Single Letter

HAM/1/13/45

Journal-letter from Mary Glover to Mary Hamilton

Diplomatic Text


                                                                   22                               Miʃs Glover 22

                                                         Friday April 27th 1787
My dearest friend
      This morning our dearest A Maria breakfasted wth-
us, she has not recover'd her good looks, but says she is better
than when we went to Bath, I am to write a journal, I
think that is what you desir'd, I am willing if it can afford
you the smallest amusement, to obey, Yesterday, Mrs. B. & the
Bean
drank tea here, nothing particular paʃs'd, but he was
attentive & was very lively, we play'd a rubber at 6d: whist
we cut in & were partners, & both made as many blunders as
poʃsible, not designedly on my part I can aʃsure you, we were
very merry, & that does not suit the sober game at whist, they
supp'd & left us at half past Eleven. We have my dear friend
just receiv'd your melancholy letter, & feel most sincerely for my
Brother
& yourself, we pray wth. you may the Almighty either relieve
or release him; poor good man, I hope your dearest Dickenson will
take as much care of himself as his present affliction will
permit him, pray give our kindest & most affectionate love
to him, -- I am happy our dear little Louisa bore her journey
so well, may The Almighty pour down his bleʃsings on her head
& make her worthy of the parents he has given her, I foretell
that child will poʃseʃs amn amiable disposition, I think of you all
constantly, & often say, when & where shall I see them again,
I have reason to think my self happy in my present prospect
yet I will not build my hopes & expectations too high, tho'
the more I see of a certain person the ------------ more I like him.
Saturday morn 28th:
      Yesterday we din'd at Mr. B: after dinner
we had some conversation, not very interesting, but sufficiently
so, to convince us all that he is the amiable charecter we
thought him, we were again desir'd to make up a rubber at
whist, as there were five I beg'd to be excused, but my beau
took my hand & beg'd me to play, & as he was to be my
partner I did not refuse, we sat down & lost the great sum
of three & sixpence, we supp'd & after supper talk'd about
India, & Monsieur —— said that of all the countries
he had been in their were no women to be compar'd to the
english bowing to those that were present, it is still a custom
in some parts of India for the women to burn themselves with their deceas'd
husbands, Mr H—— was at one of these funerals ceremonies
the woman was very handsome & had several children, he talk'd
to her & tried to prevail on her not to do it, & promis'd to
provide for her & her children, she refus'd & told him that
she should again be reunited to her husband, & she well knew that
her children would be provided for, she accordingly after taking



leave of her children & friends threw herself on the pile waved
her hand as a signal, it was then set on fire, the shouting that
the priests & attendants make, prevent you from hearing the poor
victim
; As soon as this ceremony is over, the children of the
woman are rais'd to be the first people in the Country, in honor
of the mother. --
I must now let you into a secret, but do not mention it, my friend
has two natural children, a boy & a girl, they were born in India
therefore of a different complexion from ours, he brought them
over with him, to have them well educated, the girl is to return
when she is of a proper age, but from what I hear the boy is to
remain in England, the one is seven years old the other eight; he
has not mention'd them to my Mother yet, I shall be very glad
when he has, he may depend on my paying proper attention
to them, Adieu for to day. --
                                                         Sunday morn:
      Yesterday morning we had a pleasant trio to breakfast,
I order'd the carriage at eleven to go out meaning to leave
my Mother & the gentleman together, he beg'd to accompany
me, I gave no answer as I did not think it proper to go out
alone wth. him in the coach after so short an interview, my
Mother
perceiving me distreʃs'd, said as you wish to attend Mary
I must go likewise as it is not the right thing for her to go out
alone with a gentleman, so accordingly we all went together,
my Mother had some busineʃs to transact at Mr - a friends
in the Strand, we continued in the coach, he had hold of my hand
& we were talking upon various things, when my Mother came back
again, she told me in a whisper that our friend said he should
roast me well when he saw me for courting in the Strand.
Apropos I forgot to mention that he has told my Mother of the
two children
, they both behav'd very handsomly, she said she was certain
that I should allways pay them every proper attention, & if they
behav'd well that I should love them, he said he should certain-
-ly
have not had any thoughts of marrying me if he had not
had that opinion of me, the boy he doats on, he is a very
sensible fine child, the girl is not so handsome nor so
cleaver but a good little girl; he did not expect he said that
I should like his children so well as my own, & that it
certainly would make a great difference if we were to
have children, he is a very affectionate father to these two,
my Mother has promis'd that we are to go & see the girl
she is at a school at Clapton. --



