I cannot forbear writing to Thee, my Dearest Soul!
Tho I hope this Letter will not reach Northampton, before you have left it: if my
Ill Fortune Detains you there Longer, I flatter my self it will be a Welcome
Mark of my Remembrance of you – I must, & will Believe it was w^th reluctance
You Put off y^e time of your return, & am blest beyond Expression if from your
Own Heart, you can have any notion, of what mine felt from y^t Disapointment,
I could not sleep all Monday night, but lay & told every tedious hour – at last
Daylight return’d, & brought me more Happiness then I have been sensible of since
You Left me, I will not Enlarge on my Impatience all y^t Day, I will only say
I Expected you till ten at night, & then Guess, w^t Rest I could Possibly take, y^e
morning came, & y^e Post but as they said no Letter for me, then it was that my
Resolutions gave way, I could not Reason my self into any tolerable Degree of
Ease, till an Unforeseen accident Releiv’d me, a Letter from you came, having
been carri’d by mistake to y^e village, a thousand thanks to {^^my} Dear Kind Physitian for
y^e Seasonable & Powerfull Cordial – By my Hopes of Happiness, & you, By all
y^e Painfull, tenderness I have Endur’d, I protest, you are, my own angel! Dearer
To me then Light, Life or Health, you are every moment nearer to my Heart
The Love {^^{of you}} is Become a Part of my Soul, & every Sentiment there, acts in agreement
With its only Darling {^^Passion} My Dear Creature! I could write to you Forever, I don’t
Know y^t I Live to any Purpose, when I am not Employing My Self in something
y^t Relates to you; you more then share me w^th my self, I fancy in a Little
Time my Body will grow Jealous of my soul, for Prefering you Before y^t
Good, honest, Dull, heap of flesh, skin & Bones, y^t has serv’d me so faithfuly ever
{^^since} I can remember, If this misfortune should happen, I Desire you’l use your
Interest to compose y^e Difference Last from Quarreling, it should come to

[f.61v]

Parting, & that I would By all means Prevent, Being very sensible my happiness
Depends, on their agreeing in Conjunction to be yours – you Did me
Justice My Dearest, in believing, nothing could have Engag’d Me to have Neglected
Writing to you a Post, but a belief y^t you would have left Bath, before it could
Reach you, all y^e Opportunitys I could take, I assure you I Did, & Hope by this
time you have got y^e Packet I sent by y^e Chair. I Beg to know, to a Day, when
I may Expect you, & in y^e mean time y^{e continuance of your Dear welcome Letters – you tell me it will Be an Age till you see me – see wt a Vain
Creature you have made me – I have taken it into my Head you mean 3
Days at most, I am sure yt would be an age to me, & {^am resolv’d to Judge of you
By My Self. Take notice how Long a Letter, I Dare sent to Quarters, there I
don’t know but you may have Leisure to read it through, when yu were att Bath
I was more reasonable – I almost Expect you to morrow, & wish heartily
This may miss you, & come Back in a case, as once you know one of ye same
Sort, Did – O My Dear Madan, in my account of time, I will set down
Ye Days I have not spent wth you, as Lost – come & let me live once more, I
Walk about indeed, & as Cato says, Draw fresh air & gaze upon ye Sun – but as
To Living & Enjoying my Being, a snail I found just now on a bunch of
Grapes, xxx {^May} Rival me, & Boast it self as happy a Trifle: in all but ye sence
I have yt you Love & Remember me, there indeed I am {^am} Supremly Happy, & could I
Only Reflect on yt, without ye pain of thinking you absent, I {^were} completely
Blest. Adieu My own Madan, or in other words, my own soul I am yours
Unalterably, & Tenderly.
Judith Madan.}

I cannot forbear writing to Thee, my Dearest Soul!
Though I hope this Letter will not reach Northampton, before you have left it: if my
Ill Fortune Detains you there Longer, I flatter my self it will be a Welcome
Mark of my Remembrance of you – I must, & will Believe it was w^th reluctance
You Put off y^e time of your return, & am blest beyond Expression if from your
Own Heart, you can have any notion, of what mine felt from y^t Disappointment,
I could not sleep all Monday night, but lay & told every tedious hour – at last
Daylight returned, & brought me more Happiness then I have been sensible of since
You Left me, I will not Enlarge on my Impatience all y^t Day, I will only say
I Expected you till ten at night, & then Guess, w^t Rest I could Possibly take, y^e
morning came, & y^e Post but as they said no Letter for me, then it was that my
Resolutions gave way, I could not Reason my self into any tolerable Degree of
Ease, till an Unforeseen accident Relieved me, a Letter from you came, having
been carried by mistake to y^e village, a thousand thanks to {^^my} Dear Kind Physician for
y^e Seasonable & Powerful Cordial – By my Hopes of Happiness, & you, By all
y^e Painful, tenderness I have Endured, I protest, you are, my own angel! Dearer
To me then Light, Life or Health, you are every moment nearer to my Heart
The Love {^^{of you}} is Become a Part of my Soul, & every Sentiment there, acts in agreement
With its only Darling {^^Passion} My Dear Creature! I could write to you Forever, I don’t
Know y^t I Live to any Purpose, when I am not Employing My Self in something
y^t Relates to you; you more then share me w^th my self, I fancy in a Little
Time my Body will grow Jealous of my soul, for Preferring you Before y^t
Good, honest, Dull, heap of flesh, skin & Bones, y^t has served me so faithfully ever
{^^since} I can remember, If this misfortune should happen, I Desire you'll use your
Interest to compose y^e Difference Last from Quarrelling, it should come to

[f.61v]

Parting, & that I would By all means Prevent, Being very sensible my happiness
Depends, on their agreeing in Conjunction to be yours – you Did me
Justice My Dearest, in believing, nothing could have Engaged Me to have Neglected
Writing to you a Post, but a belief y^t you would have left Bath, before it could
Reach you, all y^e Opportunities I could take, I assure you I Did, & Hope by this
time you have got y^e Packet I sent by y^e Chair. I Beg to know, to a Day, when
I may Expect you, & in y^e mean time y^{e continuance of your Dear welcome Letters – you tell me it will Be an Age till you see me – see wt a Vain
Creature you have made me – I have taken it into my Head you mean 3
Days at most, I am sure yt would be an age to me, & {^am resolved to Judge of you
By My Self. Take notice how Long a Letter, I Dare sent to Quarters, there I
don’t know but you may have Leisure to read it through, when yu were att Bath
I was more reasonable – I almost Expect you to morrow, & wish heartily
This may miss you, & come Back in a case, as once you know one of ye same
Sort, Did – O My Dear Madan, in my account of time, I will set down
Ye Days I have not spent wth you, as Lost – come & let me live once more, I
Walk about indeed, & as Cato says, Draw fresh air & gaze upon ye Sun – but as
To Living & Enjoying my Being, a snail I found just now on a bunch of
Grapes, xxx {^May} Rival me, & Boast it self as happy a Trifle: in all but ye sense
I have yt you Love & Remember me, there indeed I am {^am} Supremely Happy, & could I
Only Reflect on yt, without ye pain of thinking you absent, I {^were} completely
Blest. Adieu My own Madan, or in other words, my own soul I am yours
Unalterably, & Tenderly.
Judith Madan.}