Diplomatic Text
36 24[1]
South Audley Street -- Sunday 7th May
1790
My dear Friend! by this time you are thanking ▼
God for Mr Dickensons return! he will tell you
that he has seen me in good spirits, looking
comfortable & occupied, I know not what he will
have told you about my health, probably that
I was well, but that I looked ill -- I never have
a moment for writing or I would have thanked
you e're now for your dear tho' short little note
this Evening I came home from Ld Ilchesters
merely to write to you & to one or two more of the
many Friends, whose kind congratulations I
have not yet answered -- & Mr Digby was so
good as to resist coming home with me to
leave me a few hours leisure, which otherwise
I can never find -- I was most happy my dear
Friend to hear that you were well, & Louisa
improving in Health & strength & perfections, &
of course that your comforts were daily increasing
you have now too a new interest in Taxal &
of course new amusements & occupation in
the alterations & improvements you are making --
you do not think of London this year Mr Dickenson
tells me, I do not wonder that you should dislik[e]
quitting a beautiful spot in this delightful season
where every source of happineʃs is united in your
husband & your Child! one may be happy too
here I find, for I am so, tho' I feel I shall be more
so, when all the dinners of ceremony are over
& that we have got into a more regular plan of
comfort at home -- I have hitherto enjoyed it very
little in an Evening for tho' I have been hardly
in publick at all & but at one play & one Opera
since I married, I have entered into so numerous
a family, all so very kind to me, that it is with
great difficulty I find means to divide myself
amongst them without neglecting my old
Friends -- I continue to be very early in the
morning rise at ½ past 8 breakfast at ½ past
9 -- then Mr D. stays talking till perhaps near
12 -- then my little Girls leʃsons, with sometim[es]
a walk, sometimes some neceʃsary visits
& now & then Mr Parsons or Brown for myself
bring me to 4 o'clock when I dreʃs, & you plainly
see leave me little time for writing or reading
both of which talents, I feel myself in some
danger of forgetting -- we have hitherto generally
dined out, now I have begun to give dinners
at home in return, when they are over which
I trust will be in a fortnight, I shall begin to
enjoy myself. I have had a return of the pain
in my stomack -- & am every now & then very
bad -- then better again for a day or two -- to day
has been a very good day with me -- I am under
Farquar's care to please Mr D—— & my Father &
am taking Hemlock, but that I take to be all
nonsense, & God alone can do me good which I
trust he will soon -- my Brother has been very
ill from a hurt he received on his side from a
fall, but he has is recovering thank God very
fast -- adieu my dear Friend, I must leave
you for the present -- I will write again when
I have more time, & hope to hear from you
de temps en temps that is all one can
ex[pec]t from a married woman & the mistre[ʃs]
of a family, at least I find it impoʃsible to ------ [2]
more -- God bleʃs you -- Most sincerely yours affec:
C. M. D
C. M. Digby
Miss C.M. Gunning
married Colonel the Honble
Stephen Digby of Richmond
Park, brother of Henry first
Earl Digby -- in 1790
[3]
To[4]
Mrs Dickenson
Taxal
Chapel le Frith
Derbyshire
[5]
red text is normalised and/or unformatted in other panel)
Normalised Text
South Audley Street -- Sunday 7th May
My dear Friend! by this time you are thanking ▼
God for Mr Dickensons return! he will tell you
that he has seen me in good spirits, looking
comfortable & occupied, I know not what he will
have told you about my health, probably that
I was well, but that I looked ill -- I never have
a moment for writing or I would have thanked
you ere now for your dear though short little note
this Evening I came home from Lord Ilchesters
merely to write to you & to one or two more of the
many Friends, whose kind congratulations I
have not yet answered -- & Mr Digby was so
good as to resist coming home with me to
leave me a few hours leisure, which otherwise
I can never find -- I was most happy my dear
Friend to hear that you were well, & Louisa
improving in Health & strength & perfections, &
of course that your comforts were daily increasing
you have now too a new interest in Taxal &
of course new amusements & occupation in
the alterations & improvements you are making --
you do not think of London this year Mr Dickenson
tells me, I do not wonder that you should dislike
quitting a beautiful spot in this delightful season
where every source of happiness is united in your
husband & your Child! one may be happy too
here I find, for I am so, though I feel I shall be more
so, when all the dinners of ceremony are over
& that we have got into a more regular plan of
comfort at home -- I have hitherto enjoyed it very
little in an Evening for though I have been hardly
in public at all & but at one play & one Opera
since I married, I have entered into so numerous
a family, all so very kind to me, that it is with
great difficulty I find means to divide myself
amongst them without neglecting my old
Friends -- I continue to be very early in the
morning rise at ½ past 8 breakfast at ½ past
9 -- then Mr Digby stays talking till perhaps near
12 -- then my little Girls lessons, with sometimes
a walk, sometimes some necessary visits
& now & then Mr Parsons or Brown for myself
bring me to 4 o'clock when I dress, & you plainly
see leave me little time for writing or reading
both of which talents, I feel myself in some
danger of forgetting -- we have hitherto generally
dined out, now I have begun to give dinners
at home in return, when they are over which
I trust will be in a fortnight, I shall begin to
enjoy myself. I have had a return of the pain
in my stomach -- & am every now & then very
bad -- then better again for a day or two -- to day
has been a very good day with me -- I am under
Farquar's care to please Mr Digby & my Father &
am taking Hemlock, but that I take to be all
nonsense, & God alone can do me good which I
trust he will soon -- my Brother has been very
ill from a hurt he received on his side from a
fall, but he is recovering thank God very
fast -- adieu my dear Friend, I must leave
you for the present -- I will write again when
I have more time, & hope to hear from you
de temps en temps that is all one can
expect from a married woman & the mistress
of a family, at least I find it impossible to ------
more -- God bless you -- Most sincerely yours affectionately
Charlotte Margaret Digby
To
Mrs Dickenson
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 Charlotte Margaret Gunning to Mary Hamilton
Shelfmark: HAM/1/15/1/39
Correspondence Details
Sender: Charlotte Margaret Digby (née Gunning)
Place sent: London
Addressee: Mary Hamilton
Place received: Taxal, near Chapel-en-le-Frith
Date sent: 8 May 1790
Letter Description
Summary: Letter from Charlotte Gunning [now married to Colonel Stephen Digby] to Mary Hamilton. She writes of a visit from Hamilton's husband, John Dickenson, and reveals that she is now very happy. Since her marriage she has very rarely been out in public of an evening, only once to a play and once to an opera. She writes that she has entered into a large family and all are kind to her, and she outlines to Hamilton how she fills up her day. She writes of her health and says that she is under the care of 'Farquar', who has prescribed hemlock for her.
Dated at South Audley Street.
Original reference No. 4.
Length: 1 sheet, 628 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 2014/15 and 2015/16 provided by the Department of Linguistics and English Language, University of Manchester.
Research assistant: Isabella Formisano, former MA student, University of Manchester
Transliterator: Louisa Coley, undergraduate student, University of Manchester (submitted May 2016)
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