Cowes
Wednesday evening Sep^r 23^rd

My dear Henry,

I suppose you are returned to Lacock by this time as you were at Hereford last Friday – I must say you have been most unlucky in the weather! – but the truth is that you did not commence your travels soon enough I wonder whether my last letter ^<1> ever reached you – it was written on Friday last – the very same day that you wrote to me – Probably it has been following you from place to place till it at length catches you on your return home. – How lucky that I met with an obliging gentleman to frank it! else the postage would have amounted to a prodigious sum.– ^<2> I never saw any one so little sparing of his trouble as M^r Poulter. – he has offered my Mother ^<3> & myself as many franks as we please, in return for a sail or two in our vessel or yacht. – Though he did bring certain Sabbath bills before the attention of the House of Commons, he actually enquired last Sunday whether we were not going to write letters!! – Our Ela ^<4> has been a little ailing the last 2 or 3 days, and I much suspect that the fault originated with the Nurse. – However it is a mere trifle – so do not fidget yourself about her – M^r Davids whom I consulted on the occasion, says, it is only surprising that she should have attained the age of five months without having experienced the slightest derangement before – as Babies are ver in general very subject to this sort of thing. – He has prescribed some stuff for her, & promises that she shall be quite herself again in a day or two. – My Mother almost laughed at me for looking concerned about so trifling a thing & tells me that when teething begins I must expect to see pale looks very often. – And now dear Henry when do you propose to fetch me home? – What do you think of Monday the 5^th of October? – I shall have been here seven weeks & 2 days at the expiration of that time which appears to me to be a very reasonable quantity of absence from home. – You understand that the house is taken from Monday to Monday by weeks – therefore it would not be adviseable for you to carry me off on any other day than Monday if it can be avoided – My Mother made a very long face when I proposed taking my departure & my sisters ^<5> all remonstrated – but my reply was that I thought you would prefer letting me pay them another little visit at some future time than stay much longer now – What say you? – I begin to think my widowhood has been already terribly long – & wish you could have been with us all the time – but your dislike to the place was but too good a reason – & it was very kind of you to let me come to get such a stock of strength as I have done. – To be sure the Life we lead here is so different to the way in which I spend my time at Lacock. – Here I grew sleepy & went to bed – Thursday morning – yesterday we sailed to Binstead ^<6> to see a Regatta among the fishing boats of Ryde, Binstead & other places. – All the prizes except one were given by M^r Fleming; & even the losing vessels had ten shillings each. It was a very pretty sight & the weather lasted very tolerably fine during the time we remained there. – but I fear the would rain must have come on before the fishermen got their dinner for which tables were laid al fresco on the beach at the bottom of M^r Fleming’s garden. – We were sorry we could not stay to see the men eat their dinner, but as the clouds were gathering in all directions we hurried back on board our vessel where we had left Marian & reached home without much rain. – Considering how wet it has been we have had a very tolerable number of pleasant expeditions – the weather being so much warmer again is an advantage – only I fear it is the more likely to rain –

I have this moment received your letter from Monmouth – I am not surprised that this very changeable weather has damped your ardour. – the wetness of the ground alone must make the ground it very disagreeable for walking. – How sorry I am that Lady Elisabeth ^<7> should have had such an annoyance about M^rs Gwynne’s ^<8> health – I wish the poor woman were quietly disposed of in some way or other for she is always a plague to them. – We have lost our friends the Coles ^<9> – they went away to our great sorrow last Monday & like M^r & M^rs Traherne ^<10> were to pay the Quins ^<11> a visit en route. – Lady Mary made proposed to my Mother to go over to Chilworth ^<12> while they remained there as the place is very pretty & worth seeing – we are therefore going today if the weather clears a little, but at present nothing can look worse than it does. – Did I tell you of our expedition to Portsmouth to see the Block machinery? – We were rather hurried for time & incommoded by rain but were much pleased with what we did see. – The biscuit manufactory has just begun to work again & we mean to go over & see it – but the weather is really become so treacherous that there is little chance of accomplishing all we want to do during the week that remains of the time for which we have the yacht – & in no other kind of vessel except the Steamer shall we be able to stir in future. – My Father ^<13> is grown a little gouty & uncomfortable & some of the rest are rather delicate since the bad weather came on – but I fear there is no one quite ready to give up sea air & come home with us. – Will you stay a day or two when you come to fetch me? I am sure it would give them all so much pleasure to see you – Ela is very merry this morning & only looks a little paler than usual – she sends you her best love – and has been crumpling my letter up in her little hands, thinking that you must like it the better. – Adieu – It would do me good to embrace you sometimes – for I miss you very much –

ever your affectionate
Constance –

We have not seen the Comet ^<14> – & indeed I do not wish to discover it before you shew it to me –

Our captain is come, so we were are going to take our chance about the weather. –

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Notes:

1. See Doc. No: 03136.

2. When he was an MP, WHFT had franking privileges and was entitled to free postage. Members commonly gave signed covers or envelopes to friends, and apparently Constance located someone like this. At the time, the recipient paid for postage (to ensure that the letter was delivered). This arrangement was withdrawn in January 1840 with the introduction of the Penny Post, which instituted uniform costs and pre-paid stamps.

3. Sarah Leaper Mundy, née Newton (d. 1836), WHFT’s mother in law.

4. Ela Theresa Talbot (1835–1893), WHFT’s 1^st daughter

5. Laura Mundy (1805– 1 September 1842); Emily Mundy (1807– 5 November 1839); Marian Gilder, née Mundy (1806 – 14 October 1860); m. 6 August 1844 William Troward Gilder (d. 1871), Army Surgeon (ret).; WHFT’s sisters-in-law.

6. Coastal village west of Cowes, where there are the ruins of an abbey.

7. Lady Elisabeth Theresa Feilding, née Fox Strangways, first m Talbot (1773–1846), WHFT’s mother.

8. Mrs Gwynne (d. winter 1841/1842), lady’s maid, cook and housekeeper to Elisabeth Feilding.

9. Lady Mary Lucy Cole, née Strangways, first m. Talbot (1776–1855), WHFT’s aunt and Sir Christopher Cole (1770–1836), Captain, MP & naval officer.

10. Rev John Montgomerie Traherne (1788–1860), JP & author and Charlotte Louisa 'Charry' Traherne, née Talbot (1800–1880), WHFT’s cousin.

11. Windham Henry Wyndham-Quin, 2^nd Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl (1782-1850); and his wife, Caroline, née Wyndham (d. 1870).

12. Village north of Southampton.

13. Francis Mundy (1771–1837), politician and father of Constance Talbot.

14. Halley’s Comet. [See Doc. No: 03113].