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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes index 6833f05..d7b82bc 100644 --- a/.gitattributes +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -1,3 +1,4 @@ -* text=auto -*.txt text -*.md text +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/10590-0.txt b/10590-0.txt index 759d37c..44a8c14 100644 --- a/10590-0.txt +++ b/10590-0.txt @@ -3970,7 +3970,7 @@ colder. But I had more reason to wonder that night at the King's table. There was brought to him from a gentleman of this country, two large baskets full of ripe oranges and lemons of different sorts, many of which were quite new to me; and, what I thought worth all the rest, two -ripe bananas, which, to my taste, are a fruit perfectly delicious. You +ripe ananas, which, to my taste, are a fruit perfectly delicious. You know they are naturally the growth of Brazil, and I could not imagine how they could come there but by enchantment. Upon enquiry, I learnt that they have brought their stoves to such perfection, they lengthen diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt index 6312041..b5dba15 100644 --- a/LICENSE.txt +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ -This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +This book, including all associated images, markup, improvements, metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. @@ -7,5 +7,5 @@ the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize -this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +this book outside of the United States should confirm copyright status under the laws that apply to them. @@ -1,2 +1,2 @@ Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for -eBook #10590 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10590) +book #10590 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10590) diff --git a/old/10590-8.txt b/old/10590-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8a032f5..0000000 --- a/old/10590-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10774 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Lady Mary Wortley Montague, by Lewis Melville - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Lady Mary Wortley Montague - Her Life and Letters (1689-1762) - -Author: Lewis Melville - -Release Date: January 4, 2004 [EBook #10590] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGUE *** - - - - -Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Charles Aldarondo, (no name) and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team. - - - - - -LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGU - -Her Life and Letters (1689-1762) - - -By - - -LEWIS MELVILLE - - -_WITH A FRONTISPIECE BY AUBREY HAMMOND, AND SIXTEEN OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS_ - - - - -To -EDITH AND JOHN CABOURN - - - - -PREFACE - - -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu has her niche in the history of medicine as -having introduced inoculation from the Near East into England; but her -principal fame is as a letter-writer. - -Of her gifts as a correspondent she was proud, and with reason. It was -in all sincerity that in June, 1726, she wrote to her sister, Lady Mar: -"The last pleasures that fell in my way was Madame Sévigné's letters: -very pretty they are, but I assert, without the least vanity, that mine -will be full as entertaining forty years hence. I advise you, therefore, -to put none of them to the use of waste paper." And again, later in the -year, she said half-humorously to the same correspondent: "I writ to you -some time ago a long letter, which I perceive never came to your hands: -very provoking; it was certainly a _chef d'oeuvre_ of a letter, and -worthy any of the Sévigné's or Grignan's, crammed with news." That Lady -Mary's belief in herself was well founded no one has disputed. Even -Horace Walpole, who detested her and made attacks on her whenever -possible, said that "in most of her letters the wit and style are -superior to any letters I have ever read but Madame de Sévigné's." A -very pleasant tribute from one who had a goodly conceit of himself as a -letter-writer. - -Walpole, as a correspondent, was perhaps more sarcastic and more witty; -Cowper undoubtedly more tender and more gentle; but Lady Mary had -qualities all her own. She had powers of observation and the gift of -description, which qualities are especially to be remarked in the -letters she wrote when abroad with her husband on his Mission to the -Porte. She had an ironic wit which gave point to the many society -scandals she narrated, a happy knack of gossip, and a style so easy as -to make reading a pleasure. - -Some of the incidents which Lady Mary retails with so much humour may be -accepted as not outraging the conventions of the early eighteenth -century when it was customary to call a spade a spade; when gallantry -was gallantry indeed, and the pursuit of it openly conducted. What is -not mentioned by those who have written about her is that she was -possessed of a particularly unsavoury strain of impropriety which -outraged even the canons of her age. Some twenty years after her death, -it was mentioned in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ that Dr. Young, the -author of _Night Thoughts_, had a little before his death destroyed a -great number of her letters, assigning as a reason of his doing so that -they were too indecent for public inspection. Only the other day I had -confirmation of this from a distinguished man of letters who wrote to -me: "I have somewhere hidden away a copy of a letter by Lady Mary -Wortley Montagu, which was sent to me by a well-known collector about -thirty-five years ago, because he couldn't destroy it and wouldn't for -worlds be found dead with it in his possession--so terrific is it in -character. I'll tell you about it some day when we meet: I can't write -it. In any case you couldn't use it or even refer to it.... I suppose -that my friend quite felt that the document, however objectionable, -should not, on literary grounds, be destroyed. What my executors will -think of me for having it in my possession, the Devil only knows." - -Whether this strain permeated the diary which Lady Mary left behind her -when she eloped in 1712, and which was destroyed by one of her sisters, -no one can say; but it is a curious fact that the diary she kept in -later years was destroyed by her devoted daughter, Lady Bute. "Though -Lady Bute always spoke of Lady Mary with great respect," wrote Lady -Louisa Stuart, "yet it might be perceived that she knew it had been too -much her custom to note down and enlarge upon all the scandalous rumours -of the day, without weighing their truth or even their probability; to -record as certain facts stories that perhaps sprang up like mushrooms -from the dirt, and had as brief an existence, but tended to defame -persons of the most spotless character. In this age, she said everything -got into print sooner or later; the name of Lady Mary Wortley would be -sure to attract curiosity; and were such details ever made public, they -would neither edify the world, nor do honour to her memory." - -Lady Bute heard that her mother's letters were in existence, and, -fearful of what they might contain, purchased them. "It is known that -when on her way to die, as it proved, in her own country, Lady Mary gave -a copy of the letters to Mr. Snowden, minister of the English church at -Rotterdam, attesting the gift by her signature," Lady Louisa Stuart has -written. "This showed it was her wish that they should eventually be -published; but Lady Bute, hearing only that a number of her mother's -letters were in a stranger's hands, and having no certainty what they -might be, to whom addressed, or how little of a private matter, could -not but earnestly desire to obtain them, and readily paid the price -demanded--five hundred pounds. In a few months she saw them appear in -print. Such was the fact, and how it came about nobody at this time of -day need either care or inquire." - -With regard to other correspondence of Lady Mary, Sir Robert Walpole -returned to her the letters she had written to his second wife, Molly -Skerritt, after the death of that lady; and when Lord Hervey died, his -eldest son sealed up and sent her her letters, with an assurance that he -had read none of them. To Lord Hervey's heir, Lady Louisa Stuart has -mentioned, Lady Mary wrote a letter of thanks for his honourable -conduct, adding that she could almost regret he had not glanced his eye -over a correspondence which would have shown him what so young a man -might perhaps be inclined to doubt--the possibility of a long and steady -friendship subsisting between two persons of different sexes without the -least mixture of love. Much pleased with this letter, he preserved it; -and, when Lady Mary came to England, showed it to Lady Bute desiring -she would ask leave for him to visit her mother. - -It is to be presumed that Lady Mary, or her daughter, Lady Bute, -destroyed these collections. For her part, Lady Mary returned letters -that she had received from Lord Hervey, but only those that belonged to -the last fourteen years of an acquaintance that had endured twice so -long. These are for the greater number platonic in character, although -there are a few phrases of a freer kind. Croker, who edited Lord -Hervey's _Memoirs_, mentions that Hervey, answering one of her letters -in 1737, in which she had complained that she was too old to inspire -passion, after paying a compliment to her charms more gallant than -decorous, said: "I should think anybody a great fool that said he liked -spring better than summer merely because it is further from autumn, or -that they loved green fruit better than ripe only because it was further -from being rotten. I ever did, and believe ever shall, like women best-- - - "Just in the noon of life--those golden days, - When the mind ripens as the form decays." - -Lady Mary was then in her forty-ninth year, being six years Hervey's -senior. - -Lady Louisa Stuart, writing in 1837--that is, seventy-five years after -the death of her grandmother, Lady Mary--wrote indignantly of the -attacks that had been made upon her ancestress. "The multitude of -stories circulated about her--as about all people who were objects of -note in their day--increase, instead of lessening, the difficulty," she -said. "Some of these may be confidently pronounced inventions, simple -and purely false; some, if true, concerned a different person; some were -grounded upon egregious blunders; and not a few upon jests, mistaken by -the dull and literal for earnest. Others, again, where a little truth -and a great deal of falsehood were probably intermingled, nobody now -living can pretend to confirm, or contradict, or unravel. Nothing is so -readily believed, yet nothing is usually so unworthy of credit, as tales -learned from report, or caught up in casual conversation. A circumstance -carelessly told, carelessly listened to, half comprehended, and -imperfectly remembered, has a poor chance of being repeated accurately -by the first hearer; but when, after passing through the moulding of -countless hands, it comes, with time, place, and person, gloriously -confounded, into those of a bookmaker ignorant of all its bearings, it -will be lucky indeed if any trace of the original groundwork remains -distinguishable." - -Lady Mary's most redoubtable assailants were Pope and Horace Walpole, -and both were biassed. The story of Pope's quarrel with her is told in -the following pages. Walpole, it has been suggested, disliked her much -because she had championed his father's mistress, Molly Skerritt, -against the mother to whom he was devoted. Pope, of course, knew her -well; but Walpole, who was twenty-eight years her junior, only met her -in her late middle age. Walpole's prejudice was so great what when Lady -Mary said, "People wish their enemies dead--but I do not. I say, give -them the gout, give them the stone," he reported it solemnly. - -Of course, it is not to be assumed that Lady Mary had not her full share -of malice--she was undoubtedly well equipped with that useful -quality--and she did not turn the other cheek when she was assailed. She -could even stand up to the vitriolic Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and -stand up so effectively that they tacitly agreed to an armed neutrality -that verged perilously upon friendship. The young Duke of Wharton -sometimes beat her in open fight, but she harboured no very angry -feelings towards him. As regards Pope, if it was not tit-for-tat with -him, at least she gave him hard knocks. Pope, great poet as he was, -never played fair in war. - -"Lady Mary, quite contrary," she might have been dubbed, for she was -frequently in trouble. The Rémond scandal, that will presently be -unfolded, was a thing apart; but her witty tongue made her many enemies -and cost her many friends. Had the contents of her letters about London -society become known at the time, nearly every man's and all women's -hands would have been against her. She had, in fact, little that was -kind to say about people; when she had, she usually refrained from -mentioning it. - -In this work Lady Mary's letters, either whole or in part, are given -only in so far as they have biographical or historical value. At the -same time I have, wherever possible, allowed Lady Mary to tell her -story, or to give her impressions, in her own words. The quotations have -been taken, by kind permission of Messrs. J.M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., from -the edition of the letters in their "Everyman Library" (edited by Mr. -Ernest Rhys), with an introduction by Mr. R. Brimley Johnson. - -The first edition of the letters appeared in three volumes in 1763, -believed to have been edited by John Cleland. A fourth volume, issued in -1763, is regarded by Sir Leslie Stephen as of doubtful authenticity. -James Dallaway, in 1803, brought out an enlarged collection and added to -it the poems, and a second edition, with some new letters, appeared -fourteen years later. Lady Mary's great-grandson, Lord Wharncliffe, -edited the correspondence in 1837, and this, revised by Mr. Moy Thomas, -was reprinted in 1861 and again in 1887. - -There have been published selections from the correspondence by Mr. A.R. -Ropes (1892) and by Mr. Hannaford Bennett (1923). - -The principal authorities for the life of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu are -the Memoirs of James Dallaway prefixed to an edition of the _Works_ -(1803) and the _Introductory Anecdotes_ in a new edition (1837) by Lady -Louisa Stuart, the daughter of Lady Bute and the granddaughter of Lady -Mary. There is another account of Lady Mary by the late Moy Thomas in -revised editions of the letters and writings (1861 and 1887). Sir Leslie -Stephen was responsible for the memoir in the _Dictionary of National -Biography_. In 1907 appeared _Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and her Times_, -by that sound authority on the eighteenth century, "George Paston," who -was so fortunate as to discover many scores of letters hitherto -unpublished. - -Other sources of information are to be found in Pope's Correspondence, -Spence's _Anecdotes_, Dilke's _Papers of a Critic,_ Cobbetts _Memorials -of Twickenham_, the Stuart MSS. at Windsor Castle, the MSS. of the Duke -of Beaufort, and the Lindsay MSS. - -My thanks--though not, perhaps, the thanks of my readers--are especially -due to that ripe scholar Mr. Hannaford Bennett, who suggested this work -to me. I am indebted to Mr. M.H. Spielmann and other friends and -correspondents for information and suggestions. Finally, I must -acknowledge the valuable assistance of Mrs. E. Constance Monfrino in the -preparation of this biography. - -LEWIS MELVILLE. - -_London, -March, 1925_. - - - - -CONTENTS - - -PREFACE - - -CHAPTER I - -CHILDHOOD (1689-1703) - -Birth of Mary Pierrepont, after Lady Mary Wortley Montagu--Account of -the Pierrepont family--Lady Mary's immediate ancestors--Her father, -Evelyn Pierrepont, succeeds to the Earldom of Kingston in 1790--The -extinct marquisate of Dorchester revived in his favour--His -marriage--Issue of the marriage--Death of his wife--Lady Mary stays with -her grandmother, Mrs. Elizabeth Pierrepont--Her early taste for -reading--She learns Latin, and, presently, Italian--Encouraged in her -literary ambitions by her uncle, William Feilding, and Bishop -Burnet--Submits to the Bishop a translation of "Encheiridion" of -Epictetus--An attractive child--A "toast" at the Kit-Cat Club--Acts as -hostess to her father - - -CHAPTER II - -GIRLHOOD (1703-1710) - -Lady Mary makes the acquaintance of Edward Wortley Montagu--Montagu -attracted by her looks and her literary gifts. Assists her in her -studies--Montagu a friend of the leading men of letters of the -day--Addison, Steele, Congreve, Vanbrugh, and others--The second volume -of the _Tatler_ dedicated to him by Steele--Montagu a staunch Whig--His -paternal interest for Lady Mary does not endure--He becomes a suitor for -her hand--Lady Mary's devotion and respect for him--Her flirtations--She -and Montagu correspond through the medium of his sister, Anne--Lady -Mary's mordant humour--Her delight in retailing society scandal--The -death of Anne Wortley--Lady Mary and Montagu henceforth communicate -direct--Her first letter to him - - -CHAPTER III - -COURTSHIP, ELOPEMENT, AND MARRIAGE (1710-1712) - -A lengthy courtship--Montagu a laggard lover--Lady Mary and Montagu -exchange views on married life--Montagu proposes for her to Lord -Dorchester--Dorchester refuses, since Montagu will not make -settlements--Montagu's views on settlements expressed (by Steele) in the -_Tatler_--Although not engaged, the young people continue to -correspond--Lord Dorchester produces another suitor of his daughter--She -consents to an engagement--The preparations for the wedding--She -confides the whole story to Montagu--She breaks off the engagement--She -and Montagu decide to elope--She runs up to London--Marriage--Lady -Mary's diary destroyed by her sister, Lady Frances Pierrepont - - -CHAPTER IV - -EARLY MARRIED LIFE (1712-1714) - -An uneventful existence--Montagu's Parliamentary duties take him to -London--Lady Mary stays mostly in the country--Correspondence--Montagu a -careless husband, but very careful of his money--Later he becomes a -miser--Lady Mary does not disguise the tedium of her existence-- -Concerning a possible reconciliation with her father--Lord -Pierrepont of Hanslope--Lord Halifax--Birth of a son, christened after -his father, Edward Wortley Montagu--The mother's anxiety about his -health--Family events--Lady Evelyn Pierrepont marries Baron (afterwards -Earl) Gower--Lady Frances Pierrepont marries the Earl of Mar--Lord -Dorchester marries again--Has issue, two daughters--The death of Lady -Mary's brother, William. His son, Evelyn, in due course succeeds to the -Dukedom of Kingston--Elizabeth Chudleigh--The political situation in -1714--The death of Queen Anne--The accession of George I--The unrest in -the country--Lady Mary's alarm for her son - - -CHAPTER V - -THE ACCESSION OF GEORGE I (1714) - -Lady Mary shows an increasing interest in politics--She tries to incite -her husband to be ambitious--Montagu not returned to the new -Parliament--His lack of energy--Correspondence--The Council of -Regency--The King commands Lord Townshend to form a Government--The -Cabinet--Lord Halifax, First Lord of the Treasury--Montagu appointed a -Lord Commissioner of the Treasury--Correspondence--The unsatisfactory -relations between Lady Mary and Montagu - - -CHAPTER VI - -LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGU'S ACCOUNT OF THE COURT OF GEORGE I - - -CHAPTER VII - -AT HERRENHAUSEN AND ST. JAMES (1714-1716) - -The Elector George Lewis not delighted at his accession to the British -throne--A greater man in Hanover than in London--Lady Mary modifies her -first impression of the King--She is in high favour at Court--An amusing -incident at St. James's--The early unpopularity of George I in England -generally, and especially in the capital--The Hanoverians in the Royal -Household--The Duchess of Kendal--The Countess of Darlington--Lady -Mary's description of the Hanoverian ladies--The Duchess of Kendal's -passion for money--Her influence with the King in political matters-- -Count de Broglie--The scandal about Lady Darlington refuted--Lady Mary -and the Prince of Wales--The King and the Prince of Wales--The poets -and wits of the day--Gray's tribute to Lady Mary--Pope's verses on -her--"Court Poems" - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE EMBASSY TO THE PORTE (1716-1718)--I - -Montagu loses his place at the Treasury--His antagonism against -Walpole--Lady Mary, "Dolly" Walpole, and Molly Skerritt--The Earl and -Countess of Mar leave England--Montagu appointed Ambassador to the -Porte--Leaves England for Constantinople, accompanied by his wife-- -Letters during the Embassy to Constantinople--Rotterdam--Vienna--Lady -Mary at Court--Her gown--Her interest in clothes--Viennese society-- -Gallantry--Lady Mary's experience--Court Tarrocco--Precedence at -Vienna--A nunnery--The Montagus visit the German Courts--A dangerous -drive--Prince Frederick (afterwards Prince of Wales)--Herrenhausen - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE EMBASSY TO THE PORTS (1716-1718)--II - -Adrianople--Turkish baths--Lady Mary wears Turkish dress--Her -description of the costume--Her views on Turkish women--She becomes -acquainted with the practice of inoculation--Her son engrafted--Her -belief in the operation--She later introduces it into England--Dr. -Richard Mead--Richard Steele supports her campaign--Constantinople--Lady -Mary homesick--Exposes the British ignorance of Turkish life--Montagu -recalled--Addison's private letter to him--Lady Mary gives birth to a -daughter--The return journey--The Montagus at Paris--Lady Mary sees her -sister, Lady Mar - - -CHAPTER X - -A SCANDAL - -Montagu re-enters the House of Commons--His miserliness--Pope refers to -it--Comments on Society--Lady Mary and a first-class scandal--Rémond-- -His admiration for her--Her imprudent letters to him--The South Sea -Bubble--Lady Mary speculates for Remond--She loses money for him--He -demands to be re-imbursed--He threatens to publish her letters--She -states the case in letters to Lady Mar--Lady Mary meets Pope--His letters -to her when she was abroad--He affects to be in love with her--Her -matter-of-fact replies--Her parody of his verses, "On John Hughes and -Sarah Drew" - - -CHAPTER XI - -AT TWICKENHAM - -The Montagus take a house at Twickenham--Lady Mary's liking for country -life--Neighbours and visitors--Pope--Bononcini, Anastasia Robinson, -Senesino--Lord Peterborough--Sir Geoffrey Kneller--Henrietta -Howard--Lord Bathurst--The Duke of Wharton--His early history--He comes -to Twickenham--His relations with Lady Mary--Horace Walpole's reference -to them--Pope's bitter onsaught on the Duke--An Epilogue by Lady -Mary--"On the Death of Mrs. Bowes"--The Duke quarrels with Lady Mary - - -CHAPTER XII - -A FAMOUS QUARREL - -Pope and Lady Mary--He pays her compliments--His jealousy of her other -admirers--The cause of his quarrel with her--His malicious attacks on -her thereafter--Writer of her as "Sappho"--Lady Mary asks Arbuthnot to -protect her--Molly Skerritt--Lady Stafford--Lady Mar's malicious tongue -and pen--Mrs. Murray--"An Epistle from Arthur Grey"--Lady Mary, Lord -Hervey, and Molly Lepell--Death of the Earl of Kingston--Lady -Gower--Lady Mar--Marriage of Lady Mary's daughter - - -CHAPTER XIII - -ON THE CONTINENT (1739-1744) - -Lady Mary leaves England--She does not return for twenty years Montagu -supposed to join her--The domestic relations of the Montagus--A -septennial act for marriage--Lady Mary corresponds with her -husband--Dijon--Turin--Venice--Bologna--Florence--The Monastery of La -Trappe--Horace Walpole at Florence--His comments on Lady Mary and her -friends--Reasons for his dislike of her--Rome--The Young Pretender and -Henry, Cardinal York--Wanderings--Cheapness of life in Italy--Lady -Mary's son, Edward--He is a great trouble to his parents--His absurd -marriage--His extravagance and folly--Account of his early years--He -visits Lady Mary at Valence--Her account of the interviews - - -CHAPTER XIV - -LADY MARY AS A READER - -Her fondness for reading--Her difficulty to get enough books while -abroad--Lady Bute keeps her supplied--Lady Mary's catholic taste in -literature--Samuel Richardson--The vogue of _Clarissa Harlowe_--Lady Mary -tells a story of the Richardson type--Henry Fielding--_Joseph -Andrews--Tom Jones--_Her high opinion of Fielding and Steele--Tobias -Smollett--_Peregrins Pickle_--Lady Vare's _Memoirs of a Lady of -Quality_--Sarah Fielding--Minor writers--Lord Orrery's _Remarks on -Swift_--Bolingbroke's works--Addison and Pope--Dr. Johnson - - -CHAPTER XV - -LADY MARY ON EDUCATION AND WOMAN'S RIGHTS - -The choice of books for children's reading--The dangers of a narrow -education--Lady Mary advocates the higher education of women--Girls -should be taught languages--Lady Mary's theories of education for -girls--Women writers in Italy--A "rumpus" made by ladies in the House of -Lords--Woman's Rights--Lady Mary's views on religion - - -CHAPTER XVI - -ON THE CONTINENT (1745-1760) - -Lady Mary stays at Avignon--She removes to Brescia--And then to -Lovere--She abandons all idea of Montagu joining her abroad--Her house -at Lovere--Her daily round--Her health--Her anxiety about her son--An -amazing incident--A serious illness--A novel in a letter--Her -correspondence attracts the attention of the Italian authorities--Sir -James and Lady Frances Steuart--Politics--She is in the bad books of the -British Resident at Venice--Lord Bute--The philosophy of Lady -Mary--Letters to Lady Bute and Sir James Steuart - - -CHAPTER XVII - -LAST YEARS (1760-1762) - -Lady Mary writes the history of her own times--Her health--Death of -Edward Wortley Montagu--His will--Lady Mary ponders the idea of -returning to England--She leaves Italy--She is held up at Rotterdam--She -reaches London--Horace Walpole visits her--Her last illness--Her -fortitude--Her death--She leaves one guinea to her son - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (age 8) at the Kit-Cat Club--_Frontispiece_ - -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu - -Lady Mary Pierrepont - -Evelyn Pierrepont, first Duke of Kingston - -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, 1720 - -Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough - -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu - -Frances, Countess of Mar - -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu - -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu - -Alexander Pope - -Joseph Addison - -Henrietta Louisa, Countess of Pomfret - -Horace Walpole - -John, Lord Hervey of Ickworth - -Mary, Countess of Bute - -Edward Wortley Montagu, Junior - - - - -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu: - -Her Life and Letters - -(1689-1762) - - - - -CHAPTER I - -CHILDHOOD (1689-1703) - -Birth of Mary Pierrepont, after Lady Mary Wortley Montagu--Account of -the Pierrepont family--Lady Mary's immediate ancestors--Her father, -Evelyn Pierrepont, succeeds to the Earldom of Kingston in 1690--The -extinct marquisate of Dorchester revived in his favour--His -marriage--Issue of the marriage--Death of his wife--Lady Mary stays with -her grandmother, Mrs. Elizabeth Pierrepont--Her early taste for -reading--She learns Latin, and, presently, Italian--Encouraged in her -literary ambitions by her uncle, William Feilding, and Bishop -Bumet--Submits to the Bishop a translation of "Encheiridion" of -Epictetus--An attractve child--A "toast" at the Kit-Cat Club--Acts as -hostess to her father. - - -Mary Pierrepont, afterwards Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, was born in May, -1689, and was baptised on the twenty-sixth day of that month at St. -Paul's, Covent Garden. In the register is the entry: "Mary, daughter of -Evelyn Pierrepoint, Esquire, and Lady Mary, his wife." - -The event, it may be remarked, was not one of any considerable social -interest, for the Hon. Evelyn Pierrepont was merely a younger son and -remote from the succession to the Earldom of Kingston. - -The Pierreponts of Holme Pierrepont were a Nottinghamshire family of -considerable antiquity, though of no particular distinction. One Robert -Pierrepont, who was born in 1584, the son of Sir Henry by Frances, -sister of William, first Earl of Devonshire, was the first of the family -upon whom a peerage was bestowed. He was created in 1627 Baron -Pierrepont of Holme Pierrepont and Viscount Newark, and in the following -year was elevated to the dignity of Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull, Co. -York. A zealous royalist, he was in 1643 appointed Lieutenant-General of -the King's forces in the counties of Lincoln, Rutland, Huntingdon, -Cambridge, and Norfolk, and soon after taking up this command was -accidentally shot near Gainsborough, when being carried off in a pinnace -as a prisoner to Hull by the Parliamentary Army. He married in 1601 -Gertrude, eldest daughter and co-heir of Sir William Reyner, of Orton -Longueville, Co. Huntingdon. She survived her husband six years. - -The second Earl was Henry Pierrepont, who was born in 1607. From 1628, -when his father was given the earldom, he was known under the style of -Viscount Newark. In that year he was elected Member of Parliament for -Nottingham, and he represented that constituency until 1641, when he was -summoned to the House of Lords in his father's barony as Lord -Pierrepont. He, too, was an ardent supporter of the King, and was a -member of His Majesty's Council of War at Oxford. He was created -Marquess of Dorchester in 1645. After the Restoration he was in high -favour at Whitehall. He was Commissioner of Claims at the Coronation of -Charles II, and in 1662 and again in 1673 he acted as Joint Commissioner -of the office of Earl Marshal. He was twice married, but had no direct -heirs, and on his death in 1680 the marquessate became extinct. - -The earldom passed to the family of the younger brother of the last -holder. This was the great grandfather of Lady Mary, William Pierrepont, -who deservedly earned the title of "Wise William." He sided with the -Parliament, and during the Long Parliament, in the proceedings of which -he took an active part, he sat for Great Wenlock. He was one of the -Commissioners selected to treat with Charles in 1642, and after the -failure to open negotiations he was anxious to retire from public -affairs. However, he was persuaded not to resign, and in 1644 was -appointed one of the Committee of both Kingdoms. He became a leader of -the independent party, and did not always see eye to eye with Cromwell. -He quarrelled with his party, disapproving of its attitude towards -Purge's Pride and the trial of the King. After this he took little part -in politics, though the Protector sought, and he gave on occasions, his -advice. In February, 1660, he was elected to the new Council of State at -the head of the list, and in the Convention Parliament represented -Nottingham. In the negotiations with Charles II he was a moderating -influence. Afterwards, he retired into private life. He died in 1678 or -1679. His eldest son, Robert, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir -John Evelyn, pre-deceased his father, dying in 1666, and the earldom -passed to his eldest son, Robert, who died unmarried in 1682. The title -then went to his next brother, William, who died without issue eight -years later. - -A younger brother of Robert and William, Evelyn Pierrepont, now -succeeded as (fifth) earl. He was the father of Lady Mary. Born in 1665, -he was returned to Parliament for East Retford in 1689, but his stay in -the House of Commons was brief, for in the following year the peerage -descended to him. In December, 1706, the higher dignity that had once -been in his family was revived in his favour, and he was created Earl of -Dorchester, with a special remainder, failing heirs male of his body, to -his uncle Gervase Pierrepont, who had himself been raised to the peerage -as Lord Pierrepont of Ardglass in Ireland and later was given the -dignity of Lord Pierrepont of Hanslope in Buckinghamshire. Lord -Pierrepont died in 1715, and both his titles became extinct. - -The Marquess married Mary, daughter of William Feilding, third Earl of -Denbigh, by his first wife, Mary, sister of John, first Baron of -Kingston, in the peerage of Ireland. Lady Mary was, therefore, a -relation of the novelist, Henry Fielding, whose surname was spelt -differently because, he explained, his branch of the family was the only -one that could spell correctly. - -Of this marriage, there was issue: - -(i.) William, who took the style of Viscount Newark until 1706, and