HAUCH, AW (ADAM WILHELM). A WBiblio.com
SMITH, AdamBiblio.com
Autograph letter signed to the Earl of Shelburne on the sickness of his son.
1760167445Glasgow: 10 March 1760. Smith nurses his student One of very few remaining Adam Smith autograph letters in private hands written to the Earl of Shelburne to detail the sickness of his son Thomas Petty-Fitzmaurice Smith's student and lodger. Mossner & Ross's census counts 232 letters written by Smith 53 of which could not be traced p. vii. Virtually all are in public collections. While serving as professor of logic and moral philosophy at Glasgow University Smith shared his residence with his more prominent students giving direct tutoring and scholastic supervision. Smith's renown was such that he attracted members of notable and aristocratic families to Glasgow: the 1st Earl of Shelburne sent his son there rather than Oxford on Lord Minto's recommendation. Thomas Petty-Fitzmaurice 1742-1793 the earl's youngest son lodged and studied with Smith from 1759 to 1761. Petty-Fitzmaurice later served as MP from 1762 to 1780; his brother William served as prime minister from 1782 to 1783. "In a series of letters to Fitzmaurice's father Smith went into great detail regarding the boy's studies and behaviour providing a number of insights into both the rigour of Smith's approach and the subjects he considered suitable for the education of a young noble . . . Fitzmaurice would spend two to three hours a day with Smith going over 'very regularly' the subjects he had covered in his lecture . . . It's clear from Smith's correspondence that the overall rigour and intensity of this schedule was an important part of his approach to teaching" Bonnyman p. 46. Here Smith writes to reassure Shelburne of his son's welfare in his care. "I think it my Duty to inform your Lordship that Mr. Fitzmaurice has been for some days past ill of a slight fever from which however he never appeared to be in the least danger and from which I hope he is now in a fair way of recovery. He was seized with it on Wednesday last. I missed him that forenoon from the Class which I had never done before and upon my return to my own house I found him lying upon his bed and complaining of a headache. I immediately sent for a Physician who ordered him to be blooded. He was a good deal relieved by the bleeding but became very feverish that evening. He continued so all next day but the day following found himself greatly relieved in consequence of a sweat and a sound Sleep. I should have written to your Lordship that evening that is by Fridays post for I could have written no sooner but he appeared to be so much better and Dr. Black assured me positively that all danger was now over and that he would probably be quite well next day that I resolved to wait one other post before I wrote anything that could possibly alarm your Lordship". Smith then gives a day-by-day account of Petty-Fitzmaurice's fluctuating health. He continues "Your Lordship perhaps may think that as I ventured to delay writing to you by last post I ought not to have written by this: and I shall readily acknowledge that my behaviour in this respect is not very consistent. But when Mr. Fitzmaurice had a slight relapse on Saturday evening I felt so much uneasiness for not having written to your Lordship the day before that I resolved never to expose myself to the like; your Lordship may depend upon his being treated with the utmost care and attention". Smith writes of his faith in the two doctors who attended him who are both with him at least five times a day; they did not deem the illness serious enough to alarm Shelburne. He signs himself "My Lord your Lordship's most obedient obliged servant Adam Smith". The letter dates less than a year after the publication of his classic work of sentiment and sympathy The Theory of Moral Sentiments. The letter is published in The Correspondence of Adam Smith pp. 62-3 where the editors note Smith's solicitude parallels that shown for his later pupils the Duke of Buccleuch and Hew Campbell Scott when they were struck with illness. Provenance: Bowood House in Wiltshire the estate of the Earls of Shelburne since 1754; the letter was part of the family's historic archive sold by the current Earl of Shelburne in 1994 to pay for the upkeep of the house; since then in private hands. Bifolium folded to 228 x 186 mm manuscript on 3 pages comprising 568 words entirely in Smith's hand fourth page with note in hand of recipient on the letter's contents. Housed in a black cloth flat-back box by the Chelsea Bindery. Central fold with 10 cm split at foot a few words a little smudged at time of writing; in very good condition. Brian Bonnyman Third Duke of Buccleuch and Adam Smith 2014; Ernest Campbell Mossner & Ian Simpson Ross The Correspondence of Adam Smith 1987. hardcover
Peter Harrington · Royaume-Uni75 000,00 £GB≈ 85 635,00 €
