4 Athole Crescent
February the 28th
My dear Papa,
Thank you for your letter which I got on my birthday and which I ought to have answered sooner. I have a great many things to tell you, as you say you would like to hear about our parties especially and lately we have had a great many, and have several still in expectation. This week is a very full one indeed, there is something going on every day. On Monday we had our last Opera, which I am sorry for, as we have enjoyed it very much. It was Guillaume Tell, which they got up for a single night, and which went off very well in almost every particular. The house was more crowded than we had ever seen it, and I wonder very much they did not give it sooner. The Opera coming however to a rather abrupt conclusion, excited great disapprobation among the audience and a call was made for Mr Wood, the manager, who presently appeared, looking rather angry, among a storm of cheers and hisses, and assured them that he was only following the usual way of ending, that that it was done so at Paris. – So they were obliged to content themselves with this answer, and go away; but it must have been rather mortifying for Mr Wood, after all the trouble he had gone taken to set it up for a single time. On Tuesday, we went to a very pretty ball given by Mr Lindsay, a very nice old gentleman, who lives alone with his daughter, but who are very fond of society, and extremely pleasant people and have been particularly accueillant to us. Yesterday we went to a large music party at Lady Arbuth [illustration], which we enjoyed very much. There was some very good music, and Signor Neri Baraldi, the tenor of the Opera, sung beautifully. His voice is still prettier in a drawing room than at a distance, and every body was delighted with him. He is very young, and has not yet got affected like his rival Herr Reichardt, and was delighted when Mamie began to talk Italian to him. – Now you think that is enough for one week, don’t you, but I have not got to the end yet, for Mama & my sisters are going to another ball tonight, and tomorrow they are to dine at the Lord Justice General’s, brother of Sir John Mac’Neil. – Tomorrow, in fact, we have been asked to several things; which we must chose [sic] from, as they cannot be combined. – They say Sir J. Mc Neil is very much vexed at all the fuss they make in Parliament about his Crimean report, and the plan of forming another commitee [sic] to enquire into the proceedings of the first – It does seem very fooli[sh] not to leave the question alone now. I think our own party of the 5th will be a nice and, as we shall have a good many people, without being crowd[ed] and our house is more convenient for those sort of things than almost any other we have been to. The three drawing rooms will be thrown open, we shall have refreshments in the diningroo[m] and your room will be for cloaks, and the furniture out of the front drawingro[om.] The weather today is not quite so fine, but lately it has been delightful, quite like April. – Some Christmas roses are still open, however, showing that we are a good deal behind hand here, and I have seen some Daphney Mezerriums in full bloom. Are they in flower at Laycock? I suppose the snowdrops are in their greatest beauty just now. We went to see a beautiful large Nursery garden the other day, and sayw some curious specimens of Ivy, one was variegated. Good bye, dear Papa, Ela hopes you got the letter she wrote you.
Your affte daughter
Matilda
[envelope:]
H. F. Talbot Esqre
Lacock Abbey
Chippenham
Wiltshire