then -was known as Earl of Kingston until his death in 1713, at the age of -twenty-one. He had married before 1711 Rachel, daughter of Thomas -Baynton, of Little Charfield, Wilts, who outlived her husband eight -years. There was a son, Evelyn, who succeeded to the peerage. - -(ii.) Lady Mary, the subject of this memoir. - -(iii.) Lady Frances, who in 1714 became the second wife of John Erskine, -sixth or eleventh Earl of Mar; and - -(iv.) Lady Evelyn, who married John, second Baron, and afterwards first -Earl Gower, and died in June, 1727. - -In the winter of 1697, when Lady Mary was eight years old, her mother -died. After this, the little girl was allowed to run rather wild. Lord -Kingston was very much a man about town and a gallant, and was too -greatly occupied with his affairs and his parliamentary duties, which -took him often from home, to concern himself about her education. In -fact, before her mother's death, it would seem that Lady Mary spent -months at her grandmother's, Mrs. Elizabeth Pierrepont, at her house at -West Dean. When she was in her ninth year she returned to Holme -Pierrepont, where, as she later complained, she was left "to the care of -an old governess, who, though perfectly good and pious, wanted -capacity." - -Lady Mary early had a taste for books, and enjoyed to the full the -library, where she no doubt read much that was good for her, and a good -deal that was not. She read everything that she could lay her hands on, -the old romances, poetry, and plays. One account has it that she was -taught Greek and Latin by her brother's tutor; but Sir Leslie Stephen -was doubtful about the Greek and inclined to the belief that she taught -herself Latin. Later, certainly, she taught herself Italian, and quoted -Tasso in her letters. In her studies she was encouraged by her uncle, -William Feilding, and also by Bishop Burnet, of whom she said many -years later: "I knew him in my very early youth, and his condescension -in directing a girl in her studies is an obligation I can never forget." -She had literary aspirations, and just after her twenty-first birthday -she submitted to Burnet, with the following letter, a translation of -"Encheiridion" of Epictetus from the Latin version. This will be found -in the collected works. - - -"July 20, 1710. - -"My Lord, - -"Your hours are so well employed, I hardly dare offer you this trifle to -look over; but then, so well am I acquainted with the sweetness of -temper which accompanies your learning, I dare ever assure myself of a -pardon. You have already forgiven me greater impertinencies, and -condescended yet further in giving me instructions and bestowing some of -your minutes in teaching me. This surprising humility has all the effect -it ought to have on my heart; I am sensible of the gratitude I owe to so -much goodness, and how much I am ever bound to be your servant. Here is -the work of one week of my solitude--by the many faults in it your -lordship will easily believe I spent no more time upon it; it was hardly -finished when I was obliged to begin my journey, and I had not leisure -to write it over again. You have it here without any corrections, with -all its blots and errors: I endeavoured at no beauty of style, but to -keep as literally as I could to the sense of the author. My only -intention in presenting it, is to ask your lordship whether I have -understood Epictetus? The fourth chapter, particularly, I am afraid I -have mistaken. Piety and greatness of soul set you above all misfortunes -that can happen to yourself, and the calumnies of false tongues; but -that same piety which renders what happens to yourself indifferent to -you, yet softens the natural compassion in your temper to the greatest -degree of tenderness for the interests of the Church, and the liberty -and welfare of your country: the steps that are now made towards the -destruction of both, the apparent danger we are in, the manifest growth -of injustice, oppression, and hypocrisy, cannot do otherwise than give -your lordship those hours of sorrow, which, did not your fortitude of -soul, and reflections from religion and philosophy, shorten, would add -to the national misfortunes, by injuring the health of so great a -supporter of our sinking liberties. I ought to ask pardon for this -digression; it is more proper for me in this place to say something to -excuse an address that looks so very presuming. My sex is usually forbid -studies of this nature, and folly reckoned so much our proper sphere, we -are sooner pardoned any excesses of that, than the least pretensions to -reading or good sense. We are permitted no books but such as tend to the -weakening and effeminating of the mind. Our natural defects are every -way indulged, and it is looked upon as in a degree criminal to improve -our reason, or fancy we have any. We are taught to place all our art in -adorning our outward forms, and permitted, without reproach, to carry -that custom even to extravagancy, while our minds are entirely -neglected, and, by disuse of reflections, filled with nothing but the -trifling objects our eyes are daily entertained with. This custom, so -long established and industriously upheld, makes it even ridiculous to -go out of the common road, and forces one to find as many excuses, as if -it were a thing altogether criminal not to play the fool in concert with -other women of quality, whose birth and leisure only serve to render -them the most useless and most worthless part of the creation. There is -hardly a character in the world more despicable, or more liable to -universal ridicule, than that of a learned woman; those words imply, -according to the received sense, a talking, impertinent, vain, and -conceited creature. I believe nobody will deny that learning may have -this effect, but it must be a very superficial degree of it. Erasmus was -certainly a man of great learning, and good sense, and he seems to have -my opinion of it, when he says _Foemina qui_ [sic] _vere sapit, non -videtur sibi sapere; contra, quae cum nihil sapiat sibi videtur sapere, -ea demum bis stulta est_. The Abbé Bellegarde gives a right reason for -women's talking overmuch: they know nothing, and every outward object -strikes their imagination, and produces a multitude of thoughts, which, -if they knew more, they would know not worth their thinking of. I am not -now arguing for an equality of the two sexes. I do not doubt God and -nature have thrown us into an inferior rank, we are a lower part of the -creation, we owe obedience and submission to the superior sex, and any -woman who suffers her vanity and folly to deny this, rebels against the -law of the Creator, and indisputable order of nature; but there is a -worse effect than this, which follows the careless education given to -women of quality, its being so easy for any man of sense, that finds it -either his interest or his pleasure, to corrupt them. The common method -is, to begin by attacking their religion: they bring them a thousand -fallacious arguments, which their excessive ignorance hinders them from -refuting: and I speak now from my own knowledge and conversation among -them, there are more atheists among the fine ladies than the loosest -sort of rakes; and the same ignorance that generally works out into -excess of superstition, exposes them to the snares of any who have a -fancy to carry them to t'other extreme. I have made my excuses already -too long, and will conclude in the words of Erasmus:--_Vulgus sentit -quod lingua Latina, non convenit foeminis, quia parum facit ad tuendam -illarum pundicitiam, quoniam rarum et insolitum est foeminam scire -Latinam; attamen consuetudo omnium malarum rerum magistra. Decorum est -foeminam in Germania nata_ [sic] _discere Gallice, ut loquatur_ _cum his -qui sciunt Gallice; cur igitur habetur indecorum discere Latine, ut -quotidie confabuletur cum tot autoribus tam facundis, tam eruditis, tam -sapientibus, tam fides consultoribus. Certe mihi quantulumcunque cerebri -est, malim in bonis studiis consumere, quam in precibus sine mente -dictis, in pernoctibus conviviis, in exhauriendis, capacibus pateris, -&c."_ - - -This was not the sort of letter that in the opening years of the -eighteenth century even Bishops received from young ladies of rank, who -usually took their pleasure in other and lighter ways. Lady Mary, -however, loved to exercise her pen. She later composed some imitations of -Ovid, and tried her hand at one or two romances in the French manner. -She thus acquired a facility of expression that stood her in good stead -when she came to write those letters that constitute her principal claim -to fame. - -Lady Mary was an attractive child, and her father was very proud of her, -especially when she was in what may be called the kitten stage. The -story is told that, when she was about eight years old, he named her as -a "toast" at the Kit-Cat Club, and as she was not known to the majority -of the members he sent for her, where, on her arrival, she was received -with acclamation by the Whig wits there assembled. - -Sometimes Lady Mary in her girlhood stayed at Thoresby, and occasionally -came up to her father's London house, which was in Arlington Street, -which visits, accepting the story told by her granddaughter, Lady Louisa -Stuart, cannot have been an unmixed delight. "Some particulars, in -themselves too insignificant to be worth recording, may yet interest the -curious, by setting before them the manners of our ancestors," Lady -Louisa says. "Lord Dorchester, having no wife to do the honours of his -table at Thoresby, imposed that task upon his eldest daughter, as soon -as she had bodily strength for the office: which in those days required -no small share. For this mistress of a country mansion was not only to -invite--that is urge and tease--her company to eat more than human -throats could conveniently swallow, but to carve every dish, when -chosen, with her own hands. The greater the lady, the more indispensable -the duty. Each joint was carried up in its turn, to be operated upon by -her, and her alone; since the peers and knights on either hand were so -far from being bound to offer their assistance, that the very master of -the house, posted opposite her, might not act as her croupier, his -department was to push the bottle after dinner. As for the crowd of -guests, the most inconsiderable among them--the curate, or subaltern, or -squire's younger brother--if suffered through her neglect to help -himself to a slice of the mutton placed before him, would have chewed -it in bitterness and gone home an affronted man, half inclined to give a -wrong vote at the next election. There were then professed -carving-masters, who taught young ladies the art scientifically; from -one of whom Lady Mary said she took lessons three times a week that she -might be perfect on her father's public days, when, in order to perform -her functions without interruption, she was forced to eat her own dinner -alone an hour or two beforehand." - - - - -CHAPTER II - -GIRLHOOD (1703-1710) - -Lady Mary makes the acquaintance of Edward Wortley Montagu--Montagu -attracted by her looks and her literary gifts--Assists her in her -studies--Montagu a friend of the leading men of letters of the -day--Addison, Steele, Congreve, Vanbrugh, and others--The second volume -of the _Tatler_ dedicated to him by Steele--Montagu a staunch Whig--His -paternal interest for Lady Mary does not endure--He becomes a suitor for -her hand--Lady Mary's devotion and respect for him--Her flirtations--She -and Montagu correspond through the medium of his sister, Anne--Lady -Mary's mordant humour--Her delight in retailing society scandal--The -death of Anne Wortley--Lady Mary and Montagu henceforth communicate -direct--Her first letter to him. - - -At the age of fourteen the precocious Lady Mary, when on a visit to -Wharncliffe Lodge, some thirty miles from Thoresby, made a conquest that -was vastly to influence her life. The conquest was no less a person than -Edward Wortley Montagu, son of Sidney Wortley Montagu, who was the -second son of Edward, first Earl of Sandwich, the famous Admiral of -Charles II. Sidney had taken the name of Wortley on his marriage to -Anne, daughter of Sir Francis Wortley. To Sidney Wortley Montagu, of -whom there is to-day little known, is an interesting reference in a -letter from the Earl of Danby to his wife, dated from Kiveton, September -6, 1684: "I have had Mr. Montague with me--my Lord Sandwich his son--who -lives at Wortley, and calls himself by that name, and is really a very -fine gentleman and told me he was sorry that any of his relations--much -more of his name--should have carried themselves so unjustly towards me, -and he hoped I would not have the worse opinion of him for their -ill-behaviour." - -Edward Wortley Montagu, who was then twenty-five, was already a person -of some distinction. He was a good classical scholar, acquainted with -modern languages, and versed in what his grand-daughter, Lady Louisa -Stuart, styled "polite literature." He was interested in the pretty, -clever girl, and encouraged her to talk to him of her reading and -writing. "When I was very young," she said, as is recorded in the -_Anecdotes_ of the Rev. Joseph Spence, "I was a great admirer of Ovid's -'Metamorphosis,' and that was one of the reasons that set me upon the -thoughts of stealing the Latin language. Mr. Wortley was the only person -to whom I communicated my design, and he encouraged me in it. I used to -study five or six hours a day for two years in my father's library, and -so got that language whilst everybody else thought I was reading nothing -but novels and romances." - -Montagu affected the company of men of letters. He was intimate with -Addison, a close friend of Steele, and on terms with Congreve, Vanbrugh, -and Garth, the author of _The Dispensary._ Steele, in fact, dedicated -the second volume of the _Tatler_ to him. - - -"SIR, - -"When I send you this Volume, I am rather to make a Request than a -Dedication. I must desire, that if you think fit to throw away any -Moments on it, you would not do it after reading those excellent Pieces -with which you are usually conversant. The Images which you will meet -with here, will be very feint, after the Perusal of the _Greeks_ and -_Romans_, who are your ordinary Companions. I must confess I am obliged -to you for the Taste of many of their Excellencies, which I had not -observed till you pointed them to me. I am very proud that there are -some things in these Papers which I know you pardon, and it is no small -Pleasure to have one's Labours suffered by the Judgment of a Man who so -well understands the true Charms of Eloquence and Poesie. But I direct -this Address to you, not that I think I can entertain you with my -Writings, but to thank you for the new Delight I have from your -Conversation in those of other men. - -"May you enjoy a long Continuance of the true Relish of the Happiness -Heaven hath bestowed on you. I know not how to say a more affectionate -Thing to you, than to wish you may be always what you are, and that you -may ever think, as I know you now do, that you have a much larger -Fortune than you want. I am, - -"Sir, - -"Your most Obedient and most Humble Servant, - -"ISAAC BICKERSTAFF." - - -Montagu was also interested in politics. He was a staunch Whig, and in -favour with the leaders of his party. He sat in the House of Commons -from 1705 to 1713 as member for Huntingdon, where there was family -interest. It was not, however, until after the accession of George I -that he held office. - -At first, it may be, Montagu took some kind of paternal interest in Lady -Mary. This attitude did not long endure. When the change in his feelings -took place there is no means of knowing. He does not seem to have been a -passionate man, nor a very ardent lover, but there is no doubt that at -this period he inspired the girl with a very real devotion and respect, -even though perhaps her heart was not deeply engaged. - -Montagu would have had the girl find her pleasures exclusively in books -and in his own conversation. She, at the age of twenty, on the other -hand, was full of the joy of life and liked the various social pleasures -that came her way. Naturally, she tried the effect of her good looks and -wit on men. In fact, she was fond of flirting, and as it must probably -have been impossible to flirt with Montagu, she indulged herself in that -agreeable pastime with more than one other--to the great annoyance of -that pompous prig of an admirer of hers. The following letter, dated -September 5, 1709, written to Anne Wortley for her brother's perusal, -was clearly an endeavour to sooth away the man's jealousy. - - -"September 5, 1709. - -"My dear Mrs. Wortley, as she has the entire power of raising, can also, -with a word, calm my passions. The kindness of your last recompenses me -for the injustice of your former letter; but you cannot sure be angry at -my little resentment. You have read that a man who, with patience, hears -himself called heretic, can never be esteemed a good Christian. To be -capable of preferring the despicable wretch you mention to Mr. Wortley, -is as ridiculous, if not as criminal, as forsaking the Deity to worship -a calf. Don't tell me any body ever had so mean an opinion of my -inclinations; 'tis among the number of those things I would forget. My -tenderness is always built upon my esteem, and when the foundation -perishes, it falls: I must own, I think it is so with every body--but -enough of this: you tell me it was meant for raillery--was not the -kindness meant so too? I fear I am too apt to think what is amusement -designed in earnest--no matter, 'tis for my repose to be deceived, and I -will believe whatever you tell me. - -"I should be very glad to be informed of a right method, or whether -there is such a thing alone, but am afraid to ask the question. It may -be reasonably called presumption in a girl to have her thoughts that -way. You are the only creature that I have made my confidante in that -case: I'll assure you, I call it the greatest secret of my life. Adieu, -my dear, the post stays, my next shall be longer." - - -Lady Mary was probably more complaisant on paper than actually in her -conduct of life. She desired male as well as female companionship; she -liked the admiration and the flattery of men, and, no doubt, did her -best to evoke it. It is strange, however, that with her beauty--for that -she was in her early years beautiful has generally been accepted--she -was not unduly attractive to men. It may be that her good looks brought -young men to her feet, and that her tongue drove them away. In no age -has a clever woman been very popular with the other sex, and in the -early years of the eighteenth century, when girls could do little more -than read and write--and not always so much--wit such as hers and the -readiness of reply with which she was gifted must have been a deterrent. -What could the ordinary social butterfly think of a Lady Mary who had as -a friend Mary Ansell, the author of a _Serious Proposal to Ladies--_ -what, though perhaps not one of them had read the book? - -Still, there was enough levity in Lady Mary's behaviour in society for -her to think it desirable to make some explanation to Montagu. - - -"[Indorsed '9 April,' 1711.] - -"I thought to return no answer to your letter, but I find I am not so -wise as I thought myself. I cannot forbear fixing my mind a little on -that expression, though perhaps the only insincere one in your whole -letter--I would die to be secure of your heart, though but for a -moment:--were this but true, what is there I would not do to secure you? - -"I will state the case to you as plainly as I can; and then ask yourself -if you use me well. I have shewed, in every action of my life, an esteem -for you that at least challenges a grateful regard. I have trusted my -reputation in your hands; I have made no scruple of giving you, under my -own hand, an assurance of my friendship. After all this, I exact nothing -from you: if you find it inconvenient for your affairs to take so small -a fortune, I desire you to sacrifice nothing to me; I pretend no tie -upon your honour: but, in recompence for so clear and so disinterested a -proceeding, must I ever receive injuries and ill usage? - -"I have not the usual pride of my sex; I can bear being told I am in the -wrong, but tell it me gently. Perhaps I have been indiscreet; I came -young into the hurry of the world; a great innocence and an undesigning -gaiety may possibly have been construed coquetry and a desire of being -followed, though never meant by me. I cannot answer for the [reflections] -that may be made on me: all who are malicious attack the careless and -defenceless: I own myself to be both. I not anything I can say more to -shew my perfect desire of pleasing you and making you easy, than to -proffer to be confined with you in what manner you please. Would any -woman but me renounce all the world for one? or would any man but you -be insensible of such a proof of sincerity?" - - -From an early age Lady Mary indulged her somewhat mordant humour, not -less in her letters than in her conversation, and as that quality must -have some subject upon which to exercise itself, she was generally on -the look-out for some tit-bit of scandal which she could relate in her -own inimitable manner. - - -"Next to the great ball, what makes the most noise is the marriage of an -old maid, who lives in this street, without a portion, to a man of -Ł7,000 _per annum_, and they say Ł40,000 in ready money," she wrote to -Mrs. Hewet about the beginning of 1709. "Her equipage and liveries -outshine anybody's in town. He has presented her with Ł3,000 in jewels; -and never was man more smitten with these charms that had lain invisible -for these forty years; but, with all his glory, never bride had fewer -enviers, the dear beast of a man is so filthy, frightful, odious, and -detestable. I would turn away such a footman, for fear of spoiling my -dinner, while he waited at table. They were married on Friday, and came -to church _en parade_ on Sunday. I happened to sit in the pew with them, -and had the honour of seeing Mrs. Bride fall fast asleep in the middle -of the sermon, and snore very comfortably; which made several women in -the church think the bridegroom not quite so ugly as they did before. -Envious people say 'twas all counterfeited to please him, but I believe -that to be scandal; for I dare swear, nothing but downright necessity -could make her miss one word of the sermon. He professes to have married -her for her devotion, patience, meekness, and other Christian virtues he -observed in her; his first wife (who has left no children) being very -handsome, and so good natured as to have ventured her own salvation to -secure his. He has married this lady to have a companion in that -paradise where his first has given him a title. I believe I have given -you too much of this couple; but they are not to be comprehended in few -words." - - -Here is another malicious story that appealed to Lady Mary's wayward -fancy, - - -"Mrs. Braithwayte, a Yorkshire beauty," she wrote to the same -correspondent in March, 1712, "who had been but two days married to a -Mr. Coleman, ran out of bed _en chemise_, and her husband followed her -in his, in which pleasant dress they ran as far as St. James's Street, -where they met with a chair, and prudently crammed themselves both into -it, observing the rule of dividing the good and bad fortune of this -life, resolved to run all hazards together, and ordered the chairmen to -carry them both away, perfectly representing, both in love and -nakedness, and want of eyes to see that they were naked, our first happy -parents. Sunday last I had the pleasure of hearing the whole history -from the lady's own mouth." - - -Love-affairs, other people's love-affairs anyhow, had an attraction for -Lady Mary. "You talk of the Duke of Leeds," she wrote. "I hear that he -has placed his heroic love upon the bright charms of a pewterer's wife; -and, after a long amour, and many perilous adventures, has stolen the -fair lady, which, in spite of his wrinkles and grandchild, persuade -people of his youth and gallantry." The nobleman in question, Peregrine -Osborne, second Duke of Leeds, was then fifty-six--which, after all, -regarded from the standpoint of to-day, is not such a great age as is -suggested by the story. - -If Montagu objected to the indiscretions of Lady Mary, it does not -appear that he was in any hurry to get married to her. Of course, it may -be--it is only fair to him to say--that Lady Mary held him temporarily -at bay, preferring the frivolities of those of her own age to the -austere attentions of one who acted as if he might have been her father. - -For some years she and Montagu were apparently content with writing long -letters to each other when they were not both in town. When the -correspondence started is uncertain. The first letter of Lady Mary that -has been preserved is dated Thoresby, May 2, 1709; but there can be no -doubt that they had been in regular communication before then. - -It is specially to be noted that the earlier letters of Lady Mary were -addressed to Montagu's sister, Anne. It is evident, however, that they -were definitely written for his perusal, and it is equally clear that -Anne's replies were inspired, and sometimes, if not always, drafted by -him. This practice continued until the death of Anne Wortley in March, -1710. Yet there seems to have been no reason for this camouflage. In -1709 Lady Mary was twenty years of age, and Montagu was a very eligible -_parti_. - -The respectful, highfalutin gallantry that is the key-note of the -correspondence recalls the correspondence that presently was exchanged -between Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk, and the octogenarian Earl -of Peterborough. - -Some typical passages from the letters to "My dear Mrs. Wortley" may be -given--it should be mentioned that it was the social custom of the day -to address as "Mrs." maiden ladies as well as married women. - - -"Thoresby, August 8, 1709. - -"I know no pretence I have to your good opinion but my hearty desiring -it; I wish I had that imagination you talk of, to render me a fitter -correspondent for you, who can write so well on every thing. I am now so -much alone, I have leisure to pass whole days in reading, but am not at -all proper for so delicate an employment as choosing you books. Your own -fancy will better direct you. My study at present is nothing but -dictionaries and grammars. I am trying whether it be possible to learn -without a master; I am not certain (and dare hardly hope) I shall make -any great progress; but I find the study so diverting I am not only -easy, but pleased with the solitude that indulges it. I forget there is -such a place as London, and wish for no company but yours. You see, my -dear, in making my pleasures consist of these unfashionable diversions, -I am not of the number who cannot be easy out of the mode. I believe -more follies are committed out of complaisance to the world, than in -following our own inclinations--Nature is seldom in the wrong, custom -always; it is with some regret I follow it in all the impertinencies of -dress; the compliance is so trivial it comforts me; but I am amazed to -see it consulted even in the most important occasions of our lives; and -that people of good sense in other things can make their happiness -consist in the opinions of others, and sacrifice every thing in the -desire of appearing in fashion. I call all people who fall in love with -furniture, clothes, and equipage, of this number, and I look upon them -as no less in the wrong than when they were five years old, and doated -on shells, pebbles, and hobby-horses: I believe you will expect this -letter to be dated from the other world, for sure I am you never heard -an inhabitant of this talk so before. I suppose you expect, too, I -should conclude with begging pardon for this extreme tedious and very -nonsensical letter; quite contrary, I think you will be obliged to me -for it. I could not better show my great concern for your reproaching me -with neglect I knew myself innocent of, than proving myself mad in three -pages." - - -"August 21, 1709. - -"I am infinitely obliged to you, my dear Mrs. Wortley, for the wit, -beauty, and other fine qualities, you so generously bestow upon me. Next -to receiving them from Heaven, you are the person from whom I would -chuse to receive gifts and graces: I am very well satisfied to owe them -to your own delicacy of imagination, which represents to you the idea of -a fine lady, and you have good nature enough to fancy I am she. All this -is mighty well, but you do not stop there; imagination is boundless. -After giving me imaginary wit and beauty, you give me imaginary -passions, and you tell me I'm in love: if I am, 'tis a perfect sin of -ignorance, for I don't so much as know the man's name: I have been -studying these three hours, and cannot guess who you mean. I passed the -days of Nottingham races, [at] Thoresby, without seeing or even wishing -to see one of the sex. Now, if I am in love, I have very hard fortune to -conceal it so industriously from my own knowledge, and yet discover it -so much to other people. 'Tis against all form to have such a passion as -that, without giving one sigh for the matter. Pray tell me the name of -him I love, that I may (according to the laudable custom of lovers) sigh -to the woods and groves hereabouts, and teach it to the echo. You see, -being I am _[sic]_ in love, I am willing to be so in order and rule: I -have been turning over God knows how many books to look for precedents. -Recommend an example to me; and, above all, let me know whether 'tis -most proper to walk in the woods, encreasing the winds with my sighs, or -to sit by a purling stream, swelling the rivulet with my tears; may be, -both may do well in their turns:--but to be a minute serious, what do -you mean by this reproach of inconstancy? I confess you give me several -good qualities I have not, and I am ready to thank you for them, but -then you must not take away those few I have. No, I will never exchange -them; take back the beauty and wit you bestow upon me, leave me my own -mediocrity of agreeableness and genius, but leave me also my sincerity, -my constancy and my plain dealing; 'tis all I have to recommend me to -the esteem either of others or myself. How should I despise myself if I -could think I was capable of either inconstancy or deceit! I know not -how I may appear to other people, nor how much my face may belie my -heart, but I know that I never was or can be guilty of dissimulation or -inconstancy--you will think this vain, but 'tis all that I pique myself -upon. Tell me you believe me and repent of your harsh censure. Tell it -me in pity to my uneasiness, for you are one of those few people about -whose good opinion I am in pain. I have always took so little care to -please the generality of the world, that I am never mortified or -delighted by its reports which is a piece of stoicism born with me; but -I cannot be one minute easy while you think ill of - -"Your faithful--" - - -"This letter is a good deal grave, and, like other grave things, dull; -but I won't ask pardon for what I can't help." - - -Was the sentiment expressed in the following letter, written about the -same time as that printed above, intended for Anne or her brother, or -both? - - -"When I said it cost nothing to write tenderly, I believe I spoke of -another sex; I am sure not of myself: 'tis not in my power (I would to -God it was!) to hide a kindness where I have one, or dissemble it where -I have none. I cannot help answering your letter this minute, and -telling you I infinitely love you, though, it may be, you'll call the -one impertinence, and the other dissimulation; but you may think what -you please of me, I must eternally think the same things of you." - - -Lady Mary was occasionally wearisome owing to the reiteration of the -assurance that she believed her letters to be dull, the more so as she -certainly was conscious of the skill with which she composed them. "What -do you mean by complaining I never write to you in the quiet situation -of mind I do to other people?" she asks Anne Wortley. "My dear, people -never write calmly, but when they write indifferently." - -After a letter dated September 5, 1709, a passage from which has been -printed here, there is a break in the (preserved) correspondence. In the -spring of the following year Anne Wortley died, and Lady Mary, on March -28, paid tribute to her departed friend, addressing herself for the -first time direct to Montagu. - - -"Perhaps you'll be surprized at this letter; I have had many debates -with myself before I could resolve on it. I know it is not acting in -form, but I do not look upon you as I do upon the rest of the world, and -by what I do for _you_, you are not to judge my manner of acting with -others. You are brother to a woman I tenderly loved; my protestations of -friendship are not like other people's, I never speak but what I mean, -and when I say I love, 'tis for ever. I had that real concern for Mrs. -Wortley, I look with some regard on every one that is related to her. -This and my long acquaintance with you may in some measure excuse what I -am now doing. I am surprized at one of the 'Tatlers' you send me; is it -possible to have any sort of esteem for a person one believes capable of -having such trifling inclinations? Mr. Bickerstaff has very wrong -notions of our sex. I can say there are some of us that despise charms -of show, and all the pageantry of greatness, perhaps with more ease than -any of the philosophers. In contemning the world, they seem to take -pains to contemn it; we despise it, without taking the pains to read -lessons of morality to make us do it. At least I know I have always -looked upon it with contempt, without being at the expense of one -serious reflection to oblige me to it. I carry the matter yet farther; -was I to choose of two thousand pounds a year or twenty thousand, the -first would be my choice. There is something of an unavoidable -_embarras_ in making what is called a great figure in the world; [it] -takes off from the happiness of life; I hate the noise and hurry -inseparable from great estates and titles, and look upon both as -blessings that ought only to be given to fools, for 'tis only to them -that they are blessings. The pretty fellows you speak of, I own -entertain me sometimes; but is it impossible to be diverted with what -one despises? I can laugh at a puppet-show; at the same time I know -there is nothing in it worth my attention or regard. General notions are -generally wrong. Ignorance and folly are thought the best foundations -for virtue, as if not knowing what a good wife is was necessary to make -one so. I confess that can never be my way of reasoning; as I always -forgive an _injury_ when I think it not done out of malice, I never -think myself _obliged_ by what is done without design." - - -Lady Mary, who was now one-and-twenty, was no bread-and-butter miss. She -knew her mind and had the gift to express herself, and in this same -letter she very prettily rebukes her laggard lover. - - -"Give me leave to say it, (I know it sounds vain,) I know how to make a -man of sense happy; but then that man must resolve to contribute -something towards it himself. I have so much esteem for you, I should be -very sorry to hear you was unhappy; but for the world I would not be the -instrument of making you so; which (of the humour you are) is hardly to -be avoided if I am your wife. You distrust me--I can neither be easy, -nor loved, where I am distrusted. Nor do I believe your passion for me -is what you pretend it; at least I am sure was I in love I could not -talk as you do. Few women would have spoke so plainly as I have done; -but to dissemble is among the things I never do. I take more pains to -approve my conduct to myself than to the world; and would not have to -accuse myself of a minute's deceit. I wish I loved you enough to devote -myself to be for ever miserable, for the pleasure of a day or two's -happiness. I cannot resolve upon it. You must think otherwise of me, or -not at all." - -"I don't enjoin you to burn this letter," she said in conclusion. "I -know you will. 