London
7th May 1832
My Dear Mr F.
I see you had no better luck with the Transit <1> than I had. Here the Sun shone out once or twice during the first half hour of the Transit, but <illegible deletion> it could not be viewed from any window in this house & I did not think of going on the roof, as I might have done.
I see in the newspapers that the Moon is to eclipse Saturn tomorrow the 8th at 9 in the evening. You can easily see, as soon as it gets dark, whether it is near the planet. If not it is a mistake the Papers have made.
Caroline <2> & I drove to the Zool. garden yesterday where we unexpectedly met Sir Charles Lemon <3> – She was much out of spirits yesterday but the drive did her good.
Yours affly
Henry
I should like to have the windows done, if it costs no more than what you say.Capt Feilding
Lacock Abbey
Notes:
1. A transit occurs when, as viewed from the Earth, a relatively small body passes across the disk of a larger body, usually the Sun or a planet, eclipsing only a very small area: Mercury and Venus periodically transit the Sun.
2. Caroline Augusta Edgcumbe, née Feilding, Lady Mt Edgcumbe (1808–1881); WHFT’s half-sister.
3. Sir Charles Lemon (1784–1868), politician & scientist; WHFT’s uncle.