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

   Your kind attention to my feelings my beloved Anna will not suffer me to yield to any indolent suggestion yt might defer ye expression of my thanks at ys late hour for ye information afforded me by yr letter wh however earnestly desired, was scarcely expected – indeed Mama wd not permit me to indulge ye hope of such a favor knowing how much you wd of course be engross’d by ye return of our dr Grandpapa – need I say yt we gladly received intelligence of his safety health &c & O my dr Sister can you not conceive what I feel of pleasure, & gratitude, to hear yt you are better but you are not well; – Alas! why do I so sadly incline to murmur at ye slightest ill wh attends you.  What a mercy is it you are no worse when I think of ye numerous exercises wh you have lately undergone severely afflictive as they were I am sure there is great reason for astonishment & thankfulness – we may indeed my love echo ye language of ye Poet when he sings of ye loving kindness of God & say

                     When Trouble like a gloomy Cloud &c

There is nothing I was going to say of importance to communicate but I recollect yr desire relative to ye Church as to ye melancholy part I alluded to I must tell you ’tis ye conformation of ye guilt of poor Samuel & Martha it has been indeed of a complicated nature at least on her part but I have no inclination to state particulars – Rodwells conduct is also intolerably disgusting from ye shameless stupidity he manifests on acct of ye late affair.  O my love! there is much to humble us in ye Church when most prosper’d – may [the] Lord keep us in our proper place, prostrate at His footstool & breathing from our very Soul ye Petition of ye Psalmist, “Save now Lord O Lord we beseech Thee send now prosperity.” You will be pleased to find yt 2 more of our Shrewton Frnds have given in their experience  Mrs [Rellow?]  & < >  good Woman of whose name I am not certain things go on charmingly  at yt Place  I almost long for yr return to comply with my promise of writing ye dr people who seem to be all alive for God & ready to dance for joy at sight of a Salisbury Friend – there seems to be some very important & glorious Changes also taking place among some of ye young women particularly Nancy Harris – who after all was not ye person who is now Mrs Rodwell as I suspected.  I had for some little time perceived a difference in her external deportment when I understood yt my favorable conjectures were well grounded.  There is also a fine young woman who lives at Hinxmans Sophia Ware Sister to our Brothers who I hear was once of a very dissolute turn yt is brought under deep concern & render’d truly interesting on that acct, to all Friends of Jesus of immortal Souls – but I must not indulge myself with more enlarged communications – on ys delightful Subject – I remember yt you enquired for little John Roberts I do not know certainly how it is with him just now but when I saw him his appearance was indescribably affecting & calamitous – ye poor Child does not seem to manifest anything of a pleasing nature relative to his view of Eternal Things – I am inclined to think yt yr dr little Mary may still survive – I suppose dr Mr H will inform you  Mrs Long has gone thro’ ye dreadful operation of having her side open’d – her complaint was an abscess form’d there some pleasing hopes are now entertain’d of her recovery – So much for general intelligence within doors we are in ye usual way – next door I feel myself encreasingly indebted so that if you & I my dear go on in ye stile at Salisbury & Portsea we can expect nothing short of bankruptcy & may almost as well think of clearing ye national debt as of repaying our Friends – I hope my dr Creature you received all ye contents of my little pacquet to you wh I had not time properly to secure it consisted of ye few lines to yourself a Copy of verses & dr Mrs Scotts Letter wh you will not forget to return –

Text: Timothy Whelan, gen. ed.,  Nonconformist Women Writers, 1720-1840, 8 vols. (London: Pickering & Chatto, 2011), vol. 6, pp. 143-45 (annotated version);Reeves Collection, Box 14.1.(r.), Bodleian.  No address page; letter appears to be incomplete. Above letter includes a reference to Maria Grace Andrews's poetic activities during the mid-1790s.