'Tis the first I ever writ to one of your sex, and shall -be the last. You must never expect another. I resolve against all -correspondence of the kind--my resolutions are seldom made and never -broken." - - -Whatever happened to most of Lady Mary's resolutions, this one, at -least, was not kept. Actually, Lady Mary was not quite so emancipated at -this time of her life as she may have imagined. She never sent a letter, -except in fear and trembling. "I hazard a great deal if it falls -into other hands, and I write for all that," was her constant cry. Yet, -there was nothing in the correspondence, save the fact of it, to offend -even a most austere maiden aunt of the day. - -The correspondence, of course, continued. The lovers, if so they can be -called, now indulged in a slightly acid academic discussion, or rather a -number of slightly acid academic discussions, about marriage. It is -evident that Montagu held strong views as to the duty of a wife; so -undoubtedly did Lady Mary--only, the trouble was, the views were by no -means identical. If he were determined to set himself up as the strong -loquacious man, his _fiancée_ was certainly not prepared meekly to obey -his behests in silence. They indulged in a somewhat candid examination -of each other's character--and of their own. It is really rather -amusing, this careful cold-blooded dissection of their feelings. It is a -safe guess that at this game Lady Mary scored heavily. - - -"I wish, with all my soul, I thought as you do," she wrote on April 25, -1710. "I endeavour to convince myself by your arguments, and am sorry my -reason is so obstinate, not to be deluded into an opinion, that 'tis -impossible a man can esteem a woman. I suppose I should then be very -easy at your thoughts of me; I should thank you for the wit and beauty -you give me, and not be angry at the follies and weaknesses; but, to my -infinite affliction, I can believe neither one nor t'other. One part of -my character is not so good, nor t'other so bad, as you fancy it. Should -we ever live together, you would be disappointed both ways; you would -find an easy equality of temper you do not expect, and a thousand faults -you do not imagine. You think, if you married me, I should be -passionately fond of you one month, and of somebody else the next: -neither would happen. I can esteem, I can be a friend, but I don't know -whether I can love. Expect all that is complaisant and easy, but never -what is fond, in me. You judge very wrong of my heart, when you suppose -me capable of views of interest, and that anything could oblige me to -flatter any body. Was I the most indigent creature in the world, I -should answer you as I do now, without adding or diminishing. I am -incapable of art, and 'tis because I will not be capable of it. Could I -deceive one minute, I should never regain my own good opinion; and who -could bear to live with one they despised? If you can resolve to live -with a companion that will have all the deference due to your -superiority of good sense, and that your proposals can be agreeable to -those on whom I depend, I have nothing to say against them." - - - - -CHAPTER III - -COURTSHIP, ELOPEMENT, AND MARRIAGE (1710-1712) - -A lengthy courtship--Montagu a laggard lover--Lady Mary and Montagu -exchange views on married life--Montagu proposes for her to Lord -Dorchester--Dorchester refuses, since Montagu will not make -settlements--Montagu's views on settlements expressed (by Steele) in the -_Tatler_--Although not engaged, the young people continue to -correspond--Lord Dorchester produces another suitor for his -daughter--She consents to an engagement--The preparations for the -wedding--She confides the whole story to Montagu--She breaks off the -engagement--She and Montagu decide to elope--She runs up to -London--Marriage--Lady Mary's diary destroyed by her sister, Lady -Frances Pierrepont. - - -After seven years or so of acquaintance, matters at last looked like -coming to a head. It would appear that Montagu, tentatively at least, -had put the question, because Lady Mary gives her views as to the life -they should lead after marriage. She is not averse from travelling; she -has no objection to leaving London; in fact, she would be willing to -spend a few months in the country, if it so pleased him. It is all so -extraordinarily unloverlike. There is too much philosophy about it. Love -does not see so clearly. - - -"Where people are tied for life, 'tis their mutual interest not to grow -weary of one another," she wrote on April 25, 1710. "If I had all the -personal charms that I want, a face is too slight a foundation for -happiness. You would be soon tired with seeing every day the same thing. -Where you saw nothing else, you would have leisure to remark all the -defects; which would increase in proportion as the novelty lessened, -which is always a great charm. I should have the displeasure of seeing a -coldness, which, though I could not reasonably blame you for, being -involuntary, yet it would render me uneasy; and the more, because I know -a love may be revived which absence, inconstancy, or even infidelity, -has extinguished; but there is no returning from a _dégout_ given by -satiety." - - -Perhaps Lady Mary believed that, while it is well to hope for the best, -it is sound policy to prepare for the worst. - -Montagu may have found some comfort in the lady's assurance that if she -had a choice between two thousand a year or twenty thousand a year she -would choose the smaller income. - -An apartment in London would satisfy Lady Mary. She would not choose to -live in a crowd, but would like to have a small circle of agreeable -people--she was very precise as to her desires: actually she wants to -see eight or nine pleasant folk. She does not believe that she can find -entire happiness in solitude, not even (or perhaps especially not) in a -solitude of two; and she is at least as sure that he would not either. -Anyhow she has not the slightest intention of taking the chance. - -It becomes increasingly clear that she had had about enough of this -epistolary philandering, and she indicated this in no uncertain manner. -"I will never think of anything without the consent of my family," she -wrote. "Make no answer to this, if you can like me on my own terms. 'Tis -not to me you must make the proposals; if not, to what purpose is our -correspondence?" - -And now comes a touch of the spur: "However, preserve me your -friendship, which I think of with a great deal of pleasure. If ever you -see me married, I flatter myself you'll see a conduct you would not be -sorry your wife should imitate." - -Even this did not bring Montagu to the point of asking Lord Dorchester -for the hand of his daughter. The correspondence, however, still -continued, and soon they were hard at it again. - - -"Kindness, you say, would be your destruction," she wrote in August, -1710. "In my opinion, this is something contradictory to some other -expressions. People talk of being in love just as widows do of -affliction. Mr. Steele has observed, in one of his plays, the most -passionate among them have always calmness enough to drive a hard -bargain with the upholders. I never knew a lover that would not -willingly secure his interest as well as his mistress; or, if one must -be abandoned, had not the prudence (among all his distractions) to -consider, a woman was but a woman, and money was a thing of more real -merit than the whole sex put together. Your letter is to tell me, you -should think yourself undone if you married me; but if I would be so -tender as to confess I should break my heart if you did not, then you'd -consider whether you would or no; but yet you hoped you should not. I -take this to be the right interpretation of--even your kindness can't -destroy me of a sudden--I hope I am not in your power--I would give a -good deal to be satisfied, &c. - -"As to writing--that any woman would do that thought she writ well. Now -I say, no woman of common sense would. At best, 'tis but doing a silly -thing well, and I think it is much better not to do a silly thing at -all. You compare it to dressing. Suppose the comparison just: perhaps -the Spanish dress would become my face very well; yet the whole town -would condemn me for the highest extravagance if I went to court in it, -though it improved me to a miracle. There are a thousand things, not ill -in themselves, which custom makes unfit to be done. This is to convince -you I am so far from applauding my own conduct, my conscience flies in -my face every time I think on't. The generality of the world have a -great indulgence to their own follies: without being a jot wiser than my -neighbours, I have the peculiar misfortune to know and condemn all the -wrong things I do. - -"You beg to know whether I would not be out of humour. The expression is -modest enough; but that is not what you mean. In saying I could be easy, -I have already said I should not be out of humour: but you would have me -say I am violently in love; that is, finding you think better of me than -you desire, you would have me give you a just cause to contemn me. I -doubt much whether there is a creature in the world humble enough to do -that. I should not think you more unreasonable if you was in love with -my face, and asked me to disfigure it to make you easy. I have heard of -some nuns that made use of that expedient to secure their own happiness; -but, amongst all the popish saints and martyrs, I never read of one -whose charity was sublime enough to make themselves deformed, or -ridiculous, to restore their lovers to peace and quietness. In short, if -nothing can content you but despising me heartily, I am afraid I shall -be always so barbarous to wish you may esteem me as long as you live." - - -At last Montagu formally approached Lord Dorchester, who had no -objection whatever to him as a suitor for the hand of Lady Mary. They -could not come to terms in the matter of settlements. Dorchester -demanded that the estates should be put into entail. Also he desired -that his future son-in-law should provide a town residence for Lady -Mary. This did not seem unreasonable, but Montagu did not see his way to -agree to them. He was willing enough to make all proper provision for -his wife, but he declined absolutely to settle his landed property upon -a son who, as he put it, for aught he knew, might prove unworthy to -inherit it, who might be a spendthrift, an idiot, or a villain--as a -matter of fact, the only son of the marriage turned out most things he -should not. Anyhow, Montagu held strong views on the subject, and these -he expounded to Richard Steele, who presented them in No. 223 of the -_Tatler_ (September 12, 1710). - - -"That this method of making settlements was first invented by a griping -lawyer, who made use of the covetous tempers of the parents of each -side, to force two young people into these vile measures of diffidence -for no other end, but to increase the skins of parchment, by which they -were put into each other's possession out of each other's power. The law -of our country has given an ample and generous provision for the wife, -even the third of her husband's estate, and left to her good-humour and -his gratitude the expectation of farther provision, but the fantastical -method of going farther, with relation to the heirs, has a foundation in -nothing but pride, and folly: for as all men with their children as like -themselves, and as much better as they can possibly, it seems monstrous -that we should give out of ourselves the opportunities of rewarding and -discouraging them according to their defects. The wife institution has -no more sense in it, than if a man should begin a deed with 'Whereas no -man living knows how long he shall continue to be a reasonable creature, -or an honest man, and whereas I.B. am going to enter into the state of -matrimony with Mrs. D., therefore I shall from henceforth make it -indifferent to me whether from this time forward I shall be a fool or -knave. And therefore, in full and perfect health of body, and a sound -mind, not knowing which of my children will prove better or worse, I -give to my first-born, be he perverse, ungrateful, impious, or cruel, -the lump and bulk of my estate, and leave one year's purchase only to -each of my younger children, whether they shall be brave or beautiful, -modest or honourable, from the time of the date hereof, wherein I resign -my senses, and hereby promise to employ my judgment no farther in the -distribution of my worldly goods from the date hereof, hereby farther -confessing and covenanting, that I am henceforth married, and dead in -law....' - -"How strangely men are sometimes partial to themselves, appears by the -rapine of him, that has a daughter's beauty under his direction. He will -make no scruple of using it to force from her lover as much of his -estate, as is worth ten thousand pounds, and at the same time, as a -justice on the bench, will spare no pains to get a man hanged that has -taken but a horse from him. - -"It is to be hoped that the legislature will in due time take this kind -of robbery into consideration, and not suffer men to prey upon each -other when they are about making the most solemn league, and entering -into the strictest bonds. The only sure remedy is to fix a certain rate -on every woman's fortune, one price for that of a maid, and another for -that of a widow: for it is of infinite advantage, that there should be -no frauds or uncertainties in the sale of our women." - - -Unless Montagu were tactless beyond the general, the position as regards -himself and Lord Dorchester must indeed have been hopeless before he -inspired the paper in the _Tatler_ on settlements. Anyhow, Montagu, who -was used to having his way, and was probably very cross at being -thwarted on this occasion, would not yield a step; and Lord Dorchester -maintained his attitude that philosophic theories were all very well in -their way, but he would not sanction a marriage that involved the risk -of his grandchildren being left beggars. - -Lady Mary was powerless in the matter, but, although her father said -there was no engagement between her and Montagu, the young people -continued their correspondence with unabated vigour. - - -"I am going to comply with your request, and write with all the -plainness I am capable of," she replied in November, 1710, to one of -Montagu's effusions. "I know what may be said upon such a proceeding, -but am sure you will not say it. Why should you always put the worst -construction upon my words? Believe me what you will, but do not believe -I can be ungenerous or ungrateful. I wish I could tell you what answer -you will receive from some people, or upon what terms. If my opinion -could sway, nothing should displease you. Nobody ever was so -disinterested as I am. I would not have to reproach myself (I don't -suppose you would) that I had any way made you uneasy in your -circumstances. Let me beg you (which I do with the utmost sincerity) -only to consider yourself in this affair; and, since I am so unfortunate -to have nothing in my own disposal, do not think I have any hand in -making settlements. People in my way are sold like slaves; and I cannot -tell what price my master will put on me. If you do agree, I shall -endeavour to contribute, as much as lies in my power, to your happiness. -I so heartily despise a great figure, I have no notion of spending money -so foolishly; though one had a great deal to throw away. If this breaks -off, I shall not complain of you: and as, whatever happens, I shall -still preserve the opinion you have behaved yourself well. Let me -entreat you, if I have committed any follies, to forgive them; and be so -just to think I would not do an ill thing." - - -Shortly afterwards, Lady Mary wrote again to Montagu. "I have tried to -write plainly," she said; and she did not have to reproach herself with -failure. It had now come to a struggle for mastery, and she would not -yield a foot of her ground. - - -"Indeed I do not at all wonder that absence, and variety of new faces, -should make you forget me; but I am a little surprised at your curiosity -to know what passes in my heart (a thing wholly insignificant to you), -except you propose to yourself a piece of ill-natured satisfaction, in -finding me very much disquieted. Pray which way would you see into my -heart? You can frame no guesses about it from either my speaking or -writing; and, supposing I should attempt to show it you, I know no other -way. - -"I begin to be tired of my humility: I have carried my complaisances to -you farther than I ought. You make new scruples; you have a great deal -of fancy; and your distrusts being all of your own making, are more -immovable than if there was some real ground for them. Our aunts and -grandmothers always tell us that men are a sort of animals, that, if -they are constant, 'tis only where they are ill used. 'Twas a kind of -paradox I could never believe: experience has taught me the truth of it. -You are the first I ever had a correspondence with, and I thank God I -have done with it for all my life. You needed not to have told me you -are not what you have been: one must be stupid not to find a difference -in your letters. You seem, in one part of your last, to excuse yourself -from having done me any injury in point of fortune. Do I accuse you of -any? - -"I have not spirits to dispute any longer with you. You say you are not -yet determined: let me determine for you, and save you the trouble of -writing again. Adieu for ever! make no answer. I wish, among the variety -of acquaintance, you may find some one to please you; and can't help the -vanity of thinking, should you try them all, you won't find one that -will be so sincere in their treatment, though a thousand more deserving, -and every one happier. 'Tis a piece of vanity and injustice I never -forgive in a woman, to delight to give pain; what must I think of a man -that takes pleasure in making me uneasy? After the folly of letting you -know it is in your power, I ought in prudence to let this go no farther, -except I thought you had good nature enough never to make use of that -power. I have no reason to think so: however, I am willing, you see, to -do you the highest obligation 'tis possible for me to do; that is, to -give you a fair occasion of being rid of me." - - -There is now another break in the (preserved) correspondence until the -end of February, 1711, and then Lady Mary, writing with more than a -tinge of bitterness, broke off all relations with him--or, at least, -affected to do so. - - -"I intended to make no answer to your letter; it was something very -ungrateful, and I resolved to give over all thoughts of you. I could -easily have performed that resolve some time ago, but then you took -pains to please me; now you have brought me to esteem you, you make use -of that esteem to give me uneasiness; and I have the displeasure of -seeing I esteem a man that dislikes me. Farewell then: since you will -have it so, I renounce all the ideas I have so long flattered myself -with, and will entertain my fancy no longer with the imaginary pleasure -of pleasing you. How much wiser are all those women I have despised than -myself! In placing their happiness in trifles, they have placed it in -what is attainable. I fondly thought fine clothes and gilt coaches, -balls, operas, and public adoration, rather the fatigues of life; and -that true happiness was justly defined by Mr. Dryden (pardon the romantic -air of repeating verses), when he says, - - 'Whom Heav'n would bless it does from pomps remove - And makes their wealth in privacy and love.' - -These notions had corrupted my judgment as much as Mrs. Biddy Tipkin's. -According to this scheme, I proposed to pass my life with you. I yet do -you the justice to believe, if any man could have been contented with -this manner of living, it would have been you. Your indifference to me -does not hinder me from thinking you capable of tenderness, and the -happiness of friendship; but I find it is not to me you'll ever have -them; you think me all that is detestable; you accuse me of want of -sincerity and generosity. To convince you of your mistake, I'll show you -the last extremes of both. - -"While I foolishly fancied you loved me, (which I confess I had never -any great reason for, more than that I wished it,) there is no condition -of life I could not have been happy in with you, so very much I liked -you--I may say loved, since it is the last thing I'll ever say to you. -This is telling you sincerely my greatest weakness; and now I will -oblige you with a new proof of generosity--I'll never see you more. I -shall avoid all public places; and this is the last letter I shall send. -If you write, be not displeased if I send it back unopened. I force my -inclinations to oblige yours; and remember that you have told me I could -not oblige you more than by refusing you. Had I intended ever to see you -again, I durst not have sent this letter. Adieu." - - -The above letter was evidently sent in a fit of pique. Certainly the -position must have been almost unbearable to a young woman of spirit. -Here was Lady Mary, in her twenty-second or twenty-third year, for all -practical purposes betrothed, and her father and her lover quarrelling -over settlements. Her friends were all getting married and having -establishments of their own, and she more or less in disgrace, living at -one or other of her father's houses. - -Nothing came of her announcement that she desired no further relation -with Montagu. She could not bring herself definitely to break with -Montagu, and he would neither wed her nor give her up. The -correspondence continued with unabated vigour. - - -"I am in pain about the letter I sent you this morning," she wrote in -March, 1911. "I fear you should think, after what I have said, you -cannot, in point of honour, break off with me. Be not scrupulous on that -article, nor affect to make me break first, to excuse your doing it; I -would owe nothing but to inclination: if you do not love me, I may have -the less esteem of myself, but not of you: I am not of the number of -those women that have the opinion of their persons Mr. Bayes had of his -play, that 'tis the touchstone of sense, and they are to frame their -judgment of people's understanding according to what they think of them. - -"You may have wit, good humour, and good nature, and not like me. I -allow a great deal for the inconstancy of mankind in general, and my own -want of merit in particular. But 'tis a breach, at least, of the two -last, to deceive me. I am sincere: I shall be sorry if I am not now what -pleases; but if I (as I could with joy) abandon all things to the care -of pleasing you, I am then undone if I do not succeed.--Be generous." - - -It was about this time that she confided her troubles to Mrs. Hewet. -"At present, my domestic affairs go on so ill, I want spirits to look -round," she wrote. "I have got a cold that disables my eyes and -disorders me every other way. Mr. Mason has ordered me blooding, to -which I have submitted, after long contestation. You see how stupid I -am; I entertain you with discourses of physic, but I have the oddest -jumble of disagreeable things in my head that ever plagued poor mortals; -a great cold, a bad peace, people I love in disgrace, sore eyes, the -horrid prospect of a civil war, and the thought of a filthy potion to -take. I believe nobody ever had such a _mélange_ before." - -The unsatisfactory situation, apparently, might have continued -indefinitely, for, even if Montagu had been more pressing, Lady Mary, in -spite of her independent attitude, was most reluctant, indeed, almost -determined, not to marry without her father's consent. - -In the early summer of 1712, however, Lord Dorchester created a crisis. -Thinking, perhaps, that his daughter might one day get out of hand and, -in despair, defy him, he decided to find her a husband other than -Montagu. At first, from a sense of weariness and from filial duty, Lady -Mary inclined to obey the parental injunction--to her father's great -delight. All the preparations for the wedding were put in train--then, -ultimately, Lady Mary declared that she could not and would not go -through with it on any terms. Who the bridegroom was she does not -mention, but, in a manner somewhat involved, she in a letter in July, -1912, confided the whole story to Montagu. - - -"I am going to write you a plain long letter. What I have already told -you is nothing but the truth. I have no reason to believe I am going to -be otherwise confined than by my duty; but I, that know my own mind, -know that is enough to make me miserable. I see all the misfortune of -marrying where it is impossible to love; I am going to confess a -weakness may perhaps add to your contempt of me. I wanted courage to -resist at first the will of my relations; but, as every day added to my -fears, those, at last, grew strong enough to make me venture the -disobliging them. A harsh word damps my spirits to a degree of silencing -all I have to say. I knew the folly of my own temper, and took the -method of writing to the disposer of me. I said everything in this -letter I thought proper to move him, and proffered, in atonement for not -marrying whom he would, never to marry at all. He did not think fit to -answer this letter, but sent for me to him. He told me he was very much -surprized that I did not depend on his judgment for my future happiness; -that he knew nothing I had to complain of, &c.; that he did not doubt I -had some other fancy in my head, which encouraged me to this -disobedience; but he assured me, if I refused a settlement he had -provided for me, he gave me his word, whatever proposals were made him, -he would never so much as enter into a treaty with any other; that, if I -founded any hopes upon his death, I should find myself mistaken, he -never intended to leave me anything but an annuity of Ł400 per annum; -that, though another would proceed in this manner after I had given so -just a pretence for it, yet he had [the] goodness to leave my destiny -yet in my own choice, and at the same time commanded me to communicate -my design to my relations, and ask their advice. As hard as this may -sound, it did not shock my resolution; I was pleased to think, at any -price, I had it in my power to be free from a man I hated. I told my -intention to all my nearest relations. I was surprised at their blaming -it, to the greatest degree. I was told, they were sorry I would ruin -myself; but, if I was so unreasonable, they could not blame my F. -[father] whatever he inflicted on me. I objected I did not love him. -They made answer, they found no necessity of loving; if I lived well -with him, that was all was required of me; and that if I considered this -town, I should find very few women in love with their husbands, and yet -a many happy. It was in vain to dispute with such prudent people; they -looked upon me as a little romantic, and I found it impossible to -persuade them that living in London at liberty was not the height of -happiness. However, they could not change my thoughts, though I found I -was to expect no protection from them. When I was to give my final -answer to----, I told him that I preferred a single life to any other; -and, if he pleased to permit me, I would take that resolution. He -replied, he could not hinder my resolutions, but I should not pretend -after that to please him; since pleasing him was only to be done by -obedience; that if I would disobey, I knew the consequences; he would -not fail to confine me, where I might repent at leisure; that he had -also consulted my relations, and found them all agreeing in his -sentiments. He spoke this in a manner hindered my answering. I retired -to my chamber, where I writ a letter to let him know my aversion to the -man proposed was too great to be overcome, that I should be miserable -beyond all things could be imagined, but I was in his hands, and he -might dispose of me as he thought fit. He was perfectly satisfied with -this answer, and proceeded as if I had given a willing consent.