Maria Grace Andrews, Salisbury, to Anne Andrews, Portsmouth, [c. June 1797].

   I did not receive my sweet Friends letter till it was so late as to occasion despondency on yt acct ye reception of it however put to silence all my murmurs & excited an emotion of pleasure of exultation you will easily conceive – almost at ye same moment yt it was my hand I heard from Mr Horsey a confused report of fresh disturbances at Portsea my impatience to open yr dr letter was if possible increased by ye alarm I am thankful nothing contain’d in it strengthen’d or even countenanced my fears, as I support ye riot you allude to, in coming from Mr Shoveller’s was quite customary in yt horrid place thro’ wh I conjecture you pass’d I entreat you at all events to write me a faithful if not a long description of Affairs at P– as we are so liable to imposition from Newspapers &c.

   While I am relieved about my dr Niece, I begin to be concerned for you. I don’t like these pains in ye head I am afraid they are very severe pray use every proper method to obtain ease I know you have got an affectionate Nurse in our beloved Esther tell ye dr Girl that she must pardon me to night it is really so late I am almost content she shd be angry provided she will scold me in good Spirits I wish she wd write me a full acct of her displeasure –

   I have no time to enter on my subject tho you have given me ample room for enlargement  indeed my love I trust very pleasing experience has proved to me of late ye propriety of seeking resources in ye mind tho’ I hope I am far from ceasing to enjoy ye delight of social intercourse never when I think of my Anna can I fail to be grateful for ye sweet solace – Mama wh is visiting to our dr Grandmama seems gradually improving in health I trust yr intended excursions will prove quite salutory & ye advantage resulting I shall be fully compensated for ye loss I shall undoubtedly sustain  Papa who is at Mr Smiths to night is also well both of them I am sure wd be most affectionately remembd our dr Hannah is so grieved at yr not sending something in ye usual way to her yt I believe you must make up by a double portion in ye next wh I beg may be on Monday – 

   I wd gladly in return for yr pleasing intelligence relative to ye Church at P– give you ye desired acct of things at S– but time forbids happily ’tis only a deficiency of ys restrains my pen as I really think ye Lord is still sending us prosperity ye ordinance will be administer’d on Lords-day only Mary Roome in addition to ye two you heard, but I believe we may say as to ye future prospect with some confidence a “Troop Cometh!”

   I greatly approve of presenting dr Grandmama with < > Buckles which I enclose in ye Petticoat at yr request  remember me with great respect & tenderness to her also to poor dr Mrs  Shoveller whose trial from dr litle Mary must be exquisite don’t forget Mr Sh—rs love to my very dr Niece dr Friends in Queen Street &c &c –  I question if you will be able to read ys I expect Pope’s rap at ye door every moment & then you know I shall be put to flight

                     Yrs ever tenderly

                                 M. G. A –

am thankful you have written to Isleworth

Text: Timothy Whelan, gen. ed.,  Nonconformist Women Writers, 1720-1840, 8 vols. (London: Pickering & Chatto, 2011), vol. 6, pp. 135-36 (annotated version); Saffery/Whitaker Papers, acc. 142, I.B.4.a.(2.), Angus Library. Address: Miss Andrews | Friday Night | 11 oclock. No postmark. Reference here is to the aftermath of the Spithead Mutiny, which occurred on board a fleet of Royal Navy ships anchored at Spithead, near Portsmouth, between 16 April and 15 May 1797.  The sailors were protesting inadequate living conditions and poor pay, but many in the government were convinced that radical politics was at play as well, keeping tensions high in such places as Portsmouth throughout the summer.