Ah my dear Sir WilliamWilliam Elford, Sir, baronet, Recorder for Plymouth, Recorder for Totnes, Member of Parliament | Born: 1749-08 in Kingsbridge, Devon, England. Died: 1837-11-30 in Totnes, Devon, England.
According to L’Estrange, Sir William was first a friend of Mitford’s father, and Mitford met him for the first time in the spring of 1810 when he was a widower nearing the age of 64. They carried on a lively correspondence until his death in 1837.
Elford worked as a banker at Plymouth Bank (Elford, Tingcombe and Purchase) in Plymouth, Devon, from its founding in 1782. He was elected a member of Parliament for Plymouth as a supporter of the government and Tory William Pitt, and served from 1796 to 1806. After his election defeat in Plymouth in 1806, he was elected member of Parliament for Rye and served from July 1807 until his resignation in July 1808. For his service in Parliament as a supporter of Pitt, he was made a baronet in 1800. After his son Jonathan came of age, he tried to secure a stable government post for him but never succeeded. Mayor of Plymouth in 1796 and Recorder for Plymouth from 1797 to 1833, he was also Recorder for Totnes from 1832 to 1834. Sir William served as an officer in the South Devon militia from 1788, eventually attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel; the unit saw active service in Ireland during the Peninsular Wars. Sir William was a talented amateur painter in oils and watercolors who exhibited at the Royal Society from 1774 to 1837; he exhibited still lifes and portraits but preferred landscapes. He was elected to the Royal Society Academy in 1790. He was also a talented amateur naturalist and was elected to the Royal Linnaean Society in 1790; late in life, he published his findings on an alternative to yeast.
He married his first wife, Mary Davies of Plympton, on January 20, 1776 and they had one son, Jonathan, and two daughters, Grace Chard and Elizabeth. After the death of his first wife, he married Elizabeth Hall Walrond, widow of Lieutenant-Colonel Maine Swete Walrond of the Coldstream Guards. His only son Jonathan died in 1823, leaving him without an heir.
—ebb, lmw

, we were forced to illuminate—think of that! An illumination at Three Mile Cross! Forced to put up two dozen of candles upon pain of pelting & rioting & all manner of bad things. So we did—we were very shabby though compared to our neighbours.—one—a retired publican just below—had a fine transparency composed of a pocket handkerchief with the QueenCaroline, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline of Brunswick Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Princess of Wales | Born: 1768-05-17 in Brunswick, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empire. Died: 1821-08-07 in Hammersmith, London, England.
The cousin and later the estranged wife of the Prince Regent (later George IV). Caroline was adopted as the mascot of the parliamentary reform movement around the time that the Regent attempted to divorce her on grounds of adultery in 1818, and his struggles with Parliament to divorce her and prevent her from becoming Queen are known as the Queen Caroline Affair. Mitford writes humorously in her letters of 1818 and 1819 of the political fodder made of the Affair by both Whigs and Tories.—lmw, ebb, rnes
's head upon it—a very fine head in a hat & feathers cocked quite knowingly on the side—Our neighbour the Wheeler above was finer still—he had a shell work grotto in his window gaily lighted up, with the QueenCaroline, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline of Brunswick Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Princess of Wales | Born: 1768-05-17 in Brunswick, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empire. Died: 1821-08-07 in Hammersmith, London, England.
The cousin and later the estranged wife of the Prince Regent (later George IV). Caroline was adopted as the mascot of the parliamentary reform movement around the time that the Regent attempted to divorce her on grounds of adultery in 1818, and his struggles with Parliament to divorce her and prevent her from becoming Queen are known as the Queen Caroline Affair. Mitford writes humorously in her letters of 1818 and 1819 of the political fodder made of the Affair by both Whigs and Tories.—lmw, ebb, rnes
in it for a hermit in the shape of a wax doll with a Friar's gown &a long veil. I ventured all through the squibs to look at these curiosities, & did not get blown up to the moon, as had very nearly been the case with a particular friend of mine in OxfordshireOxfordshire, England | Oxfordshire | England | 51.7612056 -1.2464674000000286 A county in south east England. Location of Oxford University and Blenheim Palace.—lmw who was set on fire last week with a stray rocket & almost frightened &out of her wits. I did not go to ReadingReading, Berkshire, England | Reading | Berkshire | England | 51.4542645 -0.9781302999999753 County town in Berkshire, in the Thames valley at the confluence of the Thames and the River Kennet. The town developed as a river port and in Mitford’s time served as a staging point on the Bath Road and was developing into a center of manufacturing. Mitford lived here with her parents from 1791 to 1795, on Coley Avenue in the parish of St. Mary’s and attended the Abbey School. The family returned to Reading from 1797 to about 1804, after which they relocated to Bertram House. They frequently visited Reading thereafter from their homes at nearby Bertram House, Three Mile Cross and Swallowfield. Mitford later used scenes from Reading as the basis for Belford Regis; or Sketches of a Country Town.—lmw—the squibbery there was too much to encounter, & they had only one good hit in that illustrious town. A poor Publican had had a whole length transparency of the Duke of WellingtonArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington , or: The Iron Duke | Born: 1769-05-01 in Dublin, Ireland. Died: 1852-09-14 in Walmer, Kent, England.
Before his fame in the Napoleonic Wars, Wellesley served in the Irish House of Commons, and after fighting against Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore in the Siege of Seringapatam he served as the governor of Seringapatam and Mysore in 1799. He was promoted to general during the Peninsular Wars against Napoleon (the battles fought in the Iberian Peninsula), and was granted the title, the First Duke of Wellingtom, after Napoleon's first defeat and exile in 1814. He led the Allied English and European armies in Napoleon's decisive defeat at Waterloo on 18 June 1815 . A prominent influence on the Tory party, he served as Prime Minister from 1828 to 1830, and again in 1834 . —ebb
for the Peace illumination, & not knowing what to get how, he as a matter of economy hung up the noble DukeArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington , or: The Iron Duke | Born: 1769-05-01 in Dublin, Ireland. Died: 1852-09-14 in Walmer, Kent, England.
Before his fame in the Napoleonic Wars, Wellesley served in the Irish House of Commons, and after fighting against Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore in the Siege of Seringapatam he served as the governor of Seringapatam and Mysore in 1799. He was promoted to general during the Peninsular Wars against Napoleon (the battles fought in the Iberian Peninsula), and was granted the title, the First Duke of Wellingtom, after Napoleon's first defeat and exile in 1814. He led the Allied English and European armies in Napoleon's decisive defeat at Waterloo on 18 June 1815 . A prominent influence on the Tory party, he served as Prime Minister from 1828 to 1830, and again in 1834 . —ebb
again topsy turvy—bottom upwards—a mixture of drollery & lovingness which took my fancy much—& certainly bad as sheCaroline, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline of Brunswick Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Princess of Wales | Born: 1768-05-17 in Brunswick, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empire. Died: 1821-08-07 in Hammersmith, London, England.
The cousin and later the estranged wife of the Prince Regent (later George IV). Caroline was adopted as the mascot of the parliamentary reform movement around the time that the Regent attempted to divorce her on grounds of adultery in 1818, and his struggles with Parliament to divorce her and prevent her from becoming Queen are known as the Queen Caroline Affair. Mitford writes humorously in her letters of 1818 and 1819 of the political fodder made of the Affair by both Whigs and Tories.—lmw, ebb, rnes
is, she has contrived to trip up the heels of the ministers. One of the best things that I have heard on this occasion was said by our cidevant neighbour the Duke of MarlboroughGeorge Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough, Marquess of Blandford, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, or: 6th Duke of Marlborough Marquess of Blandford Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire | Born: 1793-12-27 in Bill Hill, Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Died: 1857-01-07 in Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England.
