Letter from Anne Evans to her nephew, Arthur Phelps.
Transcribed from a scan of the original in June 2013 by Penelope Forrest,
born Phelps, great granddaughter of Arthur.
Abbots Hill
Oct 19th 1855
My dear Arthur,
I have been apparently a neglectful Aunt to you in the way of
correspondence, & I cannot promise much amendment in this particular for the
future, for I am grown old & it is a greater effort to exercise my pen now than
it used to be, but your Sister Fanny has room for another half sheet in her
cover & I am glad of the opportunity to assure you that you are as dear to my
affections as you ever were, & that I watch with unabated interest for every
intelligence of your well doing – and that my satisfaction at hearing of every
circumstance that redounds to your credit or advancement, is enhanced by the
remembrance of how greatly your beloved Uncle would have rejoiced in it, & how
really you were to him as a son. I pray that God may bless you with health to
carry out your highest & best aspirations, & that he will give you strength &
humility of mind to avoid & overcome temptations to sin or presumption, or
indolence. This will I hope find you preparing to reap the reward of your well
directed studies in the College in the active business of your profession.
Wherever they may lead you my prayers & best wishes will be yours.
Of my own party I can give a tolerably good report. My son John
& family took a house at Cowes in the Isle of Wight for a month to which they
kindly invited us & Mrs Cope sent Nellie & Manie
with their maid Maria to give Nellie the benefit of the Sea. They were in a
separate lodging. But Nellie caught cold & did not derive so much benefit as was
hoped though she is pretty well now. They went down with Anne & me for the last
fortnight of Jack's sojourn. Em had been with them from the beginning so she
brought up the Copes, & Harriet with little Arthur & Norman (the baby) went to
spend a week with Mrs Barlow at Brighton en route
home, & Fanny Phelps & Kate Hayward (who had joined us) Anne & I all repaired to
Ventnor in the S of the Island when the Cowes party broke up, taking little
Lewis with us. Here we spent a pleasant fortnight, surrounded by a most
picturesque beautiful country wh Fanny allowed was
very like Madeira. She & I & Lewis are now come away but we have left Anne with
Kate Hayward still there, & I am glad to add that Anne is visibly improved in
strength by her sojourn there.
Emma is now at the Jacks, & Mr
Hubbard managed to spend Wednesday with her on wh
occasion he was introduced to your At John D who
had not before seen him. She received him kindly & expressed herself pleased
with "the outer man" – & I do hope & believe that the inner
one is worthy of all confidence and that he deserves Emma which from me is high
praise. Her departure will cause a woeful blank in my home scenery – but I
suppose that I must make up my mind to part with her before very long – & if I
delayed for years I should feel no more inclined to give her up. I think she
still finds time to write to you occasionally so I need not enlarge on her
plans.
Bassy is pretty well, but not robust. He is not busy in his
office at present as all the leading men are out of town now so B is hoping to
get a few days holiday down at Ventnor. John Dn is
at Paris – so what business there is all devolves on B. I wish that his path in
life were as clearly defined as your own, with a permanent & progressive
prospect of adequate remuneration. This his present vocation does not afford, &
the want of it keeps his mind anxious.
We like our house & neighbourhood, & your Father seemed to
approve of our house & repeatedly spent a day there during his late sojourn in
England. I thought him particularly well, both in
spirits & appearance. We have been happy in hearing of his safe arrival in
Madeira & he must have been rejoiced in finding your sister Harriet proceeding
well, & the happy Mother of a very fine boy. You are now doubly an Uncle, & we
hear that the little Bayman is a child that all his belongings may be proud of.
Mr Crompton is not the same kind of man that Mr
Bayman is – but he seems very fond of his wife & child, so we must hope that
they will form a happy family after their own fashion.
Poor Janie has lost her friend & companion Miss Nutter, who is
returned to her friends – & Janie does not enjoy her comparative solitude. Bassy
saw her on Tuesday when she was pretty well but she is longing for emancipation
from Frejago – where however dullness is about all that she has really to
complain of, as they are kind & attentive, & Mrs
Jago cultivates her mind to a certain extent.
Your dear Uncle's friends have been subscribing for an obituary
window to commemorate his virtues, & Mr Cope has
about £180 in his hands to carry out this design. I rather think that the East
Window of the S Aisle will be the one fixed on, & the rest of the money be
applied to the clearstory windows on the S side – but nothing is quite settled
yet.
I had a letter from Aunt Charlotte a few days since. Captn
Thorp is on half pay & he & his wife think of making their principal home at
Cadeby. Mr Bailey is I believe going to leave.
Goodbye dear Arthur. Believe me always your affte
Aunt
Anne Evans
Your dear Aunt Kitty1 remains in the same
state. She suffers little bodily pain now, & is happy & tranquil in her hopes
for the future. The Genl is unremitting in his
attentions to her.
1. Kitty Dickinson, wife of General Thomas D, died in December.