640 - Martin Madan to Judith Cowper
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surrounded by a Room full of Company. I’ve heard no=
=thing, but Mr Madan, we give you Joy, we hear you are
married, perhaps it is to tantalize me, have you not in=
=form’d them yt you design to make the Creature uneasie
some time longer? Dear Mrs Cowper resolve, & Resolutely
fix a Day to compleat my happiness how can yr Good
nature take a Pleasure in Giving pain? After you have
assur’d me of yr Esteem, wt way can you confirm it,
but by complying with my desire? My Dear Miss Cowper
how dreadful must this Evening pass away, when I
reflect upon the passages, of last night? Where is the
[f.18v]
soft hand? Where are those Dear Lips I breath’d my soul upon?
Why didn’t you retain me, by promising
inexpressible Bliss? Let me have a return for me Love Love
me if you can, I truely deserve it, look on Yr Finger, that
may be a means, of remembering me, & then you’ll pitty my
absence, surely there will be a time that we shall be stran=
=gers, to separation till then, I shall be unhappy – adieu
my Dearest Soul adieu –
M Madan
Teusday Evening
PS I don’t fail leaving a Letter for me at Mrs Squires
+
ye yellow Brilliant Ring I have since Gain My Dear
Martin, as it was, his Beloved Fathers Presents to me
JM
surrounded by a Room full of Company. I’ve heard no=
=thing, but Mr Madan, we give you Joy, we hear you are
married, perhaps it is to tantalize me, have you not in=
=form’d them yt you design to make the Creature uneasy
some time longer? Dear Mrs Cowper resolve, & Resolutely
fix a Day to complete my happiness how can yr Good
nature take a Pleasure in Giving pain? After you have
assured me of yr Esteem, wt way can you confirm it,
but by complying with my desire? My Dear Miss Cowper
how dreadful must this Evening pass away, when I
reflect upon the passages, of last night? Where is the
[f.18v]
soft hand? Where are those Dear Lips I breathed my soul upon?
Why didn’t you retain me, by promising
inexpressible Bliss? Let me have a return for me Love Love
me if you can, I truly deserve it, look on Yr Finger, that
may be a means, of remembering me, & then you’ll pity my
absence, surely there will be a time that we shall be stran=
=gers, to separation till then, I shall be unhappy – adieu
my Dearest Soul adieu –
M Madan
Tuesday Evening
PS I don’t fail leaving a Letter for me at Mrs Squires
+
ye yellow Brilliant Ring I have since Gain My Dear
Martin, as it was, his Beloved Fathers Presents to me
JM
Martin Madan to Judith Cowper
Further discussion of their courtship / engagement – it appears Judith has still not given him a firm answer. He has arrived in London, and is surrounded by people who are teasing him about his situation. He wonders if she is making him uneasy on purpose, and this goes against her usual kind disposition. His emotions are rooted in the body - he discusses missing her soft hands and lips, and how he offered his soul to her. Discussion of a ring on her finger, which he should look at as a means of remembering him.
Madan Family
Eng Letter C.284 f.18
Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
172
True
[England]
[England]
primary author
- breathing
- gifting
separation
uneasy
- feeling
- happy
- hopeful
- love (romantic)
- low
- worried
- self
- soul
pain
urban
courting
primary addressee
- hands
- lips
- aesthetics
- clothing
separation
disposition
courting
To Cite this Letter
Martin Madan to Judith Cowper: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, Madan Family, Eng Letter C.284 f.18
To Cite this Edition
Material Identities, Social Bodies: Embodiment in British Letters c.1680-1820. Compiled by: Karen Harvey, Helen Esfandiary, Sarah Fox, Emily Vine, University of Birmingham. Project funded by the Leverhulme Trust (2021-2025, Ref. RPG-2020-163), https://socialbodies.bham.ac.uk.