Single Letter

HAM/1/8/1/5

Letter from Elizabeth Iremonger to Mary Hamilton

Diplomatic Text


                             Wherwell -- Octr- 3 -- 1789 --

I am in perfect charity with You, my dear Mrs- Dickinson, & am very much
obliged for your Packet, as well as for your very kind & long Letter; But
till it came, I had feared I had unintentionally given some offence, tho'
I had most unsatisfactorily puzzled my Head to know how. -- I wish
it was in my power by this time, to leʃsen the Concern I gave You
about my Father, but Alaʃs, We are just as we were two Months
ago, at the beginning of the accident, without having apparently gained one
Step in the use of the Leg. He has rather more freedom from Pain,
(whether Rhumatic, or Spasmodic, as it has been named in turn,) sleeps well,
& has no other Complaint, tho' He is greatly fallen away, & his Spirits
are lower than You can have any idea of. We have had another Surgeon
from London
to see him, who aʃsures us that even if my Father was able
to be moved there, nothing further could be done for him, that heat &
a great length of Time yet, were the chief things to depend upon, that
no Bone is any way affected, but that all the Muscles & Ligaments of
the Thigh are most thoroughly shook & relaxed, & that till They can
gain Strength, an amendment is not to be expected. Instead of trying
to exert it as He was at first recommended, He is now advised to give it
total rest, so that He continues during the Day, entirely on his Couch
above Stairs. I am afraid of the effects of the Winter on him, tho' his
excellent Constitution & Temperance, as You justly observe, are very great



preservatives, yet it is ------a Melancholy Prospect for Him & all of us. Our dear
Mrs- Iremonger's heart is heavy, as You may imagine, under such an Affliction,
that is likely to be so continued, yet She is well in Health, & a happy Composure
in general sustains her. -- I am very much flattered by Mr- Dickinson's
friendly design to visit me at Bristol, which I wish He had put earlier in
execution, & that his bad Health had not impeded his coming on to Wherwell.
I am afraid the Soap Pills are not in the estimation that they seemed to
deserve when He was here ; & pray thank him for his remarkable levity &
politeneʃs in overlooking my Blots, but I wish I had not given him such
lasting marks of his goodneʃs. I had no opportunity of finding out Mrs- Chatterton,
& could not learn where She lived; I suspect her Demesne was not within the
compaʃs of my Walks. I am particularly pleased with Miʃs Berry's answer to
Mr- Walpole, & very much obliged to You for it; & so I am for your offer
of a Copy of Bishop Bonner's Ghost,[1] which I have not been in the way of
seeing & shall most gladly accept to add to my Collection, which You have so
kindly enriched. Mr- Warton's ode on the Grave of Arthur,[2] I am now poʃseʃs'd
of in Print, together with his other Poems. The Quipos[3] we could not decypher
to our Satisfaction. -- I quite hate the information You give me of Dr-
Darwin
's being an Infidel in Religion ; How is it poʃsible He should be
an Atheist, when, from his own very Curious Notes, He must be convinced of
the exalted order, (even to the most extensive minuteneʃs,) & of the wise
regularity, of every Law in Nature? Would not one naturally conclude that
the knowledge of the anatomy of the human frame, & of the anatomy of a
Plant would both contribute, to raise the mind to a creator, & to confirm
most stedfastly the belief; & yet Physicians to a Proverb, are generally
reckoned Free-thinkers. -- The Riddles which I enclose with Your's, You need
not return. Mrs- I—— desires me to make You a thousand acknowlegements for