Tory Member of Parliament and celebrated collector of books, art, and antiquities. Born at Bill Hill, an estate in Wokingham, Berkshire rented by his father. He owned and extensively renovated the house and grounds of the Whiteknights estate from 1798 to 1819, when bankuptcy forced the auctioning of the estate and all its contents. The auction created much excitement amongst book collectors, since his library contained works of early works printed in English by Caxton, Pynson, and deWorde; the catalogs of the auction remain an important record of book history and collecting. In 1819, he had commissioned Thomas and Barbara Hofland to produce the lavish publication A Descriptive Account of the Mansion and Gardens of White-Knights: A Seat of His Grace the Duke of Marlborough. By Mrs. Hofland. Illustrated with twenty-three engravings, from pictures taken on the spot by T.C. Hofland. They were never paid for their work because of the bankruptcy. Mitford discusses the Duke's penuriousness and his treatment of the Hoflands in her letters of 1819.—lmw
. [del: .] You know we are famous page 2
for [laugh] laugh Duke's hereabouts. On being asked his opinion of the K and Q. He said "One's bad & the other's worse" "Which does your GraceGeorge Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough, Marquess of Blandford, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, or: 6th Duke of Marlborough Marquess of Blandford Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire | Born: 1793-12-27 in Bill Hill, Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Died: 1857-01-07 in Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England.
Tory Member of Parliament and celebrated collector of books, art, and antiquities. Born at Bill Hill, an estate in Wokingham, Berkshire rented by his father. He owned and extensively renovated the house and grounds of the Whiteknights estate from 1798 to 1819, when bankuptcy forced the auctioning of the estate and all its contents. The auction created much excitement amongst book collectors, since his library contained works of early works printed in English by Caxton, Pynson, and deWorde; the catalogs of the auction remain an important record of book history and collecting. In 1819, he had commissioned Thomas and Barbara Hofland to produce the lavish publication A Descriptive Account of the Mansion and Gardens of White-Knights: A Seat of His Grace the Duke of Marlborough. By Mrs. Hofland. Illustrated with twenty-three engravings, from pictures taken on the spot by T.C. Hofland. They were never paid for their work because of the bankruptcy. Mitford discusses the Duke's penuriousness and his treatment of the Hoflands in her letters of 1819.—lmw
put first? [del: .] "Either".—This with his stutter as Harry MarshHenry Marsh
MRM's letters in December 1820 indicate that Henry Marsh was involved in a local political tiff with Henry Hart Milman. The rift between Henry Marsh and H.H. Milman is well documented. See The History of Parliament online.—ebb, alw gives it, is an amusing piece of truth.—Another for bon mot of Mr. HobhouseJohn Cam Hobhouse, or: 1st Baron Broughton | Born: 1786-06-27 in Redland, England. Died: 1869-06-03 in Berkeley Square, London, England.
A friend and traveling companion of Lord Byron who contributed notes to the fourth canto of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage , John Cam Hobhouse was elected to the House of Commons in 1820 as a member of the Whig party. In 1851, he became the First Baron Broughton.—err, lmw
's I heard the other day—Perhaps you have  seen heard it—They were accusing her of bribing the TimesThe Times.
Newspaper issued daily, begun in London in 1785 as The Daily Universal Register, and titled The Times from 1 January 1788.—ebb newspaper & he said—"Well—they have given her the CourierThe Courier. 1804-04-20-1842-07-06.
London newspaper that ran daily except on Sundays from 1804 to 1842.—ebb for six years & it's hard she can't have the TimesThe Times.
Newspaper issued daily, begun in London in 1785 as The Daily Universal Register, and titled The Times from 1 January 1788.—ebb for six months"—By the way did you see a very clever parody of the QueenCaroline, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline of Brunswick Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Princess of Wales | Born: 1768-05-17 in Brunswick, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empire. Died: 1821-08-07 in Hammersmith, London, England.
The cousin and later the estranged wife of the Prince Regent (later George IV). Caroline was adopted as the mascot of the parliamentary reform movement around the time that the Regent attempted to divorce her on grounds of adultery in 1818, and his struggles with Parliament to divorce her and prevent her from becoming Queen are known as the Queen Caroline Affair. Mitford writes humorously in her letters of 1818 and 1819 of the political fodder made of the Affair by both Whigs and Tories.—lmw, ebb, rnes
's "answers" in the Courier? They caught Mr. bombast exactly—I never saw better burlesque  I But I have the honor to wish  queen her MajestyCaroline, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Caroline of Brunswick Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Princess of Wales | Born: 1768-05-17 in Brunswick, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empire. Died: 1821-08-07 in Hammersmith, London, England.
The cousin and later the estranged wife of the Prince Regent (later George IV). Caroline was adopted as the mascot of the parliamentary reform movement around the time that the Regent attempted to divorce her on grounds of adultery in 1818, and his struggles with Parliament to divorce her and prevent her from becoming Queen are known as the Queen Caroline Affair. Mitford writes humorously in her letters of 1818 and 1819 of the political fodder made of the Affair by both Whigs and Tories.—lmw, ebb, rnes
a good night we shall talk of a pleasanter subject. 〰

Have you seen Turner's Tour in NormandyAccount of a Tour in Normandy. Dawson Turner. London : John & Arthur Arch. 1820. ? It's a pretty book to look at tales of Gothic Architecture.—& not amiss to read. There is not much new in it—but it talks away agreeably enough of old castles & old Churches & old walls & old tombs, & the charm of the subject carries one through. Nobody can know less ^> I do of Gothic architecture (or any architecture) & yet I love it passionately devotedly—An old cathedral is in its effect on my spirits just like MiltonJohn Milton, Secretary for Foreign Tongues, or: Secretary for Foreign Tongues | Born: 1608-12-09 in Bread Street, Cheapside, London, England. Died: 1674-11-08 in Bunhill, London, England.
English poet and polemical essayist who wrote in support of Parliamentary and Puritan causes, best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost (1667).—esh, lmw
's poetry—absorbing, elevating  capturing, overpowering.—If ever I get into one I don't know how to get out.—MotherMary Russell Mitford, or: Mrs. Mitford | Born: 1750 in Ashe, Hampshire, England. Died: 1830-01-02 in Three Mile Cross, parish of Shinfield, Berkshire, England.
Mary Russell was the youngest child of the Rev. Dr. Richard Russell and his second wife, Mary Dicker; she was born about 1750 in Ashe, Hampshire. (Her birth date is as yet unverified; period sources indicate that she was ten years older than her husband George, born in 1760.) Through the Russells, she was a distant relation of the Dukes of Bedford (sixth creation, 1694). She had two siblings, Charles William and Frances; both predeceased her and their parents, which resulted in Mary Russell inheriting her family’s entire estate upon her mother’s death in 1785. Her father’s rectory in Ashe was only a short distance from Steventon, and so she was acquainted with the young Jane Austen. She married George Mitford or Midford on October 17, 1785 at New Alresford, Hampshire. On the marriage allegation papers, both gave their addresses as Old Alresford. Their only daughter, Mary Russell Mitford, was born two years later on December 16, 1787 at New Alresford, Hampshire. Mary Russell died on January 2, 1830 at Three Mile Cross in the parish of Shinfield, Berkshire. Her obituary in the 1830 New Monthly Magazine gives New Year’s day as the date of her death.—ajc, lmw
has been lately at WinchesterWinchester, Hampshire, England | Winchester | Hampshire | England | 51.059771 -1.3101420000000417 City and county town of Hampshire. Site of Winchester Cathedral and Winchester College, one of the oldest public grammar schools. Jane Austen died here and is buried in the Cathedral. John Keats wrote several of his best-known poems while on a visit to the city.—lmw, where they are restoring the cathedral under the directions of Dr. NottGeorge Frederick Nott | Born: 1768-05-14. Died: 1841-10-25 in Winchester, Hampshire, England.
Son of Samuel Nott (1740-1793). Clergymen and prebendary of Winchester and superindentant of the Winchester Cathedral restoration —sbb. It will be very grand when completed, & they are making new discoveries every day. Above all they have realized a supposition of Mr. MilnerJohn Milner | Born: 1752-10-14. Died: 1826-04-19.
Son of Joseph Milner, tailor and Helen Marsland. A Clergy member of Winchester.—sbb's which because it was in that entertaining mass of miracles & papistry hisJohn Milner | Born: 1752-10-14. Died: 1826-04-19.
