Single Letter

GEO/ADD/3/82/36

Letter from George, Prince of Wales, to Mary Hamilton

Diplomatic Text


36

                                                         10th- Septr. 1779

                                                         Friday Morng.[1]

My dearest, dearest, dearest Sister, Friend;

      I understand from what I heard
last Night, we are not to have, let me
say that I am not to have ye. delight
ye. happineʃs, ye. comfort of yr. company
at W—— O Heavens how shall I spend
these long Evenings. My B—— is con-
=tented
, because M- G- goes,[2] but poor
me, my dearest, dearest, dearest Friend does
not, I can not help returning fto ye point
from whence I set out it is what I haveis
uppermost in my mind. Excuse me
my friend, pardon me my friend, if I
tell you, that I feel even by these



trifling little separations, that I never
shall be able to part with you, yes my
ever dearest Friend
it will be impoʃsible
it will be a shock much too ʃtrong for
either my ʃpirits or constitution to sup=
=port
; do not comment too severely upon
this sentence, I never by all that is
sacred ever say any thing to you
which does not proceed from ye. bottom
of my heart.
      I suppose M. F. is sensible
that I have really cause to be angry
with her, & therefore she takes all ye.
little means that are in her power
to aʃsuage it, but she is mightily



mistaken, I find she really does not
know me, for so far from being angry
with her I pity her, however, my friend
let me tell you that Ingratitude
is ye. forrunner, I think it ye worst of
all vices, there is a blackneʃs, and in=
=veteracy
, & hardneʃs in yt.. vice which
ʃurely one wld.. think never ought to
have entered into ye. human breast.
However now to return to ye. last begin=
=ning
of ye. last Chapter long ʃentence
or rather to explain ye. reason of my resu=
=ming
M—— F—— as our subject again
well then on W—— Evening when you
was in our Company, when you was sitting
by ye. other party at Cards, L. C. F.



as I was returning out of yr. Room after
our party had been over, L—— C—— had
been upon ye. same Errand, which
I had been, which was to see how far
yr. party had got in ye. Pool,[3] as
we were both returning before I got
to ye Door way, she laid hold on my
Arm & then told me yt.. her D—— H.
had desired her to say that she had been
working a ribband watch Chain, that
Evening, that she shd.. be very happy
if ye. dear P—— of- W—— wld..
accept of it, what cld.. I answer
but to be sure I shd.. be very happy
of receiving it, accordingly ʃhe sent
it to me yesterday Morning, now



part of 35

may I, may I, may I, flatter myself
that my dearest, dearest, dearest
Friend
, will if I send it youher as a patron
if youshe does not exactly know how to make
yt.se. sort of things, will put herself
to ye. trouble of working me one by
my return, with her own beautiful white
hands, take not this as a compliment
but as ye. real truth, it is what is due to you
Plain truth Dear Murray needs no flowers of Speech
                             Pope
I have heard, My M. remark hundreds &
hundreds of times, not only to me but to
many People, that they were almost
ye. greatest beauties she had ever seen,
adding at ye. same time yt.. she never
saw any thing so frightful as thoʃe of M—— G——[4]
                                                         & Mlle- M——



      You once made me promise in London
my Friend that I wd.. apply to you
whenever I wanted a Purse, may I
therefore just say yt.. Miʃs Fin-
is almost worn out. I cld.. not think
of wearing her work before I had any
from you, may I therefore hope you
will trouble yrself upon my account
in these two instances. I leave ym..
both to you how you like to make ym..
I only send you ye. chain for ye. sort
of thing.
      I had already sent my answer
to M—— F—— before you desired me not to
write, it was a mere verbal meʃsage of
thanks, it wd.. have been prostituting



yr. friendship, it would have been
putting her upon a par with yrself,
it wd.. have been making her a friend,
when I have flatter my ʃelf that I
have one to whom I can unfold ye.
most inward receʃses of my Soul.
yes, my friend, I esteem yr. friendʃhip
beyond every other earthly poʃseʃsion,
a happineʃs, a comfort, an honor wh..
nothing can equal to me in this World.
Let us, O my God grant, long continue
so. Adieu, Adieu, Adieu my
dearest, dearest, dearest Friend

may you enjoy all ye. bleʃsings, happineʃses
& comforts of this life, & that hereafter
we may meet neve again to part, such
is ye first & last Prayer of
      yr ever sincerely affectionate Palemon.
toujours de même.




