Including Some from Miss P.H.B Wren of the O’Beirne Household
Including Some from Miss P.H.B Wren of the O’Beirne
Household
From
the Family Collection of
David A. La Touche, Ph.D.
This
extraordinary and delightful collection of letters is from the Family Collection
of David La Touche who has graciously made them available to us for publication
in our Journal.
They were written by Jane O’Beirne, wife of Bishop Thomas Lewis O’Beirne, to Anne Caroline La Touche (nee Tottenham) before and after her marriage to John David La Touche, of the leading banking family in Dublin, the La Touche Bank, and founder members of the Bank of Ireland. Anne Caroline and her husband John David were the great-great grandparents of our generous donor.
Jane O’Beirne was the only surviving child of the Hon. Francis Stuart, the third son of the seventh Earl of Moray. She was married to Thomas Lewis O’Beirne at St. Margaret’s, Westminster, on November 1, 1783. He was Church of Ireland Bishop of the Diocese of Ossory, Ireland before being appointed Lord Bishop of Meath, Ireland.
Apparently,
Anne Caroline Tottenham lived in the O’Beirne household for some time and
developed a close and affectionate relationship with Jane O’Beirne, her
daughter Jane and Miss P.H.B. Wren who seems to have been a secretary or more
likely a governess to the family. Bishop O’Beirne’s kind feelings for Anne
Caroline are related several times. There is one reference to “Hen” who may
have been Henrietta and another of the O’Beirne daughters; they are known to
have had two.
The
letters were transcribed by Dr. La Touche and his comments are shown in italics.
Spellings and punctuation were left unchanged. There are a few inserts in square
brackets [thus] by me, the editor, and generally relate to full names or places.
I also added the headings.
“The
Wretched Fitzgerald!”
at length, my dear Anne, you are a dear good child & I shall with
true pleasure go either to Thomastown or Enistiogue [Inistioge,
Kilkenny]
to meet you on the 28th, & I will still hope that you will not miss Lord
Ormonde’s Ball, for he has not yet given it, & is at present in Dublin,
but expected to _____ shortly. I
rejoice to hear that your cold is going off.
I un’st’nd that the influenza wch you describe to have raged at Ross
is the same that has proved so fatal to the Cats in Dublin & at Waterford
& ___ has mounted from those animals to the Rational creation.
I suppose we shall have it here in our turn, at present we are all, thank
God, Very well, but very cold, our winter set in Very Severely.
My brother Dennis is not yet come to us, I shall tell him that I am
certain his deferring his visit so long has been Solely to be sure of being at
Ossory House at the same time with you and that I am Scandalized at such Giddy
doings in a g____ Personage like him.
We are at present perfectly Quiet in this town & neighbourhood &
the United Irishmen came out of the County of Carlow to us made so Very little
Impression Here that I trust we shall Continue so.
at present we seem to have no other subject of conversation than the
catastrophe of the Wretched Fitzgerald! [Colonel
Henry Fitzgerald.] Lords
Kingston & Kinsborough passed thro’ this town on Saturday last, they sent
for Col. Howard to the Sheaf & kept him so long talking over this Shocking
Business that we waited dinner for him at Sir Charles Asgills ‘til seven
o’clock. They told him that
immediately after their whole family had come to Ireland they were informed that
Col. F. [Fitzgerald]
had
followed them in Disguise that he had gone into the County of Cork & been at
Mitchelstown House enquiring for Miss King, he was there told that she was with
her sister Lady Mt. Cashell, as by some blunder the people supposed he meant
Miss Caroline. Upon this he
immediately proceeded to Kilworth, still in Disguise, & there was traced by
the two lords, who having possibly Ascertained that he was in a room at
the Inn, on Friday night, went to the door of it & knocked Lord Kingsborough
having a brace of Pistols in his hands & Lord Kingston a pair of pocket ones
in his. Fitzgerald was in bed, but
jumping up instantly opened the door, & Lord Kingsborough offering him one
of his pistols, he stretched out his hand to take it, when Lord Kingston says,
the recollection of all the wrongs his family had rec’d from the Wretch, that
of Lord Kingsborough’s having already stood his fire Six times, rushing at
once on his Mind with all the Imitated feelings natural to such as one, The
Impulse of the moment was too strong for him, firing over his son’s shoulder
he shot him thro’ the Body & he expired in two minutes.
The Innkeeper who had followed them up came into the room just as the
pistol was fired, & found Fitzgerald lying against the wall & dying.
the Coroners Inquest have given their Verdict.
“Death
in Consequence of a pistol shot from the Hand of Lord Kingston”.
So that He must stand his trial for Murder!
Surely if the Unfortunate Lady Mary has a shadow of feeling she must lose
her senses at the idea of her fathers life being at stake as the murderer of her
Seducer. I think it is one of the
Most dreadful tragedies I ever heard of & Contains more than one
lesson for old as well as young persons.
Any other Father & mother would be much more to be pitied than Lord
& Lady K. You, I believe know
Col. & Mrs. Howard very well she seems a Very amiable pleasing woman &
is as well as the Asgills, a great addition to our Society. We are all well & I am finishing Very abruptly as I have
mistaken near an hour in this Morning & the Clock has struck twelve some
time.
adieu therefore My own dear little Anne
believe me most truly yr affecte friend
Jane O’Beirne
The
following letter, or ‘serial note’ is from Jane O’Beirne at Ossory House
to Anne Caroline Tottenham (soon to be La Touche) at Ross (presumably New Ross),
sent March 12th 1798. Italics are
mine.
