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Revised Jun 6 2021

Heywood Manuscript Letter No. 17
Emma Bertie to Mrs. Elizabeth Heywood

No. 17. Mrs. Bertie to Mrs. Heywood

Portsmouth 28th. June 1792

Madam.

As your son's Letters may not have reached you (from his not knowing your Direction) I take the Liberty, tho' a stranger, of addressing you to tell you that a Friend of mine who I sent to see him this Day, gives me the most favorable Account of his Looks & Health, which he assured him he enjoyed perfectly — He was in Want of a few Things which at my Father's (Mr. Heywood's) request he has been & will be supplied with. He expressed a great Hope that neither you nor any of his Friends wou'd come to see him in his present unhappy Situation, trusting on his Trial to make his Innocence appear. — My Motive for writing is, that as his Letters to you may have miscarried, I think it will be a great satisfaction to you to know, that he has a Friend & relation on the Spot, who will do every thing she can, to make his present Confinement as comfortable as possible.

From every thing I can collect I flatter myself there is little Doubt of his making his Innocence appear — if you or Miss Heywood's will write to me & tell me any thing you wish to be done for him, I shall have great Satisfaction in doing it to the Best of my Power. Not knowing your Direction, I send this to my Father — be so good as to acknowledge the receipt of this & send me your Address — a Letter directed to Mrs. Bertie on board H: M: S: Edgar will find me. I am just informed that Mr. Heywood has wrote to his Uncle Pasley & given him a true State of all that has happened.

Any Letter you may wish to write to him, if you will enclose it to me shall be safely delivered to him, but I must tell you that all Letters to & from him, are first seen by the Commanding Officer of the Port — my reason for writing this is, that you might possibly write what you wou'd not chuse to be made public. — I hope Madam you will not think it is from a Wish of interfering, that I now address you, but from a real Desire of being of as much Use to your Son as I can.

I am Madam

  your most obedient

    humble servant. &c.

      Emma Bertie

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