L30/9a/6

Volume 6 - Transcripts/extracts of correspondence of Jemima Yorke, (Marchioness Grey) sent to Miss Catherine Talbot.

1750-1754

From: 1750 To: 1754

PAGE 2 Wrest. (Journal of tour). Set out: dinner Cambridge; next day evening at Bury (remains of old abbey). Monday breakfasted at Lord Cornwall's [Culford]; on to Duke of Grafton's (Euston finest park ever in Yarmouth; (long description); Norwich; Bishop's palace; Mr Walpole's; Lord Leicester's; Lord Townshend's; Lord Orford; Sir Andrew Fountain; Friday Cambridge; Saturday home. 2 August 1750. PAGE 20 - PY (Philip Yorke?) gone to Assizes at Cambridge, and left me to inhabit the Root Hermitage and recommend myself to the protection of Mithras. 11 August 1750. PAGE 22 - Lord and Lady Anson en route for Staffordshire. 16 August 1750. PAGE 23 - "Old Windsor sold for £6,000". Fuss about a sermon in Gloucestershire. 30 August. PAGE 25 Wimpole. Catherine Talbot's fall from horse. Company increased - scarcely passes an evening without some sort of play - whist, commerce, and even the royal and most pleasant game of the goose - become so fashionable a game amongst the genteelest parties that in the Bedfordian set there are several hundred pounds won and lost of a night at it. This awakened the curiosity of the family here and we set to it in all haste that we might be qualified for appearing in London. Books are almost out of fashion. But while I did read, I had got the history of the knights of Malta - well wrote. 4 October 1750. PAGE 29 Wrest. Study of Astrea. Has lately heard a lot of Newmarket and chariot and horse races. Polymetis - Mr Wray attacks its remarks on antiquities; she thought it tedious. Thought West's translation of Pindar entertaining. 11 October 1750. PAGE 31 - No news of Lord Anson. Lady Anson uneasy. General satisfaction with life and all it brings in its progress; plan I would always be directed by; greatest reason for thankfulness, but even in a more mixed state. I think it is still a constant duty; never could approve of those dismal representations of the world one sometimes meets with, or lowering ideas of human nature; think both false; we are neither made so bad nor designed to be so unhappy. 18 October 1750. PAGE 34 Wrest. Books. 25 October 1750. (Note: Amabel born January 1751). PAGE 37 London. Weather. Went yesterday in mob to kiss Prince of Wales. London news. Everyone asked in midst of dances how my daughter did. 11 May 1751. PAGE 42 - Bishop of Oxford will be curious to hear about Regency bill (details). Pelham - Pitt - Fox. 18 May 1751. PAGE 47 (continuation?) Mrs Cockburn's play. Madame de Sevigne. Mr Aaron Hill's correspondents. Mr Pope. New edition of Fontenelle. 1751. PAGE 51 Trip to Carshalton with Lord Willloughby and Mr Anson and Lord and Lady. Also went to Mr Hamilton's at Cobham, to Claremont and to Esher - all three fine places. (details). Politics. 15 June 1751. PAGE 54 Wrest. Little girl excellent traveller. Impossible to return to a place where I have passed so many years without considering various blessings I have enjoyed here; can trace every year with pleasure; no one yet marked with the black hand of sorrow; hope have never failed to reflect with becoming gratitude. Never more cause for thankfulness, or felt more strongly than with unexpected blessing since left in winter. I can truly say I never suffered myself to wish for anything more than what the great and wise giver of all things was pleased to allot for me; accept with joy and reverence this last gift which crown all the others. Your friend little deserves such favours - wish for her that this abundant share of happiness may not be designed for severer trials. My heart is full, and I could run on longer, but have not leisure to indulge, in hourly expectation of Lord Chancellor etc. 27 June 1751. PAGE 58 - Excellent sermon, nothing better to wish for; but not applied to me; I never knew the low-spiritedness you argue against, nor was ever of a melancholy or fearful disposition (hostess at Christ Church). I never could suppose a tyrannical Providence, or could bear the idea that an all-powerful and all-gracious Creator should form his creatures to be miserable. But various trials are our lot, though deferred, no reason to believe we shall escape. An uninterrupted course would make too many of us more thoughtless than we are. Where more is given more will be justly required. Increase of happiness brings new duties and dangers. How few act up to all duties required and avoid all temptations, of which attachment to the world is not one of the least. Such my dangers, my dear Miss Talbot, not low spirits. 