Penrice <1>
July ye 30th 1815.
My Dear Mamma,
I mean to give you a circumstantial account of all our adventures, since we saw you. We left the Gloucester Coffee House<2> at ½ past 8, in a drizzling rain, which cleared up in the Afternoon. Our companion was a gentleman with a Steel machine on his head, which reminded me of Mr FitzErnest <3> whom I saw at Melbury Burley in 1808. He went to Magdalen College in Oxford, & when he was gone, I found that it was Mr FitzErnest - At Oxford we went to the Top of the Radcliffe Library, & enjoyed from thence the view of all the Colleges & Steeples - We saw also the dinner Hall at [illegible deletion] Exeter College - Dr Cole<4> was not at Home, but his Butler gave us a very good dinner indeed. We there packed up Sir Christopher's Silver Cup, which Capts Foote & Kenah gave him,<5> & put it on the top of the Carriage to take to Penrice; for my aunt Mary <6> never saw it. - Then we left Oxford for Witney, where we drank Tea, & slept, in a very comfortable Inn. Next Morning we proceeded to Mr Hicks Beach's, at Williamstrip;<7> - He received us very kindly indeed, & shewed us all the Lions. - Then he drove us three miles off to Fairford, & shewed us the curious painted windows in the Church. - We came back in time to dress for dinner. The company were, Mr & Mrs Beach, Mr Brown & his son, Mr Augustus Musgrave, & Mr Lee. - Mrs Beech is the oddest woman I ever saw. In the Evg I walked about the Country with Mr Brown's son who is a very nice boy in the 4th Form at Rugby. Mr Beech & Sir C. Cole settled business. Mr Musgrave & Mr Lee, nicknamed Luther & the Pope, played Chess. - Next Morning we took an early breakfast, & set off, through Cirencester & Gloucester; - The View from Birdlip Hill is almost the finest I ever saw. - Chepstow Bridge being down we crossed the Ferry there; & arrived late at Cardiff, where we slept. - Next day, off again, to Dr Hunts,<8> where we dined, but excused ourselves from sleeping, as we had determined to do. It rained piteously all day, & prevented my going to see the Greenhouse. - At the Mackworth arms in Swansea we were delayed by want of chaises & horses, which at length however we procured; - Bye the Bye I am surprized to see Aunt Mary's old servant, Jackson, now a waiter at the Mackworth arms; - in which situation he has officiated for a week - having left Mr Llewellyn's <9> service Our driver unfortunately was blind of one eye, &, poor man, he couldn't see with the other; - so our expectations of a quick stage were greatly damped, [illegible deletion] if indeed they [illegible deletion] were not wet through before by the continual rain. - We soon began to think, [illustration marked I.] that the Cords which fastened Sir C. C.'s cup, to the top of the Chaise, were very loose, & we stopped the driver to ask him; - But he, thinking it perhaps too much trouble to remedy it, said that all was firm. - [illegible deletion] Nevertheless only three of the Corners were fast, - [illegible deletion] Vide Plate I.<10>. - Accordingly, in the middle of Fairwood Common they gave way, & the box fell into the middle of the road. - You may imagine [text missing] we all jumped out in a moment; - It was very dark, & very cold, & very bleak; & it rained cats & dogs, & I splashed myself all over mud in jumping into the road, without letting down the steps. - Our Margam <11> Magnolia was Mightily & Miserably Mashed, in the confusion which ensued. The shattered box was hoisted inside, with some difficulty & much bustle. - the lid was [illustration marked II.] broken in two, & the lock was shivered. Vide Plate II. - After being considerably squeezed inside by the box, & nearly overturned in the dark, we arrived at Penrice, a little before Twelve; - after having been Four Hours coming from Swansea. - Luckily they were not gone to Bed. - We drank Tea, & went to Bed. - Sir C.'s Cup is not in the least injured, which is wonderful. - Finis. <12>
I remain,Yr Affte Son.
W H F Talbot
P.S. I have lost one of my three Bank Notes, which is I believe the first I ever lost in my life. I think it must have been stolen at the Inn.
Lady Elisabeth Feilding
31 Sackville St
London
Notes:
1. Penrice Castle and Penrice House, Gower, Glamorgan, 10 mi SW of Swansea: home of Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot.
2. The Gloucester Coffee House, Piccadilly, London, was the departure point for several stage coaches to the West. WHFT is travelling from London to Oxford en route to his relations at Penrice, Wales.
3. The 'Steel machine' was the invention of Mr. Cheshyre of Winkley, a celebrated orthropedist. The doctor passed a leather strap under the chin of an accident victim, which was then attached to an iron ring arching over the head to the back, with the intention of relieving the spine from the weight of the head. George Fitz-Ernest (or Fitzernest) was admitted to Magdalen in 1814; his name appears in the Vice-President's Register with an unusual annotation in Latin; "filius nothus celsissimi Principis, Ducis de Cumberland, ex domina Jordana mima" (The natural son of the most illustrious prince, Duke of Cumberland, by Mrs Jordan, actress). This confirms his father as Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, the son of George III and later King of Hannover - the connection with Dorothy Jordan, who was known to have shown kindness to foundlings, remains unconfirmed. His "steel machine" was fitted after the Duke accidentally overturned their carriage and ran over his back. Fitz-ernest's involvement in a duel forced him out of Magdalen, but he continued his studies in Alban Hall, Oxford, taking a BA in 1817. He died in 1828.
4. Dr John Cole (1759-1819), Rector of Exeter College and brother of Sir Christopher Cole.
5. Sir Christopher Cole (1770-1836), Captain, MP & naval officer. In August 1810, Captains Cole, Kenah and Foote captured Banda Neira in the Moluccas. Kenah and Foote gave Cole a silver cup, to be made in England.
6. Lady Mary Lucy Cole, née Strangways, first m. Talbot (1776-1855), WHFT's aunt.
7. William Hicks Beach (1783-1856), MP and a distant relation of WHFT. Williamstrip House was the Gloucestershire residence of Michael Hicks Beach (1760-1830).
8. Most likely Rev John Hunt (d. 1817), Vicar of the abbey church of St Mary's at Margam Abbey. He had been a trustee and executor to the will of Barbara Davenport (1754-1812), WHFT's aunt.
9. Probably related to Emma Thomasina Llewelyn, née Talbot (1806-1881), photographer; WHFT's Welsh cousin.
10. See Plate 1.
11. Margam Park, Glamorgan: home of Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot.
12. The end.