From Ellen Hutchins to Dawson Turner   9 Oct 1809

My dear Sir, I have just washed the pencil [small hair brush] that finish’d drawing Fucus kaliformis, before my heart and fingers cool I shall send it with the few other drawings this little parcel contains for you. Tho’ the Rivulariae are not ready to go with them, as I intended, they shall soon follow. I hope most warmly that the little I now send may give you pleasure. Ought not Fucus Wigghii to reside with the Rivulariae? What an exquisite little beauty it is! I am very glad you think of giving a new plate of F clavellosus, I have no fear that increasing riches will have much affect on a mind such as I take yours to be, as to prevent your putting your thought in execution. How or where my dear Sir could covetousness find a place in a mind that enjoys the beautiful gifts of nature as yours does? The present plate of clavellosus quite hurts me every time I look at it. That there should be any thing so bad in so fine a work is very vexatious to all those who delight in it as I do.

The engraving of Fucus tomentosus is I think rather better than the drawing. How I wish that Bursa grew here that I may watch for the fruit. I believe the Fucus I sent you in the last parcel No 12 is the same as your reniformis. It is rare here. I had not seen your plate when I sent the drawing of specimens – your & Mrs Turner’s kindness on wishing me to visit you is highly gratifying to my feelings. I only regret that it is not in my power to take advantage of your kindness to become personally acquainted with you & her would be the highest pleasure to my mind indeed I should have all the advantage on my side for you would not find me what you seem to think. You have a much higher opinion of me than I deserve & if we should ever meet you will be quite disappointed. Is it not wiser to preserve your good opinion and stay quietly in the mountains. Much as I love the mountains if I were not so bound to home I believe I should be tempted to go see you at all risks but I cannot gratify myself with thinking of it, no mother of 10 children is more bound to home than I am to this little spot by the increasing years & infirmities of my Mother & the ill health of a brother who has lost the use of his limbs. They both depend almost entirely on my exertions for their amusement & health. I ought to ask your pardon for troubling you with so much of my domestic affairs. I am extremely happy to find that Mr Dillwyn was pleased here & that I had any thing that could interest him. We all liked him very much for the little time we had the pleasure of his company. I hope you have heard of Mr Hooker’s safety. I see by the newspaper that there had been communication from Iceland lately. It gratifies all my national feelings to find that you like the Irish so well. Most English people dislike us greatly & I fear we are not in general more generous to our neighbours. Some merits we must have & surely it would be a narrow mind that could deny what we deserve because we are not advanced to such a state of cultivation as you are. Indeed you allow us all or more than I believe we deserve —

I felt reading the translation of Dante as if it were as you say murdering him but I do not understand Italian well enough to read the original. I began to learn & was interrupted, however I intend to return to it as soon as the days become dark & gloomy. I cannot do better this winter than employ part of it in acquiring knowledge of this language. At present the delightful softness of the weather tempts me out & the garden requires care & preparation for winter. With us ‘parting summer lingering blooms’ delay long. We have flowers till the frost comes after Christmas & even then we have little frost. I cannot think of giving you the trouble of sending me your Dante, but I would trouble you to tell me whose edition it is, that I may know how to enquiry for it at some future time if I should be able to read it. I fear it requires more accurate knowledge of Italian than I may be for some time able to acquire without any other assistance than my own exertions with books.

I should have written immediately on receiving your letter as you so kindly wished had I not written with a parcel a few days before I received it. I am now very well & strong much better than before I had the last severe bilious attack. I hope you have before this time received a parcel I sent you safe & that you were pleased with what it contained. I now send a few specimens more of some kinds I thought you would like. I expect soon to send you some new Conferva, fresh water species, there are some very delicate ones growing near me, but until I get a new microscope I have just sent for, I cannot draw them. I now greatly regret that I had not a better microscope to do the Rivulariae for you. Next year I will do them as highly magnified as I am able & I shall very soon send you copies of the drawings I have now done the natural sizes. I hope you will think them good.

Accept my dear Sir my best wishes for your & Mrs T’s happiness & believe me faithfully yrs E Hutchins