Single Letter

HAM/1/4/5/12

Letter from Lady Catherine Hamilton (née Barlow) to Mary Hamilton

Diplomatic Text


Parts typed

11[1]

                                                         Caserta Janry. 28th
                                                         1779
      I hope by this time My Dear Miʃs
Hamilton
that your Mind is a little more com=
=posed
than it was when Ly Dartrey was so obliging
as to write to me when I answer'd her, I took the liberty with her to inclose ------
------ a short letter to you, only to expreʃs to you
my Affection & the part I take in every thing
which concerns you, which I flatter myself you
can never doubt of --
We have been constant inhabitants of this
place ever since the 13th- of December excepting
one day on which we went to Town to give
a dinner to forty four English who are now at
Naples, The Court (that is the little Court consisting
of one Lady in waiting, seven or eight Gentlemen
of the Bedchamber, the Grand Chambellan, the Grand
Veneur
, & the First Minister) are here, the rest only
come occasionally -- the English are not pleas'd that
we are so distant from Naples, tho' they have reason
to be satisfied as they all come to dine with us
every time they come to Caserta which is a
great convenience to them as there is no Auberge
which they can go to -- in the mean time Sr Wm.
pays his Court & keeps his health by the great &



almost constant exercise he uses, for he seldom
miʃses going out shooting with The King when His
Majesty
thinks the Sport will be good which is usu=
=ally
three or four times a week -- they set out at
break of day dine in the field, & he comes home
just to drink tea, when he returns again to the
Palace where he plays at a Game called Biribis[2] wth-
the King & Queen, they afterwards sup, & he is at
home by a little after nine o'clock, -- this kind of
footing is a curious one for the King of Englands --
Minister
to one of the Bourbon family, & what makes
it still more particular is that the French & Spanish
Minister
come but once a week in a formal way,
& usually come together as if to keep one another
in Countenance -- all this must appear very strange
to you My Dear Miʃs Hamilton -- but I do believe this
is the most extraordinary Court in Europe, so full
of Spanish étiquette at times, then, no étiquette at
all -- the situation of the Royal family (which you
must have heard of) at the time the poor little
Hereditary Prince
[3] was taken ill & died was as ex=
=traordinary
as every thing else, & I really believe he
perish'd for want of proper aʃsistance, two days
after his Death the Queen sent for Sr Wm. & me &
we were with her near two hours during all wch.
time she spoke of nothing but the little Prince &
in so feeling & affecting a manner, that tho' (as



you know) I was aware of the changeableneʃs of her
Character, I yet could not refrain from tears, & was
tempted to think she had then receiv'd a blow she
would never recover, especially as she was then very
near lying in. -- in this Situation Her Majesty remaind
for a week or ten days, at the end of which she
began to get up her Spirits, & at the end of three
weeks was as gay as ever & even laughing upon
subjects which one would have imagined must
have renew'd her grief -- since this the Queen has
lain in very happily,[4] & is (I believe) intent upon
nothing so much as getting the Reins of Government
intirely in her own hands, in which scheme she makes
a rapid progreʃs, for The King unused to any serious
application, is glad when he is tired out with
Memorials, & Affairs of State to take up his Gun
& leave the termination to the Queen who has
sufficient Art to make him think, that ------ she
------ is only the instrument of fulfilling the plans
he has himself laid -- her lying in has not decreas'd
her aʃsiduity, & every affair of consequence has been
referr'd to her tho' still in her Bed, where she plays
at Biribis every evening, Sr Wm. desisted from going
since her My. was brought to bed, but The King
by the Queens desire, told him to come & play
with them as usual, so he went there last Night
& is gone again this evening after Shooting from
five o'clock in the Morning -- you may imagine
My Dear Miʃs Hamilton that I should not venture
to say all this to you if My letter was to paʃs



thro' the Neapolitan Post, I am in hopes of a good
opportunity of sending my letterit in a few days, &
this enables me to write with that freedom which
I should not otherwise dare use. -- as to telling you
all the trifling events[5] which happen here; they would
tire & not interest you; as you are not acquainted
with the people concern'd, but I must mention to you
a piece of good fortune which has happen'd to Ldy May=
=nard
who with her Lord is return'd to make another
attempt to get into company, a Prince Marsico[6] a
favourite of The Kings was taken with a violent
putrid fever & given over by the Physicians, Sr.
Wm.
mention'd James's powder to His Majesty & he
desired him to give him some with the directions
how to use it -- Sr Wm. did so, & The King gave it
to the Lady in waiting to send it to Naples for Prince
Marsico
-- The Lady in waiting either lost or forgot
it but it was accidentally known in Naples that
The King intended the Prince should take it upon
which Ld Maynard flew to Prince Marsico's Palace
& notwithstanding repeated denials insisted upon
admittance, tired with resisting, they at length al=
=lowed
him to come into the Sick room where He
found the Patient convuls'd & Senseleʃs, & the Doctors
aʃsuring he had not more than three hours to live,
-- he then propos'd the powder which they refus'd to
give saying it would kill him sooner, Ld Maynard
then took it upon himself, gave the powder with
succeʃs, & after a very few hours the Prince Marsico
was out of danger -- the Pignatellis (of whom he is one)



