Speddoch
Dumfries A.B.
April 22 1861
My dear Papa,
I was quite startled by your description of the alarm of fire in your library, for I am afraid you must have been a good deal frightened by it at first, and before you knew the extent of the evil – What a narrow escape from much more serious damage! suppose it had happened at night and no one found it out? it might then have spread ever so far before begin discovered – I suppose your room must be quite in a mess but you do not say whether they were obliged to touch the roof at all, to get the water in or whether any of your books suffered – of course you will have to repaint & paper that part of the room after it is mended – Do you know that Johnnie says he has heard of several houses quite burnt down in that way, by a beam above the chimney-piece taking fire. I remember hearing of one last year – so I suppose that dangerous practise w was frequently followed some years ago in the construction of houses. – We have been having very fine weather here – bright & sunny, rather too bright for the gardeners, who are crying out for rain – The wind is fresh and generally easterly – We have lately introduced several plants of Gentiana Verna into the garden, from a nursery-garden at Edinburgh – I am quite delighted with its beauty, for I think I never saw a more lovely shade of Blue. We have planted two patches on the top of the grass slope in the Kitchen garden, close to the sundial, and they look very happy and flourishing.
When do you think of going back to Edinburgh? for you must be getting curious to see Millburn House<1> I should think – I have not seen it either, as I think it will look more snug when you are all settled in it, and then some day we will come over and stay all day there – Before you move, however, we shall be back in Edinburgh, both on account of the session, which begins again on the 12th May, I think, and also because we have to turn out of Coates Crescent; and settle in our new house in St Colme’s Str which operation is to take place between the 15th & 20th of May.
I wrote to Charles the other day, as soon as I heard he was gone back to Cambridge, but he has not yet answered my letter; I suppose he would be busy on first going back. This part of the world is quite quiet just now, as most of our neighbours are still away, and will not return till the end of the month, or the beginning of next month; so I have only had one visit.
Good bye, dear Papa, Johnnie begs me to send all sorts of messages from him; your affectionate daughter Matilda
You will see that I posted this on the 23d having been too late yesterday –
Notes:
1. Millburn Tower, Gogar, just west of Edinburgh; the Talbot family made it their northern home from June 1861 to November 1863. It is particularly important because WHFT conducted many of his photoglyphic engraving experiments there. The house had a rich history. Built for Sir Robert Liston (1742-1836), an 1805 design by Benjamin Latrobe for a round building was contemplated but in 1806 a small house was built to the design of William Atkinson (1773-1839), best known for Sir Walter Scott’s Abbotsford. The distinctive Gothic exterior was raised in 1815 and an additional extension built in 1821. Liston had been ambassador to the United States and maintained a warm Anglo-American relationship in the years 1796-1800. His wife, the botanist Henrietta Liston, née Marchant (1751-1828) designed a lavish American garden, sadly largely gone by the time the Talbots rented the house .