SD670. Angela Bayford to Henrietta Moulton-Barrett
Published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 2, 359 (in part).
[Kinnersley]
[ca. August 1828]
My dearest Henrietta,
I hope you will not accuse me of great thoughtlessness & inconsideration, when I tell you, that, in spite of all I said to you in my last letter, I have changed my plans since, and intend troubling my kind friends at Hope-End with the society of myself and Augustus on Saturday next instead of Monday. You will perhaps think that I have been guilty of some impoliteness towards my kind Hostess in this changing my mind on the important subject of my visit here, but, I assure you, that is not the case; and I only hope you will as readily forgive our variableness as she has done. The fact is this; one of the chief reasons for Mrs Clarke’s preparing us to remain till Monday, was an invitation she had been obliged to accept for herself & us to pass two days at the house of their neighbors Mr Lee Warner. This, of course, was depriving us of part of our visit to Kinnersley, and we were therefore anxious to make amends for it by protracting our stay beyond the time we had arranged for remaining here. This day’s post has however completely altered the state of the case, as it brought first a letter to Mrs Clarkes informing her of the death of one of her nephews, which obliged her to declare leaving home this week;—and secondly came an epistle to me from Mama, so very urgent for my return, that I cannot think of remaining from home longer than Thursday next; added to which Augustus can spare no more time from his College studies. Our coming back to you on Saturday will give us two more days at Hope End and will take nothing from our visit here, in consequence of no<t> accepting Mr Lee Warner’s invitation. Mrs Clarke quite understands the reasons for our leaving her a day sooner than we had fixed, and I believe if it is possible to judge from a person’s manners, that she quite approves of the arrangement, altho’ she is kind enough to express regret at our departure. And now I have only to beg that if you are able to make out the meaning of this confused letter I dou[b]t, you will explain it to Mrs Barrett, who I hope will not think it taking a liberty thus to force our society upon you, before the time I fixed in the letter I dispatched this morning. I am sure you will not be angry with me for changing my mind in only a few hours, and that you will be glad to see us again on Saturday. I hardly know at what time we shall be in Ledbury[.] We leave Letton, I believe, about 12. Good bye my very dear Henrietta,
Yr most affectionate
Angela
Tuesday Evening 11 oclock. written in my bed room my eyes very heavy with sleep–
Address, on integral page: Miss Henrietta Barrett / Hope End / near Ledbury / Herefordshire.
Publication: None traced.
Manuscript: Armstrong Browning Library, Altham Archive.
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