The
Bishop begs you will tell Capt. Tobin _____ best wishes regards, that he is
quite happy at not yet having anything decided to tell him.
But that he begs him to believe, what is most strictly the case, that he
(the Bishop) has never ceased Importuning Gen’l Loftus on the subject, whose
uniform answer is that nothing can be determined on ‘till the Commander in
Chief returns from the North. if
there had been anything Pleasant to say, I would have written to Capt. Tobin to
inform him of it & I will do so the moment the Bishop receives any
conclusive answer from Gen’l L. (one
presumes that this is General Gerald Lake, who began the disarming of Ulster
March 13).
Evening - in addition to those
already mentioned, Mr. Emmett, [Thomas
Addis Emmet]
author of the letters signed Mountanns (?) in the Press, is taken, Mr. Swietman [John
Sweetman] the
Brewer & sixteen persons who were Seized Sitting in Conclave at Oliver
Bond’s, round a table covered with papers wch have been all secured, &
wearing tin Cockades in their hats Covered with _____.
Mr. Sampson [William
Sampson] has
escaped, & I am sorry to add that Lord Edward Fitzgerald has done so too -
his having been in the Green about one O’Clock Just when the posee went to
Leinster house to apprehend him, gave rise to the Report of his being Seized -
but some of his kind friends had given warning in an Instant - & he was off
- Lord Ormonde with a party of horse, Major Boyle, & various others have
been all day in Search of him - but I much fear he will have got away to France.
The Conclave taken at Oliver Bond’s are supposed to be the Directory
mentioned in the Chancellor’s Speech on Lord Moira’s Motion.
Altogether I trust in God that the Discovery of these People just at this
Juncture is another Signal instance of the Interposition of Providence in favor
of this Nation. May it be received with the gratitude & humility that it
ought!
Entertained
& terrified - Adieu My dear Anne
Believe Me Ever affect’y yrs.
J__ O’B___e
I
sent yr. letter to Kate.
She has been dreadfully Ill lately, & when I heard Last was, tho’ better,
in a very bad state. She was in
London & Doc’r Blake said her complaint was decidedly Gall Stones - I
shall not close this letter till night that I may send you any further news I
may hear.
French Land in Wales; Irish Banks Issue Paper Money
Ossory
House March 5th (1797)
I
had Very great pleasure in receiving your letter on Friday My dear Anne, tho’
when I found you had written so long an one to Wren I felt sorry that you had
taken up so Much of yr time in the Same Employment for me, for I can perfectly
understand how much of it is out of your power to dispose of that portion of it
, which is not given to dress & public places , as you would yourself chase,
& therefore for the future yr Ma’a O’Beirne makes it a point with her
dear little Anne never to think of answering her letters untill she is somewhere
where she can have leisure so to do without hurry or Inconvenience, & this
shall not prevent my writing you from time to time an account of yr friends of
Ossory House. They had heard many
details on your Subject from Sir Benjamin Dunbar the day before your letter
arrived. He & John Lacy came
down together on thursday, & Sir B. on friday to Cork.
That John Lacy really wished to see you, you very well
know, however he w’d probably not have been so importunate a
Visitor had it not been that as he was to come here so soon he wished to know if
you had any message or commission for any of us & this he repeatedly desired Mrs. Hutchinson’s
Servants to tell you he has taken his degree , & is now Entering on a Very
Serious Course of reading previous to his Ordination wch will take Place in
Easter Week. Any thing Equal to the
Hospital we have had here you never saw, or heard of I believe.
you will be glad to hear that your own Bishop is better, much
better & would I believe been quite Well long since but that whilst
his poor head was at the Worst he was tormenting it with writing a Circular
Address to his Clergy, a Copy of which I will send you when I have an
opportunity. It is not printed for
the public, but merely put in the press here to save the time &
trouble that writing such a number as one for Each Clergyman in the
Diocese would have been. My Cold is
more Obstinate than Any body’s. My
Cough is much better, but my Chest & head will not get well,
Poor Jane was Very heavily Seized Indeed, & one night Butler was Seriously
thinking of giving her James’s powder (a
fever medicine first prepared by Dr. James, an English physician, it consisted
of one part oxide of antimony and two parts phosphate of calcium)
had she not been much cooler the next morning.
She is still on the Ivalide list & so is ___ but yr squire is quite
well, so is Wren Mrs. Montray (?) almost, & Dear Kate hearing these
two days after three weeks constant deafness.
Sir B.D. was more fortunate than Any body
in Seeing you in Dublin. I
think Lady D. must have been Jealous had she heard Everything he said about you
to Wren & me, & he is a man whose favorable opinion of my daughter
Jane pleases me because he is himself Estimable, & thinking in my mind, will
bring great propriety on the Subject of Women’s Conduct.
So put all this together & you will Judge that the day he spent with
us was particularly pleasant for he talked of you the whole time.
I give you credit for the Christian patience with which you seem to have
borne the disappointment of yr black gloves when the little Col.
made an offer of his hand but I think it was a fortunate Circumstance & may
tend to accustom you to disappointments, wch you will be, I fear likely to meet
with in that quarter, whilst so formidable a rival as his mother
stands in yr way. I am delighted at
your liking my dear little friend in Granby ___ , &
would be more happy than I can Express if you were Very near neighbours
that you might get comfortably acquainted & be often together as I
know how very much yr doing so would add to the Satisfaction of both.
I have not heard from her this Week.
