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HAM/1/4/5/14
Incomplete letter from Lady Catherine Hamilton (née Barlow) to Mary Hamilton
Diplomatic Text
Typed
123
Octr. 23d -- 1779 --
It was so long since I had
heard from you My Dear Miʃs Hamilton that
I was upon the point of writing to chide you for
not answering a letter I wrote to you a long time
ago when the last post brought me yours of the
25th. of Septr wherein you seem surprised at my
silence when you were actually a letter in
my debt; however I should not have stood upon
that ceremony with one I love so well as I do
you if my natural indolence had not totally
got the better of me, I am ashamed to say what
ground it has gain'd with me & when I endea=
=vour to combat it, it is so eloquent & plausible
that there is no resisting, this added to the very
little share of time I can call my own has
kept me silent, but I beg you will not follow
my bad example, letters from the friends we
love are always valuable; but particularly in
this Country and at this distance, so I beg you to let
me hear from you a little oftener. I find you
have had an account of the terrible eruption
of Mount Vesuvius which happen'd on the 8th. of
Augst. & I suppose have seen the little drawing which
Sr Wm. sent for His Majesty which I do aʃsure you is
not in the least exaggerated. it was really horrid
& the confusion it occasion'd (I was going to say) more
horrid, the Yells & screams of the people, going in
Proceʃsion with torches to St Genaro[1] made one shud=
=der, & it was evident that terror having had the
same effect as drunkeneʃs, had rais'd their minds
to a pitch of Madneʃs capable of the most violent
undertakings, in consequence of which they went
to the Archbishops Palace & insisted upon having
St Genaro[2] brought out,& upon his refusal to comply
they sett fire to his Gate & were now succeeding
in forcing the Saint out (wch. must have then been
attended with bad consequences) when some one
very happily thought of applying to a Dominican
Friar called Padre Rocca who is a very popular
Preacher (owing to his adapting his Sermons to the
understandings, education, & language of the people,)
he came immediately, & upon perceiving they had
prepared common pitch torches to accompany their
Saint, he reproach'd them with their want of respect
in coming so ill furnish'd, & persuaded them to re=
tire till they could procure white wax torches
which might be done (as he said) the next day --
to this they listen'd, & time being gain'd the fever of
the Mountain subsided, & the minds of the people
of course became more calm, it had afterwards
another fit, but they were then grown used to it, & as
it happen'd in the day time it did not inspire them
with so much terror -- since this the mouth has
been stopp'd up, till two or three days ago a part of
the point fell in, & it now smokes very much -- this morn=
[=ing] it gave two groans which I do not quite like par=
=ticularly as we are at present at our Villa at the foot
of Vesuvius, but Sr Wm. (the Mountain Doctor) aʃsures me
we have nothing to fear; since the eruption we have
had a shock of an earthquake but it has done no
damage; this however makes me think many months
will not paʃs without another eruption, but I hope
it will be leʃs violent than the last, & I trust in that
Almighty Providence which has hitherto preserv'd us
in numberleʃs occasions that it will continue to do
so, & under that persuasion I rest as quietly here as
I should elsewhere. The little Court of last Year is at
present at Caserta where we are to join it the be=
ginning of next Month for the Space of one Month,
when they go to Parsano a Hunting Seat about fifty
Miles off[3] & I am afraid Sr Wm. with them as The King
has appointed him a room in all his hunting Seats
this is very uncomfortable to me, as I really feel quite
abandon'd when I am in Naples without him -- the
footing Sr Wm. is upon at this Court is really a very
odd one,[4] he seems to be the Ministre de Famille
while the French Ambaʃsador[5] (who has managed his
Affairs exceedingly ill) is treated (tho' with civility)
with great distance -- I hear he is soon to leave this place
which I am sorry for, unleʃs it was to be first Minister
in France; & I wish all the French Kings Ministers were
like him -- the change in the Queens character is a=
=mazing since the Death of the Prince Royal[6], it has
made an impreʃsion upon her that I thought her in=
=capable of, hardly a day paʃses that she does not
shed floods of tears, & the only happy hours she seems
to paʃs is when she is employ'd in the care of her
Daughters, three of whom are most charming Children
The poor little Prince Royal[7] is no comfort to her, on the con=
=trary, her Ambitions (wch. I believe to be a predominant
paʃsion) & Vanity, are perpetually mortified thro' him
for he is a poor little weakly unpromising Child, wth.
