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Document number: 6363
Date: Fri 29 Nov 1850
Recipient: TALBOT William Henry Fox
Author: GAISFORD Henrietta Horatia Maria, née Feilding
Collection: British Library, London, Manuscripts - Fox Talbot Collection
Last updated: 11th January 2011

Nice
Friday 29th Novr

My dear Henry

We arrived here on Monday, having performed the journey from Paris in 7 days, which is pretty well for this time of year. – Tuesday to Montbard – Wednesday Châlons <1> – Thursday down the Saône to Lyons – Friday by Rhône to Valence & Saturday by the same boat to Avignon & on to Aix. Sunday to Fréjus, & Monday here, in a perfect torrent of rain, wh continued nearly all Tuesday & again Wednesday night – I hardly recognized Nice in such unusual weather, but it seems they had a particularly dry autumn as was the case in England. Poor Annie <2> was very delighted to see me as you may suppose – She is altered certainly & much thinner, but does not look so bad as I expected after all the illness she has had at Malta. When she left it she was almost in a dying state & was carried on board – but recovered a little as soon as she got to sea, & since her arrival here she has improved very much. I had never seen so much of Porcelli <3> before – he is very clever, & most anxious to turn his talents to account, but it is very difficult for an exile in a foreign country to find any employment – He knows Arabic perfectly, as well as Greek & Turkish wh might one wd think be of some avail – It has been fine today & we hope now to find the road in good order – if no rain comes in the night we mean to be off by 7 o’clock & get to Oneglia if possible. We hear so many people are already gone thro’ to thence that our chance of getting an apartment seems small – Lacroix signed 18 passports in one day for that destination. Here there are a good many English but no one I know. There are such quantities of new houses built, you would hardly know the place again. Pray thank Amandier <4> for her letter the only one I have had from England – I can’t think what Car. <5> can be about – I am very glad dear Matilda is recovered & all tolerably flourishing again.

Love to all – please write to me at Rome

Ever yr affte sister
Horatia

Genoa Monday 2nd

I finished this Satur Friday night & we left it too early Satday to put in the post so it has travelled here in my pocket – I have therefore opened it to tell you of our safe arrival just now – we had no difficulty passing the torrents, but a day or two before it wd have been impossible – especially the Taggia near S. Remo wh was very bad indeed – It is now very fine with a stiff N. breeze wh we hope will continue – tomorrow we sail in the Languedor, a new French steamer, & if the wind is in this quarter may look for a good passage – Adieu please write to Rome

Yr aff sister

Horatia

Genoa looked so beautiful just now coming in – there is great destruction going on at the entrance where the railway is to come – it is nearly finished now from Turin here

Henry Fox Talbot Esqre
Laycock Abbey
Chippenham
Angleterre


Notes:

1. Chalon sur Saône by the route, Châlons is too far to the North.

2. Lord Valletort's niece through his sister, Lady Caroline Sophia Edgcumbe (d. 10 April 1824), who was the first wife of Reginald George Macdonald (d. 1873): in 1848, Annie Sarah (sometimes Sarah Anne) married Alfredo Salvatori Ruggioro Andrea, Baron Porceilli di Sant Andrea, a Sicilian nobleman and revolutionary commander.

3. Annie's husband.

4. Amélina Petit De Billier, ‘Mamie’, ‘Amandier’ (1798–1876), governess and later close friend of the Talbot family [See Amélina's journal].

5. Caroline Augusta Edgcumbe, née Feilding, Lady Mt Edgcumbe (1808–1881); WHFT’s half-sister.

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