My dear Mary Ann
I gave me great pleasure to hear by
M^r & M^rs Shepperd that all my friends at Gateacre are
well & yours amongst the number, I had only a short
interview with them, as the weather was so intolerably
bad part of the time they were at Manch^r that it was
scarcely possible to reach there a long our dirty road &
the remainder of the time we had a house full of
invalids, few families {^in} the neighbourhood have escaped
the Influenza, & many persons have been seriously in=
=disposed with it, I hope it has not been so general
with you & that your family have entirely escaped it
I perfectly well recollect what Hatfield & Thomas {^once} suffer=
=ed with it, & James long bore the marks of it in his
Countenance. I thank you my dear Mary Ann for
your affectionate letter of the 20 Oct & for the sympathy
you express on the bereaving providence which has
taken from us a dear & much beloved sister, the perc=
=uliar circumstances of her affliction were such as rather
To increase our sorrow by the sudden & unexpected stroke
[new page]
of her death; it is the duty of every one to [deleted] {^resign themselves} to the
just decrees of that Good Being whom we are ever assured
ordereth all things [deleted] to answer the wisest
& best purposes although we cannot always discern
it, yet it {^is} difficult to acquire that resignation to the
divine Will when we are deprived of the society of
those who posses & deserve the best affections of their
friends which was the case with her when I doubt not
is now enjoying the recompense of rewards which is pro=
=missed to all who walk uprightly in this world. Oh my
Dear girl, what an additional lesson in this to us who
are young, to teach us also to be ready for we know
not when our turn may come. I am going on Friday
to spend a day or two at Travis Isle & shall take this
letter with me in hopes M^r Hatfield will know of an
opportunity of sending it to you. I was glad to hear
that Miss Kirkpatrick was with you, as you will all feel
more at home with a person who is not an entire stranger
to the family, I hope her brother of whom you speak
is recovered. Have you seen M^r John & Thomas Holland
new edition of their Exercises with additions & alterations
we have it, & find many Botanical & Historical Extracts
that were not given in the former editions but it seems as
[new page]
little like book making, to publish the same work so often
with alterations & additions, however this edition appears to
have more merit than any former ones & I hope it will sell.
Will you give my love to Hatfield, Thomas & Dorothy & beg
their acceptance of a set of bricks to build houses bridges &c
with which I hope will amuse them when they cannot
play in the garden, the turned ones are for the arches of
the bridge & I have numbered what belong to each arch
progressively, I shall leave them at M^r Hatfields to be
sent the first opportunity. I never saw so much
rain fall in one season since I came into Lancashire
as of late, & indeed I begin to think that there is more
rain here than in the neighbourhood {^of Gateacre} in the same space
of time. I was glad to hear you were so much pleased
with {^the} Orators of the Messiah I think it was the first
time you have heard any of that kind of Music, & as
you are fond of Music I can easily conceive it would
give you pleasure. Pray beg my respects to your Grand=
=mother & kind love to your father Elizabeth & James I
shall be glad to hear from you whenever you have time
& inclination to write to me & believe me yr truly affe^te friend
Park Jany 25^th 1805 H Roberts
[new page]
P S Travis Isle I am sorry I have ben disappointed in not being to
bring the bricks here with me as I intended but will send them
the first opportunity to be forwarded to you.
Miss Mary Ann Nicholson
Gateacre
[change hand] Park near Manchester
Jan:^y 25 1806
Rec:^d Jan:^y 30:^th 1806
Ans:^d October 26:^th 1806

My dear Mary Ann
I gave me great pleasure to hear by
M^r & M^rs Shepperd that all my friends at Gateacre are
well & yours amongst the number, I had only a short
interview with them, as the weather was so intolerably
bad part of the time they were at Manch^r that it was
scarcely possible to reach there a long our dirty road &
the remainder of the time we had a house full of
invalids, few families {^in} the neighbourhood have escaped
the Influenza, & many persons have been seriously in=
=disposed with it, I hope it has not been so general
with you & that your family have entirely escaped it
I perfectly well recollect what Hatfield & Thomas {^once} suffer=
=ed with it, & James long bore the marks of it in his
Countenance. I thank you my dear Mary Ann for
your affectionate letter of the 20 Oct & for the sympathy
you express on the bereaving providence which has
taken from us a dear & much beloved sister, the perc=
=uliar circumstances of her affliction were such as rather
To increase our sorrow by the sudden & unexpected stroke
[new page]
of her death; it is the duty of every one to [deleted] {^resign themselves} to the
just decrees of that Good Being whom we are ever assured
ordereth all things [deleted] to answer the wisest
& best purposes although we cannot always discern
it, yet it {^is} difficult to acquire that resignation to the
divine Will when we are deprived of the society of
those who posses & deserve the best affections of their
friends which was the case with her when I doubt not
is now enjoying the recompense of rewards which is pro=
=missed to all who walk uprightly in this world. Oh my
Dear girl, what an additional lesson in this to us who
are young, to teach us also to be ready for we know
not when our turn may come. I am going on Friday
to spend a day or two at Travis Isle & shall take this
letter with me in hopes M^r Hatfield will know of an
opportunity of sending it to you. I was glad to hear
that Miss Kirkpatrick was with you, as you will all feel
more at home with a person who is not an entire stranger
to the family, I hope her brother of whom you speak
is recovered. Have you seen M^r John & Thomas Holland
new edition of their Exercises with additions & alterations
we have it, & find many Botanical & Historical Extracts
that were not given in the former editions but it seems as
[new page]
little like book making, to publish the same work so often
with alterations & additions, however this edition appears to
have more merit than any former ones & I hope it will sell.
Will you give my love to Hatfield, Thomas & Dorothy & beg
their acceptance of a set of bricks to build houses bridges &c
with which I hope will amuse them when they cannot
play in the garden, the turned ones are for the arches of
the bridge & I have numbered what belong to each arch
progressively, I shall leave them at M^r Hatfields to be
sent the first opportunity. I never saw so much
rain fall in one season since I came into Lancashire
as of late, & indeed I begin to think that there is more
rain here than in the neighbourhood {^of Gateacre} in the same space
of time. I was glad to hear you were so much pleased
with {^the} Orators of the Messiah I think it was the first
time you have heard any of that kind of Music, & as
you are fond of Music I can easily conceive it would
give you pleasure. Pray beg my respects to your Grand=
=mother & kind love to your father Elizabeth & James I
shall be glad to hear from you whenever you have time
& inclination to write to me & believe me yr truly affe^te friend
Park Jany 25^th 1805 H Roberts
[new page]
P S Travis Isle I am sorry I have ben disappointed in not being to
bring the bricks here with me as I intended but will send them
the first opportunity to be forwarded to you.
Miss Mary Ann Nicholson
Gateacre
[change hand] Park near Manchester
Jan:^y 25 1806
Rec:^d Jan:^y 30:^th 1806
Ans:^d October 26:^th 1806