HAM/1/4/5/9
Letter from Lady Catherine Hamilton (née Barlow) to Mary Hamilton
Diplomatic Text
1778 ▼
I feel myself so incapable of forgeting
or wilfully neglecting My friends My Dear Miʃs Hamilton
that tho' your Silence gave me pain, & that (had I not
heard from you I should probably have wrote to have
reproach'd you for it) I never once suspected you of
loving me leʃs than you formerly did, I think I
know your heart, & I have no little claim upon
that in return for the Affection mine feels for you --
however don't let this encourage you in your
idleneʃs & I must tell you that your writing constantly
will be an eʃsential comfort to me in this Country
where Society (what you & I call Society) is so much
wanting -- the Shocking accident we met with in
the Popes Dominions has shook my nerves very
much; but thank God we have suffer'd no lasting
harm -- & our poor Swiʃs (whom you may remember)
is perfectly recover'd except a mark of honour wch-
he has in his face & which he will never lose, Sr.
Wm. has settled a little Annuity upon him for his
life, which has redoubled his anxiety to Serve us
well, & I fancy he will never leave us -- the effects
of this accident have serv'd me for an excuse from
going out in an Evening (excepting Court balls & those days when
I have been obliged to attend the Queen) & I do aʃsure
you that has been no small Satisfaction to me, the
Aʃsemblys here are noisy, numerous, & hot & I have ------
anyno intimacy with any Italian Woman to make
them tolerable to me, for if you neither play or con=
=verse at those places, it is a dreadfull punishment,
to go to them a punishment which I must have gone thro' had
I gone out in order to introduce several English
Ladys who are here & who have not that aversion
to noise & hurry that I have -- there are some of
these Ladys who appear very amiable, but my only
reall comfort among them is Ly Betty Mackenzie
who is one of the most valuable worthy women
in the World, there is a sincerity & warmth of heart
abtabout her that is adorable, & a good humour &
indulgence that attaches one to her in the Strongest
manner, I have at different times presented Ly Betty
& the rest of the English Ladys to the Queen who
has receiv'd them most graciously, shew'd them all
the Children & invited them to all the Balls at
Court which are really magnificent -- when I tell
you however that I have introduced all the English
Ladys -- don't imagine Ly Maynard (whose reputation
must be known to you) has been of the number, Ld
Maynard has given me a great deal of trouble & un=
=easineʃs about my not receiving her when she came
to my door, & not returning her visit, & afterwards perse=
=cuted me to get her presented at Court which I could
by no means consent to, upon the former part (the not
receiving her) he desired to speak with Sr. Wm., & then ask'd
him if he supported me in my refusal to receive Ly M's
Visits? to which Sr Wm. answer'd him that I had told him,
“that consistent with my situation I did not think I could
act otherwise,” & that being my fix'd opinion he could not
urge me to act contrary to it -- upon this Ld M flew in
a violent paʃsion & said that His Majesty should either recall
his Minister or forfeit his friendship -- these were big words -- but
you may believe made no impreʃsion on Sr Wm. -- since this,
Ld M—— has applied to Sr Wm. to present him, (which he of course
did) but no to Ly M. j'espére qu'il n'en est plus question --
one hates to repeat refusals, & I could never answer in any
other tone -- the Queen said publickly that all those I
presented would ever be well receiv'd but she knew I
would take care who I presented, & that they should be only
such as my own Sovereign would receive -- but I think you
have had enough of this silly story -- I am out of patience that
such despicable occurrences should take up so much of that
precious time which one might employ in a better manner
& I am ashamed to say how
much it has robb'd me of mine
& how much uneasineʃs it has
caused me, I hate to offend even
these whom I despise, & besides
that, Ld Maynard is so hot headed, that I did not like
he should have any altercation with Sr Wm. Mens Quar=
=rels terrify me. -- Your friends Mr Litchfield & Mr- (I can't
think of his name) came Yesterday, they dine with us tomor=
=row -- we are in the midst of the hurries of the Carnival
but I have been but at one ball at Court, I have a
few sensible foreigners who aʃsemble here every evening &
