Osborne
Friday March 17th 1854
My dear Henry
It is an age since I have heard from Greta Bank, <1> & indeed since I wrote to you - though I sent a letter to Amandier <2> not very long ago. - I think I told her that my Waiting, which should have taken place on the 14th of Feby, was put off on account of Lord Mt E's <3> illness - He had a very severe attack of Rheumatism, which reduced him extremely; & as I was prevented going for some days, it was settled that I should exchange with Lady Ely, & begin on the 14th inst. I accordingly left Torquay on Monday last, sleeping at Reading - & got here the next day. At Southampton I fell in with Ld Clarendon, <4> Mr Bunsen & Genl Count Groeben, <5> on their way to Osborne. <6> The latter was Bearer of a letter from the K. of Prussia <7> to the Queen; <8> which letter, it has since oozed out, is very stupid, saying very little to the purpose. During the hour's trajet in the Fairy, I talked nearly all the time to Bunsen - who spoke out very decidedly in the right sense. They say he is at his wit's end with the vacillations & hesitations of his Sovereign. He evidently thinks the Emperor is a little cracked, & seems convinced he will not give in.<9>
Poor Ld C. deplored the necessity which obliged him to escort Ct Gröben to Osborne - & wd not accept my congratulations upon his momentary escape from official duties, & the whiffs of sea air he was enjoying. He said I did not know what an additional amount of labour the one day's respite wd entail upon him - & that his usual daily work was on the average 15 hours a day! No wonder his face is absolutely colourless - though he is always agreeable & in good spirits.
I just missed seeing the fleet<10> by two days - But Val was very lucky. He went down to Portsmouth & staid with Captn Key <11> in his ship the Amphion & saw the departure of the whole Fleet to perfection. It must have been a grand sight! My loss was partly made up for yesterday. The Queen went out in the Fairy, as early as ten o'clock, (gran mi! I was quite ready -) & steamed to Spithead. It rained & blew hard in the early part of the morning but cleared off afterwds & when we reached Spithead the Sun came out.
The Cæsar 91, Prince Regent 90, Blenheim 70, & Cruiser Brig were lying there, & the Neptune 120, Adl Corry, & our old Friend the Bulldog, were quite ready to start. They fired a salute as the Queen approached, manned the rigging & gave three cheers - then instantly let fall the huge sails & began moving majestically through the blue water. In another moment all the sails, with the exception of two were set - & on a signal from the Fairy, the Sternsails also were hoisted. It is impossible to imagine a more glorious sight - or one which produces more mingled feelings of emotion; or can it ever be possible to see a large Man of War under sail, in such a complete & perfect manner - Because the Fairy kept close alongside of her for a considerable way out, regulating her speed exactly according to the Neptune's. The Band of the Neptune played God save the Queen, Hearts of Oak, Auld lang syne, The Girls we'eve [sic] left behind us, & all the most appropriate airs - The crew again manned the Rigging & cheered, & I could distinctly see Admiral Corry <12> with his white hair, waving his cocked hat - The Fairy then made a signal of Farewell & bore away back towds Spithead, & the Neptune & Bulldog "sped gloriously on" till they appeared like two specks on the horizon.
I send you a yellow Jessamine growing on the wall here - I am not sure if it is quite the same as our's [sic] - it looks larger & brighter, & is named Jasminum pubigerman[?] - Also another very pretty yellow thing - Forsythia viridissima - You ought to go & see Pince's & Veitch's <13> Gardens just now. I intend going on my way home; & I hear that since my departure, Flora, Charlie, Johnny & Kate Nicholl <14> with some others have made an excursion to Exeter, solely to see Pince's display of Camellia's; wh is described as wonderfully beautiful. - We go to London today - & Jane <15> has kindly offered me a pied a'terre <16> in her house in Belgrave Sqre where Carry de Bonneval & Louisa <17> are also housed. Shall I see you there? Pray let me hear soon what are your movements. My waiting in a fortnight - & two or three days over for the Drawingroom. This is an unconscionably long letter - but I have not yet done; as I promised to reproach you from Aunt Mary, <18> for not having answered a particularly long letter (for her,) which she wrote you some time ago - to wh you only replied a few lines with the promise of a future letter - & she still expecting the said letter. Aunt Mary paid us such a nice visit of a week & was so very dear & charming! I really must end - Pray communicate to Constance & A <19> - what may interest them as I so seldom write.
Yr affte Sister
Caroline
[envelope:]
Henry Fox Talbot Esqre
Greta Bank
Keswick
Cumberland
[flap dry embossed 'Osborne']
Notes:
1. Greta Bank, Cumberland, near Keswick.
2. Amélina Petit De Billier, 'Mamie', 'Amandier' (1798-1876), governess and later close friend of the Talbot family [See Amélina's journal].
3. Ernest Augustus Edgcumbe, 3rd Earl of Mt Edgcumbe (1797-1861), WHFT's brother-in-law.
4. George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon (1800-1870), statesman.
5. Chevalier Christian Karl Josias Bunsen (1761-1860), German diplomat and scholar; Prussian Ambassador in London from 1841-1854; created Freiherr von Bunsen in 1857; Graf Karl von der Groeben (1788-1876), Prussian general.
6. Osborne House, Isle of Wight. Purchased in 1845 by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a retreat from court life.
7. Frederick William IV (1795-1861), King of Prussia.
8. Victoria (1819-1901), Queen of the United Kingdom (1837-1901), Empress of India (1876-1901).
9. Most likely Nicholas I (1796-1855), Emperor of Russia.
10. The Baltic Fleet, under Commander Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Napier, was departing to take part in the Crimean War.
11. William Henry Edgcumbe, Lord Valletort,'Val', 4th Earl Mt Edgcumbe (1832-1917), JP & Ld Steward of the Royal Household; WHFT's nephew 'Bimbo'; Sir Astley Cooper Key (1821-1888), admiral; commanded the Bulldog steamer in the Mediterranean, 1847-1850.
12. Rear Admiral Arthur Lowry Corry, Deputy Commander of the fleet, in his flagship, the 120 gun sailing ship of the line, Neptune.
13. James Veitch, jnr (1815-1869), nurseryman & botanist.
14. Flora Porcelli, Charles Earnest Edgcumbe (1838-1915), JP, WHFT's nephew, John Cole Nicholl (b. 1832), and Kate Nicholl.
15. Jane Harriot Nicholl, née Talbot (1796-1874).
16. Lodging.
17. Louisa Howard, née Fitzmaurice (d. 1906), daughter of Lady Louisa Emma Fitzmaurice. For Carry de Bonneval see Doc. No: 06534.
18. Lady Mary Lucy Cole, née Strangways, first m. Talbot (1776-1855), WHFT's aunt.
19. Constance Talbot, née Mundy (1811-1880), WHFT's wife, and Amélina Petit De Billier, 'Mamie', 'Amandier' (1798-1876), governess and later close friend of the Talbot family [See Amélina's journal].