Letter from Frances Mary Blackett du Quaire, London, to Baroness Marie Blaze de Bury, 1853? : autograph manuscript fragment.

Expressing her anxiety that Madame Blaze de Bury will be delayed in her plans to visit her; writing to her concerning her friend Mr. Sevin(?) who will be in Paris and and to whom she has given a line of introduction to Madame Blaze de Bury; saying that she has written to Haberbier to fix an afternoon to play for her and for some people she wants to hear him and remarking on the general advanatge of hearing music played in the morning; recommending that she read volumes 3 and 4 of "Moore's Life", and relating an anecdote from the book; stating that she should visit London "if only to hear Guillaume Tell" and that she goes to an "atelier in Bond St." where she "spends the best part of the day daubing" and comes home "dead & fit for nothing but to be on the sofa & read idiotic novels", adding that this way of life renders her dull "but I like it"; observing that "Nobody talks of anything but the Budget - & - the case of Kossuth - as regards the former Dizzy threatens the house with a speech wh. is to last 5 hours" and that Gladstone suffers from "Housemaid's knee" ("Housemaids get it from scrubbing stone floors - Gladstone has contracted it from the practice of too much praying!"); relating an anecdote concerning Madame de Contades and Mme. Eugenie, mentioning friends and acquaintances and asking if she has seen [Eugene] Vivier, adding "I want your impression of his talent and of himself. Make him blow some bubbles for you - that is his speciàlité & there he is quite unrivalled."