Millburn Tower<1>
June 24th (61
My dear Papa
I am afraid if I put off writing to you much longer that you may have left Nice but my letter will I fear contain little that will interest you beyond an account of our weather here, which I send for you to compare with yours. The last week or ten days has been generally very hot – but on Thursday we had some thunder and since then it has been more changeable. Friday morning was fine but the evening cold and foggy – On Saturday there was steady warm rain all day which was much wanted for the garden and country generally – Sunday very mild with a little rain and today was fine again mild and pleasant. We are afraid you will have suffered from the heat in your tour, and perhaps have wished yourself back again in the cool North without having a long railway journey to perform; but your description of Aix les bains sounded very pleasant – Did you attempt the Mont du Chat? or were you content with imagining the view from its summit!
We have just had a letter from Tilly proposing to come and see us on Saturday if we can take her in conveniently and to stay till the following Thursday, the 4th of July – whilst Mr Clark is at Speddoch superintending the building that is going on he finds it necessary to go over from time to time to hasten the work and Tilly is very anxious glad of this opportunity of paying us a little visit as she did before. She enjoys a little Country air very much and it does her a great deal of good, and she knows it will probably be her last opportunity for some time as we have no room to give her excepting yours –
I must conclude in haste as post is waiting –
Your affecte Ela
Notes:
1. Millburn Tower, Gogar, just west of Edinburgh; the Talbot family made it their northern home from June 1861 to November 1863. It is particularly important because WHFT conducted many of his photoglyphic engraving experiments there. The house had a rich history. Built for Sir Robert Liston (1742-1836), an 1805 design by Benjamin Latrobe for a round building was contemplated but in 1806 a small house was built to the design of William Atkinson (1773-1839), best known for Sir Walter Scott’s Abbotsford. The distinctive Gothic exterior was raised in 1815 and an additional extension built in 1821. Liston had been ambassador to the United States and maintained a warm Anglo-American relationship in the years 1796-1800. His wife, the botanist Henrietta Liston, née Marchant (1751-1828) designed a lavish American garden, sadly largely gone by the time the Talbots rented the house .