Single Letter

HAM/1/5/2/12

Letter from Wilhelmina Murray (née King) to Mary Hamilton

Diplomatic Text


Honble. Mrs. Murray

Park Street 110 -- 29 May
      1787[1]


my Dear Mrs. Dickenson

      I am sorry, it has not been in
my power before now, to have answer'd Your last;
which gave me much concern, to find the
melancholy Scene, You was engaged in -- hope,
the Effects will not have proved bad, for poor
Mr. Dickenson; who just recovering, with the
aʃsistance of Bath; was ill prepared, for such
a shock: I hope to hear, if His Father recovers,
that his intellects are restored, for such dreadfull
falls, often occasion complaints, in the Brain; that
deprive themselves, & friends of comfort. -- I
long to know how You are; and the smiling
Louisa; who as yet, I hope has no cause to frown
by this, You see; I supose her quite well --
as pain, is the only thing that can as yet alter
her good humor --      We are now packed up,



for Stanley, for which place we shall sett out
in the course of the week -- so You will be so
kind, to direct under cover to Gen: Murray,
as he will know, where to forward them --
My Sister, I have the pleasure to tell You, is
of our party; to the surprise I believe, of many
of her acquantance: who have no idea, of
any thing in Scotland, but barren ground,
frost, and snow; -- but, the amendment they
are obliged to acknowledge, in her health &
spirits; prevent the outcry, they would otherwise
make. I need only tell You, she was at the
Rehearsal (Westminster Abbey) on friday; and
is gone there again to day: and dines out, after
to prove she is well. I wish some good wind,
would blow You north, am sure, You would be
pleased with the country, and inhabitants:
and find, a hearty, & friendly welcome, at
Stanley; a comfortable Snug peninsula
that only boasts, of the real pleasures of life,
without its shew, or Extravagance --



After much Joy, often comes sorrow: every body,
has been crouding to court, to enjoy the plea
sure
of the reconciliation; and, that no sooner
over, than the Prince taken dangerously ill:
made a general mourning, aprehended. he was
siezed, at three oclock in the morning, at the
Dutʃs. of Gordon
s[2] Ball; and obliged to go home:, tho'
he intended to have gone to Lady Gideons. --
You may think it late for that, but the fashon
is for those parties to end with a Breakfast;
as five, seven, or even eight in the Morning: of
course 3 or 4 is quite in time --
Lady Augusta Murray, is again disapointed
of being a Bride -- she is, they say inconsolable
She went for the holidays, to Mr. Macnamarra
who you must know by fame -- it was, to the
surprise of every body that she was there -- but
then she met with Mr. Sturt: and, she made
a conquest; all her friends thought a great
one, but, after having accepted his proposal, &
told it as a certainty; they, have found out:
he can only settle 70, for every 1000, and as she



has a very small fortune: of course, there could
not be enough to live on -- so now, they are obliged
to go round, & notifye in form: that the match
is quite off -- a foolish buʃsineʃs! -- had he been
a good sort of Young Man; I cannot help thinking,
if inclination was equal; on ten thousand a Year
they might very well save for joynture, and Children,
as Mr. Sturt need not live like a Duke -- but, as
his Character, is very Wild & Drunken; she may be
better off without him -- her Sister Susan, is come
out this winter, ready for a Bride: tho' not yet
presented. -- Ld. Aldbourough[3], has married one of
the richest fortunes to be had; a neice of the
Dowr. Dutchʃs: of Chandois -- Lord Compton,[4] is going
to marry a very good one; Miʃs Smith. her father
gives 25 thousd: down, and in all probability, she will
have a great deal more; as the Familly is so rich.
Mr. Charteris now Lord Elco,[5] has made an awkward
sort of Bustle; about his seat, and calling himself
too soon a Lord, but by all acts. he is very happy
with it. tho' some say, his title will be disputed, and
others, his Estate which is worse. -- My Sister, joyns
with Capt: M. and self, and best wishes to Dear
Mrs. Dickenson pray present all our compts to
Mr. D—— and believe me Yours Sincerely
                                                         Wilhelmina Murray

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Notes


 1. It is not clear whether the date is in the hand of the author of the letter.
 2. Jane Gordon (née Maxwell), Duchess of Gordon (1748-1812).
 3. Edward Augustus Stratford, 2nd Earl of Aldborough (c.1741-1801), who in 1787 married Hon. Anne Elizabeth Henniker (d. 1802), niece of Elizabeth Brydges (née Major), Duchess of Chandos (c.1731-1813).
 4. Charles Compton (1760-1828), known as Lord Compton, who would marry Maria Smith (d. 1843) the same year.
 5. Francis Wemyss Charteris, Lord Elcho (1749-1808).