What would I not give to be sure of a Quiet Summer, & to Contrive to
get her to Come to Ossory House at the Same time you do, but really one feels it
Quite like presumption to hope, for, or look forward to , any thing beyond the
present hour. What a Very
Extraordinary circumstance is that of the 1,400 french landing in Pembrokeshire,
& their Ships leaving them to their fate - no Conjecture one can make
as to their destination or Intention helps one to any satisfactory Idea on the
subject. 
Mr. De Bonnay supposes
them to be a part of the original fleet of De Galles who were Separated in the
storm off Bantry & who having been driven Very far out to sea , were now on
their return & being in a starving state, made this effort to obtain
provisions (the
French landing in Wales took place in 1797). The notice sent to the Mayor of Kilkenny from Government on
the subject of Banks Issuing paper only - put all the people in a
grand fuss & as all those kind of things are perverted & taken up wrong
by Ignorant people, it was reported that all the banks had stopt payment,
altogether, & twenty other Equally absurd tales. Immediate steps Were taken however to make them comprehend
the real state of the case, & to explain to them that tradespeople or others
refusing to take notes, in payments w’d Exactly bring about the Very Evil they
dreaded - printed paper, this morn has accompanied Finns Journal (there
was a Finn’s Leinster Journal in the 1790’s),
wherever it was ____, making the measure plain & clear & calculated to
stop the alarm, it is written by the Bishop, & he had last night a meeting
with the principal monied people here on the subject who seem to be all
understanding it as they ought & we shall therefore have no Inconvenience
here from it. It seems to me nothing less than madness that all the
Gentlemen of Weight & consideration Every Where will not write
in Explaining to the people the measures which
Unfortunately
the letter ends here, i.e., I have been unable to locate the rest of it.
Letter
to Mom re “Your Dear Anne”
The following was written to Anne Caroline’s mother, probably between 1795 & 1799 - i.e., Dr. O’Beirne was still at Ossory House, and presumably Anne Caroline had not yet married John David La Touche, which she did in March 1799.
Ossory
House Jan’ry 27th
My dear Madam
I cannot part with my amiable charge without troubling you with a few
lines, to return The Bishop’s best thanks with mine to you & Mr. Tottenham
for the trust you have been so good as to repose in us. We are believe me, truly sensible of its Value, but it has
had the effect of all indulgences, & will render us Petitioners to you next
year for a repetition of it. it is
not possible to know your dear Anne , as we now know her, not wish to enjoy her
Society whenever it is possible , for I am Very Sincere in Saying that I, no
where, know Such a Girl, & the Bishop & I often form a wish that
our dear Jane may, at her age, be exactly what she is now, as the very best
model she could be formed from.
I beg My Comp’ts to Mr. Tottenham
& am, My dear Madam
Yr Sincere & Oblig’d humble Serv’t
Jane O’Beirne
Sickness
and “Heartfelt Comfort of a Domestic Life”
To
Miss Anne Caroline Tottenham at Ross:
London
Feb’ry 9th 1799
I fear it must appear very strange to you my dearest Anne, that, knowing
the subject of your last letter to our dear Wren, I should have been thus long
silent upon it. Yet I trust you
know me too well, & are too sure of my sincere affection for you not to
believe readily that nothing could have prevented my writing Except absolute
Inability to Write. When I say this
I do not mean that I could not hold a pen, for I have certainly written a few
lines to the Bishop Every day Since he went to Ireland.
But after a Confinement of near five months, & undergoing the
Severest suffering for the greater part of that time you will not wonder that my
spirits should be so far Broken that it depends Entirely on my having a good
nights rest, or my being all day without suffering pain (which scarcely ever
happens) whether I am able to undertake any thing that either agitates, or
interests me & never, since Wren received your letter here have I felt Equal
to the task of offering you the wishes I form for your future happiness in life.
Wishes as sincere as I could form for my own Child, & in seeing the
Accomplishment of which I look forward to a Very delightful source of
satisfaction, now that God has in his goodness Allowed me once more to look
forward to any thing in this life - there were many weeks when I had given up
all hope that such would have been his Merciful Dispensation, but I have been
Making such a progress for the last Six Weeks in strength & General Health,
that tho’ I must still content myself with
the prospect of a much longer Confinement, & more Suffering - yet I have no
reason to Doubt that a restoration to my former health will be the Conclusion,
& whenever this happens & that it is God’ will that I shall be able to
return to Ireland, How happy shall I be to find you Settled in all the Comfort
& Happiness you So Well deserve & which I have no doubt awaits you in
the Connexion you are about to form. your
saying to Wren that Mr. La Touche is not fond of the Dissipation of
Fashionable life is one reason from whence I augur this, but the Chief one is
his being Your Choice of whose principles & whose Judgment I have so
high an opinion & I will know from my own Experience, that it is not
in the dissipation of fashionable life, but in the Heart felt comfort of the Domestic
one, that real Happiness is to be found & that if it fails in the
latter, it is in Vain to seek it in the former, or any where Else.
I know also that you have much more formed for this same Unfashionable
life than for the Bustle of the other, & I heartily pray that you may find
in it Every Comfort it is capable of bestowing.
I am Sure that your friend Jane wishes to write to you but does not know
how to set about it. She has not
said any thing to me but I plainly Perceive that she is dismayed at the
idea of losing her friend Anne, in Mrs. La Touche & shall I fairly own that
I am not quite free from some such feeling myself. If when we return to Ireland & I become acquainted with
Mr. La Touche he should not like us well Enough to wish as much as we should, to
live in the same unceremonious Intimacy You & we have lived in, then should
we feel truly mortified, & I should loose one of the greatest pleasures I
could have in Ireland, Your Society. But
my dearest Anne bespeak for your M’aa O’Beirne & for your Bishop,
some little portion of his good opinion, that wherever we meet, we may not meet
as absolute strangers, & that he may be inclined to give us credit for our
Very Sincere wish to Cultivate him.
