Diplomatic Text
Audley End Feby 6th 1801
Chere Amie
Many Thanks to you for yr letter, & to your good Husband
for going over to my Cottage -- I have no doubt but I was
ill advis'd by Mr Partridge to Employ Major Gilpins
Workmen. but Alas! what is a poor female to do --
quite alone, no one ready at hand to advise with. the
temptation was to save carriage, (which between our selves)
I did not do having paid 18S. for Carriage -- but as I
trust my Credit is good, having paid for all that has been
done -- if Mr Dickenson will be so good to Employ his own
Bricklayer, & desire Mr Robinson to let him have my
little Stoves & the Copper & have them put up. the
Stoves rumfordiz'd, I shall be greatly obliged to him --
it will hasten matters -- as for putting any one into the
House I could not do that, because I must then pay the Taxes
& to own the truth I thought it advisable upon all
accounts to have every thing ready before I put in my furniture
to Avoid disputes -- which frighten me out of my wits -- if Sharpe
has not sold Mr Gilpins parlour Stove he may carry it back
again for I may have that rumfordis'd -- I am not quite
sure when I shall return to Wing -- but I gueʃs within three
Weeks -- & so if you will tell Baily to fetch home the Whisky
the first Leisure day -- my Sister has written to Stevens -- & she
informs me, that I may rest satisfied that all shall go well.
however she will write again -- I shall divert you when we meet
with an Artifice which exceeds all belief -- I have Answer'd
it to the purpose -- as for any Apology from Either Party
I neither expect it or desire it -- both father & daughter
had the aʃsurance to sneer at me -- for granting Anne her
Pardon. & th'o not in the words they gave me to understand
without the poʃsibility of a misconception, that I am a fool
very likely -- but I do not think Either father or daughter, are
usually the people to give me the information --
I most highly approve of Miʃs Martin -- in the first
place, as to the French, she will be forwarder in three
Weeks. than she would be in 3 Months with Mandaist -- in the
2d place the outside is of very great importance, & I aʃsure
you, that Mrs Jalebert does all she can to Encourage dreʃsing
very constantly -- in the third place, no one however high in situ
ation can be too well Acquainted, with every part of Household
Economy -- Miʃs Neville is not quite 19 -- has however these three
years every Egg -- I believe that has been spent in this House, and has
done the Honours of her Father's table since 15 -- she Carves
as well as her Father. she is a very extraordinary young Lady --
quite Youthful -- not Precieuse -- but of a serious turn.
I am convinc'd that indulgence is the best plan for Educa-
tion -- that these Leper Children are more Noisy than many
others -- I am ready to confeʃs -- but amongst the Seven -- not one
nor two a fit -- or have the smallest particle of jealousy of each
other in their disposition -- Mrs Jelabert does not get well
but desires her best Compliments to you -- Lord B: return'd to
us in high Spirits -- I confeʃs I was not the dupe of the reports
which are so industriously circulated. for I feel that it is impoʃsi
ble without a Civil War (which God avert.) to get this present
Vile adminestration out of their places -- the K. however has
been ill us'd. The Ministers bought the Union by a promise
to Lord Cornwallis that the roman Catholicks should
be prefered -- but they made this agreement without con
sulting the K -- when he was appris'd of this measure
he flew out & declar'd that he never would consent to
break his Coronation oath for any Man, or any set of
Men in this World -- he has consulted the Arch Bishop
& also the Speaker (who is at present a great favourite)
he was extremely positive upon this Subject -- the Ministers
say on their part that Lord Cornwallis will resign -- & if
you recollect Lord Fitzwilliams was recall'd from the Govern
ment of Ireland upon account of his Countenancing the
roman Catholic Cause. this new Scheme has offended him
& he is off in opposition & gratton the Irish Orator &
Patriot, is to come in for Ponsoby's Borough, he is chosen for
Wicklow in opposition to the Buckingham Alias Nugent interest
this last piece of News will interest Sir Jonathan Lovett --
we are all very sorry to see Lady Anne Lambtons Marriage in
this Days paper to Mr C: Windham, she did for a year of or
more after her Husbands death behave respectably, but alas! our
frail Sex is not to be depended upon -- & we are all sorry for the
reflections which will recur to the Lords of the Creation -- & how
they will again revive the Story of the Ephesian Matron --
I have sent your letter to my Sister who seem'd hurt that she
had not received any Answer from you or Mr D:: I hope in her
Letter of to morrow I shall hear that she has received one of
your dispatches -- I trust her eyes are opening -- I am sure it will
be to their Material Advantage that they should be open'd --
