951 - Judith Madan to Martin Madan, 1725
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- Letter Details
- People (2)
- How to Cite
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Friday morn:
My Dearest Creature! I have just rec:d your wish’d
for Letter, ye Expectation of w:ch has kept my waking ye Greatest part
of this Night- no words can Express how Dear to me is every assurance
of your Love – my Happiness or misery in this world Entirely depends on
ye Place I hold in your Heart, Give me then fresh & Endless Proofs of yr
Passion, & Believe me, my Everlasting Charmer! no time, no circumstances
not absence its self can have Power to render you less Dear to my Soul.
I Beg yo would continue to me, ye Blessing of constantly Hearing From yo
if you would in any degree lessen ye Pain I find in this Seperation,
tell me your whole Heart – when we are together, I am no stranger to
it, Let not absence Deprive me of this Privilege – when you write,
Imagin yr Self talking to me - & then sure it will Cease to Be a
disagreeable task –
Write Ever So; & If I answer you
I know not wt, it shows ye more of Love.
Love is a child yt talks in Broken Language,
yet then He speaks most Plain.
Dryden
My Dearest Life! If it were Possible for me to Represent to you, ye
melancholy way I am got into {^&} ye Painfull Sence I Hourly have of my
absence from all that is Desirable – I am sure your wonted goodness to me
would show its self, in Endeavours to give my Heart all ye Ease in yr Power
I constantly wake between ye Dismal Hours of 4 & 5, in ye morning, & at
yt time of Reflection, cannot keep my self from a thousand insupportable
[f.84v]
thoughts – sometimes I imagin you are ill, & wanting me to watch &
attend you – if I get rid of this – I Dread ye Distance Between us - & if
you will forgive {^me} must own, I sometimes envy you ye Happiness I Imagin
you Enjoy, & Fear ye Company of yr Friends, Books, & an agreeable
County, should make absence grow Familiar, & Easie to you - & thus I
have Open’d to you a Heart, whose only merit consists in being sensibly
touch’d By yours: adieu My Dear Soul! Preserve ye Idea of my
Tenderness - & return my Love, By assuring me of your own – I am
your most affectionate Friend & Faithfull Wife – yours in every
Inclination – wish - & Thought
Judith Madan.
Our Dear Boy is well, & makes us a visit next Sunday.
All Here send Love to you. When you write next Direct it to my Father.
My Dearest Creature! I have just rec:d your wish’d
for Letter, ye Expectation of w:ch has kept my waking ye Greatest part
of this Night- no words can Express how Dear to me is every assurance
of your Love – my Happiness or misery in this world Entirely depends on
ye Place I hold in your Heart, Give me then fresh & Endless Proofs of yr
Passion, & Believe me, my Everlasting Charmer! no time, no circumstances
not absence its self can have Power to render you less Dear to my Soul.
I Beg yo would continue to me, ye Blessing of constantly Hearing From yo
if you would in any degree lessen ye Pain I find in this Seperation,
tell me your whole Heart – when we are together, I am no stranger to
it, Let not absence Deprive me of this Privilege – when you write,
Imagin yr Self talking to me - & then sure it will Cease to Be a
disagreeable task –
Write Ever So; & If I answer you
I know not wt, it shows ye more of Love.
Love is a child yt talks in Broken Language,
yet then He speaks most Plain.
Dryden
My Dearest Life! If it were Possible for me to Represent to you, ye
melancholy way I am got into {^&} ye Painfull Sence I Hourly have of my
absence from all that is Desirable – I am sure your wonted goodness to me
would show its self, in Endeavours to give my Heart all ye Ease in yr Power
I constantly wake between ye Dismal Hours of 4 & 5, in ye morning, & at
yt time of Reflection, cannot keep my self from a thousand insupportable
[f.84v]
thoughts – sometimes I imagin you are ill, & wanting me to watch &
attend you – if I get rid of this – I Dread ye Distance Between us - & if
you will forgive {^me} must own, I sometimes envy you ye Happiness I Imagin
you Enjoy, & Fear ye Company of yr Friends, Books, & an agreeable
County, should make absence grow Familiar, & Easie to you - & thus I
have Open’d to you a Heart, whose only merit consists in being sensibly
touch’d By yours: adieu My Dear Soul! Preserve ye Idea of my
Tenderness - & return my Love, By assuring me of your own – I am
your most affectionate Friend & Faithfull Wife – yours in every
Inclination – wish - & Thought
Judith Madan.
Our Dear Boy is well, & makes us a visit next Sunday.
All Here send Love to you. When you write next Direct it to my Father.
Friday morn:
My Dearest Creature! I have just rec:d your wished
for Letter, ye Expectation of w:ch has kept my waking ye Greatest part
of this Night- no words can Express how Dear to me is every assurance
of your Love – my Happiness or misery in this world Entirely depends on
ye Place I hold in your Heart, Give me then fresh & Endless Proofs of yr
Passion, & Believe me, my Everlasting Charmer! no time, no circumstances
not absence its self can have Power to render you less Dear to my Soul.
