908 - Judith Madan to Martin Madan, 24 September 1724

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Image #1 of letter: Judith Madan to Martin Madan, 24 September 1724

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Image #2 of letter: Judith Madan to Martin Madan, 24 September 1724
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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 wth reluctance
You Put off ye time of your return, & am blest beyond Expression if from your
Own Heart, you can have any notion, of what mine felt from yt 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 yt Day, I will only say
I Expected you till ten at night, & then Guess, wt Rest I could Possibly take, ye
morning came, & ye 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 ye village, a thousand thanks to {^my} Dear Kind Physitian for
ye Seasonable & Powerfull Cordial – By my Hopes of Happiness, & you, By all
ye 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 yt I Live to any Purpose, when I am not Employing My Self in something
yt Relates to you; you more then share me wth my self, I fancy in a Little
Time my Body will grow Jealous of my soul, for Prefering you Before yt
Good, honest, Dull, heap of flesh, skin & Bones, yt 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 ye 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 yt you would have left Bath, before it could
Reach you, all ye Opportunitys I could take, I assure you I Did, & Hope by this
time you have got ye Packet I sent by ye Chair. I Beg to know, to a Day, when
I may Expect you, & in ye mean time ye 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 wth reluctance
You Put off ye time of your return, & am blest beyond Expression if from your
Own Heart, you can have any notion, of what mine felt from yt 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 yt Day, I will only say
I Expected you till ten at night, & then Guess, wt Rest I could Possibly take, ye
morning came, & ye 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 ye village, a thousand thanks to {^my} Dear Kind Physician for
ye Seasonable & Powerful Cordial – By my Hopes of Happiness, & you, By all
ye 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 yt I Live to any Purpose, when I am not Employing My Self in something
yt Relates to you; you more then share me wth my self, I fancy in a Little
Time my Body will grow Jealous of my soul, for Preferring you Before yt
Good, honest, Dull, heap of flesh, skin & Bones, yt has served me so faithfully ever
{^since} I can remember, If this misfortune should happen, I Desire you'll use your
Interest to compose ye 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 yt you would have left Bath, before it could
Reach you, all ye Opportunities I could take, I assure you I Did, & Hope by this
time you have got ye Packet I sent by ye Chair. I Beg to know, to a Day, when
I may Expect you, & in ye mean time ye 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.
Details

Judith Madan to Martin Madan, 24 September 1724

A further letter in which Judith expresses her love for Martin, and her pain at being parted from him – rooted in embodied and emotive language. Discusses their hearts, souls, and heads, and the very tangible pain she has experienced during their time of separation – she could not sleep the other night because she was disappointed he had not returned. She describes Martin as her physician, and equates a letter from him as akin to a cordial that has alleviated her pain. She describes how she passes the day without him - she takes advice of walking regularly and taking the air, but nothing can truly make her happy again except his presence. Each day he grows closer to her heart, her love for him has become part of her soul. She thinks that her body will become jealous of her soul, because it prefers Martin’s to her own.

Madan Family

Eng Letter C.284 f.61

Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford

1724

9

24

[England]

[England]

People
Person: Judith Madan
View full details of Person: Judith Madan

primary author

  • body
  • head
  • heart
  • mind
  • skin
  • whole-body

  • sleeping
  • thinking
  • walking
  • writing

separation

  • easy
  • uneasy

  • feeling
  • grateful
  • happy
  • love (romantic)
  • low

  • self
  • soul
  • thought

pain

  • air
  • consolation
  • exercise
  • regimen

environment

marriage

Person: Martin Madan
View full details of Person: Martin Madan

primary addressee

heart

  • thinking
  • travel

separation

love (romantic)

  • memory
  • soul

marriage

How to Cite

To Cite this Letter

Judith Madan to Martin Madan, 24 September 1724, 2491724: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, Madan Family, Eng Letter C.284 f.61

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.

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