TALBOT7566

4 Athole Crescent

March 14^th Sunday.

My dear Henry

I spoke to Goodwin in consequence of your letter received yesterday morning – and he said he had no wish to leave our Service, provided the footmen were not required to do work that did not belong to them. – So that he is still rather sore on the subject of the Coals being carried up stairs by Samuel. – but that will be forgotten after a while – so if you like to over look his having given warning in a fit – there need be no change at present – I advised him not to take offence at trifles in future – and said he perhaps had some other reason for wishing to leave – but he answered ‘no’ – I am sorry Hallam should have had the trouble of looking out for a remplaçant. Thanks for the map showing the line of the Eclipse – I saw M^rs Forbes on Friday, and she told me of your having sent them one – We talked about the Eclipse – & she told me Professor Forbes was always unlucky & that they expected to see nothing – Indeed to judge by the thick darkness of the present moment ½ past 8 (evening) – her prediction seems likely to be verified. – We shall however keep a careful look-out – and we are provided with some bits of colored glass. Had it been very fine & everybody free from colds, we meant to have gone a little way into the country to watch it. Professor Forbes was kind enough to call here yesterday, and as I was out he left his compliments with a diagram of the appearance of the sun during the Eclipse, taken every time ten minutes, as it will be seen here at Edinburgh –

We are busy now sending out invitations for a Dance on Tuesday the 23^d M^rs Primrose is helping us by introducing a few more people to add to our list – I hope it will come off well – though there is to be a rival party given the same night by a M^rs Inglis in St Andrews Square –

You never answered my question about the tax paper – have you written to the Office 6 Waterloo Place? and remembered the threatened penalty of £50ּ if not rendered written 21 days of the 2^d March. I forgot to remind you in my former letters that you were to get some new shirts ordered at Bath. – I fear you may be inconvenienced for want of them, as you have nobody at home to repair the old ones – Indeed most of them are too much worn out to mend. Did you hear of Rebecca losing her purse containing nearly £5ּ one day that she went to Bath without asking your leave? I had a letter from her last Monday full of trouble about it – I have not had leisure to answer her yet – but I do not think it is at all necessary to give her any portion of the money lost – because it arose from her mere carelessness – and I hope she will not mention it to you – because it would be almost the same as asking you to give her something towards it. Ela says you have never answered her question about the large pumpkin. I want to hear whether M^r Steel’s illness prevented your receiving a report of Charles at the end of the first month, as usual. Here is a second month nearly gone – and Charles writes me word that he is working rather hard; which I suppose means that he intends to get his remove. – The weather here has undergone a pleasant change since Friday night – Yesterday was sunny & much milder – but it has been bitterly cold.

Y^r aff^te Constance