Eliza Flower at Harlow to Benjamin Flower at Cambridge, December 1804.

Dec 1804

My dear Benjamin

   I hope you did not take cold yesterday tho I almost fear it was unavoidable as it began to rain some after you left us—we had a pleasant evening.  Mrs Hawkes was very agreeable but Mr Hawkes & one of the Miss Wrights were not of our party—the others came in Mrs Wrights chaise & Mr Hawkes staid at home to keep his cousin company—they left me about nine & finding myself in a very unusual situation both dull & alone I went to bed with our dear girl who slept well & soundly till about five this morning when her larum began to exercise itself as usual—“Papa a—Papa a—Bonbons—more—Mamma.”   I found she was dosing all the while so I took no notice & she went to sleep again waking in good earnest about seven & not finding papa her disappointment was very great & she exercised her lungs to no purpose for a long while &papa papa has resounded from all parts of the house during the whole of the morning, every room has been explored & even now she is not pacified tho it is eleven oclock.

   Mr Ramsey sent a catalogue yesterday & the man waited to take it with him he ordered 100—we printed it in three columns on demy 4to—as I shall have to wait so long for a letter pray do not let me be a loser but write me a long one.  I hope all our friends at Cambridge are well—I will endeavor to do a great deal of writing in your absence & make my peace with those of my friends whom I fear accuse me of negligence  tell Mrs Randall I will write to her soon.

   I wish you would see Mr Bosworth & inform him that the book & papers I shall send in a parcel on Monday—which I will direct to be left at Miss Jennings in it also will be a parcel for Mr Bains—pray desire him to send my Gown by you—I will in the same parcel enclose directions for Mr Lyon & a pattern tea spoon.

   You desired me to send no further instructions or cautions respecting your sabbath excursions but surely there will be no harm in paying you a compliment.  I shall therefore only say that I strictly confide in your promise& our prudence.

   I do not at all expect you till Wednesday—but I hope my dear Benjamin will return by that time I know you will if business will allow.  If I have not given Mrs Randall the account the table knives were 33s/ & the dessert 26s/—pray endeavor to let the house if possible at any rate even tho it were 28 pounds per annm—if it stands empty from quarter to quarter the overplus rent you stand for will soon eat itself out besides the great injury an uninhabited house must receive during the winter—the features to[o] will be in great danger of spoiling I mean grates &c &c—when you settle Bedells account deduct for the [laths?] of the Bottom ballance adieu   the coach is come

                                                         yours ever

                                                                     E Flower

Kind love to all friends

Text: Timothy Whelan, ed., Politics, Religion, and Romance: The Letters of Benjamin Flower and Eliza Gould, 1794-1808 (Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, 2008), pp. 295-97 (a more annotated text than that which appears on this site). 

Matthew Hawkes was a maltster who resided at Campions, an impressive estate on the edge of Harlow; William Ramsey was a bookseller at 37, Bell Yard, Temple Bar, London; Newton Bosworth (1778-1848) was a teacher and member at Robert Hall’s congregation at St. Andrew’s Street who later became a well known author;  John Bain (d. 1831, aged 77) pastored the Baptist meeting at Potter Street, Harlow, 1804-31; William Lyon (1753-1816) married Martha Foster in 1778 and were both members at St. Andrew’s Street.