| Teitl | Letters (24) from John James, variously at Flint, Pwllheli, London, Wrexham, Rhyl and Quimper in Britanny, to the shadowy "Miss Ireland" who figures so constantly in all the James Correspondence of the mid-19th century |
| Disgrifiad | She was, presumably, companion to J J's grandmother. J J writes to her without the usual opening protocols; he writes voluminously; and always concludes with terms of great affection, signing himself "J J". In the first of these letters, in which he says "I prize and value your precious letters above gold - sometimes they enchant by their vivacity, and sometimes they instruct by their wisdom, and at all times they win the heart and work upon its fondest affections by their love and tenderness", it is plain that he has sought to pay court to a Miss "A", but after much heart-searching; has decided not to proceed, mainly because of his children and his religious principles (Miss "A" appears to have principles which are "the essence of popery"), so staunchly nonconformist. (First letter dated 21 August 1844) His widowerhood is confirmed in the following letter (28 December 1844), as he refers to his daughters Minnie and Kitty as his "motherless bairns". By July, 1845, his grandmother is dead, and J J writes from Pwllheli with many reminiscences of his former travels with her and Miss Ireland, along the route he has just taken, through Llangollen, Bala and Ffestiniog. Writes racily and wittily. Has been lodged and entertained with squire and peasant and has met "Mr Edwards, the most learned [and] talented man, I suppose, in the Cal. Meth. [sic.] connexion, but a man of extreme simplicity, plain, unpretending but not unpolished". Never fails to report on the sermons he has heard, and the travels he has made, or is in process of making. Is obviously fond of ladies' company, and is very lavish in his compliments to Miss Ireland (whom he tends to view as an extension of his dead grandmother). A visit to Rhyl recalls the memory of his wife very poignantly (November 1845), and the blunt sincerity of this letter is a pleasant change from the heavily facetious tone of the others. On a visit to London in May 1846, travels to Croydon "by the Atmospheric Railway". December 1846 brings a mention of a "Christmas box" for the children, and trains delayed by bad weather (Plus ca change...). Is summoned to Erddig (March 1847), he thinks "...to give her ladyship a sight of Mr Yorke's awkward squad of lawyers"; he thinks "there is a sort of high bred insolance about her", though she is "very pretty" and "positively lovely" when she dropped her reserve. A preaching visit to Britanny in May 1847, reminds him that "there are half a million [Bretons] who do not understand french" [sic]; they are people he finds primitive to a degree. He informs Miss Ireland assiduously of all his travels and business problems. An undated letter records the opening of Wrexham Railway; J J has been told that his delicate constitution would render his survival beyond the age of 60 (he is now 40) unlikely. On 30 May 1847, he reports an accident on the Wrexham Railway at Chester, where the bridge broke, precipitating a train into the Dee, and resulting in 6 fatalities. In December 1848, he is off to Manchester to a Jenny Lind concert, which reduces him to tears of admiration and appreciation. Included in this series are several letter fragments in bundles. |