the receipts for the Poor which You sent her ; She begs to detane it a little
longer in order to get some Copies printed after it, but it shall be
restored to You safely. -- Have You heard that Lord Salisbury is going
by a Tontine,[4] to raise £200,000? which is the means He is recommended
to procure his Estates in his family. He will have £10, or 12000
p ann. left, besides his Place. Proposals for it, I hear are at his
Banker's in London, & it is tho't it will succeed. Catharine is quite well &
sends a Re-buʃs[5] to Louisa ; your account of her happineʃs & animation at
Park-gate, I am sure is to your Heart's wish. Grandpapa I find is just
what He was, & has I hope by this time executed his intention prosperously,
of riding 57 Miles to see her; I wish our Grandpapa here could do the same.
With regard to your friendly enquiries after Mrs- Shipley &c, She is well & stout,
Miʃs Shipley's Health has been recovered ever since the death of her Father,
She is indeed as You imagine, engroʃsed in fine Acquaintances, except when She
quarrels with them, but her Mother & dear Louisa I am sure are better without
her attentions, for tho' it sounds severe, yet it is not a tittle more than She
deserves, to say that I know they never come from her Heart. She is just
gone on a Tour to fine friends in the North; & Mrs- Hare is about to
miscarry at Berne; It does not much signify what becomes of either of Them;
I sometimes think Mrs- Shipley's is like the Luttrell Family, with only one or
Two good Sheep in the Flock, quite different from the rest. If You knew
my Louisa as I have known her for 16 Years, You would see the justneʃs
of my Remarks, & I am sure agree. But she is made up & does not obtrude
herself like the rest; I hope her Health is recovering, but that her Nerves
are shaken is no wonder; She is just set out for Weymouth with her Mother,
for the benefits of Mild air as the Winter advances. her Mother's House at
Twyford in this Country, is only 3 Miles on the other side of Winchester from
us, & I have been there several times this Summer. My Father is touched



with your Expreʃsions of Concern for him, & feels thoroughly grateful for your's
& Mr- Dickinson's Sentiments of Regard. I rejoice sincerely that the air of
Park-gate has been so salutary to your good Marito. I suppose He has by
this time made himself Master of Italian;[6] tell him I go on rapidly. We have
had your Acquaintance Mr- Collier here this Summer for a few days, who
always gives me some instructions.
                             Your's sincerely & much Obliged
                                                         E—— Iremonger

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


Notes


 1. Published by Hannah More in 1789.
 2. Published in 1777.
 3. Evidently some kind of puzzle: see notes to HAM/1/8/1/4 p.2.
 4. ‘A financial scheme by which the subscribers to a loan or common fund receive each an annuity during his life, which increases as their number is diminished by death, till the last survivor enjoys the whole income; also applied to the share or right of each subscriber’ (OED s.v. tontine n. 1. Accessed 19-11-2020).
 5. While it is possible that Catherine is sending Louisa a rebus or puzzle (see the British Library Blog for an example of a rebus sent to the children of the Cavendish family, accessed 17-12-2020), the spelling is not one attested by the OED. It is perhaps more likely that what is meant here is ‘a kiss, esp. a loud or vigorous one’ (OED s.v. buss n. 2. Accessed 17-12-2020). Other letters in this series attest to the childhood friendship of Catherine and Louisa and their sending each other kisses, hence in this instance a Re-buss is a return of a kiss.
 6. Dickenson had started lessons with Signior Borzacchini, his Italian master while at Bath, in June of that year (see HAM/1/2/17 p.2).

Normalised Text


                             Wherwell -- October 3 -- 1789 --

I am in perfect charity with You, my dear Mrs- Dickinson, & am very much
obliged for your Packet, as well as for your very kind & long Letter; But
till it came, I had feared I had unintentionally given some offence, though
I had most unsatisfactorily puzzled my Head to know how. -- I wish
it was in my power by this time, to lessen the Concern I gave You
about my Father, but Alas, We are just as we were two Months
ago, at the beginning of the accident, without having apparently gained one
Step in the use of the Leg. He has rather more freedom from Pain,
(whether Rheumatic, or Spasmodic, as it has been named in turn,) sleeps well,
& has no other Complaint, though He is greatly fallen away, & his Spirits
are lower than You can have any idea of. We have had another Surgeon
from London to see him, who assures us that even if my Father was able
to be moved there, nothing further could be done for him, that heat &
a great length of Time yet, were the chief things to depend upon, that
no Bone is any way affected, but that all the Muscles & Ligaments of
the Thigh are most thoroughly shaken & relaxed, & that till They can
gain Strength, an amendment is not to be expected. Instead of trying
to exert it as He was at first recommended, He is now advised to give it
total rest, so that He continues during the Day, entirely on his Couch
above Stairs. I am afraid of the effects of the Winter on him, though his
excellent Constitution & Temperance, as You justly observe, are very great



