Single Letter

HAM/1/20/208

Letter from Francis Napier, 8th Lord Napier, to Mary Hamilton

Diplomatic Text


                                                         71, Queen Street
                                                         12th. Septr- 1806




My Dear Sister,
      You certainly ought
to have told me, long ago, that You
had received the intelligence I sent
You about Miʃs Skinner; but, as I per=
ceive
something like contrition, for
having neglected to do so, in the first
line of your Letter of the 8th Instant, I
shall very condescendingly grant You
a free pardon for the Offence.
      Lady N. returns You many
thanks for the Poetry you sent her.
The lines do credit to Mrs- John Hunter,
and say nothing more than what
waswas true of old Bet Carter. She was a fine
old Slut,[1] though bearing not the least
resemblance to a Woman. She had
more the appearance of a fat Priest of
the Church of Rome, than of an English
Gentlewoman.
      Lord Melville ought to have
been replaced on the List of Privy Coun=
sellors
, the moment his Peers had acquitted
him of the Charges brought against
him; and, I have no doubt of the
Sovereign
having wished it, though



his present Advisers seem not to
be hasty in acknowledging the injury
They have done him. I have not seen
Lord Melville since he came to Scot=
land
, being absent from Edinburgh
when he was here, and it has not
suited my convenience to go so far
North as his House at Duneira. It is
situated in a part of Scotland, subject
to Earthquakes, and as Thunder & Lighten=
ing
have rather been prevalent this
Season, I have not trusted myself
where Volcanic Appearances abound.
Not that I have been entirely out of the
way of Storms. For I had the happineʃs
of travelling twelve Miles in the Thun=
der
Storm, on that dreadful Saturday,
when so much mischief was done both
in England & Scotland.
      Remember, that I am
not answerable for Sir J. B. Warren
& his Fleet. Yesterday's post brought
me a few lines from my Son, dated
off Barbadoes the 12th. of July, on which day
the arrived there, and set sail again.
We know, that they have, since that
time, been at Newfoundland. Where
they may be now, I have not a suffi=
cient
portion of the Second Sight to



be able to tell You. The Princeʃs of Wales
is the most injured Woman, in Great
Britain. The Prince, it is said, is soon to
be in Scotland. A credit from Meʃsrs-
Coutts
has been lodged at one of the
public Banks here, for him & the Duke
of Clarence
. I do not, however, believe
that they will penetrate so far North.
As to the Cathcarts, I can say little. His
Lordship
& his Son Frederick only ar=
rived
the day before yesterday, and are
to dine with me today. If they behave
properly, I shall give them an Invita=
tion
to a Haunch of Venison, this day
      Week. Lady Cathcart
      and the rest of the
      family are with Ad=
miral
Elliot
, at Mounteviot, where
they will remain till his Lordship
has fixed on a place of Residence for
them, either in this Town, or in its
Neighbourhood. The latter, is what they
would prefer; it will, however, be dif=
ficult
for them to procure I havesuch a
place as will hold them. I have no
doubt of our being very cordial here. As
a proof of it, he waited on me the Even=
ing
of his arrival, without my having
taken any previous steps to induce him
to do so. There are no Kings & Queens, or
Windsor's hereabout, and We are as Great
as themselves. I wish I could have the







satisfaction of seeing You & Yours sitting
down to Dinner with them, in this
House. I should vastly enjoy such
a Meeting, and if Lady Mansfield could
be of the party, it would be quite delight=
ful
. But, such happineʃs, I fear, is not
destined for Me. Pray dont tell me of[2]
your Husbands shooting. Had he really
been a Sportsman, he would, long ago, have
bent his steps to the Highlands to shoot. With
best Love & kind wishes from all here
to all at Leighton House, viz. Mr. D. Yourself,
Louisa & my Countrywoman. I ever remain
My Dear Sister Your Affecte- Brother
                                                         Napier[3]

Edinburgh, Twelfth
                             September 1806


      Mrs- Dickenson[4]
      Leighton House
            Leighton Buzzard
                  Beds
Napier.[5]

[6]

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


Notes


 1. Two well-attested senses are possible here: ‘[a]n untidy, dirty, or slovenly woman; a woman who is habitually careless, lazy, or negligent with regard to appearance’, and ‘[i]n neutral or positive use: a woman, a girl’ (OED s.v. slut n. I.1, I.3. Accessed 15-03-2022).
 2. This section (7 lines) appears at the bottom of the page, below the address, and is continued at the top.
 3. Moved this section (8 lines) here from top of page.
 4. FREE Frank in red ink, dated 15 September 1806. Second postmark in red ink, dated 12 September 1806.
 5. Moved address here from middle of page, written vertically.
 6. Seal, in red wax. Near the seal are some marks in pencil.

