Single Letter

MSS1 b.12 f.54

Letter from Horace Walpole to Mary Hamilton

Diplomatic Text

[1]


[2]
                                                         Berkley Square
                                                         Dec. 22d. 1789.

Dear Madam

      Some time ago I received a brace of wood-
=cocks
labelled with a name so friendly, that I am sure I can
only be obliged to Mr Dickenson & you for so kind a remem=
brance
. It does not look very gratefull when I am so late in
my gratitude -- but I was out of town & have been so till last
week, & neither knew how to direct to you, nor where to learn.
On the very night that I arrived, I drove to Norfolk street -- but
alas! Miʃs Clarke was removed, whither was not known, but was
beleived at Sunning. I thence went to melancholy Clarges Street,
Edmund was as ignorant; but yesterday informed me I shoud
find Miʃs Clarke in Conduit street, & so I did last night, & she gave
me a direction, & acquainted me that Mr Dickenson has been out
of order but is quite recovered -- so my joy is pure she gave me another
pleasure, the hope of seeing you this spring, & I trust, with your
sweet little girl
much growing & improved.



      I have been so few days in town, that I can give you very
imperfect accounts of our Friends, The poor dear Vesey is quite
Childish, but thence not at all unhappy, which, with the great
care taken of her, is the best we coud hope. Mrs Carter comes next
monday; Miʃs More is at Hampton, but not coming this month.
A person, who lives opposite to Hampton Court, is in a very dangerous
way, & suffers terribly, but I do not beleive disordered, as reported.
      I am a bad newsmonger, & if there is any, do not know it; and
therefore, as I cannot entertain you, I will not tire you, when my
sole reason for writing was to thank you & Mr Dickenson, & to
seize that opportunity of aʃsuring you that I am as much as ever
                                                         Dear Madam
                                                         yr much obliged &
                                                         most sincere humble Sert
                                                         HWalpole



[3]



To
      Mrs Dickenson
at Taxal Chapel le Frith
      Derbyshire.[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]

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


Notes


 1. The first image is of an archival note with basic metadata, the location in the Yale Edition of Horace Walpole's correspondence, and the provenance of the document.
 2. This letter appears in Lewis (1937-83: XXXI, 335-336).
 3. This page is blank.
 4. This address is written vertically.
 5. Charge mark; a large manuscript number 6 in black ink, denoting postage due.
 6. Postmark in black ink, dated 22 December 1789.
 7. Remains of a seal, in red wax.

Normalised Text





                                                         Berkley Square
                                                         December 22d. 1789.

Dear Madam

      Some time ago I received a brace of woodcocks
labelled with a name so friendly, that I am sure I can
only be obliged to Mr Dickenson & you for so kind a remembrance
. It does not look very grateful when I am so late in
my gratitude -- but I was out of town & have been so till last
week, & neither knew how to direct to you, nor where to learn.
On the very night that I arrived, I drove to Norfolk street -- but
alas! Miss Clarke was removed, whither was not known, but was
believed at Sunning. I thence went to melancholy Clarges Street,
Edmund was as ignorant; but yesterday informed me I should
find Miss Clarke in Conduit street, & so I did last night, & she gave
me a direction, & acquainted me that Mr Dickenson has been out
of order but is quite recovered -- so my joy is pure she gave me another
pleasure, the hope of seeing you this spring, & I trust, with your
sweet little girl much growing & improved.



      I have been so few days in town, that I can give you very
imperfect accounts of our Friends, The poor dear Vesey is quite
Childish, but thence not at all unhappy, which, with the great
care taken of her, is the best we could hope. Mrs Carter comes next
monday; Miss More is at Hampton, but not coming this month.
A person, who lives opposite to Hampton Court, is in a very dangerous
way, & suffers terribly, but I do not believe disordered, as reported.
      I am a bad newsmonger, & if there is any, do not know it; and
therefore, as I cannot entertain you, I will not tire you, when my
sole reason for writing was to thank you & Mr Dickenson, & to
seize that opportunity of assuring you that I am as much as ever
                                                         Dear Madam
                                                         your much obliged &
                                                         most sincere humble Servant
                                                         Horace Walpole







To
      Mrs Dickenson
at Taxal Chapel le Frith
      Derbyshire.


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



 1. The first image is of an archival note with basic metadata, the location in the Yale Edition of Horace Walpole's correspondence, and the provenance of the document.
 2. This letter appears in Lewis (1937-83: XXXI, 335-336).
 3. This page is blank.
 4. This address is written vertically.
 5. Charge mark; a large manuscript number 6 in black ink, denoting postage due.
 6. Postmark in black ink, dated 22 December 1789.
 7. Remains of a seal, in red wax.

Metadata

Library References

Repository: Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University

Archive: Horace Walpole's Correspondence

Item title: Letter from Horace Walpole to Mary Hamilton

Shelfmark: MSS1 b.12 f.54

Correspondence Details

Sender: Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford

Place sent: London

Addressee: Mary Hamilton

Place received: Taxal, near Chapel-en-le-Frith

Date sent: 22 December 1789

Letter Description

Summary: Letter from Horace Walpole to Mary Hamilton, December 1789.
   

Length: 1 sheet, 347 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: Transcription and XML version created as part of project 'Unlocking the Mary Hamilton Papers', funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council under grant AH/S007121/1.

Transliterator: Christine Wallis, editorial team (completed 3 March 2021)

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

Revision date: 2 December 2021

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