I had yesterday a letter from Mrs Carter, she seems well in Health
but is in great anxiety. indeed I may add that I am Equally
in Trouble. our worthy & excellent friend Mrs D'Oyly is
at the point of death,[1] by Mrs Carters account, her desorder is
a Pleurisy, she was getting better but has had so many relapses
& has been five Times bled. at past 70. that I dread to morrow
I wrote yesterday to a Confidential upper Man servant, &
begg'd he would let me know how she was -- she has been to us
all in any Situation, Either in Affliction. or in the Calmer moments
of our lives, a fast, a faithful & a tender friend -- & I really
Love her sincerely -- besides all these excellent qualities -- she will
be to Mrs Carter an irreparable Loʃs -- for her goodneʃ there was
not confin'd to verbal kindneʃs -- she will be a pecuniary loʃs to
her for she made her large presents -- I do not mean Money -- but
What saved her a great deal -- & made her appear more decent
than she could or would have done -- but when I think of Lady
Mendip my Heart bleeds in pints. never were two Sisters, more
attach'd to each other, her Lord at 87 or 8 is wonderful as to
his Understanding & appearance -- but extremely Croʃs to her -- & snaps
▼
her every word he speaks. with all this attendance, which he requires
from her, her Sisters Society was a cordial & one she look'd up to. if in
Case she sld survive her Lord -- she, I do Grieve from the bottom of my heart,
but such is this melancholy fate of humanity -- Mrs Douglas is also very much
indispos'd & confin'd -- I hope Mrs Carter will find a resource in Mr & Mrs
Douglas -- Adieu Love to dear Mr D: & the dear Lou -- believe me truly ------ yrs DB:
[2]
Walden Feby Eight 1801
Mrs. Dickenson
Leighton House[3]
Leighton Buzzard
[4]
Griffin Braybrooke
[5]
red text is normalised and/or unformatted in other panel)
Notes
1. Despite this news, Sarah D'Oyly (née Stanley) would not pass away until 1821, some 20 years after this letter was written.
2. The address is in the hand of the provider of the frank, Richard Griffin, 2nd Baron Braybrooke.
3. Remains of free frank in red ink, showing the date February 1801.
4. The postmark reads ‘SAFFRON WALDEN’ in black ink.
5. Seal in red wax remains intact.
Normalised Text
Audley End February 6th 1801
Chere Amie
Many Thanks to you for your letter, & to your good Husband
for going over to my Cottage -- I have no doubt but I was
ill advised by Mr Partridge to Employ Major Gilpins
Workmen. but Alas! what is a poor female to do --
quite alone, no one ready at hand to advise with. the
temptation was to save carriage, (which between our selves)
I did not do having paid 18S. for Carriage -- but as I
trust my Credit is good, having paid for all that has been
done -- if Mr Dickenson will be so good to Employ his own
Bricklayer, & desire Mr Robinson to let him have my
little Stoves & the Copper & have them put up. the
Stoves rumfordized, I shall be greatly obliged to him --
it will hasten matters -- as for putting any one into the
House I could not do that, because I must then pay the Taxes
& to own the truth I thought it advisable upon all
accounts to have every thing ready before I put in my furniture
to Avoid disputes -- which frighten me out of my wits -- if Sharpe
has not sold Mr Gilpins parlour Stove he may carry it back
again for I may have that rumfordised -- I am not quite
sure when I shall return to Wing -- but I guess within three
Weeks -- & so if you will tell Baily to fetch home the Whisky
the first Leisure day -- my Sister has written to Stevens -- & she
informs me, that I may rest satisfied that all shall go well.
however she will write again -- I shall divert you when we meet
with an Artifice which exceeds all belief -- I have Answered
it to the purpose -- as for any Apology from Either Party
I neither expect it or desire it -- both father & daughter
had the assurance to sneer at me -- for granting Anne her
Pardon. & though not in the words they gave me to understand
without the possibility of a misconception, that I am a fool
very likely -- but I do not think Either father or daughter, are
usually the people to give me the information --
I most highly approve of Miss Martin -- in the first
place, as to the French, she will be forwarder in three
Weeks. than she would be in 3 Months with Mandaist -- in the
2d place the outside is of very great importance, & I assure
you, that Mrs Jalebert does all she can to Encourage dressing
very constantly -- in the third place, no one however high in situation
can be too well Acquainted, with every part of Household
Economy -- Miss Neville is not quite 19 -- has however these three
years every Egg -- I believe that has been spent in this House, and has
done the Honours of her Father's table since 15 -- she Carves
as well as her Father. she is a very extraordinary young Lady --
quite Youthful -- not Precieuse -- but of a serious turn.
