Diplomatic Text
Dec: 17th 1787
Dear Madam
A letter from Mrs Dickenson must alway[1]
increase the joy of a recent happy event, or revive that of
of a former one; & I find my felicity increased by the part
you have the goodneʃs to take in it, & have therefore great
pleasure in aʃsuring you Mrs Matthew Montagu's health
is not impaired by the present she has made us of a
jolly boy almost as big herself, The Parents, & the Babe, are
now at Southampton, Mr Montagu was a good deal out of
health all the Summer, but having been advised by his Physician
pretty late in ye Autumn, to try the effect of Sea bathing,
they prudently fixd on Southampton as affording a comfortable
retreat in the Winter, if he found benefit enough from bathing
to induce him to continue it during that Season, I had the comfort
of seeing him come to Town at the meeting of the Parliament
much improved in health. They left ye Child at Southampton
under the care of a trusty Servant, & on Wednesday last returnd thither
with a resolution to stay till the H: of Commons meets
after the holy days.
I am much delighted to find, that Mr Dickenson & you intend
to come to Town in the Spring. I know it is unfashionable to
come to London before Xmaʃs, but for my own part, I confeʃs,
I love it best in its demi Saison character, when it is
neither a Solitude nor a Crowd. I had indeed a great mortification
at my coming to Town in finding my amiable Friend Mrs
Vesey in a most declining condition. your friend Miʃs A Clarks
humane attentions are a great comfort to her, minds like hers,
like Aromatick Herbs, & sweet flowers, even when wither'd &
decay'd retain a sweet odour. She is still affectionate to her
Friends, & benevolent to all, but her mental powers are sadly
impaired.
I long to be introduced to dear little Miʃs Dickenson from
every reason I expect to find her amiable.
All reports, true, or untrue, are so circulated by the news papers
that it is not poʃsible to send ones Correspondents any news.
It is said Miʃs Pulteney is to marry Lord Ancram, if Cupid
advises it, I think even the Goddeʃs of Prudence cannot
make any Objection to the Union.
I beg leave to present my best compliments to Mr Dickenson
& that you would give a kiʃs for me to the dear little
Lady in token of future friendship
With perfect esteem I am dear Madam
your most affectionate & Obliged
Humble Servant
Eliz Montagu
Mrs. Montagu
Decbr. 17th. 1787[2]
[4] [5]
red text is normalised and/or unformatted in other panel)
Notes
1. Alway is treated as a headword in the OED, ‘chiefly arch[aic] and regional’, in the same senses as always, which supplants it.
2. This appears on the left side of p.3 when unfolded, written vertically.
3. The address is crossed to indicate postage paid.
4. Bishop mark which reads ‘17 DE 87’.
5. Remains of a seal, in red wax.
Normalised Text
December 17th
Dear Madam
A letter from Mrs Dickenson must always
increase the joy of a recent happy event, or revive that of
a former one; & I find my felicity increased by the part
you have the goodness to take in it, & have therefore great
pleasure in assuring you Mrs Matthew Montagu's health
is not impaired by the present she has made us of a
jolly boy almost as big herself, The Parents, & the Babe, are
now at Southampton, Mr Montagu was a good deal out of
health all the Summer, but having been advised by his Physician
pretty late in the Autumn, to try the effect of Sea bathing,
they prudently fixed on Southampton as affording a comfortable
retreat in the Winter, if he found benefit enough from bathing
to induce him to continue it during that Season, I had the comfort
of seeing him come to Town at the meeting of the Parliament
much improved in health. They left the Child at Southampton
under the care of a trusty Servant, & on Wednesday last returned thither
with a resolution to stay till the House of Commons meets
after the holy days.
I am much delighted to find, that Mr Dickenson & you intend
to come to Town in the Spring. I know it is unfashionable to
come to London before Christmas, but for my own part, I confess,
I love it best in its demi Saison character, when it is
neither a Solitude nor a Crowd. I had indeed a great mortification
at my coming to Town in finding my amiable Friend Mrs
Vesey in a most declining condition. your friend Miss Anna Clarks
humane attentions are a great comfort to her, minds like hers,
like Aromatic Herbs, & sweet flowers, even when withered &
decayed retain a sweet odour. She is still affectionate to her
Friends, & benevolent to all, but her mental powers are sadly
impaired.
I long to be introduced to dear little Miss Dickenson from
every reason I expect to find her amiable.
All reports, true, or untrue, are so circulated by the news papers
that it is not possible to send ones Correspondents any news.
It is said Miss Pulteney is to marry Lord Ancram, if Cupid
advises it, I think even the Goddess of Prudence cannot
make any Objection to the Union.
I beg leave to present my best compliments to Mr Dickenson
& that you would give a kiss for me to the dear little
Lady in token of future friendship
With perfect esteem I am dear Madam
your most affectionate & Obliged
Humble Servant
Elizabeth Montagu
Taxal
Chapel le Frith
Derbyshire
quotations, spellings, uncorrected forms, split words, abbreviations, formatting)
Notes
Metadata
Library References
Repository: John Rylands Research Institute and Library, University of Manchester
Archive: Mary Hamilton Papers
Item title: Letter from Elizabeth Montagu to Mary Hamilton
Shelfmark: HAM/1/6/4/2
Correspondence Details
Sender: Elizabeth Montagu (née Robinson)
Place sent: London
Addressee: Mary Hamilton
Place received: Taxal, near Chapel-en-le-Frith
Date sent: 17 December 1787
Letter Description
Summary: Letter from Elizabeth Montagu to Mary Hamilton. She conveys news of the birth 'of a jolly boy' to her nephew, Matthew Robinson Montagu, and his wife. Matthew Montagu had been ill throughout the summer, and his physician belatedly having suggested sea-bathing, he had decided to go to Southampton. Montagu reports that he has come to London for Parliament and looks in better health. He and his wife had left the baby in Southampton under the care of a trusted servant and have now returned there themselves and will not return to London until the House of Commons meets 'after the holy days'.
Hamilton is to come to London in the Spring. Montagu notes that although it is unfashionable to come to London before Christmas, 'I love it best in its demi Saison character, when it is neither a Solitude nor a Crowd'.
The letter also relates to mutual friends. The health of Mrs Vesey (see HAM/1/6/2) is declining, and Miss Pulteney is to marry Lord Ancram 'if Cupid advises it'.
Original reference No. 1.
Length: 1 sheet, 449 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: Research Assistant funding in 2016/17 provided by The John Rylands Research Institute.
Research assistant: Isabella Formisano, former MA student, University of Manchester
Research assistant: Carla Seabra-Dacosta, MA student, University of Vigo
Transliterator: Andrew Gott, dissertation student, University of Manchester (submitted June 2012)
Cataloguer: Lisa Crawley, Archivist, The John Rylands Library
Cataloguer: John Hodgson, Head of Special Collections, John Rylands Research Institute and Library
Copyright: Transcriptions, notes and TEI/XML © the editors
Revision date: 2 November 2021