Benjamin Flower, Newgate, to Eliza Gould, care of J. Haskins Esqr, Three Tons, Bath, Monday, 7 October 1799.

                                                         Newgate   Oct 7.  1799—

My Dearest Eliza

   The Postman was to day unusually late.  At half past twelve I began to grow very anxious; I went down and after walking before the street door for about half an hour, he brought me your most welcome letter.   I believe I have not formed a wrong judgment about your hand writing.  The prima facie evidence of your letter was to me a good omen of its contents, and altho’ I trembled when I read the account of your Thursday night’s illness, yet, immediately casting my eye at the close, and seeing it written in the same steady hand, I hoped for the best.  You have not mentioned what were the symptoms which gave you alarm; I trust by your speedy recovery so far as to enable you to proceed on your journey, there was nothing but what was meerly the effect of Fatigue.  Your saying “you are in better health & spirits than for several weeks past” makes my heart bound with gratitude to that God who has thus far been your kind restorer and who I trust will go on to perfect your advanced restoration.  

   Mrs Bowdler’s kindness I know must impress your heart: but indeed you interest every body who is acquainted with you, altho’ that acquaintance may only be superficial. Mrs and Miss Vowell and Mrs Creak have been to see me since you left me.  They made me promise to bring you with me to see them as soon as you returned.  Miss Vowell & Mrs Creak, who having both seen you were very particular in their inquiries after your welfare.   What I wrote to you about Feltham, was the strong impulse of my heart.  I could not bear to hear him talk about forgiving you!  but fearing that impulse might somewhat lead me astray, and knowing how much more correct your judgment must be on the subject, I resolved to do nothing in the matter without consulting you.  To you and Mr Haskins I shall submit.  I am glad he means to take up the Note of B Hawes.  To me it was very unsatisfactory, tho’ I said but little about it.  Where injury has been attempted, reparation ought to be made, and I rejoice to find, he cannot consign his own Conduct towards you “to oblivion,” quite so soon as he wished.  I shall be very happy to hear from Mr Haskins and you may be sure I shall speedily reply to any letter he may favour me with.  I shall duly attend to his admonition about Feltham should the latter again call on me, which however I do not suppose he will.

   I enclosed your letter in a short note to Miss Gurney agreeably to your intim­ation.  It was your wish and I knew the perusal would give her and the family much satisfaction, or else I hardly knew how to part with a letter which proved such a cordial to my heart, so very soon.  I was able to read it twice over only, before it was time to send it by the afternoon post.

   By your letter, I find I am not to expect to hear from you to morrow.  I will however be thankful that I am to have a long letter by Wednesday morning.  It will indeed (such a letter will) be acceptable to a degree I cannot express, if it is accompanied with an assurance that the writing of it has not fatigued or any way injured your health.

   As you have not yet answered mine of Saturday, may I remind you, of what however you probably do not need reminding of—That my usual method respecting letters is—after I have satisfied my friendly curiosity, and read thro’ a letter without interruption, I then read it over again, marking those parts which require or which I wish to answer.  I have found this method saves trouble, & prevents omissions which might otherwise occur. “You will take your dinner with us—that is if you can dine on Water gruel,” said Mr Kirby Yesterday morning.  Well thought I, altho’ I have been pretty tolerably drenched of late with this Commodity I will venture on one of Friend Kirby’s Water Gruel Dinners.  When lo!  and behold!  the first dish which came on the Table was some remarkably fine Turtle.  I made the principal part of my dinner of it, and really played my part in a manner which would have done credit to a Bath or a London Alderman.  But my dinner the Sunday before was not a moment out of my mind, and I can truly say the luxurious banquet was not on the Turtle in the parlour, but in my prison apartment with the common fare from the ordinary, but with my most Dear Eliza!

   Will you be so good as just to look into Cruttwell’s Bath Chronicle of last week (3d Page) and if you can get any information about Clintons Snuff and Oil, I will thank you for your opinion of it.  I exchange a paper with Cruttwell—What I wish to know is—If the materials are perfectly innocent.

   My Bror from Hertford has just parted from me.  He desired to be remembered.  Mrs F— has been but poorly ever since you saw her. With respectful Compliments to Mr H— and with my renewed assurances of the most perfect esteem and attachment

                     I subscribe myself

                                 My most Dear Eliza’s

                                             B Flower

My Bror has run me hard for the Post—& I won’t apologize for bad writing.

Text: Flower Correspondence, National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth; for an annotated edition of this letter and the complete correspondence of Eliza Gould and Benjamin Flower, see Timothy Whelan, ed., Politics, Religion, and Romance: The Letters of Benjamin Flower and Eliza Gould, 1794-1808 (Aberystywth: National Library of Wales, 2008), pp. 141-43. 

Individuals mentioned above include Eliza Vowell and her mother, members at the Baptist meeting at Carter Lane, and Mrs. William Creak, most likely a Baptist as well. Near the end of the letter Flower mentions his sister-in-law, Mrs. Richard Flower. Also mentioned is the son of  Richard Cruttwell (1746-99), a printer in Bath and publisher of the Bath Chronicle, which he started in 1770.  Cruttwell died on 1 June 1799; Flower described him as “a gentleman no less distinguished for his abilities in his profession, than for his general urbanity” (CI 8 June 1799).  Cruttwell was the leading printer in the West Country in the last quarter of the eighteenth century.  He published the first two works of John Feltham, Eliza’s former beau, in 1798 and 1799.  The newspaper and printing office continued under the management of his son, Richard Shuttleworth Cruttwell (1775-1843), until 1830.