[ Captain Basil Hall, RN, Scottish explorer. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('Basil Hall'), praising Florence, describing a view of 'Dom Miguel', and discussing his homesickness.

2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. Thirty-five lines of closely-written text. Addressed by Hall on reverse of second leaf to 'Mrs. Stisted | Villa Broderick | Lucca Baths', with note that the letter is 'For[warde]d By Ch[ristophe]]r. Pearson'. He begins by introducing to Mrs Stisted and her husband 'Col. Stisted' the bearer of the 'note', 'a friend of ours Mr Pearson who is retreating out of the hot weather here, in the hopes of finding coolness at the Baths.' The Halls will be 'glad if you can put him in the way of seeing the , dead & living, of your charming place.' The nights in Florence are 'charmingly cool - at least in our Hotel, the Quatre Nations - which we have all to ourselves. We visited the Palazzo Buonarotti, on the day & hour you directed, & we saw the Paintings - but not the master of the House. His Servant, however, on learning that we came from you was very civil & showed us everything'. He describes their plans for the coming days, and the passage of 'Dom Miguel', of whom nobody caught sight, 'except some fortunate Couriers & a stray Laquais de Place or two - out of employ like Miguel himself, though the true & lawful Sovereign of Portugal'. He ends with praise of the beauty of Florence, 'but, in my case, anything which shortens the chain which I drag with me when from home is a pleasure - so I rejoice to find that we are steering north once more'. A postscript concerns 'Mme Sanprini'. The recipient is presumably Clotilda Elizabeth Stisted (1790-1868), daughter of Bladen Swinney, of Dublin, author of 'Letters from the Bye-Ways of Italy. By Mrs. Stisted. With illustrations, by Col. Stisted' (London: John Murray, 1845). There is however no mention of Hall or Pearson in the book.