Diplomatic Text
[1]
▼
X 12
25 Feby- 1786 -- I mounted my horse at ½ past
one and called upon Robert Robert Hamilton[2] at Kensington -- it was
with some difficulty the young gentleman could be
prevailed upon to come to me -- as he was /School-
-boy like/ -- very dirty -- he looks very well, wch.
at his Age is very desireable -- I went on to
Chelsea -- to call on Mr. Antrobus & Thomas and to see
what was going on there -- Ld. C. has taken down the
room with the painted Glaʃs and is going to build
a library 30 feet long, and another room where
the green house was, with Rooms over them for
the Accommodation of Thomas and his worthy Tutor,
I call'd on Mr. Lawton who desired me to make
many very pretty speeches for him to you --
at ½ past 3 oclock I galloped home, dreʃsed and went
to Stanhope Street -- Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Iremong
-er were there -- I shd. have known the latter from
yr- description -- She did not vouchsafe to honor
with one word -- but I cd. see her Eyes a little
inclined to my side of the Room very frequently --
½ past 4 Ld. C began to be impatient & a little on the
pet[3] as Lady L——n did not appear, and dinner
had been ready half and hour & my good Lords
appetite was very keen -- I cannot say that
had any objection to his Solicitude on that
Acct. as I felt the same Inclinations -- in
consequence of my Gallop -- at length the
Lady made her appearance -- and a curious one
it was -- she was dreʃsed in une Chemise de la
Reine[4] -- which is the most unbecoming dreʃs
I ever saw -- After dinner we were amazed
by looking at 40 miniatures of Lad[y] L——s -- She
has done 330 -- Lady L. & Mrs. I & Mrs. Carter
left us early -- Ld. C. went also to a whist party
Lady C. was going to a Ball -- I did not stay
long -- dear sweet little Julia came in & wrote her
name & sent her Love to you -- She is every
thing one cd. wish in a Child of her Age, and in
spite of her teeth will be very pretty -- there is
something Angelick in her Manner -- she is all
gentleneʃs & Innocence -- I came directly home --
26 -- I breakfasted with our Sister, at eleven
called on Mrs. Vesey & good Martha & took leave of
them -- then I took leave of Mrs. Walkinshaw
and went to Lady Warwicks -- Mr. Greville recd.
me in a friendly manner -- his Room smoked &
we went down to Gl. Clarkes Room -- there was an
odd looking man with him, whose Eyes looked
different ways & gave him a ridiculous appearance
we heard several of the G——s stories and then went
up stairs again -- Mr. G. shewed me his plan ofin
Collecting & his models in wood of Angles octagons
&c wh. is the only ground work to form a true
judgement of Minerals -- I was very much
entertained as he understands the Subject so
perfectly -- we went thrō his Chrystals and then
&Sir Abraham Hume & two Ladies, (one a Collector)
came in, & who wished to see his ores -- by this
means I saw more than I otherwise sd. have
done as I cd. not have given him so much trou-
ble -- his Cabinets are curious & well contrived --
He laughs at the Portland Collection, & says there
is not a single Specimen that he wd. purchase --
I was obliged to tear myself away as Dear Mrs. Delany
dines early -- Mr. G. gave me his hand, & said he should
be very happy to see me again, & sd. take great
pleasure in shewing me his Collection -- I call'd for
5 Minutes at Mrs. Ord's -- who has been ill -- but is recov
ered -- She & Miʃs O—— desired their Love to you -- Mrs
O—— shook me by the hand -- said she was very much
obliged to me for calling upon her & wished me a
good journey -- she told me that Mr. SmetSmelt is coming
to London -- I found Mrs. Delany very well -- thō
She had been tormented with a great deal of Company
I spoke to her abt. the Letter in wch. you wrote Mr. Glovers
Character -- She said she had not received it -- Mrs. Dewes
came in at that instant wch. prevented my saying
any more on yt- subject -- She spoke of the short visit
I made her on friday -- I said I left her with great
Reluctance, & shd. not have gone so soon if Lady Wey-
mouth had not been there -- She said -- She concluded
at the time that my usual discernment prompted
me to suppose that Lady W. wished to have some
private Conversation with her -- Mrs. D—— told me
that she had been at the Queens House on friday --
She went at 11 and stayed till 2 -- The King saw her
in the drawing Room & the Q. led her by the hand into
her own apartment -- the Q. asked where you was
Mrs. D—— told her (what she knew before) that you was with
your friend Lady W. & mentioned the occasion of your
visit -- & said “Mrs. D——'s Father[5] proposed it to Mrs. D—— the
Q. said “Mrs. D—— never forgets her freinds and always
acts properly” -- Mrs D—— said -- “I shall stand up for my
freind Mr. D -- he makes an excellent Husband &
I think him deserving of Mrs. D——” That my
Conduct shd. be approved of by Mrs Delany, is not
only very flattering & a great honor to yr- Dickenson
but it adds to the great happineʃs he enjoys in
being your husband -- Mrs. Dewes Mrs. Port two Mrs.