full of gratitude immediately went & visited Ly Maynard &
I am told they intend to ask the Queen to receive her at Court
as the best return for the obligation they are under to Ld Maynard
but it is very doubtfull if Her Majesty who knows (tho' not from
Sr Wm. or me) her former life will, or can receive her, es=
=pecially
as she was so publickly here with the D. of Dorset,
let it be as it will, I am quite easy about it, as it is not
poʃsible for me to be the channel made use of, & therefore
neither Sr Wm. or myself have any thing to answer for -- The
Princeʃs Belmonte[7] Sister in Law to Count Pignatelli Minister
in England wrote to me to ask my permiʃsion to take
notice of Ly Maynard who she said had paid great Court
to her (her letter is curious & was it not too long I would
send it you) to this I answer'd that I beg'd she would follow
her inclination, as no civility Ly Maynard receiv'd could
ever give me the smallest displeasure, & I think it is very
likely she will be well receiv'd by some of the Ladies here as
I hear she has been clever enough to make them many
presents a method which has great weight with this Coun=
=try
. in the mean time I am much satisfied with being
at this distance from the Capital having time here for
many occupations ------which are perpetually interrupted
when I am at Naples, the greatest inconvenience I feel is,
that constant application sometimes hurts my eyes &
forces me to lay down a book often at the most interest
=ing
paʃsage which when one is alone is a real mor=
=tification
-- at these moments I cannot help sending a
wish towards England, & thinking how happy we should
be to be quietly & comfortably settled there, but I drive a=
way
the thought, as I do not see at present any likeli=
=hood
of our meeting with such a piece of good fortune.
-- both Sr Wm. and I are happy in the idea of your situation
My Dr Miʃs Hamilton -- your good sense teaches you to prize it
& I see with pleasure (by your last letter) how full of love &



gratitude your heart is to tThe Queen for hHer great
goodneʃs to you -- What a difference between Our Queen &
other Queens! -- j'en suis temoin -- if ever you have a good
Opportunity I desire you will say every thing that is
dutifull & respectfull both from Sr. Wm. & me to Her
Majesty
, & you may do it with a good Grace for we
really feel it -- I hope I shall hear from you very soon &
let me know how all the young Princes & Princeʃses do:
& particularly the beautifull little Prince Adolphus -- tell
me if he is as handsome as ever -- Sr Wm. joins with
me in kind love      & I am My Dr. Miʃs Hamilton
                             Yr very Affectionate Aunt
                                                         CHamilton


I hope you go to see Ly Stormont sometimes, I had
a letter from her some days ago which pleas'd me
much, as it seem'd to expreʃs great family happineʃs, &
a perfect regard, friendship & esteem for Ld Stormont --

(hover over blue text or annotations for clarification;
red text is normalised and/or unformatted in other panel)


Notes


 1. This annotation appears to the right of the dateline.
 2. Biribissi was a lottery-style board game popular in Italy.
 3. Carlo of Naples and Sicily, born 4 January 1775, died of smallpox on 17 December 1778.
 4. Maria Carolina gave birth to Princess Maria Christina Teresa (later Queen of Sardinia) on 17 January 1779.
 5. The ink colour changes here, suggesting a new pen has been used and a possible pause in composition.
 6. Possibly Diego Pignatelli.
 7. Princess Donna Anna Francesca, 1702-1779, was the hereditary Princess of Belmonte. She married (in 1721) Antonio Pignatelli (1685-1771).

