Mount Edgcumbe <1>
Monday March 31st 1845
My dear Henry
I saw Mr Condy <2> yesterday, who came over to talk to me about your letter. - He had no answer from Mr Haydon, <3> whom he supposed was very much occupied just at this moment, in getting ready for the Exhibition - This is always a busy time of year for Artists. He then proposed to accompany you himself, provided you do not want chemical skill in the person you engage - which latter qualification he says Mr Haydon possesses, having already dabbled a good deal in your Art. - He said you would find his terms much less than most artists - perhaps half - As I understood he said they wd be a guinea a day, & his expences paid - & I think on former occasions I have heard him say that he valued his time at the rate of 2Gs a day. I urged him to write & explain himself clearly at once, which he promised to do directly. He only knows of one other Artist, who he thinks wd be much more expensive, & who he intimated you wd not find an agreable [sic] companion - He said that if his plan suited you, he wd give himself up entirely to the undertaking, & devote all his time & energies to it. We think you had better engage him at once, as you might go farther & fare worse - You will find him pleasant & companionable - full of energy & activity; he will get up early & take advantage of the morning's beams; (which you never see any more than me;) as an Artist too I consider him to be possessed of peculiarly good taste; he will chuse good points of view & happy effects of light - which depend upon it is necessary to ensure success in publishing. Ernest <4> thinks his terms very moderate - & that you would get no other Artist to assist you à si peu de frais <5> -
Yrs affly
Caroline
Notes:
1. Mt Edgecumbe, near Plymouth: seat of the Earl of Mt Edgcumbe.
2. Nicholas Condy (1793-1857), artist. (See Doc. No: 05207.)
3. Samuel James Bouverie Haydon (1815-1891), sculptor..
4. Ernest Augustus Edgcumbe, Lord Valletort, 3rd Earl of Mt Edgcumbe (1797-1861), WHFT's brother-in-law.
5. At so little expense.