[Letter from Elizabeth Upshur Teackle to her sister, Ann Upshur Eyre, September 20, 1813]
Mentioned in this letter
- Government, Law, and Military
- Military Engagements - Maryland - Battle of St. Michaels - 1813
- Military Events - Recruiting and enlistment
- Wars - War of 1812 - 1812-1815
- Home, Health, and Social Life
- Bonnets and Hats
- Fashion
- Fashion - Lace
- Food - Fruit
- Gossip
- Health - Accidents
- Health - Disease and illness - Bilious fever
- People
- Eyre, Ann Upshur, 1780-1829
- Eyre, John, 1768-1855
- Martin, Daniel, 1780-1831
- Nivison, John, 1759-1820
- Scott, Sir Walter, 1771-1832
- Teackle, Elizabeth Upshur, 1783-1837
- Teackle, Littleton Dennis, 1777-1848
- Upshur, Abel Parker, 1790-1844
- Upshur, Anne Billings Steele, 1791-1835
- Upshur, Arthur, 1789-1830
- Wallis, Elizabeth Custis Teackle, 1790-1854
About this letter
- Description
- Letter from Elizabeth Upshur Teackle to her sister, Ann Upshur Eyre, updating her on their return from Ann's house to Princess Anne. Elizabeth says that her husband Littleton has been sick. She also describes how she tripped out of her carriage and hit her head. She discusses how the town is full of military and Major Daniel Martin shared some war stories with her. She also talks about John Nivison.
- Creator
- Teackle, Elizabeth Upshur
- Creation Date
- September 20, 1813
- Subjects
- Teackle, Elizabeth Upshur, 1783-1837
- Eyre, Ann Uphsur, 1780-1829
- Teackle, Littleton Dennis, 1777-1848
- United States -- History -- War of 1812
- Item Type
- letter
- Identifier
- MSS 2338, 2338-a, 2338-b Box 1
- Publication Information
- Papers of the Quinby, Teackle, and Upshur families, 1759-1968, Accession #2338, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
- Institution
- Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
- Collection
- Voices of the Eastern Shore
- Place Names
- United States - Maryland - Somerset County - Princess Anne
- United States - Virginia - Northampton County
My dear sister
At the appointed time we arrived at home, when I was shocked and surprised to hear that Mr. Teackle had but just begun to recover from a serious bilious attack which seized him a few days after I left home. He has not yet been out of the house, but is in a fair way to recover. He was evidently delighted to see me and his spirits have been good ever since I came home. Poor fellow, he longs for some of your figs, and is always talking about them. But, you know, it would be impossible to get any of them here fit to eat, after transportation.
I, as usual, was fatigued abundantly with my ride, and to mend the matter at the ferry, I was near knocking off my head, by a slip of my foot in getting into the carriage after it had a been put in the boat. My chin and jawbone struck the iron of the step, then my breast bone, or rather my corset bone took a part of the blow in slipping, and broke into two pieces, so that on the whole my chin was swell’d to the size of a hen’s egg in a minute and a bone broken. Altogether making a broken voyage of it. My chin is black and blue yet, and as to the corsette bone, it will never be the better.
Our Septer court is sitting now, and
the town is full of military, two recruiting offices being here; so that altogether we have quite a splutter in our city. The drums, fifes, marching, and counter-marching of the military, not a little coincides with the hum drum and drum headed, and noisy gentlemen of the civil list who now are just as busy in their marching counter marching and attacks on their opponents, their poor clients, as the soldiers shou’d be going against the British. For after all the client of a lawyer is generally the only party he attacks with success and therefore I say a lawyer’s client is his opponent.
Major Martin call’d yesterday even[in]g. He is full of anecdotes about the enemy, and Annapolis, and St. Michaels and gallantry. Yes, he is chuck full of gallantry. Paid me some violent compliments, to none of which I gave credit, and I gave him in change, as many more, to be taken as best suited his appetite. After all he is an elegant fellow. It is a pity that common sense will give the C_____e to two thirds an elegant fellow says to a woman turn’d of thirty! And I have often thought what a deal of titillation we women of mind are obliged to be unmove’d with, from the disagreeable circumstance of hoping that old fashon’d commodity call’d common sense
query—is it not better to be a fool?
I delivered your letter to Miss Gunter, and also sent you the book with your joining lace, which some of us unintentually purloined. I think your cap was pretty - not superb - very pretty indeed.
How goes everything with you now? Is sir Knight as smiling as ever? We had a most diverting controversy respecting his and Mr. Nivison’s comparative merits the evening we arriv’d at Tink a Tink. When Sir Knight had more champions than one trusty squire. The beauty of it was that all who were in favor [of] Sir Abel had never seen Mr N. but [his] reputation often outstrips his personal movements. So that Mr. N. was canvass’d with as much confidence, and as little ceremony as if he had been an every day body with us, or as a new poem wou’d be of Walter Scott’s, by the reviewers; oh those sapient, all-sufficient criticks who never read a book at all, but give their opinions from hearsay. Amongst other things it was asserted that Mr Nivison’s white forehead was the consequence of his wearing a veil—another said he did not look like a man. The objected his hipps and I asked Eliza if she had never heard that he conceited he was a piano once, and went about the streets playing upon his toes
and this was mere fabrication.
Well my dear child, I am as nearly run out as ever a drunkard’s pint was two minutes after it came full from the bar. And what is worse my ideas cannot so easily be replenish’d. So with mine and Mr. T’s love to every good friend.
We boast in your parts---and particularly to my dear brother John, Arthur and Ann. I am as I shou’d be, your ever affectionate sister
P Anne Md
Sept 20th
Free L. D. Teackle P.M.
P. Anne. Md
Mrs. Eyre
Eyre Hall
Northampton C.H.
Va