W1/6575

Samuel Whitbread II, Dusseldorf, to Elizabeth Grey. Marked no 29.

4 September 1787

From: 1787 To: 1787

My dearest Bess You can conceive how happy I am in being able to date my letter in the last Month of this weary Pilgrimage, in being able constantly to tell myself that another Month, will restore me to comfort & to You. I closed August in the pleasant occupation of writing to You & I resume it with greater satisfaction this first opportunity, because I am near to You both in time & space. During the whole of my Tour hitherto, I have mixed Patience with Impatience; now the latter begins to occupy the whole of my Spirit; but it is not the desponding Impatience which I at intervals experience when I first quitted You; it bears a totally different appearance at present, & is only an eager foretaste of that pleasure which I shall soon reap in seeing You. Altho' it has cost me much, much indeed I cannot bring myself to reprobate an absence that will make the coming Hour o'erflow with Joy; an Absence which has made me more acquainted with the Person in the world I love the best; for whom I thought it impossible Six Months ago I should feel more than I then did; but I am now taught that the more I know of her, the more I am to love her & I am far from repressing so delightful an increase, I eagerly catch at every thing that can exalt my esteem & affection for You, & You afford me the most ample materials upon which to build an indissoluble Fabric of Affection, Happiness & Contentment. At the beginning of five Months, I looked forward to the expiration of the fourth, as almost the close of the whole period; when I was at Narbonne I looked upon Spa as merely a step from Fallodon. As the real proportion decreases the Imaginary encreases; & I still think that there is an Age, & a World between us. Soon however We shall meet my dear Bessy we shall meet; the time must come; & oh! how overjoyed I shall be when it does at length arrive. I believe that in my last I did not omit thanking you for the letters I recieved at Francfort. nevertheless let me repeat those thanks, & assure you that having read them over & over, & over again I find every Sentence & expression delightfully pleasant to me; every word worth dwelling upon. Whether it is that they are the last, & of course bring me more recent accounts of your well doing I know not, but certain it is that they appear to claim a preeminence over all that I had before received. In short, I again say that 'I loved You much; but now I love You more'. But for our Journey hither- Well then, it has been the most tedious & unfortunate We ever yet have experienced. The Germans I have always declaimed again as the most wearing Nation to travel amongst than I ever had the ill-fortune to deal with. You will not perhaps draw a very strong conclusion of their perverse dispostion, by knowing how capable it was of throwing my fiery temper into a blaze; but will believe that they are obstinate, tiresome & unbearable when you hear that the calmness of Monson's temper has been frequently, & violently convulsed. The ordinary difficulties & delays of the Route were considerably increased by the multitudes of Jews &c going to Francfort Fair. We had only proceeded three Posts from thence on Saturday before we were stopped for want of Horse at Stassau after two or three Hours delay & a great deal of quarrelling & passion vented in broken German, we procured three Farmer's Horses with a drunken Carter to drive them; with which equipment, with Monson's Servant in the chaise with Us for the first part of the way, we sat off. The extreme awkwardness of our driver, & the danger he put us in going down every hill, soon procured the desertion of our Companion, who jumped out of the Chaise whilst each of the three Horses was going a different way, declaring that he would not ride in the chaise with such a driver, especially whilst we laughed so much at real danger. His extreme fright a consequently ridiculous countenance turned into a very laughable, what otherwise would been a very alarming Journey. We arrived safe however with our Friend on the Trunk, where he had placed himself, observing shrewdly, that he could make an immediate sure escape on the appearance of an overturn. Here again we were destitute of Horses, at Startatten & obliged to wait for them from eight, the hour at which we arrived till 1/2 past three in the Morning, when we again sat forth; & after one & twenty hours uninterrupted travelling arrived at Cologne. There was nothing after we had refreshed ourselves with a good sleep to detain us at Cologne; & we wished to have got forward to Dusseldorf Yesterday, but our evil genius had again sent out all the Horses, & it was six o'clock in the Evening before we could procure any to draw Us. We still had hopes of arriving here by Midnight, before the gates were shut; but found the Post-Master at the Midway, seem determined We should not succeed, & we were obliged to surrender at discretion to his Sulkiness, & remain with him the whole Night. At five this morning we again started, & arrived by eight to breakfast. there is an account of a Journey. You will surly allow heartbreaking. I believe all this is come upon Us for my having broken the Vow I made never to enter Germany again. At Cologne we met with my poor lame Valet de Chambre, who is just able to hobble with a stick. We have been employed the whole of the day in the Elector Palatine's Gallery; & allow ourselves to be in great measure repaid by the Pictures, for our Toil & Trouble. tomorrow we shall reach Aix la Chapelle [Aachen]; I say so with confidence, because we have only to change Horses once, & I think that that We have so arranged it as to preclude disappointment.- The day after we shall arrive at Spa, our last Stage. as I may in fairness call it & the conclusion of a Journey of about four thousand miles. every style of which You have travelled with me. I wish I was with You; I wish, wish.- but You know the Ultimate end of all my Wishes & that appears now not to be far off.- Altho' I think You will not tax me for neglecting to write, I shall make use of my time at Spa to give You accounts of myself & my proceedings.- Thank You, dear Bess, which I have neglected to do for joining with my opinion, respecting hunting; it is a rational amusement, & a very favourite one of mine; You now I hope know eno' of me to be certain that I should never make a profession of any amusement.- You think with me & that makes me happy, you think of me, that makes me happier. Believe, you are not absent a Moment from my thoughts. Remember me to all about You. God bless You my dearest Bess. Aimez moi bien, & believe that I am & shall ever remain most sincerely & affectionately Your's & Your's only S. Whitbread I have just found out that the Post does not go from here till Friday, so I shall take it to Aix la Chapelle & send it thence. but seal it here. "

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

Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Aachen, Spa, Germans, travel, fairs, chaise, art collections