Supporting Documents

SD718.  Samuel Moulton-Barrett (brother) & Edward Moulton-Barrett (father) to Henrietta Moulton-Barrett

Published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 2, 365–366 (in part).

Tuesday March 16th 1830

My ever dearest Henrietta

I as[s]ure you I should not honour you so much by writing you this letter, had not Papa asked who was going to write, as he wanted to send a message, so do not suppose I write on my own account for you really do not deserve a line from me, as I have not had one single line from you since Papa has been here; as to Ba she is worse than bad, for she has promised to write me a letter for at least two months, & has never performed her promise, when it does arrive I expect to see something quite out of the common way, but tell her I hope it will not be in either of the dead languages, for if it is I shall send it back for a translation into one of the living one’s; Tell her that I am not reading any other book but Homer for I have no other to read, & tell her as she is so fond of a change to begin Euclid, & when she sends me the 47th Prop. of the first book of Euclid Solved & the figure represented in the letter, I will then answer her Latin Letter, I will send her the Proposition that she may not have an excuse, & say she had no Book.– (In any right-angled triangle, the square which is described upon the side subtending the right-angle, is equal to the squares described upon the sides which contain the right angle.) Now when she has solved this she will deserve a letter, & she shall have one by return of post, provided she solves this entirely by herself, without any help, either direct or indirect; Treppy sends her best love to her, & desires me to tell her, that when she sees her, she will pay her off for all her impudence, and she says she expects for her one letter to have a hundred from Ba; in the first place as she has a very bad head, & Ba a very good one, and in the second place she has not the use of her hands, & Ba has. Papa desires me to tell you that he can give Mary Brummell an order to go into the Infirmary if she likes it, but she must get a certificate from one of the the Medical men in Ledbury to say she is a fit subject; as the Hay stack is finished on Dumbleton the cattle must be removed from thence to the Kilns for a week, then put into Scotland for another week, & back again into the Kilns.– Bro must send to Tom Webb to take away his Stock.– The Women as soon as they have finished Bean Setting, which Papa says must be nearly if not already over, must go to the Turnips—the small ones as well as the tops must be taken to the Ewes, & as formerly also to the yearlings, I am sorry to hear, for Poor Bro’s sake, that Miss Boyd is going to leave Malvern for so long, do not let him break his heart. Granny was very unwell last week she had twelve leeches on her feet, but I am glad to say she is better, do not mention when you write any thing about the leeches, as Granny did not want you to know it. I had an invitation yesterday to a ball on the 30th <by> a Mr. Hovenden but I do not think Gran[n]y will <let> me g<o a>s she does not want me to make acqua<intences> and have never visited her. Papa is going to write a <few> lines in this letter to Bro so you must excuse my p<roceeding> further on this sheet. Mrs Sterling is just the sa<me. … is also very unwell. With my best love to you <…> your ever affectionate Sam.

Mind & wri<te …> you are not better engaged, if that ever ha<…> Bro that his caricatures were so much a <…> they have been borrowed to copy by Mr Sterlings children.

[Continued in Edward Moulton-Barrett’s hand]

I have enclosed the half of a £50 note—which when you have acknowleged the receipt of, I will send the corresponding half– It is to pay for the Letters & Burdon’s Bill for each of which Bro must take a stamp Receipt– Burdon’s if I remember right is £41– Taylor’s somewhere between £7 & 8–

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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