--I -forgot to tell you, he named you, and said, if I thought that way, I was -very much mistaken; that if he had no other engagements, yet he would -never have agreed to your proposals, having no inclination to see his -grandchildren beggars. - -"I do not speak this to endeavour to alter your opinion, but to shew the -improbability of his agreeing to it. I confess I am entirely of your -mind. I reckon it among the absurdities of custom that a man must be -obliged to settle his whole estate on an eldest son, beyond his power to -recall, whatever he proves to be, and make himself unable to make happy -a younger child that may deserve to be so. If I had an estate myself, I -should not make such ridiculous settlements, and I cannot blame you for -being in the right. - -"I have told you all my affairs with a plain sincerity. I have avoided -to move your compassion, and I have said nothing of what I suffer; and I -have not persuaded you to a _treaty_, which I am sure my family will -never agree to. I can have no fortune without an entire obedience. - -"Whatever your business is, may it end to your satisfaction. I think of -the public as you do. As little as _that_ is a woman's care, it may be -permitted into the number of a woman's fears. But, wretched as I am, I -have no more to fear for myself. I have still a concern for my friends, -and I am in pain for your danger. I am far from taking ill what you say, -I never valued myself as the daughter of----, and ever despised those -that esteemed me on that account. With pleasure I could barter all that, -and change to be any country gentleman's daughter that would have reason -enough to make happiness in privacy. My letter is too long. I beg your -pardon. You may see by the situation of my affairs 'tis without design." - - -The marriage with the gentleman unknown was thus called off--to the very -considerable anger of Lord Dorchester. Lord Pierrepont wrote offering to -come to her aid, by representing to her father the hardship he was -inflicting by endeavouring to force her inclination. He went so far as -to say that he would assist her to marry a man of moderate means, if -there were such an one in her heart. She was little used to sympathy, -and the proposal affected her deeply. "The generosity and goodness of -this letter wholly determines my softest inclinations on your side," she -wrote with unusual gentleness to Montagu on a Thursday night in August. -"You are in the wrong to suspect me of artifice; plainly showing me the -kindness of your heart (if you have any there for me) is the surest way -to touch mine, and I am at this minute more inclined to speak tenderly -to you than ever I was in my life--so much inclined I will say nothing. -I could wish you would leave England, but I know not how to object to -anything that pleases you. In this minute I have no will that does not -agree with yours." - -There is a reference in the letter just printed to a meeting of Lady -Anne and Montagu, but how often they saw each other at this time there -is no knowing. - -However, it must have been in August that, failing the consent of Lord -Dorchester to their marriage, they made up their minds to elope. From -whom the suggestion first came, who can say? Let it be hoped for the -sake of maiden modesty it came from Montagu. What drove them to this -step may well have been the fear that Lord Dorchester might, to all -intents and purposes, imprison his daughter on one of his estates. Even -at the eleventh hour, Lady Mary was determined that there should be no -misunderstanding between her and her _fiancé_. She wrote to him saying -that if she came to him in this way, she would come to him without a -portion. To this part of her letter he vouchsafed no reply, so she again -touched upon the matter. - - -"You made no reply to one part of my letter concerning my fortune. I am -afraid you flatter yourself that my F. [father] may be at length -reconciled and brought to reasonable terms. I am convinced, by what I -have often heard him say, speaking of other cases like this, he never -will. The fortune he has engaged to give with me, was settled on my B. -[brother]'s marriage, on my sister and on myself; but in such a manner, -that it was left in his power to give it all to either of us, or divide -as he thought fit. He has given it all to me. Nothing remains for my -sister, but the free bounty of my F. [father] from what he can save; -which, notwithstanding the greatness of his estate, may be very little. -Possibly, after I have disobliged him so much, he may be glad to have -her so easily provided for, with money already raised; especially if he -has a design to marry himself, as I hear. I do not speak this that you -should not endeavour to come to terms with him, if you please; but I am -fully persuaded it will be to no purpose." - - -Lady Mary assured Montagu that Lord Dorchester's attitude was this: She -had consented to an engagement with another man, that she had let him -incur an expenditure of some four hundred pounds for a trousseau, and -that, by breaking it off, had made him look foolish. In fact, her -father, she added, had given her clearly to understand that he would -entertain no dealings whatsoever with any suitor other than the one of -his choice, that he would send her to his estate in the north of -England, and that it was his intention to leave her, on his death, only -an annuity of four hundred pounds. - -As a good sportsman she at the last moment gave Montagu a chance to -retreat. - - -"He [my father] will have a thousand plausible reasons for being -irreconcileable, and 'tis very probable the world will be of his side. -Reflect now for the last time in what manner you must take me. I shall -come to you with only a night-gown and petticoat, and that is all you -will get with me. I told a lady of my friends what I intended to do. You -will think her a very good friend when I tell you she has proffered to -lend us her house if we would come there the first night. I did not -accept of this till I had let you know it. If you think it more -convenient to carry me to your lodgings, make no scruple of it. Let it -be where it will: if I am your wife I shall think no place unfit for me -where you are. I beg we may leave London next morning, wherever you -intend to go. I should wish to go out of England if it suits with your -affairs. You are the best judge of your father's temper. If you think it -would be obliging to him, or necessary for you, I will go with you -immediately to ask his pardon and his blessing. If that is not proper at -first, I think the best scheme is going to the Spa. When you come back, -you may endeavour to make your father admit of seeing me, and treat with -mine (thought I persist in thinking it will be to no purpose). But I -cannot think of living in the midst of my relations and acquaintance -after so unjustifiable a step:--unjustifiable to the world,--but I think -I can justify myself to myself. I again beg you to hire a coach to be at -the door early Monday morning, to carry us some part of our way, -wherever you resolve our journey shall be. If you determine to go to -that lady's house, you had better come with a coach and six at seven -o'clock to-morrow. She and I will be in the balcony that looks on the -road: you have nothing to do but to stop under it, and we will come down -to you. Do in this what you like best. After all, think very seriously. -Your letter, which will be waited for, is to determine everything. I -forgive you a coarse expression in your last, which, however, I wish had -not been there. You might have said something like it without expressing -it in that manner; but there was so much complaisance in the rest of it -I ought to be satisfied. You can shew me no goodness I shall not be -sensible of. However, think again, and resolve never to think of me if -you have the least doubt, or that it is likely to make you uneasy in -your fortune. I believe to travel is the most likely way to make a -solitude agreeable, and not tiresome: remember you have promised it." - - -Even in this hour of excitement Lady Mary did not lose her head, and she -asked for a settlement that would make her easy in her mind. - - -"Tis something odd for a woman that brings nothing to expect anything; -but after the way of my education, I dare not pretend to live but in -some degree suitable to it. I had rather die than return to a dependancy -upon relations I have disobliged. Save me from that fear if you love me. -If you cannot, or think I ought not to expect it, be sincere and tell me -so. 'Tis better I should not be yours at all, than, for a short -happiness, involve myself in ages of misery. I hope there will never be -occasion for this precaution; but, however, 'tis necessary to make it. I -depend entirely on your honour, and I cannot suspect you of any way -doing wrong. Do not imagine I shall be angry at anything you can tell -me. Let it be sincere; do not impose on a woman that leaves all things -for you." - - -No woman could be more sensible than was Lady Mary at this time, and -she gave expression to the most exemplary sentiments. - - -"A woman that adds nothing to a man's fortune ought not to take from his -happiness. If possible I would add to it; but I will not take from you -any satisfaction you could enjoy without me." - -"If we marry, our happiness must consist in loving one another: 'tis -principally my concern to think of the most probable method of making -the love eternal." - -"There is one article absolutely necessary--to be ever beloved, one must -be ever agreeable." - -"Very few people that have settled entirely in the country but have -grown at length weary of one another. The lady's conversation generally -falls into a thousand impertinent effects of idleness, and the gentleman -falls _in_ love with his dogs and horses and _out_ of love with -everything else." - - -And so on. - -Possibly if Lady Mary had had less brains and more passion, if she had -not so calmly worked out the permutations and combinations of married -life, the alliance might have been more successful. She, with all her -intelligence, did not seem to realise that matrimony is not an affair of -rules and regulations, of aphorisms and epigrams, nor that the lines on -which husband and wife shall conduct themselves to a happy ending can be -settled by a study of vulgar fractions. - -Anyhow, the plunge was at last taken--with some not unnatural -trepidation on the part of the twenty-three-year-old bride. On Friday -night, August 15, 1712, she wrote to Montagu: - - -"I tremble for what we are doing.--Are you sure you will love me for -ever? Shall we never repent? I fear and I hope. I forsee all that will -happen on this occasion. I shall incense my family in the highest -degree. The generality of the world will blame my conduct, and the -relations and friends of ---- will invent a thousand stories of me; yet, -'tis possible, you may recompense everything to me. In this letter, -which I am fond of, you promise me all that I wish. Since I writ so far, -I received your Friday letter. I will be only yours, and I will do what -you please. - -"You shall hear from me again to-morrow, not to contradict, but to give -some directions. My resolution is taken. Love me and use me well." - - -The wedding licence is dated August 16, and the marriage took place in a -day or two. - -The bride had the active assistance of her uncle, William Feilding, who -may have been present at the ceremony; and the full sympathy of her -brother, Lord Kingston, who, however, did not accompany her, perhaps -deeming it impolitic to quarrel with his father. - -The family must have thought that Lord Dorchester would examine Lady -Mary's papers, for her sister, Lady Frances destroyed all she could -find, including, unfortunately, a diary that Lady Mary had kept for -several years. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -EARLY MARRIED LIFE (1712-1714) - -An uneventful existence--Montagu's Parliamentary duties take him to -London--Lady Mary stays mostly in the country--Correspondence--Montagu a -careless husband, but very careful of his money--Later he becomes a -miser--Lady Mary does not disguise the tedium of her existence-- -Concerning a possible reconciliation with her father--Lord Pierrepont -of Hanslope--Lord Halifax--Birth of a son, christened after his father, -Edward Wortley Montagu--The mother's anxiety about his health--Family -events--Lady Evelyn Pierrepont marries Baron (afterwards Earl) Gower--Lady -Frances Pierrepont marries the Earl of Mar--Lord Dorchester marries -again--Has issue, two daughters--the death of Lady Mary's brother, -William--His son, Evelyn, in due course succeeds to the Dukedom of -Kingston--Elizabeth Chudleigh--The political situation in 1714--The death -of Queen Anne--The accession of George I--The unrest in the country-- -Lady Mary's alarm for her son. - - -The records for the first years of the married life of Edward and Lady -Mary Wortley Montagu are scanty indeed. From the wedding day until 1716, -when they went abroad, Lady Mary's life was, for months together, as -uneventful as that of the ordinary suburban housewife. Montagu's -parliamentary duties took him frequently to town, and kept him there for -prolonged periods, during which he certainly showed no strong desire for -her to join him. Lady Mary, indeed, spent most of the time in the -country. Sometimes she stayed at the seat of her father-in-law, -Wharncliffe Lodge, near Sheffield; occasionally she visited Lord -Sandwich at Hinchinbrooke; for a while they stayed at Middlethorpe, in -the neighbourhood of Bishopthorpe and York. From time to time they hired -houses in other parts of Yorkshire. The honeymoon lasted from August -until October, 1712, when Montagu had to go to Westminster. - -The first letter of this period is dated characteristically: "Walling -Wells, October 22, which is the first post I could write. Monday night -being so fatigued and sick I went straight to bed from the coach." It -starts: - - -"I don't know very well how to begin; I am perfectly unacquainted with a -proper matrimonial stile. After all, I think 'tis best to write as if we -were not married at all. I lament your absence, as if you were still my -lover, and I am impatient to hear you are got safe to Durham, and that -you have fixed a time for your return." - - -Marriage made Lady Mary more human. She no longer dwelt upon the various -points that in her maidenhood days she had thought would be conducive to -happiness in matrimonial life; she was now, anyhow for the moment, in -love with her husband, or at least persuaded herself that this was the -case, and was at pains to inform him of the fact. - - -"I have not been very long in this family; and I fancy myself in that -described in the 'Spectator,'" the letter of October 22 continues. "The -good people here look upon their children with a fondness that more than -recompenses their care of them. I don't perceive much distinction in -regard to their merits; and when they speak sense or nonsense, it -affects the parents with almost the same pleasure. My friendship for the -mother, and kindness for Miss Biddy, make me endure the squalling of -Miss Nanny and Miss Mary with abundance of patience: and my foretelling -the future conquests of the eldest daughter, makes me very well with the -family.--I don't know whether you will presently find out that this -seeming impertinent account is the tenderest expressions of my love to -you; but it furnishes my imagination with agreeable pictures of our -future life; and I flatter myself with the hopes of one day enjoying -with you the same satisfactions; and that, after as many years -together, I may see you retain the same fondness for me as I shall -certainly mine for you, and the noise of a nursery may have more charms -for us than the music of an opera. - -[_Torn_] "as these are the sure effect of my sincere love, since 'tis -the nature of that passion to entertain the mind with pleasures in -prospect; and I check myself when I grieve for your absence, by -remembering how much reason I have to rejoice in the hope of passing my -whole life with you. A good fortune not to be valued!--I am afraid of -telling you that I return thanks for it to Heaven, because you will -charge me with hypocrisy; but you are mistaken: I assist every day at -public prayers in this family, and never forget in my private -ejaculation how much I owe to Heaven for making me yours. 'Tis -candle-light, or I should not conclude so soon. - -"Pray, my dear, begin at the top, and read till you come to the bottom." - - -Montagu, for his part, was somewhat careless as regards correspondence--for -which offence she rebuked him more than once, but in the most flattering -manner. - - -"I am at present in so much uneasiness, my letter is not likely to be -intelligible, if it all resembles the confusion of my head. I sometimes -imagine you not well, and sometimes that you think of it small -importance to write, or that greater matters have taken up your -thoughts. This last imagination is too cruel for me. I will rather fancy -your letter has miscarried, though I find little probability to think -so. I know not what to think, and am very near being distracted, amongst -my variety of dismal apprehensions. I am very ill company to the good -people of the house, who all bid me make you their compliments. Mr. -White begins your health twice every day. You don't deserve all this if -you can be so entirely forgetful of all this part of the world. I am -peevish with you by fits, and divide my time between anger and sorrow, -which are equaly troublesome to me. 'Tis the most cruel thing in the -world, to think one has reason to complain of what one loves. How can -you be so careless?--is it because you don't love writing? You should -remember I want to know you are safe at Durham. I shall imagine you have -had some fall from your horse, or ill accident by the way, without -regard to probability; there is nothing too extravagant for a woman's -and a lover's fears. Did you receive my last letter? if you did not, the -direction is wrong, you won't receive this, and my question is in vain. -I find I begin to talk nonsense, and 'tis time to leave off. Pray, my -dear, write to me, or I shall be very mad." - - -Montagu was, not to put too fine a point on it, a careless husband. Not -only did he neglect to write to his wife, but he neglected, or forgot, -to keep her adequately supplied with money. She had more than once to -remind him of this. "I wish you would write again to Mr. Phipps, for I -don't hear of any money, and am in the utmost necessity for it," she -told him in November, 1712. Montagu, even at this time a well-to-do man, -found it difficult to part with his money. A couple of years later, Lady -Mary had again to say to him: "Pray order me some money, for I am in -great want, and must run into debt if you don't do it soon." Even in -these days Montagu evidently had begun to be miserly. With all his -riches, he never spent a crown when a smaller sum would suffice, and -during most of his life he, as Sir Leslie Stephen put it, "devoted -himself chiefly to saving money." - -In the winter of 1712, Lady Mary, who was with child, suffered much from -ill-health, and this was to some extent aggravated by intense boredom, -although of that boredom she wrote good-humouredly enough. - - -"I don't believe you expect to hear from me so soon, if I remember you -did not so much as desire it, but I will not be so nice to quarrel with -you on that point; perhaps you would laugh at that delicacy, which is, -however, an attendant of a tender friendship," she wrote to her husband -from Hinchinbrooke at the beginning of December, 1712. - -"I opened the closet where I expected to find so many books; to my great -disappointment there were only some few pieces of the law, and folios of -mathematics; my Lord Hinchinbrook and Mr. Twiman having disposed of the -rest. But as there is no affliction, no more than no happiness, without -alloy, I discovered an old trunk of papers, which to my great diversion -I found to be the letters of the first Earl of Sandwich; and am in hopes -that those from his lady will tend much to my edification, being the -most extraordinary lessons of economy that ever I read in my life. To -the glory of your father, I find that _his_ looked upon him as destined -to be the honour of the family. - -"I walked yesterday two hours on the terrace. These are the most -considerable events that have happened in your absence; excepting that a -good-natured robin red-breast kept me company almost all the afternoon -with so much good humour and humanity as gives me faith for the piece of -charity ascribed to these little creatures in the Children in the Wood, -which I have hitherto thought only a poetical ornament to that history. - -"I expect a letter next post to tell me you are well in London and that -your business will not detain you long from her that cannot be happy -without you." - - -Even in these early days of marriage Montagu seemed to have no love for -domestic life, and often he stayed in London when he could have been in -the country with his wife, or had her with him in town. "As much as you -say I love the town, if you think it necessary for your interest to stay -some time here, I would not advise you to neglect a certainty for an -uncertainty? but I believe if you pass the Christmas here, great matters -will be expected from your hospitality: however, you are a better judge -than I am." So Lady Mary wrote from Hinchinbrooke in the first week of -December. She did not disguise from him the tedium of her existence. - - -"I continue indifferently well, and endeavour as much as I can to -preserve myself from spleen and melancholy; not for my own sake; I think -that of little importance; but in the condition I am, I believe it may -be of very ill consequence; yet, passing whole days alone as I do, I do -not always find it possible, and my constitution will sometimes get the -better of my reason. Human nature itself, without any additional -misfortunes, furnishes disagreeable meditations enough. Life itself to -make it supportable, should not be considered too near; my reason -represents to me in vain the inutility of serious reflections. The idle -mind will sometimes fall into contemplations that serve for nothing but -to ruin the health, destroy good humour, hasten old age and wrinkles, -and bring on an habitual melancholy. 'Tis a maxim with me to be young as -long as one can: there is nothing can pay one for that invaluable -ignorance which is the companion of youth; those sanguine groundless -hopes, and that lively vanity, which make all the happiness of life. To -my extreme mortification I grow wiser every day than other [sic]. I -don't believe Solomon was more convinced of the vanity of temporal -affairs than I am; I lose all taste of this world, and I suffer myself -to be bewitched by the charms of the spleen, though I know and foresee -all the irremediable mischiefs arising from it. I am insensibly fallen -into the writing you a melancholy letter, after all my resolutions to -the contrary; but I do not enjoin you to read it: make no scruple of -flinging it into the fire at the first dull line. Forgive the ill -effects of my solitude, and think me as I am, - -"Ever yours." - - -There was still hope in the hearts of Lady Mary and her husband that it -might be possible to effect a reconciliation with Lord Dorchester. Since -apparently the Marquess was not directly approachable by either of them, -they perforce had to seek an intermediary. Such an one, they trusted at -one time, would be one of Lady Mary's relatives, Lord Pierrepont of -Hanslope. To this matter there are many allusions in the correspondence, -"The Bishop of Salisbury writes me word that he hears my Lord Pierrepont -declares very much for us," Lady Mary wrote from Hinchinbrooke early in -December to her husband in town. "As the Bishop is no infallible -prelate, I should not depend much on that intelligence; but my sister -Frances tells me the same thing. Since it is so, I believe you'll think -it very proper to pay him a visit, if he is in town, and give him thanks -for the good offices you hear he has endeavoured to do me, unasked. If -his kindness is sincere, 'tis too valuable to be neglected. However, the -very appearance of it may be of use to us. If I know him, his desire of -making my Father appear in the wrong, will make him zealous for us. I -think I ought to write him a letter of acknowledgment for what I hear he -has already done." Very shortly after, however, it appears that Lord -Pierrepont was a broken reed upon which to rely. "I did not expect," Lady -Mary said bitterly, "that my Lord Pierrepont would speak at all in our -favour, much less show zeal upon that occasion, that never showed any in -his life." You cannot put it plainer than that. - -One who did really endeavour to bring about the resumption of friendly -relations was Montagu's cousin, Charles Montagu, first Baron Halifax of -Halifax, who was afterwards created first Earl of Halifax. - -To judge from Lady Mary's comments, sometimes when Montagu did write it -had been better he should not have done so. - - -"I am alone, without any amusements to take up my thoughts. I am in -circumstances in which melancholy is apt to prevail even over all -amusements, dispirited and alone, and you write me quarrelling letters," -she rebuked him on one occasion. - -"I hate complaining; 'tis no sign I am easy that I do not trouble you -with my head-aches, and my spleen; to be reasonable one should never -complain but when one hopes redress. A physician should be the only -confidant of bodily pains; and for those of the mind, they should never -be spoke of but to them that can and will relieve 'em. Should I tell you -that I am uneasy, that I am out of humour, and out of patience, should I -see you half an hour the sooner? I believe you have kindness enough for -me to be very sorry, and so you would tell me; and things remain in -their primitive state; I chuse to spare you that pain; I would always -give you pleasure. I know you are ready to tell me that I do not ever -keep to these good maxims. I confess I often speak impertinently, but I -always repent of it. My last stupid letter was not come to you, before I -would have had it back again had it been in my power; such as it was, I -beg your pardon for it." - - -In May, 1713, Lady Mary was delivered of a boy, who was christened after -his father, Edward Wortley Montagu. Some account of his unsatisfactory -career will be given in a later chapter. As an infant, he suffered from -ill-health. - - -"I am in abundance of pain about our dear child: though I am convinced -in my reason 'tis both silly and wicked to set one's heart too fondly on -anything in this world, yet I cannot overcome myself so far as to think -of parting with him with the resignation that I ought to do," the mother -wrote from Middlethorpe at the end of July. "I hope and I beg of God he -may live to be a comfort to us both. They tell me there is nothing -extraordinary in want of teeth at his age, but his weakness makes me -very apprehensive; he is almost never out of my sight. Mrs. Behn says -that the cold bath is the best medicine for weak children, but I am very -fearful and unwilling to try any hazardous remedies. He is very cheerful -and full of play." - -"I hope the child is better than he was," she mentioned a little later; -"but I wish you would let Dr. Garth know he has a bigness in his joints, -but not much; his ankles seem chiefly to have a weakness. I should be -very glad of his advice upon it, and whether he approves rubbing them -with spirits, which I am told is good for him." Then came more -favourable news about young Edward. "I thank God this cold well agrees -with the child; and he seems stronger and better every day," Lady Mary -was able to report. "But I should be very glad, if you saw Dr. Garth, if -you asked his opinion concerning the use of cold baths for young -children. I hope you love the child as well as I do; but if you love me -at all, you'll desire the preservation of his health, for I should -certainly break my heart for him." Garth, it may be assumed, was the -famous Samuel Garth, afterwards physician-in-ordinary to George I and -author of _The Dispensary_. His views on cold baths for children of -fifteen months have not been handed down to posterity by Lady Mary. - - -Meantime things were happening in the Pierrepont family. Lady Mary's -sister, Lady Frances, had, on March 8, 1712, married John, second Baron -Gower, who afterwards was created Earl Gower. Lady Mary's other sister, -Lady Evelyn, on July 26, 1714, became the second wife of John Erskine, -sixth or eleventh Earl of Mar of the Erskine line, who presently came -into prominence as an adherent of the Pretender in the rebellion of '15, -after which he fled the country. He was created Duke of Mar by the -Pretender. Finally, the Marquess of Dorchester, being then in his -fiftieth year, took for his second wife, on August 2, 1714, Lady -Isabella Bentinck, fifth daughter of William, first Earl of Portland and -his first wife, Anne, sister of Edward, first Earl of Jersey. There was -issue of this marriage two daughters: Caroline, who married Thomas -Brand, of Kempton, Hertfordshire; and Anne, who died unmarried in 1739 -at the age of twenty. - -Already, on July 1, 1723, had died Lord Dorchester's only son and heir, -William, who took the style of Earl of Kingston. He had married Rachel, -daughter of Thomas Baynton, of Little Chalfield, Wiltshire, by whom he -had one son, named Evelyn, after his grandfather, whom he succeeded in -1726 as the second Duke of Kingston. - -The career of Evelyn was undistinguished. Born in 1711, his aunt, Lady -Mary, said of him at the age of fifteen: "The Duke of Kingston has -hitherto had so ill an education, 'tis hard to make any judgment of him; -he has his spirit, but I fear will never have his father's sense. As -young gentlemen go, 'tis possible he may make a good figure among them." -Than which it would be unkind to say anything more cutting. Of course, -honours came to him. He was created Knight of the Garter in 1741, in -which year he was appointed a Lord of the Bedchamber. He rose to the -rank of colonel in the army in 1745, and twenty-seven years later was -promoted General; but it does not appear that he saw any service. The -second Duke of Kingston will, however, always be remembered for his -marriage in 1769 with the beautiful and notorious Elizabeth Chudleigh, -who was nine years his junior. She had in 1744 married secretly Augustus -John Hervey, afterwards sixth Earl of Bristol, who survived until -December, 1779. She had long been living with the Duke, but in 1769 she -obtained a divorce _a mensa et thoro_, which she believed erroneously -annulled the marriage. The Duke died in 1773, when all his titles became -extinct. His Duchess was in the following year tried before the House of -Lords for bigamy, found guilty, but, pleading benefit of peerage, was -discharged. Thus, she carried out the prognostication of Lord Chief -Justice Mansfield, who had opposed the prosecution. "The arguments about -the place of trial suggest to my mind the question about the propriety -of any trial at all," he said in a debate in the House of Lords. "_Cui -bono_? What utility is to be obtained? Suppose a conviction to be the -result?--the lady makes your lordships a courtesy, and you return a -bow." She survived, living on the continent, until 1788. As an epitaph -for her there can be nothing better than a remark of Horace Walpole: "I -can tell you nothing more extraordinary, nor would any history figure -near hers. It shows genius to strike anything so new as her -achievements. Though we have many uncommon personages, it is not easy -for them to be so superiorly particular." - -More generally interesting than these domestic matters was the political -situation. Queen Anne's life had for some time been hanging in the -balance. It was thought that she might linger for some time, but there -was no hope of her recovery. The fight that was carried on between the -supporters of the Hanoverian succession and the adherents of the -Pretender is, of course, a matter of history. On August 5, 1714, came to -the Elector of Hanover, James Craggs, junior, with a letter from the -Privy Council, dated July 31, announcing the precarious state of Anne's -health, and conveying assurances that in the event of her demise every -precaution would be taken to safeguard the rights of George Lewis. The -same night messengers arrived at Hanover from London with the news of -the death of the Queen, who had passed away on July 31, shortly after -the departure of Craggs. - -During the interval between the proclamation of the accession of George -I and his arrival, which did not take place until September 17, the -country was in a disturbed state, and it is not unnatural that Lady Mary -in Yorkshire was alarmed for the safety of herself and the child. - - -"I cannot forbear taking it something unkindly that you do not write to -me, when you may be assured I am in a great fright, and know not -certainly what to expect upon this sudden change," she wrote from -Middlethorpe to Montagu. "The Archbishop of York has been come to -Bishopthorpe but three days. I went with my cousin to-day to see the -King proclaimed, which was done; the Archbishop walking next the Lord -Mayor, all the country gentry following, with greater crowds of people -than I believed to be in York, vast acclamations, and the appearance of -a general satisfaction. The Pretender afterwards dragged about the -streets and burned. Ringing of bells, bonfires, and illuminations, the -mob crying Liberty and Property! and Long live King George! This morning -all the principal men of any figure took post for London, and we are -alarmed with the fear of attempts from Scotland, though all Protestants -seem unanimous for the Hanover succession. The poor young ladies at -Castle Howard are as much afraid as I am, being left all alone, without -any hopes of seeing their father again (though things should prove well) -this eight or nine months. They have sent to desire me very earnestly to -come to them, and bring my boy; 'tis the same thing as pensioning in a -nunnery, for no mortal man ever enters the doors in the absence of their -father, who is gone post. During this uncertainty, I think it will be a -safe retreat; for Middlethorpe stands exposed to plunderers, if there be -any at all." - - -A day or two later this letter was followed by another: - - -"You made me cry two hours last night. I cannot imagine why you use me -so ill; for what reason you continue silent, when you know at any time -your silence cannot fail of giving me a great deal of pain; and now to a -higher degree because of the perplexity that I am in, without knowing -where you are, what you are doing, or what to do with myself and my dear -little boy. However (persuaded there can be no objection to it), I -intend to go to-morrow to Castle Howard, and remain there with the young -ladies, 'till I know when I shall see you, or what you would command. -The Archbishop and everybody else are gone to London. We are alarmed -with a story of a fleet being seen from the coasts of Scotland. An -express went from thence through York to the Earl of Mar. I beg you -would write to me. 