Autograph letter signed : Paris, to George Goodin Moulton-Barrett, 1852 February 4.

Thanking George for his letter and describing their situation at present: "I daresay you fancy us in the middle of noise & bustle, as indeed we are--but our little nest hangs at the far-end of a twig in this wind-shaken tree of Paris, and the chirpings inside are louder to our ears than the bluster without"; writing of EBB's health; discussing the coup d'etat in France, and RB and EBB's different opinions on it: "Is it not strange that Ba cannot take your view, not to say mine & most people's, of the President's proceedings? I cannot understand it--we differ in our appreciation of facts, too--things that admit of proof"; explaining exactly where they differ, using an extended analogy of a clock and a clock repairman; discussing how they are getting their news and how it affects what they can understand of the situation; writing of Charles Montalembert's upcoming speech at the Académie française and how its reception will reflect political currents; asking to be remembered to Arabella and the Moulton-Barrett brothers.