William Steele, Broughton, to Mary Steele, Yeovil, [Saturday] 1 October 1774.

Broughton Oct. 1st 1774  Saturday Evening

My Dear

   I have the pleasure to acquaint you that thro the protecting Care of our Heavenly Guardian we are just arriv’d at our much desir’d peaceful habitation in safety & good health.  The dear little Maidens are wild with joy at once more seeing us, we have abundant reason to be thankful for our preservation & for the pleasure we enjoy in finding them & the family all well except your Aunt & she is I think on the whole rather better than when we left her.  I rec’d yours of the 24th past at Bradford, Mrs Head is quite as well in her situatn as can be hoped she is drawing near her time, & is too apt to give way to those dejections of mind she has been used to, Miss Jenny is with her & her Mother expected next Wensday I think.

   I am sorry for your Uncles difficulties and heartily wish he would drop his trade that he might put an end to them, let me know if any thing farther occurs. – We had a wet troublesome Journey, but it no farther hurt us, than as the roads were render’d very bad.

   I have not time to enlarge (as the parsons say) therefore must conclude with united Love to my dear Girl & Compts as due

                     & am Yr affect Far

                                 Wm Steele

Let me hear from you next post

Text: Timothy Whelan, ed., Nonconformist Women Writers, 1720-1840, 8 vols.  (London: Pickering & Chatto, 2011), vol. 3, pp. 255-56 (annotated version); STE 4/5/xlii, Steele Collection, Angus Library, Regent's Park College, Oxford. Postmark: Salisbury. Address: Miss Steele / at Mr Geo: Bullock’ / Yeovil / Somerset. Reference above is to Marianna Attwater’s first pregnancy.