HAM/1/20/111
Letter from Francis Napier, 8th Lord Napier, to Mary Hamilton
Diplomatic Text
Wilton Lodge, 1st: Febry=
1790.
My Dear Sister,
Tho' I am not displeased at
Taxal being your own, yet I can hardly bring
myself to say, that I rejoice to hear of the
Old Gentleman's present to Mr. Dickenson.
Had you been Wanderers, we might have seen
you here, whatever may be our inclinations, our
neceʃsities will not admit of our moving, as
I cannot leave my Farm, not Maria her Nursery.
These being the Days, in which, Independance appears
to flourish more than in former times, that
I may not appear absolutely unfashionable, I
will force myself to congratulate You on the
late addition to your Comfort, & I will add (You
may beleive it or not as You please) that I love
the Master of Birch Hall for shewing Attention
even to You.
You may laugh at my Masonic
Dignities & amuse yourself with running the
changes on Levels, Mallets, Chiʃsell's &c; but alas,
my elevated situation, like most other Scrapes
in which I have been engaged, has been attended
with an infinite degree of expence & inconvenience.
Fifty of my good Pounds go to aʃsist the building
of that College, the foundation of which I so hap=
=pily deposited last November. In return for my
Cash, I have to boast of having received the
Freedom of the City of Edinburgh & the Degree of
Doctor of Laws from the University. I honestly
confeʃs, that I could have expended my Money in
Stone & Lime, much more to my satisfaction
at Wilton Lodge. Had you seen, with what becoming
Gravity, I addreʃsed myself (in the middle of the
Street) to the Magistrates, and afterwards to hte
Profeʃsors of the College, you would certainly
have experienced those feelings of Awe &
Veneration, with which, the admiring Mob
were so deeply penetrated, that during my
discourse not a Word was to be heard from
the collected Blackguards. In my more early
days, I was not entirely unknown to the Po=
=pulace, who (poʃsibly) poʃseʃsing more real good
qualities, than those who call themselves their
Betters, are willing to allow them, still retained
such a recollection of our former friendship & intimacy,
as to abstain from bestowing the usual Salute of
dead Cats, Dogs, &c. &c. for which due credit was
given them in the Edinr. Newspapers. The pub=
=lic appearances I have made as Grand Master,
& the Speeches I have uttered before crouded
Audiencies,[1] will be of use on preparing Me
to hold forth in the Great Aʃsembly of the Nation,
should the Peers be so silly as to send Me to
Parliament, at the next General Election. As an
Orator, Burke is a joke to Me, & Sheridan unfit to
hold a Candle.
My Eyesight is still much impaired,
I suppose by Age & Infirmities. I begin to have serious
intentions of purchasing Green Spectacles.[2] My
Nose, was by nature designed for such ornaments,
& if ever I reach the Senate, they will add to the
appearance of Wisdom, which I ought to be at
some pains to affect, being thoroughly conscious
of not poʃseʃsing the reality.
Not having any Royal Dukes
in our Neighbourhood, I have been obliged to
submit to baptise my little Girl, in a more
humble way than some of her Relations have
lately done to their Infants. What is still more,
for want of a Clergyman of the Church of England,
I even condescended to make use of the Minister
of the Parish, & strange to tell, my Daughter was
Christened by the name of Anne, without the Aʃsist
=ance of Godfathers & Godmothers, I myself
(according to the forms of the Presbyterian
Church) taking upon Me all those Vows,
which Sponsors never intend to fulfil.
Do not from this circumstance, imagine
that I am an Advocate for the Repeal of the Test
Act
Wilton Lodge South Front
[3]
In the Center, below stairs, a Hall & above the Hall
two Dreʃsing Rooms. Behind the Library, a Dining
Room; behind the Nursery, a Housekeepers Room. Behind
the Family Bed Chamber, a Drawing Room; behind the
best Bedchamber, another Bedchamber & Dreʃsing Room
[4]for Strangers. Five Rooms in the Atticks, three of them for Strangers
& two for their Servants. My own Dreʃsing Room is on the same
floor with the family Bed Chamb. A principal Stair case & a back
Stair. A row of Offices joining the main House, containing a
Servants Hall, Cellar, Kitchen, Scullery & Washhouse; Above, a Laundry
Maids Room, Housekeepers sleeping Room, My own Man's Room,
& Footmens Room -- The House likewise contains, Butlers
Pantry, Milk House, Larder, Water Closet & divers other con=
=veniencies. The stables &c are good, but being in front
of the House, must be removed when we find Leisure.
