Autograph Letter Signed ('L M. Hawkins') to Richard Twining (tea merchant and East India Company) at Isleworth.

4to, 3 pp. Bifolium. Good, on aged paper. Thirty-nine lines of text. Good impression of red wax seal depicting Alexander Pope. In breaking open letter a 7 cm closed tear made to second leaf, and a small part of leaf torn away, and now under seal, with loss to three words of valediction. Slight glue staining from mount at head of verso of second leaf, which carries address and Twining's docketing. A spirited letter, written in the year of the publication of her novel 'The Countess and Gertrude', mainly concerning the pronunciation of the word 'Gertrude', about which she had had a 'horse-side conference' with Twining. She begins by thanking Twining for his 'goodhumored patience'; his mansion is now at his 'own disposal and the notched stick may be spared a lingering catastrophe'. 'I pleaded for Ghertrude rather than Gertrude on reference to the German - you quoted the very word Germany - I never carry my wits in my pocket - I believe if any one were to differ from me by thinking the Sun a triangle, when I had said it was round, I should say "I dare say you are right": - [...] Consider, my dear Sir, there is no such word as German or Germany in the German language - the German for German is Deutsch'. She chose her heroine's 'two names as meaning Truth and Candor [...] the reception given to my very homely representation of them indicates their high appreciation in society - The Regent has honored them with his attention'.