Single Letter

HAM/1/15/2/7

Incomplete letter from Mary Hamilton to Charlotte Margaret Gunning

Diplomatic Text


6

East Bourne 30th- June 1780


      Did my Astrea know how my fully my time is
employ'd she would not be “so unreasonable”, I have
at this time ten letters unanswer'd upon my table,
-- I was however very sorry the post should go away
yesterday without a letter for you -- Rhea was the
occasion of it, for she had written me a very long &
friendly letter, & it would have been highly improper
for me not to have answer'd it immediately. --
I have been a good deal indisposed -- a pain in my back,
& violent Cold in my Head -- this has prevented my
Bathing wch. I had intended doing before now -- I
have not been confin'd to ye. house -- my cold is better,
& ye. pain in my back is gone.
Perfecta is much pleased wth. your remembrance &
both she & Mr. Bruyeres desired me to present their
best Compts. -- ye. latter said a great many fine things
but you have so many fine things said to you
daily, that I wont tire you with repetitions
How comes it, yt. ye. Dʃs. of Ancaster is at Tunbridge?
-- poor Woman! my Heart bleeds for her,[1] -- pray



continue to send me all ye. intelligence you can about her & her
Daughters
. -- is Lord Althorpe better?
      The more I am acquainted wth our society ye.
more I approve, & like them -- Mr. Farhill is
about 27 -- handsome, modest, amiable & well bred, I
believe he was, uponbefore he was appointed preceptor
to P. E., pursuing ye. Study of ye. law -- he appears
to have profited by a liberal education; reads,
& recites remarkably well -- writes poetry in an
easy, elegant manner, -- at least if I can judge
from a translation of a latin Epitaph he gave
Perfecta the other morng. -- Mr. Fisher is in
the Church, he is some years older than Mr. F.,
about 35 -- he has not ye. same advantage of person,
yet there is nothing disagreeable -- his countenance
is an index of his mind -- wch. I really believe is
perfectly amiable -- he has ------ talents, taste, &
genius -- he draws finely, & is continually taking
advantage of this delightful accomplishment
by taking views of every prospect worthy his
pencil -- he has travell'd a good deal, & nothing
seems to have escap'd his observation, either of



ye. useful or elegant.     Mr. Farhill, reads to us in
English -- Mr. Bruyeres in French -- & Mr. Fisher
is giving me & Pʃs. E instructions in drawing -- he has
given me a task for Lands---capes the Gentle-
men
take it by turns to explore ye. Country
for us -- & then are our guides to the most
picturesque paints of view &c &c &c.
Yesterday we went to Pevensey -- the Noble
Ruin of a Castle of that name is worthy
observation -- I wish you could have seen me
clambering up the ruins & seated in what
they call'd ye. Parson's chair -- perch'd like a
Magpie -- King William ye. Conqueror landed
here -- & Oliver Cromwell destroy'd this vast
& Noble Building -- I want much to know
more about it -- but I could get no further
intelligence -- I suppose in some of ye. descriptions
of ye. Antiquities of England one may meet
wth. some account of it -- ask Sir Robert.
I have yet said nothing of the advantage we
experience by the vicinity of East Bourne Place



Lady Betty Compton to whom it belongs, has politely
given their R H -- ye. priviledge of going thither
whenever they chuse -- we daily walk in the
Gardens & Grounds -- the Children can there
enjoy ye. benifit of shade -- & we have the
liberty of going into ye. House whenever we
please -- we often spend an hour in the
library -- the House is not Modern -- but it
is pretty large, convenient, & well calculated for comfort
& society. it is in perfect repair -- & has the
elegance of neatneʃs beyond what I ever saw.
      You tell me Bell is unwell -- I hope she
has no return of ye. complaint that alarm'd you so
much at Bath -- my love to her, & tell how very
sorry I am to know she is not well -- & yt- she
has -my best wishes for a speedy recovery --
indeed my Dear I cannot begin a correspondence
wth. Miʃs J—— had I once done so I should
not have been so impolite as to have drop'd
it -- but as it is, she cannot expect a letter
-- My best Compts- to her -- but pray do not get
me a new correspondent -- besides. I never write[2]

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red text is normalised and/or unformatted in other panel)


Notes


 1. This could be a reference to the death, in 1779, of the Duchess's only son, Robert Bertie 4th Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven.
 2. The remainder of the letter is missing.

