29 Royal Crescent Bath
Sunday Decr 7th 1851
My dear Henry
Have you heard from Mr Gaisford <1> since he left London? He promised to write, either to you or me – & it is an anxious moment – though the latest news stated that everything was tranquil. There appears however to have been a good deal of fighting on Thursday – & most likely the true number of killed has not been stated.<2>
I had a successful trip to Oxford, & saw dear little Horace, <3> who is grown quite large & strong, & is very pretty – with large blue eyes – He seldom cries, but is almost always smiling & good humoured – & is really a beautiful Babe. Val <4> took me to see his rooms, & afterwds lunched with me at the Deanery, The Dean was exceedingly gracious, & Shewed me the Library & Uncle William’s pictures himself.<5> We expect Val for the Vacation on Tuesday or Wednesday – When do you come home?
Yr affte Sister
Caroline
Notes:
1. Capt Thomas Gaisford (1816–1898), JP, WHFT’s brother-in-law.
2. On 2 December 1851, a coup d'état was mounted by Prince Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, the nephew of Napoléon Bonaparte. This ended the Second Republic and dissolved the French National Assembly. In re-establishing the French Empire the next year, the Prince reclaimed his uncle's throne as Emperor of the French, becoming Napoléon III. He restored universal suffrage, which had been abolished by the Assembly, and handily won the public's support. Although the opposition was quickly suppressed and life returned to normal, hundreds were killed and more than 25,000 moderates and liberals were arrested.
3. Lt Horace Charles Gaisford (1851–1879), WHFT’s nephew.
4. William Henry Edgcumbe, ‘Val’, 4th Earl Mt Edgcumbe (1832–1917), JP & Ld Steward of the Royal Household; WHFT’s nephew ‘Bimbo’.
5. William Thomas Horner Fox Strangways, 4th Earl of Ilchester (1795–1865), botanist, art collector & diplomat. Between 1828 and 1834, he donated 37 early Italian paintings to Christ Church College, his alma mater. They form a significant part of the Church Picture Gallery today. He subsequently donated a similar number of paintings to the Ashmolean.