W1/6561

Samuel Whitbread II, Montpellier, to Elizabeth Grey. Marked no 16.

3 July 1787

From: 1787 To: 1787

My dearest Bessy Not being willing by any means to expose myself to the sensible regret I should feel at having omitted a single opportunity of writing to You, I take up my Pen with the greatest pleasure during the short time that we stay in this Town, & consecrate it to you. turning into a period of the most delicious amusement, what would otherwise be dull, stale, flat & unprofitable. You have flattered me sufficiently to say that it is pleasant to You to write to me; but I must not say, You have flattered me, it will be retorted upon me. my sincerity will be called in Question; & I could ill brook any reflection upon that. I must therefore be cautious of my Words, & will change my expression. I will say that being delighted with the Idea, that you can reap any satisfaction from writing to me, I match every opportunity that affords itself of sending a letter to You, which may inform you that I am well, unaltered, constantly thinking of You, & an constantly wishing to be where you are. bearing up however without a murmur against a temporary absence, which ensures so great a share of Hapiness. I am an Egotist; & have begun by telling You I am well, I must go on with the account of myself & tell you that I am in considerably better spirits since Yesterday Morning. look on the map & You will guess the reason. I have weathered Narbonne & I have Shaped my course a little to the North East. Ample reason for satisfaction. But another cause produces it's share of pleasure, I date in a new Month. which proves that two fifths of a disagreable period are annihilated. A Cynic would exclaim strange inconsistency to rejoice in the annihilation of that time which at a future period you would stop if possible at any price. True it is inconsistent; but I would not forfiet a grain of my present inconsistency which proves to me how valuable your Society is to me, how very very sincerely I am attached to you from Inclination, Reflection, Gratitude & every tie which can & ought to bind. The disappointment at Bordeaux has referred me for amusement & for the gratification of Vanity to the letters that I have before received & I there find both; but would you imagine that I have fault to find? I discover reserve. do not be alarmed, no Eye but mine could discover it, no Heart but mine could be sensible to it. but as these letters are written for that Eye & that Heart alone I must attempt to remove every subject of complaint they may have, however frivolous & unfounded. You remember I taxed the omission at the beginning of two letters; I was most delightfully answered there, by receiving a letter with a head, before my complaint of the want of it could have reached you. I now complain of the conclusion. one word is omitted. Sincerity is not all I require at your Hands. it is only the Companion of all You receive at mine. I have Vanity eno' to suppose that We nearly balance. therefore hope to have it told me so by one Word. You will think me a very strange creature, a very curious observer & a very scrupulous censurer; I allow it all but take me as I am & let all these descriptions of me Answer for my being most sincerely & affectionately Your's. But you should thank me for creating for you trifling faults, without those of my creation You would not have sufficient to keep you from perfection. one of those states which as I have it under your own Hand is to be avoided. but where am I running to, or galloping to on this Hobby Horse of my brain? I shall file my paper if I do not mind more accurately, without telling you how long I have been here, how I got here, & where I am going.-but indeed my dear Bessy, you must be my advocate with youself. You must plead my cause, & must say in defence of my prating constantly upon the same Subject; that a Man can only write upon those subjects which are uppermost in his Mind. & as Eliza Grey is in possession of this Man's head & Heart, therefore Eliza Grey must be the Theme even when he writes to herself. You accuse me in one letter of having formerly exercised Your Patience; that was by not telling you; I shall incur that censure now by constantly telling you. Ah! but what? Why what I told you then by my Actions, I am now eternally writing. Que je vous Aime. but I must give an account of my Journey. I must quit my favourite theme. The Evening that We left Toulouse we slept at Castelnaudary, the succeeding Evening at Narbonne & arrived here Yesterday about six in the Afternoon. till today nothing can have been more favourable that the Weather, but the Clouds are now dispersed, & we are exposed to the hottest Sun I ever felt; hotter than Bordeaux by a great deal; in Short we stand a chance of being dried up, & burnt afterwards. We shall stay here until the Sun has a little declined, & then proceed in the Evening to Nirmes; the Antiquities there will detail us all the day tomorrow, & at Night shall proceed to Avignon; one day will be given up to Vauclure & after that four days including a visit to the Grande Chartreuse will I trust carry us to Geneva. there you shall hear immediately upon our arrival. If no Courier from England crosses me again, you will not hear till then. & there I hope I shall have a letter to answer: Have I not been very good. not to mention my disappointment? but alas here my goodness ceases; the inevitable consequence of Self Praise is to destroy all it's own pretensions; I name the Disappointment in the very Words I make use of to say that I do not name it. Excuse me.- Upon reflection my letters must appear most extremely insignificant & dull for I never have made the slightest observation upon the Countries thro' which I pass, nor even told whether the place I was in was dull or stupid. it's situation pretty or ugly. Not to mention, that if there is one Person whose talents are more peculiarly unadapted to description than those of the rest Mankind, I am that Person; & not to mention, that I have always more to say to you than would fill a Volume. I literally have yet seen nothing the description of which would give you entertainment; met with no Incidents that can enliven the Scene. Tom & Sam jog on in perfect good humour, rail at the World in General when anything goes ill. & when they are more pleased or in better spirits than usual, they recall the pleasant days spent at Fallodon last Summer; wish for a renewal of the same; of which they by no means despair. the clear & true description of that Country of which You are Regina you have in every letter, & perhaps you will excuse my boring you with descriptions of the places I pass thro'. sufficiently tired as you must with the repeated descriptions of the situations of your Kingdom. that is my Heart.- Montpellier I think however may be exempted from the commonherd of Towns. it's situation is beautiful as Fancy can form it. it stands on the side of a Hill, commanding all the Picturesque & luxurient objects of Nature. the Mediterranean, the Pyrennees; a branch of the Alps, & immediately around it a plain abounding in Cornfields, Vineyards & Olive Gardens & thickly interspersed with Houses. I shall bring you some Gloves from hence, for which Montpellier is famous, that You may remember the Town.- this rascally Postman, I think he always upon the Point of setting off when I am writing to you. I have fifty more things to say to You, & I must conclude or lose the opportunity of sending my letter to day. You will be the gainer by this accident. direct still to Strasbourg. I shall expect mints of letters there. You will hardly be able to read this Scrawl; Remember me to all. Attendez donc un instant. I must conclude or shall be too late, all I have to say may be comprehended in the Assurance I can give you my dearest Bessy of being now & ever most sincerely & affectionately Your's & Your's only Addieu. Adieu S. Whitbread

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Whitbread, Samuel II,
Grey, Elizabeth,
Monson, Thomas

Toulouse, Montpellier, Narbonne, Nimes, Geneva, gloves, travel