Normalised Text



East Bourne 30th- June 1780


      Did my Astrea know how fully my time is
employed she would not be “so unreasonable”, I have
at this time ten letters unanswered upon my table,
-- I was however very sorry the post should go away
yesterday without a letter for you -- Rhea was the
occasion of it, for she had written me a very long &
friendly letter, & it would have been highly improper
for me not to have answered it immediately. --
I have been a good deal indisposed -- a pain in my back,
& violent Cold in my Head -- this has prevented my
Bathing which I had intended doing before now -- I
have not been confined to the house -- my cold is better,
& the pain in my back is gone.
Perfecta is much pleased with your remembrance &
both she & Mr. Bruyeres desired me to present their
best Compliments -- the latter said a great many fine things
but you have so many fine things said to you
daily, that I won't tire you with repetitions
How comes it, that the Duchess of Ancaster is at Tunbridge?
-- poor Woman! my Heart bleeds for her, -- pray



continue to send me all the intelligence you can about her & her
Daughters. -- is Lord Althorpe better?
      The more I am acquainted with our society the
more I approve, & like them -- Mr. Farhill is
about 27 -- handsome, modest, amiable & well bred, I
believe he was, before he was appointed preceptor
to Prince Edward, pursuing the Study of the law -- he appears
to have profited by a liberal education; reads,
& recites remarkably well -- writes poetry in an
easy, elegant manner, -- at least if I can judge
from a translation of a latin Epitaph he gave
Perfecta the other morning -- Mr. Fisher is in
the Church, he is some years older than Mr. Farhill,
about 35 -- he has not the same advantage of person,
yet there is nothing disagreeable -- his countenance
is an index of his mind -- which I really believe is
perfectly amiable -- he has talents, taste, &
genius -- he draws finely, & is continually taking
advantage of this delightful accomplishment
by taking views of every prospect worthy his
pencil -- he has travelled , & nothing
seems to have escaped his observation, either of



the useful or elegant.     Mr. Farhill, reads to us in
English -- Mr. Bruyeres in French -- & Mr. Fisher
is giving me & Princess Elizabeth instructions in drawing -- he has
given me a task for Landscapes the Gentlemen
take it by turns to explore the Country
for us -- & then are our guides to the most
picturesque paints of view &c &c &c.
Yesterday we went to Pevensey -- the Noble
Ruin of a Castle of that name is worthy
observation -- I wish you could have seen me
clambering up the ruins & seated in what
they called the Parson's chair -- perched like a
Magpie -- King William the Conqueror landed
here -- & Oliver Cromwell destroyed this vast
& Noble Building -- I want much to know
more about it -- but I could get no further
intelligence -- I suppose in some of the descriptions
of the Antiquities of England one may meet
with some account of it -- ask Sir Robert.
I have yet said nothing of the advantage we
experience by the vicinity of East Bourne Place



Lady Betty Compton to whom it belongs, has politely
given their Royal Highness -- the privilege of going thither
whenever they choose -- we daily walk in the
Gardens & Grounds -- the Children can there
enjoy the benefit of shade -- & we have the
liberty of going into the House whenever we
please -- we often spend an hour in the
library -- the House is not Modern -- but it
is pretty large, convenient, & well calculated for comfort
& society. it is in perfect repair -- & has the
elegance of neatness beyond what I ever saw.
      You tell me Bell is unwell -- I hope she
has no return of the complaint that alarmed you so
much at Bath -- my love to her, & tell how very
sorry I am to know she is not well -- & that she
has my best wishes for a speedy recovery --
indeed my Dear I cannot begin a correspondence
with Miss J—— had I once done so I should
not have been so impolite as to have dropped
it -- but as it is, she cannot expect a letter
-- My best Compliments to her -- but pray do not get
me a new correspondent -- besides. I never write

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quotations,
spellings, uncorrected forms, split words, abbreviations, formatting)



 1. This could be a reference to the death, in 1779, of the Duchess's only son, Robert Bertie 4th Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven.
 2. The remainder of the letter is missing.

Metadata

Library References

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

Archive: Mary Hamilton Papers

Item title: Incomplete letter from Mary Hamilton to Charlotte Margaret Gunning

Shelfmark: HAM/1/15/2/7

Correspondence Details

Sender: Mary Hamilton

Place sent: Eastbourne

Addressee: Charlotte Margaret Digby (née Gunning)

Place received: unknown

Date sent: 30 June 1780

Letter Description

Summary: Incomplete letter from Mary Hamilton to Charlotte Gunning. The letter relates to John Fisher and John Farhill and Hamilton's time in Eastbourne. Hamilton provides detailed descriptions of John Farhill and John Fisher to Gunning. Farhill is described as very handsome and about 27 years old. He is 'modest, amiable & well bred'. Before he became a preceptor of Prince 'E' [Edward] he was studying law. He also seems to have 'profited by a Liberal education, [and] reads & recites remarkably well, writes poetry in an easy, elegant manner'. Mr Fisher is about 35 years old and 'is in the Church'. Hamilton does not think that he is as handsome as Farhill 'yet there is nothing disagreeable' with him. She views him as amiable with talent and genius and notes that he 'draws finely'. Hamilton Writes that Farhill reads to the party in English, Mr Bruyeres in French and that Fisher instructs her in drawing and has given her a taste for landscapes. The letter continues with descriptions of the country of the area. She also writes about the house in which they are staying which belongs to Lady Elizabeth Compton [Compton House].
    Hamilton also notes that she has ten letters waiting to be answered on her table and writes that 'Perfecta' [Lady Charlotte Finch] is pleased with Gunning's remembrance of her.
    Dated at Eastbourne.
    Original reference No. 6.
   

Length: 1 sheet, 752 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 6 October 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: 20 December 2021

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