Hôtel d’Orient
Sat. the 7th August
My dear Henry
I received your letter of Thursday at 9 o’clock last night; so could not answer it before the 5 P.M. post for England today; and being Saturday, I fear you cannot get this earlier than Monday – However Ela’s letter of yesterday will have shown you that the wine merchant’s communication from Dijon was no mistake. I am sorry now that I did not immediately explain to you what I had done, but I did not recollect that Mr Guillemot’s letter would arrive before the case of wine. & I expected to be at home within the 3 weeks of its being due in England. You know that a supply of light wine to mix with water, or otherwise, is become a desideratum at Lacock Abbey. Your son in law buys his at Dumfries: & Charles, I believe, has had something of the kind for himself. Perhaps the Burgundy wines may not answer the purpose so well as Bordeaux – but as we were passing through Dijon and knowing Mr Guillemot as Purveyor of wines at the hôtel de l’Europe & other first class Hôtels at Venice & elsewhere; – I asked him for a list of his Wines & enquired whether he had an agent in England. He told me that he had not; but that he was in the constant habit of attending to private orders, and nothing could be simpler if desired – I then conversed with him a little, after remarking that I had no commission to act in the matter, and that of course all orders for wine were given by yourself – but that nevertheless I shd like to hear what he advised, in order to report the same to you. He said that a supply of our ordinaire for daily use would be best & cheapest sent to England in a cask, & bottled off by your own butlers, but that it would require some time to settle – So I considered that the preliminary step would be to chuse your wine; that you could only do this by allowing him to send samples in bottles for you to taste: I recollected that the Clarks would be with us soon, & that John is a judge of wine. For all these reasons, I authorized Mr Guillemot to send off a case of Samples, adding some choicer kinds which he is particularly anxious you shd taste – And now I hope, dear Henry, to hear that you approve what I did although the thing was certainly out of my department.
Ela told you yesterday that we were desirous of an extension of our time at Paris, on acct of some lessons in hair dressing which Henriette is taking by my desire: & which cannot be finished by next Wednesday. But I have a better plan to propose than the one she mentioned. Neither Ela nor I wish to stay longer at Paris than Thursday next, the 12th On that day therefore, we propose to go to Fontainebleau & stay over Sunday. Sleep at the Hôtel d’Orient again Monday the 16th Start by the tidal train for Boulogne, on Tuesday at 11.15 A.M. cross to Folkestone at 4.50 – Sleep there & take a morning train to London, Wednesday 18th do some business in London the same evening & Thursday morning, and go down to Lacock Abbey by that evening’s Express, or otherwise, as you judge best. Will it suit you to be there when we arrive, to settle with Bayer? The best economy of time would be for you to go up on Tuesday evening; and Goodwin will be useful to us on Wednesday after we arrive – I am afraid we cannot ascertain the hours of trains from Folkestone to London – other than the tidal train, which will be too late for us – Perhaps with your English Bradshaw, you can chuse a train for me. – Let me hear whether you approve the above. I have a cold which I am nursing, & hope it will pass off. – I pity those poor people at Lucerne with their temperature of 90 degrees! Here we have it at 66 in our salon, almost too cold. –
your affectionate
Constance
[envelope:]
Angleterre
H. F. Talbot Esqr
Lacock Abbey
Chippenham