Copy letter from [Susanna] Wesley to John Wesley. About a week last Monday, an attorney called Green brought Hetty home to Wroot, Lincolnshire, from K_ [Kelstern, Lincolnshire], and asked her father's permission to marry her. As Green was a total stranger to the family, Samuel told him that he must make enquiries re his background, which answer Green seemed perfectly satisfied with.
After diligent investigation Samuel discovered that Green was not so good 'as he should be either in estate or morals', and therefore refused his consent to the match. Yesterday Green appeared in Wroot, accompanied by three men on horseback and another dressed in black, who John's parents supposed to be a clergyman. They took Hetty away with them and kept her out all night, only to disappear the following day. It is not known if he will marry her, and in truth 'we shd be easy to part with her being quite tired out with her very licentious and scandalous adventures, of whch we fear the worst, though if she shd be kept as a Miss it will be no great surprise'. Susanna need not tell John that this should be kept as a secret, until they discover if Hetty is married or not.
[Annotated by an unknown hand 'On June 23 1864 I visited Miss Tooth who gave me the copy of a letter, wch she saw Mrs Richd Smith destroy least its contents should become known'.]
[For a possible allusion to the contents of this letter see Adam Clarke, Memorials of the Wesley Family, Volume 2, second edition, p.286 ]