Unlocking the Mary Hamilton papers

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FBP Folder 3

Letter from Mary Hamilton to Frances Burney

Diplomatic Text


                                                         March 2 - d.3d. 1785[1]


                                                         Clarges Street

      If You knew my sweet friend how my
heart has been interested abt. You, You wd- soon
banish the ideathe idea[2] that I didwould not go to You in an
Eveg; t[hough] Youthough you allowed me to do so, because
You coul[d not] receivecould not receive me in a Morning, I knew
so perfectly how you were every day -- (for though I
did not torment You by repeated enquiries I gain'd
daily information from Your other friends) that
real tenderneʃs alone kept me away, I was ap-
prehensive that I might be ye. occasion of Your
exerting Your spirits too much & I wd. not gratify
my desire of seeing you when I fear'd you might
suffer from it. Could You have heard all that
Dear Mrs. Delany & I have said of You, You
would be satisfied of our affection & own also that
I am a generous Rival, I am certain that I
cannot give you greater pleasure than aʃsuring
You that You are sincerely beloved & highly es-
teem'd by this most excellent of Women, She
has been very much indisposed & her spirits
have been severely depreʃsed -- but I thank God
she is now very well in health & her spririts
last night seem'd very much revived, the dreadful accidental death
of Lady Gower[3]  ------------------------ was the occasion of this illneʃs
& lowneʃs of spirits. I have not seen Your Father
since You went out of Town but I have heard much
of his Loʃses & the disappointment he has sustain'd[4]
I would condole with You but that I think You
will reap more satisfaction from my telling You that
the manner in which he has borne up under them
has gain'd him the justest admiration -- there is


my Dear You know a sort of pity wch. somehow
offends --  ------------------------------
 ------------  it wounds our delicacy, & justly -- &
there is a sympathy wch. makes our misfortunes
feel leʃs poignant -- this last I can venture to
say your Father has experienced -- may I not
tell you that till now I did not know how universally
he was respected & beloved &  ------------------------ & at the same time
allow me to add that till I tho[ught y]outhought you in
danger I did not know how dear You was to me.
The disagreeable object you mention[5] left Town on
the very day I recd. Yours (last Saturday ye. 19th.)[6]
I do not know whether his presence made me
frown but I am told that my smiles have been
leʃs frequent since he went away, I will leave
it to You to gueʃs whether I smiled at his
expence or with ye.  ------  intention of killing
him (as You conveniently suggested) with a smile:
Monday 28th. I have kept my letter open some days
in hopes that I might pick up some News, an
Anecdote -- or an entertaining Story to enliven my
Epistle bfut I have heard nothing wch. wd. raise
a smile & I am sure I wd. not make You
look grave wch. I certainly should were I to
repeat ye. horrid topics of ye. day -- people
talk of vice now wth: as much indifference
as of the weather or a new fashion.
I have spent the day wth: our beloved Mrs. Delany
she calld for me wth. Miʃs Port at 12 we went
to Sr. Aston Levers Museum & she was stout enough
tho' it was a most bitter cold day to go through all ye.
lower rooms[7] -- She then left us & went to make
a Visit to Mrs. Sandford -- in an hour & ½ we calld
for her & I had ye. delight of dining & spending
having her an hour after dinner quite to myself
I told ye. Dr. Woman that I was going to send You


a letter & ask'd if I should say any thing from
her -- tell Dr. Miʃs Burney she replied, that had
“I eyes wch. could do justice to my heart I should
“employ my own pen to convey my most Affection-
“ate wishes to her.” -- We are both impatient to
see You that we may judge how far Your
person [is im]provedis improved by ye. embonpoint[8] You
boast of at the same time we shall not receive
You with pleasure if You bring ye. least remains
of Your Cough, pray do not venture into
the impure air of London till you are as
well able to bear it as your Kinsman
I have not yet seen this Relation of Yours
but I hear he is an Object worth
[loo]king at.[9]    Adieu I should, were
 ------------ [10]endulge myself fill this folio
[but] 'tis not reasonable that I
should break in upon your time any longer
If you wd. now & then let me have a line I
should be very grateful because till I see
You I shall be anxious to hear how you go
on,      I am very affectionately
                             & sincerely Yours
                                                 Mary Hamilton


I have this moment heard -- that at 7 oClock
this Eveg -- a fire broke out in ye. Nursery of
Lord Spencers House at Wimbledon, & that it
is burnt to ye. Ground. -- Lord Althorpe was
there but was most fortunately saved. Lady Spencer
is in Town she was to have gone there tomorrow
Lord —S at Roehampton


I have been obliged to unseal my letter to
make an apology for sending the paper so burnt
I foolishly put it within ye. fender to dry ye
Wafer & behold a wicked live Coal lay Lurking there[11] set it on
fire had I time I wd- write over what I have
written -- pray excuse my not doing so.