Sandfords dined there -- after dinner, to my great Con-
fusion Mrs. Delany asked Miʃs P. if she had had a L——
from you giving an Acct. of Mr. Glover -- I took no Notice
Miʃs P. said. Yes -- but She did not know when it
was -- Mrs. D—— took an affte- leave of me, and said
another year before she shd. see you -- I took
leave of Lady Herries -- she had not been well in
the afternoon but was better -- and said many
kind things of you -- Sir Robt. desired me to
tell you that he would come to Buxton in
the summer to finish the game of Cheʃs --
27 -- I took leave of my good friends last night
and got up at 6 this morning to return to
the faithful arms of the best of Wifes -- at
7 it snowed so fast that I thought it wd/
be Madneʃs to venture to set out -- the
day continues as bad as poʃsible and when
I shall now have the happineʃs of seeing you
my dear Mary, I cannot tell -- I shall not
delay a moment as I long to see you and to
tell you how sincerely you are beloved by
John Dickenson
I forgot to mention abt. the Dog -- it is
probable I shall not shoot next year, as I
am become very indifferent abt. it -- therefore
Sir Wm. had better dispose of it --
Adieu Adieu
the bell rings --
Who is Mr Grenville the mineralogist?
-- Lord C——
? Cremorne?
red text is normalised and/or unformatted in other panel)
Notes
1. Originally catalogued as part of a single letter HAM/1/2/8. The shelfmark and image therefore differ from the ELGAR catalogue and from the University of Manchester LUNA catalogue.
2. Moved annotation here from the top of the sheet. The intended insertion point is indicated by paired crosses.
3. ‘offence at being or feeling slighted; a fit of peevishness or ill humour from this cause’ (OED s.v. pet n. 3. Accessed 04-10-2020).
4. A popular garment in the 1780s, based on the looser, less structured style of dress favoured by Marie Antoinette, hence ‘la Reine’. Although Marie Antoinette's adoption of this style of dress caused controversy, it became popular both in France and abroad, and was made fashionable in England by society figures such as the Duchess of Devonshire.
