TALBOT6339

Barrow House

Friday July 18^th.

<1850>

My dear Henry

I received your letter from Paris of Friday the 12^th. with the enclosure to M^lle. Amélina on Monday 15^th. and I feel that I ought to have written you an earlier answer addressed to the Baths of Mont d’or, for fear you _^^should have changed your plan of spending some weeks there. I have just recollected with regret that there is no post to London & the continent tomorrow: & I am already too late for today. You who sometimes feel the difficulty of writing, & consequently put it off from day to day, will make some allowance for me – & perhaps think the desire of acquainting you with Charles’s arrival a sufficiently good motive for delay in the present instance. – Dear boy! he came safely to me yesterday and was so happy! He embraced me with much tenderness in getting out of the Mail at Keswick – and was almost as glad (I must believe the largest share was for me) to meet M^lle. Amélina & his Sisters – The Mail had been three hours delayed which would have caused me great anxiety, had not the Penrith Mail failed also – which proved that the hitch must have occurred on the line of railway & not to the Ambleside Mail coach – The Penrith Mail arrived first & stated that a luggage train had blocked up the line – but as I understood without loss of life – The Newspapers will doubtless give us the particulars – Charles is looking a little languid & appears affected by the hot weather but his hearing and his voice are much in their natural state – and I have no doubt that a little repose and a moderate share of maternal attention, (for I must not spoil, or make him helpless) will be of great benefit at the present moment – He is very gentil, & very much delighted with this pretty place. – yesterday afternoon he found full employment in unpacking his trunk & writing desk. this morning he wrote to M^rs. Williams (by his desire) to announce his safe arrival here – afterwards he read some poetry to me & is now sauntering about the pleasure ground – I am glad to observe that he is still very prudent. (his schoolfellows might call it cowardice, but that matters not) for yesterday he declined approaching quite to the edge of the well by the cascade even with my hand: and he has no wish to explore any place by himself. M^r. Wilson has not announced his return and I feel in no hurry to make enquiry after him – he will probably come soon enough, as he will be so little help to us – The post today has this moment brought me your letter from Clermont Ferrand (No 7) I feared you would find the weather most unpleasantly hot: but if you contrive to ascend high enough in the mountain to catch some puffs of purer air, you may yet do well. – Here we are quite out of patience with a thick haze or fog which entirely spoils the scenery & has lasted for a whole week – sometimes the mountain tops are entirely obscured by clouds, sometimes the outline is perfect – but the whole picture is blue & dull – To this dull state of things we had one exception on Monday evening the 15^th. when M^lle. A Ela & I drove round the Lake & entered the vale of Newlands – I am glad to have seen the opposite side by Grange bridge – for it is very beautiful – but I don’t like the precipitous character of the ground over which the road passes without anything of a vale or defence – and we do not mean to repeat the drive – It might be better to cross in the boat on a calm day & walk on the mountain side – for it is shady & cool. On Tuesday we all went to the Druid’s temple, from whence there is a very fine Panoramic view – and the air there is extremely fine & bracing – Here at Barrow we are certainly lifted _^^up by the wood & hills rising so abruptly behind the house. Wednesday evening M^lle. A & I drove to Bassenthwaite under Skiddaw where the scenery is quite of a different character – but beautiful & fertile. There are several good roads on that side of Keswick, connecting _^^{it with} the scattered hamlets – Last week M^lle A & I went to Carlisle to choose the Pianoforte. – – After much deliberation as to the best way of managing it, wishing to combine our business with pleasure & take a peep at Ullswater, & Patterdale, we determined on a char from <Lodow?>: – We found we should be obliged to sleep out one night – which prevented our going in our own carriage to Penrith & to leaving Barrow without the protection of the man servants – So we went in a carr – viâ Patterdale – with which & the whole of Ullswater I was charmed – thence to Penrith – where the carr remained – for the night – We proceeded by train – slept at Carlisle – chose the Piano next morning, shopped & returned to our Carr at Penrith & home by the most direct road. We had very good weather for this expedition – Horatia wrote to me last week, I think the very Wednesday you left London, & questioned your invitation to them to come here – and I immediately wrote in reply & warmly repeated your invitation – only suggesting that they should come soon & repeat the visit on your return – I expected to have heard again from her <over?> this – – Charles was much pleased with the message to him in your letter – he sends his tenderest love – I have written you a long letter to make amends for past omissions – Your affectionate

Constance –

My last short letter to the Athenaeum was written the day you left. so you did not receive it – It contained nothing of consequence.

Saturday morning – I met M^r. Wilson <in?> my drive yesterday. He was coming to call on me & announce his return. I fixed with him to come on Wednesday at 4 o’clock. –

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Keswick JY 20 1850 <postmark>

H & K 22 JY 1850 <postmark>

62 Clermont Ferrand 26 JY 50 <postmark>

France

Monsieur Fox Talbot

Mont d’or (les biens)

Lyon Clermont Poste restante

Puy de Dome

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Nanterra