I Beg yo would continue to me, ye Blessing of constantly Hearing From yo
if you would in any degree lessen ye Pain I find in this Separation,
tell me your whole Heart – when we are together, I am no stranger to
it, Let not absence Deprive me of this Privilege – when you write,
Imagine yr Self talking to me - & then sure it will Cease to Be a
disagreeable task –
Write Ever So; & If I answer you
I know not wt, it shows ye more of Love.
Love is a child yt talks in Broken Language,
yet then He speaks most Plain.
Dryden
My Dearest Life! If it were Possible for me to Represent to you, ye
melancholy way I am got into {^&} ye Painfull Sence I Hourly have of my
absence from all that is Desirable – I am sure your wonted goodness to me
would show its self, in Endeavours to give my Heart all ye Ease in yr Power
I constantly wake between ye Dismal Hours of 4 & 5, in ye morning, & at
yt time of Reflection, cannot keep my self from a thousand insupportable
[f.84v]
thoughts – sometimes I imagine you are ill, & wanting me to watch &
attend you – if I get rid of this – I Dread ye Distance Between us - & if
you will forgive {^me} must own, I sometimes envy you ye Happiness I Imagine
you Enjoy, & Fear ye Company of yr Friends, Books, & an agreeable
County, should make absence grow Familiar, & Easy to you - & thus I
have Opened to you a Heart, whose only merit consists in being sensibly
touched By yours: adieu My Dear Soul! Preserve ye Idea of my
Tenderness - & return my Love, By assuring me of your own – I am
your most affectionate Friend & Faithfull Wife – yours in every
Inclination – wish - & Thought
Judith Madan.
Our Dear Boy is well, & makes us a visit next Sunday.
All Here send Love to you. When you write next Direct it to my Father.
My Dearest Creature! I have just rec:d your wished
for Letter, ye Expectation of w:ch has kept my waking ye Greatest part
of this Night- no words can Express how Dear to me is every assurance
of your Love – my Happiness or misery in this world Entirely depends on
ye Place I hold in your Heart, Give me then fresh & Endless Proofs of yr
Passion, & Believe me, my Everlasting Charmer! no time, no circumstances
not absence its self can have Power to render you less Dear to my Soul.
I Beg yo would continue to me, ye Blessing of constantly Hearing From yo
if you would in any degree lessen ye Pain I find in this Separation,
tell me your whole Heart – when we are together, I am no stranger to
it, Let not absence Deprive me of this Privilege – when you write,
Imagine yr Self talking to me - & then sure it will Cease to Be a
disagreeable task –
Write Ever So; & If I answer you
I know not wt, it shows ye more of Love.
Love is a child yt talks in Broken Language,
yet then He speaks most Plain.
Dryden
My Dearest Life! If it were Possible for me to Represent to you, ye
melancholy way I am got into {^&} ye Painfull Sence I Hourly have of my
absence from all that is Desirable – I am sure your wonted goodness to me
would show its self, in Endeavours to give my Heart all ye Ease in yr Power
I constantly wake between ye Dismal Hours of 4 & 5, in ye morning, & at
yt time of Reflection, cannot keep my self from a thousand insupportable
[f.84v]
thoughts – sometimes I imagine you are ill, & wanting me to watch &
attend you – if I get rid of this – I Dread ye Distance Between us - & if
you will forgive {^me} must own, I sometimes envy you ye Happiness I Imagine
you Enjoy, & Fear ye Company of yr Friends, Books, & an agreeable
County, should make absence grow Familiar, & Easy to you - & thus I
have Opened to you a Heart, whose only merit consists in being sensibly
touched By yours: adieu My Dear Soul! Preserve ye Idea of my
Tenderness - & return my Love, By assuring me of your own – I am
your most affectionate Friend & Faithfull Wife – yours in every
Inclination – wish - & Thought
Judith Madan.
Our Dear Boy is well, & makes us a visit next Sunday.
All Here send Love to you. When you write next Direct it to my Father.
Details
Judith Madan to Martin Madan, 1725
Waiting for Martin’s letter has kept Judith awake for much of the night – sometimes she wakes in the early hours thinking of him and having intrusive thoughts that he may be ill. Her emotional state is dependent on the place she has in his heart, and she asks for further evidence that he loves her. Sometimes she is envious of what she presumes is his happiness and good company away from her – she writes to remind him of her existence. Their boy is well and will be visiting soon (he is an infant at this point – is he at a wet nurse?)
Madan Family
Eng Letter C.284 f.84
Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
1725
Witham, Essex [England]
[England]
People
Person: Judith Madan
View full details of Person: Judith Madan
primary author
heart
- sleeping
- thinking
- melancholy
- separation
easy
- affection
- happy
- hopeful
- love (romantic)
- low
- mind
- self
- soul
- thought
pain
marriage
Person: Martin Madan
View full details of Person: Martin Madan
primary addressee
heart
- reading
- talking
- thinking
- writing
separation
- easy
- ill-health
- feeling
- happy
- love (romantic)
- mind
- self
- soul
- thought
marriage
How to Cite
To Cite this Letter
Judith Madan to Martin Madan, 1725, 1725: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, Madan Family, Eng Letter C.284 f.84
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.