Mt Edgcumbe <1>
Sunday, March 19th 1837
My dear Henry
Bimbo <2> is going on as well as possible – indeed he does not suffer any pain, & he is only rather too merry & in too great spirits for his situation – for we have some ado to find a sufficient supply of songs & stories to keep him quiet in bed, which is the main point – I am afraid he will have to stay there some days longer, at the end of which time his arm will be bandaged tight with splints & a sling, & he will then be able to get up without displacing it – We long to hear how Constance <3> is – pray write soon & satisfy us on that point – Horatia’s <4> departure was to have taken place last week, but is now postponed to Easter Monday It is delightful to keep her so many days longer – & perhaps by that time the weather will be more favourable for travelling, as everybody foretells a change – Today I suffered more from cold than any day since that bitter weather about Christmas –
Ever Yr affte Sister
Caroline
Notes:
1. Mt Edgecumbe, near Plymouth: seat of the Earl of Mt Edgcumbe.
2. William Henry Edgcumbe, ‘Val’, 4th Earl Mt Edgcumbe (1832–1917), JP & Ld Steward of the Royal Household; WHFT’s nephew ‘Bimbo’. [See Doc. No: 03481].
3. Constance Talbot, née Mundy (1811–1880), WHFT’s wife.
4. Henrietta Horatia Maria Gaisford, née Feilding (1810–1851), WHFT’s half-sister.