Diplomatic Text
Tunbridge Wells
August 24th. 1779.
Very few things my dear Miʃs Hamilton
cou'd have given me more real pleasure
than I ------------ felt this morning from the receipt
of your letter. If you will forgive me I will
now confeʃs, that your silence began to make
me fear that the friendly expreʃsions contained
in your letter, were only forms of civility, not
what I wish'd them indications of kind regard.
I have met with too many polite characters
in my life to be very ready in suspecting people
of that unfashionable thing called sincerity,
but honest integrity was the charm in your
character, my dear Miʃs Hamilton, which
disposed my heart to= wards you, and to have
found my= self attached to a mere phantom
of my own imagination, wou'd have given
me a pain which alas! I have too often
felt already. for thisTo put this matter beyond a
doubt, I determined to trouble you with
my last, & I am very happy in the answer
answer it has procured me.
you will perceive by the date of this, that
I am not with Mrs Carter, there fore can
only say that I left my beloved friend
this day sen= night well in every respect, except
her tormenting head, which she often regre - ts
putting her so backward with all her
correspondents, that she can not get an
opportunity which she much wishes to
write to you. I am come to this place in
search of health, from its benefi- cent springs,
and indeed what I suffered all last autumn,
winter, a and spring, till within the last two
months, makes me rather anxious for their effecacy.
I have drank them only 2 or 3 days, so can
only judge at present, that they do not
disagree. I must bear this place with patience
and be thankfull there are such releifs provided
for the sufferers from ill health, else how much
rather wou'd I paʃs my time at my dear quiet
Mill Hill; where every day I find new objects
of pleasure, not one of the smallest enjoying
the comfort of seeing. that I am the instrument
instrument of giving ease to the truly amiable
mind of poor Mrs O'Keeffe, who with her two
children live at my farm, & enjoy perhaps
the utmost to be hoped, in this state of
existence, content. I might say I feel flattered,
but I will speak more honestly, and say I am
much rejoyced to find you have permitted my
letter to make any comfortable impreʃsion on
you, it was written from a heart felt wish
to induce you to the use which you have made, &
I was pretty certain wou'd make, of your own
good sense, and good principalsles. Alas my
dear Miʃs Hamilton, the state of this world is
far from giving content in any situation,
without hard struggles to obtain the spirit
of acquiescence you mention. I feel my: self
qualified to judge of this, as to every outward
appearance my situation must be esteemed one
of the happiest in the world, & far be from
me the ingratitude to that power who by
many unforeseen events has made it such,
not to feel that it is so; yet was it only from
one single circumstance, the uncertainty
of all sublunary enjoyments, my life wou'd
be a bitter burden, but for a humble hope of
obtaining a happier existence free from anxiety
deceit & distrust, above all from change. This
is the only thought that can make me enjoy the
bleʃsings bestowed on me with gratitude, & if
neceʃsary resign them with hope. If this letter
was addreʃsed to some people, methodist wou'd
be my immediate title, & even you may be tired
of my moralizing humour, so begging pardon
for indulging it too far, I drop the subject
& tell you the Streatfields are here.[1] And now for
a little circumstance about them, which as you
know they & I only visit, you will easily gueʃs
more inclines to amuse, than chagrine me.
They live 2 or 3 doors off, but have never been
here, and a distant curtesey en paʃsant on the
pantiles,[2] is all the greetting we have had. Was
I as near you at this moment as I shou'd like
to be, I wou'd tell you my opinion of this matter, as
it is, I leave it to your sagacity to find out
how this may strengthen the sentiments we once
agreed in concerning Miʃs S....d.
No hopes of seeing you till winter. Well I must
comfort my= self with the hope of many a
delightfull breakfast with you then, so prepare
to be often tormented in winter, by
Yr. Sincerely Affect Friend
M. Sharpe.
I intend staying here
5 weeks longer do pray let me
hear from you during that time. I shall judge
by that whether you really wish'd me to write soon very soon.
red text is normalised and/or unformatted in other panel)
Notes
1. Sophia Streatfeild was a society beauty who had turned a number of heads. Her mother and three younger siblings were living, though it is not clear from Sharpe's reference which members of her family were present in Tunbridge Wells.
2. ‘A flat Dutch or Flemish paving tile. Now only in the Pantiles, the name of a street in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, which was formerly paved with these tiles’ (OED s.v. pantile, n., 1.c. Accessed 28-05-2025).
Normalised Text
Tunbridge Wells
Very few things my dear Miss Hamilton
could have given me more real pleasure
than I felt this morning from the receipt
of your letter. If you will forgive me I will
now confess, that your silence began to make
me fear that the friendly expressions contained
in your letter, were only forms of civility, not
what I wished them indications of kind regard.
I have met with too many polite characters
in my life to be very ready in suspecting people
of that unfashionable thing called sincerity,
but honest integrity was the charm in your
character, my dear Miss Hamilton, which
disposed my heart to= wards you, and to have
found my= self attached to a mere phantom
of my own imagination, would have given
me a pain which alas! I have too often
felt already. To put this matter beyond a
doubt, I determined to trouble you with
my last, & I am very happy in the
answer it has procured me.
you will perceive by the date of this, that
I am not with Mrs Carter, therefore can
only say that I left my beloved friend
this day sen= night well in every respect, except
her tormenting head, which she often regrets
putting her so backward with all her
correspondents, that she can not get an
opportunity which she much wishes to
write to you. I am come to this place in
search of health, from its beneficent springs,
and indeed what I suffered all last autumn,
winter, and spring, till within the last two
months, makes me rather anxious for their efficacy.