Son of Joseph Milner, tailor and Helen Marsland. A Clergy member of Winchester.—sbb history of WinchesterWinchester, Hampshire, England | Winchester | Hampshire | England | 51.059771 -1.3101420000000417 City and county town of Hampshire. Site of Winchester Cathedral and Winchester College, one of the oldest public grammar schools. Jane Austen died here and is buried in the Cathedral. John Keats wrote several of his best-known poems while on a visit to the city.—lmw nobody believed—They have discovered under the old tower a Roman foundation—real genuine masonry—thus giving a colour to the page 3
worthy Bishop's notion that the Church was built on the [piles] of a Roman Temple—& in clearing out the which had been filled up for years with all sorts of rubbish several very fine mitred heads (& their bodies too as far as I know) have been discovered—the most perfect specimen monastic [del: .] sculpture that have been found—they are taking casts of them. In the meantime the Chapter are vowing vengeance against Mr. NottGeorge Frederick Nott | Born: 1768-05-14. Died: 1841-10-25 in Winchester, Hampshire, England.
Son of Samuel Nott (1740-1793). Clergymen and prebendary of Winchester and superindentant of the Winchester Cathedral restoration —sbb for spending so much money— & heGeorge Frederick Nott | Born: 1768-05-14. Died: 1841-10-25 in Winchester, Hampshire, England.
Son of Samuel Nott (1740-1793). Clergymen and prebendary of Winchester and superindentant of the Winchester Cathedral restoration —sbb on his part now that all has been pulled about & [del: .] must be set to rights again, feels quite secure in his vocation & has been [terrifying] about Normandy himselfGeorge Frederick Nott | Born: 1768-05-14. Died: 1841-10-25 in Winchester, Hampshire, England.
Son of Samuel Nott (1740-1793). Clergymen and prebendary of Winchester and superindentant of the Winchester Cathedral restoration —sbb picking up new old ideas & setting his prebendal brethren at defiance.—The Cathedral was to have ^been so opened this Autumn with a musick meeting—instead of which it is all to pieces, cannot possibly be finished for these two years & will very probably not be completed in half a dozen. I am heartily glad of this, for these Prebends are all as rich as Jews (few of them I believe with less than four or five thousand a year Church Preferment) & its a fine thing to see that noble & almost loss but flourishing again under the auspices of the Church [del: .] its ancient and munificent patroness. Don't you think so? 〰

My dear friendWilliam Elford, Sir, baronet, Recorder for Plymouth, Recorder for Totnes, Member of Parliament | Born: 1749-08 in Kingsbridge, Devon, England. Died: 1837-11-30 in Totnes, Devon, England.
According to L’Estrange, Sir William was first a friend of Mitford’s father, and Mitford met him for the first time in the spring of 1810 when he was a widower nearing the age of 64. They carried on a lively correspondence until his death in 1837.
Elford worked as a banker at Plymouth Bank (Elford, Tingcombe and Purchase) in Plymouth, Devon, from its founding in 1782. He was elected a member of Parliament for Plymouth as a supporter of the government and Tory William Pitt, and served from 1796 to 1806. After his election defeat in Plymouth in 1806, he was elected member of Parliament for Rye and served from July 1807 until his resignation in July 1808. For his service in Parliament as a supporter of Pitt, he was made a baronet in 1800. After his son Jonathan came of age, he tried to secure a stable government post for him but never succeeded. Mayor of Plymouth in 1796 and Recorder for Plymouth from 1797 to 1833, he was also Recorder for Totnes from 1832 to 1834. Sir William served as an officer in the South Devon militia from 1788, eventually attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel; the unit saw active service in Ireland during the Peninsular Wars. Sir William was a talented amateur painter in oils and watercolors who exhibited at the Royal Society from 1774 to 1837; he exhibited still lifes and portraits but preferred landscapes. He was elected to the Royal Society Academy in 1790. He was also a talented amateur naturalist and was elected to the Royal Linnaean Society in 1790; late in life, he published his findings on an alternative to yeast.
He married his first wife, Mary Davies of Plympton, on January 20, 1776 and they had one son, Jonathan, and two daughters, Grace Chard and Elizabeth. After the death of his first wife, he married Elizabeth Hall Walrond, widow of Lieutenant-Colonel Maine Swete Walrond of the Coldstream Guards. His only son Jonathan died in 1823, leaving him without an heir.
—ebb, lmw

do you read magazines? If you do not pray begin—all the best writing is in them—the best criticism & the best essays—the best fun. I don't mean the old magazine of course, nor half of the new—but some are capital. There's BlackwoodBlackwood’s Magazine. Edinburgh: 1817-04-1980.
Founded as a Tory magazine in opposition to the Whig Edinburgh Review.—ebb's EdinburghEdinburgh Review, second series. Edinburgh: Constable.
Quarterly political and literary review founded by Francis Jeffrey, Sydney Smith, Henry Brougham, and Francis Horner in 1802 and published by Archibald Constable in Edinburgh. It supported Whig and reformist politics and opposed its Tory and conservative rival, The Quarterly Review. Ceased publication in 1929.—lmw for instance with its audacious impudence & its deep & most [del: .] intensely felt articles on German literature—its exceedingly good in BlackwoodBlackwood’s Magazine. Edinburgh: 1817-04-1980.
Founded as a Tory magazine in opposition to the Whig Edinburgh Review.—ebb's magazine— Scott'sWalter Scott, Sir, Baronet, or: Sir Baronet | Born: 1771-08-15 in College Wynd, Edinburgh, Scotland. Died: 1832-09-21 in Abbotsford, near Melrose, Roxburghshire, Scotland.
Scottish advocate, antiquarian, poet, and novelist. Also worked as clerk of the Court of Session in Edinburgh. He assembled a collection of Scottish ballads, many of which had never before been printed, in Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, first published in 1802, but continually expanded in revised editions through 1812 . Author of the long romance poems, The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805), Marmion (1808), and The Lady of the Lake (1810). From 1814-1831, Scott published 23 novels, and over the course of his literary career, he wrote review articles for the Edinburgh Review, The Quarterly Review, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, and the Foreign Quarterly Review.—ebb, esh
wife's in it you know, (Sir WalterWalter Scott, Sir, Baronet, or: Sir Baronet | Born: 1771-08-15 in College Wynd, Edinburgh, Scotland. Died: 1832-09-21 in Abbotsford, near Melrose, Roxburghshire, Scotland.
Scottish advocate, antiquarian, poet, and novelist. Also worked as clerk of the Court of Session in Edinburgh. He assembled a collection of Scottish ballads, many of which had never before been printed, in Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, first published in 1802, but continually expanded in revised editions through 1812 . Author of the long romance poems, The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805), Marmion (1808), and The Lady of the Lake (1810). From 1814-1831, Scott published 23 novels, and over the course of his literary career, he wrote review articles for the Edinburgh Review, The Quarterly Review, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, and the Foreign Quarterly Review.—ebb, esh
)—& WilsonChristopher North
Pseudonym for John Wilson in Blackwood’s Magazine.—lmw & LockhartJohn Gibson Lockhart, or: John Gibson Lockhart | Born: 1794-07-12 in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Died: 1854-11-25 in Abbotsford, near Melrose, Scotland.
A prominent writer for Blackwood's Magazine in its early years, Lockhart joined the staff of the magazine in 1817, and came to be associated with its abrasive style and particularly (though without verification) its insulting characterization of London artists and literary figures as a Cockney School in 1820 and 1821. Assumptions and bitter accusations in the matter led to a bitter personal conflict aired in the pages of Blackwood's and The London Magazine resulting in the death by duel of The London Magazine's editor, John Scott in February 1821, at the hands of Lockhart's literary agent Jonathan Christie . Lockhart married Walter Scott's daughter Sophia in 1820, which caused John Scott and others to assume that Walter Scott had some involvement with Blackwood's campaign against the Cockneys. Lockhart took over the editorship of the Quarterly Review from March 1826 until June 1853, shortly before his death. He is perhaps best known as the author of his father-in-law's 7-volume biography, Life of Walter Scott, published in 1837-1838 .—ebb
& GilliesRobert Pearse Gillies | Born: 1788 in Arbroath, Angus, Scotland. Died: 1858-11-28 in Kensington, London, England.
