Single Letter

GEO/ADD/3/82/49

Letter from George, Prince of Wales, to Mary Hamilton

Diplomatic Text

[1]
                            


[2]


[3]
49

Monday Morng. 8 oclock
11th. Octbr. 1779


My dearest, dearest, dearest, Sister Friend, my Miranda,

      I flatter myself I shall be able to clear myʃelf
now of yt. imputation which you accused me of y——y when
you asked me in yr. last dear Billet, why I wld.. force Mr..
R——
to tell me what was said in my favor; to be sure
what paʃsed before yr. eyes bore very much yt.. appearance
but I do aʃsure you by what really was ye. case, I think
I shall be able to clear myself totally in yr. opinion.
      Before I can come to explain this I must
resume a little higher. Do not you remember my dearest
friend
, in yr. last but one, you ʃaid to me you was sorry
for my sake yt.. I was going to make a short ʃtay at W——or
for yt. I got into low Company there, whether you mean[t]



by yt.., yt.. I made myself too free among ye. Servants,
or yt. I got into bad company by hunting; I know not
but supposing, you meant either of these, or both,
I hope I shall be able to answer ym.. all in a manner
most to yr. satisfaction.
      As to ye. first of yese, ever dearest Miranda
I can not but confeʃs I have lowered myʃelf much by
familiarizing myself to too great a degree with ye. Ser=
=vants
, & especially with yt.. little Devil W—— R——
however since what you mentioned to me I have kept
him more within bounds that I ever did before in ye.
whole course of my life, but for ye future I solemnly
promise you here my dearest, dearest, dearest Sister
yt. I will in this, follow yr. Preecepts, as I hope I
shall every other you give me to ye. utmost of my
power, & yt. I will never again lowerdemean myʃelf
either to ym.. or to any other low Company.
      As to ye affair of hunting, I ride always
                                                         among



a set of Gentlemen, very worthy good sort of people, one
of whom my Father I believe wishes me to be particularly
acquainted with, his name is Nevil he is Son to a
Mr.. Nevil who was under Secretary of State in ye late Kings
Reign & who now lives at Billingbear,[4] this young man
is in ye. Berks: Militia,[5] & is a very plain, honest
civil, wellbehaved, polite young Man, & will be Heir
to a very great fortune, yea great part of which he will
in all probability receive from Sr. John & La-y Griffin[6]
upon ye. whole he is a very good sort of young Man
& indeed I am very glad of having such an acquaintance not a friend
Another of these Gentlemen is a Mr. Lisle (I do not
know how exactly he spells his name) a very civil
sort of a man also, he is Brother in law to Ld..
Cholmondeley
: this Gentleman is a veryI have conversed
very little with, & know very little of him,
except this Character which every body yt.. know
any thing of him give him.
      Now then, that I have brought you acquainted



with this Gentleman, I shall be able to proceed with my
defense with regard to my forcing W. R to tell me
what was said to my praise & in my favor.
      W—— R—— is much acquainted with this
Gentleman
, I told you he made him a present of
a Horse in ye. most genteel way imaginable. Well
then ye. first day of ye. Sport this Mr. Lisle, followed
me very closely thro'out ye. whole of ye day, without
my knowing either his name or his Person, he observed
I supposed how eager I was after ye. Sport, & how
shocked my Nature was at ye. death of ye poor
Animal, & at ye. different emotions which appeared in
my Countenance upon yt.. occasion. A Day or
two after he sent W—— R—— a Letter to tell
him I believe yt.. he had sent him his horse.
      You must know yt.. I generally go &
lay my whip & Hat before I go out a riding in ye.
Servants Breakfast Room, there, accordingly as I



Part of No 49

was going out of ye. Room, after I had been to fetch
ym.. away -- W—— R entreated of me to stopped a
moment, for he said he had something to shew me
upon which he pulled out a Letter, (by his manner
he wanted to insinuate he had received it from you)
in which he desired me to read a Sentence upon
which he laid his Finger, which was first great
compliments ------------------------------encomiums on my Horsemanship, & on ye. spirit
I had shewn thro'out ye. Day, as well as great Compliments
on ye. goodneʃs of heart I had shewn; after I had read
this sentence he snatched ye. Letter out of my Hands
so yt. I could not see any other part of it, not
even ye. signature. Upon going up Stairs
you heard me preʃs W—— R—— but it was merely
to know ye. Gentleman's name, which turned out
to be this very Mr.. Lisle I have been speaking to
you of, yt. is ye whole & sole of ye. case; by which
I fancy you will[7] think me so much to blame as you did.



