320 - Rebekah Bateman to Mary Jane Hodson, 4 September 1783

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[Change hand] The young lady whose death is so affectingly announced
in this letter, was the orphan daughter of an Apothecary in
Market Street Lane – Mr Saml Hope was her guardian, & at
his house she died. Dr Tho. Percival has given an account
of her death in “Medical Transactions”
Vol:4. p.80

[Original hand]
My dear Hodson
You will wonder much at receivg
a letter so soon after my last – my subject is too
gloomy for you to read without shedding a friendly &
sympathetic tear with ye writer upon ye sudden & awful
death of my dear & valued friend Lucy Boultbee I can
scarce repeat you ye awful circumstances for blotting
ye paper with an unavailing tear which rises
when I consider yt {?enerving} wisdom design’d a young
blooming creature (just turn’d 17) for ye gloomy
repository of ye Grave & to all appearance twas an
unexpected shock – She was well at Chapel ye
sabbath Mr Hodson was in town I went & spoke to
her & she said “my dear I’ll call upon Wednesday
morning” – ye morng {^came} I looked for her but to my
great surprize I heard – after she was confined
in her Bed not hearing till ye last Friday I
went on Saturday & saw her she was in
[new page]
extreme pain in her side & Bowels I said tho my
heart was almost too big for utterance my dear girl
what are your thoughts of death she looked with
a look I never shall forget thro’ing her hand of
mine my dear “its very gloomy to me this moment
tho she continued I think I woud rather die than
live in this misery I replied theres an eternity
follows she said there is & I know I have not
lived as I [deleted] ought” – she grew from {^yt} time worse till
on sabbath afternoon she vomited up some pickled
{?samphion} (which eating an immoderate quantity of
ye Monday before her physicians thought was ye
cause of ye disorder) she appeared rather better
but it returned with more violence she lay in
agonies on Monday & Tuesday till nature being
quite exhausted for want of rest they gave something
to compose her & she went into an eternal world
out of a sleep on Wednesday morng about a ¼ before
3 – yesterday the Body was opened & twas found
a mortification of ye stomach had took place –
I could not refrain with Mr Harvey saying
[new page]
Thow lov’d how valued once avails thee not
To whom related & by whom forgot
A heap of dust alone remains of thee
‘Tis all thou art & all yt I must be.
Now my dear what improvement shall you & I
make of this alarmg providence methinks it loudly
calls to me in particular as I was an intimate
of ye dear deceased to be on our watch we
know not when our time is why was it not you
or me we yet are spared n health to see ye
necessity & have ye opportunity of calling for mercy
but Oh trust not till tomorrow is it not worth
present endeavours surely yea may you I & all {?pen}
{?rivers/vivers} – seek ask & knock yea never rest satisfied
till we are made ye happy recipiants of it
as ye poor dear girl said “I” see now ye necessity
of applyg in health to religion for while my Body is
racked with pain my mind is not capable of thinkg
as I should” – {?Smitten} Friends are angels sent on errands full
of love For us they languish & for us they die young
And shall we yet remain hard as ye nether millstone
[damaged] my dear it is my wish for myself yt this may not
be ye case & I can assure you it is breathed with ye
same ardor for my her to whom I write & subscribe
myself an affectionate &
sincere friend R Clegg
Manchester
Sep 4th 1783
[new page]
Miss Hodson
Cuppins Lane
Chester
Single
Clegg – Manchr
Answer’d Sepr 18th
1783
[Change hand] The young lady whose death is so affectingly announced
in this letter, was the orphan daughter of an Apothecary in
Market Street Lane – Mr Saml Hope was her guardian, & at
his house she died. Dr Tho. Percival has given an account
of her death in “Medical Transactions”
Vol:4. p.80

