The Letters of Sir Samuel Hellier (1736–1784)

Sir
As we lye under ye lash of so many tounges & yourselves don’t escape I think it can’t be improper to remind you
of ye past provocation we have for what we do you said you would tell Mr Hayes & ye world you were 
turned out of doors, in ye first place have we not used you with all ye cruel freedom in ye world &
when ever any questions were started of settlements did I ever depart from what I first said or if any mention
of time for ye estate {…} again was mentioned that I did not understand it was still ye same design
in me so that my intensions were all wayes ye same, & as I allwayes told my D[aughter] could your effects be made
appear as ye world said they were I would part with my jointure  or do any thing to make your match because
I thought it pointed at happiness & ye life she liked to live in & I would turn over my jointure to no man so
soon would he give us satisfaction where his effects and great dificulty I had to gain any complyance on
her side & so that nicer you are now so fond on nana perkins knows, you know you said you were possessed
of no land but what was your mothers & for any other effects you never gave us any accounts of one farther
& when I went to tell was resolved to set my hand to nothing & that you heard me say there till Mrs Hellier
came in, & when I was artfully drawn into so kind an act, to turn over to you an estate worth 5 thousand
ll [=£] to have such usage after, I leave your own conscience to be ye judge whether it was treating us as was
reasonable, to expect first to marry my Daughter at midnight in that unhandsome maner & to be governed by
such a person as nan perkins & your man, them to let all ye country know it but us, for fear we would not
come in to settle which would have been no obstruction had it been done decently & told us handsomly like
parents, but to ask me a Monday by Mr Hollis to let you marry ye young lady before you went to town &
which I begged you would not think of till she had cloaths & things were made fit for a wedding & writings
made & your mother come in & things handsomly completed on all hands, she knew a noat was wrote &
money ready long before, & lay only till ye agreement was completed to send up & beg your mothers opinion in
ye disposal of it, that she might be pleased because she would see ye wareing of them when I was deny’d it when
she was gone from me, & every thing I asked or proposed to her as plainly appears by ye way & maner of your
marrying my Daughter I could not have thought you had any design of making a wedding in ye cloaths you bought any
more than I designed her to do it with what she had, but you come down one tuesday morning in a passion & told
me before all ye workfolks & servants she was your wife & you had married her & then I said I hop’t you would give me
satisfaction in what manner which you know you would not, least ye world should say she was your mistress
being I thought her conduct was not right & I had great reason to be ashured you lay together which almost
broke my heart, & when I ever hinted any such thing amongst ye maids, to see if they would own any such thing
your good cousin perkins said that need her want make such ado they had been all one as man & wife ever since good
Friday, a good day to begin irregularity, blame me not if I was peevish, when I heard this & long since then she
desired all things to be securely settled & your mother brought in, who nan perkins told me when you were att
Worcester that you had said very slighty things of her & that she wrote to you to come up & leave her which was very
easey to us & such things as I did not expect from her to us that were strangers but that shall shall [sic.] be cared for
for [sic.] me for I scorn to tell her to your preduce, but I fancy she will think me a monster to let my child go
from me in this maner: though her cloaths are good for a single person & just out of mourning yet not for a laide
or what order her living is in I no more know them one at some or what she has, she had new last year to go to bristol
but how they are managed or in what order I know not for she would not consult me, though she never has deny’d
what we thought useful & spent her father £300 last year with journeys & cloaths & other expences & never
had an unkind word from me, I am sure, but when I thought a parent’s inspection into her conduct was
nessicary, bid her reflect how she has treated us never askt my blessing nor her fathers I dare say this
5 or 10 year & has told me I have been ye worst of mothers, has my last action to her bespoke it or
any action of my life, ye whole course of my life & when I had generously done ye kind part
to offer you my jointure & clear it by clogging my annuity with what was upon it I thought I might have
been so far indulged to have let me have chose ye time for ye wedding because of my farm that I must
regard since I have given away ye rents that I was sure of, I thought you would have said when ye
summer was spent in Staffordshire, as you proposed we should have took up our all, & see how she was
settled a very usual thing sure & what I mentioned to her, & she said she believed Mr Hillier would not like
to have his house controuled by a mother in law, sure I was not so pretending to do that, in short every
thing I offered was rejected & ye only study was to get as far from us as could be, else when I asked you
to let her stay to be made decent, & her cloaths clean it was hard to refuse me & would take her them
& when Mr H[ellier] requested may commanded as a father & an afflicted parent her stay it was refused,
by both we could not command you nor detain your wife, but consider Mr H[ellier] should it please god to
make you ye parent of one only child how could you that are a man of passion bear it consider our usage
did not you tell me you took my D[aughter] with near a groat was not this provoking to a mother when you
knew she must be worth many thousands if not forfeited by her disobedience, could I say less than your actions
lookt like a London bite did not you draw that upon your self by ye unkind treatment we received from you[?]
& then to say was I a man you would run me through your love to me must be you more than if you had been
guilty of ye action my sex I find was my security & I had as good bye at once as piecemeal as I do
by her disobedience, but I am called a good natured fool so let all ye world post where judgment as
they will of me, you neither of you scope, if you have a mind to secure any solid happyness dis-
charge that creature that had a hand in putting you together before it was proper least she helps to part
you with ye same vigilance & when at London your man for he is not fit to be kept he made so free with
both your characters that I cant put his words under my hand for shame,
/
I ought to excuse for keeping you from better amusements but theres a {…} paper in all
parts of ye world so if you let this be perused as such its sufficient I wish you happy in each
other & both good to your mother & give me leave to be
Mr Helliers Humble Servant
SH

Mr H sends you his service.