I trust you have not any reason for alarms in your neighbourhood at
present, tho’ the representation made by the newspapers of the General State
of Ireland is dreadful Enough. I
grieve truly for the Question of Union being lost from a Conviction that it was
the only measure that Could Effectually have Quieted that Ill fated country.
It is so long since I have written to you & we have been all the last
Summer moving to so many & such Variety of places, that I should like to
write you a Vollume, but what I have already Scrawled has been the Work of two
day’s - & I do not wish to keep my letter longer or to Engross more of
your time at present. I Expected
the Bishop to have returned before this time but the severity of the weather
& the roads on this side of the water having been impassible from the snow,
has detained him. I conclude him to
be, however, now on his Journey. You
will readily comprehend how dreadful to us both, was the being obliged to be
Separated at a time when my health was in Such a state.
I am now taught to Expect that a couple of months may restore me
Such a portion of it, as will require nothing but care to restablish it
Entirely.
Adieu My dearest Anne, Make My best Comp’ts acceptable to all your
Circle & assure yourself of the Sincere affection of your truly faithful
friend
Jane
O’Beirne
The Children desire a thousand loves to you, & Mr. Lacy (who has been with
me Ever since his uncle went away) desires me to present his Comp’ts.
I say nothing of Wren as she always answers for herself.
“Accept
Affection in Place of Etiquette”
A
little over a month later, the following, addressed thus - “This letter can
have no adresse as the writer is uncertain by what name to denominate her
Correspondent.” It was probably
‘wrapped’ in a letter to Anne Caroline’s mother.
96
New Bond Street London
March 16th 1799
Three
days ago, My dearest Anne, your letters of the 4th & 5th of March reached
Wren & me - & yesterday Wren received another letter, by a private hand
from you & is now gone out to Execute your Commissions.
by the Contents of your letter to me I rather think this will not arrive
too soon at Ross to make the Congratulations of your friends here (which it is
intended to Convey with the sincerest wishes for your future happiness)
premature. but Even tho’ the Knot
should not yet be tied, I am Sure you will Accept Affection in the place of Etiquette.
I believe that, out of yr own family, there are none more truly
interested in your welfare than Wren, the Bishop & myself or who rejoice
more Sincerely at the fair prospects before you.
I really mortified at the Impossibility there was of the Bishop’s being
the person to perform a ceremony in which I think he has been _____ uncommonly
fortunate, as three Couples of our friends whom he has married, are three of the
Happiest I have Ever known, but the uncertain state of my health made him
wretched Every hour he remained in Ireland, & I was so uncomfortable at
being Separated from him that it retarded my recovery.
I have made great progress in regaining strength & Sleep during the
last month & had got out to take the Air several times - but the Cold East
winds which have set in, within the last fortnight, has Confined me to the house
Again, but altogether, tho’ I still Suffer at times, I have great reason to be
thankful for the progress I have made.
Mr. Tottenham gave the Bishop £9.9 & as I had laid out only £9—-3
for you I have given Wren the balance of £-8.9 for you.
Now My dear Anne will you not only Accept our felicitations yourself but
also Offer them to Mr. Latouche, Whom I wish I was near Enough to tell how Very
Very greatly I think him an Object of felicitation, on his good fortune
in his choice of the most Important of all Choices & I further insist that I
am a better Judge of this matter than he can be ‘till he has been
married some years. As my
acquaintance with his Cara Sposa has been so much longer that his, & I have
been able to see her with more Impartial Eyes.
We all Join in best Comp’ts to your whole fire side. I had a thousand things more to say but Wren is hurrying me
So for my letter that I must Break off abruptly.
believe me however
Ever truly & affectionately y’rs
J_O’B_
“Wish
You Joy”
The
date of the following is possibly 1798, for Anne Caroline was married in March
of 1799 to John David La Touche. I
say ‘possibly’ because the latter could not, I think, be described as a
‘dignitary in the Church’, but perhaps this only means that he was a major
subscriber. He was not in holy
orders. Perhaps Anne Caroline had
been engaged to someone else, and things didn’t work out.
June 30
My
very dear Anne
Tho’ I have written to you so lately, I have nothing either new
or Entertaining, to tell you, yet I have, for a short time past, heard so
much of your ladiship that I cannot help taking up my pen to ask when I am to
Wish you Joy of having changed your name. the
people in Dublin have unanimously decided that you are to be very Soon the wife
of a Certain dignitary in the Church, & I am Jealous that you s’d
positively conclude any thing of so much Importance without having given a
friend , who loves you as Sincerely & is as warmly interested in
whatever concerns or can promote your happiness, as myself, the smallest hints
of what was going forward - repair yr fault out of hand, or I will not love you
any more - if I can help it.
I have Just finished reading “Gisborne’s Enquiry” (Thomas
Gisborne - Gisborne’s Enquiry - An Enquiry into the Duties of the Female Sex.
London: Cadell, 1797)
with which I was so highly delighted that I said I w’d recommend it to you,
but Wren told me that you had read, & was as much pleased with it, as
myself. I think it quite a Model for Excellence without setting up
that standard of perfection, from attempting to Imitate which so
many are deterred from the fear of not being able to attain so difficult a
height.