Normalised Text


                                                         71, Queen Street
                                                         12th. September 1806




My Dear Sister,
      You certainly ought
to have told me, long ago, that You
had received the intelligence I sent
You about Miss Skinner; but, as I perceive
something like contrition, for
having neglected to do so, in the first
line of your Letter of the 8th Instant, I
shall very condescendingly grant You
a free pardon for the Offence.
      Lady Napier returns You many
thanks for the Poetry you sent her.
The lines do credit to Mrs- John Hunter,
and say nothing more than what
was true of old Bet Carter. She was a fine
old Slut, though bearing not the least
resemblance to a Woman. She had
more the appearance of a fat Priest of
the Church of Rome, than of an English
Gentlewoman.
      Lord Melville ought to have
been replaced on the List of Privy Counsellors
, the moment his Peers had acquitted
him of the Charges brought against
him; and, I have no doubt of the
Sovereign having wished it, though



his present Advisers seem not to
be hasty in acknowledging the injury
They have done him. I have not seen
Lord Melville since he came to Scotland
, being absent from Edinburgh
when he was here, and it has not
suited my convenience to go so far
North as his House at Duneira. It is
situated in a part of Scotland, subject
to Earthquakes, and as Thunder & Lightning
have rather been prevalent this
Season, I have not trusted myself
where Volcanic Appearances abound.
Not that I have been entirely out of the
way of Storms. For I had the happiness
of travelling twelve Miles in the Thunder
Storm, on that dreadful Saturday,
when so much mischief was done both
in England & Scotland.
      Remember, that I am
not answerable for Sir John Borlase Warren
& his Fleet. Yesterday's post brought
me a few lines from my Son, dated
off Barbadoes the 12th. of July, on which day
they arrived there, and set sail again.
We know, that they have, since that
time, been at Newfoundland. Where
they may be now, I have not a sufficient
portion of the Second Sight to



be able to tell You. The Princess of Wales
is the most injured Woman, in Great
Britain. The Prince, it is said, is soon to
be in Scotland. A credit from Messrs-
Coutts has been lodged at one of the
public Banks here, for him & the Duke
of Clarence. I do not, however, believe
that they will penetrate so far North.
As to the Cathcarts, I can say little. His
Lordship & his Son Frederick only arrived
the day before yesterday, and are
to dine with me today. If they behave
properly, I shall give them an Invitation
to a Haunch of Venison, this day
      Week. Lady Cathcart
      and the rest of the
      family are with Admiral
Elliot, at Mounteviot, where
they will remain till his Lordship
has fixed on a place of Residence for
them, either in this Town, or in its
Neighbourhood. The latter, is what they
would prefer; it will, however, be difficult
for them to procure such a
place as will hold them. I have no
doubt of our being very cordial here. As
a proof of it, he waited on me the Evening
of his arrival, without my having
taken any previous steps to induce him
to do so. There are no Kings & Queens, or
Windsor's hereabout, and We are as Great
as themselves. I wish I could have the







satisfaction of seeing You & Yours sitting
down to Dinner with them, in this
House. I should vastly enjoy such
a Meeting, and if Lady Mansfield could
be of the party, it would be quite delightful
. But, such happiness, I fear, is not
destined for Me. Pray don't tell me of
your Husbands shooting. Had he really
been a Sportsman, he would, long ago, have
bent his steps to the Highlands to shoot. With
best Love & kind wishes from all here
to all at Leighton House, viz. Mr. Dickenson Yourself,
Louisa & my Countrywoman. I ever remain
My Dear Sister Your Affectionate Brother
                                                         Napier

Edinburgh, Twelfth
                             September 1806


      Mrs- Dickenson
      Leighton House
            Leighton Buzzard
                  Bedfordshire
Napier.


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



 1. Two well-attested senses are possible here: ‘[a]n untidy, dirty, or slovenly woman; a woman who is habitually careless, lazy, or negligent with regard to appearance’, and ‘[i]n neutral or positive use: a woman, a girl’ (OED s.v. slut n. I.1, I.3. Accessed 15-03-2022).
 2. This section (7 lines) appears at the bottom of the page, below the address, and is continued at the top.
 3. Moved this section (8 lines) here from top of page.
 4. FREE Frank in red ink, dated 15 September 1806. Second postmark in red ink, dated 12 September 1806.
 5. Moved address here from middle of page, written vertically.
 6. Seal, in red wax. Near the seal are some marks in pencil.

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/1/20/208

Correspondence Details

Sender: Francis Scott Napier, 8th Lord

Place sent: Edinburgh

Addressee: Mary Hamilton

Place received: Leighton Buzzard

Date sent: 12 September 1806

Letter Description

Summary: Letter from Francis Napier, 8th Lord Napier, to Mary Hamilton. The letter relates to Lord Melville and his trial, the Princess of Wales and Napier's family. Napier writes that Lord Melville should have been replaced in the List of Privy Counsellors as soon as the Peers acquitted the charges that were brought against him. He continues to note that he has no doubt that the King wished this. The King's 'present advisors seem not to be hasty in acknowledging the injury they have done him'. Napier has not seen Melville since he came to Scotland as he was away from Edinburgh when Melville was there and it is not convenient for Napier to visit Melville. Napier also notes that Melville's house is situated at Dunierd which is 'subject to Earthquakes and as Thunder & Lightning have rather been prevalent this Season, I have not trusted myself where Volcanic appearances abound'.
    Napier also notes that he believes that the Princess of Wales is the 'most injured Woman in Great Britain'. He has been told that the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Clarence are to visit Scotland although Napier does not believe that he will travel so far north.
    Dated at Queen Street [Edinburgh].
   

Length: 1 sheet, 705 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 10 December 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: 15 March 2022

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