TALBOT9539

London
Tuesday May 25. /69

My dear Father

I duly received your letter from Rome, and the previous ones that you wrote from Florence. I am glad you have enjoyed [illegible deletion] your visit to Rome. Aunt Caroline ¹ says that she does not know the lake 3 miles above the fall of Terni. I did not suppose that it had been so long since you had been to Rome. I suppose that by the time you get my letter you will have been to Naples.

I have bought Tyndall on Sound, ² and shall probably in due course get his other works. In that book he treats largely about vibrations and I expect that I shall find it elucidatory of light.

I think there are only two more “light” lectures to come after which if I have no particular engagement I may go to Lacock. –

I was there in Whitsunweek when we had weather rather too rainy for the Club ³ meetings. On Wednesday when we dined in a tent, there was too much wind and it was too cold to be particularly pleasant.

The Wisteria has been in glorious flower but was beginning to pass off when I saw it. – Some of the laburnums are very good. The lilacs, many of them, seemed to be passing off…

Miss Fuller & M^r Benjamin Speke ⁴ were duly married on Whit wednesday. I suppose that the rest of the Neston family will now arrive in Town. – Rumour says that M^r Spicer intends to give a ball , at his house in Belgrave Square.

I am going to dine tonight with your old friend & competitor the bishop of Llandaff. ⁵

Yesterday I went with the Dillwyns ⁶ and others to see Japanese jugglers. and fireworks at the Crystal palace ⁷ The juggling seemed to be very good but unfortunately there was no getting a good place near the performers and as we had no opera glasses we did not see very well. –

The fireworks were remarkably good in themselves, but there was a great deal of smoke which interfered deplorably with the effect of the devices – – I believe this was owing to the evening being damp. –

Those rockets that burst into stars on the whole succeded [sic] very well. – . Some throw out clusters of blue stars going having very little effects in lighting up the place, but very pretty. The clusters of white stars light up the garden considerably. – . They had also little balloons which tugged up a bright flame which I believe to be burning magnesium

I have been so far once only to the Royal Academy, & so cannot give much account of it. –

I hope to hear soon from you or from Monnie ⁸

Your affect son
Charles

[envelope:]
Italy
Mon^r H F Talbot
Hotel de la Grande Bretagne
Florence