The Mary Hamilton Papers : Letter from Lady Catherine Herries (née Foote) to Mary Hamilton

Herries (née Foote), Catherine

The Mary Hamilton Papers

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Letter from Lady Catherine Herries to Mary Hamilton, relating to Sir Robert Herries's resignation from his bank, Herries, Farquhar & Co.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Lady Herries has been suffering once more from inflammation of her eyes, which means that she is unable to employ her time as she wishes. The severe inflammation could not have happened at a more inconvenient time for her, as she has never 'wanted the use of them' since arriving in Bath. It distresses her that Mr Dickenson has 'heard only within these few days that it has been made public to every body'. That is, that Sir Robert has 'resigned to his partners all Concerns in Business & that in consequence of this resolution he has parted from the house in St. James's Street to them'. It has 'pained' them both not to tell 'such dear friends whilst it was in agitation & nothing' but the 'promise of absolute secrecy till the thing was made public to all but those immediately concerned' prevented her from informing Hamilton. At the same time as this 'momentous' event, Herries has been very 'unsettled from various causes unavoidable agitation & shall have a good deal of business previous to putting an End to all domestic matters in St. James's Street'. This will soon be over and she hopes to improve her health and to start taking the waters. The Herrieses have taken good lodgings and will not take anything more permanent until at least the autumn, as she intends to spend the summer in Cheltenham.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Moving on, Herries writes '[s]o much for the present on this important matter' and thanks Hamilton for her letter. She is glad that she likes the patches she had sent and had hoped they would please her (see HAM/1/17/228). She ends her letter informing Hamilton that she had been called on by one of her friends, Mrs Preston [possibly Mrs M. Preston, see HAM/1/9/27, HAM/1/9/73, HAM/1/9/75], who very much wished to be remembered to her, and she 'was delighted to see one who could give her such late & particular intelligence of you'.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Dated at Bath.</p>