Bedfordshire Archives Service Catalogue
  • Reference
    L30/14/200/1
  • Title
    From Abbe Joly, Madrid to 2nd Baron Grantham: [Text in French] - Fears ill treatment at the hands of Count of Werthern. Begging Grantham to take him, instead of Manuel, as his Page. Very distressed:
  • Date free text
    Madrid 12 Oct 1775
  • Production date
    From: 1775 To: 1775
  • Scope and Content
    Translation: Sir, I am in such trouble, and in such fear of ill treatment at the hands of the Count of Werthern, that I am compelled to write to Your Excellency to beg that you will take me in place of M. Manuel your page as he is going home with his brother, that is if my service would be acceptable to Your Excellency. I did not believe that the Count would be such a difficult master and even though as his secretary, I eat at his table, there is no doubt that I would rather be Your Excellency's page, convinced as I am, that even if Your Excellency were to leave Spain, you would take me with you and I would follow you anywhere in whatever capacity you thought fit. Necessity obliged me to accept and indeed to carry through certain steps in order to obtain the position I hold, but I never intended to remain in it. If I am fortunate enough to please Your Excellency and if I may hope for the honour of serving you I beg You Excellency to send word by your steward and also to let me know what arrangements I should make. I will wait until the time Your Excellency judges appropriate. If none of this is possible I beg that Your Excellency will keep my letter secret since it could do me harm if the Count subsequently discovered it. But if I am, on the contrary, successful, I will be able to find ample opportunity to withdraw from here discreetly and without difficulty. I beg Your Excellency to forgive my confusion and the disorder of my letter, I am in such a terrible state that I cannot write to Your Excellency as I should. I hope that Your Excellency will grant me this favour, as he has granted me so many others, and I await, with the most profound respect, the moment when I can prove that I will always remain, Your Excellency, Your most humble and obedient servant, Joly. Secretary to ----.
  • Level of description
    item
Hierarchy browser