Revised Jun 6 2021

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