[written on the same sheet as a note from Uncle William - see Doc. No: 04029].
London
24 June
My Dear Henry
In consequence of your recommendation we went to see the Panorama of Lima <1>, & the Designs for the Houses of Parliament. <2> We have seen no other sights yet except the Water Colour Exhibition <3> The weather has been dark & rainy & the Plans therefore do not light up well. I forgot tho’ that we have seen the Gallery of Old Masters, & it is a very fine collection this year, & among them the two Murillos <4> for which the Duke of Sutherland <5> gave Marshal Soult <6> 8 thousand £ the other day. Horatia <7> was at Mr Hope’s Ball last night she only goes to great & good things, & does not waste her strength on minor balls. Ht & Mr Mundy <8> dined here yesterday, they are set off this morng to Derby – Lord V. <9> is gone to Windsor to stay till Tuesday, when he seems to expect C. <10> to meet him in turn. The Whigs are most triumphant at this acquittal of Lord Melbourne <11> & it does seem extraordinary that Sir W. Follett <12> would undertake a career upon so little foundation The sort of excitement in the clubs was beyond all precedent & certainly the Tories imagined it was the downfall of the administration. Lord Grantley <13> would have spent his fortune to pull down Lord Melbourne from political motives. Henry is come to town looking so ill & hollow cheeked it is quite Melancholy. He left Hastings because Lord Henry <14> has got the Scarletina & he was supposed not able to bear it in his weak state. He is advised to go for the winter to Madeira, but does not seem disposed to follow this advice, & thinks Naples will do as well. I augur from this that he is not so much frightened about himself as he ought to be –
William <15> has written some philosophical Categories in the cover – look for them
Mr Norton <16> seems to be the most universally unpopular man I ever met with. Even his beaux frères would not meet him at Frampton which was the cause of the quarrel. Lord Seymour had long cut him – & it luckily turns out that the Place Lord M. <17> was accused of giving him to stop his mouth, was given before he was acquainted with her
London June twenty four 1836 W F Strangways <18>
Henry Fox Talbot Esq
Lacock Abbey
Chippenham
Notes:
1. The latest exhibit at the Panorama in Leicester Square, London: "a View of Lima, the City of Kings, and capitol of Peru, exhibiting all its beauties in nature and art." The Times, 11 June 1836.
2. In 1835 a design competition was held for the new Houses of Parliament building, to replace the one destroyed by fire in 1834. [See Doc. No: 03300].
3. See Doc. No: 03300.
4. Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1618–1682), religious painter.
5. George Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland (1786–1861).
6. Marshal Nicolas Soult, Duke of Dalmatie (1769–1851), representing France at the coronation of Queen Victoria.
7. Henrietta Horatia Maria Gaisford, née Feilding (1810–1851), WHFT’s half-sister.
8. William Mundy (1801-1877), politician, WHFT’s brother-in-law; and his wife, Harriot Georgiana Mundy, née Frampton (1806-1886), WHFT’s cousin & sister-in-law.
9. Ernest Augustus Edgcumbe, Lord Valletort, 3rd Earl of Mt Edgcumbe (1797–1861), WHFT’s brother-in-law.
10. Caroline Augusta Edgcumbe, née Feilding, Lady Mt Edgcumbe (1808–1881); WHFT’s half-sister.
11. William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1779–1848). Lord Melbourne was co-respondent in Norton vs. Norton divorce case of 23 June 1836, where Melbourne is said to have twice reiterated his denial of the alleged adultary.
12. Sir William Webb Follett (1798–1845). A Conservative, he successfully contested Exeter in 1835 where he was an MP until his death.
13. Fletcher Norton, Lord Grantley (b. 1798).
14. Henry Stephen Fox Strangways, 3rd Earl of Ilchester (1787–1858).
15. William Thomas Horner Fox Strangways, 4th Earl of Ilchester (1795–1865), botanist, art collector & diplomat.
16. Hon George Chapple Norton. He had recently left his wife (Caroline Norton) and sued Lord Melbourne for criminal conversation (it allowed civil suit for adultery).
17. It was rumoured that Hon George Norton had promoted the relationship of his wife with Lord Melbourne for financial and professional gain.
18. William Thomas Horner Fox Strangways, 4th Earl of Ilchester (1795–1865), botanist, art collector & diplomat.