I am convinced that indulgence is the best plan for Education
-- that these Leper Children are more Noisy than many
others -- I am ready to confess -- but amongst the Seven -- not one
nor two a fit -- or have the smallest particle of jealousy of each
other in their disposition -- Mrs Jelabert does not get well
but desires her best Compliments to you -- Lord Braybrooke returned to
us in high Spirits -- I confess I was not the dupe of the reports
which are so industriously circulated. for I feel that it is impossible
without a Civil War (which God avert.) to get this present
Vile administration out of their places -- the King however has
been ill used. The Ministers bought the Union by a promise
to Lord Cornwallis that the roman Catholics should
be preferred -- but they made this agreement without consulting
the King -- when he was apprised of this measure
he flew out & declared that he never would consent to
break his Coronation oath for any Man, or any set of
Men in this World -- he has consulted the Arch Bishop
& also the Speaker (who is at present a great favourite)
he was extremely positive upon this Subject -- the Ministers
say on their part that Lord Cornwallis will resign -- & if
you recollect Lord Fitzwilliams was recalled from the Government
of Ireland upon account of his Countenancing the
roman Catholic Cause. this new Scheme has offended him
& he is off in opposition & gratton the Irish Orator &
Patriot, is to come in for Ponsoby's Borough, he is chosen for
Wicklow in opposition to the Buckingham Alias Nugent interest
this last piece of News will interest Sir Jonathan Lovett --
we are all very sorry to see Lady Anne Lambtons Marriage in
this Days paper to Mr Charles Windham, she did for a year or
more after her Husbands death behave respectably, but alas! our
frail Sex is not to be depended upon -- & we are all sorry for the
reflections which will recur to the Lords of the Creation -- & how
they will again revive the Story of the Ephesian Matron --
I have sent your letter to my Sister who seemed hurt that she
had not received any Answer from you or Mr Dickenson: I hope in her
Letter of to morrow I shall hear that she has received one of
your dispatches -- I trust her eyes are opening -- I am sure it will
be to their Material Advantage that they should be opened --
I had yesterday a letter from Mrs Carter, she seems well in Health
but is in great anxiety. indeed I may add that I am Equally
in Trouble. our worthy & excellent friend Mrs D'Oyly is
at the point of death, by Mrs Carters account, her disorder is
a Pleurisy, she was getting better but has had so many relapses
& has been five Times bled. at past 70. that I dread to morrow
I wrote yesterday to a Confidential upper Man servant, &
begged he would let me know how she was -- she has been to us
all in any Situation, Either in Affliction. or in the Calmer moments
of our lives, a fast, a faithful & a tender friend -- & I really
Love her sincerely -- besides all these excellent qualities -- she will
be to Mrs Carter an irreparable Loss -- for her goodnes there was
not confined to verbal kindness -- she will be a pecuniary loss to
her for she made her large presents -- I do not mean Money -- but
What saved her a great deal -- & made her appear more decent
than she could or would have done -- but when I think of Lady
Mendip my Heart bleeds in pints. never were two Sisters, more
attached to each other, her Lord at 87 or 8 is wonderful as to
his Understanding & appearance -- but extremely Cross to her -- & snaps
▼
her every word he speaks. with all this attendance, which he requires
from her, her Sisters Society was a cordial & one she looked up to. if in
Case she should survive her Lord -- she, I do Grieve from the bottom of my heart,
but such is this melancholy fate of humanity -- Mrs Douglas is also very much
indisposed & confined -- I hope Mrs Carter will find a resource in Mr & Mrs
Douglas -- Adieu Love to dear Mr Dickenson & the dear Louisa -- believe me truly ------ yours Dorothy Blosset
Walden February Eight 1801
Mrs. Dickenson
Leighton House
Leighton Buzzard
Griffin Braybrooke
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 Dorothy Blosset to Mary Hamilton
Shelfmark: HAM/1/8/2/24/2
Correspondence Details
Sender: Dorothy Blosset
Place sent: Saffron Walden
Addressee: Mary Hamilton
Place received: Leighton Buzzard
Date sent: 6 February 1801
Letter Description
Summary: Letter from Dorothy Blosset to Mary Hamilton. The letter is concerned
with news of acquaintances including a Miss Martin and of politics
including Lord Cornwalis [Charles Cornwallis, first Marquess Cornwallis
(1738-1805), Governor-General of India and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland]
and the 'Roman Catholic cause'.
This letter was originally catalogued, along with HAM/1/8/2/24/1, as a single item: HAM/1/8/2/24.
Dated at Audley [Essex].
Length: 3 sheets, 1252 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 18 November 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: 11 May 2023