'Till you do I shall not have an easy minute. I am -sure I do not deserve from you that you should make me uneasy. I find I -am scolding, 'tis better for me not to trouble you with it; but I cannot -help taking your silence very unkindly." - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE ACCESSION OF GEORGE I (1714) - -Lady Mary shows an increasing interest in politics--She tries to incite -her husband to be ambitious--Montagu not returned to the new -Parliament--His lack of energy--Correspondence--The Council of -Regency--The King commands Lord Townshend to form a Government--The -Cabinet--Lord Halifax, First Lord of the Treasury--Montagu appointed a -Lord Commissioner of the Treasury--Correspondence--The unsatisfactory -relations between Lady Mary and Montagu. - - -At the time of the death of Queen Anne Lady Mary began to show an -increased interest in polities, at least in so far as the career of -Montagu was bound up with it. She began to try to persuade her husband -to be, to some extent at least, ambitious. It may be that she was not -happy at the thought of being married to a man who was regarded as a -nonentity. She was always urging him to put his best foot forward. -Sometimes she wrote to him as to a naughty child. "I am very much -surprised that you do not tell me in your last letter that you have -spoke to my Father," she said in August, 1714. "I hope after staying in -the town on purpose, you do not intend to omit it. I beg you would not -leave any sort of business unfinished, remembering those two necessary -maxims, Whatever you intend to do as long as you live do as soon as you -can; and to leave nothing to be done by another that 'tis possible to do -yourself." What sort of a man must Montagu have been at the age of -thirty-six that his wife should deem it necessary to give him such -first-aid advice? - -Montagu was evidently of a procrastinating turn of mind. He had, as has -been said, sat for Huntingdon in the House of Commons from 1705 until -1713. In the latter year Parliament was dissolved on August 8, but -Montagu had made no definite plans as regards his future political -career--for some reason or other his father reserved for himself the -seat for Huntingdon. Montagu found no other constituency, and -consequently did not sit in the new Parliament that assembled on the -following November 11. - - -"I suppose you may now come in at Aldburgh, and I heartily wish you was -in Parliament," Lady Mary wrote to him. "I saw the Archbishop [of -York]'s list of the Lords Regents appointed, and perceive Lord Wharton -is not one of them; by which I guess the new scheme is not to make use -of any man grossly infamous in either party; consequently, those who -have been honest in regard to both, will stand fairest for preferment. -You understand these things much better than me; but I hope you will be -persuaded by me and your other friends (who I don't doubt will be of -opinion) that 'tis necessary for the common good for an honest man to -endeavour to be powerful, when he can be the one without losing the -first more valuable title; and remember that money is the source of -power. I hear that Parliament sits but six months; you know best whether -'tis worth any expense or bustle to be in for so short a time." - - -Lady Mary's letters now contain many references to political affairs, -anyhow in so far as they directly concern Montagu. - - -"I hope you are convinced I was not mistaken in my judgment of Lord -Pelham; he is very silly but very good-natured. I don't see how it can -be improper for you to get it represented to him that he is obliged in -honour to get you chose at Aldburgh, and may more easily get Mr. Jessop -chose at another place. I can't believe but you may manage it in such a -manner, Mr. Jessop himself would not be against it, nor would he have so -much reason to take it ill, if he should not be chose, as you have after -so much money fruitlessly spent. I dare say you may order it so that it -may be so, if you talk to Lord Townshend about it, &c. I mention this, -because I cannot think you can stand at York, or anywhere else, without -a great expense. Lord Morpeth is just now of age, but I know not whether -he'll think it worth while to return from travel upon that occasion. -Lord Carlisle is in town, you may if you think fit make him a visit, and -enquire concerning it. After all, I look upon Aldburgh to be the surest -thing. Lord Pelham is easily persuaded to any thing, and I am sure he -may be told by Lord Townshend that he has used you ill; and I know he'll -be desirous to do all things in his power to make it up. In my opinion, -if yon resolve upon an extraordinary expense to be in Parliament, you -should resolve to have it turn to some account. Your father is very -surprizing if he persists in standing at Huntingdon; but there is -nothing surprizing in such a world as this." - - -Later in August Lady Mary wrote again on the same subject, and this -letter shows that she had been at pains to acquire some practical -knowledge of borough-mongering. - - -"You seem not to have received my letters, or not to have understood -them; you had been chose undoubtedly at York, if you had declared in -time; but there is not any gentleman or tradesman disengaged at this -time; they are treating every night. Lord Carlisle and the Thompsons -have given their interest to Mr. Jenkins. I agree with you of the -necessity of your standing this Parliament, which, perhaps, may be more -considerable than any that are to follow it; but, as you proceed, 'tis -my opinion, you will spend your money and not be chose. I believe there -is hardly a borough unengaged. I expect every letter should tell me you -are sure of some place; and, as far as I can perceive you are sure of -none. As it has been managed, perhaps it will be the best way to deposit -a certain sum in some friend's hands, and buy some little Cornish -borough: it would, undoubtedly, look better to be chose for a -considerable town; but I take it to be now too late. If you have any -thoughts of Newark, it will be absolutely necessary for you to enquire -after Lord Lexington's interest; and your best way to apply yourself to -Lord Holdernesse, who is both a Whig and an honest man. He is now in -town, and you may enquire of him if Brigadier Sutton stands there; and -if not, try to engage him for you. Lord Lexington is so ill at the Bath, -that it is a doubt if he will live 'till the election; and if he dies, -one of his heiresses, and the whole interest of his estate, will -probably fall on Lord Holdernesse. - -"'Tis a surprise to me that you cannot make sure of some borough, when -so many of your friends bring in several Parliament-men without trouble -or expense. 'Tis too late to mention it now, but you might have applied -to Lady Winchester, as Sir Joseph Jekyl did last year, and by her -interest the Duke of Bolton brought him in for nothing; I am sure she -would be more zealous to serve me than Lady Jekyl. You should understand -these things better than me. I heard, by a letter last post, that Lady -M. Montagu and Lady Hinchinbrooke are to be Bedchamber Ladies to the -Princess, and Lady Townshend Groom of the Stole. She must be a strange -Princess if she can pick a favourite out of them; and as she will be one -day Queen, and they say has an influence over her husband, I wonder they -don't think fit to place women about her with a little common sense." - - -Again, in the middle of September Lady Mary returned to the subject of -Montagu finding a seat in the House: - - -"I cannot be very sorry for your declining at Newark, being very -uncertain of your success; but I am surprized you do not mention where -you intend to stand. Dispatch, in things of this nature, if not a -security, at least delay is a sure way to lose, as you have done, being -easily chose at York, for not resolving in time, and Aldburgh, for not -applying soon enough to Lord Pelham. Here are people here had rather -choose Fairfax than Jenkins, and others that prefer Jenkins to Fairfax; -but both parties, separately, have wished to me you would have stood, -with assurances of having preferred you to either of them. At Newark, -Lord Lexington has a very considerable interest. If you have any -thoughts of standing, you must endeavour to know how he stands affected; -though I am afraid he will assist Brigadier Sutton, or some other Tory. -Sir Matthew Jenison has the best interest of any Whig; but he stood last -year himself, and will, perhaps, do so again. Newdigate will certainly -be chose there for one. Upon the whole, 'tis the most expensive and -uncertain place you can stand at. Tis surprizing to me, that you are all -this while in the midst of your friends without being sure of a place, -when so many insignificant creatures come in without any opposition. -They say Mr. Strickland is sure at Carlisle, where he never stood -before. I believe most places are engaged by this time. I am very sorry, -for your sake, that you spent so much money in vain last year, and will -not come in this, when you might make a more considerable figure than -you could have done then. I wish Lord Pelham would compliment Mr. Jessop -with his Newark interest, and let you come in at Aldburgh." - - -On the death of the Queen, the Council, which had assembled at -Kensington Palace, adjourned to St. James's. By the Regency Bill the -administration of the government (in the event of the King being absent -from the realm at the time of his accession to the throne) devolved upon -the holders for the time being of the Great Officers of State: the -Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Thomas Tenison), the Lord Chancellor -(Simon, Lord Harcourt), the Lord President (John, Duke of -Buckinghamshire), the Lord High Treasurer (Charles, Duke of Shrewsbury), -the Lord Privy Seal (William, Earl of Dartmouth), the First Lord of the -Admiralty (Thomas, Earl of Strafford), and the Lord Chief Justice of the -King's Bench (Sir Thomas Parker, afterwards Earl of Macclesfield). Under -another clause of the Regency Act the Sovereign was entitled to nominate -a number of Lords Justices. Baron von Bothmer, the Hanovarian Envoy -Extraordinary to the Court of St. James's, opened the sealed packet -containing the Commission of Regency, drawn up by George after the death -of his mother. The King's nominees were the Archbishop of York, the -Dukes of Shrewsbury,[1] Somerset, Bolton, Devonshire, Kent, Argyll, -Montrose, and Roxborough; the Earls of Pembroke, Anglesea, Carlisle, -Nottingham, Abingdon, Scarborough, and Oxford; Viscount Townshend; and -Barons Halifax and Cowper. Marlborough was not in the Commission, but he -was appointed Captain-General of the Forces. - -[Footnote 1: The Commission was, of course, made out before the Duke of -Shrewsbury was given the White Staff, the possession of which made him a -Lord Justice in virtue of his office.] - -From The Hague, where he arrived on September 5, 1714, George I sent -authority to Charles, Viscount Townshend, to form a Cabinet, with power -to nominate his colleagues. Townshend took the office of Secretary of -State for the Northern Department, and appointed James Stanhope -Secretary of State for the Southern Department. Lord Halifax became -First Lord of the Treasury; Lord Cowper, Lord Chancellor; the Earl of -Nottingham, Lord President; the Marquis of Wharton, Lord Privy Seal; the -Earl of Oxford, First Lord of the Admiralty; the Earl of Sunderland, -Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland; Robert Walpole, Paymaster-General of the -Forces. As Captain-General Marlborough was in the Cabinet. - -Lord Halifax, when making out the Commission of the Treasury, invited -his cousin Montagu to be one of the Commissioners, although the latter -had not secured a seat in Parliament. "It will be surprizing to add," -says Lady Mary, "that he hesitated to accept it at a time when his -father was alive and his present income very small; but he had certainly -refused it if he had not been persuaded to it by a rich old uncle of -mine, Lord Pierrepont, whose fondness for me gave him expectations of a -large legacy." Lady Mary, though glad enough that her husband had been -given a place, was not over and above delighted that it was one so -modest. - - -_Lady Mary Wortley Montagu to her Husband_ - -[Enclosed, September 24, 1714.] - -"Though I am very impatient to see you, I would not have you, by -hastening to come down, lose any part of your interest. I am surprized -you say nothing of where you stand. I had a letter from Mrs. Hewet last -post, who said she heard you stood at Newark, and would be chose without -opposition; but I fear her intelligence is not at all to be depended on. -I am glad you think of serving your friends; I hope it will put you in -mind of serving yourself. I need not enlarge upon the advantages of -money; every thing we see, and every thing we hear, puts us in -remembrance of it. If it was possible to restore liberty to your -country, or limit the encroachments of the prerogative, by reducing -yourself to a garret, I should be pleased to share so glorious a poverty -with you; but as the world is, and will be, 'tis a sort of duty to be -rich, that it may be in one's power to do good; riches being another -word for power, towards the obtaining of which the first necessary -qualification is impudence, and (as Demosthenes said of pronunciation in -oratory) the second is impudence, and the third, still, impudence. No -modest man ever did or ever will make his fortune. Your friend Lord -H[alifa]x, R. W[alpo]le, and all other remarkable instances of quick -advancement, have been remarkably impudent. The Ministry is like a play -at Court; there's a little door to get in, and a great crowd without, -shoving and thrusting who shall be foremost: people who knock others -with their elbows, disregard a little kick of the shins, and still -thrust heartily forwards, are sure of a good place. Your modest man -stands behind in the crowd, is shoved about by every body, his cloaths -tore, almost squeezed to death, and sees a thousand get in before him, -that don't make so good a figure as himself. - -"I don't say it is impossible for an impudent man not to rise in the -world; but a moderate merit, with a large share of impudence, is more -probable to be advanced, than the greatest qualifications without it. - -"If this letter is impertinent, it is founded upon an opinion of your -merit, which, it if is a mistake, I would not be undeceived in: it is my -interest to believe (as I do) that you deserve every thing, and are -capable of every thing; but nobody else will believe you if they see you -get nothing." - - -[Postmark, October 6, 1714.] - -"I cannot imagine why you should desire that I should not be glad, -though from a mistake, since, at least, it is an agreeable one. I -confess I shall ever be of opinion, if you are in the Treasury, it will -be an addition to your figure and facilitate your election, though it is -no otherwise advantageous; and that, if you have nothing when all your -acquaintance are preferred, the world generally will not be persuaded -that you neglect your fortune, but that you are neglected." - - -[Endorsed, October 9, 1714.] - -"You do me wrong in imagining (as I perceive you do) that my reason for -being solicitous for your having that place, was in view of spending -more money than we do. You have no cause of fancying me capable of such -a thought. I don't doubt but Lord H[alifa]x will very soon have the -Staff, and it is my belief you will not be at all the richer: but I -think it looks well, and may facilitate your election; and that is all -the advantage I hope from it. When all your intimate acquaintance are -preferred, I think you would have an ill air in having nothing; upon -that account only, I am sorry so many considerable places are disposed -on [_sic_]. I suppose, now, you will certainly be chose somewhere or -other; and I cannot see why you should not pretend to be Speaker. I -believe all the Whigs would be for you, and I fancy you have a -considerable interest amongst the Tories, and for that reason would be -very likely to carry it. 'Tis impossible for me to judge of this so well -as you can do; but the reputation of being thoroughly of no party, is (I -think) of use in this affair, and I believe people generally esteem you -impartial; and being chose by your country is more honourable than -holding _any_ place from _any_ king." - - -The relations between Lady Mary and her husband did not improve. Not -only did he neglect to write to her when he left her in the country, but -he does not at any time appear to have had any desire to have her with -him in town. Lady Mary showed extreme, in fact overmuch, forbearance, -but towards the end of November her patience gave out: "I cannot forbear -any longer telling you, I think you use me very unkindly." - - -"I don't say so much of your absence, as I should do if you was in the -country and I in London; because I would not have you believe I am -impatient to be in town, when I say I am impatient to be with you; but I -am very sensible I parted with you in July and 'tis now the middle of -November," she went on to say. "As if this was not hardship enough, you -do not tell me you are sorry for it. You write seldom, and with so much -indifference as shews you hardly think of me at all. I complain of ill -health, and you only say you hope 'tis not so bad as I make it. You -never enquire after your child. I would fain flatter myself you have -more kindness for me and him than you express; but I reflect with grief -a man that is ashamed of passions that are natural and reasonable, is -generally proud of those that [are] shameful and silly." - - -Lady Mary, once having given vent to her feeling of injustice, was not -concerned to mince her words: "You seem perfectly pleased with our -separation, and indifferent how long it continues.... When I reflect on -your behaviour, I am ashamed of my own: I think I am playing the part of -my Lady Winchester. At least be as generous as My Lord; and as he made -early confession of his aversion, own to me your inconstancy, and upon -my word I will give you no more trouble about it.... For my part, as -'tis my first, this is my last complaint, and your next of the kind -shall go back enclosed to you in blank paper." - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGU'S ACCOUNT OF THE COURT OF GEORGE I - - -Lady Mary, then, had been in Yorkshire when the Queen died, and was -still in the country, much against her will, when the King arrived on -September 18. Soon after, however, she came to town, and, so to speak, -looked around the Court. Her "Account of the Court of George I" is not -always accurate, and is certainly often prejudiced. It is not the less -interesting because the writer did not mince her words, even when -discussing the character of her friend, "Dolly" Walpole. Notwithstanding, -this bird-eye view of the royal and political circles at the accession -of the first of the Hanoverian monarchs is so valuable as to deserve -inclusion in this work. - - -"The new Court with all their train was arrived before I left the -country. The Duke of Marlborough was returned in a sort of triumph, with -the apparent merit of having suffered for his fidelity in the -succession, and was reinstated in his office of general, &c. In short, -all people who had suffered any hardship or disgrace during the late -ministry would have it believed that it was occasioned by their -attachment to the House of Hanover. Even Mr. Walpole, who had been sent -to the Tower for a piece of bribery proved upon him, was called a -confessor to the cause. But he had another piece of good luck that yet -more contributed to his advancement, he had a very handsome sister, -whose folly had lost her reputation in London; but the yet greater folly -of Lord Townshend, who happened to be a neighbour in Norfolk to Mr. -Walpole, had occasioned his being drawn in to marry her some months -before the Queen died. - -"Lord Townshend had that sort of understanding which commonly makes men -honest in the first part of their lives; they follow the instruction of -their tutor, and, till somebody thinks it worth while to show them a new -path, go regularly on in the road where they are set. Lord Townshend had -then been many years an excellent husband to a sober wife, a kind master -to all his servants and dependants, a serviceable relation whenever it -was in his power, and followed the instinct of nature in being fond of -his children. Such a sort of behaviour without any glaring absurdity, -either in prodigality or avarice, always gains a man the reputation of -reasonable and honest; and this was his character when the Earl of -Godolphin sent him envoy to the States, not doubting but he would be -faithful to his orders, without giving himself the trouble of -criticising on them, which is what all ministers wish in an envoy. -Robethon, a French refugee (secretary to Bernstorff, one of the Elector -of Hanover's ministers), happened to be at The Hague, and was civilly -received by Lord Townshend, who treated him at his table with the -English hospitality; and he was charmed with a reception which his birth -and education did not entitle him to. Lord Townshend was recalled when -the Queen changed her ministry, his wife died, and he retired into the -country, where (as I have said before) Walpole had art enough to make -him marry his sister Dolly. At that time, I believe, he did not propose -much more advantage by the match than to get rid of a girl that lay -heavy on his hands. - -"When King George ascended the throne, he was surrounded by all his -German ministers and playfellows, male and female. Baron Goertz was the -most considerable among them both for birth and fortune. He had managed -the King's treasury, for thirty years, with the utmost fidelity and -economy; and had the true German honesty, being a plain, sincere and -unambitious man. Bernstorff, the Secretary, was of a different turn. He -was avaricious, artful, and designing, and had got his share in the -King's councils by bribing his women. Robethon was employed in these -matters, and had the sanguine ambition of a Frenchman. He resolved there -should be an English ministry of his choosing; and, knowing none of them -personally but Townshend, he had not failed to recommend him to his -master, and his master to the King, as the only proper person for the -important post of Secretary of State; and he entered upon that office -with universal applause, having at that time a very popular character, -which he might probably have retained for ever if he had not been -entirely governed by his wife and her brother Robert Walpole, whom he -immediately advanced to be Paymaster, esteemed a post of exceeding -profit, and very necessary for his indebted estate. - -"But he had yet higher views, or rather he found it necessary to move -higher, lest he should not be able to keep that. The Earl of Wharton, -now Marquis, both hated and despised him. His large estate, the whole -income of which was spent in the service of the party and his own parts, -made him considerable, though his profligate life lessened that weight -that a more regular conduct would have given him. - -"Lord Halifax, who was now advanced to the dignity of Earl, and graced -with the Garter, and First Commissioner of the Treasury, treated him -with contempt. The Earl of Nottingham, who had the real merit of having -renounced the ministry in Queen Anne's reign, when he thought they were -going to alter the succession, was not to be reconciled to Walpole, whom -he looked upon as stigmatised for corruption. - -"The Duke of Marlborough, who in his old age was making the same figure -at Court that he did when he first came into it--I mean, bowing and -smiling in the antechamber while Townshend was in the closet,--was not, -however, pleased with the Walpole, who began to behave to him with the -insolence of new favour, and his Duchess, who never restrained her -tongue in her life, used to make public jokes of the beggary she first -knew him in, when her caprice gave him a considerable place, against the -opinion of Lord Godolphin and the Duke of Marlborough. - -"To balance these, he had introduced some friends of his own, by his -recommendation to Lord Townshend (who did nothing but by his -instigation). Colonel Stanhope was made the Secretary of State. He had -been unfortunate in Spain, and there did not want those who attributed -it to ill conduct; but he was called generous, brave, true to his -friends, and had an air of probity which prejudiced the world in his -favour. - -"The King's character may be comprised in very few words. In private -life he would have been called an honest blockhead; and Fortune that -made him a king, added nothing to his happiness, only prejudiced his -honesty, and shortened his days. No man was ever more free from -ambition; he loved money, but loved to keep his own, without being -rapacious of other men's. He would have grown rich by saving, but was -incapable of laying schemes for getting; he was more properly dull than -lazy, and would have been so well contented to have remained in his -little town of Hanover, that if the ambition of those about him had not -been greater than his own, we should never have seen him in England; and -the natural honesty of his temper, joined with the narrow notions of a -low education, made him look upon his acceptance of the crown as an act -of usurpation, which was always uneasy to him. But he was carried by the -stream of the people about him, in that, as in every action of his life. -He could speak no English, and was past the age of learning it. Our -customs and laws were all mysteries to him, which he neither tried to -understand, nor was capable of understanding if he had endeavoured it. -He was passively good-natured, and wished all mankind enjoyed quiet, if -they would let him do so. - -"The mistress that followed him hither was so much of his own temper, -that I do not wonder at the engagement between them. She was duller than -himself, and consequently did not find out that he was so; and had lived -in that figure at Hanover almost forty years (for she came hither at -three score) without meddling in any affairs of the Electorate, content -with the small pension he allowed her, and the honour of his visits when -he had nothing else to do, which happened very often. She even refused -coming hither at first, fearing that the people of England, who, she -thought, were accustomed to use their kings barbarously, might chop off -his head in the first fortnight; and had not love or gratitude enough to -venture being involved in his ruin. And the poor man was in peril of -coming hither without knowing where to pass his evenings; which he was -accustomed to do in the apartments of women free from business. But -Madame Keilmansegg saved him from this misfortune. She was told that -Mademoiselle Schulenburg scrupled this terrible journey, and took the -opportunity of offering her service to his Majesty, who willingly -accepted it, though he did not facilitate it to her by the payment of -debts, which made it very difficult for her to leave Hanover without -permission of her creditors. But she was a woman of wit and spirit, and -knew very well of what importance this step was to her fortune. She got -out of the town in disguise, and made the best of her way in a -post-chaise to Holland, from whence she embarked with the King, and -arrived at the same time with him in England; which was enough to make -her called his mistress, or at least so great a favourite that the whole -Court began to pay her uncommon respect. - -"This lady deserves that I should be a little particular in her -character, there being something in it worth speaking of. She was past -forty; she had never been a beauty, but certainly very agreeable in her -person when adorned with youth; and had once appeared so charming to the -King, that it was said the divorce and ruin of his beautiful Princess, -the Duke of Celle's daughter, was owing to the hopes her mother (who was -declared mistress to the King's father, and all-powerful in his Court,) -had of setting her daughter in her place; and that project did not -succeed, by the passion which Madame Kielmansegg took for M. Kielmansegg, -who was a son of a merchant of Hamburg, and after having a child by him, -there was nothing left for her but to marry him. Her ambitions ran mad -with the disappointment, and died in that deplorable manner, leaving -Ł40,000 which she had heaped by the favour of the Elector, to this -daughter, which was very easily squandered by one of her temper. She was -both luxurious and generous, devoted to her pleasures, and seemed to have -taken Lord Rochester's resolution of avoiding all sorts of self-denial. -She had a greater vivacity in conversation than ever I knew in a German -of either sex. She loved reading, and had a taste of all polite learning. -Her humour was easy and sociable. Her constitution inclined her to -gallantry. She was well-bred and amusing in company. She knew both how -to please and be pleased, and had experience enough to know it was hard -to do either without money. Her unlimited expenses had left her with -very little remaining, and she made what haste she could to make -advantage of the opinion the English had of her power with the King, by -receiving the presents that were made her from all quarters, and which -she knew very well must cease when it was known that the King's idleness -carried him to her lodgings without either regard for her advice, or -affection for her person, which time and very bad paint had left without -any of the charms which had once attracted him. His best-beloved mistress -remained still at Hanover, which was the beautiful Countess of Platen. - -"Perhaps it will be thought a digression in this place to tell the story -of his amour with her; but, as I write only for myself, I shall always -think I am at liberty to make what digressions I think fit, proper or -improper; besides that in my opinion can set the King's character in a -clearer light. That lady was married to Madame Kielmansegg's brother, -the most considerable man in Hanover for birth and fortune; and her -beauty was as far beyond that of any of the other women that appeared. -However, the King saw her every day without taking notice of it, and -contented himself with his habitual commerce with Mademoiselle -Schulenburg. - -"In those little Courts there is no distinction of much value but what -arises from the favour of the Prince, and Madame Platen saw with great -indignation that all her charms were passed over unregarded; and she -took a method to get over this misfortune which would never have entered -into the head of a woman of sense, and yet which met with wonderful -success. She asked an audience of his Highness, who granted it without -guessing what she meant by it; and she told him that as nobody could -refuse her the first rank in that place, it was very mortifying to see -his Highness not show her any mark of favour; and as no person could be -more attached to his person than herself, she begged with tears in her -fine eyes that he would alter his behaviour to her. The Elector, very -much astonished at this complaint, answered that he did not know any -reason he had given her to believe he was wanting in respect for her, -and that he thought her not only the greatest lady, but the greatest -beauty of the court. 