[fragment?]
Laycock Abbey
24th March
My dear Henry
You must let us Know the day & hour you mean to arrive & whether you put pied à terre <1> at Melksam or Chippenham <2> that we may send the carriage to meet you, as we have now our horses. Mr M. <3> rode over yesterday, very good naturedly to tell us the result of the Division, which he had picked up dans les alentours, <4> but I had not quite faith in it till I opened your letter this morning. He told me that Mr Neild <5> came down a week ago to canvass Chippenham, & that as he subscribed to all the Charities there & bought much in the Inn, he thought nobody would have much chance against him. This is very unlike the opinion he gave the last time he was here, so that I see he is too vacillating to be of much use to you, tho' I t seems he likes you & would be glad to have you in Part He improviséd a most excellent mob speech for you to make to the County & said he thought you could easily turn out Sir Astley <6> who is so unpopular & then said in the same breath he thought Scrope <7> would certainly be the 4th Member. It is calculated a County Member (for Wilts) cannot get in for a less expence in future than £3000, instead of 20 or 30 thousand which it used to be. Mr Heneage <8> has been busy canvassing at Calne <9> for the last 3 weeks which I never heard till to day. He must guard in consequence with Lord L <10> - who was by way of being his great friend. We have heard of nobody yet for Marlbourgh except Sir Alexander Malet <11> who being an Antireformist has no chance. Mr F. <12> desires me to tell you he will meet you there any day you will appoint, or go there with you after wards, he got acquainted you know the other day with that Mr Gosling <13> the banker there. Horatia <14> had a fall from her horse the day before yesterday, she got up & laughed, but has been very stiff ever since. She is much better to day. We are unlucky in horses, this was Camilla who must now be put
Notes:
1. Literally, put your feet on the ground.
2. Melksham, Wiltshire: market town near Lacock, 2 miles S, and Chippenham, Wiltshire: largest town near Lacock, 3 miles N.
3. Probably Rev George Stephen Molyneux Montgomerie (1790-1850), close friend of Talbot family, artist, Rector of Garboldisham, near Thetford, Norfolk.
4. In the neighbourhood.
5. A misspelling of Joseph Neeld (1789-1856), MP & botanist.
6. Sir John Dugdale Astley (1778-1842), a Reformer, sat for Wiltshire N. from 1820-1835.
7. George Julius Duncombe Poulett Scrope (1797-1876), MP & scientist.
8. Probably George Walker Heneage. [See Doc. No: 04088].
9. Calne, Wiltshire, 5 mi NE of Lacock.
10. Probably Henry Petty Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (1780-1863), MP, WHFT's uncle.
11. Sir Alexander Malet (1800-1886), politician.
12. Rear Admiral Charles Feilding (1780-1837), Royal Navy; WHFT's step-father.
13. Of the firm Messrs Gosling & Co, bankers.
14. Henrietta Horatia Maria Gaisford, née Feilding (1810-1851), WHFT's half-sister.