A contributor to Blackwood's Magazine.—sbb & all the EdinburghEdinburgh Review, second series. Edinburgh: Constable.
Quarterly political and literary review founded by Francis Jeffrey, Sydney Smith, Henry Brougham, and Francis Horner in 1802 and published by Archibald Constable in Edinburgh. It supported Whig and reformist politics and opposed its Tory and conservative rival, The Quarterly Review. Ceased publication in 1929.—lmw young wits—youth indeed is its prime characteristic—there is an infusion of new blood in BlackwoodBlackwood’s Magazine. Edinburgh: 1817-04-1980.
Founded as a Tory magazine in opposition to the Whig Edinburgh Review.—ebb's magazine the effect of which is strongly felt in reading one of his numbers just after a number of the Edinburgh Review, second series. Edinburgh: Constable.
Quarterly political and literary review founded by Francis Jeffrey, Sydney Smith, Henry Brougham, and Francis Horner in 1802 and published by Archibald Constable in Edinburgh. It supported Whig and reformist politics and opposed its Tory and conservative rival, The Quarterly Review. Ceased publication in 1929.—lmw—one feels that the review is grown sober & elderly & gray haired—it walks with a stick & wears spectacles.—Then there is a magazine that I like better still than BlackwoodBlackwood’s Magazine. Edinburgh: 1817-04-1980.
Founded as a Tory magazine in opposition to the Whig Edinburgh Review.—ebb's, BaldwinRobert Baldwin | Born: 1780. Died: 1858-01-29.
Printer of the London Magazine; London printer and bookseller. Partners with Charles Cradock and William Joy; published works with them under firm name Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy. Also published separately under R. Baldwin. See Coles 14.—lmw
's LondonThe London Magazine. 1820-1829.
An 18th-century periodical of this title (The London Magazine, or Gentleman’s Monthly Intelligencer) ran from 1732 to 1785 . In 1820, John Scott launched a new series of The London Magazine emulating the style of Blackwood’s Magazine, though the two magazines soon came into heated contention. This series ran until 1829, and this is the series to which Mitford and her correspondents frequently refer in their letters. Scott’s editorship lasted until his death by duel on 27 February 1821 resulting form bitter personal conflict with the editors of Blackwood’s Magazine connected with their insulting characterization of a London Cockney School. After Scott’s death, William Hazlitt took up editing the magazine with the April 1821 issue.—ebb, lmw—The impudence there is quite as great but more polished—there is all the difference between LondonThe London Magazine. 1820-1829.
An 18th-century periodical of this title (The London Magazine, or Gentleman’s Monthly Intelligencer) ran from 1732 to 1785 . In 1820, John Scott launched a new series of The London Magazine emulating the style of Blackwood’s Magazine, though the two magazines soon came into heated contention. This series ran until 1829, and this is the series to which Mitford and her correspondents frequently refer in their letters. Scott’s editorship lasted until his death by duel on 27 February 1821 resulting form bitter personal conflict with the editors of Blackwood’s Magazine connected with their insulting characterization of a London Cockney School. After Scott’s death, William Hazlitt took up editing the magazine with the April 1821 issue.—ebb, lmw [del: .] & a provincial town— BaldwinRobert Baldwin | Born: 1780. Died: 1858-01-29.
Printer of the London Magazine; London printer and bookseller. Partners with Charles Cradock and William Joy; published works with them under firm name Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy. Also published separately under R. Baldwin. See Coles 14.—lmw
's brass is of the finest sort of Corinthian brass—BlackwoodBlackwood’s Magazine. Edinburgh: 1817-04-1980.
Founded as a Tory magazine in opposition to the Whig Edinburgh Review.—ebb's is of baser metal. Charles LambCharles Lamb | Born: 1775-02-10 in Inner Temple, London, England. Died: 1834-12-27 in Edmonton, Middlesex, London, England.
British author, best known for his Essays of Elia (1823-1833), many of which originally appeared in the London Magazine, and Tales from Shakespeare, written with his sister Mary Lamb. Friend of Wordsworth and Coleridge.—lmw, cmm
writes there too with his delicate humour, so quiet & graceful & genial & full of fine humanities—& HazlittWilliam Hazlitt | Born: 1778-04-10 in Maidstone, Kent, England. Died: 1830-09-18 in Soho, London, England.
Essayist and critic, acquaintance of Mary Russell Mitford. Author of Table Talk (1821) and The Spirit of the Age (1825). Also authored collections of critical essays such as Characters of Shakespeare (1817), A View of the English Stage (1818), and English Comic Writers (1819). In a letter of 2 October 1820 , Mary Russell Mitford writes of Hazlitt to their mutual friend Haydon, He is the most delightful critic in the [world]— puts all his taste, his wit, his deep thinking, his matchless acuteness into his subject, but he does not put his whole heart & soul into it [. . . ] What charms me most in Mr. Haslitt is the beautiful candour which he bursts forth sometimes from his own prejudices [ . . . ] I admire him so ardently that when I begin to talk of him I never know how to stop. I could talk on for an hour in a see saw of praise and blame as he himself does of Beaumont & Fletcher & some of his old [favourites]. —lmw, cmm
—always so delightful. I would not give up the LondonThe London Magazine. 1820-1829.
An 18th-century periodical of this title (The London Magazine, or Gentleman’s Monthly Intelligencer) ran from 1732 to 1785 . In 1820, John Scott launched a new series of The London Magazine emulating the style of Blackwood’s Magazine, though the two magazines soon came into heated contention. This series ran until 1829, and this is the series to which Mitford and her correspondents frequently refer in their letters. Scott’s editorship lasted until his death by duel on 27 February 1821 resulting form bitter personal conflict with the editors of Blackwood’s Magazine connected with their insulting characterization of a London Cockney School. After Scott’s death, William Hazlitt took up editing the magazine with the April 1821 issue.—ebb, lmw magazine (BaldwinRobert Baldwin | Born: 1780. Died: 1858-01-29.
Printer of the London Magazine; London printer and bookseller. Partners with Charles Cradock and William Joy; published works with them under firm name Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy. Also published separately under R. Baldwin. See Coles 14.—lmw
's LondonThe London Magazine. 1820-1829.
An 18th-century periodical of this title (The London Magazine, or Gentleman’s Monthly Intelligencer) ran from 1732 to 1785 . In 1820, John Scott launched a new series of The London Magazine emulating the style of Blackwood’s Magazine, though the two magazines soon came into heated contention. This series ran until 1829, and this is the series to which Mitford and her correspondents frequently refer in their letters. Scott’s editorship lasted until his death by duel on 27 February 1821 resulting form bitter personal conflict with the editors of Blackwood’s Magazine connected with their insulting characterization of a London Cockney School. After Scott’s death, William Hazlitt took up editing the magazine with the April 1821 issue.—ebb, lmw for there is [del: .] another Simon Pure)—no—not for the Scotch novels!—Then there is the New MonthlyNew Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal.
Periodical edited by Thomas Campbell and Cyrus Redding from 1821 to 1830, after it was restyled with a more literary and less political focus than it had had at its founding in 1814 as a Tory competitor to the Whig Monthly Magazine. Talfourd and Mitford were contributors.—ebb which used to be so bad—My particular friend & crony Mr. TalfourdThomas Noon Talfourd | Born: 1795-05-26 in Reading, Berkshire, England. Died: 1854-03-13 in Stafford, Staffordshire, England.