11 July 1751. PAGE 60 - Catherine Talbot's harsh sentence on Mr Edwards, and his works. A Tartar's den! Was ever rural hermitage so traduced? Would not any candid person admire the ingenious penetrating eye that could discover beauties in common object and place together in agreeable forms. 25 July1751. PAGE 64 - Pope, Warburton, Edwards. Mr Birch's new edition of Spenser. 1 August 1751. PAGE 68 - Lord Anson has bought Moor Park in Hertfordshire near Cashiobury - will want a lot doing to it. 8 August 1751. PAGE 69 - Lord Anson returned for Staffordshire. Colonel Yorke to succeed Lord Holderness at Hague. 12 September 1751. PAGE 70 Wimpole. Entertainment of Monsieur Mirepoix's. French news. Our great company last week. Duke of Newcastle and Lord Montford. 19 September 1751. PAGE 75 St James' Square. Entertainment by Sir Thomas Robinson (details). Night at play (Mrs Cibber's farce). Lady Coventry. 25 April 1752 PAGE 82 - To Ranelagh with Mrs Heathcote and Lady Anson. 9 May 1752. PAGE 84 Scarborough. Death of Bishop of Durham (Joseph Butler). Accident at Lincoln's Inn. Welcome to the Ansons. Description of town. 30 Jun 1752. PAGE 89 Scarborough. Account of life there. 7 July 1752. PAGE 90 - Visit to Castle Howard. 27 July 1752. PAGE 93 Scarborough. Leaving Friday. 11 August 1752. PAGE 96 Wrest. Anxiety over illness of Bishop of Gloucester (Martin Benson). 25 August 1752. PAGE 97 - Melancholy news. Ought not to lament that friend is eternally happy, infinite good works, life truly spent, exemplary patience under sufferings; yet feel most severely. Two such friends so lately parted, now met again. September 1752. PAGE 100 Wimpole. Consolatory. 21 September 1752. PAGE 102 Wimpole. Manner of life: Out some hours generally between breakfast and dinner, alone, have recourse to book of size for pocket; one of most usual haunts a long shady fir walk on brow of a hill in the park that commands pleasant prospect; then letters; dinner; all walk together, come in to tea; if there is company play at cards till supper, if not retire to rooms for couple of hours; but it seldom happens that the house is quite empty, and when evenings given up to cards make little progress in book. Just read life of Tillotson. 28 September 1752. PAGE 104 Wrest. Duchess of Somerset and Percy Lodge. Had flattered herself that PY Philip Yorke's? trouble from fall was nearly over; but a bone still out at elbow that was not reduced till yesterday, and very greatly he suffered from it. I never saw an accident of this kind before; a miserable coward in every case that belongs to surgery. 16 November 1752. PAGE 107 - London news - birthday; meeting between Mrs C and Lady Anson (meaning not clear: clothes?) Others in the royal drawingroom. 28 November 1752. PAGE 111 - Politics. 9 December 1752. PAGE 113 - London news. Parti-coloured wigs; Vandyke handkerchief. 18 December 1752. PAGE 116 - Will meet her at the Foundlings. 29 April 1753. PAGE 117 Wimpole. Chipping Norton races (Catherine Talbot). Quite a new place here, my lord having now completed his gardens, and nothing ever made a greater change or more different scene. Instead of straight gravel walks with borders and grass plots surrounded by walls and views into the park through iron gates, there is now a large green lawn behind the house, bounded by clumps of trees and flowering shrubs, a broad serpentine walk through them, and inclosed with a sunk fence that lets the park quite into the garden. The view of the park are: a hill that rises in an easy slope directly from the ha-ha, with some scattered trees upon it, and the deer feeding under them; some little groves of tall old elms in the flatter part of the ground that seem to join the garden; or the wider opening of a very fine and extended avenue that leads to the house. And I am particularly fond of a long green walk of arched trees that is enlivened by all these different views gilded by sunshine, and has been exceedingly pleasant to saunter in these hot mornings. All this forms a very agreeable scene, and there is a flock of sheep feeding on the lawn under my windows tended by a shepherd boy, who does not indeed pipe, but sings all day or erects lime twigs to catch the harmless birds, however they are too wise to go near. 20 September 1753. PAGE 121 Wimpole. Chipping Norton races. Lord Anson one day here. 27 September 1753. PAGE 124 Wimpole. Yesterday Cambridgeshire meeting, Lord Granby and PY unanimously agreed upon, no difficulty in the election; the most trouble entertaining all the grandees, Lord Lincoln, Lord Waldegrave, Lord Montford; unfortunately rainy day, so has begun letter. (later) very civil good humoured set, dined late (too wet to go out), tea, commerce (now grown so genteel a game). Monsieur La Grange. 