I was mortified to find that Mrs. Montray had missed seeing you when she
walked from Granby ___ for that purpose. I
hope she or Kate may be more fortunate before they sail w’ch I find is not to
be before Sunday or Monday. the
Children are Very busy with Examinations today - in Consequence of w’ch I
suppose you will have a letter from Jane shortly. adieu My dear Child
Ever affect’ly yrs J_O’B_
This
next letter was, I believe written by Jane O’Beirne’s daughter Jane.
The handwriting is sufficiently different, and the letter itself appears
to have been written by a less mature person, probably a teenager.
The year would probably be around 1803, i.e., Anne Caroline has a young
child (David, born in 1800).
Brockstreet
Bath Sept’r 28th
I
do not know my dear Anne why you should imagine that my wrath was kindled
against you, on the contrary I did not expect to have heard from you so soon.
I cannot well tell you whether the waters agree with papa or not.
he was ordered to begin them very cautiously & the extreme heat of
the weather has hitherto prevented him from increasing the quantity. He was apprehensive last week that they heated him but Dr.
Plunket who arrived here a few days ago has desired him to persevere.
As for spending the winter in England we have no idea of it.
Papa thinks that it is his turn to go to London this year as it is the first
Sessions of the new Parliament but he declares that even if he finds it is
he will not go there. I shall have
great pleasure in executing your commissions.
The stockings here are I think reasonable enough but most other wearables
almost as Dear as in Dublin. Mama
bids me give you her best love & tell you she is afraid she will not be able
to get the lace for you as she knows of no one going to France and if she did
the custom house regulations are so very severe that she would be afraid to
trust any with a thing of the kind tho’ she would not be afraid of undertaking
to bring it herself - for this reason she has herself sent no commissions to
Mrs. Montray who is shortly to leave Aix La Chapelle & intends spending a
month at Paris on her return to this country.
I heard of nothing new in the way of Bookes but if I do I will not fail to bring you any you would like.
The Bishop of London has lately published his lectures but If I may judge
from the one which I heard, they do better to hear than to read.
Do you subscribe to the guardian of
education? I think it must
be a good work as I know Mrs. Trimmer is one of the principal contributors to it
(Sarah
Trimmer was editor of the Guardian of Education from 1802-1806, which places the
approximate date of this letter).
We are very happy in hearing our friends the Wallers settled close to us
in St. James Street. Mrs. Waller
came over to leave Dolly at Mrs. Braidwoods accademy (sic)
for the deaf & dumb at Hackney where she is as happy as possible &
likely to make as great progress. As
Mrs. W. was advised to drink these waters she intends spending the winter here.
We are ourselves most pleasantly situated
we have got the first house in Brock street the corner of the Circus into
which our front windows look & the back ones into the Crescent fields &
the beautiful country beyond them. We
have taken but two excursions since we came one was to Farley Castle a beautiful
interesting ____ about seven miles from this the other to Carsham where I was
delighted with the collection of paintings which is very extensive and at the
same time very good the most beautiful of all is Carlo Dolie’s picture of our
Saviour breaking the bread. It
really answers the idea one forms to oneself of what our Saviours appearance in
his earthly form must have been. We
intend going to Bristol the beginning of next week.
We have the most extraordinary weather here that ever was.
It is as fine as possible & hot enough for July So much so that it is
hardly possible to walk out till the evenings which as warm dry & delightful
as is the middle of summer. Bath is
at present a _____ & as _____ as any place can be but as it is quite new to
me I find ample amusement in the singular beauty of the town & that of the
neighbouring one of the most beautiful I ever saw.
The part of Shropshire & Worcestershire through which we passed on
our way hither is I think beyond all praise & I never saw dear Wales in
greater beauty. We had the finest
weather that could be _____ the whole of our journey.
But ____ how provoking it was to pass through Gloucester in the very
middle of the music meeting & not have time to stop!
There were___________
________________. I was very much
amused with the manufactory at Worcester the whole process of which we saw from
first to last. I have heard Wren
talked so much of the time she spent here with you that this place by a sort of Irish
memory reminds me of you & never indeed my Dear Anne do I see any
thing that _____ of pleases me without wishing for you..
We have long since visited your habitation in the north parade which is
now divided into two houses, that in Bennet street has also undergone an
alteration what was your parlour is now a grocers shop.
The town is very much enlarged since you were here Lansdown place is
finished & so much enlarged that instead of a crescent it is now in this
form (shows
a W-shape)
a smaller crescent is built close to it called Somerset place.
A magnificent row of houses near half a mile long were built along the
London road some years ago but they all remain uninhabited & unfinished.
Your account of your Brother is a much better one than we _____ from what
we heard from the Wallers of Allenstown (?).
We are all very sorry to hear that you are so well.
May God long preserve the precious healthe ____________ pleased to
restore! Your squire desires his
best love to you he _____ _____ on Wednesday.
Hen [probably Henrietta] bids me give you her love & tell you that
she is afraid you have forgotten David as you never once mentioned him in
your letter. If this misfortune
has not happened give him a thousand loves from all his aunts
& grandmothers, & a double portion from his Mama’s
Ever affectionate
J. O’Beirne
If you write to any of us direct it 1 Brock street
A part letter from the younger Jane follows. It is addressed to Mrs. John David La Touche, Custom House, Ross, and with Colonel Barry’s Compliments. Perhaps she was using Col. Barry’s franking privilege. Note the signature ‘Jane Ormsby O’Beirne’. Perhaps the younger Jane is trying to have an identity distinct from her mother. The letter is missing a few fragments, but we understand that her mother has been ill for a while, which may explain the absence of letters. The date is some time after 1799.
