TALBOT6384

Rome
Friday 10^th Jan^y

My dear Henry

You really do not deserve I should write again, for you have not sent me a single line since I left England, nor Constance ¹ either. I wrote to you from Genoa & to her as soon as we settled here (& to A. ² since) I cannot think what you can be about. I was very sorry to hear of the robbery at the Abbey w^h Wright ³ wrote me an account of – but how fortunate the thief was secured before he had time to make away with the plate. I hope this has not made E. and A. nervous, as it was not a breaking in at night. Poor Jane ⁴ is very melancholy at the hopeless state of Harry Franklen, ⁵ it seems his father would send him back to sea when he was not at all recovered from his former dreadful illness, & not the least fit for duty – it seems a sort of madness. I am afraid Aunt Mary ⁶ will feel it very much as he was her favourite grandson. M^r Nicholl ⁷ is in all the horrors of making up his mind whether to go back to England for the meeting of Parl^t or not. He has a great deal of important business in England & yet does not like leaving them all here. Lucy ⁸ is decidedly better but how she would get on in England I don’t know. We have had unusually fine weather even for Rome as this is generally the unstable time I was sorry to hear from Louisa Howard ⁹ that my aunt had not been very well & I fear the large Christmas party was too much for her. Have you seen her lately & how did you think her looking? – There are a great many English here – but few of any note. L^d & L^y Blantyre ¹⁰ are lately arrived – she looking as fat & rather older than the DK of Sutherland. ¹¹ L^d & L^y Campden, & L^d & L^y Feilding ¹² – I had never seen her before, she seems very pleasing. Our old friend M^r Woodward (who was one of our messmates in the Bulldog ¹³) is now the Chaplain here & I was very glad to find him again. He is much troubled about the state of the Church of England & I must say things look disagreeable enough.

I was quite glad to be away during all these violent demonstrations – I dislike that sort of thing so much – there seems however a slight lull according to the newspapers indeed I don’t know how they could go on so long at that furious pitch.

Addio if I do not hear soon I shall think you all are very ill

Love to Constance & the children ¹⁴ & Amandier who is the only one who has written to me. I hope you were pleased with Charles’s improvement –

Ever yr aff sister
Horatia

Rome is extremely quiet but certainly less gay looking than in the days’ of the Republic.