Close friend, literary mentor, and frequent correspondent of Mary Russell Mitford. A native of Reading, Talfourd was educated at the Reading’s newly-established Mill Hill school, a dissenting academy, from 1808 to 1810. He attended Dr. Richard Valpy’s Reading School from 1810 to 1812. His career in law began with a legal apprenticeship with Joseph Christy, special pleader, in 1817. He was called to the bar in London in 1821 and ultimately earned a D.C.L. (Doctor of Civil Laws) from Oxford on June 20, 1844. While establishing his practice as a barrister and special pleader, he worked as legal correspondent for The Times, reporting on the Oxford Circuit, and also continued his literary interests. After 1833, he was appointed Serjeant at Law, as well as a King’s and Queen’s Counsel. He was elected and served as Member of Parliament for Reading from 1835 to 1841 and from 1847 to 1849 ; he served with Charles Fyshe Palmer, Charles Russell, and Francis Piggott. Highlights of his political and legal career included introducing the first copyright bill into Parliament in 1837 (for which action Charles Dickens dedicated Pickwick Papers to him) and defending Edward Moxon’s publication of Percy Shelley’s Queen Mab in 1841 . He was appointed Queen’s Serjeant in 1846 and Judge of Common Pleas in 1849 , at which post he served until his death in 1854. He was knighted in 1850 .
Talfourd’s literary works include his plays Ion (1835), The Athenian Captive (1837) and Glencoe, or the Fate of the MacDonalds(1839).
—lmw, cmm, ebb
had taken that in hand since last February & his articles are exquisite— particularly his dramatic criticisms—Those & indeed all that he writes are distinguished by a peculiar spirit of cordiality & indulgence— heThomas Noon Talfourd | Born: 1795-05-26 in Reading, Berkshire, England. Died: 1854-03-13 in Stafford, Staffordshire, England.
Close friend, literary mentor, and frequent correspondent of Mary Russell Mitford. A native of Reading, Talfourd was educated at the Reading’s newly-established Mill Hill school, a dissenting academy, from 1808 to 1810. He attended Dr. Richard Valpy’s Reading School from 1810 to 1812. His career in law began with a legal apprenticeship with Joseph Christy, special pleader, in 1817. He was called to the bar in London in 1821 and ultimately earned a D.C.L. (Doctor of Civil Laws) from Oxford on June 20, 1844. While establishing his practice as a barrister and special pleader, he worked as legal correspondent for The Times, reporting on the Oxford Circuit, and also continued his literary interests. After 1833, he was appointed Serjeant at Law, as well as a King’s and Queen’s Counsel. He was elected and served as Member of Parliament for Reading from 1835 to 1841 and from 1847 to 1849 ; he served with Charles Fyshe Palmer, Charles Russell, and Francis Piggott. Highlights of his political and legal career included introducing the first copyright bill into Parliament in 1837 (for which action Charles Dickens dedicated Pickwick Papers to him) and defending Edward Moxon’s publication of Percy Shelley’s Queen Mab in 1841 . He was appointed Queen’s Serjeant in 1846 and Judge of Common Pleas in 1849 , at which post he served until his death in 1854. He was knighted in 1850 .
Talfourd’s literary works include his plays Ion (1835), The Athenian Captive (1837) and Glencoe, or the Fate of the MacDonalds(1839).
—lmw, cmm, ebb
is as various & distinguished in his praise, as other critics are in their censure—you feel that all that he says is fine to the very essence —his likenesses are perfect but heThomas Noon Talfourd | Born: 1795-05-26 in Reading, Berkshire, England. Died: 1854-03-13 in Stafford, Staffordshire, England.
Close friend, literary mentor, and frequent correspondent of Mary Russell Mitford. A native of Reading, Talfourd was educated at the Reading’s newly-established Mill Hill school, a dissenting academy, from 1808 to 1810. He attended Dr. Richard Valpy’s Reading School from 1810 to 1812. His career in law began with a legal apprenticeship with Joseph Christy, special pleader, in 1817. He was called to the bar in London in 1821 and ultimately earned a D.C.L. (Doctor of Civil Laws) from Oxford on June 20, 1844. While establishing his practice as a barrister and special pleader, he worked as legal correspondent for The Times, reporting on the Oxford Circuit, and also continued his literary interests. After 1833, he was appointed Serjeant at Law, as well as a King’s and Queen’s Counsel. He was elected and served as Member of Parliament for Reading from 1835 to 1841 and from 1847 to 1849 ; he served with Charles Fyshe Palmer, Charles Russell, and Francis Piggott. Highlights of his political and legal career included introducing the first copyright bill into Parliament in 1837 (for which action Charles Dickens dedicated Pickwick Papers to him) and defending Edward Moxon’s publication of Percy Shelley’s Queen Mab in 1841 . He was appointed Queen’s Serjeant in 1846 and Judge of Common Pleas in 1849 , at which post he served until his death in 1854. He was knighted in 1850 .
Talfourd’s literary works include his plays Ion (1835), The Athenian Captive (1837) and Glencoe, or the Fate of the MacDonalds(1839).
—lmw, cmm, ebb
takes people at their best & sets forth their beauties instead of their defects. I never met—not even in Walter ScottWalter Scott, Sir, Baronet, or: Sir Baronet | Born: 1771-08-15 in College Wynd, Edinburgh, Scotland. Died: 1832-09-21 in Abbotsford, near Melrose, Roxburghshire, Scotland.
Scottish advocate, antiquarian, poet, and novelist. Also worked as clerk of the Court of Session in Edinburgh. He assembled a collection of Scottish ballads, many of which had never before been printed, in Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, first published in 1802, but continually expanded in revised editions through 1812 . Author of the long romance poems, The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805), Marmion (1808), and The Lady of the Lake (1810). From 1814-1831, Scott published 23 novels, and over the course of his literary career, he wrote review articles for the Edinburgh Review, The Quarterly Review, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, and the Foreign Quarterly Review.—ebb, esh
with just lenient sympathy—such indulgence to human frailty—or such cordial delight in the beautiful & the good. With all this hisThomas Noon Talfourd | Born: 1795-05-26 in Reading, Berkshire, England. Died: 1854-03-13 in Stafford, Staffordshire, England.
Close friend, literary mentor, and frequent correspondent of Mary Russell Mitford. A native of Reading, Talfourd was educated at the Reading’s newly-established Mill Hill school, a dissenting academy, from 1808 to 1810. He attended Dr. Richard Valpy’s Reading School from 1810 to 1812. His career in law began with a legal apprenticeship with Joseph Christy, special pleader, in 1817. He was called to the bar in London in 1821 and ultimately earned a D.C.L. (Doctor of Civil Laws) from Oxford on June 20, 1844. While establishing his practice as a barrister and special pleader, he worked as legal correspondent for The Times, reporting on the Oxford Circuit, and also continued his literary interests. After 1833, he was appointed Serjeant at Law, as well as a King’s and Queen’s Counsel. He was elected and served as Member of Parliament for Reading from 1835 to 1841 and from 1847 to 1849 ; he served with Charles Fyshe Palmer, Charles Russell, and Francis Piggott. Highlights of his political and legal career included introducing the first copyright bill into Parliament in 1837 (for which action Charles Dickens dedicated Pickwick Papers to him) and defending Edward Moxon’s publication of Percy Shelley’s Queen Mab in 1841 . He was appointed Queen’s Serjeant in 1846 and Judge of Common Pleas in 1849 , at which post he served until his death in 1854. He was knighted in 1850 .
Talfourd’s literary works include his plays Ion (1835), The Athenian Captive (1837) and Glencoe, or the Fate of the MacDonalds(1839).
—lmw, cmm, ebb
writings are quite as entertaining as if he cut all he touched to mince meat like HazlittWilliam Hazlitt | Born: 1778-04-10 in Maidstone, Kent, England. Died: 1830-09-18 in Soho, London, England.
Essayist and critic, acquaintance of Mary Russell Mitford. Author of Table Talk (1821) and The Spirit of the Age (1825). Also authored collections of critical essays such as Characters of Shakespeare (1817), A View of the English Stage (1818), and English Comic Writers (1819). In a letter of 2 October 1820 , Mary Russell Mitford writes of Hazlitt to their mutual friend Haydon, He is the most delightful critic in the [world]— puts all his taste, his wit, his deep thinking, his matchless acuteness into his subject, but he does not put his whole heart & soul into it [. . . ] What charms me most in Mr. Haslitt is the beautiful candour which he bursts forth sometimes from his own prejudices [ . . . ] I admire him so ardently that when I begin to talk of him I never know how to stop. I could talk on for an hour in a see saw of praise and blame as he himself does of Beaumont & Fletcher & some of his old [favourites]. —lmw, cmm
. But it is the nature of the man—he has a talent for admiration & enjoyment—He is to be called to the Bar next term & I prophesy that the world will soon hear of him. I am page 4
sure of his ultimate success but I particularly wish him to make his way soon, because he has been engaged these three years to a sweet young woman, one quite worthy of him, & those long engagements are [hardwearing] things. In case you or Mrs. ElfordElizabeth Walrond Hall, or: Mrs. Elford | Born: 1780 in Manadon, Devon, England. Died: 1839 in Totnes, Devon, England.