……every
one is astonished to see how well Mama looks she has not looked so well these
four _____ as she does now. Indeed
I once thought I _____ __ould love her better than I did but if it _____ I love
her better now than ever I did. I
believe it is very true that we never know the value of _____ till we lose them.
The long gloomy months I spent without her have made me doubly feel that
the delight of having her restored to us indeed I think ____ sit hours together
merely to enjoy the pleasure of looking at her.
On Saturday last we were at the exhibition at Somerset House which was a
very stupid one this year. On
Wednesday we went to see the Orleans collection lately _____ _____.
There are some most beautiful ____ _____
a head of our Saviour by Titian ____
a dead Christ with the three Mary’s by Ludovico Cavacci.
Adieu dear Nanny
Ever most truly yours
Jane Ormsby O’Beirne
Your
Squire was in town for a few days this week and went with us to
Greenwich. He is very well, &
we continue to receive the most satisfactory accounts of
his conduct from the Doctor & Mrs. _____. I shall not forget to give your message to Uncle Dennis - he
does not write often but when he does ……unreadable,
ends.
These letters were written to Anne Caroline and to Mrs. Charles Tottenham, by
Miss P.M.B. Wren, who was an important member of Dr. O’Beirne’s household,
and probably acted as secretary to both the O’Beirnes.
Both ‘Wren’, as she was referred to, and Jane O’Beirne had great
influence on Anne Caroline Tottenham, and , indeed, Anne Caroline had been
“placed in their charge” by Anne’s parents, probably to educate her.
The letters run from shortly before, to sometime after Anne Caroline’s
marriage to John David La Touche in March of 1799. All of the letters are transcribed as written - i.e.,
spelling mistakes and punctuation are not corrected.
“The
Duke now Wishes …”
The
following is addressed to Anne Caroline Tottenham at Haverford West, South
Wales.
London
October 10th 1798
From
various reasons you have been a very long time without hearing from me.
I have been in daily Expectation of leaving London, & still
something has occurred to prevent me. When
I wrote to you last I did not think I should have been ten days in London -
& now here I am - & as I am almost certain we shall be here for another
fortnight I hope you will write to me - by return of post & let me know how
you all do - & what are your schemes for the winter.
At the time I received your letter enclosed to Mr. Canning - the Bishop
was extremely ill - & continued so for some time, after that he was a good
deal confined by his attendance on the Duke of P. [Portland,
former Lord Lieutenant of Ireland] from
both Public & private reasons. The
French Invasion on one hand - & the Duke’s
accident on the other - who
fell from his horse & broke one of his ribs —- all these Evils remedied
- we left town three weeks ago for Harrow on the Hill, a heavenly situation,
where we left poor Lewis - with Dr. Drury - the old master of your friend Harry
- from thence we went into Hertfordshire on a visit to a relation of Mrs.
O’Beirne’s where we spent some pleasant days.
On our return to Town all was fixed for our departure, when the Coachman
in order to _____ tore a large wart out of the back of his hand, & left a
hole as large as a shilling which instantly swelled to a frightful size, &
he has been ever since in the hands of Sir Walter Farquar.
Saturday week we went with post-horses to Berkshire on a visit to a Mrs.
Lering (?)
whom you may have heard mentioned by both the O’Beirne’s
& Montray’s. There we remained till thursday
the 4th when we returned again to our Lodgings here, not without Jane’s
recollecting the whole way as we came - that - on that day two years you
had come with me from Ross to Kilkenny - indeed she seldom speaks of you without
feeling, & always with regard, Esteem & affection.
The two last days we were at Englefield - Mrs. Lering’s - poor Mrs.
O’Beirne was very ill & has kept her bed almost ever since.
Thus my Anne you see what a very unsettled state I have been in & how
impossible it has been for me to write. The
Duke now wishes the Bishop to remain a fortnight longer - so you may
judge we shall most probably remain. The
Montray’s were in Town for some days since we came to Pall Mall - they both
look very well , & desired a thousand Loves to you.
I have heard of a conspiracy being discovered at Ross - but from no good
authority - I wish very much to know what you are to do this winter, &
whether you are to spend it in England. With
respect to your commission for stockings, I know not what to do. I would most willingly buy them for you but cannot tell how
to get them conveyed to you - as sending them by a mail coach would cost a
sum - perhaps you would wish me to bring them over to Ireland?
if you are thinking of returning - however as you have not told me what I
am to do with them if I should buy them - I shall now wait for your answer -
directed to me 79 Pall Mall. I
think you will get good strong cotton stocking’s for 3 shillings a pair - at
Pope & Frith’s friday street - & silk ones, with Lace clocks for 8s 6d
a pair; - so favor me with your commands, which shall be most faithfully
Executed. Our accounts of the state
of Ireland - from the best authority - are very bad & I much fear that
during our lives nothing _____ a good understanding will take place ____ ___eled
(in
this unsettled ?) country;-
the lower classes are wo___ _han (worse
than ?)
I could ever have supposed them to be; - God preserve the lives of all those who
are dear to us!!
The Leigh’s are coming to Town - as I hear fro from the same reasons
which prevented my writing to you. I
have not written to them since Kit’s (?) marriage - which took place on her
Mother’s wedding day - the first of September.
I was presented on Sunday last to the Crewe’s - Thus my dear Child have
I told you all the principal occurrences since I last wrote to you.
