Album and copy letter book of Miss A. Young, Dundee

Description

The album and letter book of ‘Miss Young’, kept during her time placed with a local family under the auspices of a ‘worthy benefactress’ in Dundee in 1830, for her private education. The copies of her letters are interspersed with poems, at least one of her own composition.

The volume opens with ‘Directions to a letter writer’, followed by copies of several spirited, pious, and extremely earnest letters to the compiler’s parents, signed A.Y. As mentioned in a letter addressed to her father, Miss Young’s family consists of a mother, a father, and multiple brothers and sisters.

Many of her letters detail the routines of her life with her benefactress. In one of the letters she outlines her typical day: gathering for a prayer before having breakfast in the morning, the “young ones walk[ing] in the garden or fields, whilst the young lady is employed in dispensing medicines to her poor tenants” in the afternoon, and dining at one o’clock, followed by reading in the summerhouse, or other employment, depending on the individual. She expresses sincere gratitude for the privilege of her situation in many of her letters. On the other hand, in a letter to her friend Maria, Miss Young is critical of a “public entertainment” that she felt obligated to attend, finding it to be a “waste of many of our precious hours” and dissatisfying.

However, the most notable themes of her letters are the affection and gratitude Miss Young expresses to her mother. The letters often detail her recognition of her mother’s affection towards her, and her wishes to be a character worthy of it. In one particular letter, she is outwardly enthusiastic to return home to see her mother for the holidays, and is eager to show her growth in character and maturity to her. These letters reveal a familial relationship that is rooted in warmth, care, and affection.

Interspersed with the copied letters are transcriptions of poems, draft invitations to soirées, and letter openings. The poems, frequently religious in nature, are sometimes attributed, mostly not, and provide insights into Young’s life and reading habits.

Miss Young seems to hold a particular fondness for Lord Byron, Felicia Hemans, and Reginald Heber, as several of their poems are annotated in the book. Other featured poets are Charles Wolfe, Thomas Moore, William Cowper, James Montogomery, Robert Southey, Robert Burns, William Diamond, and Walter Scott. Felicia Hemans is the only poet who she credits with an honorific (“Mrs”), and also has the most poems featured, which may signify that she may have been the poet for which Miss Young had the most respect.

A common theme of the annotated poems is the exploration of facing death and loss. “The Graves of a Household” and “The Better Land,” both by Felicia Hemans, are about the death of each sibling in a family and the contemplation of the afterlife through a conversation between a child and a mother respectively. “Lines suggested by a beautiful mother of a dead child” and “On the death of a lovely infant“ are both poems that depict the emotions of a mother who had lost their child, and “Tales of a Mother’s grave” tells the story of an old man coming to realise his mother’s love as he weeps in front of her grave. This poem also ends with a verse addressing the reader, telling them to cherish their mother while she is still alive. This may explain the motivation behind the expressions of gratitude and affection in the letters to her mother.

Poems of a religious nature also seem to resonate with Miss Young. Many hymns are copied in this book, such as Reginald Heber’s “From Greenland’s Icy Mountains” about a missionary’s journey to spread Christianity to even the most remote parts of the world, and James Montgomery’s “Prayer is the soul’s desire” which describes the nature of prayers. “Christian Missions,” which is signed as an original poem, portrays the mighty and violent battle to spread Christianity to “Heathen cities”.

The abrupt cease in letters to her mother and the shift to transcribing poems surrounding death, loss, and the acceptance of such occurrences is a compelling phenomenon. This may suggest that Miss Young faced the death of a loved one, likely her mother, and may have consumed many poems that dealt with these subjects to process her grief.

Transcribed Poems (In order of appearance):

Three verses extracted from Rays of Genius by Thomas Tomkins
“Weep not for her” - likely an epitaph
“On the Death of a Lovely Infant” - extracted from The Sacred Lyre, signed “Weir”
“The Pilgrim’s Grave” - extracted from The Rosary by Joseph Tinker Buckingham
“The Burial of Sir John Moore after Corunna” by Charles Wolfe (annotated as “On The Death Of Sir John Moore”)
“She is Far From the Land” by Thomas Moore
“Table Talk” by WIlliam Cowper
An extract from “The Destruction of Sennacherib” by Lord Byron (titled “Destruction of the Assyrians”)
“The Graves Of A Household” by Felicia Hemans
“The Better Land” by Felicia Hermans
“From Greenland’s Icy Mountains” by Reginald Heber
“Prayer is the Soul’s Sincere Desire” by James Montgomery (annotated as “Prayer”)
“Christian Missions” - likely an original poem by Miss Young
“Ancient Song of Victory” by Felicia Hemans (incomplete annotation)
Unknown poem beginning with “In a dream of the night I was wafted away”
“Happiness” by Reginald Heber
“Father William” by Robert Southey
“To Mary In Heaven” by Robert Burns (annotated as “Mary in Heaven’)
“The Mariner’s Dream” by William Diamond
“Lochinvar” by Walter Scott
“Lines suggested by a beautiful mother of a dead child” - unknown source
“Tale of a Mother’s grave” - unknown source

Provenance

Catalogue Description expanded by a student on the Liberal Arts Student Research partnership 2025.

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