Lacock Abbey
Wednesday Tuesday 26. –

My dear Henry

I can send you a most comfortable account of little Rose ^<1> – She has slept well the last two nights & today she appears as happy & playful as usual – yesterday she slept very little in the day & tormented me by fretting over her meals to such a degree that we had difficulty in making her take them – It is very likely that she did not feel hungry poor little dear! – but today she seems to enjoy them as usual which is a great comfort – The rash is quite gone off & she looks the same as she always does with the exception of being a little paler – As a matter measure of precaution she still remains in the Nursery at present – but tomorrow if it should be very fine with a bright sun in the South Gallery she will come & walk about there for change of air – I mean to be extremely cautious in getting her out again – especially as the air is now so very keen & will probably continue so as the winter approaches – I feel that we cannot be sufficiently thankful that she has got through this complaint so easily – for I know by experience how ill one may be with it & she little darling is much too young to bear a serious illness – M^r Kenrick ^<2> does not continue giving her medecine [sic] but he will come & see her again tomorrow – he is not well himself, but came in yesterday walking quite lame in consequence of a blister – he said he had had a bad attack the night before – How very inconvenient it must be for a doctor to be troubled with such bad health! – Ela ^<3> continues quite well at present; but I confess I shall be much surprised if she escapes – & if she does take it I shall expect her to be more ill than little Rose has been – It is a complaint which people must have some time in their lives – & I believe very young children get through it usually much better than older ones – & therefore perhaps it is a good thing to get it over –

I hope you will be able to bring down the Arrowroot which Harriot ^<4> has so kindly procured for me – She gets it both cheap & genuine so it is a great treasure I suppose Rose will soon be eating it as well as Ela –

We can easily try how the two Selmans ^<5> can manage together in the kitchen – as it is Lady Elisabeth’s ^<6> wish I am satisfied – my chief objection to having two sisters in such a situation is that it puts in their way a far stronger temptation to dishonesty than I should wish any persons to be exposed to – you know that they belong to the village & that their family are poor – there must therefore be a great inducement to give away to them anything which they imagine is not wanted for our own use. – I should be glad to know whether any stores of any kind are coming from London, or whether I must provide whatever is wanted. – In the latter case I should probably send Price ^<7> over to Bath towards the end of this week –

I will certainly write if I have anything fresh to tell you about the children – but if you do not hear you may imagine all is well –

Y^r aff^te
Constance. –

Henry Fox Talbot Esq^re
31. Sackville Street
London

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Notes:

1. Rosamond Constance ‘Monie’ Talbot (1837–1906), artist & WHFT’s 2^nd daughter.

2. Dr George Cranmer Kenrick, surgeon living at The Grove, Melksham.

3. Ela Theresa Talbot (1835–1893), WHFT’s 1^st daughter.

4. Harriot Georgiana Mundy, née Frampton (1806-1886), WHFT’s cousin & sister-in-law.

5. Mary Selman and her sister.

6. Lady Elisabeth Theresa Feilding, née Fox Strangways, first m Talbot (1773–1846), WHFT’s mother.

7. Mrs Sarah Henneman, first m. Price ( ca.1811–1848), housemaid at Lacock Abbey.