It was so long since I had heard any thing of
you that it gave me particular pleasure to receive your letter, and to hear such
pleasant Accounts of yourself and friends.
What a
delightful Society to have so many kind Aunts Uncles and Cousins within a ring
fence. Mrs. D. Sykes you know was
always a favourite with me. I know less of the others. You have drawn an interesting
portrait of Miss Thompson.[2] She must be a fine
creature. I have answered her letter which is what I cannot always do.
The
keen Northern air[3] is I trust bracing your body, while so many affectionate
friends cheer your mind.
I too have suffered most truly for
Mr. Macaulay,[4] and am
still not without anxiety for him.
Mrs.
M. and Selina we had invited to
spend a fortnight with /us,/ and
it did her good after the
fatigue of nursing her poor Sister.
[5]
He met them half way back and by that
means confirmed his cold and cough into a fever.
I sent by Mrs. M. a certain pacquet of letters which are
waiting your return in a little box.
I did indeed mourn for Mrs.
Stephen.
Her afflicted
husband wrote me a delightful character of her immediately on her
death.
Nor have I sustained a lighter loss in my beloved Mrs. Hoare of
Mitchem.
[6] The behaviour of Mr. Hoare7 is angelic.
Last night had me the report of the death of my sainted friend Mr. Whalley. He seemed to be the nearest
heaven of any man left on earth.
It is a dying world. I seem to dwell
among the tombs. Last night black gloves were brought for us for the death of our
oldest friends. we were play fellows in childhood. God has given me many warnings
and a long time for preparation may it not be in vain!
We have had many of your friends and
neighbours staying here one after another. The two
Charles Grants – I thought the Senior remarkably well and
I have a delightful long descriptive letter from him from the
Isle of Skie
[unclear]
.
Lord Calthorpe
his Sister and Mr. Wilberforce (dear Creature) spent three days with
us the week before last
he was pretty well for
him, all spirit, feeling & kindness as
usual
.
Lord C. has been at
Bath for his
health and is better,
I rather think the Gisbornes are moving this way.
Young Elliot[7] spent the day
here yesterday
– he has good Sense, a correct taste and much piety
The dear Bishop of
Gloucester comes to us sometimes
. I hope you are
delighted with his
Charge. He presided at our
Wrington Bible Meeting. I assure you it looked like the time of
primitive Christianity to see a Bishop making most expressive Speeches in a Waggon
house covered with an Awning of Canvas. We had many good Speakers, a large and
genteel Audience and 25 Clergymen of the Establishment. After the Meeting the select
part of the company repaired to
Barley Wood – Th[tear] of
us poor infirm Animals, enterta[tear] 62 Gentlemen and Ladies at
dinner and 120 at tea!! But the greatest part of the treat, because the rarest, was,
that it was one of the finest days that could be seen and our party seemed to enjoy
it very much. The dear Bishop said ‘it was a day of days’!
We have been expecting Lady O
Sparrow, but she is still staying at
Sidmouth.
[Final section of letter has been cut away]
do come, a long way commonly, we cannot send them off with the lye – not at home.
As to health I am the best of a bad
bunch.
Sally has good days, but P. I fear is very declining – constant fever yet she
is always employ’d
and I believe Dorcas[8] never made so many Garments. Indeed the poor [final section
of letter has been cut away]
[Written at the top of the letter, sideways, between the salutation and the
letter:]
Cadell has just published a
Volume of my
Poems in a new Edition with a very pretty Vignette of the Temple at
Barley Wood at the head.
[9]
[Written at the top of the letter, above the date is:]
I venture to inclose to Miss Thompson thro her
brother
[1]The letter is dated based on the handwritten addition on the letter.
[2]It is possible that Marianne Thornton was visiting with her Sykes aunt and uncle,
who were based in Kingston-upon-Hull in Yorkshire.
[3]Zachary Macaulay suffered relatively frequent bouts of poor health.
[5]Lydia Henrietta Malortie Hoare, who had died earlier in 1816. Her son, Charles Hoare
(1781-1865), was the evangelical vicar of Blandford Forum in Dorset, and connected
to More’s circle in Somerset.
[6]Henry Hoare (1750-1828), a banker in London, was one of the founders of the Church
Missionary Society.
[7]Likely Henry Venn Elliott (1792-1865), the evangelical nephew of the rector of Clapham,
John Venn. In 1811 he had helped form a Cambridge branch of the British and Foreign
Bible Society, and in 1816 was elected to a fellowship at Trinity College.
[8]Most likely one of More’s servants.
[9]More’s Poems was published by Cadell and Davies in 1816.
