Mary Doddridge, at the Woods' in Norwich, to Mercy Doddridge, Jr., [Northampton?], Tuesday, 19 November [1754]. 

           Tuesday Night 1/2 hour 

            past 11 o'Clock.  Novr 19.

        In obediance to your Commands my ever Dear Sister I lay aside an old Custum & without any even propper Cerimony am come to Chat with you a little while now the good people of the House are all asleep as I supose having been in bed more than a Hour, but I must tell you I have had a hard strugle to obtain this liberty, & am afraid at last I am Commiting an act of Disobedience as Mr Wood out of his superabundant Care & goodness has tryed by all kinds of advice & perswasion to prevail with me to goe to bed thinking it not good for my Health & I do sit up to so late an Hour. I realy begin to think I shall make a good Obeident wife as I assure you this small act of rebelion does not sit easy on my mind, for which rason I think I will now bid you adieu & go to Miss Wood who is my bedfellow & a very good I asure you, Adieu

                                                Wednsday night 7 oClock

        So [I] do more siting up I fear. Mr Wood good man could not sleep in peace because I was not in bed tho I assure [you] I did n’t at 12 oClock an hour ^&^ half sooner than I should have done had I only Consulted my own inclination. I am almost ready to think that too much in love is as bad as to Little, but hush I must be a hard ungrateful Girl if I were not very greatful to Mr Wood &c (you must supose that &c includes his Wife & Daughter) who are as obliging & kind to me as ever, indeed thay are all very good people except when they teaze me about Mr C—n [Clayton] which they doe very much. Nay I realy think Miss Wood is worse than Celia & I am sure you will own thats very bad. I expected when I left Northampton I should never have heard his name no more till I returnd to it again, but no more of this at present I think every line an intruder till I have assur’d you that I think myself inexpressably oblig’d by your last kind Letter which gave me more pleasure than my pen can give you any Idea of, indeed my Dear you have surpast your self & I think outdone all your Former such doings so lively why you are a perfect Lady G.

        Ten thousand thanks to you my ever Dear Sister for your kind Favour of the 5 of Novr which I have just receivd you are a Dear good naughty Girl, a Dear good Girl for writing me so long a Letter and a naughty one for talking of molesting you ^me^ & making apology for your writing. My pity upon you my Dear what can you mean, you say you love not Formalitys, & let those believe you who can but so cannot I but I forgive you this once improve my Cerimony I charge you, or else, but threatnings are not pritty in a Letter, so I forbare, it is now my Dear Saturday almost noon, & I intend to send away this on Monday I must write a Letter to Mrs Stonhouse as she is before this time I suppose she tells me the Dr was disapointed of the Day not being able to prepare a Licence, a sort of vexation this I supose both to the Dr & his Lady dont you think so my Dear?

         Now while I think of it I must tell you I have not yet [found] your Little spelling book having only one & that I believe is Celia’s but it has no name in it.

        I have wrote my Letter to Mrs S. [Stonhouse] such an odd peice I cant bear you should see it or I would send it unseald, my betty is disturbd that I sent my Letters to her in Northn & is suspicious that you saw her [lead?] as she says it was seald with mammas seal. I intend to write to betsy & my Brother this week. I will bestow one Frank upon them, perhaps you’ll I might as well send them in this but I must write a long letter to Betsy, but am unwiling to delay this any longer as you my Dear are Desirous I should write soon, & I think as Mrs Stonhouse has Favourd me with 2 very kind & obliging Letters I ought to take the first opportunity of acknowledging them, & of wishing her Joy &c.

         I am very sorry to hear of poor Mrs Hartly’s Death by what I have heard of this Lady it must be a great affliction to all who know her. Mrs Betsy Isted is indeed very good, I love her for it, I hope my Dear Sister will make some Deserving man very Happy or & be her self Happier as a wife than she could possibly be as an old maid, otherwise I am perswaded you would be one of the most useful of that honourable order, for many of which I must confess I have the highest regard

          Pray my Dear what is become of the parcel that was to have been sent after me by the first opportunity I hope it is still safe at home as I have neither see[n] nor heard any thing of it, I beg the Favour of mamma to let me have sent my old Brown Silk gownd as I very much want some thing to wear at home in after noons this winter & think that will do insted of a Stuff Sack & cost nothing. I hope mama thinks me good for that, I have duble Ruffled my grey Silk with the old Cuffs turnd the Sleeves & made it to wear without a Hoop & it is vastly snug & useful I assure you, every body here wears Stuff negligers, or nightgowns without Hoops. I have begun to turn my Pink by Mrs Woods & my own advice their being nothing else to be done with it as it sits on [its] last legs, but I expect that this & my gray both without it should doe me great Service this winter & visit at our good <  > of people, & blew & White Stuff the [not?], it has been alterd & costs at most 5 s. tho but a Trifle done at it, I shall be excessivily glad when I have done mantuamaking as it is what I don’t love, but I am now perticularly impatient as I have some work I long to begin but I must ask you have my Dear as I can I possibly doe it I can prevail on you to send me some pairs of fine clear lenin so if Mammas apron if she has Cutt it would be charmingly,  but if not something of the same sort that is fine & clear & not too very old it is to lay on Catgut, Miss Scot is to be my instructress she made some [of] the prettiest I ever saw

