BIB_ID
420903
Accession number
MA 1352.175
Creator
Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870.
Display Date
Bonchurch, England, 1849 September 7.
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the Fellows, 1951.
Description
1 item (3 pages) ; 17.8 x 11.1 cm
Notes
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.
Written from "Bonchurch Seventh September 1849."
Written from "Bonchurch Seventh September 1849."
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
Expressing his mortification on hearing from Mrs. Morson of the behavior of a new inmate at the Home who stole a bonnet and shawl from a wardrobe; questioning whether the wardrobe was left unlocked and saying he has cautioned Mrs. Morson "to leave nothing open, or about;" hoping Miss Coutts will not be discouraged by this event and saying "I can hardly imagine how any one can be so wantonly and ungratefully wicked, but such things are, outside the Home, and will be, I am afraid for many a long year."
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