a large head & a rickety look & the Queen is at times
so hurt about him that she cannot help lamenting his
great backwardneʃs in too Strong terms.[8] Her Majesty
now gives a great deal of time to busineʃs of works
with The Ministers, who make all their reports to her
as well as to The King, who seems (in general) very
glad she will take the burthen off his Shoulders,
I am told that she is grown (in private) very devout
(not to say superstitious) for she lately sent in Secret
a Nightgown of The Kings when he was sick to a
famous relick to touch it, to help his recovery & I am
much mistaken (as Years come on) if she does not
grow in that respect like The Empreʃs Queen[9] -- I thought
these circumstances might amuse you My Dear Miʃs
Hamilton, but you may imagine I should not have
ventured to write them if I had not an opportunity
of sending my letter to be put into the Post at
Rome where it is sure of not being look'd into. -- both
Sr Wm. & I have been quite delighted with the accts.
of H. R. H. Prince William[10] -- there is a story in the
Newspaper of his taking off his coat & preparing for
the engagement wch. is charming, what a difference
between him & the D. de Chartres[11] whose conduct will
never be applauded otherwise qu'a l'Opera, I suppose
you saw the Song upon that Glorious occasion.[12] I can=
=not finish my letter without rejoicing with you afresh
upon the happineʃs of yr situation, & ------------ or the constant good=
neʃs of Their Majesties to you, & at your combined[13]
(hover over blue text or annotations for clarification;
red text is normalised and/or unformatted in other panel)
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Notes
1. San Gennaro, patron saint of Naples. Two vials, supposed to be his blood, are kept as a relic in Naples Cathedral, as well as a gold bust of the saint.
2. Presumably the bust of San Gennaro, as the saint himself had been beheaded in AD304.
3. The Bastion of Parsano is a fortification on the outskirts of Sorrento, 50 miles south of Caserta overlooking the bay of Naples.
4. Lady Catherine makes a similar comment in her letter of 28 January (see HAM/1/4/5/12).
5. Jean-Baptiste-Charles-François, Marquis de Reynel, Clermont and Amboise, was ambassador to the court of Naples from 1775-1784. He died during the seige of the Palace of the Tuilieries on 10 August 1792.
6. Carlo, Duke of Calabria (1775-1778) had died of smallpox the previous December (see HAM/1/4/5/12).
7. Francisco Gennaro Guiseppe (1777-1830).
8. Despite the Queen's concerns, Francesco survived to become regent of the Kingdom Sicily from 1806-14, and King of the Two Sicilies from 1825.
9. Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa, her mother.
10. William Henry (later William IV) was at his time serving in the Royal Navy.
11. The Duke of Chartres was a notorious womaniser who had extramarital affairs with, among others, Madame de Genlis and Grace Elliot.
12. The Duke of Chartres had been in charge of French forces at the Battle of Ushant. The battle ended indecisively but Chartres initially reported it as a victory, to great acclaim including a standing ovation at the Opera. When more accurate reports were received, he was accused of cowardice and began to be mocked in popular ballads such as the one that Lady Catherine refers to here. The embarrassment ultimately led to Chartres resigning from the Navy.
13. The rest of the letter is missing.
Normalised Text
October 23d -- 1779 --
It was so long since I had
heard from you My Dear Miss Hamilton that
I was upon the point of writing to chide you for
not answering a letter I wrote to you a long time
ago when the last post brought me yours of the
25th. of September wherein you seem surprised at my
silence when you were actually a letter in
my debt; however I should not have stood upon
that ceremony with one I love so well as I do
you if my natural indolence had not totally
got the better of me, I am ashamed to say what
ground it has gained with me & when I endeavour
to combat it, it is so eloquent & plausible
that there is no resisting, this added to the very
little share of time I can call my own has
kept me silent, but I beg you will not follow
my bad example, letters from the friends we
love are always valuable; but particularly in
this Country and at this distance, so I beg you to let
me hear from you a little oftener. I find you
have had an account of the terrible eruption
of Mount Vesuvius which happened on the 8th. of
August & I suppose have seen the little drawing which
Sir William sent for His Majesty which I do assure you is
not in the least exaggerated. it was really horrid
& the confusion it occasioned (I was going to say) more
horrid, the Yells & screams of the people, going in
Procession with torches to St Genaro made one shudder
, & it was evident that terror having had the
same effect as drunkenness, had raised their minds
to a pitch of Madness capable of the most violent
undertakings, in consequence of which they went
to the Archbishops Palace & insisted upon having
St Genaro brought out,& upon his refusal to comply
they set fire to his Gate & were now succeeding
in forcing the Saint out (which must have then been
attended with bad consequences) when some one
very happily thought of applying to a Dominican
Friar called Padre Rocca who is a very popular
Preacher (owing to his adapting his Sermons to the