20 October 1753. PAGE 127 Wrest. Don't expect too much from child's conversation (replying to Catherine Talbot's comments). 1 November 1753. PAGE 128 St James' Square. Sir Charles Grandison. 8 November 1753. PAGE 129 - Sir Charles Grandison - now in 4th volume. (long comments). 15 November 1753. PAGE 135 (continuation?) Politics. PAGE 137 - Sir Charles Grandison. 22 November 1753. PAGE 139 "Mons. Yorke's fete" (obscure). 29 November 1753. PAGE 141 Mount Ararat. Seen the Ansons, been to Duke's lodge at Windsor. Gentlemen. - went to London; spent morning in Richmond garden (daily walks); introduced girl (vastly happy here) to Merlin's cave. 14 June 1754. PAGE 144 Wrest. Duchess of Somerset's death. Fields full of haymakers, wished for Catherine Talbot to share evening walks, greatest profusion of roses I ever saw; festoons, some on low bushes quite covered with the general glow of their flowers, others had run to a great height, sweet-brier bushes full and fragrant, many honeysuckles fallen, but profusion still great; one or two spots in the garden , particularly clumps of evergreens with circles in the middle that are surrounded by rose-bushes and where the honeysuckles have crept almost entirely over the evergreens, have made sweetest spots for bench possible. 11 July 1754. PAGE 144 Wrest. Consolatory. 18 July 1754. PAGE 150 Wrest. Dr Delaney's observations on Lors Orrery's letters on Swift. 25 July 1754. PAGE 152 - Affair at Oxford?. Dr Birch. 1 August 1754. PAGE 153 - Thanks for verses. 15 August 1754. PAGE 155 Wimpole. Giggling adventure.: Lord Chancellor, escorting 2 damsels, enticed to fair in village close to park; had frequently gone as far as gate on same errand in former years, but issued forth boldly, innyard, fiddle; my lord treated damsels to ribbons; sorry he could not put up his damsels to be hired, but recollected they were let already (phrase they found in use), so brought them home very gaily in moonlight. Catherine Talbot asks about Bell's character, sentiments, ideas. Difficult to fix her character so early; sentiments and ideas vary every day as every new object is presented to her. For her bon mots, very good and very many, at least I think so, and she has many friends here who seem as likely to indulge and listen, but too many to record. Give you her own account the other day when we were all talking together at breakfast faster than she could follow "I can't talk like you, I can speak but a little sense." 3 October 1754. PAGE 157. Wrest. Beauties of the pavillion; it really is made very pretty, and has been much applauded. Not only painting new done this summer, but closets new furnished; two that are open are hung with the common sort of Indian paper; the other cabinets that are shut up and are little bijoux are filled with all different sorts of Indian pictures. One is appropriated to the Chinese figures, their landscape, their manufacures, their furniture, their occupations, either single or in conversation; the other cabinet is set apart for all their various kinds of flower pieces and some of them would not be despised by Mr Ohrit (?) himself. 24 October 1754.

Published microfilm available in the searchroom as Mic 298.

Published as a microfilm by academic publishers Adam Matthew. A digital edition is being planned by the same publisher.

item

Cornwall,
Campbell, Jemima,
Yorke, Jemima,
Grey, Marchioness,
Grafton,
Walpole,
Leicester,
Townshend,
Orford,
Fountain, Andrew,
Yorke, Philip,
Anson,
Anson, Elizabeth,
Anson, George,
Talbot, Catherine,
Wray,
Yorke, Amabel,
Pelham,
Pitt,
Fox,
Cockburn,
de Sevigne,
Hill, Aaron,
Pope,
Willoughby,
Hamilton,
Edwards,
Warburton,
Birch,
Holderness,
Mirepoix,
Montford,
Newcastle, Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of,
Robinson, Thomas,
Coventry,
Heathcote,
Butler, Joseph,
Benson, Martin,
Granby,
Lincoln,
Waldegrave,
Montford,
La Grange,
Grandison, Charles,
Somerset,
Delany,
Orrery

CORRESPONDENCE, card games, Newmarket, horse racing, books, plays, POLITICS, Scarborough, DEATH, Wimpole Hall, Chipping Norton, fetes, festivals & celebrations fairs, Wrest Park