BIB_ID
318623
Accession number
MA 849.9
Creator
Sterne, Laurence, 1713-1768.
Display Date
"Sunday" [1760].
Credit line
Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1912.
Description
1 item (1 p.) ; 22.4 cm
Notes
Followed by a postscript on a second sheet (which may belong to another letter) remarking that he has not a moment to spare and must dine with a dozen dukes. Curtis prints this postscript with a letter dated London, April 1, 1760 (MA 849.1).--Cf. Curtis, letter 54, p. 104.
Location and date of writing from Curtis.
Part of a collection of letters from Laurence Sterne to his mistress Catherine Fourmantel, a professional singer whom he met in York in 1759. Letters in the collection have been described individually in separate catalog records; see related collection-level record for more information.
Location and date of writing from Curtis.
Part of a collection of letters from Laurence Sterne to his mistress Catherine Fourmantel, a professional singer whom he met in York in 1759. Letters in the collection have been described individually in separate catalog records; see related collection-level record for more information.
Provenance
By descent to Mrs. Henry Weston, the daughter of a friend of Fourmantel's; John Murray (1778-1843), who allowed Isaac D'Israeli to publish five letters from this collection in his Miscellanies of Literature; by descent to his son John Murray (1808-1892); by descent to his grandson A.H. Hallam Murray; purchased by Pierpont Morgan in 1912.
Summary
Remarking that if this letter reaches her while she is still in bed, that she is lazy and sleepy, and apologizing for keeping her up so late the evening before. Noting that the Sabbath is a day of rest but also a day of sorrow because they will not see each other unless she meets him at Taylor's at half past twelve. Mentioning that he has ordered Matthew "to turn thief & steal you a quart of Honey" but wondering "What is Honey to the sweetness of thee, who art sweeter than all the flowers it comes from." Saying that he loves her to distraction, and will do so until Eternity.
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