[Original hand]
My dear Hodson
You will wonder much at receivg
a letter so soon after my last – my subject is too
gloomy for you to read without shedding a friendly &
sympathetic tear with ye writer upon ye sudden & awful
death of my dear & valued friend Lucy Boultbee I can
scarce repeat you ye awful circumstances for blotting
ye paper with an unavailing tear which rises
when I consider yt {?enerving} wisdom design’d a young
blooming creature (just turn’d 17) for ye gloomy
repository of ye Grave & to all appearance twas an
unexpected shock – She was well at Chapel ye
sabbath Mr Hodson was in town I went & spoke to
her & she said “my dear I’ll call upon Wednesday
morning” – ye morng {^came} I looked for her but to my
great surprize I heard – after she was confined
in her Bed not hearing till ye last Friday I
went on Saturday & saw her she was in
[new page]
extreme pain in her side & Bowels I said tho my
heart was almost too big for utterance my dear girl
what are your thoughts of death she looked with
a look I never shall forget thro’ing her hand of
mine my dear “its very gloomy to me this moment
tho she continued I think I woud rather die than
live in this misery I replied theres an eternity
follows she said there is & I know I have not
lived as I [deleted] ought” – she grew from {^yt} time worse till
on sabbath afternoon she vomited up some pickled
{?samphion} (which eating an immoderate quantity of
ye Monday before her physicians thought was ye
cause of ye disorder) she appeared rather better
but it returned with more violence she lay in
agonies on Monday & Tuesday till nature being
quite exhausted for want of rest they gave something
to compose her & she went into an eternal world
out of a sleep on Wednesday morng about a ¼ before
3 – yesterday the Body was opened & twas found
a mortification of ye stomach had took place –
I could not refrain with Mr Harvey saying
[new page]
Thow lov’d how valued once avails thee not
To whom related & by whom forgot
A heap of dust alone remains of thee
‘Tis all thou art & all yt I must be.
Now my dear what improvement shall you & I
make of this alarmg providence methinks it loudly
calls to me in particular as I was an intimate
of ye dear deceased to be on our watch we
know not when our time is why was it not you
or me we yet are spared n health to see ye
necessity & have ye opportunity of calling for mercy
but Oh trust not till tomorrow is it not worth
present endeavours surely yea may you I & all {?pen}
{?rivers/vivers} – seek ask & knock yea never rest satisfied
till we are made ye happy recipiants of it
as ye poor dear girl said “I” see now ye necessity
of applyg in health to religion for while my Body is
racked with pain my mind is not capable of thinkg
as I should” – {?Smitten} Friends are angels sent on errands full
of love For us they languish & for us they die young
And shall we yet remain hard as ye nether millstone
[damaged] my dear it is my wish for myself yt this may not
be ye case & I can assure you it is breathed with ye
same ardor for my her to whom I write & subscribe
myself an affectionate &
sincere friend R Clegg
Manchester
Sep 4th 1783
[new page]
Miss Hodson
Cuppins Lane
Chester
Single
Clegg – Manchr
Answer’d Sepr 18th
1783
Details

Rebekah Bateman to Mary Jane Hodson, 4 September 1783

A lengthy account of the shocking death of Lucy Boultbee who had over-indulged in pickled {?samphion} and subsequently died of a mortification of the stomach, includes a poem on loss and providence, and Rebekah's thoughts on death whilst young and her faith.

Bateman Family Papers

OSB MSS 32 Box 1, Folder 10 [12]

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University

1783

9

4

Sep 4 1783

Manchester

[Lancashire, England]

Miss Hodson, Cuppins Lane, Chester

[Cheshire, England]

People
Person: Rebekah Bateman
View full details of Person: Rebekah Bateman

primary author

heart

  • breathing
  • crying
  • thinking
  • writing

melancholy

health

  • affection
  • grief
  • happy
  • love
  • shock
  • sympathy

faith

friendship

How to Cite

Rebekah Bateman to Mary Jane Hodson, 4 September 1783, 491783: Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, Bateman Family Papers, OSB MSS 32 Box 1, Folder 10 [12]

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