Normalised Text




                                                         Caserta January 28th
                                                         1779
      I hope by this time My Dear Miss
Hamilton that your Mind is a little more composed
than it was when Lady Dartrey was so obliging
as to write to me when I answered her, I took the liberty with her to enclose
a short letter to you, only to express to you
my Affection & the part I take in every thing
which concerns you, which I flatter myself you
can never doubt of --
We have been constant inhabitants of this
place ever since the 13th- of December excepting
one day on which we went to Town to give
a dinner to forty four English who are now at
Naples, The Court (that is the little Court consisting
of one Lady in waiting, seven or eight Gentlemen
of the Bedchamber, the Grand Chambellan, the Grand
Veneur, & the First Minister) are here, the rest only
come occasionally -- the English are not pleased that
we are so distant from Naples, though they have reason
to be satisfied as they all come to dine with us
every time they come to Caserta which is a
great convenience to them as there is no Auberge
which they can go to -- in the mean time Sir William
pays his Court & keeps his health by the great &



almost constant exercise he uses, for he seldom
misses going out shooting with The King when His
Majesty thinks the Sport will be good which is usually
three or four times a week -- they set out at
break of day dine in the field, & he comes home
just to drink tea, when he returns again to the
Palace where he plays at a Game called Biribis with
the King & Queen, they afterwards sup, & he is at
home by a little after nine o'clock, -- this kind of
footing is a curious one for the King of Englands --
Minister to one of the Bourbon family, & what makes
it still more particular is that the French & Spanish
Minister come but once a week in a formal way,
& usually come together as if to keep one another
in Countenance -- all this must appear very strange
to you My Dear Miss Hamilton -- but I do believe this
is the most extraordinary Court in Europe, so full
of Spanish étiquette at times, then, no étiquette at
all -- the situation of the Royal family (which you
must have heard of) at the time the poor little
Hereditary Prince was taken ill & died was as extraordinary
as every thing else, & I really believe he
perished for want of proper assistance, two days
after his Death the Queen sent for Sir William & me &
we were with her near two hours during all which
time she spoke of nothing but the little Prince &
in so feeling & affecting a manner, that though (as



you know) I was aware of the changeableness of her
Character, I yet could not refrain from tears, & was
tempted to think she had then received a blow she
would never recover, especially as she was then very
near lying in. -- in this Situation Her Majesty remained
for a week or ten days, at the end of which she
began to get up her Spirits, & at the end of three
weeks was as gay as ever & even laughing upon
subjects which one would have imagined must
have renewed her grief -- since this the Queen has
lain in very happily, & is (I believe) intent upon
nothing so much as getting the Reins of Government
entirely in her own hands, in which scheme she makes
a rapid progress, for The King unused to any serious
application, is glad when he is tired out with
Memorials, & Affairs of State to take up his Gun
& leave the termination to the Queen who has
sufficient Art to make him think, that she
is only the instrument of fulfilling the plans
he has himself laid -- her lying in has not decreased
her assiduity, & every affair of consequence has been
referred to her though still in her Bed, where she plays
at Biribis every evening, Sir William desisted from going
since her Majesty was brought to bed, but The King
by the Queens desire, told him to come & play
with them as usual, so he went there last Night
& is gone again this evening after Shooting from
five o'clock in the Morning -- you may imagine
My Dear Miss Hamilton that I should not venture
to say all this to you if My letter was to pass



through the Neapolitan Post, I am in hopes of a good
opportunity of sending it in a few days, &
this enables me to write with that freedom which
I should not otherwise dare use. -- as to telling you
all the trifling events which happen here; they would
tire & not interest you; as you are not acquainted
with the people concerned, but I must mention to you
a piece of good fortune which has happened to Lady Maynard
who with her Lord is returned to make another
attempt to get into company, a Prince Marsico a
favourite of The Kings was taken with a violent
putrid fever & given over by the Physicians, Sir
William mentioned James's powder to His Majesty & he
desired him to give him some with the directions
how to use it -- Sir William did so, & The King gave it
to the Lady in waiting to send it to Naples for Prince
Marsico -- The Lady in waiting either lost or forgot
it but it was accidentally known in Naples that
The King intended the Prince should take it upon
which Lord Maynard flew to Prince Marsico's Palace
& notwithstanding repeated denials insisted upon
admittance, tired with resisting, they at length allowed
him to come into the Sick room where He
found the Patient convulsed & Senseless, & the Doctors
assuring he had not more than three hours to live,
-- he then proposed the powder which they refused to
give saying it would kill him sooner, Lord Maynard
then took it upon himself, gave the powder with
success, & after a very few hours the Prince Marsico
was out of danger -- the Pignatellis (of whom he is one)