Monday morn. We went to church yesterday & I hope profited by
a most excellent Sermon preach'd by Dr. Goʃsin, the text was
“speak ill of no man” -- after church we call'd on Mrs. Vernon
& Mrs. Reveley, they sincerely congratulated me on futture prospects,
indeed all my friends seem much pleas'd & even interested
in my happineʃs. On Saturday morning Isaac carried a note
for my Mother to our amiable Henry, his servant receiv'd
the note & hearing it came from us, said so my master is
going to marry yr young Lady, I can aʃsure you he is a very
good man, well said Isaac & our young Lady is a sweet
temper'd woman & will make a very good miʃstreʃs, then
replied the other the sooner my master brings her home
the better, so you see my dr. how soon they settled it.
      We had a very agreeable day yesterday Mr & Mrs. B. & himself
form'd our dinner party, in the afternoon came his two
friends Mr & Mrs. H—— she took the kindest & most affection-
-ate
notice of me, & was pleas'd to see her dr. Henry as she
always calls him so properly attentive, they left us at nine
the rest of our party staid till half past eleven.
Tuesday 1st.. May. At breakfast yesterday I perceiv'd my
dr. Henry (for so I shall always call him) appear'd very much
as if he wish'd to have some private conversation with me,
my Mother left the room & he then seated himself (I
tell you every thing) & very respectfully took my hand
began by saying that I well knew his sentiments in
regard to me & that if I wd. do him the honor to accept
of a hand & heart wholly my own he had his to offer, but
at the same he should hope to have an equal return; at the
first I felt quite lost & for a minute or two cd. not give him
an answer, but at last he receiv'd one that satisfied him,
for he immediately saluted me, he mention'd his children
& said he did not nor cd. not expect me to love them as my own
all he should entreat that no one wd. ever try to alienate
his affections from them, & I aʃsur'd him, that for his sake
I wd pay them all the attention I cd. & that if they behav'd
well, I sd most certainly love them. --



after we had settled everything to our own satis
-faction
, I heard my Mother in the next room, I beg'd
her to walk in, she gueʃs'd that all things were fix'd
by the confuʃsion in my looks, they enter'd into conver-
-sation
& my Mother told him he must bespeak a new
coach, on this occasion, he has already a very handsome
Chariot & a phaeton, which I should have thought
enough for myself, but however his friends think it
right, so the coach is bespoke, he desir'd me not to
mind the money but to have it perfectly elegant
& handsome; we were together all the afternoon
yesterday, he wishes our marriage not to be delay'd any
longer than is absolutely neceʃsary, as he shall date his
future happineʃs from the day of our being united, so that
I fancy as soon as the coach is ready, I shall lose my present
name, it is an awful change -- for better -- for worse --
& for life -- I only pray that I may be deserving
of the many many bleʃsings I have hitherto receiv'd,
& of the husband I shall ere long have, you & my
dr. Brother
will I am sure love him, his charecter
my dest- friend is beyond his fortune, every one speaks
well of him, every one loves him, & this is the man my
that yr. happy thrice happy Mary is going to be
united too
. My dr. A: Maria has seen him & what little
she saw of him she likes him, they are she is to be here
this evening & Mr. & Mrs. Vernon. He desir'd me yesterday
to invite my Mother to be as much at Henley Park
as she likes. I am afraid to ask how yr. truly valuable
father
goes on, nor wd. I have intruded this long scribble
on yr. time, had I not known from the great love you have for
me, that you wd: be anxious to know how matters went on.
This week we shall go for two or three days to Henly Park,
you must forgive me if I do not continue my journal, as my time
is wholly taken up. pray salute the lovely innocent for me,
      & believe me ever my dearest friend your ever oblig'd & affectionate
                             M: G——r

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

Normalised Text


                                                                                   

