Unlocking the Mary Hamilton papers

Single Letter

HAM/1/11/40

Letter from Lady Dartrey (later Lady Cremorne) to Mary Hamilton

Diplomatic Text


34

Kedleston
Monday Sept: 8th:
      1788

My Dear Mrs: D:

      Altho' you desired N. Palfrey[1] might write
to give you an Acct: how we got here &c. I cannot allow
her to do so, when I have the comfort of being
enabled to tell you, that my Dear Husband, likes
this Place very much, thinks the Waters agree
& seems really better, since we have been here
in Spirits, than I could have allowed myself to
hope -- this you know, is such a Cordial Draught
as must do me eʃsential good; & the tranquility of
The Scene around me, the pleasant Walks & fine
Air (for I never breathed any more delightful)
will I humbly trust strengthen my poor shattered
Frame, to go thro' a London Winter -- which hurry
I do not allow myself to think of, as it wd: destroy
the good which the present qeuit Life I lead here
wd. do me. The Weather has been remarkably fine,
& the Soil is so dry, Ithat after one Day's Rain, wh: we had,


(it was last Sunday sennight.) it was so dry on Monday
Morng: that I was able to walk out; Ld: Scarsdale is
so good as to give us leave to drive & walk about
his Park, which is a fine One -- & he has a most
magnificent Collection of Pictures, wh: are a great
amusement to my Dr: Husband -- We have seen
the China Manufactory, & are going to see the fine
Raphael at Okeover[2] as soon as Adl: Edwards[3]
one of our Party is quite well, at present he
has a little sore throat. As to myself, I confeʃs
walking out quietly, & thinking of my Angels, is
my greatest Indulgence, when I am not with my Husband but I bleʃs God I can
join the Party, without being, I hope, a  - troublesome intruder
by my Sadneʃs, tho' I cannot expect to add
to their Livelineʃs -- indeed as I think Exertion
has sometimes hurt me, I keep now as quiet
as I can, & I make Nanny read to me a great
deal; wh: tranquillizes me more than any thing
& does her good, poor Soul! at the same time.
She reads to me in a covered Seat,  ------------  in the Garden,


or in a neighbouring Field, wh: commands a Charming View)
& where I breath the sweet Air at the same time.
Wedy:
Since I wrote this, I awkwardly strained my Knee
wh: I have done twice since I had the Rheumatic
attack at Chelsea, but as Mrs: Curzon an Old Ac=
=quaintance of mine was so good as to take me
out airing, I have not miʃsed enjoying
this fine weather -- this Morng: I have been
walking, & thank God am not fatigued by
it -- I feel stronger than when I came -- now
I have been talking so much about myself
wh: I should be ashamed of doing, if you were
      not so kindly interested about me --
      let me ask how you, Mr: D. & your
      dear little Louisa do, I hope
perfectly well & happily enjoying her daily
improvements. I have heard lately from
Ly: W. & I fear She & Marianne were going to
have the Influenza, & She is unhappy
about Sir Wm: who is far from well by her
account; -- that is, he is out of spirits, & very
nervous, wh: is a sad Complaint for so young
a Man. If you see poor Dr: Mrs: Vesey & Mʃs: H.
give my kind Love -- I often think of them
Poor Souls; I fear They have no Lady now to call upon
                                                         Them --


▼
▼

Lord C. sends you his best wishes & Joins me in the
same to Mr: D.   Kiʃs yr. dr: little Child & believe
                             me very Affly: yours
                                                         PCremorne[4]

I beg my best Comps.[5]           ▼
to Miss Clarks. I hope you have good accounts
from Taxal. -- I have quite forgot to ask you
whether you ever recd: a Letter from Mrs: Earle, left at Mrs:
Veseys for you by her Son. -- [6]

Ly Cremorne Sepbr. 1788[7]

To
      Mrs: Dickenson
       ------------------------------------------------------------
      No: 27. Old Burlington Street
           London
                             [8] [9]

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


Notes


 1. This concerns Elizabeth Palfrey, Lady Dartrey's servant, who sometimes wrote to Mary Hamilton.
 2. The 'Raphael at Okeover' is something of a mystery. Although various contemporary tourist guides refer to Okeover as containing 'Raphael's celebrated painting of the Holy Family' (George Moutard Woodward, Eccentric Excursions..., 1796), this does not seem to have been an original Raphael, but an imitation of an imitation. The Royal Collection Trust lists a photograph of 'a copy of the so-called La Perla, a picture now in the Museo del Prado, Madrid (inv. no.301) generally attributed to Giulio Romano (c.1518/19), possibly after a design by Raphael' amongst its collections, taken by the permission of Mr Okeover. See Carl Ruland, The Works of Raphael Santi da Urbino (1876), p.77 n.18.
 3. This is likely Admiral Richard Edwards (c.1715-1795), a naval officer and the colonial governor of Newfoundland. He was promoted to vice-admiral in 1787.
 4. The conclusion of the main letter (4 lines) appears at the bottom of the page, below the address.
 5. This first line of the postscript appears to the left of the signature at the bottom of the page.
 6. Moved all but the first line of this postscript here from the top of the page above the address.
 7. Moved annotation here from the bottom of the page, written upside down.
 8. There are traces of two postmarks and two seals, as well as a stamp saying 'DERBY'.
 9. Moved address here from middle of page, written vertically.

