Autograph letter signed : Kew, to James Burney, 1789 March 2.

Writing that she would very much like to see him but "I have not yet received permission to have a Soul come to me in this House, nor have I beheld the Face of one native Friend for these 5 months past"; explaining that she has, however, put her own feelings aside during "this season of calamity" (a reference to King George III's illness); mentioning that the King has almost entirely recovered; discussing her future plans: "I mean, therefore, gently & gradually, to come round to my usual way of life: 'tis always & at best monastic, but while my Cell may be cheared by the presence of those I love, I will not quarrel with it"; proposing that James come to see her early in the day ("as after 11 o'clock, I cannot answer for a moment") and instructing him on the arrangements for a visit to the palace; asking after her sister-in-law Sarah Payne Burney, her niece and nephew, and other family members; discussing the king's illness: "I am sure how sincerely you have felt for all here during these dreadful late months: greater misery can hardly be conceived, its various causes & aggravations considered. Heaven be praised, we are now fast ascending up the Hill from which we were precipitated. Our gracious & excellent King is restored to every thing but strength, -- & this very Day he has, for the first time, been walking out on the high road, with only his Equerries & one of the Doctors. He is terribly thin, -- & very weak, -- but all that will come right by care & time. He is kinder, more benevolent & good, than ever; his sufferings, far from having soured his Heart or disposition, appear to have softened & meliorated them even to excess, in every feeling of tenderness & benignity, towards God & Man"; concluding "What an amazing while since I have seen any one of my dear Family!"