TALBOT7611

London ¹
April 22. 1858

Dear M^lle Amélina

I expect Charles ² this evening and we are to travel down to Lacock together tomorrow. Geography teaches that Edinburgh is nearer to Lacock than it is to London, but Charles prefers the latter route because there are fewer changes of train. I thank you for the extract from the Courant about Brewster & Wheatstone. ³ I am glad Ivan Szabo has made the portraits ⁴ If unsuccessful they should not be preserved, as it is easy to try again with some other photographer. Szabo should let us have the negative as well as the positive copies as we do not wish other copies to be made except for ourselves – The great Shrewsbury case has reopened on Tuesday when Sir N. Bethell made a speech in the course of which he thanked me for allowing the Lacock deeds to be Examined, and after declaring that they greatly assisted his view of the case (the Opposition) which they don’t – he said they w^d be produced to the H. of Lords on Thursday (today). ⁵

The acquittal of Bernard tends to widen the breach with France – But it was not very surprising, it was the reply of the Londoners to the menaces of the French Colonels – The magnificent fine weather continues today. Ask Constance to buy me 6 or 8 photographic portraits of people (no matter who) with pleasing expression of countenance, or at any rate artistically good and expressive – and with dress well expressed and developed. They should not be larger than half a sheet of note paper, but may be smaller to any extent. They should not be mounted, but on common paper, and semitransparent. They are for specimens on which to try my Engraving process, ⁶ but this should not be mentioned to the person who sells them as he might object –

Yours ever Truly
H. F. Talbot