full of gratitude immediately went & visited Lady Maynard &
I am told they intend to ask the Queen to receive her at Court
as the best return for the obligation they are under to Lord Maynard
but it is very doubtful if Her Majesty who knows (though not from
Sir William or me) her former life will, or can receive her, especially
as she was so publicly here with the Duke of Dorset,
let it be as it will, I am quite easy about it, as it is not
possible for me to be the channel made use of, & therefore
neither Sir William or myself have any thing to answer for -- The
Princess Belmonte Sister in Law to Count Pignatelli Minister
in England wrote to me to ask my permission to take
notice of Lady Maynard who she said had paid great Court
to her (her letter is curious & was it not too long I would
send it you) to this I answered that I begged she would follow
her inclination, as no civility Lady Maynard received could
ever give me the smallest displeasure, & I think it is very
likely she will be well received by some of the Ladies here as
I hear she has been clever enough to make them many
presents a method which has great weight with this Country
. in the mean time I am much satisfied with being
at this distance from the Capital having time here for
many occupations which are perpetually interrupted
when I am at Naples, the greatest inconvenience I feel is,
that constant application sometimes hurts my eyes &
forces me to lay down a book often at the most interesting
passage which when one is alone is a real mortification
-- at these moments I cannot help sending a
wish towards England, & thinking how happy we should
be to be quietly & comfortably settled there, but I drive away
the thought, as I do not see at present any likelihood
of our meeting with such a piece of good fortune.
-- both Sir William and I are happy in the idea of your situation
My Dear Miss Hamilton -- your good sense teaches you to prize it
& I see with pleasure (by your last letter) how full of love &



gratitude your heart is to The Queen for Her great
goodness to you -- What a difference between Our Queen &
other Queens! -- j'en suis temoin -- if ever you have a good
Opportunity I desire you will say every thing that is
dutiful & respectful both from Sir William & me to Her
Majesty, & you may do it with a good Grace for we
really feel it -- I hope I shall hear from you very soon &
let me know how all the young Princes & Princesses do:
& particularly the beautiful little Prince Adolphus -- tell
me if he is as handsome as ever -- Sir William joins with
me in kind love      & I am My Dear Miss Hamilton
                             Your very Affectionate Aunt
                                                         Catherine Hamilton


I hope you go to see Lady Stormont sometimes, I had
a letter from her some days ago which pleased me
much, as it seemed to express great family happiness, &
a perfect regard, friendship & esteem for Lord Stormont --

(consult diplomatic text or XML for annotations, deletions, clarifications, persons,
quotations,
spellings, uncorrected forms, split words, abbreviations, formatting)



 1. This annotation appears to the right of the dateline.
 2. Biribissi was a lottery-style board game popular in Italy.
 3. Carlo of Naples and Sicily, born 4 January 1775, died of smallpox on 17 December 1778.
 4. Maria Carolina gave birth to Princess Maria Christina Teresa (later Queen of Sardinia) on 17 January 1779.
 5. The ink colour changes here, suggesting a new pen has been used and a possible pause in composition.
 6. Possibly Diego Pignatelli.
 7. Princess Donna Anna Francesca, 1702-1779, was the hereditary Princess of Belmonte. She married (in 1721) Antonio Pignatelli (1685-1771).

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/1/4/5/12

Correspondence Details

Sender: Lady Catherine Hamilton (née Barlow)

Place sent: Caserta

Addressee: Mary Hamilton

Place received: unknown

Date sent: 28 January 1779

Letter Description

Summary: Letter from Lady Catherine Hamilton to Mary Hamilton. The letter is concerned with the Court of Naples, the death of the hereditary Prince and the Queen's political ambitions.
    Hamilton and Sir William have been at their villa in Caserta since the 13 December, excepting for one night when they gave a dinner for 44 English who are in Naples. She notes that the English are not pleased that she and her husband are so far away from Naples 'though they have reason to be satisfied as they all come to dine with us every time they come to Caserta'.
    Hamilton writes of Sir William often going shooting with the King at times as much as four times a week and that Sir William often returns with the King to the Palace whilst the French and Spanish ministers usually go only once a week, usually together 'as if to keep one another in Continence'. She writes that it is her belief that 'this is the most extraordinary Court in Europe'. Hamilton lists the various positions and numbers at Court and writes on Court etiquette.
    Hamilton also writes on the Queen's political ambitions and she believes that she wants the 'Reins of Government' in her own hands. The King, she notes is not used to 'any serious application [and] is glad when he is tired [...] with memorials & affairs of state to take up his Gloves & leave the [...] [business] to the queen who has sufficient but to make him think, that she is only the instrument of fulfilling the plans he has himself laid'.
    Hamilton reports that Lady Maynard has returned to Naples for another attempt at being received into company which she describes in detail.
    Dated at Caserta.
    Original reference No. 11.
   

Length: 2 sheets, 1602 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: Cassandra Ulph, editorial team (completed 3 August 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: 14 August 2023

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