William Steele, Bristol, to Mary Steele, Exeter, [Thursday] 7 June 1770.

Bristol June 7th 1770

My Dear

   Having an Opportunity by Mr Twining I gladly embrace it, to inform you that thro’ Divine Goodness I continue in health, I have not heard from home since I have been here, I hope you rec’d mine by post from hence & that you have heard from home, I propose setting out homewards tomorrow morning with Mr Kent & Mr Collins by way of Devizes.

   Your Uncle (I think I told you) intends making some satisfaction for your being at the Blights, it will be much better to make Miss Blight a present of something or other than to offer Money which may perhaps affront, therefore I desire you will talk with your Uncle about it & consider what is proper to be done.

   I hope you have had a pleasant time at Mr Lee’s shall be glad of a Line from you at my return home & let me know when you return to Yeovil.  Mr & Mrs Evans join in due Compts My Service to Mr and Mrs Blight & your Uncle & am My Dear Polly’s

                     Affectionate Far

                                 W Steele

Text: Timothy Whelan, ed., Nonconformist Women Writers, 1720-1840, 8 vols.  (London: Pickering & Chatto, 2011), vol. 3, pp. 208-09 (annotated version); STE 4/5/v, Steele Collection, Angus Library, Regent's Park College, Oxford. No postmark. Address: To / Miss Steele / at Mr Blight’s / Exon.  William Steele had been in Bristol attending the inaugural meeting of the Bristol Education Society, which was founded on 7 June 1770, the day of the above letter. Other references above include John Kent, assistant pastor at Broughton (see above, n. 22), and John Collins, Baptist minister at Devizes.