From Dawson Turner to Ellen Hutchins   1 Nov 1814

I feel myself this evening, my dear Madam, relieved from a weight that has pressed upon me for weeks, I might almost say for months, & I thank God most heartily for the news which through Dr. Taylor I have just received, that you are at length recovering from your dreadful illness & are even pronounced to be out of danger. I write to you, however, not so much in the fullness of my heart to express to you my joy, as to let you know that I am acquainted how you are, & to beg of you not to hurry about writing to me; for I am sure that, without this precaution you will be but too likely to write even before you are properly able, knowing, as you do, the anxiety which I feel respecting you. I will frankly own that I have of late lamented you as dead, & if I cannot say with truth that I have shed from my eyes many a tear on the subject, I can most certainly declare that I have done so from my heart & have from the bottom of it lamented the supposed loss of one of my dearest friends. Again & again I thank the Almighty for your recovery, & I hope, as soon as you feel yourself sufficiently restored, you may be induced to pay us the visit we have so long desired. The repose of a quiet family may serve to restore your mind & the novelty of a different country may revive without fatiguing your energies; & if, as I too much fear, domestic sorrows have a part in your illness you may for a while at least forget them in the bosom of that affectionate friendship which I hope & trust every member of this family is disposed to shew you. The innocent prattle too of your godchild, who is quite well but too young yet to know to whom she is indebted for her name, will amuse many a vacant hour, & indeed, you will find in my wife as amiable & good & sensible & kind a woman as is easily to be met with. I will say no more, except that Mr Hooker when we last heard from him was in Switzerland, quite well, & with a heap of plants taller than himself before him. It is about a fortnight since we had a letter & we are looking for another with some anxiety. That the reading of this may not too much fatigue you, I conclude: my heart is full of joy to know that you are alive & doing well & I cannot tell you how truly & how warmly I am

my dear Madam,

Your sincere & affectionate friend

Dawson Turner

Yarmouth 1^st November 1814

Note: this is the last known letter from Dawson Turner to Ellen Hutchins