'If that be true, sire,' replied she, sobbing, 'why -do you pass all your time with Mademoiselle Schulenburg, while I hardly -receive the honour of a visit from you?' His Highness promised to mend -his manners, and from that time was very assiduous in waiting upon her. -This ended in a fondness, which her husband disliked so much that he -parted with her, and she had the glory of possessing the heart and -person of her master, and to turn the whole stream of courtiers that -used to attend Mademoiselle Schulenburg to her side. However, he did not -break with his first love, and often went to her apartment to cut paper, -which was his chief employment there; which the Countess of Platen -easily permitted him, having often occasion for his absence. She was -naturally gallant; and, after having thus satisfied her ambition, -pursued her warmer inclinations. - -"Young Craggs came about this time to Hanover, where his father sent him -to take a view of that court in his tour of travelling. He was in his -first bloom of youth and vigour, and had so strong an appearance of that -perfection, that it was called beauty by the generality of women: though -in my opinion there was a coarseness in his face and shape that had more -the air of a porter than a gentleman; and, if fortune had not interposed -her almighty power, he might by his birth have appeared in that figure; -his father being nothing more considerable at his first appearance in -the world than footman to Lady Mary Mordaunt, the gallant Duchess of -Norfolk, who had always half a dozen intrigues to manage. Some servant -must always be trusted in affairs of that kind and James Craggs had the -good fortune to be chose for that purpose. She found him both faithful -and discreet, and he was soon advanced to the dignity of _valet-de-chambre._ - -"King James II had an amour with her after he was upon the throne, and -respected the Queen enough to endeavour to keep it entirely from her -knowledge. James Craggs was the messenger between the King and the -Duchess, and did not fail to make the best use of so important a trust. -He scraped a great deal of money from the bounty of this royal lover, -and was too inconsiderable to be hurt by his ruin; and did not concern -much for that of his mistress, which by lower intrigues happened soon -after. This fellow, from the report of all parties, and even from that -of his professed enemies, had a very uncommon genius; a head well turned -for calculation, great industry, and was so just an observer of the -world, that the meanness of his education never appeared in his -conversation. - -"The Duke of Marlborough, who was sensible how well he was qualified for -affairs that required secrecy, employed him as his procurer both for -women and money, and he acquitted himself so well of these trusts as to -please his master, and yet raise a considerable fortune, by turning his -money in the public funds, the secret of which came often to his -knowledge by the Duke's employing him. He had this only son, whom he -looked on with the partiality of a parent, and resolved to spare nothing -in his education that could add to his figure. - -"Young Craggs had great vivacity, a happy memory, and flowing elocution, -he was brave and generous, and had an appearance of open-heartedness in -his manner that gained him a universal good-will, if not a universal -esteem. It is true there appeared a heat and want of judgment in all his -words and actions, which did not make him valuable in the eyes of cool -judges, but Madame Platen was not of that number. His youth and fire -made him appear very well worthy of his passionate addresses. Two people -so well disposed towards each other were very soon in the closest -engagement; and the first proof Madame Platen gave him of her affection -was introducing him to the favour of the Elector, who took it on her -word that he was a young man of extraordinary merit, and he named him -for Cofferer at his first accession to the Crown of England, and I -believe it was the only place that he then disposed of from any -inclination of his own. This proof of Madame Platen's favour hindered -her coming hither. - -"Bernstorff was afraid she might meddle in the distribution of places -that he was willing to keep in his own hands; and he represented to the -King that the Roman Catholic religion that she professed was an -insuperable objection to her appearance at the Court of England, at -least so early; but he gave her private hopes that things might be so -arranged as to make her admittance easy when the King was settled in his -new dominions. And with this hope she consented without much concern to -let him go without her; not reflecting that weak minds lose all -impressions by even short absences. But as her own understanding did not -furnish her with very great refinements, she was troubled with none of -the fears that would have affected a stronger head, and had too good an -opinion of her own beauty to believe anything in England could efface -it, while Madame Kielmansegg attached herself to the one thing -necessary--getting what money she could by the sale of places, and the -credulity of those who thought themselves very polite in securing her -favour. - -"Lord Halifax was one of this number; his ambition was unbounded, and he -aimed at no less than the Treasurer's staff, and thought himself in a -fine road for it by furnishing Madame Kielmansegg both with money and a -lover. Mr. Methuen was the man he picked out for that purpose. He was -one of the Lords of the Treasury; he was handsome and well-made; he had -wit enough to be able to affect any part he pleased and a romantic turn -in his conversation that could entertain a lady with as many adventures -as Othello,--and it is no ill way of gaining Desdemonas. Women are very -apt to take their lovers' characters from their own mouths; and if you -will believe Mr. Methuen's account of himself, neither Artamenes nor -Oroondates ever had more valour, honour, constancy, and discretion. Half -of these bright qualities were enough to charm Madame Kielmansegg, and -they were soon in the strictest familiarity, which continued for -different reasons, to the pleasure of both parties, till the arrival of -Mademoiselle Schulenburg, which was hastened by the German ministers, -who envied the money accumulated by Madame Kielmansegg, which they -longed to turn into another channel, which they thought would be more -easily drawn into their own hands. They took care to inform Mademoiselle -Schulenburg of the fond reception all the Germans met with in England, -and gave her a view of the immense fortune that waited her here. This -was enough to cure her fears, and she arrived accompanied by a young -niece who had already made some noise at Hanover. She had projected the -conquest of the Prince of Wales, and had so far succeeded as to obtain -his favours for some months, but the Princess, who dreaded a rival to -her power, soon put an end to the correspondence, and she was no longer -possessed of his good graces when she came hither. - -"I have not yet given the character of the Prince. The fire of his -temper appeared in every look and gesture; which, being unhappily under -the direction of a small understanding, was every day throwing him upon -some indiscretion. He was naturally sincere, and his pride told him that -he was placed above constraint; not reflecting that a high rank carries -along with it a necessity if a more decent and regular behaviour than is -expected from those who are not set in so conspicuous a light. He was -far from being of that opinion, that he looked on all men and women he -saw as creatures he might kick or kiss for his diversion; and whenever -he met with any opposition in those designs, he thought his opposers -insolent rebels to the will of God, who created them for his use, and -judged of the merit of all people by their submission to his orders, or -the relation they had to his power. And in this view, he looked upon the -Princess, as the most meritorious of her sex; and she took care to keep -him in that sentiment by all the arts she was mistress of. He had -married her by inclination; his good-natured father had been so -complaisant as to let him choose a wife for himself. She was of the -house of Anspach, and brought him no great addition either of money or -alliance; but was at that time esteemed a German beauty, and had genius -which qualified her for the government of a fool; and made her -despicable in the eyes of men of sense; I mean a low cunning, which gave -her an inclination to cheat all the people she conversed with, and often -cheated herself in the first place, by showing her the wrong side of her -interest, not having understanding enough to observe that falsehood in -conversation, like red on the face, should be used very seldom, and very -sparingly, or they destroy that interest and beauty which they are -designed to heighten. - -"Her first thought on her marriage was to secure to herself the sole and -whole direction of her spouse; and to that purpose she counterfeited the -most extravagant fondness for his person; yet, at the same time, so -devoted to his pleasures (which she often told him were the rule of all -her thoughts and actions), that whenever he thought proper to find them -with other women, she even loved whoever was instrumental to his -entertainment, and never resented anything but what appeared to her a -want of respect for him; and in this light she really could not help -taking notice that the presents made to her on her wedding were not -worthy of his bride, and at least she ought to have had all his mother's -jewels. This was enough to make him lose all respect for his indulgent -father. He downright abused his ministers, and talked impertinently to -his old grandmother the Princess Sophia, which ended in such a coldness -towards all his family as left him entirely under the government of his -wife. - -"The indolent Elector contented himself with showing his resentment by -his silence towards him; and this was the situation the family first -appeared in when they came into England. This behaviour did not, -however, hinder schemes being laid by various persons of gratifying -their ambition, or making their fortunes, by particular attachments to -each of the Royal Family." - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -AT HERRENHAUSEN AND ST. JAMES (1714-1716) - -The Elector George Lewis not delighted at his accession to the British -throne--A greater man in Hanover than in London--Lady Mary modifies her -first impression of the King--She is in high favour at Court--An amusing -incident at St. James's--The early unpopularity of George I in England -generally, and especially in the capital--The Hanoverians in the Royal -Household--The Duchess of Kendal--The Countess of Darlington--Lady -Mary's description of the Hanoverian ladies--The Duchess of Kendal's -passion for money--Her influence with the King in political matters--Count -de Broglie--The scandal about Lady Darlington refuted--Lady Mary and the -Prince of Wales--The King and the Prince of Wales--The poets and wits of -the day--Gay's tribute to Lady Mary--Pope's verses on her--"Court Poems." - - -It is beyond question that the accession to the British throne gave no -thrill of pleasure to the King. He was fifty-four years of age, and had -no desire to change his state. It was necessary for him, as the present -writer has said elsewhere, now to go from a country where he was -absolute, to another where, so far from being supreme, when King and -people differed on a matter of vital importance, the monarch had to give -way--the price of resistance having been fixed, at worst at death, at -best exile or civil war. He had to go from a country where he was the -wealthiest and most important personage to another where he would be -merely regarded as a minor German princeling set up as a figurehead, and -where many of the gentry were wealthier than he. This point was -appreciated by Lady Mary when she went to Hanover in November, 1716, for -she wrote from there to the Countess of Bristol: "I have now made the -tour of Germany, and cannot help observing difference between -travelling here and in England. One sees none of those fine seats of -noblemen that are so common among us, nor anything like a country -gentleman's house, though they have many situations perfectly fine. But -the whole people are divided into absolute sovereignties, where all the -riches and magnificence are at Court, or communities of merchants, such -as Nuremberg and Frankfort, where they live always in town for the -convenience of trade." - -Worse than all George must set forth by no means sure of his reception, -and with no love, nor even liking, for the people over whom he was -called to reign. That he did go at all is greatly to his credit, for he -was doubtful if he would be allowed to remain, and he never revisited -Hanover without some suspicion that he might not be able to return to -England. He would have been a much happier man if he could have remained -at his beloved Herrenhausen. He never felt he owed Britain anything, and -indeed he did not: the throne had been settled on his mother, not for -love of her, but simply because she was the only alternative to the -succession of the dreaded Roman Catholic heirs. So George came as a -visitor, rather submitting to be King of England, than anxious for the -honour, prepared to be forced by circumstances to return, little -dreaming that two hundred years later his descendants would be firmly -seated upon his throne. - -It may be mentioned that Lady Mary, as she became better acquainted with -the King, grew to like him. In the letter from Hanover just quoted, she -says: "His Majesty dines and sups constantly in public. The Court is -very numerous, and his affability and goodness make it one of the most -agreeable places in the world to me." The King was indeed at his best -when in residence at Herrenhausen. Lord Peterborough said that George -was so happy there that he believed he had forgot _the accident that -occurred to him and his family on the 1st of August_, 1714. - -It may be that, the King having taken a great fancy to Lady Mary, -modified that lady's earlier impression. When she and her husband went -to Hanover, the King, as she mentioned in one of her letters to Lady -Bristol, "has had the goodness to appoint us a lodging in one part of -the Palace, without which we should be very ill accommodated; for the -vast number of English crowds the town so much, it is very good luck to -be able to get one sorry room in a miserable tavern. I dined to-day with -the Portuguese ambassador, who thinks himself very happy to have two -wretched parlours in an inn." - -Lady Mary was, indeed, in high favour at the Courts of Hanover and St. -James's. "Mr. Wortley and his lady are here," the British Minister at -Hanover, John Clavering, wrote in December, 1716, to Lady Cowper. "They -were so very impatient to see his Majesty that they travelled night and -day from Vienna here. Her Ladyship is mighty gay and airy, and occasions -a great deal of discourse. Since her arrival the King has took but -little notice of any other lady, not even of Madame Kielmansegg, which -the ladies of Hanover don't relish very much; for my part, I can't help -rejoicing to see his Majesty prefer us to the Germans." - -It was evidently before that the following incident occurred. Lady Mary -often went to St. James's, but, as it was very dull there, was often -glad to go instead to some less august and more amusing assembly. One -evening Lady Mary particularly desired to leave early, and induced the -Duchess of Kendal to persuade the King to dismiss her. The King -reluctantly acquiesced, though, when Lady Mary made her bow, he declared -it was an act of perfidy to run away, but, in spite of that and other -complimentary remarks, she at last contrived to make her escape. - -At the foot of the staircase she met Mr. Secretary Craggs, who, seeing -her leave so early, enquired if the King had retired, but she reassured -him on that point, and dwelt complacently on the King's reluctance to -let her go. Craggs made no remark, but took her in his arms, ran -upstairs, and deposited her in the ante-chamber, whereupon the pages at -once threw open the doors leading to the King's apartment. - -"_Ah! la re-voilŕ_," cried his Majesty and the Duchess of Kendal, and -expressed their pleasure that she had changed her mind, but Lady Mary -was so flustered that, instead of maintaining a discreet silence she -burst out, "Oh, Lord, Sir, I have been so frightened!" and related her -adventure. - -She had scarcely finished relating her adventure, when the door was -thrown open, and Mr. Secretary Craggs was announced. He entered calmly, -and made his bow as if nothing had happened, but the King strode up to -him, and said angrily: "_Mais, comment, donc, Monsieur Craggs, est ce -que c'est l'usage de ce pays de porter des belles dames comme un sac de -froment_?" ("Is it the custom of this country to carry about fair ladies -as if they were a sack of wheat?") The culprit was dumbfounded by the -unexpected attack, and glanced reproachfully at Lady Mary for having -betrayed him, but, soon finding his wits, parried with, "There is -nothing I would not do for your Majesty's satisfaction." - -One of the reasons for the early unpopularity of George I was that he -brought with him a large suite from Hanover. - -The household that accompanied him numbered sixty-three. There was Baron -von Kielmansegg, who was Master of the Horse; Count von Platen, son of -the late Prime Minister of Hanover; and Baron von Hardenburg, Marshal of -the Court. With them came the Lutheran clergyman, Braun; a group of -physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries; five body-servants, including -the Turks, Mahomet and Mustapha; four pages, two trumpeters, a carver, -twelve footmen, eighteen cooks, three cellarmen, two housemaids, and one -washerwoman. It may be mentioned that in 1696 there were only two -washerwomen for the three hundred and seven persons, exclusive of -royalty, that at this date made up the Court of Hanover. - -The political staff that came included twenty-three persons. Baron von -Bothmer was already in England. Now arrived Baron von Bernstorff, Prime -Minister of Hanover; Baron von Schlitz-Goertz, Hanoverian Finance -Minister; Baron von Hattorf, Hanoverian Minister of War; and John -Robethon. - -To these men, who advised the King in his capacity of Elector of -Hanover, there would have been no objection had they confined their -energies to administering that country. This, unfortunately, was not the -case. Some of them, at least, notably Bernstorff and Robethon, meddled -in English politics, and most of them desired high office, lucrative -appointments, peerages, and other grants. It is certain that they must -have known that they were barred from such delights by an Act of 1700 -which carefully guarded against foreigners acquiring any share in the -government of this country. Nothing, in fact, could be more definite -than clause three of the "Act for the further limitation of the Crown": -"No person born out of the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, or Ireland, or -the dominions thereunto belonging (although he be naturalised or made a -denizen, except such as are born of English parents)," so runs clause -three of the above-mentioned Act, "shall be capable of the Privy -Council, or a Member of either House of Parliament, or to enjoy any -office or place of trust, either civil or military, or to have any grant -of lands, tenements, or hereditaments from the Crown to himself or to -any other or others in trust for him." Still, Acts of Parliament have -been repealed, and the invaders may well have hoped that, with the -King's support, their influence might increase until they were strong -enough to have the clause revoked. - -As a matter of fact, nothing of the kind happened, and no Hanoverian -statesman or court officer was appointed to any place of profit under -the Crown or rewarded for his services in the Electorate by the grant of -a British peerage. It may be noted that the Hanoverian officials, fond -as all Germans were and are of wordy distinctions, styled themselves -"Koenigliche-Gross-britannische-Kurfuerstlich-Braunschweig-Lueneburgische" -(Royal-British-Electoral-Brunswick-Luenburg) councillors or magistrates. - -The Hanoverians who were on the political side or held posts in the -Household might, by the exercise of a little tact, have lived down an -unpopularity that was the result of circumstances rather than arising -from any personal animosity. That they did not do so may be ascribed -partly, anyhow, to their own fault. - -On the other hand, nothing probably would have overcome the prejudice -against the ladies who followed George to this country. These were the -Countess Ehrengard Melusina von der Schulenburg, who, in 1716, was -created Duchess of Munster in the Irish peerage, and three years after -Duchess of Kendal, by which latter title she is more generally known, -and the Baroness von Kielmansegg (_née_ Platen), who was presently -elevated to the dignity of Countess of Darlington. It was generally -assured that these ladies were the King's mistresses, and they were -accordingly disliked not only at Court but also by the mob. One of them -when driving in London was assailed by terms of abuse--as she understood -scarcely any English, she could only go by the tone of the voices--and -putting her head out of the coach said: "Good people, why abuse us? We -come for all your goods." "Yes, damn you," cried someone, "and for our -chattels, too." The man in the crowd only voiced the general opinion, -and, it must be said, the general opinion was not far removed from the -truth. - -Of course, the Jacobites made the most of this, and, as Horace Walpole -has related, "the seraglio was food for all the venom of the Jacobites, -and, indeed, nothing could be grosser that was vomited out in lampoons, -libels, and every channel of abuse against the Sovereign and the new -Court and chanted even in their hearing in the public streets." - -It is mentioned in _Walpoliana_ that "this couple of rabbits, the -favourites, as they were called, occasioned much jocularity on their -first importation." Some of the jocularity was aroused by their -appearance. The style of beauty, or what passed for beauty, in each -country was markedly different. Hear Lady Mary Wortley Montagu writing -from Hanover in December, 1716: "I have now got into the regions of -beauty," she told Lady Rich. "All the women have literally rosy cheeks, -snowy foreheads and bosoms, jet eye-brows, and scarlet lips, to which -they generally add coal-black hair. These perfections never leave them -till the hour of their death, and have a very fine effect by candle-light, -but I could wish they were handsome with a little more variety. They -resemble one another as much as Mrs. Salmon's Court of Great Britain, -and are in much danger of melting away by too near approaching the fire -which they for that reason carefully avoid, though it is now such -excessively cold weather, that I believe they suffer extremely by that -piece of self-denial." - -The Duchess of Kendal at the time of the accession of George I was -forty-seven years of age. The King's mother, the Electress Sophia, had -commented on her to Mrs. Howard: "Look at that mawkin, and think of her -being my son's passion." If a family portrait, now in the possession of -Count Werner Schulenburg, may be trusted, she was what is called "a fine -figure of a woman"; she had blue eyes and fair hair. She was so tall -that she was nicknamed in England "the May-pole." She was certainly -determined to make the most of her opportunities, and the more eager -because at the beginning of the reign she was very doubtful whether -George I would not have hurriedly to retire to Hanover for good and all. -So doubtful of the likelihood of the duration of the Hanoverian line in -this country was she that at first she declined to accompany the -Elector, and she only changed her mind when she found the Baroness von -Kielmansegg had decided to go to England. She was in high favour with -George, and took every advantage of her influence. She left an immense -fortune, which was acquired in ways into which an eulogistic biographer -of the lady would not enquire. Certainly, she received for her good -offices large sums of money from the promoters of the South Sea Act, she -accepted bribes to secure peerages, and, it is said on the authority of -Sir Robert Walpole, that Bolingbroke presented her with Ł11,000 to -endeavour to secure his restoration to the royal favour. It may be -remarked, _en passant_, that Spence records that Lady Mary Wortley -Montagu said to him: "I would never be acquainted with Lord Bolingbroke, -because I always looked upon him as a vile man." - -Duchess of Kendal was not content with indulging her passion for money; -she, in matters of politics, acted as the hidden hand behind the -throne--any services that she rendered were, it is certain, adequately -remunerated. Her ascendancy over the King was unquestionable, and -Walpole was compelled to admit that she "was in effect as much Queen of -England as ever any was, that he did everything by her." She not only -used her power in connection with home affairs, but also in matters of -foreign policy, and the Count de Broglie, French Minister of the Court -of St. James, was urgent in his endeavours to secure her support. - -"As the Duchess of Kendal seemed to express a wish to see me often, I -have been very attentive to her, being convinced that it is highly -essential to the advantage of your Majesty's service to be on good terms -with her, for she is closely united with the three ministers who now -govern," the Count wrote to Louis XV on July 6, 1724, and four days -later returned to the subject: "The more I consider state affairs, the -more I am convinced that the Government is entirely in the hands of Mr. -Walpole, Lord Townshend, and the Duchess of Newcastle, who are on the -best terms with the Duchess of Kendal. The King visits her every -afternoon from five till eight, and it is there that she endeavours to -penetrate the sentiments of his Britannic majesty for the purpose of -consulting the three ministers, and pursuing the measures which may be -thought necessary for accomplishing their designs. She sent me word that -she was desirous of my friendship, and that I should place confidence in -her. I assured her that I would do everything in my power to merit her -esteem and friendship. I am convinced that she may be advantageously -employed in promoting your Majesty's service, and that it will be -necessary to employ her, though I will not trust her further than is -absolutely necessary." To these letters Louis replied on July 18: "There -is no doubt that the Duchess of Kendal, having a great ascendancy over -the King of Great Britain, and maintaining strict union with his -ministers, must materially influence their principal resolutions. You -will neglect nothing to acquire a share of her confidence, from a -conviction that nothing can be more conducive to my interests. There is, -however, a manner of giving additional value to the marks of confidence -you bestow on her in private, by avoiding in public all appearances -which might seem too pointed, by which means you will avoid falling into -the inconvenience of being suspected by those who are not friendly to -the Duchess, at the same time that a kind of mysteriousness in public on -the subject of your confidence, will give rise to a firm belief of your -having formed a friendship mutually sincere." - -The case of Lady Darlington was different. It was assured generally that -she, too, was a mistress of the King, a view that Lady Mary Wortley -Montagu accepted, and one which was endorsed by the historians and -biographers for more than a century. The first English writer to -discover the truth was Carlyle, who in his _Life of Frederick the Great_ -said: "Miss Kielmansegg, Countess of Darlington, was, and is, believed -by the gossiping English to have been a second simultaneous Mistress of -His Majesty's, but seems after all to have been his Half-Sister and -nothing more." She was, in fact, a daughter of the Countess of Platen -(_née_ Clara Elizabeth von Meysenbach), not, indeed, by that lady's -husband, but by Ernest Augustus, Duke (afterwards Elector) of Hanover, -the father of George I. Only Lady Cowper seems to have known this, and -to have accepted it as a fact. Yet there was no secrecy concerning the -paternity of the Countess, and it was, of course, well-known in the -German Courts. Further, it was overlooked that in the patent of nobility -in 1721 there is a reference to the royal blood of the recipient of the -title, and actually the patent, in addition to the Great Seal, had a -miniature of the King and the arms of the houses of Platen, Kielmansegg, -and Great Britain (Brunswick-Lueneburg) with the bar-sinister.[2] - -[Footnote 2: Refutation of the scandal is to be found in a work -published in Hanover in 1902: "_Briefe des Hertzogs Ernst August zu -Braun schweig-Lüneburg an Johann Franz Diedrich von Wendt aus dem Jahren -1705 bis 1726_," edited by Erich Graf Kielmansegg.] - -All this at this time must have been very distressing to Lady Darlington, -for she was very careful of her reputation, as the following amusing -incident, given in Lady Cowper's Diary (February 4, 1716) indicates: -"Madame Kielmansegg had been told that the Prince, afterwards George II, -had said that she intrigued with all the men at Hanover. She came to -complain of this to the Princess, who replied, she did not believe the -Prince had said so, it not being his custom to speak in that manner. -Madame Kielmansegg cried and said it had made her despised, and that -many of her acquaintance had left her upon that story, but that her -husband had taken all the care she could to vindicate her reputation, -and thereupon she drew forth a certificate under her husband's hand, in -which he certified, in all the due forms, that she had always been a -faithful wife to him, and that he had never had any cause to suspect her -honesty. The Princess smiled, and said she did not doubt it at all, and -that all the trouble was very unnecessary, and that it was a very bad -reputation that wanted such a support." - -In appearance, Lady Darlington was a contrast to the Duchess of Kendal. -She was in her youth a good-looking woman, but as the years passed she -became immensely corpulent, and Horace Walpole, who saw her at his -mother's when he was a child, thus described her: "Two fierce black -eyes, large and rolling between two lofty arched eye-brows, two acres of -cheeks spread with crimson, an ocean of neck that overflowed, and was -not distinguished from the lower part of her body, and no part -restrained by stays." He christened her "Elephant and Castle." - -For a while, Lady Mary was popular also with the Prince of Wales, who -was attracted by her looks and her vivacity. It is recorded that on one -occasion when Lady Mary appeared in a gown more than usually becoming -the Prince called his wife from the card table to admire her. The -Princess came, looked, and then said calmly, "Lady Mary always dresses -so well," and went on with her game. - -It was impossible, however, even for the most tactful person in the -world to be on good terms with the King and the Prince of Wales. It is -said of George I that he was of an affectionate disposition and that -throughout his life he hated only three people in the world: his mother, -who was dead, his wife, who was imprisoned at Ahlden, and his son. It -has been said that the trouble began when in his early youth the Prince -expressed sympathy with his mother; it may be that it started from the -fact that the Prince was the son of a woman who had sullied the honour -of the Royal House. It is, however, unnecessary to look for reasons; to -hate the heir-apparent was a tradition with the Georges. - -Matters did not improve after the accession of George I to the British -throne. He disliked his daughter-in-law, Caroline, daughter of John -Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Anspach, and spoke of her as "_Cette -diablesse Madame la Princesse."