Londres
le 19 Novbre Londres 1810
Mon très aimé Henri
Le tems s’envole si vîte ici que voilà une semaine écoulée sans qu’on y pense, autrement je n’aurois pas oublier de repondre à votre derniere Lettre, <1> que j’ai trouvée fort jolie, mais je l’aurois aimée encore mieux si vous faisiez plus d’attention au genre des mots, ce qu’on attrappe fort aisément dans la langue française avec un peu d’habitude. Par exemple vous écrivez comme si le mot pierre était masculin, au lieu que c’est feminin, comme vous auriez pu deviner par le mot latin petra, duquel il est dérivé. Ainsi [illegible deletion] vos pierres doivent être polies & belles, au lieu de polis & beaux. Je crois que vos pierres sont d’une espèce d’agathe, comme ce qu’on trouve en Ecosse, ou peut être des Sardoines, <2> s’il y en a en Angleterre, ce que je ne crois pas.
J’ai reçu la lettre dont vous parlez mais votre Oncle Giles <3> a été si malade qu’il étoit tout à fait impossible de [lui?] rien demander. À présent il est à la Campagne chez Ladi Sheffield-<4> – Mais quand je le revois assurément je lui demanderai touchant la machine à polir
Toujours à vous
mon très Cher
J’ai peur que vous n’ayez pas reçu ma derniere Lettre dans laquelle je vous ai fait une description de ce que j’aye vu à Cambridge
Je suis fachée de vous apprendre que le roi <5> est encore Malade, il a eu une rechûte <6> –
London November nineteen 1810
Henry Talbot Esqr
Revd Dr Hookers<7>
Rotting Dean
Brighton
London Nov. 19. 1810
Translation:
London
19th of November 1810
My beloved Henry
Time is passing so quickly here that a week has gone by without us noticing it. Otherwise, I would not have forgotten to reply to your last Letter, which I found very pretty, but I would have liked it even more if you paid more attention to the gender of words, something which can be picked up very easily in French with a little practice. For example, you write as if the word stone were masculine whereas it is feminine, as you could have guessed from the latin word petra from which it is derived. Consequently, your stones should be polished & beautiful rather than polished & fine. I think that your stones are a type of agate, such as is found in Scotland or possibly of Sardonyx if it is found in England, which I doubt.
I have received the letter which you were talking about but your Uncle Giles has been so ill that it was utterly impossible to ask him for anything. At present, he is staying with Lady Sheffield in the country – But when I see him again, I will most certainly ask him about the polishing machine –
Ever yours
my dear
I am afraid that you have not received my last letter in which I described what I saw in Cambridge
I am grieved to tell you that the King is still unwell, he has had a relapse –
London November nineteenth 1810
Henry Talbot Esqr
Revd Dr Hookers
Rotting Dean
Brighton
Notes:
1. See Doc. No: 00522.
2. Semiprecious stone.
3. Giles Digby Robert Fox Strangways (1798–1827).
4. Lady Julia Brigida Sheffield, née Newbolt (d. 1875).
5. George III (1738–1820), King of Great Britain and Ireland (1760–1820)
6. In November 1810, King George III became permanently insane and, under the terms of the Regency Act, George IV took over.
7. Rev. Thomas Redman Hooker (1762-1838), WHFT's tutor at Rottingdean and a most interesting character. His career prospects were seemingly cut short when his father lost his fortune to an industrial accident. Hooker became the private secretary to the Duke of Dorset, learned French, took Holy Orders and through the Duke's influence established an influential school. His pupils included the nephews of the Duke of Wellington and of Napoleon Bonaparte. He was also active in the local smuggling ring. See Arthur R. Ankers, revised by Michael Smith, Sussex Cavalcade (Sevenoaks: Hawthorns Publications, Ltd., 1992), pp. 97-100.