I forget whether O told you I saw new Drury open with all its strength
- Siddons, Kemble, Jordan, & young Bannister;- it was for the benefit of
Palmer’s Widow & Orphan’s - you will hear shortly of a promotion which
will not displease you;- of which I will speak to you when next I write.
I wish we had any chance of seeing you - it is useless to say how often ,
& how sincerely your presence is wished for by the whole _____.
I think it will be near the first of Nov’r before we leave London -
& as the Bishop pays a visit near Shrewsbury - we shall not be very soon in
Ireland. this is all the better for
Jane - as this brings through Worcester - a fine place for her to see.
we shall return by the Iron Bridge & pay a visit at Llangollen;-
& most probably Winter in Dublin but this will depend on certain
circumstances. Pray do not fail to
write immediately & give my sincere Love to your Mother & Sisters &
to your Father & Brother’s when you write to them.
I hope when I get to Ireland I shall get the pension up to _____
& be able to clear accounts with your Father.
A Mr. Butler is in future to receive the money .
I have desired Mrs. O’B to remit the pension to Chester - for as to my
Mother’s coming over - that is at present out of the question - till the
Country - if ever it does!- gets a little more quiet. There is a new china manufactory established at Coal brook
dale. It is the fashion now to have
every cup different which has a whimsical, pretty effect - & has one certain
good attending it that every one knows their own.-
There are a Variety of new Ornaments for Chimney pieces very pretty - in
particular a Portico the Corinthian column formed of straw twisted round with
narrow gold paper - & screens of all sorts & shapes &
Transparencies.
“Bestow your Hand and Heart on a Man of Sense”
No.
63 St. James Street
Feb’ry
1st 1799
I
received your letter my dearest Anne - ten days ago - but as I have been ill
-& attended by Sir Walter Farquhar I hoe it will be a sufficient apology for
my not sooner answering your letter. I
was not surprised at it - as the Intelligence had reached me some days before it
arrived. You know it was always
my wish that you should be connected with some amiable man - as I
always thought you Eminently calculated for Domestic Life; judge then with what
pleasure I learned, from your own pen, that you were going to bestow your Hand
& Heart on a man of Sense attached to you - as you describe
Mr. La Touche! To enlarge upon this
Subject is what I am at this moment from various reasons unable to do;- but I
think you know me well enough, to be well convinced I have not heard with sang
froid of a change so important to my Beloved Child! - God knows - how
dear - how very dear you are, & ever will be to me;- with what Energy
I shall ever Pray for your Happiness! Mrs.
O’Beirne feels infinite tenderness for you & will write to you the first
day she feels Equal to it;- for she says she cannot write to you on this subject
without being much agitated. The
Bishop will be here in a few days & regrets his not being able to perform
the Ceremony - but he must wish to seize the first moment to return to a Beloved
wife - whom it was agony to him to quit under such circumstances;- assure
yourself you possess his most sincere wishes for your Happiness.
I hope you will Impress Mr. La Touche with the Intrinsic worth of this
family - & not suffer him to be blinded by party, & prejudice;- the rude
intruders upon Social Life! I will
Hope that we may yet spend many happy hours in each others society;- & I
know that the Bishop & Mrs. O’Beirne will not be wanting on their parts,
to cultivate the good will, & friendship of your Husband.
It is impossible to form an idea of when we shall be able to return to
Ireland - although Mrs. O’Beirne is evidently gaining strength. I fear it is in vain to hope for a recovery - ‘till an
event shall have taken place, which she is by no means equal to at present;-
& it will be some weeks yet before she is - how long she will be recovering after
that, is still more uncertain. Thus
my Beloved we have little chance of meeting;- but let me hear that you
are Happy - & it will be a great weight in the scale towards making me
so!
With respect to my Letters - you know I have ever been an enemy to every
species of Mystery - & I trust shall seldom have anything to communicate to
you, which it would be an object to me to have concealed from Mr. L___ -
if I have - it will probably be something which may have made me uneasy, &
Unhappy;- but should it be so - whatever is my opinion on this, it ___
not to guide you;- never hesitate to shew him a letter if he
wishes to see it. And now that I am
on the subject, which is a delicate one - let me recommend it to you my love not
to encourage any one in making any species of concealment from your Husband;
they will neither be your friends nor his who wish to place you in
so unpleasant a predicament; & I think there are few circumces (sic)
which could justify it; scarcely any to a young married
Woman. The attachment which
subsists between us is not of a nature likely to be broken up - even by
your new connexion - it is founded on too good a Basis:- you will not Cease to Esteem
me - My Beloved Child;- I wish you to represent me to your second self - such as
I am - & such as I have been to you - & I beseech you not to
dress me up in false colours - but with all my Imperfections on my Head.
I will write to you again as soon as the Bishop comes - that I can get a
cover - & enclose a letter to Eliza - thank her for the kind one she wrote
to me - & say I will answer it as soon as I can.
I am impatient for your next letter - & shall write to Bess as soon
as I receive it. Mrs. Corbet is not
in London - but in some of the outlets - I am not sure, were she here that a
visit from me might not be misconstrued - at present every thing of the
kind is out of the Question. Mrs.
Leigh supports her - & pays her lodging at the Mother of her present
Governess’s - somewhere near London. I
am very sorry for Frank - who from all that I can learn is by far the best of
the whole family. I could tell you
much on their Subject which would surprise you which I heard at (rubbed
out)
Adieu my Very dear Child - the Good God Bless you - for ever
& Ever.