converse when all the Young World (who first meet here)
are gone to the Balls, I wish you was of the partythese parties I think
they are of a kind you would like -- I wish if ever you have
any oppertunity that you would pay my respectfull Duty to our
Gracious Queen -- I feel an honour & (I may say) affection for her
Character that I cannot describe -- the more I see of other Sovereigns the
more I am confirm'd toin this sentiment, but all this is only
between you & me -- in a few days I shall write to you
again -- & give you some further account of the Carnival
but I would not delay writing by this Post -- My Love attends Mrs
Hamilton
▼
Sr Wm. has had a vexatious accident -- the Man
who was bringing a great number of Letters from the Post
tumbled down & his pocket was Pick'd of them -- we don't
know who has wrote to us -- this has just happen'd --
Adieu My Dr. Miʃs Hamilton Ever Yrs Most Affecly C H[1]
To[2]
Miʃs Hamilton
at Her apartment in
St James Palace
London[3]
red text is normalised and/or unformatted in other panel)
Notes
1. This section appears at the bottom of the page below the address when unfolded.
2. Postmarks 'MR 14' (indicating that the letter arrived in the post in England on 14 March 1778) and 'NAPOLI' to left of address when unfolded.
3. Moved address panel here from the middle of the page when unfolded, written vertically.
Normalised Text
▼
I feel myself so incapable of forgetting
or wilfully neglecting My friends My Dear Miss Hamilton
that though your Silence gave me pain, & that (had I not
heard from you I should probably have written to have
reproached you for it) I never once suspected you of
loving me less than you formerly did, I think I
know your heart, & I have no little claim upon
that in return for the Affection mine feels for you --
however don't let this encourage you in your
idleness & I must tell you that your writing constantly
will be an essential comfort to me in this Country
where Society (what you & I call Society) is so much
wanting -- the Shocking accident we met with in
the Popes Dominions has shaken my nerves very
much; but thank God we have suffered no lasting
harm -- & our poor Swiss (whom you may remember)
is perfectly recovered except a mark of honour which
he has in his face & which he will never lose, Sir
William has settled a little Annuity upon him for his
life, which has redoubled his anxiety to Serve us
well, & I fancy he will never leave us -- the effects
of this accident have served me for an excuse from
going out in an Evening (excepting Court balls & those days when
I have been obliged to attend the Queen) & I do assure
you that has been no small Satisfaction to me, the
Assemblies here are noisy, numerous, & hot & I have
no intimacy with any Italian Woman to make
them tolerable to me, for if you neither play or converse
at those places, it is a dreadful punishment,
to go to them a punishment which I must have gone through had
I gone out in order to introduce several English
Ladies who are here & who have not that aversion
to noise & hurry that I have -- there are some of
these Ladies who appear very amiable, but my only
real comfort among them is Lady Betty Mackenzie
who is one of the most valuable worthy women
in the World, there is a sincerity & warmth of heart
about her that is adorable, & a good humour &
indulgence that attaches one to her in the Strongest
manner, I have at different times presented Lady Betty
& the rest of the English Ladies to the Queen who
has received them most graciously, showed them all
the Children & invited them to all the Balls at
Court which are really magnificent -- when I tell
you however that I have introduced all the English
Ladies -- don't imagine Lady Maynard (whose reputation
must be known to you) has been of the number, Lord
Maynard has given me a great deal of trouble & uneasiness
about my not receiving her when she came
to my door, & not returning her visit, & afterwards persecuted
me to get her presented at Court which I could
by no means consent to, upon the former part (the not
receiving her) he desired to speak with Sir William, & then asked
him if he supported me in my refusal to receive Lady Maynard's
Visits? to which Sir William answered him that I had told him,
“that consistent with my situation I did not think I could
act otherwise,” & that being my fixed opinion he could not
urge me to act contrary to it -- upon this Lord Maynard flew in
