Nice -
April 14th 1822
Tu vois, mon cher Henri, que je suis fidèle à ma promesse en t'écrivant, mais je suis vraiment trop bonne, puisque ce n'était qu'à condition que tu m'écrirois le premier; au reste comme [illegible deletion] tu entends mieux l'anglais je continuerai dans cette langue. <1> Since we left Nismes we saw nothing new except the road from Aix to Brignolles which is very pretty & covered with wood; Saw nothing worth remark in this town except a very very old tree on the corso. - On crossing the Estrelles, who should we meet all of a sudden, but Lord Carnarvon & the Lady Herberts <2> going to Paris where I dare say you will see them, & about a quarter of an hour afterwards we met Lady Davy <3> all alone in her green calèche, who told us she intended going to Aix, Gap & Grenoble, & from thence to Lyons; she likewise told us she had been as far as Coni[?], on horseback with Mr Ward & Lord Colchester, <4> who came back with her, but Mr Ward, I believe, intends going to Genoa, on his way to Turin & Paris.
At the same time Lady Davy advised us to go to Grasse; so ha after having dined at Cannes, we went out of the way to into a pretty little valley, in which Grasse is situated; the road winds so, that we did not arrive till late at the Hôtel des Ministres, a very nice, clean, new, comfortable inn; - It was a great pity that it rained the next morning, so that unluckily we saw nothing. I must only advise you to go & see it whenever you can, & in the first place because it is surrounded by a very pretty country, & secondly, because I never saw such a quantity of beautiful & curious flowers of all colours; a species of Convolvolous [sic] I think I never saw before, & a sort of ridiculous yellow flower, that hangs like bells, surrounded at the top with black, & lower down with green leaves like those of Barberries. I send you a very beautiful sort of crimson flower, that grows about a foot high; with leaves like those of a Narcissus; I am not sure that it is not the same of which Mr Montgomerie <5> found only one specimen near the Thuner-See. I saw besides all sorts of blue flowers, some like small anemonies [sic], & other [sic] like Viper's bugloss at a distance, but which are quite different on a near approach, but as they are now dead I cannot send them to you; as I have said a great deal about flowers; therefore I must now proceed to the News of Nice; On arriving we found that the Mildmays <6> were gone to Genoa; where they were soon followed by Mr & Mrs Bligh. <7> Baron Arnstein took a felucca & ten sailors, & set t off for Floren[ce]<8> determined to get there bon gré, malgré, <9> whether the wind w[as] fair or not, & as it happened it has been contrary all the time though he has now been gone a week. We shall go our[selves] very soon to Genoa, but how, we cannot tell; either, we shall set off in an open boat & stop disembark at night at the best inns; or we shall go by land over the Col de tende, or half in a boat & half in a carriage, or in a frigate of the royal navy of Sardinia. Now it is your turn to fulfill [sic] your promise & to write as soon as possible; as yet we have received no news from either Mama <10> or you; I hope you take care of her; as much as if we were there. I hope you see now that I have not forgotten English.
Goodbye, my dear Henry, believe me always your affectionnate [sic] Sister -
Caroline Augusta Feilding
Horatia <12> t'embrasse de tout son c œur, et te prie de penser quelquefois à elle. - <13>
Monsieur <14>
Monsieur Henri Talbot. esqr
Poste restante.
Paris.
Notes:
1. You see, my dear Henry, that I am faithful to my promise in writing to you, but I am truly too good, as it was only on the condition that you write to me first; moreover as you understand English better, I shall continue in that language.
2. Henry George Herbert, 2nd Earl of Carnarvon (1772-1833), and Letitia Emily Dorothea Herbert (ca. 1782-1878) , née Allen.
3. Lady Jane Davy, née Kerr, first m. Apreece (1780-1855), socialite.
4. Probably John William Ward, 1st Earl Dudley (d. 1833), and Charles Abbot, Baron Colchester (1757-1829).
5. Rev. George Stephen Molyneux Montgomerie (1790-1850), close friend of Talbot family, artist, Rector of Garboldisham, near Thetford, Norfolk.
6. Paulet St John-Mildmay (1791–1845), and his wife Anna Maria St John-Mildmay (d. 1864).
7. Probably William Bligh and his wife. [See Doc. No: 01040].
8. Text torn away under seal.
9. Willy-nilly.
10. Lady Elisabeth Theresa Feilding, née Fox Strangways, first m Talbot (1773-1846), WHFT's mother.
11. Amélina Petit De Billier, 'Mamie', 'Amandier' (1798-1876), governess and later close friend of the Talbot family [See Amélina's journal].
12. Henrietta Horatia Maria Gaisford, née Feilding (1810-1851), WHFT's half-sister.
13. [Horatia] embraces you with all her heart, and begs you to think of her sometimes.
14. Address panel written in another hand.