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Eliza Hayley to William Hayley: letter

Hayley-XXI-65

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Derby July 22d 1792

My dear H

I expected indeed with great impatience an account of your visit to Cowper which must have been very interesting, & I shall continue to do so; but as I know you seldom like writing letters but on a sunday I must request you to direct your next to me at Thomas Hattrell’s Esq.re Newcastle Staffordshire where I mean to arrive on Tuesday se’ennight & to spend three nights in my road to Park-gate. I hope M.r Wedgewood & his daughter will be at home but if they are not I suppose I can see the house as well as the Pottery as they are social neighbours to the Hattrells & I had a most cordial invitation to Etruria from the whole family whom I spent an evening with this winter at D.r Darwins, as I believe I told you

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The Doctor very obligingly sent me your letter to him & the verses which have been seen & admired by all his esprit acquaintance who I am told greatly give the preference to yours, as the Doctor has probably informed you. You had omitted giving me your opinion of the epitaph on M.rs French which however I doubted not of your admiring. Her prosaic friends in Derby who are unacquainted with poetical licences marvel a little at the great accomplishmts given her by the Doctor but the poem will be read out of Derby & I believe Mr. French now thinks it justly her due. He has great reason to respect her memory & he really has felt more for her loss than many would give so volatile a character credit for. his own health is in a very precarious state & Mrs. Nicholas who is

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sanguine thinks he will hardly survive another seizure like the last.

I have not seen poor M.r Wright lately I called a few days ago & he was out, but I shall call again before I go. his Sister tells me he was (as I knew he would be) greatly affected by the death of M.rs Beridge. She & her husband spent a few days with Mrs Twigge just before Tom’s visit to me when at her Entreaty he undertook to copy a portrait of D.r Len from a miniature of Meyers. [sic] he had not painted of many months & was so timid that M.rs Beridge with difficulty persuaded him to take charge of the picture which he requested should be left with M.rs Twigge. No says M.rs B you may feel disposed to paint & think it too great an effort to send to my Sister’s for it. She was right He finished it on a sudden. I think (& M.r French says) it is the best portrait he ever painted – but M.rs B after a residence at Buxton died at Stalling [Stubbing?] just as the picture arrived in Lincolnshire. In the midst of my first sorrow for M.rs B I thought of poor M.r

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Wright whom I have not seen since. I had carried him messages about the picture from M.rs Gladwin & having been absent at Bowbridge her death was rather a surprize to me as I had hoped she was getting better a fortnight before


Wm Hayley Esq.re
Eartham
Near
Chichester


Tell Tom with my love his good natured friend M.r Roe is coming to drink tea with me to have another look at his Picture now the days are longer. I feel quite indebted to his taste for this most pleasing acquaintance, who is esteemed as he deserves. I am I have just read the life of Chatterton which has interested me extremely – how do you like it?

People

Hayley, Eliza (Ball)

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Hayley, William

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Cowper, William

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Hatrell, Thomas

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Wedgwood, Josiah

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Wedgwood, Miss

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Darwin, Dr Erasmus

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French, Mrs

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French, Mr

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Nicholas, Mary (née Mundy)

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Wright of Derby, Joseph

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Beridge, Mrs

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Beridge (Twigge), Maria

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Hayley, Thomas Alphonso

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Meyer, Jeremiah

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Gladwin, Mrs

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Roe, Mr

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Places

Derby (one of multiple locations/lodgings)

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Eartham House

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Thomas Hatrell's house in Newcastle-Under-Lyme

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Parkgate

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Etruria Hall

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Bowbridge

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Works of art

Thomas Alphonso Hayley as Puck

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Families

The Hatrells

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