me instructions either by return of post or on the following day – & I will take care that they are in readiness to set off at an hour’s notice – Horatia ⁴ is going to spend part of this week at Bowood ⁵ where Aunt Louisa ⁶ will be on Tuesday. Afterwards she will return here for 2 or 3 days. –

M^lle A. ⁷ resigns herself pretty composedly to the approaching move –

L^d M^t Edgcumbe ⁸ was worse on Friday – but the account of this morning is greatly better – poor man. – It is a very long illness – & since it began he has never appeared in a fairly mending state – never got beyond a certain point –

Your affectionate
Constance

One of the 4 letters I forward today was unsealed when received. 3 re-directed & 1 enclosed with this.⁹

[envelope:]
H. F. Talbot Esq^r
8 Russell Terrance
Reading