Mercy “Cleora” Doddridge, at the Claytons in Enfield, to Mary “Roselinda” Doddridge, Northampton, [23] August 1750. 

End[ield], Aug 1750

     Never did your Cleora receive any Letter with greater pleasure then my Dearest Roselindas last most Friendly & very entertaing Epistle indeed I began to be very impatient to hear from you my Dear & could [not] help being a little uneasy least any unforeseen ac[i]dient had prevented your writing, but on examing the date of the letter I found it had lain at St Alburns longer then it should have done which I wondrd at for Miss Clark know[s] I should be impatient to hear from my Roselinda but I suppose its being a duble Letter was the reason, and she waited for an opportunity to send it to London by a prevete hand for which reason it did not come till the 11[th] & was Daited the first but enough on this subject now my Dear Roselinda permit me to return my best thanks for the every entertaining & Charming Description you was obliging as to favour me with I am sure the sceen must have been extreme[ly] Delightful & I cant think it has lost the least of its beautyes by Description for my Roselinda has so very agreeable a maner of expressing her self on evry ocasion that in my opinon seems ever so trifling so Charming must receive new Beauties from my Roselindas Pen.

  the verses you made [was] so good as to add I think it very prity & to a mind rightly must be very agreeable for sirtanly the various beauties of Nature ware intended to lead reasonable creatures to the Adoration of that Greachous & Wise Being who is the ather [author] of all our blessings & the sorce of all perfaction & happiness may our Minds my Dear be ever rightly Disposed in sentements of Greatatude to this being & Doubt not but it will render evry servay of Nature much more Delightful to us then to those who as Idle spectators of the Creation without one thought of greatude to the greate original of evry blessing must surtanly lose the more Delightful & refind part of the pleasure as that is adapted to rational Creatures alone. I know my Dear Roselindas goodness will excuse this freedom but as I flatter my self you my Dear will be so good as to use all possible freedom with me I shall make no farther apologey but as a very small acknowladgment of your Goodness in favouring me with a discripton of the Country you was then in I shall proseed to give you some account of my present situation which if I had my Dear Roselindas pen I belive would be very agreeable to her but indeed I am at present in so very stupid a disposion that I am allmost afraid to atempt it & as I have sevral other things to say I think I had better leave this till I have the pleasure of writeing to my Dear Roselinda again & goe on to add my best & most sincere thanks for your last kindly Chiding Letter which more then ever convinces me that what my Roselinda writes must be agreeable for tho I am not very fond of being chid yet my Roselinda does it in so very prety a maner that I begin to think it more tolrable then I us’d to Doe tho I cant say I am so very fond of it as to have Determind to deny my self the pleasure of writing to you my Dear for its sake tho by the way I must confess I was most sadly frighted at those most formitable words in yours (I bleive I shall write no more) indeed thay alarmd me very much & when I found that ye kittens impertinence was the reason I could not help thinking that I was very much obligd to her but my Dear I am sure if you knew the reasons why I deferd writing you would not think you had any reason to complain but as thay are very vareous & as I imagin it will be more entertaining to you to have some little acount of the maner in which we spend our time I shall dismis this subject & give you the Important history of my Life since last Monday senet [sennight] on Monday Night Madm, you please to observe we that is to say Miss Clayton two of the gentlemen & my self went to the most Noble Endfield Assembly which to be serious was a very fine entertainment for thair was a great deal of good Company & the best Dansing I ever saw sevral of the Ladyes dansd Miniats [Minuets] most incomp[a]rably thay ware dressed extreemly grand & very genteel & indeed I never saw so many prity any whare & to compleet the whole the town salabrated Miss Gunnidgs [Gutteridges?] ware thare who are indeed every [very] fine women but I think that Mrs Fitsjeradd [Fitzgerald] thair Mother a much [paper illegible] woman both in person & behavour & has the Character of being the most Afable obliging Lady in the World & it is to be sure a very great excilency that tho she is the Most Compleet Woman that has been seen she seems not to know any thing at all of it but Lookd so easy & perfactly god Natuerd that I was quite Charmd with her, we went to the play on tuesday but I was not near so [a]ggreeable entertaind as at the asambley, both the Play & the players ware but very indefrent that so I had enough at once not to be very Desireous to goe again on Wednesday we made a visit & on thursday afternoon Miss C & Mr C [Clayton] & my self went to [Cheson?] to see Dear Miss Eliston [Elliston] but to my great disopintment she was at London but came home on Monday last & on tuesday was so good as to come to see me I was extreemly glad to see her as you might suppose. I dont think that London has agreed with [her] any better then Northampton for she looks but very indefrently & has been very ill scence she left you but my Dear the forth sid[e] of my papper reminds me that I must be obligd to hasten to Conclud be so good as to give my Duty to my Dear Pappa & Mamma I shall flater my self with the hopes of hearing very soon my Love to my Dear Celia I should be very glad of a Line from her & now let me beg the favour of you fo[r] my self which is to doe me the Justes to bleive [with] me an unchangeable Affaction & most ardont wish is for your health [&] happiness

                         My Dear Roselindas

unalterably yours    

Cleora  

I am very glad to hear that Miss Olivers have been at Northampton [I am] sure it must have been a very great pleasure to my Dear Roselinda & when you write you will give my best Compliments to those agreeble Ladyes & let them know I think my self very much obligd to them for thair [loving] remembrance of me I am very sorry to hear of Mr Firgisons [Ferguson] death & of Miss Molly [Heslerig] pray let me know in your next  [how] Miss Dolly does be sure write to me very soon for I have a great many things to say to you but must now bid you an unwilling adue

In a genteel postscript I think you ask me whather [I] have got my hare [sic] upp no but I had to goe to the asambley pray is yours up or [not]

[Give] to Mrs Rappit sincerest compts & I shall think my self very much obliged to her if she will doe my gound [gown] as soon as she c[an]

Address: To | Miss Doddridge at | the Revd Doctr Doddridge |in | Northampton | Jackson

Postmark: 23 AU

Note on address page: No. 5

Text: Crew MS 50, fol. 17, Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge.