Letter from Gertrude Valentine FitzPatrick, Thornhill, Ireland, to Madame Blaze de Bury, approximately 1859? October 25 : autograph manuscript signed.

Thanking her for a letter which she received as she was leaving Lord Douglas Baird's, "& since that we have been at Perth, & travelling hither & thither till we finally reached home about 10 days ago"; writing that her mother (Augusta FitzPatrick) had a pleasant visit with the [illegible] Osbornes, where she made the acquaintance of the "the Aumales" (i.e. Duke of Aumale and his family); saying that they are going to Dublin to hear Jenny Lind sing and meet her afterwards for dinner, "Then we return home, which is pretty near a banishment as we hardly ever see a soul there", remarking on how inhospitable the Irish are compared to people in Scotland "where everyone is so friendly & warm", describing how much she enjoyed dancing while at Perth, her regret at leaving the hospitality of Lady D(avid) Baird, who she has known and loved since childhood; thanking Madame de Bury for writing to her "so charmingly" and expressing her admiration for her strength and originality of mind, agreeing that "we have noble natures, but we care not to keep them up to their own level, & rather than be thought pedantic or strong-minded, we give up ourselves, to be like other people, perhaps far beneath us.", stating that it is better to suffer for "a great object" than never to have "felt any self sacrifice", and wondering that Madame de Bury should feel an affinity between herself and the writer, as "I am so all inferior"; mentioning that Madame de Bury was "very sad" when she wrote, extolling the virtues of "belle Nature", and asking why those natures most capable of such enjoyment are denied it, "'A Life Denied', as Owen Meredith so beautifully expresses it"; asking after Owen Meredith, remarking that Madame de Bury has described their stay in Richmond "most vividly" and mentioning how much she enjoyed the company of (Alexander) Kinglake; complaining of the cold and reporting that it snowed, asking if Paris will be "dreadful with only it's wood fires", discussing what sort of accommodations their household will require during their planned stay in Paris and sending her mother's thanks for Madame de Bury's efforts on their behalf in finding them an appropriate apartment; commenting on "young Mr. Norton's death" and wondering who will take his place in Vienna.