Transcription
Biarritz Sunday August 27h 1843.
My dearest M.
I’m once more upon the shore; the point / from which I set out on my wanderings and with my unplea: / :sant experience of the mountains I enjoy the cool breezes and / the glorious surf exceedingly _ five weeks confinement to my / bed; a great part of the time in more pain than I have yet / suffered in my life were a lame conclusion to a fortnight’s en: / :joyment _ however its all over now I hope and I have to / congratulate myself that instead of hired nurses and strangers / I was in the kindest hands: at home and this is saying ever / thing, I could not have been watched more carefully _
I left Cauterets on Wednesday last with the / Livingstons who about move, were induced by my movements / to bend their steps this way _ we had a private carriage, and / a pleasant ride to Pau where we found the town all agog with / the preparations for the fêtés in honor of the Duc de Montpensier / the Kings youngest son : Louis Phillipe tries hard to buy a little / popularity for his family and on this occasion spend in one day / 50.000 francs _ the Park attached to the old castle where Henri Quatre was / born was to lighted in the most brilliant manner with variegated / lamps suspended by delicate wires which at night would be invisible; / thousands in every direction + in the most graceful curves : the chateau / itself has been restored + repaired in the old style and is gorgeous with / Carving and gilding _ it is I think with the associations one of the most / interesting I have seen in any country.
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The [Barker?] produced a huge bundle of letters / which had been collecting at Madrid for a month - [^ among them] one from you and / one from Angel : I was particularly happy to receive the last which / was like herself so good + considerate : the last few lines were written just / before setting off on a second trip up the sound : I hope to hear from at / Madrid that she continues to improve : I shall write to her at once on my / arrival : _ I was bewildered with so many at once, and it was not / until the second or third reading that I could arrange dates +c to my satis: / :faction : the family indeed has wriggled so continually that it was hard / work to follow through all the windings. /
We left Pau in a red hot day on Thursday morn’g in the Dili: / :gence and arrived at Bayonne after a very unpleasant ride at 4 in the af: / :ternoon _ all suffered from the heat but mysen [sic?] which I accounted for by / my being in a low condition; the blood somewhat thin and nothing to spare / to fire up very strongly _ we dined at Bayonne and rode on inthe Ev’g / to this place _ since our arrival we have had delicious weather; fresh / breezes from the sea, and bright sun or what is even better at this season / a covered sky without rain _ the place is crowded as we found to our cost / in the difficulty of establishing ourselves; the now after two or three changes, the / party in comfortably settled _ A very disagreeable incident the morning after / our arrival : as we opened our windows we saw on the beach a large crowd / and the whole populations hurrying to the same spot : the report came in a few / minutes that 3 men had been carried off by the undertow and drowned _ this was / much exaggerated, as when the bodies were rescued, two still breathed, and were / saved; the third a young merchant of Bayonne 35 years of age was past all aid: / he had been very ill and came here for strength + to recruit _ his sisters were / living in a village near him _ I bathed when I was here before every day in / the bay where he was lost and thought the stories of its being dangerous quite / absurd:
Monday August 28th:_ I am to return this Evening at 6 to Bayonne /
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To sleep there and set off at 6 tomorrow morning : There is a new carriage to be / sent to the French chargé at Madrid of which I hope we shall make the first / trial. Thus you see I may anticipate a comfortable journey _ : the four days I / have passed here have recruited my strength and I feel fully equal to a ride of / two or three days duration _ the only evidencing of my illness are pale cheeks, and / a pair of whiskers that took advantage of my weakness to get the start of me :
You cannot think with what pleasure I hear of your frolics / and expeditions _ I have a sort of deferred enjoyment of them which is very agreable. /
Mr. Irving writes me that before the little Queen was moved to the / Country palace the Court Ceremonies were very numerous + brilliant _ under the / quiet reign of Espartero we only buckled on our Court armour three or four times in / a year this winter we shall not be let off so easily _ he says that during the siege / of Madrid he was very much excited and was on his legs day + night, running about / town point to point, until the fatigue brought on a bilious attack + slight relapse / of his malady, from which however he had recovered : I shall urge him, tho i-[page torn] / late in the season, to [^ ex] change the air of Madrid for a more temperate one : /
I was overwhelmed with kindness by the English at Cauterets, who / were continually sending to inquire about me _ the Duke of Devonshire wrote from / Pau, on her way from to Paris, that there was a report I had been promoted to a very / high post, and is it was said Mr. Irving had resigned, she supposed I was to succeed him!
I have seen in a paper the following announcement among the / arrival at Baden Baden : “Lady Calford Jones, avec fam. Angleterre”; you see / we have already lost our interesting countrymen. The other branch of this illus: / trious family is also there _ young Helen surrounded by a crowd of gentleman out at / the pockets, if not at the elbows:
I wrote to Robert from the Pyrennees, and am delighted to hear that / he is so pleasantly situated _ he seems indeed quietly moored in the Haven which / he talks about _ it would be funny if he should subside into a quiet young / Benedick so early after beginning so inauspiciously :
If my Books are in Madrid I shall go to work steadily / for the autumn + winter, and I hope in the Spring to set out on my /
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Return to you _ the exact time of my departure will depend upon arrangements / Papa may be able to make for me; you will readily conceive my impatience / that it should be at the earliest period.
I am going now to take my last walk with Mad’e Livingston / on the rocks + sea shore and shall close my letter before dinner _ yours ever A.H. /
3 P.M. I have just returned from the sea shore where I have taken my last / whiff of salt air for some time : I gazed upon the foam + spray and wide waste of / waters in the hope of fixing [^ them] so clearly on my memory that I may recall them /
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Amidst the dust + dryness of Madrid : vain effort; for you know _ but I won’t / quote about “frosty Caucasus” _
I’m off at 5 with Carroll for Bayonne and / shall deposit this letter myself _ [tought?] in the ‘Poste’ on my arrival: _ I under: / :stand the French Courier is only stopped by the Gentlmen of the road on his / way back; so that like the knife grinder, I shall have no story to tell : / This won’t prevent my sending off by the next steamer some [^ well-fitted] sheets to the / family _ for want of something better, I’ll give you accounts of the last / political [somerset?]; second hand from Mr. Irving -
I send a sea of love to you all, your affectionate / A.H.
[ADDRESS]
Par steamer
5-Sept.
James A. Hamilton Esq.
(for Miss M. H)
Nevis
Westchester County
Dobbs ferry New York
[RED WAX SEAL - indecipherable imprint]
[POSTMARK 1 = red ink, circle]
NEW YORK
SEP
21
[POSTMARK 2 - red ink, circle]
TARRYTOWN
SEP 23
N.Y.
[POSTAL NOTATIOn - purple ink]
12Transcriber
Kathryn AlexanderLanguage
English
