Collections - Letters
Letters of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bevan, 1804-1811.
Letter Number 14
Dated 30 June 1808 from CB at Gothenburg. Addressed to
Mrs Charles Bevan, 9 Holles St, Cavendish Sq
At length, my ever dearest Mary, our destination appears to be certain,
& that destination is no other than England! Alas! all our hopes come to
this! It is reported here that we go to Spain, if circumstances turn out
well in that country, of the truth however of this story you will most
likely be able to judge from what is happening in London. We are ordered
to sail tomorrow, if therefore we have a favourable passage I may hope
to embrace you in less than a month. I certainly did not expect this
happiness so soon. I have received I think much benefit from my
excursion into the country and very much gratification; we travelled
about 180 miles – The country in parts most beautiful – But I hope soon
to have the opportunity of telling you all I saw. I have received very
lately two letters from you of the 29 May & 10 June – one of which
announces the illness of my dear little Charles. But as I had received
later accounts of a much more satisfactory nature – I had only to lament
what had been. I thank God he is now quite well – The weather is so
excessively hot that it is almost impossible to do any one thing – I
have nothing to tell you at present except that I am a great deal
better, but am obliged to be very careful in eating and drinking – I am
taking back with me a small quantity of cinnamon water & spirits of
Lavender. My present physician thinks my stomach wants strengthening,
the attacks he treats exactly as Dr Hunter recommended; he also is as
well as yourself a great Enemy to my taking any medicine of a particular
quality – I wish I was in Camden Town or rather anywhere else with you –
I imagine if we remain in England, Colchester will be our quarter; if so
how provoking to lose our house; I am quite happy in the idea of seeing
all my comforts so soon.
I wish we had a better shop but we cannot help that. You had better ask
Mrs Shaw to lend you her house, when she goes in the country – I am glad
to hear your Mother & sisters are all so well, as I conclude James is.
Do Julia and my mother remain in Town all the Summer or do they think of
Brighton? I should think not as economy is the order. It is impossible
that two people of such very opposite dispositions as two ladies you
speak of can agree long. Pray give my love to all our friends & do not
forget Mrs Shaw – God Bless you – Soon may we meet!
I am every only yours
C.B.
NOTES BY TRANSCRIBER
i) The expedition from May – July but most troops including 28th were
diverted to Portugal, landing on beaches near Vimiero, but after that
battle ended
ii) The excursion – see letter 13
iii) Mrs Shaw – elsewhere he speaks of her as a cousin – there is no
trace on the Bevan tree, but she could have been related to his mother.
She had a large property on the Kennet near Reading – which by one
account she had lent CB and Mary for their honeymoon – she left this to
CB’s children and it was eventually sold by Charles junior for £25000.
(It now houses a hydro)
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