You would like the place, for it is really comfortable & pretty. The
neighbourhood, not too numerous, but desireable. We live in a
quiet way & pay our Bills. My plough horses match those I have for
the Coach, so that occasionally we can drive four. I have taken
it in to my head to fancy that I like farming & as I never had
any particular reason to rejoice in the Military Life, I feel no re=
=gret from quitting it. Adieu. Maria & the Brats[5] well. She joins
me in affectionate wishes to You, Mr. Dickenson & Miʃs. Ever Yours
faithfully & sincerely Napier
5/1
[6]
Mrs= Dickenson
Taxal
Chapel le Frith
Derby
By
Carlisle.[7]
[8]
[9]
▼
red text is normalised and/or unformatted in other panel)
Notes
1. It is much more likely that audiencies is a slip for audiences than that it exemplifies the word audiency, recorded only twice in the 1620s (OED s.v. audiency n. Accessed 14-12-2022).
2. See H. Washizu (2011) ‘The Optics of Green Spectacles’. The Edgar Allan Poe Review, 12(2), 48–57.
3. Diagram of a two-storey house. The upper windows in the left wing are labelled ‘Family Bed Chamb[er]’, and the lower floor ‘Library’; the right wing upper floor is labelled ‘Best Bed Chamber’, and the lower ‘Nursery’.
4. This section has been moved here from its original position at the bottom of the page to restore the logical reading order.
5. It is unclear whether Charlotte, who would be two by now, is still living at this date (see the illness described in HAM/1/20/107 p.2, and her not being counted among ‘all the Seven Children’ of HAM/1/20/149 p.2).
6. Large manuscript figure 7, denoting postage due.
7. This address is written vertically in the centre of the page.
8. Postmark ‘HAWICK’ in black ink.
9. Seal, in red wax.
Normalised Text
Wilton Lodge, 1st: February
1790.
My Dear Sister,
Though I am not displeased at
Taxal being your own, yet I can hardly bring
myself to say, that I rejoice to hear of the
Old Gentleman's present to Mr. Dickenson.
Had you been Wanderers, we might have seen
you here, whatever may be our inclinations, our
necessities will not admit of our moving, as
I cannot leave my Farm, not Maria her Nursery.
These being the Days, in which, Independence appears
to flourish more than in former times, that
I may not appear absolutely unfashionable, I
will force myself to congratulate You on the
late addition to your Comfort, & I will add (You
may believe it or not as You please) that I love
the Master of Birch Hall for showing Attention
even to You.
You may laugh at my Masonic
Dignities & amuse yourself with running the
changes on Levels, Mallets, Chisel's &c; but alas,
my elevated situation, like most other Scrapes
in which I have been engaged, has been attended
with an infinite degree of expense & inconvenience.
Fifty of my good Pounds go to assist the building
of that College, the foundation of which I so happily
deposited last November. In return for my
Cash, I have to boast of having received the
Freedom of the City of Edinburgh & the Degree of
Doctor of Laws from the University. I honestly
confess, that I could have expended my Money in
Stone & Lime, much more to my satisfaction
at Wilton Lodge. Had you seen, with what becoming
Gravity, I addressed myself (in the middle of the
Street) to the Magistrates, and afterwards to hte
Professors of the College, you would certainly
have experienced those feelings of Awe &
Veneration, with which, the admiring Mob
were so deeply penetrated, that during my
discourse not a Word was to be heard from
the collected Blackguards. In my more early
days, I was not entirely unknown to the Populace
, who (possibly) possessing more real good
qualities, than those who call themselves their
Betters, are willing to allow them, still retained
such a recollection of our former friendship & intimacy,
as to abstain from bestowing the usual Salute of
dead Cats, Dogs, &c. &c. for which due credit was
given them in the Edinburgh Newspapers. The public
appearances I have made as Grand Master,
& the Speeches I have uttered before crowded
Audiences, will be of use on preparing Me
to hold forth in the Great Assembly of the Nation,
should the Peers be so silly as to send Me to
Parliament, at the next General Election. As an
Orator, Burke is a joke to Me, & Sheridan unfit to
hold a Candle.
