Letter to <persName ref="#Elford_SirWm">Sir William Elford</persName>, 1 July 1821. Mary Russell Mitford Molly C. O'Donnell Mary Russell Mitford Society: Digital Mitford Project University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg Elisa Beshero-Bondar Transcription and coding by Molly C. O'Donnell First digital edition in TEI, date: 4 June 2014. P5. Digital Mitford: The Mary Russell Mitford Archive Greensburg, PA, USA 2014

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 Vol. 4 ff.441 Horizon No.: 1361550 Letter from Mary Russell Mitford to Sir William Elford, 1 July 1821.

Folio sheet of paper folded in half to form four quarto pages, with correspondence on 1-3 and address leaf on page 4, then folded in thirds twice more and sealed for posting.

Address leaf bearing the following postmarks: double circle Duty stamp illegible date other than year 1821

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Red wax seal

 Red crayon or thick red pencil. Probably a different hand from Mitford's drawing a diagonal line across pages 1-3 and an end parenthesis mark on Page 2 and an opening parenthesis on Page 3 of this letter. Someone cataloging the letters, apparently other than Mitford, numbered each on page 1. This page one numbered 33. Someone cataloging the letters, apparently other than Mitford, wrote "To Sir W. Elford." at the top left of page 1, numbered 33, possibly by same hand. There are some notes in the text that are not made by Mitford in black ink including an X that corresponds to a note at the bottom of the first page that reads "Sir W Elfords intended marriage with Mrs. Waldron"

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.

 Added changelog and updated schema line. Proofed against ms. Added new SI's to add list.
Elisa Beshero-Bondar The Life of Mary Russell Mitford Related in a Selection from Her Letters to Her Friends, Second and Revised edition, 3 vols., Ed. Alfred Guy Kingan L’Estrange. London: Richard Bentley, 1870.
July 1st 1821. Three Mile Cross

Yes, Mrs. Dickinson had told the news, my dear friend--did you suppose it possible she would not? She was too much interested in it herself & knew so well how I should be interested, that she did not wait till we met but wrote a note the moment she reached home to convey the information X Sir W Elfords intended marriage with Mrs. Waldron--& I have been watching the papers ever since that I might at the very first moment send warm congratulations, the unfeigned goodwishes good wishes with which my whole heart is filled--My Father & Mother join in them most sincerely--God bless you my dear Friend--and all whom you love!--Mrs. Dickinson has the pleasure of being slightly acquainted with Mrs. Waldron persName> & speaks of her with the highest respect & consideration--she was so desirous to see you that she had half a mind to give up her journey for a day to meet you at Mrs. Wall's at breakfast & she certainly would have had a whole mind had she not left that little angel of a brat of hers in the country & made her husband stay to take care of it. Once more my dear friend accept our sincerest congratulations both on this event & on the intended marriage of your daughter--May they prove equally happy!

Besides the very great pleasure which your letters always give me & especially this one, I had great delight in seeing the handwriting of Mr. Palmer. I don't think that I have seen any part of him since last September--I shall do him the honour of taking to him as franker again--for my dear & kind friend Mr. Monck whose frankful bounty knows no limits talks of going to Spain during the recess & it would be rather too much to send one's letters round by Madrid even if the privilege extended beyond England--I cannot think what he expects to see in Spain--but the travelling mania has seized him & having seen every other country in Europe he is going to pay a visit to the beloved Ferdinand--He had much better stay in England & direct my letters ).

It is so long since I have written to you anything more than a note, that I forget whether I told you, I had been to Seymour's near Marlow on the awkward business of dividing the late M r. Johnson's books between Mr. Northmore & his sister--The political books were left to Mr. N. & the others to her (Miss Johnson), & as Mr. Northmore would not come to select them himself she sent for me to assist in the division & to catalogue & arrange the library. Never to be sure had mortal such a job since the Princess in the fairy tale who was set to select the plumage of every bird from a great hall full of feathers. Fancy to yourself a large room & a long dark closet literally filled with books all in a mass--no two volumes together--& very often single volumes come apart with damp & age & lying four or five yards asunder--& no one to help but a mistress half blind & a maid wholly stupid--The Library was a singularly rich historical collection in almost all languages--& I cannot help thinking that the greater part of that relating to English History was intended to be included in Mr. Northmore's Legacy--but Miss Johnson thought otherwise--she stuck to the letter--so she cheated the poor dear man--or rather made him cheat himself--by leaving him a catalogue of the doubtful books & begging him to mark those he would like to have--I wish they had all gone to him--It was a pity to part such a collection, & they will not sell for much in the present state of the book market. It was a curious trait of political bigotry that amongst thirty or forty Histories of England (more than I thought had been written) there was no copy of Hume. To make amends there were two editions of his Essays I grieved to leave this beautiful place, & the more as it went from his family--being held on a lease of lives which he had neglected to renew till his health was in such a state that the terms asked were too exorbitant to be thought of--more especially as Miss Johnson his only near relation is comfortably though not affluently provided for--which I did not know till the books were divided--or I should certainly have made a stronger effort for Mr. N.

( I had the honour a week or two ago to be introduced to your friend Mr. Bowles the Poet. I must tell you the story. Going in Dr. Valpy's the back way, I met the old Butler--"Are the ladies in the parlour Newman?" "Yes, ma'am--And ma'am there is Mr. Bowles, the Poet" quoth Newman Well I thought I shall be very glad to see him & in I walked--The Doctor met me at the do or snatched my hand led me triumphantly up to the window where Mr. Bowles was standing & then snatched his hand & endeavoured to join the two after the fashion of the marriage ceremony (you know how that is dear Sir William) introducing him to me as "Mr. Bowles the Poet" but calling me as I have since remembered nothing but "Mary"--Mr. Bowles rather astounded drew back--I astounded in my turn at such a way of receiving the daughter of an old acquaintance (for my Father has known him these thirty years) drew back too--& between us we left the dear Doctor in worse consternation than either standing alone in the window--A minute after Miss Valpy Valpy daughter's identification uncertain. Mary Valpy was married at the time of writing, so presumably Penelope, the eldest daughter living at home, is referred to here. asked after Dr. Mitford & all was immediately right--Mr. Bowles was very pleasant & sociable talked a great deal of Lord Byron & the Pope question in which we exactly agree--& in which from not having read the prosy pamphlet in which he has so marred his own good cause I was able to agree with him most conscientiously without any of the drawback on my civility which the perusal of the aforementioned wretched pamphlet would have occasioned--"Pray sir do you like his wife? Is she not the coarse cold hard woman? And rather vulgarish? All this she seemed to me. He is very unaffected & agreeable.--Well I write not perhaps much longer--for with so much to do & to think of a trespass it must be--You will write to me when you have time--& you will persuade Mrs. Waldron--Lady Elford--into partaking of the family indulgence towards your poor little Correspondent--my Father & Mother join me in rejoicing at Mr. Elford's recovery as well as in best remembrances & goodwishes--& I am ever my dear Sir William

most sincerely & affectionately your's MR Mitford.

Fiesco has been returned on my hands as I fore saw foresaw & I am now knee deep in another Tragedy on the subject of the Venetian Doge Foscari who was obliged to condemn his own son--I had been waiting for Papa's going to Town to get my letters--but he puts it off so--that I have sent an authority to another friend this very night--Once more my dear Friend God bless you.

London July five 1821 Sir Wm Elford Bart Bickham Plymouth J. B. Monck