_ The opposition was not slow to take -advantage of the rift, and planted itself on the side of his Royal -Highness. It proposed, on the Civil List vote, a separate revenue of -Ł100,000 for the Prince--which infuriated the King, as it was intended -to do. - -In 1716 George was anxious to visit his beloved Hanover, but he was torn -between the desire to do so and the dislike to leave his son in England -as Regent during his absence. Indeed, he almost decided not to go, -unless he could join others with the Prince in the administration and -limit his authority by the most rigorous restriction. To this, however, -the Government could not consent, and Townshend stated that "on a -careful persual of precedents, finding no instance of persons being -joined in commission with the Prince of Wales, and few, if any, -restrictions, they were of opinion that the constant tenour of ancient -practice could not conveniently be receded from." - -Lady Mary, like the rest of the world, found the Court dull, and she -much preferred to spend her time in the more congenial society of men of -letters. Addison, she knew, and Steele, and Arbuthnot, and Jervas, and -Gay, who presently paid her a pretty compliment in _Mr. Pope's Welcome -from Greece,_ wherein he inserted tributes to the ladies of the Court: - - "What lady's that to whom he gently bends? - Who knows her not? Ah, those are Wortley's eyes. - How art thou honour'd, number'd with her friends; - For she distinguishes the good and wise." - -Pope, too, wrote of her with appreciation: - - TO LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGU - - I - - In beauty or wit, - No mortal as yet - To question your empire has dared. - But men of discerning - Have thought that in learning, - To yield to a lady was hard. - - II - - Impertinent schools, - With musty dull rules, - Have reading to females denied; - So Papists refuse - The Bible to use - Lest flocks should be wise as their guides. - - III - - Twas woman at first - (Indeed she was curst) - In knowledge that tasted delight, - And sages agree - The laws should decree - To the first possessor the right. - - IV - - Then bravely, fair dame, - Resume the old claim, - Which to your whole sex does belong; - And let men receive - From a second bright Eve - The knowledge of right and of wrong. - - V - - But if the first Eve - Hard doom did receive, - When only one apple had she, - What a punishment new - Shall be found out for you, - Who tasting, have robb'd the whole tree! - -The acquaintance with Pope began shortly after Lady Mary came to town in -the autumn of 1714. It soon developed into friendship. "Lady Mary -Wortley," Jervas wrote to the poet, probably in 1715 or early in the -following year, "ordered me by express this morning, _cedente Gayo et -ridente Fortescuvio_, to send you a letter, or some other proper notice, -to come to her on Thursday about five, which I suppose she meant in the -evening." - -There appeared in March, 1716, a volume bearing the title _Court Poems_, -the authorship being attributed to "A Lady of Quality," who, it soon -became known, was Lady Mary. The book was issued by Roberts, who had -received the three sets of verses contained in it from the notorious -piratical publisher, Edmund Curll. How the manuscript "fell" into the -hands of Curll it is not easy to imagine. Curll's account is that they -were found in a pocket-book taken up in Westminster Hall on the last day -of the trial of the Jacobite Lord Winton. Anyhow, however it came about, -the volume was published in 1716, when it was found to contain "The -Basset Table," "The Drawing Room," and "The Toilet." - -Curll was an excellent publicity agent for his wares. He wrote, or -caused to be written, a most intriguing "advertisement" about the -authorship of the poems: - - -"Upon reading them over at St. James' Coffee House, they were attributed -by the general voice to be the productions of a lady of quality. When I -produced them at Button's, the poetical jury there brought in a -different verdict; and the foreman strenuously insisted upon it that Mr. -Gay was the man. Not content with these two decisions, I was resolved to -call in an umpire, and accordingly chose a gentleman of distinguished -merit, who lives not far from Chelsea. I sent him the papers, which he -returned next day, with this answer: "Sir, depend upon it these lines -could come from no other hand than the judicious translator of Homer." -Thus, having impartially given the sentiments of the Town, I hope I may -deserve thanks for the pains I have taken in endeavouring to find out -the author of these valuable performances, and everybody is at liberty -to bestow the laurel as they please." - - -Pope was furious, and there is a story that he invited Curll to drink -wine with him at a coffee-house, and put in his glass some poison that -acted as an emetic. What is certain is that the poet wrote a pamphlet -with the title, "A full and true Account of a horrid and barbarous -Revenge by Poison on the body of Edmund Curll." - -The three pieces in _Court Poems_ were claimed by Lady Mary as her own, -but this claim was disputed. Pope declared himself the author of "The -Basset Table," and it was printed among his works, and he asserted that -"'The Toilet' is almost wholly Gay's," there being "only five or six -lines in it by that lady." "The Toilet" is included in his collected -edition of Gay's poems. - -The whole matter is best explained by that sound student of the -eighteenth century, "George Paston," who suggests that the truth seems -to be that the verses were handed round in manuscript to be read and -corrected by the writer's literary friends, and therefore they owe -something to the different hands. "George Paston" goes on to say: "Lady -Mary was not unaware of the danger of this proceeding, for Richardson -the painter relates that on one occasion she showed Pope a copy of her -verses in which she intended to make some trifling alterations, but -refused his help, saying, 'No, Pope, no touching, for then whatever is -good for anything will pass for yours, and the rest for mine.'" - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE EMBASSY TO THE PORTE--I (1716) - -Montagu loses his place at the Treasury--His antagonism against -Walpole--Lady Mary, "Dolly" Walpole, and Molly Skerritt--The Earl and -Countess of Mar leave England--Montagu appointed Ambassador to the -Porte--Leaves England for Constantinople, accompanied by his -wife--Letters during the Embassy to Constantinople--Rotterdam--Vienna-- -Lady Mary at Court--Her gown--Her interest in clothes--Viennese -society--Gallantry--Lady Mary's experience--Count Tarrocco--Precedence -at Vienna--A nunnery--The Montagus visit the German Courts--A dangerous -drive--Prince Frederick (afterwards Prince of Wales)--Herrenhausen. - - -Edward Wortley Montagu did not long hold office. Lord Halifax, First -Lord of the Treasury in the Townshend Administration, died in May, 1715, -when his place was taken by Lord Carlisle, who, however, held it only -until the following October. Carlisle was succeeded by Sir Robert -Walpole, promoted from the less important but far more lucrative post of -Paymaster-General. In the new Commission of the Treasury Montagu's name -did not appear. Why Montagu was removed has not transpired; it may, -indeed, be that he resigned, for he had a strong dislike for the new -Minister. There may also have been some family sentiment in the matter, -for while Lady Mary was an intimate friend of Walpole's harum-scarum -sister, "Dolly," who was now Lady Townshend, Lady Walpole was very -decidedly her enemy. Lady Mary presently had her tit-for-tat with Lady -Walpole by "taking up" Walpole's mistress, Molly Skerritt. - -It may be here mentioned that Lady Mar was at this time living with her -husband at Paris, at St. Germain, and that she remained abroad for the -rest of her life. She had left England owing to the conduct of Lord Mar -in taking an active part in the rebellion of '15. He had set up the -Pretender's standard at Braemar, had suffered defeat at Sheriffmuir, and -had been so fortunate as to escape with his master to Gravelines. In -gratitude for his services, the Pretender created Lord Mar a Duke. Mar -lived until 1732, dying at the age of fifty-seven, and he spent the -years in losing the confidence of the Jacobites and endeavouring to -ingratiate himself with the Hanoverian Kings of England--in which latter -quest he was markedly unsuccessful. His Scotch estates were confiscated, -and his title attained--the attainder of the earldom was not reversed -until 1824. - -Montagu, having tasted the sweets of office, even so minor a place as -that of a Lord of the Treasury, was not content to enjoy such pleasures -as a private life could afford. He desired to be somebody. Probably he -worried the Government of the day, possibly he pointed out to the -leaders of the Whig Party that he was possessed of parts that should -not, in justice to his country, be ignored. He may even have approached -the Throne. It is not inconceivable that he made himself a nuisance to -all concerned. - -Anyhow, it was ultimately decided that something must be done with him. -But what? Austria and Turkey were at war in 1716; what better than to -send Montagu as Ambassador to the Porte, with a mission to endeavour to -reconcile the protagonists? He was appointed to this post on June 5. - -It was while accompanying her husband on this mission that Lady Mary -wrote her famous "Letters during the Embassy to Constantinople," which -constitute a very important document on the state of Europe at the time. -It is by no means certain, however, that, in the first instance, these -reflections were all cast in letter-form; it is much more likely that -some were written in a diary. The letters appear as addressed to the -Countess of Bristol, to the Princess of Wales, to Mrs. Thistlethwayte, -to Lady Rich, to Alexander Pope, to the Abbé Conti, to Miss Sarah -Chiswell, to Mrs. Hewet, to Lady Mary's sister, the Countess of Mar, and -others. - -At the beginning of August, 1716, Montagu, with his wife and son, and, -it is to be presumed, his suite, left England, and, after a very bad -crossing, landed at Rotterdam. From that city, the cleanliness of which -surprised and delighted Lady Mary--"you may see the Dutch maids washing -the pavement of the street with more application than ours do our -bed-chambers"--the party proceeded by way of the Hague, Nimeguen, -Cologne, Frankfort-on-the-Main, Wurzberg, and Ratisbon to Vienna, where -they arrived during the first week in September. - -Lady Mary was all impatient to go to Court, for, as she put it, "I am -not without a great impatience to see a beauty that has been the -admiration of so many nations," but she was forced to stay for a gown, -without which there was no waiting on the Empress. Presently the gown -was ready, and Lady Mary was presented. - - -"I was squeezed up in a gown" (she wrote to her sister, Lady Mar), "and -adorned with a gorget and the other implements thereunto belonging: a -dress very inconvenient, but which certainly shews the neck and shape to -great advantage. I cannot forbear in this place giving you some -description of the fashions here which are more monstrous and contrary -to all common sense and reason, than 'tis possible for you to imagine. -They build certain fabrics of gauze on their heads about a yard high, -consisting of three or four stories fortified with numberless yards of -heavy ribbon. The foundation of this structure is a thing they call a -_Bourle_ which is exactly of the same shape and kind, but about four -times as big, as those rolls our prudent milk-maids make use of to fix -their pails upon. This machine they cover with their own hair, which -they mix with a great deal of false, it being a particular beauty to -have their heads too large to go into a moderate tub. Their hair is -prodigiously powdered, to conceal the mixture, and set out with three or -four rows of bodkins (wonderfully large, that stick [out] two or three -inches from their hair), made of diamonds, pearls, red, green, and -yellow stones, that it certainly requires as much art and experience to -carry the load upright, as to dance upon May-day with the garland. Their -whalebone petticoats outdo ours by several yards circumference, and -cover some acres of ground. - -"You may easily suppose how much this extraordinary dress sets off and -improves the natural ugliness with which God Almighty has been pleased -to endow them all generally. Even the lovely Empress herself is obliged -to comply, in some degree, with these absurd fashions, which they would -not quit for all the world." - - -The above passage is the more interesting because it has so often been -asserted that Lady Mary took no interest in dress. As a matter of fact, -however, there are several indications in her letters that she thought a -good deal about clothes. - -"My little commission is hardly worth speaking of; if you have not -already laid out that small sum in St. Cloud ware, I had rather have it -in plain lutestring of any colour," she wrote in June, 1721, to her -sister, Lady Mar, at Paris. - -"I would have no black silk, having bought here," she said on another -occasion; and again, "My paper is done, and I will only put you in mind -of my lutestring, which I beg you will send me plain, of what colour you -please." "Dear Sister, adieu," she wrote in 1723. "I have been very free -in this letter, because I think I am sure of its going safe. I wish my -nightgown may do the same: I only choose that as most convenient to you; -but if it was equally so, I had rather the money was laid out in plain -lutestring, if you could send me eight yards at a time of different -colours, designing it for linings; but if this scheme is impracticable, -send me a nightgown _ŕ la mode_." - -Apparently Lady Mar was careless or forgetful of the commission, for a -little later Lady Mary was writing pathetically: "I wish you would think -of my lutestring, for I am in terrible want of linings." - -The account of the Austrian Court of the day, as given by Lady Mary, is -invaluable, for there is no other available written by an English person -accustomed to another Court. - -Lady Mary's descriptions of Viennese society are also delightful, and if -she wrote of the royal circle with respect, she bubbled over with -merriment when writing of folk less highly placed. A letter of hers to -Lady Rich is too delicious to be omitted. - - -"I have compassion for the mortifications that you tell me befall our -little friend, and I pity her much more, since I know that they are only -owing to the barbarous customs of our country. Upon my word, if she was -here, she would have no other fault but being something too young for -the fashion, and she has nothing to do but to transplant hither about -seven years hence, to be again a young and blooming beauty. I can assure -you that wrinkles, or a small stoop in the shoulders, nay, even grey -hair itself, is no objection to the making new conquests. I know you -cannot easily figure to yourself a young fellow of five-and-twenty -ogling my Lady Suffolk with passion, or pressing to lead the Countess of -Oxford from an opera. But such are the sights I see every day, and I -don't perceive any body surprised at them but myself. A woman, till -five-and-thirty, is only looked upon as a raw girl, and can possibly -make no noise in the world till about forty. I don't know what your -ladyship may think of this matter; but 'tis a considerable comfort to -me, to know there is upon earth such a paradise for old women; and I am -content to be insignificant at present, in the design of returning when -I am fit to appear nowhere else. I cannot help lamenting upon this -occasion, the pitiful case of too many good English ladies, long since -retired to prudery and ratafia, whom if their stars had luckily -conducted hither, would still shine in the first rank of beauties; and -then that perplexing word reputation has quite another meaning here than -what you give it at London; and getting a lover is so far from losing, -that 'tis properly getting reputation; ladies being much more -respected in regard to the rank of their lovers, than that of their -husbands. - -"But what you'll think very odd, the two sects that divide our whole -nation of petticoats, are utterly unknown. Here are neither coquettes -nor prudes. No woman dares appear coquette enough to encourage two -lovers at a time. And I have not seen any such prudes as to pretend -fidelity to their husbands, who are certainly the best-natured set of -people in the world, and they look upon their wives' gallants as -favourably as men do upon their deputies, that take the troublesome part -of their business off of their hands; though they have not the less to -do; for they are generally deputies in another place themselves; in one -word, 'tis the established custom for every lady to have two husbands, -one that bears the name, and another that performs the duties. And these -engagements are so well known, that it would be a downright affront, and -publicly resented, if you invited a woman of quality to dinner, without -at the same time inviting her two attendants of lover and husband, -between whom she always sits in state with great gravity. These -sub-marriages generally last twenty years together, and the lady often -commands the poor lover's estate even to the utter ruin of his family; -though they are as seldom begun by any passion as other matches. But a -man makes but an ill figure who is not in some commerce of this nature; -and a woman looks out for a lover as soon as she's married, as part of -her equipage, without which she could not be genteel; and the first -article of the treaty is establishing the pension, which remains to the -lady though the gallant should prove inconstant; and this chargeable -point of honour I look upon as the real foundation of so many wonderful -instances of constancy. I really know several women of the first -quality, whose pensions are as well known as their annual rents, and yet -nobody esteems them the less; on the contrary, their discretion would be -called in question, if they should be suspected to be mistresses for -nothing; and a great part of their emulation consists in trying who -shall get most; and having no intrigue at all is so far a disgrace that, -I'll assure you, a lady, who is very much my friend here, told me but -yesterday, how much I was obliged to her for justifying my conduct in a -conversation on my subject, where it was publicly asserted that I could -not possibly have common sense, that I had been about town above a -fortnight, and had made no steps towards commencing an amour. My friend -pleaded for me that my stay was uncertain; and she believed that was the -cause of my seeming stupidity and this was all she could find to say in -my justification." - - -But Lady Mary, though only twenty-seven, and therefore, according to her -own account, much too youthful for the gallants of Vienna, yet had an -experience: - - -"But one of the pleasantest adventures I ever met in my life was last -night, and which will give you a just idea after what a delicate manner -the _belles passions_ are managed in this country. I was at the assembly -of the Countess of ----, and the young Count of ---- led me down stairs, -and he asked me how long I intended to stay here? I made answer that my -stay depended on the emperor, and it was not in my power to determine -it. Well, madam, (said he), whether your time here is to be long or -short, I think you ought to pass it agreeably, and to that end you must -engage in a little affair of the heart.--My heart (answered I gravely -enough) does not engage very easily, and I have no design of parting -with it. I see, madam, (said he sighing,) by the ill nature of that -answer, that I am not to hope for it, which is a great mortification to -me that am charmed with you. But, however, I am still devoted to your -service; and since I am not worthy of entertaining you myself, do me the -honour of letting me know whom you like best among us, and I'll engage -to manage the affair entirely to your satisfaction.--You may judge in -what manner I should have received this compliment in my own country, -but I was well enough acquainted with the way of this, to know that he -really intended me an obligation, and thanked him with a grave -courtesy for his zeal to serve me, and only assured him that I had no -occasion to make use of it. - -"Thus you see, my dear, gallantry and good-breeding are as different, in -different climates, as morality and religion. Who have the rightest -notions of both, we shall never know till the day of judgment, for which -great day of _éclaircissement_, I own there is very little impatience in -your, &c." - - -Love-making was indeed one of the principal pastimes at Vienna. There -was Count Tarrocco (who was in attendance on the Prince of Portugal), -and, as she told Lady Mar, "just such a Roman Catholic as you." "He -succeeds greatly with the devout beauties here," she went on to say; -"his first overtures in gallantry are disguised under the luscious -strains of spiritual love, that were sung formerly by the sublimely -voluptuous Fenelon and the tender Madam Guion, who turned the spirit of -carnal love to divine objects; thus the Count begins with the spirit and -ends generally with the flesh, when he makes his addresses to holy -virgins." Presently, she teased her sister about this same young man. -"Count Tarrocco is just come in," she wrote. "He is the only person I -have excepted in my general order to receive no company--I think I see -you smile--but I am not so far gone as to stand in need of absolution; -though as my heart is deceitful, and the Count very agreeable, you may -think that even though I should not want an absolution, I would -nevertheless be glad to have an indulgence.--No such thing. However, as -I am a heretic, and you no confessor, I shall make no more declarations -on this head.--The design of the Count's visit is a ball;--more -pleasure--I shall be surfeited." - -The "phlegm of the country" surprised Lady Mary, who declared that it -was not from Austria that one could write with vivacity--and by her -letters at once disproved her statement. According to her, amours and -quarrels were carried on calmly and almost good-temperedly. Strong -feelings only came into play when points of ceremony were concerned. A -man not only scorned to marry a woman of family less illustrious than -his own, but even to make love to her--"the pedigree is much more -considered by them than either the complexion or features of their -mistresses. Happy are the shes that can number among their ancestors -Counts of the Empire; they have neither occasion for beauty, money, or -good conduct to get them husbands." How far this passion for rank and -precedence went is indicated by an amusing incident related by Lady -Mary. - - -"'Tis not long since two coaches, meeting in a narrow street at night, -the ladies in them not being able to adjust the ceremonial of which -should go back, sat there with equal gallantry till two in the morning, -and were both so fully determined to die upon the spot, rather than -yield in a point of that importance, that the street would never have -been cleared till their deaths, if the emperor had not sent his guards -to part them; and even then they refused to stir, till the expedient was -found out of taking them both out in chairs exactly at the same moment; -after which it was with some difficulty the _pas_ was decided between -the two coachmen, no less tenacious of their rank than the ladies." - - -Lady Mary herself was, of course, unaffected, because, as the wife of an -ambassador, she, by their own customs, had the _pas_ before all other -ladies--to the great envy of the town. - -Lady Mary, who had had enough of solitude during her long residence in -Yorkshire, now in Vienna was determined to enjoy herself and flung -herself into all the social gaieties. She went everywhere and met -everyone. She dined at the villa of Count Schönbrunn, the -Vice-Chancellor; she attended all the assemblies of Madame Rabutin and -the other leaders of society, and all the "gala days"; she danced; she -went to the theatre, and, then, as a contrast, to a nunnery, which left -her unhappy, as, indeed, she put on record: - - -"I was surprised to find here the only beautiful young woman I have -seen at Vienna, and not only beautiful, but genteel, witty, and -agreeable, of a great family, and who had been the admiration of the -town. I could not forbear shewing my surprise at seeing a nun like her. -She made me a thousand obliging compliments, and desired me to come -often. It will be an infinite pleasure to me, (said she, sighing,) to -see you; but I avoid, with the greatest care, seeing any of my former -acquaintance, and whenever they come to our convent, I lock myself in -my cell. I observed tears come into her eyes, which touched me -extremely, and I began to talk to her in that strain of tender pity she -inspired me with; but she would not own to me that she is not perfectly -happy. I have since endeavoured to learn the real cause of her -retirement, without being able to get any other account, but that every -body was surprised at it, and nobody guessed the reason. - -"I have been several times to see her; but it gives me too much -melancholy to see so agreeable a young creature buried alive, and I am -not surprised that nuns have so often inspired violent passions; the -pity one naturally feels for them, when they seem worthy of another -destiny, making an easy way for yet more tender sentiments; and I never -in my life had so little charity for the Roman-catholic religion as -since I see the misery it occasions; so many poor unhappy women! and the -gross superstition of the common people, who are, some or other of them, -day and night offering bits of candle to the wooden figures that are set -up almost in every street. The processions I see very often, are a -pageantry as offensive, and apparently contradictory to all common -sense, as the pagodas of China. God knows whether it be the womanly -spirit of contradiction that works in me; but there never before was so -much zeal against popery in the heart of, - -"Dear madam, &c." - - -In November the Montagus interrupted their stay at Vienna to visit some -of the German Courts. They went to Prague, where the attire of the -ladies amused Lady Mary. "I have been visited by some of the most -considerable ladies, whose relations I know at Vienna," she wrote to -Lady Mar. "They are dressed after the fashions there, as people at -Exeter imitate those of London; that is, the imitation is more excessive -than the original; 'tis not easy to describe what extraordinary figures -they make. The person is so much lost between head-dress and petticoat, -they have as much occasion to write upon their backs 'This is a woman,' -for the information of travellers, as ever sign-post painter had to -write, 'This is a bear.'" From Prague to Dresden, travelling thither by -a most alarming route: - - -"You may imagine how heartily I was tired with twenty-four hours' -post-travelling [to Dresden], without sleep or refreshment (for I can -never sleep in a coach, however fatigued). We passed by moonshine the -frightful precipices that divide Bohemia from Saxony, at the bottom of -which runs the river Elbe; but I cannot say that I had reason to fear -drowning in it, being perfectly convinced that, in case of a tumble, it -was utterly impossible to come alive to the bottom. In many places the -road is so narrow, that I could not discern an inch of space between the -wheels and the precipice. Yet I was so good a wife not to wake Mr. -Wortley, who was fast asleep by my side, to make him share in my fears, -since the danger was unavoidable, till I perceived by the bright light -of the moon, our postilions nodding on horseback, while the horses were -on a full gallop, and I thought it very convenient to call out to desire -them to look where they were going. My calling waked Mr. Wortley, and he -was much more surprised than myself at the situation we were in, and -assured me that he had passed the Alps five times in different places, -without ever having gone a road so dangerous. I have been told since it -is common to find the bodies of travellers in the Elbe; but, thank God, -that was not our destiny; and we came safe to Dresden, so much tired -with fear and fatigue, it was not possible for me to compose myself to -write." - - -From Dresden the travellers visited Leipzig, and then went to Brunswick, -and afterwards to Hanover, where they paid their respects to George I. -It was there that Lady Mary first made the acquaintance of the eldest -son of the Prince of Wales, Frederick Louis, himself presently Prince -of Wales and father of George III. He was then nine years of age. - - -"I am extremely pleased that I can tell you, without either flattery or -partiality, that our young Prince has all the accomplishments that it is -possible to have at his age, with an air of sprightliness and -understanding, and something so very engaging and easy in his behaviour, -that he needs not the advantage of his rank to appear charming. I had -the honour of a long conversation with him last night, before the King -came in. His governor retired on purpose (as he told me afterwards) that -I might make some judgment of his genius, by hearing him speak without -constraint; and I was surprised at the quickness and politeness that -appeared in every thing he said; joined to a person perfectly agreeable, -and the fine fair hair of the Princess." - - -Amazed as Lady Mary was at the size of the Palace at Hanover which, she -said, was capable of holding a greater court than that of St. James's, -and the opera-house which was larger than that at Vienna, what -principally amazed her was the orangery at Herrenhausen and what -principally delighted her was the use of stoves, then unknown in -England. - - -"I was very sorry that the ill weather did not permit me to see -Herrenhausen in all its beauty; but, in spite of the snow, I thought the -gardens very fine" (she wrote with enthusiasm to Lady Mar). "I was -particularly surprised at the vast number of orange trees, much larger -than I have ever seen in England, though this climate is certainly -colder. But I had more reason to wonder that night at the King's table. -There was brought to him from a gentleman of this country, two large -baskets full of ripe oranges and lemons of different sorts, many of -which were quite new to me; and, what I thought worth all the rest, two -ripe bananas, which, to my taste, are a fruit perfectly delicious. You -know they are naturally the growth of Brazil, and I could not imagine -how they could come there but by enchantment. Upon enquiry, I learnt -that they have brought their stoves to such perfection, they lengthen -the summer as long as they please, giving to every plant the degree of -heat it would receive from the sun in its native soil. The effect is -very near the same; I am surprised we do not practise in England so -useful an invention. - -"This reflection naturally leads me to consider our obstinacy in shaking -with cold six months in the year, rather than make use of stoves, which -are certainly one of the greatest conveniences of life; and so far from -spoiling the form of a room, they add very much to the magnificence of -it, when they are painted and gilt, as at Vienna, or at Dresden, where -they are often in the shape of china jars, statues, or fine cabinets, so -naturally represented, they are not to be distinguished. If ever I -return, in defiance to the fashion, you shall certainly see one in the -chamber of, - -"Dear sister, &c." - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE EMBASSY TO THE PORTE--II(1717-1718) - -Adrianople--Turkish baths--Lady Mary wears Turkish dress--Her -description of the costume--Her views on Turkish women--She becomes -acquainted with the practice of inoculation--Her son engrafted--Her -belief in the operation--She later introduces it into England--Dr. -Richard Mead--Richard Steele supports her campaign--Constantinople--Lady -Mary homesick--Exposes the British ignorance of Turkish life--Montagu -recalled--Addison's private letter to him--Lady Mary gives birth to a -daughter--The return journey--The Montagus at Paris--Lady Mary sees her -sister, Lady Mar. - - -The Montagus returned to Vienna for the new year (1717), but late in -January went to Peterwaradin, thence to Belgrade, and arrived at -Adrianople at the end of March. It was in Adrianople that Lady Mary made -acquaintance with the Turkish Bath, which so impressed her that she sent -home a long account of it. It was not until about 1860 that they became -popular in England, a century and a half later. - - -"I went to the bagnio about ten o'clock. It was already full of women. -It is built of stone, in the shape of a dome, with no windows but in the -roof, which gives light enough, There were five of these domes joined -together, the outmost being less than the rest, and serving only as a -hall, where the portress stood at the door. Ladies of quality generally -give this woman the value of a crown or ten shillings; and I did not -forget that ceremony. The next room is a very large one paved with -marble, and all round it, raised, two sofas of marble, one above -another. There were four fountains of cold water in this room, falling -first into marble basins, and then running on the floor in little -channels made for that purpose, which carried the streams into the next -room, something less than this, with the same sort of marble sofas but -so hot with steams of sulphur proceeding from the baths joining to it, -it was impossible to stay there with one's clothes on. The two other -domes were the hot baths, one of which had cocks of cold water turning -into it, to temper it to what degree of warmth the bathers have a mind -to. - -"I was in my travelling habit, which is a riding dress, and certainly -appeared very extraordinary to them. Yet there was not one of them that -shewed the least surprise or impertinent curiosity, but received me with -all the obliging civility possible. I know no European court where the -ladies would have behaved themselves in so polite a manner to a -stranger. I believe in the whole, there were two hundred women, and yet -none of those disdainful smiles, or satiric whispers, that never fail in -our assemblies when any body appears that is not dressed exactly in the -fashion. They repeated over and over to me, "Uzelle, pék uzelle," which -is nothing but Charming, very charming.