Elizabeth Walrond was the second wife of Sir William Elford; they married on July 5, 1821 , fourteen years after the death of Mary Davies Elford in 1807 . Elizabeth was the daughter and co-heiress of Humphrey Hall of Mandon, Devon, England and his wife, the Hon. Jane St. John, daughter of John St. John, 11th Baron St. John of Bletsoe. She was previously married to Maine Swete Waldron, an officer in the Coldstream Guards, in 1803 and they had two children, only one of whom survived to adulthood. Her first husband died around 1817 and she married Sir William Elford four years later. Following her death, her will was probated on 10 December 1839. Some secondary sources erroneously give the spelling of her first married name as Waldron; however, she is not to be confused with the American Elizabeth Waldron (1780 to 21 July 1853).‏ Her birthdate is not given in any standard nineteenth-century reference sources, but is likely to be before 1780.—ebb, ajc, lmw should see the New MonthlyNew Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal.
Periodical edited by Thomas Campbell and Cyrus Redding from 1821 to 1830, after it was restyled with a more literary and less political focus than it had had at its founding in 1814 as a Tory competitor to the Whig Monthly Magazine. Talfourd and Mitford were contributors.—ebb I enclose you a list of his articles—for except his there are none worth reading. You will forgive the flattery about me. We are old friends you know. 〰

Do you ever paint game and dogs? An adventure happened to my little pet Molly—(the pretty little Spaniel with long curling hair—so white & delicate & ladylike, that you admired so much when I had last the happiness of seeing you) which would make a pretty picture. Molly was beating a hedgerow about a month ago & jumped upon a pheasant—caught hold of it's tail—& held so fast that the bird being a strong old cock & making great efforts for [del: .] his life fairly lifted her up in [del: .] the air—the struggle lasted till the feathers gave way & the pheasant flew off leaving the honors of his plummage as spoil to poor Molly. PapaGeorge Mitford, Esq., or: George Midford | Born: . Died: .
Father of Mary Rusell Mitford, George Mitford was the son of Francis Midford, surgeon, and Jane Graham. The family name is sometimes recorded as Midford. Immediate family called him by nicknames including Drum, Tod, and Dodo. He was a member of a minor branch of the Mitfords of Mitford Castle in Northumberland. Although later sources would suggest that he was a graduate of the University of Edinburgh medical school, there is no evidence that he obtained a medical degree and he did not generally refer to himself as Dr. Mitford, preferring to style himself Esq.. In 1784, he is listed in a Hampshire directory as surgeon (medicine) of Alresford. His father and grandfather worked as apothecary-surgeons and it seems likely that he served a medical apprenticeship with family members.
He married Mary Russell on October 17, 1785 at New Alresford, Hampshire. On the marriage allegation papers, both gave their addresses as Old Alresford; they later came to live at Broad Street in New Alresford. Their only child to live to adulthood, Mary Russell Mitford, was born two years later on December 16, 1787 at New Alresford, Hampshire. He assisted Mitford's literary career by representing her interests in London and elsewhere with theater owners and publishers. He was active in Whig politics and later served as a local magistrate. He coursed greyhounds with his friend James Webb.
—lmw says the sight was beautiful— that it happened in a very fine spot just under an oak pollard with ivy & holly & fern—contrasting its [del: .] orange leaves, & the dog & the bird both glittering like gold & silver in a bright autumnal sun.—Goodnight my dear Sir WilliamWilliam Elford, Sir, baronet, Recorder for Plymouth, Recorder for Totnes, Member of Parliament | Born: 1749-08 in Kingsbridge, Devon, England. Died: 1837-11-30 in Totnes, Devon, England.
According to L’Estrange, Sir William was first a friend of Mitford’s father, and Mitford met him for the first time in the spring of 1810 when he was a widower nearing the age of 64. They carried on a lively correspondence until his death in 1837.
Elford worked as a banker at Plymouth Bank (Elford, Tingcombe and Purchase) in Plymouth, Devon, from its founding in 1782. He was elected a member of Parliament for Plymouth as a supporter of the government and Tory William Pitt, and served from 1796 to 1806. After his election defeat in Plymouth in 1806, he was elected member of Parliament for Rye and served from July 1807 until his resignation in July 1808. For his service in Parliament as a supporter of Pitt, he was made a baronet in 1800. After his son Jonathan came of age, he tried to secure a stable government post for him but never succeeded. Mayor of Plymouth in 1796 and Recorder for Plymouth from 1797 to 1833, he was also Recorder for Totnes from 1832 to 1834. Sir William served as an officer in the South Devon militia from 1788, eventually attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel; the unit saw active service in Ireland during the Peninsular Wars. Sir William was a talented amateur painter in oils and watercolors who exhibited at the Royal Society from 1774 to 1837; he exhibited still lifes and portraits but preferred landscapes. He was elected to the Royal Society Academy in 1790. He was also a talented amateur naturalist and was elected to the Royal Linnaean Society in 1790; late in life, he published his findings on an alternative to yeast.
He married his first wife, Mary Davies of Plympton, on January 20, 1776 and they had one son, Jonathan, and two daughters, Grace Chard and Elizabeth. After the death of his first wife, he married Elizabeth Hall Walrond, widow of Lieutenant-Colonel Maine Swete Walrond of the Coldstream Guards. His only son Jonathan died in 1823, leaving him without an heir.
—ebb, lmw

—I shall finish in a day or two—Goodnight—God bless you, my dear friendWilliam Elford, Sir, baronet, Recorder for Plymouth, Recorder for Totnes, Member of Parliament | Born: 1749-08 in Kingsbridge, Devon, England. Died: 1837-11-30 in Totnes, Devon, England.
According to L’Estrange, Sir William was first a friend of Mitford’s father, and Mitford met him for the first time in the spring of 1810 when he was a widower nearing the age of 64. They carried on a lively correspondence until his death in 1837.
Elford worked as a banker at Plymouth Bank (Elford, Tingcombe and Purchase) in Plymouth, Devon, from its founding in 1782. He was elected a member of Parliament for Plymouth as a supporter of the government and Tory William Pitt, and served from 1796 to 1806. After his election defeat in Plymouth in 1806, he was elected member of Parliament for Rye and served from July 1807 until his resignation in July 1808. For his service in Parliament as a supporter of Pitt, he was made a baronet in 1800. After his son Jonathan came of age, he tried to secure a stable government post for him but never succeeded. Mayor of Plymouth in 1796 and Recorder for Plymouth from 1797 to 1833, he was also Recorder for Totnes from 1832 to 1834. Sir William served as an officer in the South Devon militia from 1788, eventually attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel; the unit saw active service in Ireland during the Peninsular Wars. Sir William was a talented amateur painter in oils and watercolors who exhibited at the Royal Society from 1774 to 1837; he exhibited still lifes and portraits but preferred landscapes. He was elected to the Royal Society Academy in 1790. He was also a talented amateur naturalist and was elected to the Royal Linnaean Society in 1790; late in life, he published his findings on an alternative to yeast.
He married his first wife, Mary Davies of Plympton, on January 20, 1776 and they had one son, Jonathan, and two daughters, Grace Chard and Elizabeth. After the death of his first wife, he married Elizabeth Hall Walrond, widow of Lieutenant-Colonel Maine Swete Walrond of the Coldstream Guards. His only son Jonathan died in 1823, leaving him without an heir.