preservatives, yet it is a Melancholy Prospect for Him & all of us. Our dear
Mrs- Iremonger's heart is heavy, as You may imagine, under such an Affliction,
that is likely to be so continued, yet She is well in Health, & a happy Composure
in general sustains her. -- I am very much flattered by Mr- Dickinson's
friendly design to visit me at Bristol, which I wish He had put earlier in
execution, & that his bad Health had not impeded his coming on to Wherwell.
I am afraid the Soap Pills are not in the estimation that they seemed to
deserve when He was here ; & pray thank him for his remarkable levity &
politeness in overlooking my Blots, but I wish I had not given him such
lasting marks of his goodness. I had no opportunity of finding out Mrs- Chatterton,
& could not learn where She lived; I suspect her Demesne was not within the
compass of my Walks. I am particularly pleased with Miss Berry's answer to
Mr- Walpole, & very much obliged to You for it; & so I am for your offer
of a Copy of Bishop Bonner's Ghost, which I have not been in the way of
seeing & shall most gladly accept to add to my Collection, which You have so
kindly enriched. Mr- Warton's ode on the Grave of Arthur, I am now possessed
of in Print, together with his other Poems. The Quipus we could not decipher
to our Satisfaction. -- I quite hate the information You give me of Dr-
Darwin's being an Infidel in Religion ; How is it possible He should be
an Atheist, when, from his own very Curious Notes, He must be convinced of
the exalted order, (even to the most extensive minuteness,) & of the wise
regularity, of every Law in Nature? Would not one naturally conclude that
the knowledge of the anatomy of the human frame, & of the anatomy of a
Plant would both contribute, to raise the mind to a creator, & to confirm
most steadfastly the belief; & yet Physicians to a Proverb, are generally
reckoned Free-thinkers. -- The Riddles which I enclose with Your's, You need
not return. Mrs- Iremonger desires me to make You a thousand acknowledgements for



the receipts for the Poor which You sent her ; She begs to detain it a little
longer in order to get some Copies printed after it, but it shall be
restored to You safely. -- Have You heard that Lord Salisbury is going
by a Tontine, to raise £200,000? which is the means He is recommended
to procure his Estates in his family. He will have £10, or 12000
per annum left, besides his Place. Proposals for it, I hear are at his
Banker's in London, & it is thought it will succeed. Catharine is quite well &
sends a Re-buss to Louisa ; your account of her happiness & animation at
Park-gate, I am sure is to your Heart's wish. Grandpapa I find is just
what He was, & has I hope by this time executed his intention prosperously,
of riding 57 Miles to see her; I wish our Grandpapa here could do the same.
With regard to your friendly enquiries after Mrs- Shipley &c, She is well & stout,
Miss Shipley's Health has been recovered ever since the death of her Father,
She is indeed as You imagine, engrossed in fine Acquaintances, except when She
quarrels with them, but her Mother & dear Louisa I am sure are better without
her attentions, for though it sounds severe, yet it is not a tittle more than She
deserves, to say that I know they never come from her Heart. She is just
gone on a Tour to fine friends in the North; & Mrs- Hare is about to
miscarry at Berne; It does not much signify what becomes of either of Them;
I sometimes think Mrs- Shipley's is like the Luttrell Family, with only one or
Two good Sheep in the Flock, quite different from the rest. If You knew
my Louisa as I have known her for 16 Years, You would see the justness
of my Remarks, & I am sure agree. But she is made up & does not obtrude
herself like the rest; I hope her Health is recovering, but that her Nerves
are shaken is no wonder; She is just set out for Weymouth with her Mother,
for the benefits of Mild air as the Winter advances. her Mother's House at
Twyford in this Country, is only 3 Miles on the other side of Winchester from
us, & I have been there several times this Summer. My Father is touched