                             ▼

I have finish'd ye. Extracts & have been prom-
is'd more of the charming letters[12] -- I do hope
we shall have a comfortable opportunity of reading them
together -- make haste & get quite well I beseech You --


                             Miʃs Burney
                             at -- Cambridges Esq.
                                            Twickenham
                             Single Sheet[13] [14]

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


Notes


 1. The stages of correction of the date, including the superscript portion trimmed at the top of the sheet, are difficult to decipher.
 2. As Hamilton explains in a postscript on p.4, after a cinder burnt a hole in the sealed letter, she had to unseal it and carry out hurried damage limitation. The hole affects two or three lines on each of pp.1-3. (NB. The letter is a single sheet, folded in half and written on both sides.) Hamilton substituted interlinear additions for lost or damaged text. Given her evident intentions, we have marked surviving traces of replaced damaged text as cancelled, whether or not there is explicit cancellation.
 3. Dowager Lady Gower died on 19 February 1785.
 4. That very month, Dr Burney had suffered a burglary and a royal snub: see Roger Lonsdale, Dr. Charles Burney: A Literary Biography (OUP, 1965), 314-17.
 5. Burney's bantering reference to Hamilton's fiancé as ‘that wrath-inspiring object’ to be sent from her sight, ‘& if the Cuprit will not -- with all the rigour of your Frowns, be banished -- why even suffer him to stay, & kill him with a smile. -- ’ (Letter 60, ALS (Beinecke) 10-17 Mar. 1785, reproduced in Stewart Cooke (ed.), The Additional Journals and Letters of Frances Burney, I, 1784–1786 OUP, 2015), 241-3).
 6. Dickenson's departure on 19 March 1785 spares Hamilton ‘the pain of a parting moment’ (see her journal-letter to him, HAM/2/15/3 p.60).
 7. There were sixteen rooms in all, according to ODNB.
 8. ‘Plumpness, well-nourished appearance of body: in complimentary or euphemistic sense’, the only definition of embonpoint in OED (s.v., n. Accessed 26-12-2025).
 9. Stewart Cooke, in a footnote to a letter of Burney's already cited above, suggests this is perhaps the 8 foot 1 inch Patrick Cotter (O'Brien), recently exhibited as the ‘Bristol Giant’. Hamilton's sentence (which Cooke quotes) picks up the diminutive Burney's joke that her return to health might lead to her being ‘taken for a kinswoman of the new Giant’.
 10. Probably ‘I to’ has been lost to tearing off the seal.
 11. Another possible reading for this interlinear addition is ‘by landing there’, as in Gardner (2025: 551 ex.(6)).
 12. Letters of Mrs Delany, which Hamilton frequently reports working on (e.g. HAM/2/13 p.22).
 13. Postmark ‘29 MR’ below address when unfolded, indicating the letter went through the post on 29 March 1785.
 14. Moved address here from middle of page, written vertically.

Normalised Text


                                                         March 23d. 1785


                                                         Clarges Street

      If You knew my sweet friend how my
heart has been interested about You, You would soon
banish the idea that I would not go to You in an
Evening; though you allowed me to do so, because
You could not receive me in a Morning, I knew
so perfectly how you were every day -- (for though I
did not torment You by repeated enquiries I gained
daily information from Your other friends) that
real tenderness alone kept me away, I was apprehensive
 that I might be the occasion of Your
exerting Your spirits too much & I would not gratify
my desire of seeing you when I fear'd you might
suffer from it. Could You have heard all that
Dear Mrs. Delany & I have said of You, You
would be satisfied of our affection & own also that
I am a generous Rival, I am certain that I
cannot give you greater pleasure than assuring
You that You are sincerely beloved & highly esteemed
 by this most excellent of Women, She
has been very much indisposed & her spirits
have been severely depressed -- but I thank God
she is now very well in health & her spirits
last night seemed very much revived, the dreadful accidental death
of Lady Gower was the occasion of this illness
& lowness of spirits. I have not seen Your Father
since You went out of Town but I have heard much
of his Losses & the disappointment he has sustained
I would condole with You but that I think You
will reap more satisfaction from my telling You that
the manner in which he has borne up under them
has gained him the justest admiration -- there is


my Dear You know a sort of pity which somehow
offends --  ------------------------------
 ------------  it wounds our delicacy, & justly -- &
there is a sympathy which makes our misfortunes
feel less poignant -- this last I can venture to
say your Father has experienced -- may I not
tell you that till now I did not know how universally
he was respected & beloved & at the same time
allow me to add that till I thought you in
danger I did not know how dear You was to me.
The disagreeable object you mention left Town on
the very day I received Yours (last Saturday the 19th.)
I do not know whether his presence made me
frown but I am told that my smiles have been
less frequent since he went away, I will leave
it to You to guess whether I smiled at his
expense or with the  ------  intention of killing
him (as You suggested) with a smile:
Monday 28th. I have kept my letter open some days
in hopes that I might pick up some News, an
Anecdote -- or an entertaining Story to enliven my
Epistle but I have heard nothing which would raise
a smile & I am sure I would not make You
look grave which I certainly should were I to
repeat the horrid topics of the day -- people
talk of vice now with as much indifference
as of the weather or a new fashion.
I have spent the day with our beloved Mrs. Delany
she called for me with Miss Port at 12 we went
to Sir Aston Levers Museum & she was stout enough
though it was a most bitter cold day to go through all the
lower rooms -- She then left us & went to make
a Visit to Mrs. Sandford -- in an hour & ½ we called
for her & I had the delight of dining &
having her an hour after dinner quite to myself
I told the Dear Woman that I was going to send You


a letter & asked if I should say any thing from
her -- tell Dear Miss Burney she replied, that had
“I eyes which could do justice to my heart I should
“employ my own pen to convey my most Affectionate
 wishes to her.” -- We are both impatient to
see You that we may judge how far Your
person is improved by the embonpoint You
boast of at the same time we shall not receive
You with pleasure if You bring the least remains
of Your Cough, pray do not venture into
the impure air of London till you are as
well able to bear it as your Kinsman
I have not yet seen this Relation of Yours
but I hear he is an Object worth
looking at.    Adieu I should, were
 ------------ indulge myself fill this folio
but 'tis not reasonable that I
should break in upon your time any longer
If you would now & then let me have a line I
should be very grateful because till I see
You I shall be anxious to hear how you go
on,      I am very affectionately
                             & sincerely Yours
                                            Mary Hamilton


I have this moment heard -- that at 7 o'Clock
this Evening -- a fire broke out in the Nursery of
Lord Spencers House at Wimbledon, & that it
is burnt to the Ground. -- Lord Althorpe was
there but was most fortunately saved. Lady Spencer
is in Town she was to have gone there tomorrow
Lord Spencer at Roehampton


I have been obliged to unseal my letter to
make an apology for sending the paper so burnt
I foolishly put it within the fender to dry the
Wafer & behold a wicked live Coal lay Lurking there set it on
fire had I time I would write over what I have
written -- pray excuse my not doing so.

                             ▼

I have finished the Extracts & have been promised
 more of the charming letters -- I do hope
we shall have a comfortable opportunity of reading them
together -- make haste & get quite well I beseech You --


                             Miss Burney
                             at -- Cambridges Esq.
                                            Twickenham
                             Single Sheet

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



 1. The stages of correction of the date, including the superscript portion trimmed at the top of the sheet, are difficult to decipher.
 2. As Hamilton explains in a postscript on p.4, after a cinder burnt a hole in the sealed letter, she had to unseal it and carry out hurried damage limitation. The hole affects two or three lines on each of pp.1-3. (NB. The letter is a single sheet, folded in half and written on both sides.) Hamilton substituted interlinear additions for lost or damaged text. Given her evident intentions, we have marked surviving traces of replaced damaged text as cancelled, whether or not there is explicit cancellation.
 3. Dowager Lady Gower died on 19 February 1785.
 4. That very month, Dr Burney had suffered a burglary and a royal snub: see Roger Lonsdale, Dr. Charles Burney: A Literary Biography (OUP, 1965), 314-17.
 5. Burney's bantering reference to Hamilton's fiancé as ‘that wrath-inspiring object’ to be sent from her sight, ‘& if the Cuprit will not -- with all the rigour of your Frowns, be banished -- why even suffer him to stay, & kill him with a smile. -- ’ (Letter 60, ALS (Beinecke) 10-17 Mar. 1785, reproduced in Stewart Cooke (ed.), The Additional Journals and Letters of Frances Burney, I, 1784–1786 OUP, 2015), 241-3).
 6. Dickenson's departure on 19 March 1785 spares Hamilton ‘the pain of a parting moment’ (see her journal-letter to him, HAM/2/15/3 p.60).
 7. There were sixteen rooms in all, according to ODNB.
 8. ‘Plumpness, well-nourished appearance of body: in complimentary or euphemistic sense’, the only definition of embonpoint in OED (s.v., n. Accessed 26-12-2025).
 9. Stewart Cooke, in a footnote to a letter of Burney's already cited above, suggests this is perhaps the 8 foot 1 inch Patrick Cotter (O'Brien), recently exhibited as the ‘Bristol Giant’. Hamilton's sentence (which Cooke quotes) picks up the diminutive Burney's joke that her return to health might lead to her being ‘taken for a kinswoman of the new Giant’.
 10. Probably ‘I to’ has been lost to tearing off the seal.
 11. Another possible reading for this interlinear addition is ‘by landing there’, as in Gardner (2025: 551 ex.(6)).
 12. Letters of Mrs Delany, which Hamilton frequently reports working on (e.g. HAM/2/13 p.22).
 13. Postmark ‘29 MR’ below address when unfolded, indicating the letter went through the post on 29 March 1785.
 14. Moved address here from middle of page, written vertically.

Metadata

Library References

Repository: Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries, Vassar College

Archive: Fanny Burney Papers

Item title: Letter from Mary Hamilton to Frances Burney

Shelfmark: FBP Folder 3

Correspondence Details

Sender: Mary Hamilton

Place sent: London

Addressee: Frances D'Arblay (née Burney)

Place received: Twickenham

Date sent: from 23 to 28 March 1785

Letter Description

Summary: Letter from Mary Hamilton to Frances Burney, begun on 23 March and completed on 28 March 1785.
   

Length: 1 sheet, 972 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: Sophie Coulombeau (submitted 5 October 2022)

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

Revision date: 19 January 2026

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