I return you many thanks in behalf of the poor and needy and him that is ready to
perish for your kind benefaction of £25.
I should not have delayd this so long, but that
the day I received it arrived here Lord C. and his Sister
[2]
and Mr. Wilberforce. This has fully occupied me for the last three days.
They are just gone I not only could find no time to write, but I wished to defer it
till I could say something about them.
Ld. C. looks well, and tho he is not, as you know naturally communicative and gay yet
he seemed not to labour under the same depression of spirits, but seemed to take an
interest in the conversation without much joining in it.
Not a word passed on a certain subject of course. Your name was never once pronounced
when we were together, nor did Mr. W. when we were alone once advert to it nor in any particular manner to the late
indisposition. Miss C. when we were alone incidentally mentioned your name several
times on indifferent subjects, and mentioned with much feeling, that you had been
kind and useful to her unfortunate deceased brother.[3] In short no bystander would have suspected that any thing extraordinary had passed.
Ld. C. is still slower of speech than usual but that is all.
Unfortunately, Dr. Perry[4] in whom they seem to place extreme confidence has a bad paralytic stroke. This seems
likely to shorten their stay at
Bath. Tho in fact there is little /or/ nothing in what I have said yet I thought you would like to hear that little. I believe
both W and I were equally afraid to broach the Subject and perhaps as things are irrevocably
fixed, it was as well not. No one I have seen from
Clifton or elsewhere has ever said a word on the subject; this shows that it is not generally
known, otherwise it would be talked of. So I hope you will cheer up and be comfortable
and happy.[5]
They told us Mr. Dunn was intending to have been here the day they came, but as they gave him an intimation
of the scantiness of our accommodations, he has delay’d his coming. I suppose we shall
see him now, on his way to you.
We have had a good many interesting Visitors lately from different parts of
Europe full of various [unclear] information. The last were Sir Gore and Lady Ouseley our Persian friends.
P. has been better for a few days.
I hear Mr. Sparrow is got back to his Mentor. I dare say I shall soon see them. Our dear Bishop spoke kindly of him in his letter to me. I presume you have lost both him and Mr. Mernott:[6] but Mr. Dunn will repair the loss. I am sorry to hear that excellent and amiable Man a little
too /much/ vindicates some of the peculiar opinions of our friend Knox. You must combat them if you find them carried a little too far. Of course you will not drop what I have said
I woud not ask Mr. W for a Frank lest he should suspect I was on the look-out for intelligence.
I sat in continual fear lest your name should escape me – Burn this
[1]In a letter dated 23 September 1815 More wrote to Charles Hoare of this visit of Sir
Gore Ousley’s in almost identical terms to those she uses here, suggesting the letters
may have been written at around the same time.
[2]Lord Calthorpe had two sisters, neither identified by the ODNB.
[3]Lord Charles Gough-Calthorpe, second baron Calthorpe, who had died at the age of 21
in 1807.
[4]It has not been possible to identify this individual.
[5]This mysterious subject is the topic of a number of letters from More to Lady Olivia
at this time. The matter seems to relate to a romantic attachment or entanglement
between Lady Olivia’s son Robert, and an unknown lady.
[6]It has not been possible to identify this individual.