with your Expressions of Concern for him, & feels thoroughly grateful for your's
& Mr- Dickinson's Sentiments of Regard. I rejoice sincerely that the air of
Park-gate has been so salutary to your good Marito. I suppose He has by
this time made himself Master of Italian; tell him I go on rapidly. We have
had your Acquaintance Mr- Collier here this Summer for a few days, who
always gives me some instructions.
                             Your's sincerely & much Obliged
                                                         Elizabeth Iremonger

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



 1. Published by Hannah More in 1789.
 2. Published in 1777.
 3. Evidently some kind of puzzle: see notes to HAM/1/8/1/4 p.2.
 4. ‘A financial scheme by which the subscribers to a loan or common fund receive each an annuity during his life, which increases as their number is diminished by death, till the last survivor enjoys the whole income; also applied to the share or right of each subscriber’ (OED s.v. tontine n. 1. Accessed 19-11-2020).
 5. While it is possible that Catherine is sending Louisa a rebus or puzzle (see the British Library Blog for an example of a rebus sent to the children of the Cavendish family, accessed 17-12-2020), the spelling is not one attested by the OED. It is perhaps more likely that what is meant here is ‘a kiss, esp. a loud or vigorous one’ (OED s.v. buss n. 2. Accessed 17-12-2020). Other letters in this series attest to the childhood friendship of Catherine and Louisa and their sending each other kisses, hence in this instance a Re-buss is a return of a kiss.
 6. Dickenson had started lessons with Signior Borzacchini, his Italian master while at Bath, in June of that year (see HAM/1/2/17 p.2).

Metadata

Library References

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

Archive: Mary Hamilton Papers

Item title: Letter from Elizabeth Iremonger to Mary Hamilton

Shelfmark: HAM/1/8/1/5

Correspondence Details

Sender: Elizabeth Iremonger

Place sent: Wherwell

Addressee: Mary Hamilton

Place received: unknown

Date sent: 3 October 1789

Letter Description

Summary: Letter from Elizabeth Iremonger to Mary Hamilton, relating to her father’s fall and his continuing poor health. Iremonger reports that her father has not improved since the accident (see HAM/1/8/1/4). Although he is not as much in pain he has still not regained the use of his leg. He is in poor spirits and the family have brought in another surgeon who is from London to see him and he assures them that if Mr Iremonger was to be moved, then nothing further can be done for him. Time was the thing to depend upon. No bone has been broken but all the muscles and ligaments in the thigh need to be strengthened. He is now advised to take total rest up stairs and she is worried for the effect that this will have on his spirits. Mrs Iremonger is well herself but is anxious for Mr Iremonger.
    The letter continues on John Dickenson. Iremonger writes on his health and on his taking ‘soap pills’. She writes on literature and thanks Hamilton for sending her a work and asks how it is possible that Dr Darwin is an ‘Infidel in Religion’ as Hamilton suggests yet he ‘should be an artist’. That one would ‘naturally conclude that the knowledge of the anatomy of the human frame, & of the anatomy of plant would both contribute to raise the mind to a creator [...] & yet Physicians to a Proverb are generally reckoned free-thinkers’.
    The letter continues with news of friends and acquaintances including Lord Salisbury having to raise a fortune of £200,000 in order ‘to pursue his Estates in his family’.
    Dated at Whirwell [Andover].
   

Length: 1 sheet, 1151 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: Tino Oudesluijs, editorial team (completed 10 December 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: 2 November 2021

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