My Eyesight is still much impaired,
I suppose by Age & Infirmities. I begin to have serious
intentions of purchasing Green Spectacles. My
Nose, was by nature designed for such ornaments,
& if ever I reach the Senate, they will add to the
appearance of Wisdom, which I ought to be at
some pains to affect, being thoroughly conscious
of not possessing the reality.
Not having any Royal Dukes
in our Neighbourhood, I have been obliged to
submit to baptise my little Girl, in a more
humble way than some of her Relations have
lately done to their Infants. What is still more,
for want of a Clergyman of the Church of England,
I even condescended to make use of the Minister
of the Parish, & strange to tell, my Daughter was
Christened by the name of Anne, without the Assistance
of Godfathers & Godmothers, I myself
(according to the forms of the Presbyterian
Church) taking upon Me all those Vows,
which Sponsors never intend to fulfil.
Do not from this circumstance, imagine
that I am an Advocate for the Repeal of the Test
Act
In the Centre, below stairs, a Hall & above the Hall
two Dressing Rooms. Behind the Library, a Dining
Room; behind the Nursery, a Housekeepers Room. Behind
the Family Bed Chamber, a Drawing Room; behind the
best Bedchamber, another Bedchamber & Dressing Room
for Strangers. Five Rooms in the Attics, three of them for Strangers
& two for their Servants. My own Dressing Room is on the same
floor with the family Bed Chamber. A principal Stair case & a back
Stair. A row of Offices joining the main House, containing a
Servants Hall, Cellar, Kitchen, Scullery & Washhouse; Above, a Laundry
Maids Room, Housekeepers sleeping Room, My own Man's Room,
& Footmens Room -- The House likewise contains, Butlers
Pantry, Milk House, Larder, Water Closet & diverse other conveniencies
. The stables &c are good, but being in front
of the House, must be removed when we find Leisure.
You would like the place, for it is really comfortable & pretty. The
neighbourhood, not too numerous, but desirable. We live in a
quiet way & pay our Bills. My plough horses match those I have for
the Coach, so that occasionally we can drive four. I have taken
it in to my head to fancy that I like farming & as I never had
any particular reason to rejoice in the Military Life, I feel no regret
from quitting it. Adieu. Maria & the Brats well. She joins
me in affectionate wishes to You, Mr. Dickenson & Miss. Ever Yours
faithfully & sincerely Napier
Mrs= Dickenson
Taxal
Chapel le Frith
Derby
By
Carlisle.
▼
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 Francis Napier, 8th Lord Napier, to Mary Hamilton
Shelfmark: HAM/1/20/111
Correspondence Details
Sender: Francis Scott Napier, 8th Lord
Place sent: Roxburghshire
Addressee: Mary Hamilton
Place received: Taxal, near Chapel-en-le-Frith
Date sent: 1 February 1790
Letter Description
Summary: Letter from Francis Napier, 8th Lord Napier, to Mary Hamilton, relates to
the foundation of ‘Napier’ University and to Wilton Lodge. Napier writes
that Hamilton may laugh at his Masonic Dignities and at the differing levels
within it but his ‘elevated situation’ comes with a degree of expense and
inconvenience ‘fifty of my good Pounds go to assist the building of that
College [the new University of Edinburgh], the foundation of which I so
happily deposited last November. In return for my cash, I have to boast of
having received the freedom of the City of Edinburgh & the Degree of
Doctor of Laws from the University’. He confesses he could have spent the
money much more to his satisfaction in stone in Wilton Lodge. He continues
in a light-hearted manner on the foundation ceremony noting that his public
appearances as Grand Master and the speeches he has made are good
preparation if the Peers are ‘silly’ enough to vote him into Parliament at
the next General Election. Tongue-in-cheek he writes that ‘as an orator,
Burke is a joke to me, & Sheridan unfit to hold a Candle’.
Napier includes a sketch of his home Wilton Lodge and a description of the
layout of the house.
Napier ends his letter by saying that as he never had any ‘particular reason
to rejoice in the Military life, I feel no regret from quitting it’.
Dated at Wilton Lodge [Roxburghshire].
Length: 1 sheet, 899 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 27 October 2021)
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: 3 December 2021