Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Letter from Chauncy Hare Townshend, Lausanne, to Angela Burdett-Coutts, 1855 November 10 : autograph manuscript signed.

BIB_ID
116376
Accession number
MA 1352.680
Creator
Townshend, Chauncy Hare, 1798-1868.
Display Date
Lausanne, Switzerland, 1855 November 10.
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the Fellows, 1951.
Description
1 item (4 pages) ; 11.1 x 9.2 cm
Notes
Townshend gives the place of writing as "Mon Loisir," the name of his villa in Lausanne.
Dickens enclosed this letter with one of his own to Angela Burdett-Coutts dated November 13, 1855 (cataloged as MA 1352.441). See the published correspondence, cited below, for additional information.
The letter is part of a collection, MA 1352, which consists of letters from Charles Dickens to the Baroness, to her companion Hannah (Meredith) Brown, or the latter's husband, William Brown; with 70 letters written by others to Miss Coutts or to Dickens in his capacity as her unofficial almoner; and a few others. See the collection-level record for more information.
Provenance
The letters formed part of the Burdett-Coutts sale (Sotheby, 17 May 1922); they were purchased for Oliver W. Barrett in whose collection they remained until it was sold by his son (Parke-Bernet, 31 October 1951).
Summary
Sending, via Dickens, his condolences to her and to Hannah Meredith Brown on the death of Dr. William Brown; saying he has often thought of her: "Indeed, many a time, in thought, I have been with your party - having heard of your visit to the South of France, and sometimes a prayer has been breathed for your welfare - and for the happiness of one who is so precious to so many;" discussing the consolations of faith; adding "It was one happy circumstance that Mr. Dickens should be in Paris at this time for I am sure he radiates the force of his mind into the saddest & most difficult circumstances. If ever I am out of humour with human nature (& I have had some sad experiences) there are two persons on whom I think. One of them is Mr. Dickens;" asking her to convey to Mrs. Brown "my very deepest expression of sorrow for her loss."