Normalised Text



Kedleston
Monday September 8th:
      1788

My Dear Mrs: Dickenson

      Although you desired Nanny Palfrey might write
to give you an Account how we got here &c. I cannot allow
her to do so, when I have the comfort of being
enabled to tell you, that my Dear Husband, likes
this Place very much, thinks the Waters agree
& seems really better, since we have been here
in Spirits, than I could have allowed myself to
hope -- this you know, is such a Cordial Draught
as must do me essential good; & the tranquility of
The Scene around me, the pleasant Walks & fine
Air (for I never breathed any more delightful)
will I humbly trust strengthen my poor shattered
Frame, to go through a London Winter -- which hurry
I do not allow myself to think of, as it would destroy
the good which the present quiet Life I lead here
would do me. The Weather has been remarkably fine,
& the Soil is so dry, that after one Day's Rain, which we had,


(it was last Sunday sennight.) it was so dry on Monday
Morning that I was able to walk out; Lord Scarsdale is
so good as to give us leave to drive & walk about
his Park, which is a fine One -- & he has a most
magnificent Collection of Pictures, which are a great
amusement to my Dear Husband -- We have seen
the China Manufactory, & are going to see the fine
Raphael at Okeover as soon as Admiral Edwards
one of our Party is quite well, at present he
has a little sore throat. As to myself, I confess
walking out quietly, & thinking of my Angels, is
my greatest Indulgence, when I am not with my Husband but I bless God I can
join the Party, without being, I hope, a troublesome intruder
by my Sadness, though I cannot expect to add
to their Liveliness -- indeed as I think Exertion
has sometimes hurt me, I keep now as quiet
as I can, & I make Nanny read to me a great
deal; which tranquillizes me more than any thing
& does her good, poor Soul! at the same time.
She reads to me in a covered Seat, in the Garden,


or in a neighbouring Field, which commands a Charming View)
& where I breath the sweet Air at the same time.
Wednesday
Since I wrote this, I awkwardly strained my Knee
which I have done twice since I had the Rheumatic
attack at Chelsea, but as Mrs: Curzon an Old Aquaintance
 of mine was so good as to take me
out airing, I have not missed enjoying
this fine weather -- this Morning I have been
walking, & thank God am not fatigued by
it -- I feel stronger than when I came -- now
I have been talking so much about myself
which I should be ashamed of doing, if you were
      not so kindly interested about me --
      let me ask how you, Mr: Dickenson & your
      dear little Louisa do, I hope
perfectly well & happily enjoying her daily
improvements. I have heard lately from
Lady Wake & I fear She & Marianne were going to
have the Influenza, & She is unhappy
about Sir William who is far from well by her
account; -- that is, he is out of spirits, & very
nervous, which is a sad Complaint for so young
a Man. If you see poor Dear Mrs: Vesey & Miss Handcock
give my kind Love -- I often think of them
Poor Souls; I fear They have no Lady now to call upon
                                                         Them --


▼
▼

Lord Cremorne sends you his best wishes & Joins me in the
same to Mr: Dickenson   Kiss your dear little Child & believe
                             me very Affectionately yours
                                                         Philadelphia Cremorne

I beg my best Compliments           ▼
to Miss Clarks. I hope you have good accounts
from Taxal. -- I have quite forgotten to ask you
whether you ever received a Letter from Mrs: Earle, left at Mrs:
Veseys for you by her Son. --



To
      Mrs: Dickenson
     
      No: 27. Old Burlington Street
           London
                            

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



 1. This concerns Elizabeth Palfrey, Lady Dartrey's servant, who sometimes wrote to Mary Hamilton.
 2. The 'Raphael at Okeover' is something of a mystery. Although various contemporary tourist guides refer to Okeover as containing 'Raphael's celebrated painting of the Holy Family' (George Moutard Woodward, Eccentric Excursions..., 1796), this does not seem to have been an original Raphael, but an imitation of an imitation. The Royal Collection Trust lists a photograph of 'a copy of the so-called La Perla, a picture now in the Museo del Prado, Madrid (inv. no.301) generally attributed to Giulio Romano (c.1518/19), possibly after a design by Raphael' amongst its collections, taken by the permission of Mr Okeover. See Carl Ruland, The Works of Raphael Santi da Urbino (1876), p.77 n.18.
 3. This is likely Admiral Richard Edwards (c.1715-1795), a naval officer and the colonial governor of Newfoundland. He was promoted to vice-admiral in 1787.
 4. The conclusion of the main letter (4 lines) appears at the bottom of the page, below the address.
 5. This first line of the postscript appears to the left of the signature at the bottom of the page.
 6. Moved all but the first line of this postscript here from the top of the page above the address.
 7. Moved annotation here from the bottom of the page, written upside down.
 8. There are traces of two postmarks and two seals, as well as a stamp saying 'DERBY'.
 9. Moved address here from middle of page, written vertically.

Metadata

Library References

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

Archive: Mary Hamilton Papers

Item title: Letter from Lady Dartrey (later Lady Cremorne) to Mary Hamilton

Shelfmark: HAM/1/11/40

Correspondence Details

Sender: Philadelphia Hannah, Baroness Cremorne Dawson (née Freame)

Place sent: Kedleston

Addressee: Mary Hamilton

Place received: London

Date sent: 8 September 1788

Letter Description

Summary: Letter from Lady Cremorne (formerly Dartrey) to Mary Hamilton. She writes about her visit to Kedleston and how she spent her time whilst there.
    Dated at Kedleston [Derbyshire].
   

Length: 1 sheet, 679 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 March 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: 28 February 2022

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