P.M.B. Wren
“The
Mistress of a Family is a Little Queen”
London
July 26th 1799
My
dearest little Anne - many thanks for your letter - had it come sooner it would
in all probability have influenced the Bishop & Mrs. O’Beirne with respect
to the Black Rock - but alas! it is now too late - everything is finally
arranged for our going to Bangor & Mr. Mrs. & Miss Burton - friends of
the Bishop’s - make Bangor their Summer Excursion on purpose to join the
O’Beirne’s - ainsi c’en est fait! I
shall obey all your directions - as far as I can ;- but not in throwing away
your money on all the works of Von Kotzebue some of which are great
nonsense - & all tending to the too fashionable modern German writings - Irreligion;-
decking out atrocious Vices in the most seducing colours of amiability;-
highly calculated to impose on the young, & inexperienced;- This most
interesting piece I have twice seen with all the powers of Siddon’s &
Kimble - & I could not refrain my tears for Mrs. Haller - & what
was Mrs. Haller? why a vile
harlot!- _____ penitent, indeed,- but who had forsaken one of the best &
most affectionate of husbands & two charming Children - without the smallest
shadow of provocation - yet wound up as it is, & performed as it is -
I defy the most rigid not to be interested - deeply interested for this Woman.
I am sure you know me too well to think I am reasoning on the side of
hard Hearted unfeeling Virtue - no;- but you must allow it is a very
dangerous use to make of the stage - particularly in those miserable times -
when Religion & Decency want every support;- the tendency of
those German writers is now pretty well understood to be Democratical
& Irreligious - you will generally read in them
- that all who profess Fortune, & station - are hard -
Tyrannical - & all wicked;- & all the poor Virtuous - &
persecuted &e &e. I mean to bring you the Stranger that you may judge
Mrs. Haller;— Lover’s Vows is the greatest stuff I ever read - & those
play are now such Valuable articles - that they are sold at 3s6d - five
shillings each. Von Kotzebues play of Pizzaro has been adapted by
Sheridan [Richard
Brinsley Sheridan (1751 - 1815), Irish Dramatist and Politician]
in a very superior manner - & has had most deserved success - but ,- the Moral
& Loyal part is all Sheridan’s - this, indeed, is somewhat like
Monsieur le Diable citing scripture for his own purposes - but let that
pass;- as a piece it is splendid - & Loyal to a high degree;- the spectacle
is magnifique - & Kemble in Rolla quite Divine - particularly in a
famous speech to the Peruvians, not
one word of which is Von Kotzebues - this play - in its new dress is well worth
reading - & I shall buy it for you. After
you have read the Stranger - you may read Miss Hannah Moore’s Book -
which is not exactly in the same stile
- but as I am in the humour to find fault - I shall presume to speak of
her Works:- & though I have reprobated poor dear Mrs. Haller for going
astray;- & wisely cautioned my Child on the score of German
Theatrical’s - I must now acknowledge that I would not have her
altogether give up to Moorish puritanicals -
which I look on some of Miss Moores latter chapters to savour a
little of - & some of the Larned
think she has got a little out of her depth,- & out of her
sphere;- but not withstanding this it is a Book of infinite Merit - &
well worth the serious attention I well know you will give to it;- If Miss Moore
has a fault in this work it is - that having written for the high
Classes of this Country - she has drawn the string too tight;- & they are
more likely to fly from it in despair - than to endeavour to follow up a plan so
very Exalted;- & perhaps a more moderate system might have met with more
success from the Giddy Great;- In speaking, however, of Miss Moore’s Work I
would be understood to think of it with deference, & respect.-
This brings me to tell you of the Worthy & Respectable Mrs. Trimmer
- who lives at Brentford - where her exemplary attention to the religious
Instruction of the youthful poor - seems gradually reclaiming - one of the most
profligate Towns in England;- her plans are admirable - how much I wished for
you the day we went to her house - to have seen & heard her ,- & her
decent little circle! what a
Blessed occupation was hers - & how stronly must she feel the
approbation of her God. I recollect
- my Beloved Darling - with unutterable pleasure - the delight you used to take
- at a very early period of your Life - in Instructing a poor little Girl! - A
happy presage I trust - that you will in every stage of future Life be a useful,-
& active member of society not suffering your talents to rust in
sloth & idleness; - grateful for the Benefits & happiness you possess -
contribute your share to the comfort - & happiness of those who
surround you! We all have a
little World - who more, or less are made happy by our conduct; & the
Mistress of a family is a little Queen,- surrounded by a Court ten
thousand times more dear & Interesting than all the Glitter of St.
James’s.
A charming conclusion to her letter.
“I
Do Not Wait for Invitations”
The
next may have been a hand-delivered note; it is signed by Wren, but the
addressee is not stated - probably Mrs. Tottenham, Anne’s mother, or one of
her sisters. Date not known.
I
am extremely sorry it has not been in my power to spend a day with since I saw
you last - which I told Anne it was my intention to have done - but the weather
has been such it was quite impossible. Mrs.
O’Beirne is in Town on business - & the Girls are alone - or I should have
taken the advantage of this tolerable day to have gone over to you for a few
hours. I am to Bathe at 3-oclock -
& Mrs. O’Beirne dines alone - the Bishop being engaged to Mr. Lee’s.
Yesterday he dined & slept in Dublin.
If tomorrow should be fine I will call on you after Church - & stay
with you if you have no Engagement I assure you - It is weather &
circumstances which prevents my seeing you oftener - & that I do not wait
for Invitations! I send Charles’s
parcel which you will have the goodness to send by the first opportunity.
give the accounts Enclosed to Anne.
Ever
affectionately yours
PMB Wren
 Email
Tulskone@optonline.net
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