W1/6547

Samuel Whitbread II, Calais, to Elizabeth Grey. Marked no 2.

8 May 1787

From: 1787 To: 1787

My dear Bessy, If by any chance of your delay upon the Road, my two letters should have arrived before You at Falladon, & that You should open this first pray lay it aside & read the other first. You will by that means have my succession of Ideas more regularly, if indeed there can exist any regularity or succession in my incoherent head. You see by the date we are really & truley off, nothing arose to prevent Us, & we kept to our agreement punctually. I & my two companions, to whose Friendship & Good Humour I find myself more & more indebted at every Instant, were landed safe at three o'clock this Afternoon, all excessively sick, & one most extremely sorry. I left you at four o'clock Yesterday Morning to go thro' the ceremony of going to bed; sleep by various accidents I had none. In about half an hour, Nesfield called to inform me that he could get no place in the Dover Diligences & of course could not go. He was however much too valuable a Companion to lose such an Expedition & we took immediately from London. I got up soon, after having tryed to go to sleep once more & being once more disturbed by the arrival of our chaise to have the Luggage fastened on, which was attended with so much hammering & conversation, as to preclude all Ideas of repose Tom & Punch were so good as to be with Us at breakfast. after which I walked up to Portman Square to make my last dying Speech. my father was in very good forced Spirits, which concealed for some time his anxiety & unwillingness to part with me. his Conversation of course turned upon you. & he repeated with the utmost earnestness, what He has so often lately said, & which you know, but which I will again repeat to you, that there may not be the smallest atom of pretence for your conjectures to obtrude themselves upon you. 'You know the Conditions of your going Abroad, take care of Yourself; I have passed my Word to give my Consent at your return, & am happy that your choice has fallen upon a Woman who I think cannot fail, of making me, Yourself & all of Us happy. I esteem myself very fortunate in being so circumstanced as to be able amply to provide for you, without the necessity of a Fortune on her part'. I repeat this because I know it will give you pleasure the pleasure to read that I have to write it. I leave nothing unsaid today, because I cannot see you tomorrow & set it right. if this shall occasion a redundancy or tautology in my letters, ascribe them to the wish that I have, that not the smallest anxiety, or trace of doubt should remain upon your mind, Soyez contente, soyez heureuse, autant que vous le pouou sans moi, & je le serai autant que le puis sans vour & still, as I judge from myself our degree of happiness will not be great but we look forward to better days which must & will soon come, when we shall meet & not part. -- Bill Nesfield asked yesterday when Tom & I meant to return, for he will I believe leave us at Paris; I told him Michaelmas & added I wished it was come; he surprized several People on the road Yesterday by desiring them if they met Michaelmas to hurry him for there was a Gentleman wanted him very much. We left London at 12 & got to Dover at Night. & our passage was very good indeed today. What an Egotist I am. I have again got back to myself again! but why do I check my self, I write to give accounts of myself, & except, at least hope for, the most minute accounts of your health & well doing. if the most trifling action was interesting so near, how much is their price enhanced at so great a distance. It appears absolutely a dream: this day sennight I dined supped & spent a most pleasant day in Hertford Street, & I myself am running God knows where and my Father only can find out why, away from them. but so it is, we must be contented with the present, & look forward to a charming futurity. - As we are not pressed for time we make Lisle in our route to Paris. we propose sleeping threre tomorrow night & spending some part of next day there. In so short a time I shall have no chance of seeing your killing Cousin. & if I did, I should not fear her. I beg your pardon be frightened of her. Paris I presume we shall reach Friday or Saturday Morning at furthest. before you will have got to Fallodon. is it Falladon of Fallodon. I wish I could have an immediate answer to that unimportant Question. from Paris you shall have a letter by the first Post, informing you of our route from thence. It will not be trespassing upon you to hope for two letters during my stay there, pray write often, & write long letters, they cannot fail of being interesting. Remember we shall stay a fortnight at least at Paris. I am going to write a few Words to my Father to inform him of our safe arrival, & I shall add something about the period allotted for my being abroad & absent from you. I have no sanguine hope of his abandoning this Whim, but in my first letter I think there can be no harm in stating to him that is is merely a Whim, & its's object answered, & consistency maintained as fully by a Journey of one as of five Months. Indeed I must confess that notwithstanding the Friendship of my Companions, & my certain prospect of a most happy return, I am less manly and less resolute than I thought I had been. I shrink when I think of the distance we are to be separated from each other. but I feel a pleasure & that exquisite in the indulgence of this species of horror, because if confirms me in the idea that we shall meet unaltered & with double the satisfaction & delight. Adieu. Hearty remembrances at Fallodon. God bless You My dear Bessy, depend upon me for I am & shall ever remain Most sincerely & affectionately Yours S.Whitbread

item

Whitbread, Samuel II,
Grey, Elizabeth,
Whitbread, Samuel I,
Punch,
Monson, Thomas,
Nesfield, William

Paris, Calais, Fallodon, travel