                                                         Friday April 27th 1787
My dearest friend
      This morning our dearest Anna Maria breakfasted with
us, she has not recovered her good looks, but says she is better
than when we went to Bath, I am to write a journal, I
think that is what you desired, I am willing if it can afford
you the smallest amusement, to obey, Yesterday, Mrs. Barnard & the
Bean drank tea here, nothing particular passed, but he was
attentive & was very lively, we played a rubber at 6d: whist
we cut in & were partners, & both made as many blunders as
possible, not designedly on my part I can assure you, we were
very merry, & that does not suit the sober game at whist, they
supped & left us at half past Eleven. We have my dear friend
just received your melancholy letter, & feel most sincerely for my
Brother & yourself, we pray with you may the Almighty either relieve
or release him; poor good man, I hope your dearest Dickenson will
take as much care of himself as his present affliction will
permit him, pray give our kindest & most affectionate love
to him, -- I am happy our dear little Louisa bore her journey
so well, may The Almighty pour down his blessings on her head
& make her worthy of the parents he has given her, I foretell
that child will possess an amiable disposition, I think of you all
constantly, & often say, when & where shall I see them again,
I have reason to think my self happy in my present prospect
yet I will not build my hopes & expectations too high, though
the more I see of a certain person the more I like him.
Saturday morning 28th:
      Yesterday we dined at Mr. Barnard after dinner
we had some conversation, not very interesting, but sufficiently
so, to convince us all that he is the amiable character we
thought him, we were again desired to make up a rubber at
whist, as there were five I begged to be excused, but my beau
took my hand & begged me to play, & as he was to be my
partner I did not refuse, we sat down & lost the great sum
of three & sixpence, we supped & after supper talked about
India, & Monsieur —— said that of all the countries
he had been in there were no women to be compared to the
english bowing to those that were present, it is still a custom
in some parts of India for the women to burn themselves with their deceased
husbands, Mr Halsey was at one of these funeral ceremonies
the woman was very handsome & had several children, he talked
to her & tried to prevail on her not to do it, & promised to
provide for her & her children, she refused & told him that
she should again be reunited to her husband, & she well knew that
her children would be provided for, she accordingly after taking



leave of her children & friends threw herself on the pile waved
her hand as a signal, it was then set on fire, the shouting that
the priests & attendants make, prevent you from hearing the poor
victim; As soon as this ceremony is over, the children of the
woman are raised to be the first people in the Country, in honour
of the mother. --
I must now let you into a secret, but do not mention it, my friend
has two natural children, a boy & a girl, they were born in India
therefore of a different complexion from ours, he brought them
over with him, to have them well educated, the girl is to return
when she is of a proper age, but from what I hear the boy is to
remain in England, the one is seven years old the other eight; he
has not mentioned them to my Mother yet, I shall be very glad
when he has, he may depend on my paying proper attention
to them, Adieu for to day. --
                                                         Sunday morning
      Yesterday morning we had a pleasant trio to breakfast,
I ordered the carriage at eleven to go out meaning to leave
my Mother & the gentleman together, he begged to accompany
me, I gave no answer as I did not think it proper to go out
alone with him in the coach after so short an interview, my
Mother perceiving me distressed, said as you wish to attend Mary
I must go likewise as it is not the right thing for her to go out
alone with a gentleman, so accordingly we all went together,
my Mother had some business to transact at a friends
in the Strand, we continued in the coach, he had hold of my hand
& we were talking upon various things, when my Mother came back
again, she told me in a whisper that our friend said he should
roast me well when he saw me for courting in the Strand.
Apropos I forgot to mention that he has told my Mother of the
two children, they both behaved handsomely, she said she was certain
that I should always pay them every proper attention, & if they
behaved well that I should love them, he said he should certainly
have not had any thoughts of marrying me if he had not
had that opinion of me, the boy he dotes on, he is a very
sensible fine child, the girl is not so handsome nor so
clever but a good little girl; he did not expect he said that
I should like his children so well as my own, & that it
certainly would make a great difference if we were to
have children, he is a very affectionate father to these two,
my Mother has promised that we are to go & see the girl
she is at a school at Clapton. --