Normalised Text



Park Street 110 -- 29 May
      1787


my Dear Mrs. Dickenson

      I am sorry, it has not been in
my power before now, to have answered Your last;
which gave me much concern, to find the
melancholy Scene, You was engaged in -- hope,
the Effects will not have proved bad, for poor
Mr. Dickenson; who just recovering, with the
assistance of Bath; was ill prepared, for such
a shock: I hope to hear, if His Father recovers,
that his intellects are restored, for such dreadful
falls, often occasion complaints, in the Brain; that
deprive themselves, & friends of comfort. -- I
long to know how You are; and the smiling
Louisa; who as yet, I hope has no cause to frown
by this, You see; I suppose her quite well --
as pain, is the only thing that can as yet alter
her good humour --      We are now packed up,



for Stanley, for which place we shall set out
in the course of the week -- so You will be so
kind, to direct under cover to General Murray,
as he will know, where to forward them --
My Sister, I have the pleasure to tell You, is
of our party; to the surprise I believe, of many
of her acquaintance: who have no idea, of
any thing in Scotland, but barren ground,
frost, and snow; -- but, the amendment they
are obliged to acknowledge, in her health &
spirits; prevent the outcry, they would otherwise
make. I need only tell You, she was at the
Rehearsal (Westminster Abbey) on friday; and
is gone there again to day: and dines out, after
to prove she is well. I wish some good wind,
would blow You north, am sure, You would be
pleased with the country, and inhabitants:
and find, a hearty, & friendly welcome, at
Stanley; a comfortable Snug peninsula
that only boasts, of the real pleasures of life,
without its show, or Extravagance --



After much Joy, often comes sorrow: every body,
has been crowding to court, to enjoy the pleasure
of the reconciliation; and, that no sooner
over, than the Prince taken dangerously ill:
made a general mourning, apprehended. he was
seized, at three o'clock in the morning, at the
Duchess of Gordons Ball; and obliged to go home:, though
he intended to have gone to Lady Gideons. --
You may think it late for that, but the fashion
is for those parties to end with a Breakfast;
at five, seven, or even eight in the Morning: of
course 3 or 4 is quite in time --
Lady Augusta Murray, is again disappointed
of being a Bride -- she is, they say inconsolable
She went for the holidays, to Mr. Macnamarra
who you must know by fame -- it was, to the
surprise of every body that she was there -- but
then she met with Mr. Sturt: and, she made
a conquest; all her friends thought a great
one, but, after having accepted his proposal, &
told it as a certainty; they, have found out:
he can only settle 70, for every 1000, and as she



has a very small fortune: of course, there could
not be enough to live on -- so now, they are obliged
to go round, & notify in form: that the match
is quite off -- a foolish business! -- had he been
a good sort of Young Man; I cannot help thinking,
if inclination was equal; on ten thousand a Year
they might very well save for jointure, and Children,
as Mr. Sturt need not live like a Duke -- but, as
his Character, is very Wild & Drunken; she may be
better off without him -- her Sister Susan, is come
out this winter, ready for a Bride: though not yet
presented. -- Lord Aldborough, has married one of
the richest fortunes to be had; a niece of the
Dowager Duchess of Chandos -- Lord Compton, is going
to marry a very good one; Miss Smith. her father
gives 25 thousand down, and in all probability, she will
have a great deal more; as the Family is so rich.
Mr. Charteris now Lord Elcho, has made an awkward
sort of Bustle; about his seat, and calling himself
too soon a Lord, but by all accounts he is very happy
with it. though some say, his title will be disputed, and
others, his Estate which is worse. -- My Sister, joins
with Captain Murray and self, and best wishes to Dear
Mrs. Dickenson pray present all our compliments to
Mr. Dickenson and believe me Yours Sincerely
                                                         Wilhelmina Murray

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 1. It is not clear whether the date is in the hand of the author of the letter.
 2. Jane Gordon (née Maxwell), Duchess of Gordon (1748-1812).
 3. Edward Augustus Stratford, 2nd Earl of Aldborough (c.1741-1801), who in 1787 married Hon. Anne Elizabeth Henniker (d. 1802), niece of Elizabeth Brydges (née Major), Duchess of Chandos (c.1731-1813).
 4. Charles Compton (1760-1828), known as Lord Compton, who would marry Maria Smith (d. 1843) the same year.
 5. Francis Wemyss Charteris, Lord Elcho (1749-1808).

Metadata

Library References

Repository: John Rylands Research Institute and Library, University of Manchester

Archive: Mary Hamilton Papers

Item title: Letter from Wilhelmina Murray (née King) to Mary Hamilton

Shelfmark: HAM/1/5/2/12

Correspondence Details

Sender: Wilhelmina Murray (née King)

Place sent: London

Addressee: Mary Hamilton

Place received: Taxal, near Chapel-en-le-Frith (certainty: medium)

Date sent: 29 May 1787

Letter Description

Summary: Letter from Wilhelmina Murray to Mary Hamilton, conveying society and family news. Murray enquires after John Dickenson Senior, Hamilton's father-in-law, who is recovering after a fall. Murray is to travel to Scotland and her sister is to be of the party, much to the surprise of many of her acquaintances who have 'no idea, of any thing in Scotland, but barren ground, frost, and snow'. Murray writes that her sister was at the rehearsal [possibly for a music event] at Westminster Abbey on Friday and is there again today.
    Murray reports 'the Prince' [of Wales?] becoming 'dangerously ill' at a ball and having to go home at 3 o'clock in the morning. She notes that it is now the fashion for such parties to 'end with a Breakfast; [at] five, seven, or even eight in the Morning'. The letter reports on the disappointment of Lady Augusta Murray in once again not getting married. She had accepted a Mr Macnamarra, but after her acceptance it was found that he was not as wealthy as thought and the marriage has been stopped. The letter continues to list society marriages at this date.
   

Length: 1 sheet, 747 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 2014/15 and 2015/16 provided by the Department of Linguistics and English Language, University of Manchester.

Research assistant: Donald Alasdair Morrison, undergraduate student, University of Manchester

Transliterator: Mariachiara Peroni, undergraduate student, University of Manchester (submitted November 2014)

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: 2 November 2021

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