Nice
Tuesday February 24th 1835
My dear Henry
I am a great deal better now, than when I received your extremely amusing letter, & therefore am mieux disposée <1> to give you the description you wish for of the Col de Tende – but to begin where I left off, I must give you an account of our séjour at Turin – I am sorry to say that the journey from Aix to Nice, is the only part of my travels since I began them sixteen years ago, during which I have not kept a journal – We spent a week at Turin very agreably, to which our friends, i Sardi, partly contributed – alas! Angioj n’on c’era – adesso è colonello d’un reggimento a Alessandria <2> – but Corréas & Sardo did all they could to make the time pass agreably, by procuring boxes from their friends for us at the different theatres, &c. – The first time I saw them was at the Opera, where Mr Boyl <3> arrived first & was soon followed by the others – they were perfectly lost in astonishment at seeing me so much grown, & for a long time nothing was heard but, “ Eh Carolina! quanto è ingrandita! ma non è cambiata niente – l’avrei subito riconosciuta! ma Dio mio quant’è grande! e Orazia? e Miladi? e Amelina? <4>” & they went on expressing their gratitude for former civilities – “ Abbiamo ricevute tante finezze della casa Fielding, noi altri Sardi non possiamo moi scordarcene. <5>” – What sounded rather odd at first, was their calling me Carolina tout court; <6> it rather surprised Ld V <7> but he soon got used to their ways – I spent several mornings copying a very fine Murillo <8> in the Castello in the middle of the Piazza – do you recollect it? it is a very curious building, & the collection a very good one – One lovely evening we rode up to the Superga, where I had not been before, & had a most splendid view – What would interest you most at Turin is the Egyptian Museum, <9> decidedly, I shd think, the finest in the world – unluckily we only contrived to see it en courant, <10> the last morning, while the post horses were waiting – It is extremely well arranged in large & handsome rooms, & the ornaments, small bronze figures, necklaces & vases, were innumerable – I longed for you to explain them all. – That night we slept at Corri & crossed the Col next day – I thought the approach on the north side possessed a great deal of beauty, tho’ I had no recollection of it – the ascent was so slippery the mules cd hardly keep their feet – the day was perfectly clear, & from the summit we cd distinguish the whole range of Alps from Mte Viso to the Grand St Bernard & Simplon including Mt Blanc & Mte Rosa – We slept at Tende the 1st Novr it was bitter cold & not a flower to be seen. Now I hope & expect to be rewarded by another long political letter, if there is any news, if not, the smallest particle of Laycock intelligence will be thankfully received – By-the-bye, Horatia <11> & I are both vexed & indignant at the Penny Club <12> being abolished, after it had been established with so much care, was so well managed, latterly, & was calculated to do so much good. – How cd people be so ill-advised? –
I am afraid I have put off deciding about the little trees till the season is too far advanced; but if you are sure it is not, & equally sure they cannot live where they are, pray transplant them with the utmost care, to any temporary place you like – I think the best wd be near that old wall where there is a sort of Nursery already –
Give my love to Constance, <13> & tell her how much I condole with her at not being able to pay Markeaton <14> a visit – I hope she is prudent & takes care of herself – Tell her also that she has never fulfilled her promise of writing to me – I hope she will – at any rate do you –
Yrs affly
Caroline
Which candidate for the Speakership shd you have voted for?Notes:
1. Better disposed.
2. Angioj was not there –he is now colonel of a regiment in Alessandria.
3. See Doc. No: 03115.
4. And Caroline! How she has grown! but she hasn’t changed at all –I would have recognised her immediately! But my goodness how big she has grown. And Horatia? and My lady? and Amelina? [ie, Henrietta Horatia Maria Gaisford, née Feilding (1810–1851), WHFT’s half-sister; Lady Elisabeth Theresa Feilding, née Fox Strangways, 1st m Talbot (1773–1846), WHFT’s mother; Amélina Petit De Billier, ‘Mamie’, ‘Amandier’ (1798–1876), governess and later close friend of the Talbot family]
5. We have received such kindness from the Feilding household, we Sardi can will never forget it.
6. Simply, merely.
7. Ernest Augustus Edgcumbe, Lord Valletort, 3rd Earl of Mt Edgcumbe (1797–1861), WHFT’s brother-in-law.
8. Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617–1682), painter.
9. Museo Egizio di Turin.
10. In haste.
11. Henrietta Horatia Maria Gaisford, née Feilding (1810–1851), WHFT’s half-sister.
12. See Doc. No: 02455.
13. Constance Talbot, née Mundy (1811–1880), WHFT’s wife.
14. Markeaton Hall, Derbyshire, NW of Derby: home of the Mundy family.