Charlotte, Princess of Wales

Hannah More to Marianne Thornton, November 1817

Time tho it has somewhat tranquilized our spirits, has not lightened the feeling of our irreparable loss. Whether we consider the bereaved , or the Country, the calamity is unspeakably great.^* An exquisitely fond and happy, as well as a virtuous and pious and Princess sounded like a Romance, but the woeful catastrophe has brought us back to /the sadness of/ real history. Notwithstanding the delightful and truly Christian letter with which favoured /me/ I cannot help considering the Event as a frowning Providence. Why do we slide so much, nationally, from our daily and hourly dependence upon God? Why were no public prayers offered up for this sweet Princess? Why was the abundant harvest, a blessing as unexpected as underserved, never acknowledged at least in our Churches? Why are our Rulers in the Church so much less vigilant and active than those of the State? /Yet/ Why are our public recognitions of divine Mercy, so much less frequent as well as less fervent than those of the [firstborn?] States? I sometimes lay this flattering oration to my Soul, that perhaps we feel more than we say, and they say more than they feel.