SD568. Samuel Moulton-Barrett (brother) to Henrietta Moulton-Barrett
Published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 1, 342 (in part).
Charterhouse.
Saturday Nov 18th 1826.
My ever dearest Henrietta
Although I have not had a letter from you to day, yet I am determined not to break my promise, remember you promised to write every Friday, and let me hear on Saturday, I wrote to you last Saturday, and you have never answered it, if I do not have one next week I will not write, so do not expect to hear without you write, and then you will be certain to hear from me. We have had some tremendous rows this week, with all the bigg boys for fagging—they really have been to[o] bad, What do you think they have been doing in Hopkins, first of all they take the boys out of their beds at night at about eleven or twelve oclock, and when they come to bed they make them get out of their own beds and put them in their’s for the purpose of warming them, to one boy the[y] pulled all his cloth[e]s off and flung water all over him wet him threw [sic] and then they made him get into bed wet as he was and stay there—the end is that he is very ill, they are Urphinites mind not Pennyites. They were flogged, and turned off from being monitors, and got a very long imposition. and another boy has been flogged for going out of bounds. I am going to write to Tippy today, and I wrote there last Saturday but I have not had an answer, yet you see I write again. There are only three more next Monday to the holidays, and then I hope I shall have the pleasure of seeing you and all of them. Tell Dearest Papa that I asked Mr Penney about having Mr Dicken for a private Pupil and he said that if I had him this qua[r]ter he would charge for all the qua[r]ter and as there was only three weeks—I told him I would not have him. I do get one of the boys to help me now his name is Orislow, I do them a<nd> then he looks over them, so I think I sho<uld> do very well till next holidays, and then I will get Bro to teach me, you cannot think what neat themes I do, and Thesis verses. Give my best love to him, and to them all. I am in great haste as I must write to Tippy every Saturday, or she will think that I have forgot her; tell Bro that if he does not write to one of them to thank them they will [not] give him anything again. This is quite a secret so do not tell anybody but Bro and Ba, Tippy was trying to prevent Granny from Sending him new clothes, as he was so ungratefull for Tippy said that he had never put pen to paper to her or Granny since he left them and that he was v<er>y idle indeed, but Gran[n]y said that as Papa must get them if she did not she said that she must; but she said that she never would send him anything again unless he wrote this time, I would have told you last time but I did not like but as I am much afraid of Bros not having written I thought I had better tell him. Begg him to write and try to make some excuse, I try’d to make some excuse but Granny said she [k]new he was idle; so do begg him to write. Now do not forget to write to me Miss Henri[e]tta or you will not hear from me next week[.] I am quite well.
Your ever affectionate
<S>am.
Mind write directly and tell me some news.
Address, on integral page: Miss <H.> Barrett / Hope-End / Near Ledbury / Herefordshire.
Publication: None traced.
Manuscript: Armstrong Browning Library, Altham Archive.
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