I did not feel my ʃelf flatter'd by these praises,
as my Miranda, when I receive ym. from you.
I then think myʃelf exalted babove any earthly
Potentate.
      It is now so near 8 o clock yt. I
must bid you Adieu. Adieu then dearest
dearest, dearest Siʃter, Friend, Miranda, may
you be under ye especial care of ye Almighty
& of his Angels, & may you -ever find from yt..
Allbenevolent Being ye. rewards which your.
Virtues so much deserve, I am & ever shall
be yr. sincerely affectionate Brother, & Friend
                             Palemon, toujours de même
P.S.
      Why wld.. my friend send me ye. Rose Color if she
likes ye. Brown best, I send you ym. back again
looked at ym. again, & chuse that wh. you yrself
like best, for it will be most agreable to me, be plain
with me my dearest Miranda, for I will not wear ye one
you like least. A. A. A. toujours chére.


[8]
49

                             I thank you much for yr Letters,
                             I like ym.. much, I can not say
                             more to you at present but yt..
                             you are dearer to me now than
                             ever. A. A. A. dearest, dearest
                             sister Miranda.
                                   P.

Part of No 49[9]

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


Notes


 1. The first two images display front and back of a small strip of paper attached to the first page of the letter, bearing a postscript whose text has been moved to the end of the transcription. The letter itself is displayed without the attached strip from p.3 onwards.
 2. The reverse of the strip of paper on p.1 is blank.
 3. This is p.1 of the letter.
 4. Billingbear House was situated in the parish of Waltham St Lawrence (Berkshire) and was owned by the Neville family and their heirs the Lords Braybrooke until c.1825, when Richard Griffin-Neville, 3rd Baron Braybrooke (1783-1858) moved the family seat to Audley End in Essex after the death of his father. The Nevilles were given the land in 1549 by King Edward VI and started the building of the mansion in 1567. It burned down in 1924.
 5. In fact, Richard Aldworth Neville, MP, appears to have been a lieutenant, then captain, in the Buckinghamshire rather than Berkshire militia (see ODNB).
 6. Sir John Griffin Griffin, formerly John Griffin Whitwell, had no children by either of his two marriages.
 7. A negator appears to be needed here.
 8. Moved second postscript and the two pencil annotations here from slip of paper attached to the top of the letter.
 9. These words appear to the left of the second postscript.

Normalised Text


                            









My dearest, dearest, dearest, Sister Friend, my Miranda,

      I flatter myself I shall be able to clear myself
now of that imputation which you accused me of yesterday when
you asked me in your last dear Billet, why I would force Mr..
Ramus to tell me what was said in my favour; to be sure
what passed before your eyes bore very much that appearance
but I do assure you by what really was the case, I think
I shall be able to clear myself totally in your opinion.
      Before I can come to explain this I must
resume a little higher. Do not you remember my dearest
friend, in your last but one, you said to me you was sorry
for my sake that I was going to make a short stay at Windsor
for that I got into low Company there, whether you meant



by that, that I made myself too free among the Servants,
or that I got into bad company by hunting; I know not
but supposing, you meant either of these, or both,
I hope I shall be able to answer them all in a manner
most to your satisfaction.
      As to the first of these, ever dearest Miranda
I can not but confess I have lowered myself much by
familiarizing myself to too great a degree with the Servants
, & especially with that little Devil William Ramus
however since what you mentioned to me I have kept
him more within bounds that I ever did before in the
whole course of my life, but for the future I solemnly
promise you here my dearest, dearest, dearest Sister
that I will in this, follow your Precepts, as I hope I
shall every other you give me to the utmost of my
power, & that I will never again demean myself
either to them or to any other low Company.
      As to the affair of hunting, I ride always
                                                         among



a set of Gentlemen, very worthy good sort of people, one
of whom my Father I believe wishes me to be particularly
acquainted with, his name is Nevil he is Son to a
Mr.. Nevil who was under Secretary of State in the late Kings
Reign & who now lives at Billingbear, this young man
is in the Berkshire Militia, & is a very plain, honest
civil, wellbehaved, polite young Man, & will be Heir
to a very great fortune, a great part of which he will
in all probability receive from Sir John & Lady Griffin
upon the whole he is a very good sort of young Man
& indeed I am very glad of having such an acquaintance not a friend
Another of these Gentlemen is a Mr. Lisle (I do not
know how exactly he spells his name) a very civil
sort of a man also, he is Brother in law to Lord
Cholmondeley: this Gentleman I have conversed
very little with, & know very little of him,
except this Character which every body that know
any thing of him give him.
      Now then, that I have brought you acquainted



