Supporting Documents

SD1485.  Edward Moulton-Barrett (father) to George Goodin Barrett (1792-1854)

Published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 17, 268 (in part).

[16] July 1851. [1]

My dear George

Nothing could have afforded me more gratification than the assurance under your own hand that you were better, & still making progress towards further amendment. The accounts that I have had of your state were very alarming, so much so indeed as to lead me to be prepared for the worse results, but I am thankful that you have been spared, & hope to have many years of comfort & usefulness to your self & others.

The Messrs Bravo transmitted me a Bill at 90 days sight for £80. and perhaps you will advise them of its safe arrival– The Miss Bouliers accounts including that to be paid when Lizzy returns to School amounts together to £107.3.3. the last quarter was something more than the preceding ones, in consequence of a Doctor’s Bill being attached to it arising from Lizzy having had an attack of measles– There are also some small payments made by me for a few articles of dress– I should long ago have sent to you my account, but I was unwilling to annoy you with any thing so disagreeable & I concluded that you must pretty well know how matters stood between us; if not and you desire it I will do so, & leave the settlement entirely to your convenience– Now as regards Lizzy, what are your views; you know that she is now turned 18, & I presume some arrangement must soon be made as to her removal from school, & if so it will be necessary to give the Miss Bouliers notice, otherwise a quarter must be paid should she suddenly be taken away. Let me explicitly know your intentions & I will as far as I am able endeavour to carry them into effect.

Good as your climate may be, I have little faith in its resisting the arrival of the Climate [sic, for Cholera], whenever it may be disposed to come your way, for during its visitation to Europe the finest Climates acknowledged & bowed to its power; the fact is that it is very arbitrary & eccentric in its movements– However let us hope for the best & that it may never come your way. I see that it still drags on in Hanover & at length entered Westmoreland, whence I fear that it will do severe execution. You will have heard what a mortality there has been on C. Hill, the consequence of which has been very serious to my interest.

That you have benefited by it is singular enough, but as regards Vidal’s death & your release from £1800 I do not quite understand– Storm’s firmness in keeping at his Post is very commendable & heroic, & he has been rewarded by not losing a single Person, whilst there were deaths enough around him–

I do not agree with you concerning Cotton Cultivation, as the labor is lighter than that of sugar, so we may employ the aged & the very young– I confess however we have signally failed in our speculation owing to bad seed and insuitable weather which even in America they occasionally have to the ruin of their Crop.

Poor Sir Joshua we must hope got out of |harms| way from a sense of duty to the Island, conscious as he must be what an |unexpresable| loss his death would have been–

I know all about the Centrifuge machine & have the highest opinion of its value—& should have had one on C. Hill 8 months ago, but waited in hopes that the Patentees would become more moderate in their terms, which were workd out. Lord Howard had his from Bangash & that Patentees have [illegible word] of proceeding against him for infringing on their Patent Rights & altho I doubt their power to do so, I thought it better to wait a season to see the result. Jump wrote to me last Packet that he had been to see that at the Mint [illegible word] & highly approved of it—as indeed all must who have seen it– It has long been in use here for [illegible word] Linen, Cottons & Lace, & I saw it employed for this purpose last Sepr when I went down to Nottingham to see the Millers–

Bessimere’s Crusher, for which he got the Gold Medal last year, I have seen, but I suspect it will not answer, the Canes are put in singly down the Hoppers & cut 8 in long in the operation, so that it would be impossible to face a strong fine to put in such [illegible word] fact– But perhaps this might be an advantage as it would compel them to |longs| their Coppers differently, so that other fuel might be used, instead of having that which is the best manure for Cane Land–

Though Bessimere is making a Machine that is to do away with our Coppers & exclude the necessity of a Centre Sugar– It is described to me to be a lay Iron Tank 20 ft long & 9 ft broad, very shallow & the [illegible word] is turned into sugar in one process within it– This is all I know about it except that warm water is employed but I mean to go in a day or two & talk it over with the Contrivoner–

Martin Williams, his Wife, & two daughters are staying with a friend of his in Town– He is looking very well, but sadly troubled with the sciatica—the rest of his Family are quite well– I wish you could come & see the World Fair– Many & glorious things are there & a Man need not travel far to collect a pretty fortune, if they would only let you pocket a little, but the Police are too wide awake for any Man safely to relax in his morals a moment–

What has become of Mr Blagrove, in his absence & that of others, the London Party have done what pleased them in the tort |defrim|–

I would extinguish the whole legislature, if I had my way, it is worse than useless, nay it is very profitable for evil–

Best regards to Edward and I am, my dear George

Yrs vy affly

EMB

Publication: None traced.

Source: File copy at Eton College Library.

1. Day provided by Edward Moulton-Barrett docket on SD1482.

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