216. Robert Bloomfield to Mary Lloyd Baker, 2–5 October
1807*
City Road. London.
Oct 2. 1807
Mrs T Baker
Dear Madam
My Coat came safe to town, and tho' no letter accompanied it, I was certain from the direction being in your hand,
that I should soon hear from you. Thanks for your friendly account of your amiable neighbours, and late fellow travellers. Do be
so good as to make my respects to them, and say that I have not forgot any of my promises to them, but shall at some future time
send Mr Cooper the 'Illustrations' and return his Vollms. of Daubney Daubeny's Guide to the Church. [1] I likewise hope to send that exceedingly petulant, arrogant and illnature'd Girl, myCharlotte C. my Brother's tune to my Highland Drover. [2] But of all this I will write more in due time. And you will here probably ask yourself, what does he mean by due time? Why I mean that when you have fulfilld your promise, and sent me your Wye Scetches to copy, and the said copying is done. I mean to have the pleasure of exhibiting to you and them my whole triple-page'd Journal, Drawings,
prose, and rhime.
Since my return I have spent an evening at Fulham, very delightfully. Mr and Mrs Owen, and a Sweedish Gentleman, the Baron De Gear, contributed to make me forget that, I was from home, and your Father to forget that he was old. The latter, I assure you, in
appearance, gives me less apprehensions of speedy dissolution than I was prepare'd to expect. The
Sweed talkd of the scenery of the Baltic, Mr O talk'd of the Alps, and of the passage of mount St Gotherd &c, —and I—What
could I talk about?—The Wye, to be sure!
I have made a Harp for Catharine, and carried it to Clare Hall, and there met Dr Crotch and
family. They are all as jovial as music can make them, And all well. During this visit I was favourd with a copy of your Blank Verse tribute to the Queen's Oak, and shewd a Sonnet besides on the same Subject, which Sonnet brought
Kate-te and I as near to a quarrel as ever we were in our
lives; for I could not for the life of me call to mind that I had ever heard it before. The Blank Verse I
rememberd to have heard, or read in the garden at Fullham, and If I then saw or heard the
other, I think you must have read it to me and smuggled up the name of the writer, in which case I find a tolarable hole to creep
out at. You have allso dresst Wake's Oak in rhime, And if you go any further in personal compliments to your H. S. I shall begin
to suspect what I would not have true for two or three such working day worlds as this, Either that you
rather exceed the sober rating of my performances; or, that you are contented to pull the reins of your fancy, and to quench check superior abilities, and to come in second by choice, perhaps because you don't like to
be stare'd at; Hey!—Well well, take your way Lady; take your way.!
I have not yet found that Mrs Grant's poems are publishd. I will not loose sight of them. [2]
Having now transcribed my pose prose Journal and made some matchless drawings from memory, I wait with real anxiety for the time when you can send me yours,
and I will take as much care of them as I would of you. I mean seriously to get some command of the pencil during the next year or
two, so remember that I am at school.
To Mr T Baker I beg to be particularly rememberd and hope that
when he has news to tell of you that I may not be wholly left out of the Post.—Blessings attend you All, and
with true respects to Mr. & Mrs Baker, and to the wee things.
I am Madam yours truly,
Rob Bloomfield
Mr. B,
By Monday Night's post,
ye 5th of Oct.