Melbury Dorchester
December 19
My dear Henry
We had rather a slow, & certainly a very cold journey the day we left you, but the weather seems to be altogether unpropitious, so one is very thankful to be in a comfortable house –. I delayed writing till I could tell you that Mary Talbot <1> was here, because she was expected on Saturday. Now however her arrival is postponed till tomorrow so I will not wait any longer. I am sorry to say Mary has not been atall [sic] well & Jane <2> seems quite troubled about her, tho’ now she is with under the care of a Doctor she likes very much at Clifton I hope all will go well & that we shall find her pretty well –. We found only Jane with two of her Daughters & a Mr Selwyn (one of Mrs Selwyns sons) <3> here as Mr & Mrs Nesbitt <4> & Mr & Mrs Dickensen <5> went away the day we arrived – Noel <6> joined us on Saturday and Henry & Mrs Frampton, Col. Digby Mr & Mrs St John &c <7> are coming this week – I do not know what Mary’s plans may be but Jane & Co return to Merthyrmawr <8> next Friday so you will not find them here certainly. –
Uncle Wm <9> is very well now, but had – as you know – a very severe attack of Bronchitis in November which confined him to his room for 3 weeks – He is however still not allowed to leave the house, excepting for a short walk in the sun when the weather is favourable, but as he has heaps of business and all kinds of employments the days are only too short as it is. He has been showing Jane & me such very curious old Deeds with most remarkable seals – just what you will enjoy when you come. He is charmed with the Bougainvillia – & also glad to hear about the Hæmanthus. –
Three Golden Pippins - genuine are reserved for you & hidden away in an old China Bowl – that you may satisfy yourself that they are true as the gardeners say! Give my affecte love to Constance <10> who I hope does not suffer from the cold. We enjoyed our visit to you all much & tell Constance I have a more tangible idea of the grandiose size of the Abbey than ever before, because even Melbury <11> seemed quite small in comparison!
Yr vy aff Cousin
H G Mundy
[envelope:]
H. F. Talbot Esqre
Lacock Abbey
Chippenham
Notes:
1. Mary Thereza Talbot (1795-1861), WHFT's cousin.
2. Jane Harriot Nicholl, née Talbot (1796-1874), WHFT's cousin.
3. A son of the Rev Townshend Selwyn (1783–1853), botanist & Canon of Gloucester.
4. Alexander Nesbitt (1817–1886), archaeologist & ancient glass collector, and his wife Cecelia (d 1886).
5. Not yet identified.
6. Francis Noel Mundy (1833-1903).
7. Henry Frampton (1804-1879) and his wife Charlotte Frampton, née Blencowe; possibly Lt Col Robert Henry Digby (b 1792); Edward William St John (1815-1886) and his wife, Jane Martha St John, née Hicks Beach (1803-1882).
8. Merthr Mawr, near Bridgend, Wales, home of the Nicholl family.
9. William Thomas Horner Fox Strangways, 4th Earl of Ilchester (1795-1865), botanist, art collector & diplomat; WHFT's favourite uncle.
10. Constance Talbot, née Mundy (30 Jan 1811 - 9 Sep 1880), m. WHFT 20 Dec 1832.
11. She had visited Lacock Abbey, WHFT's home, and was comparing it to Melbury, Dorset: one of the Fox Strangways family homes; WHFT was born there.