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Added 23 June 2021
Master Bruce plays Hare-and-Hounds on Wandsworth Common, July 1772
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20 JULY 1772,
A SMALL BOY laboriously writes letters to his sisters from his boarding school at Wandsworth Common:
"Dear Sister, We hunt upon the Common..."
(Click on image to enlarge)
July 20 1772
Dear Sister,
We hunt upon the Com
mon and one of the great Boys
is the Hare, and the middle
Boys hunt it. Pray will you ^ give my
best Respects to Captain Hales.
I am very sorry to acquaint you
of the Death ^ of my poor Aunt
He starts with a Hare and Hounds race — the earliest example I have found of a sport played on the Common. He is bursting with excitement: "Dear Sister, We hunt upon the Common and one of the great Boys is the Hare, and the middle Boys hunt it."
Presumably the hunt involves the "hare" laying a trail using sand or sawdust. George adds "we go out hunting three times in three weeks", and in the second letter, to his younger sister ("Fanny"), he exclaims "would you not like to be whith [sic] us".
The handwriting is large and rounded, so there are few words on a line. He draws faint rules in pencil in a struggle to discipline his handwriting. The lines become less parallel and more unevenly spaced as the letters continue. Capital letters are sprinkled around, seemingly at random. Words are inserted above carets, some are misspelled and then corrected, and a number are scratchily underscored for emphasis. (Were letters checked before sending, in case it looked like the teacher wasn't earning his fees?)
The valediction reads:
(Click on image to enlarge)
Pray give my Duty ^ to Mama, and
my Compliments to Jhon ^ John. I am,
Dear Sister,
Your most affectionate Brother
George Brudenell Bruce.
Who is George Brudenell-Bruce. Who are his sisters? His parents? And where was the school?
[UNKNOWN PUBLICATION — header not detected. Please review.]
20 JULY 1772,
A SMALL BOY laboriously writes letters to his sisters from his boarding school at Wandsworth Common:
"Dear Sister, We hunt upon the Common..."
(Click on image to enlarge)
July 20 1772
Dear Sister,
We hunt upon the Com
mon and one of the great Boys
is the Hare, and the middle
Boys hunt it. Pray will you ^ give my
best Respects to Captain Hales.
I am very sorry to acquaint you
of the Death ^ of my poor Aunt
He starts with a Hare and Hounds race — the earliest example I have found of a sport played on the Common. He is bursting with excitement: "Dear Sister, We hunt upon the Common and one of the great Boys is the Hare, and the middle Boys hunt it."
Presumably the hunt involves the "hare" laying a trail using sand or sawdust. George adds "we go out hunting three times in three weeks", and in the second letter, to his younger sister ("Fanny"), he exclaims "would you not like to be whith [sic] us".
The handwriting is large and rounded, so there are few words on a line. He draws faint rules in pencil in a struggle to discipline his handwriting. The lines become less parallel and more unevenly spaced as the letters continue. Capital letters are sprinkled around, seemingly at random. Words are inserted above carets, some are misspelled and then corrected, and a number are scratchily underscored for emphasis. (Were letters checked before sending, in case it looked like the teacher wasn't earning his fees?)
The valediction reads:
(Click on image to enlarge)
Pray give my Duty ^ to Mama, and
my Compliments to
Jhon^ John. I am,Dear Sister,
Your most affectionate Brother
George Brudenell Bruce.
Who is George Brudenell-Bruce. Who are his sisters? His parents? And where was the school?