Lacock
1st February 1846
My Dear Mother
Won’t you come and meet the Trahernes? <1>
We are to have no eclipse of Mars tonight, the weather being extremely cloudy. Astronomy does not answer in England.
The floods have abated, the weather continues warm, and the spring flowers are coming on rapidly – A species of jonquil narcissus is in full flower in the open air, which I think must be most unusual in January – Horatia’s <2> garden is very gay with Crocusses, and all the Shrubbery with snowdrops. –
Aconites are over –
Nicole <3> has just arrived, ready to commence operations tomorrow morning – If you come soon he shall execute anything you desire.
The Railway people and Brunel <4> have taken the field, and fired a volley of notices at me – I suppose I shall have as much trouble as last year with them
Your affte
Henry
Notes:
1. Rev John Montgomerie Traherne (1788-1860), JP, antiquary & author, and his wife, Charlotte Louisa 'Charry' Traherne, née Talbot (1800–1880), WHFT’s cousin.
2. Henrietta Horatia Maria Gaisford, née Feilding (1810–1851), WHFT’s half-sister.
3. Nicolaas Henneman (1813–1898), Dutch, active in England; WHFT’s valet, then assistant; photographer.
4. The Great Western Railway Company, which intended to build a branch line, the Wiltshire, Somerset and Weymouth Railway, running across WHFT’s land. He was disputing the amount of compensation offered by the GWR Company. [See Doc. No: 05264, Doc. No: 05285, and Doc. No: 05375]. Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859), civil engineer.