      P.S. yr. employing yrself. thus in my
absence, will be some little amends to me
for ynot having ye. happineʃs of having you
with me, especially as it will recall me
frequently to yr. mind, not that ever ------ I doubted
I shd.. not sometimes occur without need
of any such trifle. Encore une fois Adieu,
Adieu, Adieu, que je vous aimerez
toute ma vie, le Ciel en est temoin, et
que vous me serez
toujours chére.


2d. P.S.
      Yr--- Meʃsenger stays here he will carry you yr.
N——[5] on Sunday Morning as usual, & on Wednesday
Morning he will call for an Answer, Pray let
it not be a short one, & very kind one, for
consider ye. Pennance I shall have undergone.
Encore une fois Adieu, Adieu, Adieu
                             toujours chére.

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


Notes


 1. An apparent flourish here is possibly the word early.
 2. This crossing-out may have been done by Hamilton: elsewhere in this letter such dark ink only appears in the date, though a similar-coloured ink is also used by the Prince in GEO/ADD/3/82/35. If the reading had been 'M. G.' it may refer to Miss (Charlotte) Gunning, who was by that year a Maid of Honour to the Queen (Household of Queen Charlotte 1761-1818, comp. Sainty & Bucholz 2020).
 3. ‘A game, hand, or round [of cards] in which there is a collective stake to be won’ (OED s.v. pool n. 3, I.1.a. Accessed 27-08-2020).
 4. Perhaps Miss Goldsworthy rather than Miss Gunning again.
 5. On the blanked N—— see GEO/ADD/3/82/18 p.5 n.3.

Normalised Text



                                                        
                                                        

My dearest, dearest, dearest Sister, Friend;

      I understand from what I heard
last Night, we are not to have, let me
say that I am not to have the delight
the happiness, the comfort of your company
at Windsor O Heavens how shall I spend
these long Evenings. My Brother is contented
, , but poor
me, my dearest, dearest, dearest Friend does
not, I can not help returning to the point
from whence I set out it is what is
uppermost in my mind. Excuse me
my friend, pardon me my friend, if I
tell you, that I feel even by these



trifling little separations, that I never
shall be able to part with you, yes my
ever dearest Friend it will be impossible
it will be a shock much too strong for
either my spirits or constitution to support
; do not comment too severely upon
this sentence, I never by all that is
sacred ever say any thing to you
which does not proceed from the bottom
of my heart.
      I suppose Miss Finch is sensible
that I have really cause to be angry
with her, & therefore she takes all the
little means that are in her power
to assuage it, but she is mightily



mistaken, I find she really does not
know me, for so far from being angry
with her I pity her, however, my friend
let me tell you that Ingratitude
is the forerunner, I think it the worst of
all vices, there is a blackness, an inveteracy
, & hardness in that vice which
surely one would think never ought to
have entered into the human breast.
However now to return to the beginning
of the last long sentence
or rather to explain the reason of my resuming
Miss Finch as our subject again
well then on Wednesday Evening when you
was in our Company, when you was sitting
by the other party at Cards, Lady Charlotte Finch



as I was returning out of your Room after
our party had been over, Lady Charlotte had
been upon the same Errand, which
I had been, which was to see how far
your party had got in the Pool, as
we were both returning before I got
to the Doorway, she laid hold on my
Arm & then told me that her Daughter Henrietta
had desired her to say that she had been
working a ribboned watch Chain, that
Evening, that she should be very happy
if the dear Prince of Wales would
accept of it, what could I answer
but to be sure I should be very happy
of receiving it, accordingly she sent
it to me yesterday Morning, now




may I, may I, may I, flatter myself
that my dearest, dearest, dearest
Friend, will if I send it her as a pattern
if she does not exactly know how to make
that sort of thing, will put herself
to the trouble of working me one by
my return, with her own beautiful white
hands, take not this as a compliment
but as the real truth, it is what is due to you
Plain truth Dear Murray needs no flowers of Speech
                             Pope
I have heard, My Mother remark hundreds &
hundreds of times, not only to me but to
many People, that they were almost
the greatest beauties she had ever seen,
adding at the same time that she never
saw any thing so frightful as those of Miss G——
                                                         & Mademoiselle Moula



