Collections - Letters
Letters of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bevan, 1804-1811.
Letter Number 46
Dated: 24th July 1810 from CB Ceuta
Addressed to Mrs C Bevan, Money Hill, Rickmansworth, Herts
I have this morning had the pleasure of receiving your letters by the
last Packet, the latest of the 3rd July I have also one from My Mother
and from Caroline. I am most truly happy to receive such very good
accounts of your health and of all our Boys. You have frightened my out
of my wits about Mrs Shaw. What do you know to say has she given you
any reason by her conduct to write as you do about --?daily. As to my
Mother she knows nothing about her or about any thing belonging to her
And with regard to my good & worthy cousin I most firmly believe her to
be too much good to give hopes for failure of which would justify --?--?
herself A pretty mess I shall have made of the Lt Colonelcy if your
ideas had any foundation As to that foolish woman who is so fond of
chattering about what does not concern her I shall most certainly
strangle her if any thing arises from her folly Enough on this subject
I know I shall have enough of it like I shall again of foie gras - It
will get me full of the Blue Devils for a whole month I shall most
certainly write, and write often, to her I am bound in gratitude to do
this As one part of your letter has a little damped my spirits, so has
another given me much pleasure For the plan only I --- of paying so
much by per quarter or as you may feel it convenient for I find some
difficulty in getting advantageous Bills here to send you home But I
dare swear your good luck will allow you to be in her debt for a month
or two I do not think you ought to live in h(word torn out by seal)
house now without contributing so (word torn out by seal) (something
to?) the catering because her income cannot be sufficiently large to
keep pace with her generous ideas Was it otherwise I have no false
pride of a daughter being under obligation to a Mother.
I shall write to all my friends by the next Packet boat I am very
anxious to get this letter to you by this Oh how I wish I was of your
party I am quite happy to find that no ill effects occurred from the
fright you went through at poor Toms folly & God grant that none may
occur I am pretty well now and then take one of my old friends but
not so often as
Poor little Charles! How I long to see him Perhaps if I come home in
the winter Dr Anderson or some body else would let us a house. For that
time of the year, and perhaps very cheap I have my fears that Money
Hill will not do for Mrs Dacres in the winter However I hope for the
people there all things.
I hope you may get this letter pretty easily The Commissioner/Lobbs/boat
is going over with it -- & it will be in time for the Packet God Bless
you my best friend I am ever Your C.B.
NOTES BY TRANSCRIBER
i) Caroline CBs elder sister
ii) Mrs Shaw CBs cousin from whom he had hopes of inheritance and
these somewhat obscure recriminations suggest that there may have been
an unenthusiastic remark about her by Mary, or allegations about her by
CBs mother. Mention of his Lt Colonelcy makes one wonder if Mrs Shaw
had funded the purchase
iii) Blue Devils Seemingly CB had occasional fits of depression and
seems to have called these his Blue Devils
iv) Tom CBs younger son who had had an accident without much harm.
Charles his eldest son
v) Anderson elsewhere in the letters there is mention of this Doctor
not otherwise know
vi) Commissioner Lobb Lobb not indentified there was a Governor at
Gibraltar but in Letter 44 CB had contacted the Commissioner and been
offered his yacht to return to Ceuta
Only a proportion of our collections
are on display at anyone time. Certain items are on loan for display
in other institutions. An appointment is required to consult any of
our collections which are held in store.