understandings, education, & language of the people,)
he came immediately, & upon perceiving they had
prepared common pitch torches to accompany their
Saint, he reproached them with their want of respect
in coming so ill furnished, & persuaded them to retire
till they could procure white wax torches
which might be done (as he said) the next day --
to this they listened, & time being gained the fever of
the Mountain subsided, & the minds of the people
of course became more calm, it had afterwards
another fit, but they were then grown used to it, & as
it happened in the day time it did not inspire them
with so much terror -- since this the mouth has
been stopped up, till two or three days ago a part of
the point fell in, & it now smokes very much -- this morning
it gave two groans which I do not quite like particularly
as we are at present at our Villa at the foot
of Vesuvius, but Sir William (the Mountain Doctor) assures me
we have nothing to fear; since the eruption we have
had a shock of an earthquake but it has done no
damage; this however makes me think many months
will not pass without another eruption, but I hope
it will be less violent than the last, & I trust in that
Almighty Providence which has hitherto preserved us
in numberless occasions that it will continue to do
so, & under that persuasion I rest as quietly here as
I should elsewhere. The little Court of last Year is at
present at Caserta where we are to join it the beginning
of next Month for the Space of one Month,
when they go to Parsano a Hunting Seat about fifty
Miles off & I am afraid Sir William with them as The King
has appointed him a room in all his hunting Seats
this is very uncomfortable to me, as I really feel quite
abandoned when I am in Naples without him -- the
footing Sir William is upon at this Court is really a very
odd one, he seems to be the Ministre de Famille
while the French Ambassador (who has managed his
Affairs exceedingly ill) is treated (though with civility)
with great distance -- I hear he is soon to leave this place
which I am sorry for, unless it was to be first Minister
in France; & I wish all the French Kings Ministers were
like him -- the change in the Queens character is amazing
since the Death of the Prince Royal, it has
made an impression upon her that I thought her incapable
of, hardly a day passes that she does not
shed floods of tears, & the only happy hours she seems
to pass is when she is employed in the care of her
Daughters, three of whom are most charming Children
The poor little Prince Royal is no comfort to her, on the contrary
, her Ambitions (which I believe to be a predominant
passion) & Vanity, are perpetually mortified through him
for he is a poor little weakly unpromising Child, with
a large head & a rickety look & the Queen is at times
so hurt about him that she cannot help lamenting his
great backwardness in too Strong terms. Her Majesty
now gives a great deal of time to business of works
with The Ministers, who make all their reports to her
as well as to The King, who seems (in general) very
glad she will take the burthen off his Shoulders,
I am told that she is grown (in private) very devout
(not to say superstitious) for she lately sent in Secret
a Nightgown of The Kings when he was sick to a
famous relic to touch it, to help his recovery & I am
much mistaken (as Years come on) if she does not
grow in that respect like The Empress Queen -- I thought
these circumstances might amuse you My Dear Miss
Hamilton, but you may imagine I should not have
ventured to write them if I had not an opportunity
of sending my letter to be put into the Post at
Rome where it is sure of not being looked into. -- both
Sir William & I have been quite delighted with the accounts
of His Royal Highness Prince William -- there is a story in the
Newspaper of his taking off his coat & preparing for
the engagement which is charming, what a difference
between him & the Duke de Chartres whose conduct will
never be applauded otherwise qu'a l'Opera, I suppose
you saw the Song upon that Glorious occasion. cannot
finish my letter without rejoicing with you afresh
upon the happiness of your situation, or the constant goodness
of Their Majesties to you, & at your combined
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Notes
Metadata
Library References
Repository: John Rylands Research Institute and Library, University of Manchester
Archive: Mary Hamilton Papers
Item title: Incomplete letter from Lady Catherine Hamilton (née Barlow) to Mary Hamilton
Shelfmark: HAM/1/4/5/14
Correspondence Details
Sender: Lady Catherine Hamilton (née Barlow)
Place sent: Caserta
Addressee: Mary Hamilton
Place received: unknown
Date sent: 23 October 1779
Letter Description
Summary: Incomplete letter from Lady Catherine Hamilton to Mary Hamilton. The letter relates to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Hamilton writes of her horror and of the confusion it caused amongst the local population. There was panic and processions ‘with torches to San Genero’. She notes that ‘terror having had the same effect as drunkenness, had raised their minds to a pitch of Madness capable of the most violent undertakings’.
Original reference No. 13.
Length: 1 sheet, 1172 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 4 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