      You once made me promise in London
my Friend that I would apply to you
whenever I wanted a Purse, may I
therefore just say that Miss Finch
is almost worn out. I could not think
of wearing her work before I had any
from you, may I therefore hope you
will trouble yourself upon my account
in these two instances. I leave them
both to you how you like to make them
I only send you the chain for the sort
of thing.
      I had already sent my answer
to Miss Finch before you desired me not to
write, it was a mere verbal message of
thanks, it would have been prostituting



your friendship, it would have been
putting her upon a par with yourself,
it would have been making her a friend,
when I flatter my self that I
have one to whom I can unfold the
most inward recesses of my Soul.
yes, my friend, I esteem your friendship
beyond every other earthly possession,
a happiness, a comfort, an honour which
nothing can equal to me in this World.
Let us, O my God grant, long continue
so. Adieu, Adieu, Adieu my
dearest, dearest, dearest Friend
may you enjoy all the blessings, happinesses
& comforts of this life, & that hereafter
we may meet never again to part, such
is the first & last Prayer of
      your ever sincerely affectionate Palemon.
toujours de même.




      P.S. your employing yourself thus in my
absence, will be some little amends to me
for not having the happiness of having you
with me, especially as it will recall me
frequently to your mind, not that ever I doubted
I should not sometimes occur without need
of any such trifle. Encore une fois Adieu,
Adieu, Adieu, que je vous aimerez
toute ma vie, le Ciel en est temoin, et
que vous me serez
toujours chére.


2d. P.S.
      Your Messenger stays here he will carry you your
Nosegay on Sunday Morning as usual, & on Wednesday
Morning he will call for an Answer, Pray let
it not be a short one, & very kind one, for
consider the Penance I shall have undergone.
Encore une fois Adieu, Adieu, Adieu
                             toujours chére.

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



 1. An apparent flourish here is possibly the word early.
 2. This crossing-out may have been done by Hamilton: elsewhere in this letter such dark ink only appears in the date, though a similar-coloured ink is also used by the Prince in GEO/ADD/3/82/35. If the reading had been 'M. G.' it may refer to Miss (Charlotte) Gunning, who was by that year a Maid of Honour to the Queen (Household of Queen Charlotte 1761-1818, comp. Sainty & Bucholz 2020).
 3. ‘A game, hand, or round [of cards] in which there is a collective stake to be won’ (OED s.v. pool n. 3, I.1.a. Accessed 27-08-2020).
 4. Perhaps Miss Goldsworthy rather than Miss Gunning again.
 5. On the blanked N—— see GEO/ADD/3/82/18 p.5 n.3.

Metadata

Library References

Repository: Windsor Castle, The Royal Archives

Archive: GEO/ADD/3 Additional papers of George IV, as Prince, Regent, and King

Item title: Letter from George, Prince of Wales, to Mary Hamilton

Shelfmark: GEO/ADD/3/82/36

Correspondence Details

Sender: George, Prince of Wales (later George IV)

Place sent: unknown

Addressee: Mary Hamilton

Place received: unknown

Date sent: c.10 September 1779
notBefore 9 September 1779 (precision: medium)
notAfter 10 September 1779 (precision: high)

Letter Description

Summary: Letter from George, Prince of Wales, to Mary Hamilton, on his disappointment at not having her company at Windsor; and M F's ingratitude.
    The Prince describes L C F's request that he allow her daughter to send him a 'ribband watch chain'; and he suggests that he will send it to Hamilton so that she might make one for him.
    Written Friday morning.
    Signed 'Palemon'.
   

Length: 2 sheets, 945 words

Transliteration Information

Editorial declaration: First edited in the project 'Image to Text' (David Denison & Nuria Yáñez-Bouza, 2013-2019), now incorporated 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: Transcription and Research Assistant funding in 2018/19 provided by the Student Experience Internship programme of the University of Manchester.

Research assistant: Emma Donington Kiey, undergraduate student, University of Manchester

Transliterator: Emma Donington Kiey (submitted June 2019)

Copyright: Transcriptions, notes and TEI/XML © the editors

Revision date: 23 April 2022

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