5. The text does appear to read ‘Mrs. D——'s Father’, i.e. father-in-law.
Normalised Text
▼
25 February 1786 -- I mounted my horse at ½ past
one and called upon Robert at Kensington -- it was
with some difficulty the young gentleman could be
prevailed upon to come to me -- as he was /Schoolboy
like/ -- very dirty -- he looks very well, which
at his Age is very desirable -- I went on to
Chelsea -- to call on Mr. Antrobus & Thomas and to see
what was going on there -- Lord Cremorne has taken down the
room with the painted Glass and is going to build
a library 30 feet long, and another room where
the green house was, with Rooms over them for
the Accommodation of Thomas and his worthy Tutor,
I called on Mr. Lawton who desired me to make
many very pretty speeches for him to you --
at ½ past 3 o'clock I galloped home, dressed and went
to Stanhope Street -- Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Iremonger
were there -- I should have known the latter from
your description -- She did not vouchsafe to honour
with one word -- but I could see her Eyes a little
inclined to my side of the Room very frequently --
½ past 4 Lord Cremorne began to be impatient & a little on the
pet as Lady Lucan did not appear, and dinner
had been ready half and hour & my good Lords
appetite was very keen -- I cannot say that
had any objection to his Solicitude on that
Account as I felt the same Inclinations -- in
consequence of my Gallop -- at length the
Lady made her appearance -- and a curious one
it was -- she was dressed in une Chemise de la
Reine -- which is the most unbecoming dress
I ever saw -- After dinner we were amazed
by looking at 40 miniatures of Lady Lucans -- She
has done 330 -- Lady Lucan & Mrs. Iremonger & Mrs. Carter
left us early -- Lord Cremorne went also to a whist party
Lady Cremorne was going to a Ball -- I did not stay
long -- dear sweet little Julia came in & wrote her
name & sent her Love to you -- She is every
thing one could wish in a Child of her Age, and in
spite of her teeth will be very pretty -- there is
something angelic in her Manner -- she is all
gentleness & Innocence -- I came directly home --
26 -- I breakfasted with our Sister, at eleven
called on Mrs. Vesey & good Martha & took leave of
them -- then I took leave of Mrs. Walkinshaw
and went to Lady Warwicks -- Mr. Greville received
me in a friendly manner -- his Room smoked &
we went down to General Clarkes Room -- there was an
odd looking man with him, whose Eyes looked
different ways & gave him a ridiculous appearance
we heard several of the Generals stories and then went
up stairs again -- Mr. Greville showed me his plan in
Collecting & his models in wood of Angles octagons
&c which is the only ground work to form a true
judgement of Minerals -- I was very much
entertained as he understands the Subject so
perfectly -- we went through his Crystals and then
Sir Abraham Hume & two Ladies, (one a Collector)
came in, who wished to see his ores -- by this
means I saw more than I otherwise should have
done as I could not have given him so much trouble
-- his Cabinets are curious & well contrived --
He laughs at the Portland Collection, & says there
is not a single Specimen that he would purchase --
I was obliged to tear myself away as Dear Mrs. Delany
dines early -- Mr. Greville gave me his hand, & said he should
be very happy to see me again, & should take great
pleasure in showing me his Collection -- I called for
5 Minutes at Mrs. Ord's -- who has been ill -- but is recovered
-- She & Miss Ord desired their Love to you -- Mrs
Ord shook me by the hand -- said she was very much
obliged to me for calling upon her & wished me a
good journey -- she told me that Mr. Smet is coming
to London -- I found Mrs. Delany very well -- though
She had been tormented with a great deal of Company
I spoke to her about the Letter in which you wrote Mr. Glovers
Character -- She said she had not received it -- Mrs. Dewes
came in at that instant which prevented my saying
any more on that subject -- She spoke of the short visit
I made her on friday -- I said I left her with great
Reluctance, & should not have gone so soon if Lady Weymouth
had not been there -- She said -- She concluded
at the time that my usual discernment prompted
me to suppose that Lady Weymouth wished to have some
private Conversation with her -- Mrs. Delany told me
that she had been at the Queens House on friday --
She went at 11 and stayed till 2 -- The King saw her
in the drawing Room & the Queen led her by the hand into
her own apartment -- the Queen asked where you was
Mrs. Delany told her (what she knew before) that you was with
your friend Lady Wake & mentioned the occasion of your
visit -- & said “Mrs. Dickenson's Father proposed it to Mrs. Dickenson the
Queen said “Mrs. Dickenson never forgets her friends and always
acts properly” -- Mrs Delany said -- “I shall stand up for my
friend Mr. Dickenson -- he makes an excellent Husband &
I think him deserving of Mrs. Dickenson” That my
Conduct should be approved of by Mrs Delany, is not
only very flattering & a great honour to your Dickenson
but it adds to the great happiness he enjoys in
being your husband -- Mrs. Dewes Mrs. Port two Mrs.
