Description: George Gray, possibly a preacher, writes to his neighbor, Mr. Lawrence, from The Hamilton Hotel in Hamilton, Bermuda. His chatty letter is a glowing tribute to Bermuda.

 

Gray is vacationing in Bermuda on account of his ill health; he suffers from dyspepsia that sea sickness seems to have cured.  He writes about the temperate climate which ranges from 64 to 75 degrees, about the “pretty full hotels” and the growing numbers of vacationers, the impressive resources for “out of door enjoyment riding, driving and sailing.” He also finds “the people . . . unusually intelligent community and very hospitable,” and has a full social life with garden parties and afternoon teas. Although he finds “it is pleasant to idle,” Gray “cannot feel perfectly easy as [he] thinks of untaught classes and sermons unpreached [sic].” All the same, he, his wife, and son Arthur enjoy all the excitement the island has to offer, including “driving in a shady lane or by the sea.” He concludes with wishes from his wife to Mrs. Lawrence and asks Mr. Lawrence to write back.

 

The letter is written on four sides of 5” x 8” laid paper, stationery of The Hamilton Hotel that includes an image of the hotel. It was the first hotel in Bermuda and instrumental in starting tourism. In the latter part of the 19th century, the tourist industry in Bermuda catered to the wealthy elites who sought to escape the winters of the North. Item #AM00208

 

Condition: Half inch of blank upper margin of page one missing (not affecting any text). Otherwise in very good condition.