The Mary Hamilton Papers : Letter from Harriet Anne Bandinel and Mary Hamilton to John Dickenson, with a sample of Dorothy Blosset's handwriting

Bandinel, Harriet Anne[?], Blosset, Dorothy, Hamilton, Mary

The Mary Hamilton Papers

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Letter from Harriet Anne Bandinel and Mary Hamilton to John Dickenson. Miss Bandinel's contribution, almost in the form of a journal-letter, was evidently written at Mary Hamilton's request and begins with a laborious tracing or imitation of Dorothy Blosset's handwriting (note the addition of ‘true’ before ‘copy’ in the title written above it). Rather than relaying the content of Blosset's note, the intention is to demonstrate its illegibility, and Miss Bandinel only gives a first extract. It is unclear who the note had been addressed to, but context suggests Mary Hamilton and/or John Dickenson.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Bandinel writes that Miss Clarke has been reading aloud to them for the last four nights. ‘The subject was “Reflections on the Government of Indostan, with a Sketch of the History of Bengal from 1738 to 1756, and an Account of the English Affairs to 1758 by Luke Johnston Esq” – London printed in 1763’ and reprinted in 1780. Miss Clarke asked Bandinel to inform Dickenson of some of the ‘Eastern names’ mentioned in the work, so she provides a name given to Lord Clive, which she declares ‘quite sufficient to break as many Teeth as you may have to spare’.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Bandinel writes of telling Miss Clarke, when Hamilton was not present, that Miss Clarke's odd manner of taking leave might make Hamilton nervous, to which Clarke suggested applying a blister to her head, as she herself had benefited greatly from this treatment.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Mary Hamilton gives her reaction to Bandinel's amusing account on the same sheet (p.2). She adds further news for Dickenson, who was then with their daughter at Birch, near Manchester, mentioning the pain occasioned by the evidence of Blosset's decline. The number 22 at the top of p.2 could be an indication that the sheet was once part of a journal-letter (cf. HAM/2/15/2, which is a collection of journal letters), but at present this remains speculation.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>This item was originally catalogued as a copy of a letter from Dorothy Blosset, HAM/1/8/2/30.</p>