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April 30, 1811 letter from Lady Diana Barham to Mrs. Thomas Haweis

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Title	April 30, 1811 letter from Lady Diana Barham to Mrs. Thomas Haweis
Post Date	April 30, 1811
Author	Barham, Lady Diana (1762-1823)
Recipient	[McDowall, Elizabeth 'Bessy'] Mrs. Thomas Haweis (1778-1855)
Date	1811-04-30
Physical Description	8 pp. total; 8 pp. text
Dimensions	37.1 x 23.4 cm
Location (Box, Folder)	Box 1, File 03
Transcriber	Gareth Lloyd
Plain Text Transcription	From Lady Barham [Diana Noel] to Mrs [Elizabeth] Haweis. She is not happy about Elizabeth and unhappy about Willyam (Elizabeth's son, John Oliver Willyams Haweis). O that the Lord might have them both in His particular keeping and lead her to decide to go somewhere for a change of air –for example to the sea for a month. Diana cannot but think that Elizabeth would be failing in her duty if she did not do this. She must at least consider it and take it before the Lord in prayer? Elizabeth knows that Diana’s ‘vile unstable nature grows impatient upon this most interesting subject and therefore will not permit it to [unreadable word] among it where it will be cleansed from its impurity and only remembered in mercy and for good.’ Diana sometimes worries about Elizabeth’s spiritual state – her last letter seemed more appropriate to the ‘upper world’ than was good. Spiritual matters are discussed in detail. Diana will remain here a week or two longer and feels so improved in her health and is so happy with this situation that, but for her longings for Beaufort Buildings (the Haweis family was resident at 5 Beaufort Buildings in Bath, Somerset) would welcome any cause for delay. She would go anywhere to see Elizabeth. Diana was very distressed last week – they visited a young man in Dorchester Jail, Dorset, who had been under sentence of death for forgery. He was a most profligate and abandoned character and this was the second time that he had been incarcerated at Dorchester. Nothing could be found that would in any way extenuate his guilt and the judge had therefore most reluctantly condemned him to hang, although at the same time prepared to make enquiry into the young man’s background to try find something that could save him from the gallows. The jailor has noticed that for the last three weeks there has been a most remarkable change in the prisoner’s demeanour. He appeared resigned and even happy at his approaching death so that he enjoyed easy and uninterrupted sleep at night. He next asked for prayer and talked(?) of the free grace offered by our Lord and stated that he had received forgiveness through the ministry of one who had visited him in prison and the ministry of dear [unreadable name] at Poole in Dorset. The sermon melted his heart with divine love and he saw that he was an ‘undone sinner’. Elizabeth will guess what happened next – the ‘promise’ was brought with force to his heart; he borrowed a bible and he read day and night until he was moved into the condemned cell and there he entrusted his soul into the hands of his Lord – Diana is writing as fast as she can in order to catch the post. The judge wrote to Mr Pill(?) and Mr P. wrote to the judge – their letters crossed on the road. [The next passage of the letter is very difficult to read due to the poor quality of the handwriting]. The prisoner was informed that he was to be transported to New South Wales in Australia. He blessed God and seemed taken with the idea that he may be made useful to God’s work with regard to his fellow convicts. The man also asked to remain in the condemned cell for a week longer and he was there blessed with communion with God. When Diana saw him, he was in a plain cell [the letter finishes at this point]. (2 sheets, 4 p.) 30 April 1811 Diana Middleton (1762-1823) was born near Swansea in Glamorganshire, the only child of Charles Middleton (created Baron Barham in 1805). She was married in 1780 to Gerard Noel Edwardes, who changed his name to Noel in 1798. The couple was on familiar terms with the Royal family and had eighteen children. Upon succeeding to her father’s peerage in 1813, Diana took up residence on the Gower peninsula near Swansea and was an active promoter of evangelistic work and a close friend of William Wilberforce. The chapels of “Lady Barham’s Connexion” were eventually conveyed to the Calvinistic Methodists.
Notes	MS unsigned. 8 p. letter but incomplete. Endorsed: 'Lady Barham to Mrs Haweis'.
Digital Resources Type	Image
Digitization Date	Digitized: 2012
Digitization Process	Digitization process: Derivatives resized at 4030 pixels in height or width
Digital Publisher	Bridwell Library, Special Collections; Perkins School of Theology; Southern Methodist University
Rights	Permission to publish materials must be obtained from the Head of Special Collections of the Bridwell Library
Decade	1810-1819