a violent passion & said that His Majesty should either recall
his Minister or forfeit his friendship -- these were big words -- but
you may believe made no impression on Sir William -- since this,
Lord Maynard has applied to Sir William to present him, (which he of course
did) but no to Lady Maynard j'espére qu'il n'en est plus question --
one hates to repeat refusals, & I could never answer in any
other tone -- the Queen said publicly that all those I
presented would ever be well received but she knew I
would take care who I presented, & that they should be only
such as my own Sovereign would receive -- but I think you
have had enough of this silly story -- I am out of patience that
such despicable occurrences should take up so much of that
precious time which one might employ in a better manner
& I am ashamed to say how
much it has robbed me of mine
& how much uneasiness it has
caused me, I hate to offend even
these whom I despise, & besides
that, Lord Maynard is so hot headed, that I did not like
he should have any altercation with Sir William Mens Quarrels
terrify me. -- Your friends Mr Litchfield & Mr- (I can't
think of his name) came Yesterday, they dine with us tomorrow
-- we are in the midst of the hurries of the Carnival
but I have been but at one ball at Court, I have a
few sensible foreigners who assemble here every evening &
converse when all the Young World (who first meet here)
are gone to the Balls, I wish you were of these parties I think
they are of a kind you would like -- I wish if ever you have
any opportunity that you would pay my respectful Duty to our
Gracious Queen -- I feel an honour & (I may say) affection for her
Character that I cannot describe -- the more I see of other Sovereigns the
more I am confirmed in this sentiment, but all this is only
between you & me -- in a few days I shall write to you
again -- & give you some further account of the Carnival
but I would not delay writing by this Post -- My Love attends Mrs
Hamilton
▼
Sir William has had a vexatious accident -- the Man
who was bringing a great number of Letters from the Post
tumbled down & his pocket was Picked of them -- we don't
know who has written to us -- this has just happened --
Adieu My Dear Miss Hamilton Ever Yours Most Affectionately Catherine Hamilton
To
Miss Hamilton
at Her apartment in
St James Palace
London
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: Letter from Lady Catherine Hamilton (née Barlow) to Mary Hamilton
Shelfmark: HAM/1/4/5/9
Correspondence Details
Sender: Lady Catherine Hamilton (née Barlow)
Place sent: Naples (certainty: high)
Addressee: Mary Hamilton
Place received: London
Date sent: 17 February 1778
Letter Description
Summary: Letter from Lady Catherine Hamilton to Mary Hamilton. The letter is concerned with Lady Catherine's social obligations as the wife of an ambassador, and her dispute with Lady Maynard. The letter also refers to her coach accident (see HAM/1/4/5/8/2) and to Sir William organizing an annuity for the courier who had been injured.
Lady Catherine describes the society of Naples as 'wanting' and reports that she is obliged to attend the Queen at Court balls, and she also writes of the British women visiting Naples, including Lady Maynard, who has given her much trouble. Lady Catherine had refused to receive her when she called at her house and did not return her call, and she refused to present Lady Maynard at Court because of her 'reputation'. Lord Maynard approached Sir William to ask if he supported his wife in her views and then in a violent temper said that King George should either recall his minister or lose his friendship. Lady Catherine writes that Maynard's words had no effect on Sir William. She continues her letter on this subject.
Original reference No. 8.
Length: 3 sheets, 1023 words
Transliteration Information
Editorial declaration: First edited in the project 'Image to Text' (David Denison & Nuria Yáñez-Bouza, 2013-2019), now incorporated 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: XML version: Research Assistant funding in 2016/17 provided by The John Rylands Research Institute.
Research assistant: Sarah Connor, undergraduate student, University of Manchester
Research assistant: Carla Seabra-Dacosta, MA student, University of Vigo
Transliterator: Xinyu Shi, undergraduate student, University of Manchester (submitted May 2017)
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: 12 August 2023