—ebb, lmw

—

Tuesday Evening—I really am ashamed of this hand writing though I have found a delicious precedent for illegible calligraphy (is that fine word right?) In Fleury's Memoires de NapoleonMémoires pour servir à l’histoire de la vie privée, du retour, et du règne de Napoléon en 1815. Fleury de Chaboulon. London : John Murray. 1819-1820.
Two volume publication: the first volume was published in 1819 and the second in 1820. Fleury was Napoleon's secretary and cabinet member who served in the Emperor's private life.—sbb, ebb—He had prepared in Elba proclamatiions for his landing & gave them to his secretary & soldiers to copy when on board the [King]—they could not read them, & gave them to him begging him to decipher such & such words—He could page 5
not read a syllable of them—but after puzzling for a moment threw them into the sea & began to dictate afresh those eloquent addresses which will last as long as the language. What a foundation to write a bad hand! Is it not? But chez les aveugles un langue est roi—so I pass for a good writer here you—you have no notion of the style of manuscript that prevails in this South ofBerkshireBerkshire, England | Berkshire | England | 51.4669939 -1.185367700000029 The county of Berkshire, England, abbreviated Berks.—all the young ladies letters look like lines of ms & [us]—& one in particular—that identical friend of mine who was half blown up the other day comes every week to exactly the same disgrace with NapoleonNapoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of France, Emperor of the French, President of the Italian Republic, King of Italy, Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine, or: First Consul of France Emperor of the French President of the Italian Republic King of Italy Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine | Born: 1769-08-15 in Ajaccio, Corsica, France. Died: 1821-05-05 in Longwood, St. Helena, United Kingdom.
Military commander and political leader. During the French Revolution and Revolutionary Wars, Napoleon rose to prominence as a military leader. He engineered a coup in 1799 that brought him to power as First Consul of France and then as Napoleon I, Emperor of the French (from 1804 until 1814, and again in 1815). As Emperor, he led France against a series of European military coalitions in the Napoleonic Wars, building an empire that extended over most of continental Europe until its collapse in 1815. In spring 1814, the Allies captured Paris and forced Napoleon to abdicate, exiling him to the island of Elba and restoring the Bourbons to power. Less than a year later, Napoleon escaped from Elba and retook control of France, only to suffer defeat by the Allies at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. The British then exiled him to the island Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, where he remained until his death in 1821. He is celebrated as one of Europe's greatest military commanders and as the disseminator of the system of laws known as the Napoleonic Code.—lmw
. Not content with knowing French very well in the old way she is learning it over again in a Monsieur Da-Da (I don't know his name—Dafief—I believe—or something like it) Monsieur Da's newfangled method—  by in which the patient (I beg pardon the pupil—one is so apt to mistake one kind of quackery for another) first writes a French sentence & then reads it aloud—how poor Eliza never could read her own writing in her life—so she stands suspected of being a dunce (which is great mistake) every Saturday night.—I shall certainly send you on one of her notes some day just as a foil to set off my clearness.—Or rather to show you that there are people who write worse—a fact respecting which you are rather sceptical. In the mean time I rely on your indulgence & Mrs. E. ElfordElizabeth Walrond Hall, or: Mrs. Elford | Born: 1780 in Manadon, Devon, England. Died: 1839 in Totnes, Devon, England.
Elizabeth Walrond was the second wife of Sir William Elford; they married on July 5, 1821 , fourteen years after the death of Mary Davies Elford in 1807 . Elizabeth was the daughter and co-heiress of Humphrey Hall of Mandon, Devon, England and his wife, the Hon. Jane St. John, daughter of John St. John, 11th Baron St. John of Bletsoe. She was previously married to Maine Swete Waldron, an officer in the Coldstream Guards, in 1803 and they had two children, only one of whom survived to adulthood. Her first husband died around 1817 and she married Sir William Elford four years later. Following her death, her will was probated on 10 December 1839. Some secondary sources erroneously give the spelling of her first married name as Waldron; however, she is not to be confused with the American Elizabeth Waldron (1780 to 21 July 1853).‏ Her birthdate is not given in any standard nineteenth-century reference sources, but is likely to be before 1780.—ebb, ajc, lmw's—she who is so very good to your poor little friendMary Russell Mitford | Born: 1787-12-16 in New Alresford, Hampshire, England. Died: 1855-01-10 in Swallowfield, Berkshire, England.
Poet, playwright, writer of prose fiction sketches, Mary Russell Mitford is, of course, the subject of our archive. Mary Russell Mitford was born on December 16, 1787 at New Alresford, Hampshire, the only child of George Mitford (or Midford) and Mary Russell. She was baptized on February 29, 1788. Much of her writing was devoted to supporting herself and her parents. She received a civil list pension in 1837. Census records from 1841 indicate that she is living with her father George, three female servants: Kerenhappuch Taylor (Mary’s ladies maid), two maids of all work, Mary Bramley and Mary Allaway, and a manservant (probably serving also as gardener), Benjamin Embury. The 1851 census lists her occupation as authoress, and lists her as living at Three Mile Cross with Kerenhappuch Taylor (lady’s maid), Sarah Chernk (maid-of-all-work), and Samuel Swetman (gardener), after the death of her father. Mitford’s long life and prolific career ended after injuries from a carriage accident. She is buried in Swallowfield churchyard. The executor of her will and her literary executor was the Rev. William Harness and her lady’s maid, Kerenhappuch Taylor Sweetman, was residuary legatee of her estate. —lmw, ebb
. 〰

I see Mr. ElfordElizabeth Walrond Hall, or: Mrs. Elford | Born: 1780 in Manadon, Devon, England. Died: 1839 in Totnes, Devon, England.
Elizabeth Walrond was the second wife of Sir William Elford; they married on July 5, 1821 , fourteen years after the death of Mary Davies Elford in 1807 . Elizabeth was the daughter and co-heiress of Humphrey Hall of Mandon, Devon, England and his wife, the Hon. Jane St. John, daughter of John St. John, 11th Baron St. John of Bletsoe. She was previously married to Maine Swete Waldron, an officer in the Coldstream Guards, in 1803 and they had two children, only one of whom survived to adulthood. Her first husband died around 1817 and she married Sir William Elford four years later. Following her death, her will was probated on 10 December 1839. Some secondary sources erroneously give the spelling of her first married name as Waldron; however, she is not to be confused with the American Elizabeth Waldron (1780 to 21 July 1853).‏ Her birthdate is not given in any standard nineteenth-century reference sources, but is likely to be before 1780.—ebb, ajc, lmw is emancipated from his parlimentary chains—those chains of roses of which every body but yourself is so fond—they're I think the jigging backwards & forwards this Summer & Autumn must have fired the distant members exceedingly—Even Mr. MonckJohn Berkeley Monck
Member of Parliament for Reading area 1820-1830, who frequently franked Mary Russell Mitford’s letters. Mitford’s letter to Sir William Elford of 20 March 1820 about the election of Monck describes him in context with a politically active Patriot shoemaker, Mr. Warry, who brought him from France. Monck was the author of General Reflections on the System of the Poor Laws (1807), in which he argued for a gradual approach to abolishing the Poor Laws, and for the reform of workhouses. Francis Needham claims that it is he who is referred to in Violeting, when the narrator thinks she sees Mr. and Mrs. M. and dear B.. (Dear B. would be their son, Bligh.) Dr. Webb’s research suggests that celebrated shoemaker is Mr. Warry, possibly Joseph Source: Francis Needham, Letter to William Roberts, 26 March 1954. Needham Papers, Reading Central Library.—lmw, ebb, scw who lives so near began to complain.—By the way I hope that excellent person will look to his parting this time—for I shall put it in his power to make a notable mistake an opportunity which to do him justice he very seldom makes. I have just finished a packet for Miss JamesElizabeth Mary James, or: Miss James | Born: 1775 in Bath, Somerset, England. Died: 1861-11-25 in 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey, England.
