13th Sept 1838
My dear Henry
I was very much obliged to you for all the details of the Microscope you recommended & shall trust to your sending me what you think best for my common use & my experiment in Optics that you will exemplify. I did not quite understand whether any all of the object glasses were included in the price you mentioned. The microscope you remember with its 5 glasses & all its other appurtenances cost 3 guineas & I have always thought the optician or his Man must have made some mistake as I never saw one so cheap since – It has been a fund of amusement & I should like to have one of my own, & its showing opake [sic] objects is an advantage I also received the seeds quite safe the plants on the rock are flourishing. I wish your Mother <1> would write me word what she thinks of Louisa Lansdowne <2> without loss of time. I am loth to leave home now Jane <3> is in the neighborhood, [sic] but I feel so restlessly uneasy when I think that Louisa (the friend of the sick & sorrowful) is in want of comfort, that I cannot be at peace with my self if I think she wants comfortable nursing – give my kind remembrances to Mrs Talbot Ela <4> made quite a conquest of the Llewelyns at Malvern <5> –
I want also to know how Harriot Mundy <6> is & whether she is taking care of her health – perhaps Mrs Talbot will tell me – I hope Lily is enjoying this delightful weather & Gardening herself against the winter – give her my love & believe me
your aff Aunt
M: L: Cole
Henry Talbot Esqr
Lacock
Chippenham
Notes:
1. Lady Elisabeth Theresa Feilding, née Fox Strangways, first m Talbot (1773–1846), WHFT’s mother.
2. Louisa Emma Petty Fitzmaurice, née Fox Strangways, Marchioness of Lansdowne (1785-1851), wife of Henry Petty Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne; Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria, 1837-1838; WHFT's aunt.
3. Jane Harriot Nicholl, née Talbot (1796–1874).
4. Constance Talbot, née Mundy (1811–1880), WHFT’s wife, and Ela Theresa Talbot (1835–1893), WHFT’s 1st daughter.
5. John Dillwyn Llewelyn (1810-1882), Welsh photographer, JP & High Sheriff; and his wife, Emma Thomasina Llewelyn, née Talbot (1806–1881), photographer; WHFT’s Welsh cousin; Malvern, or Great Malvern, 9 mi SW of Worcestershire.
6. Harriot Georgiana Mundy, née Frampton (1806-1886), WHFT’s cousin & sister-in-law.