Mercy “Cleora” Doddridge, St. Albans, to Mary “Roselinda” Doddridge, at Rev. Mr. Floyd’s, Daventry, Wednesday morning 7 oClock, 18 July [1750]. 

St Albarns July ye 18

Wendsday morning 7 oClock

from my own Appartment

        It is impossible for me to express my Dearest Roselinda with what increasing Delight Joy & Sattisfaction I receivd your what shall I call it more then Charming epistel indeed I am quite at a loss to find an epithet strong enough to convay to you any idea how much I was charmd with it or how much I think my self obliged to you for this & others you have been so good as to favour me with but to my great mortification I fear I must be obliged to make this letter much shorter then I could wish as we are at present very busy with a great wash of close [clothes]. I would have wrote on Satterday but I was very busy & on Monday morning we went to see a Gentlemans seat about too [sic] Miles from hence in the affternoon made a visit in the town but most wilingly could I have resumd thes[e] entertainments for one hour spent in conversing with my Dearest Roselinda which would have afforded me much more real Delight pleasure & satisfaction then this agreeable as the[y] were thus my Dear with Mrs Clarks illness who by the way has been very bad with the gout added to my other ample [ailments?] you must think I have bin very much taken up sense I had the pleasure of receiving your last favour & which obliged me to Defer wrighting till now

        I cant help informing my Dear Rosalinda that to my great joy I had the pleasure of a letter from pappa this morning1 which brought me the long wisht for welcome news of my Dear Pappas & Mammas being very well & that evry imaginable circumstance had concurred to make their journey bouth Comfortable & Delightfull poppa tells me that they spent a week at Norwich very agreeeable tho my letter was dated from Yarmouth whare thay spend but one Day for which reason I had but a very short letter pappa says he bleives this will be the utmost bounds of thair range & that thay begin to bend thare course homeward & hope reaching Northampton this day seven night & ^is^ to be at St Alburns the Friday folowling tho to my great mortification pappa only preposes to pass through in the Coach on his way to London so that I suppose the utmost time pappa will stay hear onle be more then half an hour which I am very very sorry for on many accounts & especialy as Dr Clark seems to take it as a slight wheather Pappa intends I s[h]ould goe to London with him or to Endfield or to stay at St A, is to me at present all a mistry tho Mrs Clark says she is determind I shant leave St Auburns yet & that if thay cant have pappas company thay wont part with me indeed the whole Family is very obliging to me and if I cold have my Dearest Roselindas Company here I should be very happy I just rely on my Dear Roselindas known goodness, ^so excuse^ long tegius account if you have heard from pappa but if you had not I thought it woud give you a pleasure to hear that thay are all well & as I love particulars I dident know but you might. What you write my Dear in your last charming Epistle of my letters giveing you a great Deal of uneaseness concerns me more then you can imagin tho my Dear twas inadvertency in your[s] twas all my own fault for writing in such a manner as might give you the least suspision of any such thing & for which I most scencerly beg your pardon & If I was so happy as to have you near me I would doe in the most submisive manner & beg you to think no more of & be asured my Dear your letters allways give the greatest pleasure. permit me my Dearest Roselinda to return you my best thanks for the pritty verses you was so good as to enclose in your last. I have often read them in Mrs Rowe & been much pleased with them but never thought them more Charming then from my Dear Roselindas Pen. I was extreemly Sorry to hear Dear Mrs Eleston [Elliston] has been so ill for I have a very greate Regard and Esteem for her & I think with the greatest reason I have neither wrote to nor heard from her sence I have been hear but I intend to write to her this week if I can possible find time tho the too Miss Clarks & I am to goe out to morrow to make a visit to a Lady about five or six Miles from this town we intend to return at night how much more agreeable such a jaunte would be to me if my Dear Roselinda could make one of the party I need not say & indeed her Company woud then Double evry pleasure but my pappas much against my inclination reminds me I must bid you an unwi[lli]ng adue with telling that good Mrs C is better than she was tho Doctr is pure well & looks better then I ever could ever have expected to have seen thay with the yong Desire thair best regards to you now my Dear Roselinda may evry possible blessing atend which our all wise and bounteous benifactor sees fit to bestow on any of his creaters hear below and after a long & happy life may some very far Distance [ad]mit you to thos selestial blessings ^which shall never fail to crown^ such goodness as yours this my Dearest Roselinda is the most ardent wish of your inviolable

                                                                           Cleora

pray my Dear if you write to my Dear sister Celia give my most kind love to her [&] best wishes atend her Miss Betsy [Elizabeth Clark] in perticular desires her kind Love to you & would be very glad of a line from you I must beg my Dear to excuse faults for I have an intolrable bad pen adeu my Dearest Roselinda ever yours

Address: To | Miss Doddridge | at the Revd Mr Floyds | in | Daventry

Postmark: none

Note on address page: No. 3

Text: Crew MS 50, fol. 77, Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge. This letter is not in Nuttall's Calendar (see p. 334).