TALBOT9677

3 Chesham Place
S.W.
Wednesday July 20^th 1870

My dear Henry

Many thanks for the Stamps just received. I wrote you a very scrubby letter in my haste on Monday. We were to have gone late in the afternoon to Hampton C^t intending to dine with Lady Seymour ¹ (the Widow of Sir George), & drive back in the cool of the evening – not expecting Charlie ² till Tuesday – But the telegram announcing his arrival on Monday, made us hasten our departure. We lunched with her instead, & got home at 7. Charlie was already here, safe and sound – & looking just the same as ever. Travel certainly agrees with him – only I fear it will spoil him for the comparative tameness of England. He made the quickest passage ever known, I believe, from Quebec to Liverpool – leaving the former on Saturday morn^g, & arriving at L. on Monday morning.

They had a magnificent vessel, the Scandinavian – her first trip – a fine fair breeze, so that they could sail as well as steam, & smooth water all the way. Did I tell you that he was not so fortunate on his passage from Australia to N. Zealand – for he got into a Typhoon – which lasted 2 days – & knocked up the most frightful sea he ever saw.

He was the only passenger, (& so far he was extremely comfortable,) as it was a chance Steamer, going to over to be sold – a small one of 300 tons – & though [illegible deletion] the Captain was extremely anxious, she weathered the storm well.

I think Rosamond ³ & Amandier ⁴ would do well to go into Switzerland; for the present heat would be intolerable going thro’ any part of France. Now they have only to make a most delightful excursion from Milan to Como, & thence over the Splügen to Coire &c. – Later I should hope they might go thro’ the middle of France, by a line in the direction of Moulins, tow^ds the Loire, & thro’ Brittany & Normandy to Dieppe, (only a 6 or 7 hours’ trip) to across to Brighton –

I particularly wish them to avoid Paris – as the smallpox is still so very bad there.

I told you how poor M^elle Steinbauer ( Emily Fitzmaurice’s ⁵ Governess,) died of it at Lansdowne House? ⁶ Emily Lansd^{e 7} sent her over with young Emily, & she fell ill immediately. Jem Howard ⁸ most kindly carried off young Emily to Hazelby, where she was vaccinated – Clan & Maude ⁹ left the house of course – but poor M^elle S. died in ab^t a week. It is a great sorrow to them all. L^y L. wrote to me about a week ago – & said there had been more cases & deaths that week, than any previous one. So R. & A. ought be all means to avoid that route – particularly as I suppose they have not been vaccinated lately.

Have they got a Courier now? I really think they ought to have a man of some sort with them – as one cannot tell what turn affairs will take.

I know a lady who set off for Carlsbad, just as the declaration of war ¹⁰ had been proclaimed – She is was very anxious to go for health – only her husband went with her, instead of letting her go alone; but there is a great panic among all the English at the different German baths – not at staying in the places themselves, but at the uncertainty of the ways & means of getting home again.

Shall I telegraph to you if I hear anything particular? So that you might save a Post in writing to them, by that means?

I quite agree with you in your opinion of the belligerents – only that I dislike Prussia the most – & Bismark [sic] especially – I hear today that the Hohenzollern affair, & even the revolution in Spain, was plotted by him at least 3 y^rs ago. Your quotation from “the Rivals” ¹¹ is most apt. Val ¹² is just come up for the day – & great was the joy of the meeting between him & Charlie. I want so much to write to Amandier, but cannot find time. Do thank her, en attendant, ¹³ for her last from Florence. They might go to Varese for a bit – How delightful the thoughts of it are!

Give my love to Constance & Ela ¹⁴ –

Y^r aff^te Sister
Caroline

The heat yesterday & today is very trying – But Charlie says he has never been so cool since he left England, except the other day, coming out of the S^t Laurence; where it was extremely cold, & they passed many icebergs.