I have drunk them only 2 or 3 days, so can
only judge at present, that they do not
disagree. I must bear this place with patience
and be thankful there are such reliefs provided
for the sufferers from ill health, else how much
rather would I pass my time at my dear quiet
Mill Hill; where every day I find new objects
of pleasure, not one of the smallest enjoying
the comfort of seeing. that I am the
instrument of giving ease to the truly amiable
mind of poor Mrs O'Keeffe, who with her two
children live at my farm, & enjoy perhaps
the utmost to be hoped, in this state of
existence, content. I might say I feel flattered,
but I will speak more honestly, and say I am
much rejoiced to find you have permitted my
letter to make any comfortable impression on
you, it was written from a heart felt wish
to induce you to the use which you have made, &
I was pretty certain would make, of your own
good sense, and good principles. Alas my
dear Miss Hamilton, the state of this world is
far from giving content in any situation,
without hard struggles to obtain the spirit
of acquiescence you mention. I feel my: self
qualified to judge of this, as to every outward
appearance my situation must be esteemed one
of the happiest in the world, & far be from
me the ingratitude to that power who by
many unforeseen events has made it such,
not to feel that it is so; yet was it only from
one single circumstance, the uncertainty
of all sublunary enjoyments, my life would
be a bitter burden, but for a humble hope of
obtaining a happier existence free from anxiety
deceit & distrust, above all from change. This
is the only thought that can make me enjoy the
blessings bestowed on me with gratitude, & if
necessary resign them with hope. If this letter
was addressed to some people, methodist would
be my immediate title, & even you may be tired
of my moralizing humour, so begging pardon
for indulging it too far, I drop the subject
& tell you the Streatfields are here. And now for
a little circumstance about them, which as you
know they & I only visit, you will easily guess
more inclines to amuse, than chagrin me.
They live 2 or 3 doors off, but have never been
here, and a distant curtsy en passant on the
pantiles, is all the greeting we have had. Was
I as near you at this moment as I should like
to be, I would tell you my opinion of this matter, as
it is, I leave it to your sagacity to find out
how this may strengthen the sentiments we once
agreed in concerning Miss Streatfield.
No hopes of seeing you till winter. Well I must
comfort my= self with the hope of many a
delightful breakfast with you then, so prepare
to be often tormented in winter, by
Your Sincerely Affectionate Friend
Mary Sharpe.
I intend staying here
5 weeks longer do pray let me
hear from you during that time. I shall judge
by that whether you really wished me to write soon very soon.
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 Mary Sharpe (later Beauvoir) to Mary Hamilton
Shelfmark: HAM/1/22/12
Correspondence Details
Sender: Mary Beauvoir (née Sharpe, later Douglas)
Place sent: Tunbridge Wells
Addressee: Mary Hamilton
Place received: to be determined
Date sent: 24 August 1779
Letter Description
Summary: Letter from Mary Sharpe to Mary Hamilton. The letter touches on Hamilton's and Sharpe's situation and feelings. Sharpe is happy to have last received a letter from Hamilton as she feared that she had mistaken civilities on Hamilton's side for true friendship. Sharpe is now no longer with Mrs Carter and writes from Tunbridge Wells, where she has come for the benefit of her health. She had left Carter very well, with the exception of a headache. She notes that she has taken the waters for only two or three days, so she is unable to judge as yet if they are beneficial and can only say that they do not disagree with her. She must 'bear this place with patience' and be thankful that such places exist.
Sharpe is pleased that her previous letter had had an effect on Hamilton and notes that it was written from the heart. She continues that the 'state of this world is far from giving content in any situation without hard struggles to accept the spirit of acquiescence' that Hamilton had mentioned in her letter to her. She writes that she herself is qualified to judge this, as the outward appearance of her situation appears to be one of happiness, and she does feel happy in her lot, yet 'was it only from one single circumstance, the uncertainty of all sublunary enjoyments for a humble hope of obtaining a happier existence free from anxiety'. She begs Hamilton's pardon for her 'moralizing humour' and writes of more general news. The Streatfields are also in Tunbridge Wells. She writes that they are living only two or three doors from her but have not as yet called on her, and the only greeting she has had from them was a 'distant curtesy'. Sharpe notes that if she was with Hamilton she would give her an opinion on this matter. For the moment she will leave it to Hamilton 'to find out how this may strengthen the sentiments we once agreed in concerning Miss S___d'.
Dated at Tunbridge Wells, [Kent].
Length: 1 sheet, 812 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: XML version first created without transcription as part of project 'Unlocking the Mary Hamilton Papers', funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council under grant AH/S007121/1. Transcription added after the funded period under the supervision of David Denison and Nuria Yáñez-Bouza.
Transliterator: Pete Morris, Artificial Intelligence and Ideas Adoption (AIIA), The University of Manchester Library (Plain text transliteration submitted 22 May 2025)
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: 7 April 2026
