In this next instalment of the Seeking Sophie story, S.M. forwards the first part of the young serving girl's (Mary's) description of the journey taken with her mistress, Miss. Sophie; Miss. S.'s waiting maid, Nancy; footman George (I'm beginning to think that there might be something between these two!); and the new cook & coachman (both of dubious character).
We now know that this journey was effectively one of abduction, in which Miss. S. was removed from her home to be more easily forced into marrying Admiral Crawford, friend of her so-called 'guardians'.
Little Mary recollects the route taken (& stops made on the way), lest this be of use in finding her young mistress. But the girl is self-taught, and writes as she speaks (in broad 18th century Derbyshire dialect!), so her account may take some deciphering! Tip: if used to hearing 'Derbicisms', the account will probably be easier to understand if read out-loud - and get grandparents on the case!
(Dr. J has said a little here about how & why she is using this format to relay Mary's testimony. In brief, this text has been compiled using contemporaneous antiquarian works on Derbyshire dialect. But in order to make this more widely accessible, she provides merely a broad popularist phonetic rendition, rather than a technically accurate 'transcription'.)
For those who find the dialect too cumbersome, translations are also supplied after each account.
If you're following the story (& if you'd like to take part in the Tournament: see this post for further information), you can trace the journey on the period map I shall supply in the following post.
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