Letter to B.R. Haydon, 31 October ... -- The Versioning Machine 5.0

Bibliographic Information

Letter to B.R. Haydon, 31 October 1821.

by Mary Russell Mitford

Original Source

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 B. R. Haydon, 31 October 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: 1) black circular mileage stamp reading READING

. 2) Red double circle Evening Duty stamp reading B

1 NO 1

1821. 3) Sepia-inked oval Delivery stamp reading 10 o'Clock

* NO * 1 *

1821 F.Nn

A large 7 denoting the fee for a single-sheet letter has been written in black ink by the postal service across the address leaf.

A portion of page 3 has been torn away under the seal.

Red wax seal, only partially visible in image 31Oct1821BRHaydon4a.JPG from 2007

Witness List

Witness digMitTeam: Mary Russell Mitford's manuscript letter as read by the Digital Mitford Project
Witness LEst1870: 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.

Electronic Edition Information:

Responsibility Statement:

Transcription and coding by Elisa Beshero-Bondar
Date last checked: 2014-12-04 Lisa Wilson, Gregory H. Bondar, and Elisa Beshero-Bondar
Sponsored by Mary Russell Mitford Society: Digital Mitford Project

Publication Details:

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

Encoding Principles

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.

Version digMitTeam: Mary Russell Mitford's manuscript letter as read by the Digital Mitford Project

October 31st 1821. Three Mile Cross

My dear Sir

The magnificent portion of

bride cake

bride-cake

arrived this morning & shall be distributed as you desire. Yes, we will set half the pretty girls in the parish dreaming on

it--

it.

I wanted to make a bargain with

one,

one

to whom I gave a bit just

now,

now

that she should tell me her

dream--but

dream. But

she says that would destroy the

charm--

charm.

--If she told who the husband was to be she should never get him.

There was no saying a word after

that

that,

you know.

By-the-by,

By the bye

nothing but the sort of sacred air that breathes around

Bridecake

bride-cake

--so that to steal that would be to invade the sweetest & holiest of our affections & sympathies--nothing but this fine & general feeling

could have preserved your munificent

present,

present

& brought it safe to us. By some accident it was

sent,

sent

not by a

Reading,

Reading

Coach

but a Newbury

coach

one

, & found its way to Three Mile Cross, after being carried half way to Newbury, through the intervention of all manner of men &

women--Post boys--

women, post-boys,

Chambermaids

chambermaids,

& keepers of

Turnpike

turnpike

gates. But every thing belonging to such a

Wedding

wedding

& such a

Honeymoon

honeymoon

as yours will turn out

right,

right

depend on it. You see that your good luck extends even to your

friends--

friends,

& travels about with your bride-cake.

Oh!

it will never forsake you

, never

! Never

! I think that last honeymoon

letter,

letter

written whilst the fair

Bride

bride

was

sitting,

sitting

working,

working

& smiling at your side, was prettier even than the first. Did you read it to her as you wrote it?

shall I send her a copy? It was worthy even of that charming seal. How much you must both have felt in going into your

painting room.

painting room!--

Will

the Lazarus

be finished against next season? If any thing could improve your

genius,

genius

it would be living in such a sunshine of love & beauty.

Miss James is

very anxious to have the pleasure of being known to Mrs. Haydon--She mentioned your note with great delight, & talked of calling--but was not I suppose certain of the time you would return to Lisson Grove. She is

by this time back again at Richmond. I wished her very much to call on you

last

Sunday or

Monday,

Monday

that she might leave with you my poor

Tragedy,

tragedy

which I

have

should,

should

of all

things,

things

have

liked

wished

you to

read,

read

--indeed I begged her to take the chance--

I have such an opinion of your judgment. But it is now out of her hands. Only think of my shocking ill luck in having written on the same subject with

Lord Byron--The story of Foscari--

Lord Byron! The story of Foscari!

I am so distressed at the idea of a competition, not merely with his

Lordship's

lordship's

talents, but with his great

name,

name;

& the strange awe in which he holds

people,

people;

& the terrible scoffs & sneers in which he indulges himself, that I have written to Mr. Talfourd requesting him to consult another friend on the propriety of entirely suppressing my play, which had gone to

Town

town

to be presented to

the Manager

the manager

the very day that the subject of Lord Byron's was announced.

Note: Lord Byron's play was published by John Murray on 19 December 1821. Byron had composed it between 12 June and 9 July 1821 in Ravenna.

I rather think now that it will not be offered--that Mr. Talfourd will suppress

it--

it;

& I heartily wish he may.

My poor

Tragedy

has been a work of great labour & is certainly complete enough in its own small way, but it is abundantly womanish & feeble, & does not at all adhere to the literal historic truth--which would be a great disadvantage in case the noble author

should have done so, & have made the public familiar with the facts. I hope it will not be offered. What do you think of Lord Byron's dramatic power?

Manfred

was very fine certainly--perhaps the finest thing he ever did--&

Marino Faliero

certainly the worst. But Foscari is a story of real human sympathy--not of factitious sentiment--He will certainly succeed in that. If this play

If it

be sent back to me

unoffered,

unoffered

I shall immediately begin another

play

on some German

story,

story

& shall take for the opening the exquisite first act of the

Orestes

of Euripides

--which I saw acted so finely a fortnight ago, & which it is quite wonderful to think has never been transferred to the English stage.

