Bakkehussamlingen

London Bolton Gardens Russellsquare
January 1860

My dear Madame Jerichau
            We were delighted by the receipt of your […?as] letter, which contained the agreeable news of Mons.^r Jerichau’s restoration to health, & of his being able to resume with spirit the studies of his art & his other ordinary occupation of action life. We congratulate heartily himself & you upon this happy return to health; and that it has pleased the Almighty to relieve you from this trial. I called on Sir Cha^s. & Lady Eastlake & they also were much gratified by the perusal of y^r. letter; & she promised at once to write to you, which I presume she did, for she is of an active & energetic mind. We also participated with you in your maternal delight of being surrounded by your family group of healthy lovely children, & one // feels impressed with the conviction, that He, who has so abundantly blessed you, will always guard & protect you; & if he tries you for a season, it is that you may realice his tender care, & feel how dear you & yours are to Him, whom you adore & love as your Creator & Redeemer.
We shall now be looking forward to your visit to England. Recollect, that you are to come direct to Bolton Garden, where we shall hope to keep you for some days, till you have found a place suited to your purpose. I passed your old residence at Brompton yesterday & I could not but recall you to mind, & think of you and yours. I told you of M^me. Donaldson’s & my trip to Milan & Venice. Now she wants to see Rome & Naples & Florence, and thus complete the chain of associations of the Italian principal Cities. When that may happen I know not; for such // journeys are costly; but it is always in our thought. Affairs too in that quarter are not very reassuring. The Pope is tiltering on his throne. The pamphlet of “le Pape et le Congrès” has produced as great an compression here as elsewhere; as also the letter of Napoleon III to his “Somtit à”. Heaven only knows what will be the result of this imbroglio; but as Protestants, & particularly after his [i…?dent] conduct to England, we can bear no love to the Popedom, & would see its downfall with pleasure for the sake of true Religion & the propagation the real gospel throughout the world, not the wicked & superstitious perversion of it by Roman Catholicism.
M^r. Newton our English Consul must be now at Rome. I wrote to him the other day to remind him of Mons.^r Jerichau’s collection of marbles, urging him to see them, & report to M^r Hawkins. Sir C Eastlake thinks the price very moderate, if they be of the clap of art indicated. //
            We were very sorry to hear of the loss of yr. Royal Palace, which contained so many [cho..e?] works of art: pray were there any of the sculptures of Thorwaldsen lost by the fire? I sent you the other day a copy of a periodical published here “the Illustrated News of the World“ containing 2 views of the Palace, taken I presume from work published in Denmark; but I thought you would like to see it. I also alloved the Editor of our Builder M^r Godwin, whom you know, to copy & publish in his paper the paragraph in y^r. letter, in which you allude to y^r. loss.
Since you were here the Museum at S. Kensington has had vast acquisitions; & recently the Turner Collection; so that there is a very fine illustration of the British School. But there is one great want, & that is of grand epic historical works. xxx consist of tableaux de genre, Landscapes & the like; but no historical pictures of note! How then can a school maintain itself? I must now conclude, & convey to you the assurances of deep regard from M^m. Donaldson[,] my son & myself, to M^r Jerichau & yourself. Little Mariette is much grown & as pretty as ever. Your portrait of our pet is the admiration of all. Adieu, adieu, & believe me, my dear Madame,
            Y.^r.. very faithful servant & friend
                        Tho^s: L: Donaldson