Bath
Wednesday
My dear Henry
We propose coming over on Friday and if quite agreeable we will spend two of three days with you, it would give us great pleasure to see your roses and other out of doors beauties, but the chief attractions to me are the indoors ones. I shall be charmed to hear Rosamond <1> talk and I hope she is now as sociable as Ela <2> used to be last year – Thank you very much for the Photogenics. I admire the tiger or Leopard very much indeed it is quite perfect to my eye the flowers are very pretty too.<3>– Mamma <4> has been with Mr Traherne <5> to see Mr Ellicombe’s garden at Bitton and was much pleased by the variety of Irises in particular. Charlotte <6> was too much fatigued by her visit to Millers gardens at Bristol the day before & I staid at the Inn here with her. We brought a lovely nosegay from Lanelay <7> & Mamma intended to send you a tin box full of her precious things by the Carrier but unfortunately they had fallen to pieces and were not worth sending. The sun was so hot it brought the flowers on so rapidly one could hardly get a bud of the double Yellow briar to bring or any of our new roses, I daresay they are in great beauty at Lanelay now.–
Bath is dreadfully hot & so noisy one hardly knows which way to turn. We have just been drinking tea with Miss Emily Ford she told us how charmed she had been with her visit to Lacock & how kind you had been to her, which she dwelt upon for a long time. She is going to escort us to Mr Jarrets to see the flowers tomorrow evening.–
Uncle Wm <8> writes me word he has been looking over maps with Jane <9> to settle her tour & she cannot be satisfied but wants to go two ways at once he says!
Our kind love to Mrs Talbot
I am your affate Coz
Mary
White Hart
June 19th
There will be no time for an answ <10> as I am too late for the post but we will take our chance of being sent back if not convenient to receive us!
Henry Fox Talbot Esqre
Lacock Abbey
Chippenham
Notes:
1. Rosamond Constance ‘Monie’ Talbot (1837–1906), artist & WHFT’s 2nd daughter.
2. Ela Theresa Talbot (1835–1893), WHFT’s 1st daughter.
3. That is, photogenic drawings. The animals would have been copies of prints (an important application of the new art) but the flowers were almost certainly photograms from nature.
4. Lady Mary Lucy Cole, née Strangways, first m. Talbot (1776–1855), WHFT’s aunt.
5. Rev John Montgomerie Traherne (1788–1860), JP & author.
6. Charlotte Louisa 'Charry' Traherne, née Talbot (1800–1880), WHFT’s cousin.
7. Llanely, or Lanely, Glamorganshire: home of Lady Mary Cole and Mary Thereza Talbot.
8. William Thomas Horner Fox Strangways, 4th Earl of Ilchester (1795–1865), botanist, art collector & diplomat.
9. Jane Harriot Nicholl, née Talbot (1796–1874).
10. Text torn away under seal.