Monday morning We went to church yesterday & I hope profited by
a most excellent Sermon preached by Dr. Gossin, the text was
“speak ill of no man” -- after church we called on Mrs. Vernon
& Mrs. Reveley, they sincerely congratulated me on future prospects,
indeed all my friends seem much pleased & even interested
in my happiness. On Saturday morning Isaac carried a note
for my Mother to our amiable Henry, his servant received
the note & hearing it came from us, said so my master is
going to marry your young Lady, I can assure you he is a very
good man, well said Isaac & our young Lady is a sweet
tempered woman & will make a very good mistress, then
replied the other the sooner my master brings her home
the better, so you see my dear how soon they settled it.
      We had a very agreeable day yesterday Mr & Mrs. Barnard & himself
formed our dinner party, in the afternoon came his two
friends Mr & Mrs. H—— she took the kindest & most affectionate
notice of me, & was pleased to see her dear Henry as she
always calls him so properly attentive, they left us at nine
the rest of our party stayed till half past eleven.
Tuesday 1st.. May. At breakfast yesterday I perceived my
dear. Henry (for so I shall always call him) appeared very much
as if he wished to have some private conversation with me,
my Mother left the room he then seated himself (I
tell you every thing) & very respectfully took my hand
began by saying that I well knew his sentiments in
regard to me & that if I would do him the honour to accept
of a hand & heart wholly my own he had his to offer, but
at the same he should hope to have an equal return; at the
first I felt quite lost & for a minute or two could not give him
an answer, but at last he received one that satisfied him,
for he immediately saluted me, he mentioned his children
& said he did not nor could not expect me to love them as my own
all he should entreat that no one would ever try to alienate
his affections from them, & I assured him, that for his sake
I would pay them all the attention I could & that if they behaved
well, I should most certainly love them. --



after we had settled everything to our own satisfaction
, I heard my Mother in the next room, I begged
her to walk in, she guessed that all things were fixed
by the confusion in my looks, they entered into conversation
& my Mother told him he must bespeak a new
coach, on this occasion, he has already a very handsome
Chariot & a phaeton, which I should have thought
enough for myself, but however his friends think it
right, so the coach is bespoke, he desired me not to
mind the money but to have it perfectly elegant
& handsome; we were together all the afternoon
yesterday, he wishes our marriage not to be delayed any
longer than is absolutely necessary, as he shall date his
future happiness from the day of our being united, so that
I fancy as soon as the coach is ready, I shall lose my present
name, it is an awful change -- for better -- for worse --
& for life -- I only pray that I may be deserving
of the many many blessings I have hitherto received,
& of the husband I shall ere long have, you & my
dear Brother will I am sure love him, his character
my dearest friend is beyond his fortune, every one speaks
well of him, every one loves him, & this is the man
that your happy thrice happy Mary is going to be
united to. My dear Anna Maria has seen him & what little
she saw of him she likes him, she is to be here
this evening & Mr. & Mrs. Vernon. He desired me yesterday
to invite my Mother to be as much at Henley Park
as she likes. I am afraid to ask how your truly valuable
father goes on, nor would I have intruded this long scribble
on your time, had I not known from the great love you have for
me, that you would be anxious to know how matters went on.
This week we shall go for two or three days to Henly Park,
you must forgive me if I do not continue my journal, as my time
is wholly taken up. pray salute the lovely innocent for me,
      & believe me ever my dearest friend your ever obliged & affectionate
                             Mary Glover

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

Metadata

Library References

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

Archive: Mary Hamilton Papers

Item title: Journal-letter from Mary Glover to Mary Hamilton

Shelfmark: HAM/1/13/45

Correspondence Details

Sender: Mary Glover

Place sent: unknown

Addressee: Mary Hamilton

Place received: Bath

Date sent: not before 1 May 1787
notBefore 1 May 1787 (precision: high)

Letter Description

Summary: Journal-letter from Mary Glover to Mary Hamilton, for Hamilton’s amusement. Glover’s letter relates to news of what she has been doing and the society she has been keeping and with news of her fiancé [Henry]. Glover writes of his marriage proposal, which she accepts, and informs Hamilton of a secret she has which is that her fiancé has two ‘natural’ children, a boy and girl, who were born in India ‘therefore of a different complexion from ours’. The gentleman brought them to England so that they could be educated and the girl is to return to India when she reaches a ‘proper age’ and the boy is to remain in England. She notes that he has not mentioned them to her mother yet. She will be glad when he does and notes that she will pay the proper attention to both children. At a party the talk was of India and of the custom of women burning themselves after the death of their husbands. One of the party, Mr H, witnessed such a funeral and attempted to prevent the widow from burning herself. She could not be prevented and said that she would again be reunited with her husband.
    Glover continues her letter over the following days. Her ‘friend’ told her mother of his children, and her mother said that she is certain that if the children are well behaved then her daughter will love them; he replied that he would have not thought of marrying her if he was not of the same opinion. He said that he did not expect her to like his children as well as her own. Her mother has promised that they can go and see the girl, who is attending a school in Clapton. Glover writes that ‘Henry’ wishes to be married as soon as possible.
    Original reference No. 22.
   

Length: 1 sheet, 1790 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: Christine Wallis, editorial team (completed 1 July 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: 21 October 2023

Document Image (pdf)