What astonishing people those Greek dramatists were! I am just now reading Potter's

Aeschylus

with the intensity of admiration with which you would look at the frescoes of Michael Angelo

Happening to express something of this enthusiasm to a scholar of very great

name

name,

answered--

answered,

The Prometheus

Yes,

Yes

the Prometheus

is rather pretty--prettyish-- one of the

prettiest!

prettiest.

" Now what business has this man to know

Greek?

Greek!

And what business have I to be intruding so long on

you?--

you?

Good bye

Good-by,

my dear

Sir.

Sir

Father & Mother

father & mother

join

in every kind remembrance & kinder wish to you &

Mrs Haydon.

Ever most sincerely

your's

yours,

MR. Mitford.

M. R. Mitford.

Do not mention my

Foscari

unless it should really be likely to come out of which you shall have the earliest notice. But of that there is very little chance. Once more God bless you. We have just been drinking your health & your dear Mary's. Again Good bye

B. R. Haydon Esqre

St. John's Place

Lisson Grove North

Regent's Park

London

Version LEst1870: 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.

October 31st 1821. Three Mile Cross

My dear Sir

The magnificent portion of

bride cake

bride-cake

arrived this morning & shall be distributed as you desire. Yes, we will set half the pretty girls in the parish dreaming on

it--

it.

I wanted to make a bargain with

one,

one

to whom I gave a bit just

now,

now

that she should tell me her

dream--but

dream. But

she says that would destroy the

charm--

charm.

--If she told who the husband was to be she should never get him.

There was no saying a word after

that

that,

you know.

By-the-by,

By the bye

nothing but the sort of sacred air that breathes around

Bridecake

bride-cake

--so that to steal that would be to invade the sweetest & holiest of our affections & sympathies--nothing but this fine & general feeling

could have preserved your munificent

present,

present

& brought it safe to us. By some accident it was

sent,

sent

not by a

Reading,

Reading

Coach

but a Newbury

coach

one

, & found its way to Three Mile Cross, after being carried half way to Newbury, through the intervention of all manner of men &

women--Post boys--

women, post-boys,

Chambermaids

chambermaids,

& keepers of

Turnpike

turnpike

gates. But every thing belonging to such a

Wedding

wedding

& such a

Honeymoon

honeymoon

as yours will turn out

right,

right

depend on it. You see that your good luck extends even to your

friends--

friends,

& travels about with your bride-cake.

Oh!

it will never forsake you

, never

! Never

! I think that last honeymoon

letter,

letter

written whilst the fair

Bride

bride

was

sitting,

sitting

working,

working

& smiling at your side, was prettier even than the first. Did you read it to her as you wrote it?

shall I send her a copy? It was worthy even of that charming seal. How much you must both have felt in going into your

painting room.

painting room!--

Will

the Lazarus

be finished against next season? If any thing could improve your

genius,

genius

it would be living in such a sunshine of love & beauty.

Miss James is

by this time back again at Richmond. I wished her very much to call on you

last

Sunday or

Monday,

Monday

that she might leave with you my poor

Tragedy,

tragedy

which I

have

should,

should

of all

things,

things

have

liked

wished

you to

read,

read

--indeed I begged her to take the chance--

I have such an opinion of your judgment. But it is now out of her hands. Only think of my shocking ill luck in having written on the same subject with

Lord Byron--The story of Foscari--

Lord Byron! The story of Foscari!

I am so distressed at the idea of a competition, not merely with his

Lordship's

lordship's

talents, but with his great

name,

name;

& the strange awe in which he holds

people,

people;

Town

town

to be presented to

the Manager

the manager

the very day that the subject of Lord Byron's was announced.

Note: Lord Byron's play was published by John Murray on 19 December 1821. Byron had composed it between 12 June and 9 July 1821 in Ravenna.

I rather think now that it will not be offered--that Mr. Talfourd will suppress

it--

it;

& I heartily wish he may.

My poor

Tragedy

should have done so, & have made the public familiar with the facts. I hope it will not be offered. What do you think of Lord Byron's dramatic power?

Manfred

was very fine certainly--perhaps the finest thing he ever did--&

Marino Faliero

certainly the worst. But Foscari is a story of real human sympathy--not of factitious sentiment--He will certainly succeed in that. If this play

If it

be sent back to me

unoffered,

unoffered

I shall immediately begin another

play

on some German

story,

story

& shall take for the opening the exquisite first act of the

Orestes

of Euripides

--which I saw acted so finely a fortnight ago, & which it is quite wonderful to think has never been transferred to the English stage.

What astonishing people those Greek dramatists were! I am just now reading Potter's

Aeschylus

with the intensity of admiration with which you would look at the frescoes of Michael Angelo

Happening to express something of this enthusiasm to a scholar of very great

name

name,

answered--

answered,

The Prometheus

Yes,

Yes

the Prometheus

is rather pretty--prettyish-- one of the

prettiest!

prettiest.

" Now what business has this man to know

Greek?

Greek!

And what business have I to be intruding so long on

you?--

you?

Good bye

Good-by,

my dear

Sir.

Sir

Father & Mother

father & mother

join

in every kind remembrance & kinder wish to you &

Mrs Haydon.

Ever most sincerely

your's

yours,

MR. Mitford.

M. R. Mitford.

Do not mention my

Foscari

B. R. Haydon Esqre

St. John's Place

Lisson Grove North

Regent's Park

London

Textual Notes

Note: Lord Byron's play was published by John Murray on 19 December 1821. Byron had composed it between 12 June and 9 July 1821 in Ravenna.

Sorry, but there are no notes associated with any currently displayed witness.