TALBOT8332

11 Moray Place
March 10^th 1861 –

My dear Henry

you will remember saying to me before you left Edinburgh that I had better be on the watch for such a house s as might be likely to suit us for the Summer season – I have enquired of various persons & learn from those who are the most competent to judge, how exceedingly difficult it is to meet with a really nice country residence – Many of the houses mentioned as large in the N B. Advertiser, prove on enquiry to be much too small for us – We went to see one at Hawthornden, knowing the locality to be so pretty – Judge then of our disappointment when the house was discovered in the middle of an ugly field, half [illegible] by a few miserable trees, with no private grounds belonging to it – and just out of sight of the beautiful glen of Hawthornden!! – The exterior of the house frightful – the interior sufficiently large & commodious – but the furniture in ruins; & the walls, ceilings & every part of the interior as dirty as possible. The house requiring to be new painted & completely new furnished. It is a disgrace to any proprietor to offer a house in such a state. Discouraged by the failure of this first assay, we did not feel in a hurry to view another; especially as the weather has been rather stormy for country excursions. – But yesterday being very fine & having a visit to pay at Lady Gibson Craig’s, about a mile across country from Millburn Tower,¹ we went (R^d, Goodwin, & myself) to view the latter place, which is to be let during the minority of its owner, (Sir – Liston Fowles). We happened fortunately to meet one of the Trustees of the estate, M^r Grieve, a gentlemanly & very intelligent man, who told us the whole story of the place & of its late owner. Rosamond will give you as much of this as she can recollect – as there is much of interest attached to it. – This Millburn Tower is a house that I am persuaded you would like. It possesses considerable architectural beauty – more so than is generally met with in a moderate sized house – I wonder whether I shall convey the slightest idea of it by calling it Gothic Elizabethan? – yet there is something of a cottage air about it too. – The original corps de bâtiment contains the Entrance, Dining & Drawing rooms – ante room 2 bedrooms dressing rooms &c &c – To this there is added quite a modern wing, containing a sufficient number of very pleasant bedrooms, bath room, dressing rooms &c &c – All the Servants apartments are in the s[illegible]k story – and very convenient. – There is an excellent kitchen garden – and a very good vinery or forcing house, of a circular form with plenty of space for raising choice plants – The back wall of this glass edifice is part of the front of a range of three rooms on one side of the enclosed court next the offices. – I cannot give you so good an idea as I could wish of these rooms – They are light & dry & the centre one (formerly used as a Ball room) has a large fireplace in it – and would make an admirable place for you to work in. It is spacious enough to hold any amount of bottles – Instruments and Books – At one end there is what might answer as a small Painting room for Monie – and the corresponding room at the other end is locked up, and full of most interesting & curious writings which M^r Grieve offers to show you, should you feel disposed to look at them. – Now this large room seems to offer such facilities for all the various experiments & studies that you may wish to carry on, that we feel it to be quite an unlooked for piece of good fortune to have met with such a thing – I am glad you talk of coming back to Edinburgh about the end of this month – for I so much wish you could see this house before the present tenant returns from Bath, where he is now staying with his Wife. He gives up Millburn Tower at next Whitsuntide. – M^r Grieve has many applications for letting the place for the Summer season – but he intends to let it for a longer period. Terms are £200 per annum £40 and some small perquisite to the gardener. I believe the Cow & the cow’s pasture are included in the rent. – Stables & coachhouse & coachman’s house are detached & at a convenient distance from the dwelling house. – The gardener is a very intelligent & good sort of man. – and [sic] the private grounds are spacious & very pretty. I omitted to say that the house is very prettily furnished & everything clean & in good repair. – The drawing room especially is very handsomely fitted up – with rich ornamental ceiling &c. double windows to many of the rooms – We might have this place (if we liked it) for the seven years’ minority of the young Baronet – or a private understanding with M^r Grieve might set us free at the end of the twelvemonth, as was the wish of the present tenant. – At any rate the rent is moderate, even if we did not wish to reside the whole of the 12 months – or perhaps he could give us the privilege of under letting it. – I would have spared you all these suggestions had you been on the spot to judge for yourself – Houses are letting very fast – and my only hope of your being in time to view this, rests on the circumstance of M^r Grieve declining to let it for the Summer Season only. –

I had a very few lines from Charles this morning – he writes but little now –

All here are well –

Your affectionate
Constance.