with this Gentleman, I shall be able to proceed with my
defence with regard to my forcing William Ramus to tell me
what was said to my praise & in my favour.
      William Ramus is much acquainted with this
Gentleman, I told you he made him a present of
a Horse in the most genteel way imaginable. Well
then the first day of the Sport this Mr. Lisle, followed
me very closely throughout the whole of the day, without
my knowing either his name or his Person, he observed
I supposed how eager I was after the Sport, & how
shocked my Nature was at the death of the poor
Animal, & the different emotions which appeared in
my Countenance upon that occasion. A Day or
two after he sent William Ramus a Letter to tell
him I believe that he had sent him his horse.
      You must know that I generally go &
lay my whip & Hat before I go out a riding in the
Servants Breakfast Room, there, accordingly as I




was going out of the Room, after I had been to fetch
them away -- William Ramus entreated of me to stop a
moment, for he said he had something to show me
upon which he pulled out a Letter, (by his manner
he wanted to insinuate he had received it from you)
in which he desired me to read a Sentence upon
which he laid his Finger, which was first great
encomiums on my Horsemanship, & on the spirit
I had shown throughout the Day, as well as great Compliments
on the goodness of heart I had shown; after I had read
this sentence he snatched the Letter out of my Hands
so that I could not see any other part of it, not
even the signature. Upon going up Stairs
you heard me press William Ramus but it was merely
to know the Gentleman's name, which turned out
to be this very Mr.. Lisle I have been speaking to
you of, that is the whole & sole of the case; by which
I fancy you will think me so much to blame as you did.



I did not feel my self flattered by these praises,
as my Miranda, when I receive them from you.
I then think myself exalted above any earthly
Potentate.
      It is now so near 8 o'clock that I
must bid you Adieu. Adieu then dearest
dearest, dearest Sister, Friend, Miranda, may
you be under the especial care of the Almighty
& of his Angels, & may you ever find from that
All-benevolent Being the rewards which your.
Virtues so much deserve, I am & ever shall
be your sincerely affectionate Brother, & Friend
                             Palemon, toujours de même
P.S.
      Why would my friend send me the Rose Colour if she
likes the Brown best, I send you them back again
looked at them again, & choose that which you yourself
like best, for it will be most agreeable to me, be plain
with me my dearest Miranda, for I will not wear the one
you like least. Adieu Adieu Adieu toujours chére.




                             I thank you much for your Letters,
                             I like them much, I can not say
                             more to you at present but that
                             you are dearer to me now than
                             ever. Adieu Adieu Adieu dearest, dearest
                             sister Miranda.
                                   Palemon

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



 1. The first two images display front and back of a small strip of paper attached to the first page of the letter, bearing a postscript whose text has been moved to the end of the transcription. The letter itself is displayed without the attached strip from p.3 onwards.
 2. The reverse of the strip of paper on p.1 is blank.
 3. This is p.1 of the letter.
 4. Billingbear House was situated in the parish of Waltham St Lawrence (Berkshire) and was owned by the Neville family and their heirs the Lords Braybrooke until c.1825, when Richard Griffin-Neville, 3rd Baron Braybrooke (1783-1858) moved the family seat to Audley End in Essex after the death of his father. The Nevilles were given the land in 1549 by King Edward VI and started the building of the mansion in 1567. It burned down in 1924.
 5. In fact, Richard Aldworth Neville, MP, appears to have been a lieutenant, then captain, in the Buckinghamshire rather than Berkshire militia (see ODNB).
 6. Sir John Griffin Griffin, formerly John Griffin Whitwell, had no children by either of his two marriages.
 7. A negator appears to be needed here.
 8. Moved second postscript and the two pencil annotations here from slip of paper attached to the top of the letter.
 9. These words appear to the left of the second postscript.

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/3/82/49

Correspondence Details

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

Place sent: unknown

Addressee: Mary Hamilton

Place received: unknown

Date sent: 11 October 1779
notBefore 11 October 1779 (precision: medium)
notAfter 11 October 1779 (precision: high)

Letter Description

Summary: Letter from George, Prince of Wales, to Mary Hamilton, on an imputation regarding forcing 'W R' to reveal comments about the Prince's behaviour during the hunt.
    The Prince refers to Hamilton's comments that when staying at 'W...r' [?Windsor] he 'got into low company', either by being too free among the servants, or by associating with bad company while hunting. The Prince admits that he familiarises himself too much with the servants, 'especially with that little Devil W R', and describes Mr Nevil and Mr Lisle who were part of the hunting party.
    In postscript the Prince asks why Hamilton sends him the rose colour when she likes the brown best, as he wishes to wear the one that she likes the most.
    Includes a note on returning some letters sent by Hamilton.
    Written Monday morning at 8 o'clock.
   

Length: 3 sheets, 1075 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: 2 November 2021

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