Penrice Castle <1>
May 24
My dear Henry
I hope you do not think that I do not feel your kindness to me in sending me that book of Songs, <2> from my not having written before to thank you for them & to tell you how very much pleased I was to be remembered so kindly by you, for I own that I valued your good opinion my dear Henry more than any of my other cousins & would not do any thing to forfeit it for the world, may I hope I have it? “Truth is truth” as Farmer Price says & fittest to be spoken at all times” <3> therefore I will tell you that I had absolutely no reason to defer writing longer than the day after Kit’s <4> birthday, but pure idleness & a sad habit of procrastination which I am doing my best to break through – Sir C. <5> Captain Lyons, a very agreeable pleasant man who has been staying here for a fortnight set out on Saturday morning at 4 o’clock in the Giulia <6> for Bristol, unfortunately both wind & tide were against them & they made so little way that the 2 gentlemen began to be impatient & were afraid they should be out all night, but when the tide turned the wind shifted also & they proceeded at a great rate but the gentlemen were so very impatient & so afraid of not getting to Bristol that night that they obliged Kit to tack right about & go back to meet the Steam packet which they did near Dunraven & Capt Lyons & Sir Christopher got on board of her & Kit came home & arrived in Oxwich Bay about 12 o’clock at Night, he said he knew well enough that he should have got into Bristol in about 4 hours & the Steam Boat is so ill managed I dare say she was not in till one in the morning – Kit met with no accidents, he Struck upon the Tusca [sic] Rock off the mouth of the Ogmore but happily the Huffy got no injury. NB. the Huffy is Sir C.’s name for the Giulia & we call her by that name oftener than her own. There were fine doings after Kits birthday – Lord & Lady Adare & Uncle Harry, <7> Mr Darke & Captain Lyons & Anna Maria Quin <8> were the people who were staying here – The first thing done was the whole party going up to the Manse as it was the anniversary & the examinations took place which went off very well & then the Children’s dinner after which we all adjourned to the Farm where in 2 Barns were about 350 Tenants assembled at dinner, & after dinner was over Kit & Mama <9> & Sir Christopher proceeded to the head of the Table where Kit made a short speech & drank their health & Sir C. the same [illegible] they gave three cheers & then Sir C. & Kit [illegible] & did the same in the other barn & then we ladies drank his health out of a brown pitcher because all the mugs were occupied – There were a great many at dinner at Penrice in the evening [Sir?] could not invite some of our neighbours without inviting all for fear of offending, there were at dinner Mama, Lady Adare, Mrs Edwards, Mrs Lucas Mrs Davies Jane, Mary <10> & I – Wyndham, Uncle Harry, Capt Lyons Mr Davies, Mr Edwards, Mr Cottam, Mr Darke, Captain Penrice old Mr Lucas Mr John Lucas Mr Henry Lucas Mr Nicholl <11> Kit & Sir Christopher – a jolly party I think & noisy enough it was – We had fireworks in the evening I am happy to say none of the gentlemen got tipsy which was what I dreaded, they were very merry but nothing more – the whole affair passed off uncommonly well, Kit was extremely nervous as might have been expected. He had had the way into the Farm Yard blocked up so that nobody could get in which contributed much to the order & regularity of the whole for there were hundreds of people on the outside – the day passed off uncommonly well at Margam <12> too they had 2 fiddles & a Harp & danced upon the green after dinner –
A great many of your seeds are coming up, the Vicia grassilis [sic] is very tall. There is a Lavatera come up & a cytisoides of which I cannot send the first name, & a great many others – Another of Janes Orchises is come to blow it is very different from the other & I am in hopes it is the Tenthredinifera do I spell it right? Jane returned to London about ten days ago – Sir C. will be coming down again the first week in June, because Parliament will be prorogued on the 15th at least so the papers say – I am happy to tell you that the Unitarians marriage Bill <13> has been thrown out of the House of Lords, though I do not know if you are as staunch a Churchman as I am Jane & I had a quarrel though not a very violent one just before she went about it, I find she is not an Anticatholic or Anti anything of that kind, & I think she has learnt those newfangled ways since she married, if so, so much for matrimony say I. I am afraid I shall tire you with this long epistle especially as I perceive I have lengthened it out with what may not be in the least interesting to you, at least not so interesting as it is to me, for I seldom read any thing else in the newspaper unless it may be a sailing or rowing match apropos of rowing matches, six gentlemen mostly officers in the Guards undertook to row from Oxford to London in sixteen hours which they performed, with 11 minutes to spare, the match was for 1000 sovereigns – Johnny <14> was looking beautiful when he went from here, he knows me & will come to me sooner than to either of his other Aunts, of which you may be sure I am not a little proud. The sea in the Channel has for the last week been the deepest Blue I have seen it for many months & the sky without scarce [sic] a cloud, consequently it is so hot we can scarcely walk riding is out of the question – Charry <15> I am truly happy to say continues improving though very slowly, if she does but get well & Mama’s health suffers no change for the worse, who will be so happy as with your love & good opinion my dear Henry
your truly affectionate cousin
Isabella C Talbot
W. H. F. Talbot Esqre
Poste Restante
Venezia
Italie
M[illegible]o
München <17>
Notes:
1. Penrice Castle and Penrice House, Gower, Glamorgan, 10 mi SW of Swansea: home of Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot.
2. See Doc. No: 01538.
3. No opening inverted commas.
4. Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot (1803–1890), immensely wealthy landowner, mathematician & politician; WHFT’s Welsh cousin.
5. Sir Christopher Cole (1770–1836), Captain, MP & naval officer.
6. Christopher Talbot’s yacht.
7. Windham Henry Wyndham-Quin, 2nd Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl (1782-1850) and his wife, Caroline Wyndham (d. 26 May 1870); and Henry Stephen Fox Strangways, 3rd Earl of Ilchester (1787–1858).
8. Probably the daughter of the 2nd Earl Dunraven.
9. Lady Mary Lucy Cole, née Strangways, first m. Talbot (1776–1855), WHFT’s aunt.
10. Jane Harriot Nicholl, née Talbot (1796–1874), and Mary Thereza Talbot (1795–1861), WHFT’s cousin.
11. Dr John Nicholl (1797–1853), MP.
12. Margam Park, Glamorgan: home of Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot.
13. The bill (introduced by Henry Petty Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (1780–1863), MP, WHFT’s uncle) would enable Unitarians (a heresy originated in the 4th century) to be married in their own places of worship.
14. Probably John Cole Nicholl (b. 1823), son of Jane Harriet Nicholl.
15. Charlotte Louisa 'Charry' Traherne, née Talbot (1800–1880), WHFT’s cousin.
16. Caroline Augusta Edgcumbe, née Feilding, Lady Mt Edgcumbe (1808–1881); WHFT’s half-sister, and Henrietta Horatia Maria Gaisford, née Feilding (1810–1851), WHFT’s half-sister.
17. Written in another hand.