Diplomatic Text
79
1788
Many Thanks to you my dear
Friend for the kind part you take in my
Recovery. I did not expect, nor have I found
any Benefit to my Health from my Illneʃs.
The best Effect of it, is the Thankfullneʃs I
feel on being restored to my usual State.
Any uncommon Degree of Suffering strongly
reminds one of the Gratitude that is due
for such a portion of general Health as
is liable only to such slight constitutional
Inconveniences, as do not interrupt a cheer
ful Enjoyment of the Bleʃsings of Life
I am much obliged to Mr Walpole
for interesting himself about me, & beg
you will return him my affectionate Thanks.
I rejoyce in your present very agree
able Situation: & heartily wish our poor
dear Friends in Clarges Street could be
prevailed on to enliven their melancholy
Hours, by coming into your neighbourhood,
instead of remaining in the Heat and
Solitude of London.
I am glad to hear that
Mrs Newton is going to Tunbridge. I should
hope those Waters might have a chance
of mending the miserable shattered State
of her Nerves. If you see her before she
goes, I beg you will aʃsure her of my
very cordial good Wishes.
I did not happen to meet
your Italian Prince & Princeʃs, but heard
a good Character of them considering
the diʃsolute Country, from whence they
came, their being so fond of each other
speaks highly in favour of their
Character. From some particulars, which
were told me, I fear they were not
treated in the manner, which they had
Reason to expect from Some of our
great People, who had received parti
cular Civilities from them abroad.
I am afraid if instead of being the sober respectable
Characters, as they seem by your description to be,
they were Gens a Talents & could have amused the
Nobility & Gentry of this Land, by playing Tricks,
they would have been careʃsed & fêtè,[1] even if
they had been the Disgrace, & outcasts of their
own Country.
I am obliged to Mr Dickenson,
to whom I beg to be affectionately re-
member'd for introducing me to Captain &
Mrs Topsy Turvy, who, if one may judge
by their Countenances, must be mighty
agreeable people.
I thank you for your
Anecdote of Mde. de Matignon.[2] it is Some
comfort to find that in Folly & Extrava-
gance, we do not excel our Teachers.
Pray give Louisa a Kiʃs a
mon Intention. Adieu my dear Friend
Your obliged & affectionate
ECarter
July 1788
Mrs. Carter
July 1788
To
Mrs Dickenson[3]
red text is normalised and/or unformatted in other panel)
Normalised Text
Many Thanks to you my dear
Friend for the kind part you take in my
Recovery. I did not expect, nor have I found
any Benefit to my Health from my Illness.
The best Effect of it, is the Thankfulness I
feel on being restored to my usual State.
Any uncommon Degree of Suffering strongly
reminds one of the Gratitude that is due
for such a portion of general Health as
is liable only to such slight constitutional
Inconveniences, as do not interrupt a cheerful
Enjoyment of the Blessings of Life
I am much obliged to Mr Walpole
for interesting himself about me, & beg
you will return him my affectionate Thanks.
I rejoice in your present very agreeable
Situation: & heartily wish our poor
dear Friends in Clarges Street could be
prevailed on to enliven their melancholy
Hours, by coming into your neighbourhood,
instead of remaining in the Heat and
Solitude of London.
I am glad to hear that
Mrs Newton is going to Tunbridge. I should
hope those Waters might have a chance
of mending the miserable shattered State
of her Nerves. If you see her before she
goes, I beg you will assure her of my
very cordial good Wishes.
I did not happen to meet
your Italian Prince & Princess, but heard
a good Character of them considering
the dissolute Country, from whence they
came, their being so fond of each other
speaks highly in favour of their
Character. From some particulars, which
were told me, I fear they were not
treated in the manner, which they had
Reason to expect from Some of our
great People, who had received particular
Civilities from them abroad.
I am afraid if instead of being the sober respectable
Characters, as they seem by your description to be,
they were Gens a Talents & could have amused the
Nobility & Gentry of this Land, by playing Tricks,
they would have been caressed & fêtè, even if
they had been the Disgrace, & outcasts of their
own Country.
I am obliged to Mr Dickenson,
to whom I beg to be affectionately remembered
for introducing me to Captain &
Mrs Topsy Turvy, who, if one may judge
by their Countenances, must be mighty
agreeable people.
I thank you for your
Anecdote of Madame de Matignon. it is Some
comfort to find that in Folly & Extravagance
, we do not excel our Teachers.
Pray give Louisa a Kiss a
mon Intention. Adieu my dear Friend
Your obliged & affectionate
Elizabeth Carter
July 1788
To
Mrs Dickenson
quotations, spellings, uncorrected forms, split words, abbreviations, formatting)
Notes
Metadata
Library References
Repository: Houghton Library Repository, Harvard University
Archive: Elizabeth Carter and Hannah More letters to Mary Hamilton
Item title: Letter from Elizabeth Carter to Mary Hamilton
Shelfmark: MS Eng 1778 79
Correspondence Details
Sender: Elizabeth Carter
Place sent: unknown
Addressee: Mary Hamilton
Place received: unknown
Date sent: July 1788
Letter Description
Summary: Letter from Elizabeth Carter to Mary Hamilton. Carter wishes that ‘our poor dear Friends in Clarges Street’ [Mrs Vesey and Mrs Handcock] could be persuaded to leave the heat of London for Richmond. She is glad that Mrs Newton is going to Tunbridge. She did not meet Hamilton's ‘Italian Prince & Princess’ [not yet identified], whose evident good character did not help them to be well treated in London.
Original entry in Houghton Library catalogue: Carter, Elizabeth, 1717-1806. Autograph manuscript letter (signed) to Mary Hamilton, 1788 July.
Length: 2 sheets, 000 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 26 February 2026)
Cataloguer: Bonnie B. Salt, Archivist, Houghton Library
Copyright: Transcriptions, notes and TEI/XML © the editors
Revision date: 13 October 2026