        We all yesterday spent a very Happy Day at Mr Kitts. Mrs Kitt is a very agreeable woman, remarkably Handsome & her person & her manner pleasing Mr Kitt is an entertaining Companion, very fond of his Charming wife & Children. He has a spoilt Boy & Girl, Master is about 8 years old Miss between 4 & 5 a fine sprightly Girl. I am very fond of the little Folks & it seems a Favorite with them as well as their pappa who says I shall get a husband before I leave Norwich I believe I may venture to say he is mistaken even tho I should tell you I have made a Conquest, so Mrs & Miss Wood will have it & as themselves & me now shop a little I supose you want to know who & how & all about it, his name is Maltby, youngest son of Mr Maltby a gentleman of large Fortains, the first time I saw George for that is the young mans name was in his Mothers Chamber with whome we went to drink Tea & make a sociable visit she not being every well, she prepossessd me in his Favour before I saw him by telling me he was her best son tho she has 3 more & all good, while we were at Tea & after George said some very civil things, & paid me in particular sevral Compts when we came home tho a cold night George he would by all mean[s] do him self the Honour to wait of the Ladys home. A few nights after this I saw him at the Consort. He soon singald me out & bowing very low kiss’d his hand with an air that I thought very well became him, when the Consort was over he came up into the Room wear the Ladys wear enquird after my health hoped I had been entertaind was very glad it gave me pleasure, & said I did their Consort great Honour by my presence tho we had another Gent with us he waited on us home, when I can’t tell but some how or other he stole my white Handkiftcher. I beg’d of him to give it to me before he went but could not prevail, holding it up with an air of Triumph away he went & saw him no more for 2 Day[s] but on Saturday when Mr Wood was at his house he came with an intentn to Drink Tea as he suppos’d & seem’d a little mortify’d at finding us in Mr Woods Study, & Mrs W. very Ill, he sat a little said some Civil things which I cannot remember return’d my Handkiftcher & made a motion to goe which not being Contradicted he took his leave of Mrs W. saying he would give himself the pleasure of waiting on Mrs W. & we to Drink some other Day, Miss W. not being in the way & he an intire Stranger to the House I thought myself oblig’d in Civility to attend him downstair I thought he would not have presum’d so far but he did dare to salute me;

          have I not quite tir’d you my Dear with all this nothing meaning impertinance, if I have not you I assure you I have myself, but I supose you have some Curiosity to know that kind of a Creature he is. As to person, he is tall more than half the Head above me is genteely made & has something in his air & manner agreeable, the upper part of his Face is extreamly Handsome has fine Black Eyes good Eyebrows & a forehead that sets off both wears his own Haare which is good & of the Darkest Brown.

        You know the old proverb my Dear Talk of the D[evi]L & he’d appear I believe their is some truth in it for just this moment the mortal has been hear, to bring us tickets for the Consort on Thursday night & please you, but as Lively as I could I refusd them, he said he could not take it well if I return’d his Tickets & gave any other Gentln the pleasure of waiting on me; Mrs Wood promis’d for me, that if I went again to the Consort it should be with Mr Maltby’s Tickets. I bow’d Consent, he hop’d I would favour him with my Company some time after [Christmas?] if not before I said I could not promise I had been twice to the Consort, was not fond of going often to entertainments of that kind but I thought others now & then an agreeable amusement, he look’d pleasd with what he said asked if we should be at home on Saturday in the afternoon, I told him I believd we should, but Mrs Wood would come in a moment, this I said because I would not write him, in came Mrs W, he said he intended to give himself the pleasure of Drinking Tea with us on Saturday in the after noon if we should be at home. Mrs W. told him we should & that he shd be welcome. – What think you of this affair my Dear can their be any thing in it seriously I Fancy not, tho, before I came he never was in the House he wants a wife ’tis known regards not Fortain his Father being able to give all his Children very handsomly, thay themselves being in very Flourishing way of Trade & often in London one of the Brothers married a Lady with Little or no Fortain but a Gentlewoman & the Family behave as kind & genteely to her as if she had brought ever so large a Fortain. Mr Wood says I am a great Favorite with the old Lady & indeed I have reason to think so as she behaves in the most obliging maner to me when ever we meet she wants to have her son married, & intends to quit the Charming House in which she now lives if he pleases her in his Choise, the House is allready georgeous, & as good a one Mr Wood says as any in Norwich, has 2 charming Gardens, & every thing convenient both for Business & pleasure. Young Mr Maltby is diligent in his Business very sober nay Religious & unmarkably good Temperd but with all these good Qualitys, even wear [were] I sure he gave me the preference to any woman he had seen, & wear I now free to chuse, I think he would ^not^ have a moments Comparison with Mr C. so you see my Dear your Highlander & Lowlander is still very safe. Mr M—y I believe would make a good Husband he does not want for Sence, that is to say I fancy he has his share with his neighbours, & might make some woman Happy but for you & I my Dear he is not the thing. He has not sense enough for me & not half enough for you or I think I wd commend him. What a parcel of stuff I have wrote for you have patience to read it my Dear, when ever I write a long [letter] I think of Dr Jennings what a great deal these women write & say nothing! I just come to wish you good night, my Dear, & to tell you I am sorry my time will not permit me to add more to this very short Letter than to assure you that

                        I am Dearest Sister

                                     ever most affectionately

                                               Yours

                                                             Polly D.

Pray my Dr seal Mrs S’s Letter I have not time  write soon if you love me at all

Address: To | Miss Mercy Doddridge

Postmark: none

Note on address page: none 

Text: Crew MS 50, fol. 26, Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge.