Letter to <persName ref="#Webb_Mary_younger">Mary Webb</persName>, March 2, 1819 Mary Russell Mitford Lisa M. Wilson Mary Russell Mitford Society: Digital Mitford Project University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center Elisa Beshero-Bondar Transcription and coding by Lisa M. Wilson Rebecca Nesvet Melinda Creech First digital edition in TEI, date: Edition made with help from photos taken by Digital Mitford editors Digital Mitford photo files: DSCF8919.jpg, DSCF8920.jpg, DSCF8920.jpg Digital Mitford: The Mary Russell Mitford Archive Greensburg, PA, USA 2013

Reproduced by courtesy of the Reading Central Library

Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License Digital Mitford Letters: The Mary Russell Mitford Archive Reading Central Library The letters of Mary Russell Mitford, vol. 4, 1819-1823 qB/TU/MIT Horizon No. 1361552 Letter from Mary Russell Mitford to Mary Webb, 1819 March 2. Date checked against contents of Mitford's journal. Letter headed "Tuesday," and journal indicates she wrote to Mary Webb on Tuesday, March 2, 1819.

One sheet of paper, two surfaces photographed. Folded in half vertically then in thirds horizontally.

No postmarks.

Top edge of sheet burned or torn around center fold.

No seal.

 Someone, apparently other than Mitford, perhaps cataloging letters and describing them, who left grey pencil marks and numbered her letters now in the Reading Central Library's collection. This letter is dated "[before 23 Aug. 1819]" in the top left of the first leaf.

Mitford’s spelling and punctuation are retained, except where a word is split at the end of a line and the beginning of the next in the manuscript. Where Mitford’s spelling and hyphenation of words deviates from the standard, in order to facilitate searching we are using the TEI elements “choice," “sic," and “reg" to encode both Mitford’s spelling and the regular international standard of Oxford English spelling, following the first listed spelling in the Oxford English Dictionary. The long s and ligatured forms are not encoded.

 Repaired letter date in titleStmt so it no longer reads 2016, but instead indicates the proper year in which this letter was written (1819). Moved listPerson work in progress into the back element where it belongs and removed curly quotes from tags. Also, closed the ref elements in the back lists so these are well-formed. Corrected tags and added backlist to research.
[before 23 Aug. 1819] Tuesday

You will not expect us of course in such weather my dearest friend, but cannot suffer the servant to go into Reading without assuring you of our regret at being disappointed of our visit. Papa particularly laments not being able to meet William Hayward, but the roads are in such plight & our cavalry so exceedingly inefficient that to drag the Gig & great coats, through the mire would be im possible to say nothing of the live (or dead) weight which the aforesaid great coats would enclose. You must write to me Saturday my own dear Mary, & give me good news of the dear Papa. I hope William will take great care of him at Winchester. I wish he was not going. You must likewise give me good tidings of poor Wilson--how sorry we all were for his accident--but dogs will fight--even my exemplary dog Mossy pretty nearly killed one of Mrs. Pile's at Overton. When such a Sir Charles Grandison-sort of dog as Mossy does such things what can be expected of the less educated race! Bye the bye it's great good luck that Papa did not hang him.--

I have just heard from Miss James who desires her most particular love to you all, Papa & Aunt Mary included. Some of this letter would make you laugh. Do come & see it, & see me, & the primroses. Do.--Poor Dr. Valpyis very ill we are sending to enquire after him. Good bye, my dear loves--

Ever your's yours M.R.M.
To Miss Webb
The dedicatee of Mitford’s “Watlington Hill”. More research needed. Unknown Overton