In June 1745, Amelie Murray, a thirteen-year-old Edinburgh schoolgirl, took up her pen and wrote out the following letter:

Amelie sent this letter not to the ‘former beauty’ to whom it was addressed, but to her mother, Lady George Murray. As an accompanying note explained, writing this letter was part of the training in the skills and accomplishments deemed necessary to become a polite young lady, which was the reason for her residence in Edinburgh at this time. Each Friday, she explained to her mother, her writing master, Mr Demainbray, set his pupils a subject on which to write a letter for the following Friday. On this occasion he had asked his pupils to compose a letter ‘to a Lady who has lately had the small pox, & was a beauty before but is now much spoilt by them’. Other weeks the set topics ranged from subjects like ‘Sincerity and Compliments dont agree’ to ‘wishing a Gentleman joy who had lately Come to a great fortune & fine Equipage’, on which subject, she told her mother with pride, Mr Demainbray had particularly praised her effort.