From Thomas Waters Sr. to his wife Elizabeth Waters (December 2, 1832)

[Thomas Waters. R.M.. to his wife. Elizabeth]

Addressed to Mrs Waters, 21 Mulgrave Place, Woolwich, Kent

12 H.M.S. Barham Napoli de Romania 2 Dec. 1832

My Dearest love

Your Letter of the 3 of Sept. came to hand the 5th Oct. and very much surprised I was to find that Mr. Williams the schoolmaster had flitted so suddenly and withal so secretly but so it is, we still have to learn, we do not know who are who until their exit and perhaps not then, it is vexatious to you no doubt to have to shift the children from school to school but I believe there is no help for it but patience and perseverance with judgment; I am quite satisfied that you send the boys to the most suitable school- You may perceive that my letters to you are numbered on the upper corner of the first page on the left hand, therefore, by noticing the number of the last, you will be able to ascertain whether the former letter is missing, as it appears to me that the one for July is, for I feel certain I sent one in that month You may rely on me that I will write to you as often as I can but it would be to little purpose for me, or satisfaction to you, to send you a blank sheet of paper, and I have already acknowledged to you that I am inadequate to the pleasing task of writing to you as often as I wish, therefore, I must intreat you to take the will for the deed. With respect to our children, I do not think that their constitutions are sufficiently robust to stand high diet; in your own family I think you can bear testimony, to the ill effects of living luxuriously, or at least, that good living does not ensure long life, nor secure health; your father and mother passed away almost in the days of their youth but not without enduring much previous sickness, and who lived better than they? for little Prudence I am sure nothing was wanting; Nancy, Edmund, Jane, Alice, all, no doubt, had everything that could have been thought of for their health or comfort, and yet they are gone like untimely fruit; Benjamin has never been healthy notwithstanding the pains that has been taken to make him strong; you, no doubt, was nursed with all the tenderness of a fond mother’s care, I suppose nothing was wanting that could contribute to your wellbeing and yet, I believe, your
health and strength during your tender years was anything but good, since that you have fared plainer and your health has been nothing the worse; as for Joseph he seems healthy enough but he is of short stature, good living would not make him tall, his constitution seems to have been naturally strong, therefore, I suppose nothing in his diet would go amiss with him particularly as he passed much of his time, in the severest weather, in the open air; our firstborn, Jane, also, we may be assured wanted for nothing that could tend in any way to her nourishment and yet what a state, we were told, she was in at twenty-two months of age when her existence terminated, whereas the food of our children, whom we have been bringing up under our roof with all requisite care, has been of the simplest kind, plain bread, potatoes and other garden vegetables, Rice, pease, oatmeal, fruit and that without stint whenever it could be obtained at a moderate price, their drink skim-milk or water, nothing superfluous, nothing wanting; their clothing as plain as their diet and equally adapted for health; if they missed their appetites at one meal they were pretty sure to regain them by the next; a few drugs of small expense from the Chymist [Chemist – pharmacist], was all that was required in the medicinal way during the seven or eight years that we were on half-pay. It appears to me that you are strongly advised to give the Children food of a more nutritious quality, and I am as strongly of opinion that you had better continue to them that plain kind of food which I have invariably recommended particularly as you say “our’s is not a sickly family”, an evidence that a change in diet is needless- perhaps you will not think it quite foreign to the subject if I mention that Mr. Wm. Sillifant, an Uncle and the immediate predecessor at Coombe of Mr. Sillifant [research conducted in 2021/22 produced documents indicating that this William Sillifant was almost certainly Thomas Waters Sr.’s father], had seven children one only of which just lived to the age of twelve, the parents were fine healthy people, possessing handsome property, and they lived to a good old age, they spared no expense to preserve their children and yet they could not save one. Make my affectionate regards to my children; I pray that they will endeavour to merit their parent’s love and the Almighty’s blessing by a strict attention to truth, and by honest industrious habits; I also pray that they will be kind to each other- 

Your Letter of the 2nd Oct. I have just received, I shall answer it in my next. 

I remain My Dearest Love your devoted Husband

       Tho^s. Waters