TALBOT899

Melbury ¹
19^th Nov^r

My Dearest –

when I see all the quantities of botanical books that are here it makes me doubly regret you did not come with me, as I am sure you would have been amused. The night we left Andover London we slept at Andover & found it all lit up for the Queen ² & troops of radicals parading about, the Inn was illuminated on the ground floor but not the Drawing room where we were at tea, presently they became incensed at this & flung large stones against the windows which broke them into a thousand pieces & strewed the floor with broken glass. Car & Hor ³ had a narrow escape, for they had been looking out at the mob but a moment before – M^lle Amelina ⁴ was in great astonishment tho’ She had often heard of the liberty of England, but could not believe it. She preserved a stone to shew in France, where they always imagine such things cannot be without a revolution. Let me know whether you take more exercise or still continue to trim the midnight lamp. Emily Murray ⁵ has some communication to make, so I leave the pen to her –

Vale carissime! ⁶

I have gathered a flower of the Lonicera Japonica, it is delicious & smells more like an artificial perfume than a natural one

The Hibbertia crenata, the convolvulus brionifolius, the Jasminum Sambac the Erica ardens, erica caffra & [text missing]⁷ the Four o’clock Flower are all in blow. Like

[address panel:]
Sherborne ⁸ Nov^r twenty 1820 Ilchester ⁹
Henry Fox Talbot Esq^r
Trin: Coll:
Cambridge