Sackville S^{t <1>}
Nov^r 25. 1823

My Dear M^r Feilding

I received today your letter of the 13^th, at which time you had not been able to find a house; I hope you have succeeded however before now. I am going tomorrow morning to the London Docks about my box of books, but neither Richard ^<2> nor myself can do anything about yours, as we do not understand your wishes - I shall ask L^d Auckland ^<3> when I see him what he thinks the most desirable course - I gave Caroline's drawings to her aunt ^<4> who was delighted with them, as you would be to see the great improvement in her looks since last year - I never saw her in better spirits, she walked about the room leaning on her crutch, without any pain & speaks confidently of getting quite well. All this she attributes to the belladonna. ^<5> - I have called on L^d Winchilsea and George: ^<6> and they on me; but we have not seen each other.

Nov^r 26^th

I have been to Bingham Richards & C^o, ^<7> in the Old Jewry - I shall have to pay the duties on my books the second time, no redress to be had: even on English books there is 3^d per lb., because you are censé ^<8> to have received so much as drawback on exporting them: which no one does or I believe can get. You had better send orders to have your box cleared; as it is paying warehouse rent, tho' that is trifling - You will do best to pay the duties, and not think of abandoning the articles; as you will perceive that the chief duties are on the books & porcelain; which have a real value, and that those on the fancy things are trifling

I annex the list of your box, from Bingham & C^o

	£	s	d
49 lb unbound books - at £5 per Cwt -	2.	3.	9
96 lb bound do - at £6. 10. 0-	5.	11.	6
1 painting under 2 feet -	3.	8
69 pieces porcelain, for which a value is required - Supposed value £6. duty is 75 pr Cent	4.	10
	15.	13.	3

179 lb manufactured Marble, [illegible deletion] -	0.	4.	10
15 lb Bronzes -	0.	2.	9
5 Maps -	0.	2.	6
217 plain prints at 1 penny -	0.	18.	1
34 coloured drawing at 2 pence -	0.	5.	8
863 sulphur impressions valued at £3. 10. - 5 pr Cent -	0.	3.	6
13 glass do, valued 13s, at 80 pr Cent -	0.	9.	0
	2.	6.	4

My booksellers at Paris, Treuttel & Würz had orders to send the Bibl. Universelle ^<9> to Genoa -

The discoveries of Champollion le jeune and D^r Young ^<10> in hieroglyphics are most brilliant, and indisputably certain - Formerly they were considered as pictures of things sublime & mysterious, nobody supposed what is the truth, namely that they are letters of the Egyptian alphabet (at least on many occasions) Behold a specimen with its meaning, rendered letter for letter

L is a lion, T a hand, R a mouth - The Egyptian names of these things begin with the letters L, T, R respectively So that we see the reason of the choice - and it is conjectured the other letters may be similarly the initial letters of the various objects that represent them -

This is the character the Egyptians used on solemn occasions & public monuments - Their running hand used in private life is quite different, & has also been decyphered by Champollion & Young, here is a specimen

Young has translated whole manuscripts - They relate to the sale of lands, & of certain moieties ^<11> of the offerings made to mummies about the year 140 before Christ.

Monsieur
Monsieur Feilding
Gentilhomme Anglais
Gênes
Italie

---

Notes:

1. 31 Sackville Street, London residence of the Feildings, often used as a London base by WHFT.

2. Richard, a servant.

3. George Eden, 1^st Earl of Auckland (1784-1849), Governor General of India.

4. Caroline Augusta Edgcumbe, née Feilding, Lady Mt Edgcumbe (1808-1881); WHFT's half-sister. Her aunt was Matilda Feilding (1775-1849), the sister of her father, Charles Feilding.

5. Tall bushy herb, highly poisonous but cultivated as a drug for its medicinal alkaloids, used in sedatives, stimulants, and antispasmodics.

6. George Finch, 9^th Earl of Winchilsea (1752-1826) and George Finch (1794-1870), JP & MP.

7. Bingham Richards & Company, London.

8. Supposed.

9. Bibliotheque Universelle. [See Doc. No: 01109].

10. Jean-François Champollion (1790-1832), historian and linguist who founded scientific Egyptology and played a major role in the deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphics. His elder brother, Jacques-Joseph Champollion-Figeac, a French librarian and paleographer was also a notable figure. Dr Thomas Young (1773-1829), English physicist and also an Egyptologist who, along with Champollion, helped decipher the Rosetta Stone.

11. Divisions or share.