W1/6578

Samuel Whitbread II, Spa, to Elizabeth Grey. Marked no 32.

16 September 1787

From: 1787 To: 1787

P.S. I was shocked to see the account of your uncle Ralph's death in the Papers just now. is it true?- & what did he die of? And now, my very dear Bessy, I can at length have the satisfaction of telling you that this is the last letter excepting one, that I can send to You from the Continent. The post only goes once more from hence between this & and day of our departure, & I myself shall I hope be in England before the next & last letter can reach you.- It will be no cause of grief to you exchanging your foreign Correspondence first for an inland Correspondent, & shortly after for a constant Companion.- I must conclude as I began the Correspondence, by thanking you sincerely for allowing me what has proved so great & sweet a resource, & what has given me opportunities of convincing You in some degree, That the attachment I professed & do profess to You, was not founded upon Caprice or any principle likely to be effaced; nor professed by a person whose unsteadiness rendered him unworthy of return. I was acqainted with & like, I considered & was more acquainted with & loved You. It was an after but highly gratifying consideration, that it was the Sister of my Friend to whom I was attached & the Daughter of Persons for whom I had concieved the highest esteem. I find in Yourself alone the Qualities which have bound me to You for ever & my great regards for your Family have added to the pleasure I have in view from such a connection. Let me repeat the solemn Assurances that I have made so frequently & with so much sincerity, that from the time I first knew how dear You were to me my affection & esteem have continually increased, & that at no one moment has any thought to the prejudice of either obtruded itself upon me.- Without the consolation of writing to, & hearing from You, these Months of absence would have been intolerable; their Misery has been much alleviated by this resource, & very soon I shall think that they have had their merit. Nay, I even now contend, & have done so all along, that at their expiration We should both have reason to bless a temporary pain that would procure so great & lasting a pleasure. We shall neither of Us now have a doubt of the dependance that is to be placed on the other; tho' no doubt did even I believe seriously exist on either side. My dear Bessy We have both had a satisfaction in recalling old Scenes, even those which were painful; And may indulge that pleasure once more, & remind You of a circumstance which I believe I have hitherto not mentioned to You, but which made more Impression upon me than any of the rest, or all of them put together. Do You remember my seeing You in the Park after having been three Weeks without once calling upon You? I never shall forget it.- Your contenance on parting gave me so strong sensations of pleasure & pain that I know not which predominated. If I was steady & determined before, that countenance rivetted me;- after that, to desert You was not in the heart of Man. The abandoning a point so absolutely essential to my Happiness never entered my thoughts; but I was happy to see that You were influenced by the same constancy as myself: at the same time that I was grieved to the Soul to think how much Unhappiness I cost You. Pardon me for all the anxious & miserable moments I may have caused You, I will endeavour to recompense you for the past, by the most hearty wishes & exertions to make the future happy.- For myself, I have felt, my feelings have been wrung; but I look upon the labour as very trifling in comparison of the reward & every Sigh will be paid with Joy.- You wish me in England & I thank You for it; but You shall confess when we meet that this Journey was the eligible plan. We shall soon meet, & how great will my Joy be!. No mail arrived last night from England, of course I have no new Obligation to acknowledge; but I would not on that account let the opportunity slip. We have postponed our departure till this day sennight instead of Saturday, which being the Post Night, may possibly & probably bring me a letter from You.- I stand a chance of not receiving your's at Calais, for we have heard that a Tax of thirty per cent is laid on all English Carriages entering France, which being the case we shall rather prefer going by Ostend than give ten Guineas each from our Families for ever. It will be uncomfortable on account of the length of the passage, & that our Stomachs not very constant at Sea. However we must (torn) for a favourable Equinoctial that will speed (torn) waft us to the wished for Shore. Saving the (torn) Winds it will not retard our arrival, & we shall still be in England on Thursday Seenight. Think upon me on the 27th - I shall grudge the loss of your letter on the Shore, but I shall take proper care not to lose it for ever.- I may almost say that no one remains at Spa, for the very few that remain are scarcely worth knowing. An Irish Widow with five Irish daughters by the name of O'Grady, another Irish Widow & her Sister, two or three Irish Men; & Mr [Robert] Smith the Member for Nottingham & his Wife. the latter are a very civil Couple, & have asked Us to dinner. It is very dull & Moments are very heavy, but where would they be light but with You. Adieu, Adieu my dearest Bess, believe how sincerely I love You, & how much & unfeignedly I am Your affectionate S.Whitbread My best remembrances to all at Fallodon. Adieu.

item

Whitbread, Samuel II,
Grey, Elizabeth,
O'Grady,
Smith, Robert

Spa, Calais, Ostend, England, Nottingham, taxation, carriage, travel