Sandfords dined there -- after dinner, to my great Confusion
Mrs. Delany asked Miss Port if she had had a Letter
from you giving an Account of Mr. Glover -- I took no Notice
Miss Port said. Yes -- but She did not know when it
was -- Mrs. Delany took an affectionate leave of me, and said
another year before she should see you -- I took
leave of Lady Herries -- she had not been well in
the afternoon but was better -- and said many
kind things of you -- Sir Robert desired me to
tell you that he would come to Buxton in
the summer to finish the game of Chess --
27 -- I took leave of my good friends last night
and got up at 6 this morning to return to
the faithful arms of the best of Wifes -- at
7 it snowed so fast that I thought it would
be Madness to venture to set out -- the
day continues as bad as possible and when
I shall now have the happiness of seeing you
my dear Mary, I cannot tell -- I shall not
delay a moment as I long to see you and to
tell you how sincerely you are beloved by
John Dickenson
I forgot to mention about the Dog -- it is
probable I shall not shoot next year, as I
am become very indifferent about it -- therefore
Sir William had better dispose of it --
Adieu Adieu
the bell rings --
quotations, spellings, uncorrected forms, split words, abbreviations, formatting)
Notes
Metadata
Library References
Repository: John Rylands Research Institute and Library, University of Manchester
Archive: Mary Hamilton Papers
Item title: Journal-letter from John Dickenson to Mary Hamilton
Shelfmark: HAM/1/2/8/3
Correspondence Details
Sender: John Dickenson
Place sent: London
Addressee: Mary Hamilton
Place received: Northamptonshire (certainty: medium)
Date sent: 27 February 1786
Letter Description
Summary: Journal-letter from John Dickenson to his wife Mary née Hamilton covering the period 25-27 February 1786. He writes of his visit to the Cremornes at Chelsea, and their plans to alter the house. Their dinner is delayed waiting for Lady Lucan, who appears dressed in a chemise de la reine, which Dickenson describes as 'the most unbecoming dress I ever saw'. He also visits Lady Warwick and sees the mineral collection of Charles? Greville. Mrs Delany has been to Queen's House, where the Queen asked after Mary Hamilton. Dickenson takes leave of his friends in London, but is delayed from setting off because of heavy snow and looks forward to being reunited with 'the best of wifes [sic]'.
Length: 1 sheet, 1191 words
Transliteration Information
Editorial declaration: First edited in the project 'Unlocking the Mary Hamilton Papers' (Hannah Barker, Sophie Coulombeau, David Denison, Tino Oudesluijs, Cassandra Ulph, Christine Wallis & Nuria Yáñez-Bouza, 2019-2023).
All quotation marks are retained in the text and are represented by appropriate Unicode characters. Words split across two lines may have a hyphen on the first, the second or both fragments (reco-|ver, imperfect|-ly, satisfacti-|-on); or a double hyphen (pur=|port, dan|=ger, qua=|=litys); or none (respect|ing). Any point in abbreviations with superscripted letter(s) is placed last, regardless of relative left-right orientation in the original. Thus, Mrs. or Mrs may occur, but M.rs or Mr.s do not.
Acknowledgements: Transcription and XML version created as part of project 'Unlocking the Mary Hamilton Papers', funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council under grant AH/S007121/1.
Transliterator: Christine Wallis, editorial team (completed 14 July 2020)
Cataloguer: Lisa Crawley, Archivist, The John Rylands Library
Cataloguer: John Hodgson, Head of Special Collections, John Rylands Research Institute and Library
Copyright: Transcriptions, notes and TEI/XML © the editors
Revision date: 29 April 2023