BIB_ID
421283
Accession number
MA 1352.559
Creator
Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870.
Display Date
Boulogne, France, 1856 July 5.
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the Fellows, 1951.
Description
1 item (3 pages) ; 17.9 x 11.2 cm + envelope
Notes
Written from "Villa des Moulineaux, Boulogne."
Envelope with stamp and postmarks: "L'Angleterre / Mrs Brown / Prospect Hill / Reading."
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.
Envelope with stamp and postmarks: "L'Angleterre / Mrs Brown / Prospect Hill / Reading."
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 letter and saying that he wanted to write back immediately, but he was "so busy with Little Dorrit that I could not detach myself from her for any pen and ink purpose;" telling her that Walter and his three younger sons have all come home with prizes and that they have been celebrating them with "five franc pieces, running matches, and cricket;" describing his sons' bedrooms and the system he has developed for keeping them clean ("The washing arrangements and so forth are conducted on the strict principles of a man of War"); sending news of Charley; describing a bout of scarlet fever that swept through the Watson family, including Lavinia Watson: "The happy conclusion of the story is, that they are all now well again, and that we heard from her this morning. She has gone through a great deal of late years, but has a wonderful force of character;" sending love from all his family; describing the surrounding countryside: "We have Millions of roses here. And as I came from town yesterday the luxuriant hayfields were so beautiful that I felt as proud of them as if they were all mine."
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