Close friend and correspondent of Mary Russell Mitford. She was the eldest daughter of Thomas Webb and Susanna Haycock. Her father died in 1818 and her mother in 1835. After her parents’ deaths, she lived with her two younger sisters, Emily and Susan, in Green Park Buildings, Bath, Walcot, Somerset; High Street, Mortlake, Surrey; and 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey. According to Coles, referring to Mitford’s diary, letters were also addressed to her at Bellevue, Lower Road, Richmond (Coles 26). She was buried at St. Mary Magdalene, Richmond, Surrey. In the 1841 census, she is listed as living on independent means; in the 1851 census, as landholder; in the 1861 census, she as railway shareholder.—lmw & hers & yours will go to him together—How you will share or you get Miss JamesElizabeth Mary James, or: Miss James | Born: 1775 in Bath, Somerset, England. Died: 1861-11-25 in 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey, England.
Close friend and correspondent of Mary Russell Mitford. She was the eldest daughter of Thomas Webb and Susanna Haycock. Her father died in 1818 and her mother in 1835. After her parents’ deaths, she lived with her two younger sisters, Emily and Susan, in Green Park Buildings, Bath, Walcot, Somerset; High Street, Mortlake, Surrey; and 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey. According to Coles, referring to Mitford’s diary, letters were also addressed to her at Bellevue, Lower Road, Richmond (Coles 26). She was buried at St. Mary Magdalene, Richmond, Surrey. In the 1841 census, she is listed as living on independent means; in the 1851 census, as landholder; in the 1861 census, she as railway shareholder.—lmw's. She & I have a perpetual small commerce of needle work— I am the better artist on muslin—she is a consummate milliner—so I work her frills & flounces & she makes my hats & caps—The present packet consists first of breadth of a frill with directions how to join it to the other half (which went last week) & how to make it up.— Secondly of thanks for an announced new bonnet—& hints for the construction of the same—(Lord how you would laugh at all this grave palaver about gauze & satin!)—Thirdly of a long engagement about coaches &—(SheElizabeth Mary James, or: Miss James | Born: 1775 in Bath, Somerset, England. Died: 1861-11-25 in 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey, England.
Close friend and correspondent of Mary Russell Mitford. She was the eldest daughter of Thomas Webb and Susanna Haycock. Her father died in 1818 and her mother in 1835. After her parents’ deaths, she lived with her two younger sisters, Emily and Susan, in Green Park Buildings, Bath, Walcot, Somerset; High Street, Mortlake, Surrey; and 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey. According to Coles, referring to Mitford’s diary, letters were also addressed to her at Bellevue, Lower Road, Richmond (Coles 26). She was buried at St. Mary Magdalene, Richmond, Surrey. In the 1841 census, she is listed as living on independent means; in the 1851 census, as landholder; in the 1861 census, she as railway shareholder.—lmw is coming here in February on her return from BirminghamBirmingham, West Midlands, England | Birmingham West Midlands Warwickshire England | 52.48624299999999 -1.8904009999999971 A city in the West Midlands, formerly part of the historic county of Warwickshire. In Mitford’s time, the city was at the center of the Industrial Revolution, with developments in the skilled trades, steam power, railways and canals, and banking beginning in the eighteenth century. During the nineteenth century, the city became the second-largest popular center, after London, and became a center for political radicalism and reform.—lmw [gap: 2 chars, reason: torn.] had hoped she come going). Fourthly of an offer to he [gap: 2 chars, reason: torn.] sister Emily of seeds for her garden (sweetpeas—China aster & mignonettes & such varieties)— fifthly of an able article, though I say it that should not say it, on Sir Thomas BrownThomas Browne | Born: 1605-10-19 in London, England. Died: 1682-10-19 in Norwich, Norfolk, England.
Physician, philosopher, and theologian who made considerable contributions to English thought, especially about science, and the English language (including recording over 700 neologisms), particularly during the turbulent era of the Civil Wars. His most famous works include Religio Medici (A Doctor's Religion), Urne-Buriall, and the extraordinary encyclopedia of pseudoscientific error, the Pseudodoxia Epidemica (translated in 1672 as Enquiries Into Commonly Presumed Truths). Browne's writing was admired by many Romantic and Victorian authors, including Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Thomas Carlyle. The subject of a biography by Samuel Johnson, Browne has lost much of his cultural status since the end of the nineteenth century, but is now undergoing a cultural resurgence.—rnes
's Vulgar Wars (SheElizabeth Mary James, or: Miss James | Born: 1775 in Bath, Somerset, England. Died: 1861-11-25 in 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey, England.
Close friend and correspondent of Mary Russell Mitford. She was the eldest daughter of Thomas Webb and Susanna Haycock. Her father died in 1818 and her mother in 1835. After her parents’ deaths, she lived with her two younger sisters, Emily and Susan, in Green Park Buildings, Bath, Walcot, Somerset; High Street, Mortlake, Surrey; and 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey. According to Coles, referring to Mitford’s diary, letters were also addressed to her at Bellevue, Lower Road, Richmond (Coles 26). She was buried at St. Mary Magdalene, Richmond, Surrey. In the 1841 census, she is listed as living on independent means; in the 1851 census, as landholder; in the 1861 census, she as railway shareholder.—lmw is as old English mad as I)— There's a package for you—if you should get it!!!— Goodbye my dear friendWilliam Elford, Sir, baronet, Recorder for Plymouth, Recorder for Totnes, Member of Parliament | Born: 1749-08 in Kingsbridge, Devon, England. Died: 1837-11-30 in Totnes, Devon, England.
According to L’Estrange, Sir William was first a friend of Mitford’s father, and Mitford met him for the first time in the spring of 1810 when he was a widower nearing the age of 64. They carried on a lively correspondence until his death in 1837.
Elford worked as a banker at Plymouth Bank (Elford, Tingcombe and Purchase) in Plymouth, Devon, from its founding in 1782. He was elected a member of Parliament for Plymouth as a supporter of the government and Tory William Pitt, and served from 1796 to 1806. After his election defeat in Plymouth in 1806, he was elected member of Parliament for Rye and served from July 1807 until his resignation in July 1808. For his service in Parliament as a supporter of Pitt, he was made a baronet in 1800. After his son Jonathan came of age, he tried to secure a stable government post for him but never succeeded. Mayor of Plymouth in 1796 and Recorder for Plymouth from 1797 to 1833, he was also Recorder for Totnes from 1832 to 1834. Sir William served as an officer in the South Devon militia from 1788, eventually attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel; the unit saw active service in Ireland during the Peninsular Wars. Sir William was a talented amateur painter in oils and watercolors who exhibited at the Royal Society from 1774 to 1837; he exhibited still lifes and portraits but preferred landscapes. He was elected to the Royal Society Academy in 1790. He was also a talented amateur naturalist and was elected to the Royal Linnaean Society in 1790; late in life, he published his findings on an alternative to yeast.
He married his first wife, Mary Davies of Plympton, on January 20, 1776 and they had one son, Jonathan, and two daughters, Grace Chard and Elizabeth. After the death of his first wife, he married Elizabeth Hall Walrond, widow of Lieutenant-Colonel Maine Swete Walrond of the Coldstream Guards. His only son Jonathan died in 1823, leaving him without an heir.
—ebb, lmw

! Kindest regards from all here, & my most respectful compliements to Mrs. E. ElfordElizabeth Walrond Hall, or: Mrs. Elford | Born: 1780 in Manadon, Devon, England. Died: 1839 in Totnes, Devon, England.
Elizabeth Walrond was the second wife of Sir William Elford; they married on July 5, 1821 , fourteen years after the death of Mary Davies Elford in 1807 . Elizabeth was the daughter and co-heiress of Humphrey Hall of Mandon, Devon, England and his wife, the Hon. Jane St. John, daughter of John St. John, 11th Baron St. John of Bletsoe. She was previously married to Maine Swete Waldron, an officer in the Coldstream Guards, in 1803 and they had two children, only one of whom survived to adulthood. Her first husband died around 1817 and she married Sir William Elford four years later. Following her death, her will was probated on 10 December 1839. Some secondary sources erroneously give the spelling of her first married name as Waldron; however, she is not to be confused with the American Elizabeth Waldron (1780 to 21 July 1853).‏ Her birthdate is not given in any standard nineteenth-century reference sources, but is likely to be before 1780.—ebb, ajc, lmw.—I write very soon & very long—you see how obedient I am—