BIB_ID
421249
Accession number
MA 1352.552
Creator
Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870.
Display Date
London, England, 1852 November 3.
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the Fellows, 1951.
Description
1 item (2 pages) ; 18 x 11.4 cm
Notes
Written from "Tavistock House."
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.
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
Thanking her for her note and assuring her that it is "really precious to me as a mark of your earnest interest and friendship. Mrs. Dickens is anxious that I should say as much -- or more, if I could -- from her;" saying that he believes his son Charley has chosen well, "and I know that he has sincerely tried to do right. I trust in God that he will be a fine fellow and a good man ; and that I may have the happiness of living to see him fulfil the hopes of his best friends;" mentioning that John Forster has gone down to see William Charles Macready, whose wife Catherine had died in September; writing that Macready "bears himself manfully, as he always does, but he has turned old and grey. I fear his eldest boy [also named William Charles] will soon follow the mother, and I am afraid Macready does not see how ill he is;" reporting that his children are in good health and spirits and that Mr. Stone painted "a very pretty little picture of Mary and Katey" in Dover; sending love from his whole family.
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