--The first sofas were covered -with cushions and rich carpets, on which sat the ladies; and on the -second, their slaves behind them, but without any distinction of rank by -their dress, all being in the state of nature, that is, in plain -English, stark naked, without any beauty or defect concealed. Yet there -was not the least wanton smile or immodest gesture amongst them. They -walked and moved with the same majestic grace which Milton describes of -our general mother. There were many amongst them as exactly proportioned -as ever any goddess was drawn by the pencil of Guido or Titian,--and -most of their skins shiningly white, only adorned by their beautiful -hair divided into many tresses, hanging on their shoulders, braided -either with pearl or ribbon, perfectly representing the figures of the -Graces. - -"I was here convinced of the truth of a reflection I had often made, -that if it was the fashion to go naked, the face would be hardly -observed. I perceived that the ladies with the finest skins and most -delicate shapes had the greatest share of my admiration, though their -faces were sometimes less beautiful than those of their companions. To -tell you the truth, I had wickedness enough to wish secretly that Mr. -Jervas[3] could have been there invisible. I fancy it would have very -much improved his art, to see so many fine women naked, in different -postures, some in conversation, some working, others drinking coffee or -sherbet, and many negligently lying on their cushions, while their -slaves (generally pretty girls of seventeen or eighteen) were employed -in braiding their hair in several pretty fancies. In short, it is the -women's coffee-house, where all the news of the town is told, scandal -invented, &c.--They generally take this diversion once a-week, and stay -there at least four or five hours without getting cold by immediate -coming out of the hot bath into the cold room, which was very surprising -to me. The lady that seemed the most considerable among them, entreated -me to sit by her, and would fain have undressed me for the bath. I -excused myself with some difficulty. They being all so earnest in -persuading me, I was at last forced to open my shirt, and shew them my -stays; which satisfied them very well, for, I saw, they believed I was -so locked up in that machine, that it was not in my own power to open -it, which contrivance they attributed to my husband." - -[Footnote 3: Charles Jervas (1675?-1739), portrait painter and -translator of _Don Quixote_, the friend of Pope.] - - -Lady Mary was much amused by this last, and referred to the incident in -conversation with Joseph Spence. "One of the highest entertainments in -Turkey," she told him, "is having you to their baths, and when I was -introduced the lady of the house came to undress me, which is another -high compliment that they pay to strangers. After she had slipped off my -gown and seen my stays she was much struck at the sight of them and -cried out to the other ladies in the bath 'Come hither and see how -cruelly the poor English ladies are used by their husbands. You need -boast indeed of the superior liberties allowed you, when they lock you -up in a box!'" - -Lady Mary had a Turkish dress made for her, which she frequently wore, -when she found that the English costume made her unpleasantly -conspicuous. "The ladies at Constantinople used to be extremely -surprised to see me go always with my bosom uncovered," she noted. "It -was in vain that I told them that everybody did the same thing among us, -and alleged everything I could in defence of it. They could never be -reconciled to so immodest a custom, as they thought it; and one of them, -after I had been defending it to my utmost, said: 'Oh, my Sultana, you -can never defend the manners of your country, even with all your wit; -but I see that you are in pain for them, and shall, therefore, press it -no further.'" - -Lady Mary was proud of her appearance in her Turkish clothes, and has -given a minute description of them: - - -"The first piece of my dress is a pair of drawers, very full, that reach -to my shoes, and conceal the legs more modestly than your petticoats. -They are of a thin rose-coloured damask, brocaded with silver flowers, -my shoes are of white kid leather, embroidered with gold. Over this -hangs my smock, of a fine white silk gauze, edged with embroidery. This -smock has wide sleeves, hanging half way down the arm, and is closed at -the neck with a diamond button; but the shape and colour of the bosom -very well to be distinguished through it. The _antery_ is a waistcoat, -made close to the shape, of white and gold damask, with very long -sleeves falling back, and fringed with deep gold fringe, and should have -diamond or pearl buttons. My _caftan_, of the same stuff with my -drawers, is a robe exactly fitted to my shape, and reaching to my feet, -with very long strait falling sleeves. Over this is the girdle, of about -four fingers broad, which all that can afford have entirely of diamonds -or other precious stones; those who will not be at that expense, have -it of exquisite embroidery on satin; but it must be fastened before with -a clasp of diamonds. The _curdee_ is a loose robe they throw off or put -on according to the weather, being of a rich brocade (mine is green and -gold), either lined with ermine or sables; the sleeves reach very little -below the shoulders. The head-dress is composed of a cap, called -_talpock_, which is in winter of fine velvet embroidered with pearls or -diamonds, and in summer of a light shining silver stuff. This is fixed -on one side of the head, hanging a little way down with a gold tassel, -and bound on either side with a circle of diamonds (as I have seen -several) or a rich embroidered handkerchief. On the other side of the -head, the hair is laid flat; and here the ladies are at liberty to shew -their fancies; some putting flowers, others a plume of heron's feathers, -and, in short, what they please; but the most general fashion is a large -_bouquet_ of jewels, made like natural flowers; that is the buds of -pearl; the roses, of different coloured rubies; the jessamines, of -diamonds; the jonquils, of topazes, &c., so well set and enamelled, 'tis -hard to imagine any thing of that kind so beautiful. The hair hangs at -its full length behind, divided into tresses braided with pearl or -ribbon, which is always in great quantity." - - -Much that Lady Mary wrote was of great value in exploding many -ill-founded beliefs at home as regards Turkish life, and especially -concerning the manners and customs of Turkish women. - - -"As to their morality or good conduct, I can say, like Harlequin, that -'tis just as it is with you; and the Turkish ladies don't commit one sin -the less for not being Christians. Now I am a little acquainted with -their ways, I cannot forbear admiring either the exemplary discretion or -extreme stupidity of all the writers that have given accounts of them. -'Tis very easy to see they have more liberty than we have. No woman, of -what rank soever, being permitted to go into the streets without two -muslins; one that covers her face all but her eyes, and another that -hides the whole dress of her head, and hangs half way down her back, and -their shapes are wholly concealed by a thing they call a _ferigee_, -which no woman of any sort appears without; this has strait sleeves, -that reach to their finger-ends, and it laps all round them, not unlike -a riding-hood. In winter 'tis of cloth, and in summer plain stuff or -silk. You may guess how effectually this disguises them, [so] that there -is no distinguishing the great lady from her slave. 'Tis impossible for -the most jealous husband to know his wife when he meets her; and no man -dare either touch or follow a woman in the street. - -"This perpetual masquerade gives them entire liberty of following their -inclinations without danger of discovery. The most usual method of -intrigue is, to send an appointment to the lover to meet the lady at a -Jew's shop, which are as notoriously convenient as our Indian-houses; -and yet, even those who don't make use of them, do not scruple to go to -buy pennyworths, and tumble over rich goods, which are chiefly to be -found amongst that sort of people. The great ladies seldom let their -gallants know who they are; and it is so difficult to find it out, that -they can very seldom guess at her name they have corresponded with above -half a year together. You may easily imagine the number of faithful -wives very small in a country where they have nothing to fear from a -lover's indiscretion, since we see so many that have the courage to -expose themselves to that in this world, and all the threatened -punishment of the next, which is never preached to the Turkish damsels. -Neither have they much to apprehend from the resentment of their -husbands; those ladies that are rich having all their money in their own -hands, which they take with them upon a divorce, with an addition which -he is obliged to give them. - -"Upon the whole, I look upon the Turkish women as the only free people -in the empire: the very Divan pays a respect to them; and the Grand -Signior himself, when a pasha is executed, never violates the privileges -of the _harem_ (or women's apartment), which remains unsearched and -entire to the widow. They are queens of their slaves, whom the husband -has no permission so much as to look upon, except it be an old woman or -two that his lady chooses. 'Tis true their law permits them four wives; -but there is no instance of a man of quality that makes use of this -liberty, or of a woman of rank that would suffer it. When a husband -happens to be inconstant (as those things will happen), he keeps his -mistress in a house apart, and visits her as privately as he can, just -as it is with you. Amongst all the great men here, I only know the -_tefterdar_ (i.e., treasurer), that keeps a number of she slaves for his -own use (that is, on his own side of the house; for a slave once given -to serve a lady is entirely at her disposal), and he is spoken of as a -libertine, or what we should call a rake, and his wife won't see him, -though she continues to live in his house. - -"Thus, you see, dear sister, the manners of mankind do not differ so -widely as our voyage writers would make us believe. Perhaps it would be -more entertaining to add a few surprising customs of my own invention; -but nothing seems to me so agreeable as truth, and I believe nothing so -acceptable to you." - - -The most fortunate thing that happened to Lady Mary, and through her to -England, during her stay in Adrianople, was being made acquainted with -the practice of inoculation, then widely in vogue in Turkey. Though she -had no medical knowledge, she made enquiries as to its effect, and soon -became convinced that it was very highly beneficial. She was the more -interested because an attack of small-pox had somewhat dimmed her -beauty. It was to Miss Sarah Chiswell that she unburdened herself of the -discovery she had made. - - -"Those dreadful stories you have heard of the plague have very little -foundation in truth. I own I have much ado to reconcile myself to the -sound of a word which has always given me such terrible ideas, though I -am convinced there is little more in it than a fever. As a proof of -which we passed through two or three towns most violently infected. In -the very next house where we lay (in one of those places) two persons -died of it. Luckily for me, I was so well deceived that I knew nothing -of the matter; and I was made believe, that our second cook who fell ill -here had only a great cold. However, we left our doctor to take care of -him, and yesterday they both arrived here in good health; and I am now -let into the secret that he has had the _plague_. There are many that -escape it; neither is the air ever infected. I am persuaded it would be -as easy to root it out here as out of Italy and France; but it does so -little mischief, they are not very solicitous about it, and are content -to suffer this distemper instead of our variety, which they are utterly -unacquainted with. - -"_A propos_ of distempers, I am going to tell you a thing that I am sure -will make you wish yourself here. The small-pox, so fatal, and so -general amongst us, is here entirely harmless by the invention of -_ingrafting_, which is the term they give it. There is a set of old -women who make it their business to perform the operation every autumn, -in the month of September, when the great heat is abated. People send to -one another to know if any of their family has a mind to have the -small-pox; they make parties for this purpose, and when they are met -(commonly fifteen or sixteen together), the old woman comes with a -nut-shell full of the matter of the best sort of small-pox, and asks -what veins you please to have opened. She immediately rips open that you -offer to her with a large needle (which gives you no more pain than a -common scratch), and puts into the vein as much venom as can lie upon -the head of her needle, and after binds up the little wound with a -hollow bit of shell; and in this manner opens four or five veins. The -Grecians have commonly the superstition of opening one in the midde of -the forehead, in each arm, and on the breast, to mark the sign of the -cross; but this has a very ill effect, all these wounds leaving little -scars, and is not done by those that are not superstitious, who choose -to have them in the legs, or that part of the arm that is concealed. The -children or young patients play together all the rest of the day, and -are in perfect health to the eighth. Then the fever begins to seize -them, and they keep their beds two days, very seldom three. They have -very rarely above twenty or thirty in their faces, which never mark; and -in eight days' time they are as well as before their illness. Where they -are wounded, there remain running sores during the distemper, which I -don't doubt is a great relief to it. Every year thousands undergo this -operation; and the French embassador says pleasantly, that they take the -small-pox here by way of diversion, as they take the waters in other -countries. There is no example of any one that has died in it; and you -may believe I am very well satisfied of the safety of this experiment, -since I intend to try it on my dear little son. - -"I am patriot enough to take pains to bring this useful invention into -fashion in England; and I should not fail to write to some of our -doctors very particularly about it, if I knew any one of them that I -thought had virtue enough to destroy such a considerable branch of their -revenue for the good of mankind. But that distemper is too beneficial to -them not to expose to all their resentment the hardy wight that should -undertake to put an end to it. Perhaps, if I live to return, I may, -however, have courage to war with them. Upon this occasion admire the -heroism in the heart of your friend, &c." - - -The immediate history of inoculation, so far as Lady Mary is concerned, -may here briefly be given. She first heard of the practice in March, -1717, and within a year her faith in its effect was so strong that in -the spring of the following year she had her son inoculated at Pera--he -was the first English person to undergo the operation. "The boy was -engrafted last Tuesday," she wrote to her husband the following Sunday, -"and is at this time singing and playing, and very impatient for his -supper.... I cannot engraft the girl; her nurse has not had the -small-pox." It is amusing to learn that the inoculation of the young -Edward Wortley Montagu proved presently to have an advantage which was -certainly not at the time of the operation present to the mind of the -mother. At the age of six or thereabouts, the child ran away from -Westminster school--he was always running away from school--and a reward -of Ł20 and expenses was offered to whoever found him. The advertisement -gave the following clue: there are "two marks by which he is easily -known, _viz_., on the back of each arm, about two or three inches above -the wrist, a small roundish scar, less than a silver penny, like a large -mark of the small-pox." - -When Lady Mary returned to London, she carried out her intention to -introduce the operation. Dr. Maitland, who had been physician to the -mission to the Porte, set up in practice and inoculated under her -patronage. The "heathen rite" was vigorously preached against by the -clergy and was violently abused by the medical faculty. Undismayed by -the powerful opposition, however, she persevered in season and out, -until her efforts were crowned with success. She was fortunate in -enlisting the co-operation of that distinguished doctor, Richard Mead, -celebrated by Pope in his "Epistle to Bolingbroke," - - "I'll do what Mead and Cheselden advise." - -Mead, in 1720, when an epidemic of the plague was feared in London, -published a treatise: "A Short Discourse concerning Pestilential -Contagion and the Methods to be used to Prevent it." It was reprinted -seven times within a year, and an eighth edition appeased in 1722. Lady -Mary obtained permission, in 1721, to experiment on seven condemned -criminals. Mead supervised the inoculations, and all recovered. In the -following year two members of the royal family underwent the operation -successfully. Thereafter, it became, in most circles, fashionable. - -"I suppose," Lady Mary wrote with pardonable pride to Lady Mar in the -spring of 1722, "that the same faithful historians give you regular -accounts of the growth and spreading of the inoculation of the -small-pox, which is become almost a general practice, attended with -great success." Elated as she was at the success that had resulted from -her persistent efforts, she was correspondingly distressed when a young -relative died of the disease. "I am sorry to inform you of the death, of -our nephew, my sister Gower's son, of the small-pox," she said in a -letter to Lady Mar in July, 1723. "I think she has a great deal of -regret it, in consideration of the offer I made her, two years together, -of taking the child home to my house, where I would have inoculated him -with the same care and safety I did my own. I know nobody that has -hitherto repented the operation; though it has been very troublesome to -some fools, who had rather be sick by the doctor's prescriptions, than -in health in rebellion to the college." - -Among those who supported Lady Mary's campaign was Steele, who -congratulated her upon her "godlike delight" of saving "many thousand -British lives every year." He wrote on the subject in the _Plain Dealer_ -(July 3, 1724), in an article that attracted much attention: - - -"It is the Observation of some Historian; but I forget where I met with -it: that _England has ow'd to Women the greatest Blessings she has been -distinguish'd by_. In the Case, we are now upon, this Reflection will -stand justified.-- - -"We are indebted to the Reason and Courage of a _Lady_, for the -Introduction of this Art; which gives such Strength in its Progress, -that the Memory of its Illustrious Foundress will be render'd Sacred by -it, to future Ages. - -"This Ornament of her Sex, and Country, who ennobles her own _Nobility_, -by her Learning, Wit, and Vertues, accompanying her Consort into -_Turkey_, observ'd the Benefit of this Practice, with its Frequency, -even among those obstinate _Proedestinarians_; and brought it over, for -the Service, and the Safety, of her Native _England_; where she -consecrated its first effects on the Persons of her own fine Children! -And has, already, receiv'd this Glory from it, 'That the Influence of -her example has reach'd as high as the Blood Royal.' And our noblest, -and most ancient Families, in Confirmation of her happy Judgment, add -the daily Experience of those, who are most dear to them. - -"I Have seen a short Poetical Essay, on the Occasion we are now treating -of. I wou'd say, if I meant the Verses an _Encomium_ they shou'd be -envied for,' That their _Subject_ need not blush at them!' - - _On Lady_ Mary Wortley Montagu's _bringing with her, out of - _ Turkey, _the Art of Inoculating the_ Small-Pox. - - _When_ Greece, _reviving into short Delight, - Felt Pride, and Comfort, at_ Our _Muse's Sight: - The Rival'd_ Nine _no sooner saw her Face, - But ev'n their_ Envy _gave their_ Wonder _Place! - Charm'd into_ Love, _of what eclips'd their Fame! - They mak'd_ Apollo, _with her pow'rful Name. - See!--God of_ Grecian _Wit!_ Urania _cries, - How sweet a_ Muse, _the Western World supplies! - Say, shou'd she ask some Favour, from your throne, - What could you_ bid _her_ take, _that's not_ her own? - _Sparkling in Charms, the heav'nly Stranger view - So_ grac'd! _she scarce can owe a_ Beam _to_ You! - Beauty, _with Love_, her _Pow'r to_ Yours _prefers: - And_ Wit, _and_ Learning, _are already_, Hers! - _Rous'd, at her_ name,--_receding from her Eyes, - The gazing God rose slow, in soft Surprise! - Fair_ Miracle, _he said,--and paus'd a while: - Then, thus_,--Sweet Glory, _of your envied Isle! - Charm'd, and oblig'd, lest, we ungrateful seem, - Bear hence, at least_, one Mark _of our Esteem._ - One, _Of my three great Claims_, your _Wish may fit; - Whose Voice is_ Musick: _and whose Thoughts are_ Wit! - Physick, _alone, remains, to grant you, here-- - A _Skill! your godlike_ Pity _will_ endear. - _Form'd to give_ Wounds, _which must no Ease procure, - _ Atone _your Influ'nce, by new Arts, to_ cure, - _Beauty's chief Foe, a fear'd, and fierce_ Disease! - _Bows, at my Beck; and knows its_ God's _Decrees. - Breath'd, in this_ Kiss, _take Pow'r to tame its Rage: - And, from its Rancour_, free _the rescu'd Age. - High, o'er each Sex, in_ Double _Empire, fit: - Protecting_ Beauty, _and inspiring Wit_. - - -When Lady Mary had been abroad for a year, she became homesick and began -to long for England. It was really very dull for her in Turkey, even -though she could pass the time of day in the language of the country. -Supervising the nurses of her child did not take a large share of her -tune; and she found only a mild excitement in going into the bazaar in -native woman's attire to collect Oriental rugs and whatnot. - - -"To say truth, I am sometimes very weary of this singing, and dancing, -and sunshine, and wish for the smoke and impertinencies in which you -toil, though I endeavour to persuade myself that I live in a more -agreeable variety than you do; and that Monday, setting of partridges-- -Tuesday, reading English--Wednesday, studying the Turkish language (in -which, by the way, I am already very learned)--Thursday, classical -authors--Friday, spent in writing--Saturday, at my needle--and Sunday, -admitting of visits, and hearing music, is a better way of disposing -the week, than Monday, at the drawing-room--Tuesday, Lady Mohun's-- -Wednesday, the opera--Thursday, the play--Friday, Mrs. Chetwynd's, &c., -a perpetual round of hearing the same scandal, and seeing the same -follies acted over and over, which here affect me no more than they do -other dead people. I can now hear of displeasing things with pity, and -without indignation. The reflection on the great gulf between you and me, -cools all news that come hither. I can neither be sensibly touched with -joy nor grief, when I consider that possibly the cause of either is -removed before the letter comes to my hands. But (as I said before) this -indolence does not extend to my few friendships; I am still warmly -sensible of yours and Mr. Congreve's, and desire to live in your \ -remembrances, though dead to all the world beside." - - -There is no doubt that it was to her pen that Lady Mary had recourse in -her endeavours to overcome ennui. A perusal of the letters written -during this first sojourn in Europe shows that nothing escaped her eye, -trivial or serious, from the washing of the Rotterdam pavements to the -dwarfs at the Court of Vienna, from the palaces of the great to the -cosmetics used by the women. - -Occasionally Lady Mary became impatient at the ignorance of her friends -as regards the Near East. - - -"I heartily beg your ladyship's pardon; but I really could not forbear -laughing heartily at your letter, and the commissions you are pleased to -honour me with" (she wrote to one of her acquaintances from Belgrade -Village in June, 1717). - -"You desire me to buy you a Greek slave, who is to be mistress of a -thousand good qualities. The Greeks are subjects, and not slaves. Those -who are to be bought in that manner, are either such as are taken in -war, or stolen by the Tartars from Russia, Circassia, or Georgia, and -are such miserable, awkward, poor wretches, you would not think any of -them worthy to be your housemaids. 'Tis true that many thousands were -taken in the Morea; but they have been, most of them, redeemed by the -charitable contributions of the Christians, or ransomed by their own -relations at Venice. The fine slaves that wait upon the great ladies, or -serve the pleasures of the great men, are all bought at the age of eight -or nine years old, and educated with great care, to accomplish them in -singing, dancing, embroidery, &c. They are commonly Circassians, and -their patron never sells them, except it is as a punishment for some -very great fault. If ever they grow weary of them, they either present -them to a friend, or give them their freedom. Those that are exposed to -sale at the markets are always either guilty of some crime, or so -entirely worthless that they are of no use at all. I am afraid you will -doubt the truth of this account, which I own is very different from our -common notions in England; but it is no less truth for all that. - -"Your whole letter is full of mistakes from one end to the other. I see -you have taken your ideas of Turkey from that worthy author Dumont, who -has written with equal ignorance and confidence. 'Tis a particular -pleasure to me here, to read the voyages to the Levant, which are -generally so far removed from the truth, and so full of absurdities, I -am very well diverted with them. They never fail giving you an account -of the women, whom 'tis certain they never saw, and talking very wisely -of the genius of the men, into whose company they are never admitted; -and very often describe mosques, which they dare not peep into. The -Turks are very proud, and will not converse with a stranger they are not -assured is considerable in his own country. I speak of the men of -distinction; for, as to the ordinary fellows, you may imagine what ideas -their conversation can give of the general genius of the people. - -"I am more inclined, out of a true female spirit of contradiction, to -tell you the falsehood of a great part of what you find in authors; as, -for example, in the admirable Mr. Hill, who so gravely asserts, that he -saw in Sancta Sophia a sweating pillar, very balsamic for disordered -heads. There is not the least tradition of any such matter; and I -suppose it was revealed to him in a vision during his wonderful stay in -the Egyptian catacombs; for I am sure he never heard of any such miracle -here. - -"'Tis also very pleasant to observe how tenderly he and all his brethren -voyage-writers lament the miserable confinement of the Turkish ladies, -who are perhaps freer than any ladies in the universe, and are the only -women in the world that lead a life of uninterrupted pleasure exempt -from cares; their whole time being spent in visiting, bathing, or the -agreeable amusement of spending money, and inventing new fashions. A -husband would be thought mad that exacted any degree of economy from his -wife, whose expenses are no way limited but by her own fancy. 'Tis his -business to get money, and hers to spend it: and this noble prerogative -extends itself to the very meanest of the sex. Here is a fellow that -carries embroidered handkerchiefs upon his back to sell, as miserable a -figure as you may suppose such a mean dealer, yet I'll assure you his -wife scorns to wear anything less than cloth of gold; has her ermine -furs, and a very handsome set of jewels for her head. They go abroad -when and where they please. Tis true they have no public places but the -bagnios, and there can only be seen by their own sex; however, that is a -diversion they take great pleasure in." - - -In the meantime, Montagu's conduct of affairs was much criticised at -home, and Lord Stanhope's Administration, which had come into power in -April, 1717, decided to recall him. This invidious task fell upon his -old friend Addison, now Secretary of State for the Southern Department. -The recall was notified to those concerned in a circular letter dated -October 13. Addison, in a private letter dated September 28, notified -him of the impending change: - - -"Having been confined to my chamber for some time by a dangerous fit of -sickness, I find, upon my coming abroad, some things have passed which I -think myself obliged to communicate to you, not as the Secretary to the -Ambassador, but as an humble servant to his friend.... Our great men are -of opinion that your being possessed [of the reversion of certain -places] (which they look upon as sure and sudden) it would be agreeable -to your inclinations, as well as for the King's service, which you are -so able to promote in Parliament, rather to return to your own country -than to live at Constantinople. For this reason, they have thought of -relieving Mr. Stanyan, who is now at the Imperial Court, and of joining -Sir Robert Sutton with him in the mediation of a peace between the -Emperor and the Turks. I need not suggest to you that Mr. Stanyan is in -great favour at Vienna, and how necessary it is to humour that Court in -the present juncture. Besides, as it would have been for your honour to -have acted as sole mediator in such a negotiation, perhaps it would not -have been so agreeable to you to act only in commission. This was -suggested to me the other day by one of our first ministers, who told me -that he believed Sir R. Sutton's being joined in a mediation, which was -carried on by my Lord Paget singly, would be shocking to you, but that -they could be more free with a person of Mr. Stanyan's quality. I find -by his Majesty's way of speaking of you, that you are much in his favour -and esteem, and I fancy you would find your ease and advantage more in -being nearer his person than at the distance you are from him at -present. I omit no opportunity of doing you justice where I think it is -for your service, and wish I could know your mind as to these several -particulars by a more speedy and certain conveyance, that I might act -accordingly to the utmost of my powers. Madame Kielmansegg and my Lady -Hervey desire me to forward the enclosed to my Lady Mary Wortley, to -whom I beg you will deliver them with my most humble regards." - - -What Montagu's feelings were can only be imagined. It is almost certain -that he felt himself vastly aggrieved. Nothing could have been more -delicate or complimentary than Addison's letter, but it did not, and -could not, disguise the main fact. It was easy for the Secretary of -State to suggest that at least one reason for the recall was that -Montagu must be anxious to return, but that certainly could not have -deceived the Ambassador who was, indeed, so little anxious to get home -that he remained at Constantinople until the following June. Likewise, -the statement that he would be able to promote the King's service in -Parliament, flattering as it read, meant, of course, nothing at all. -Certainly, though Montagu sat in the House of Commons until his death, -office was never offered him in any Administration. - -Lady Mary found herself again with child. Whether this pleased her or -not no one can say, but in a letter to Mrs. Thistlethwayte she treated -the incident divertingly enough. - - -"I wish I could return your goodness with some diverting accounts from -hence. But I know not what part of the scenes here would gratify your -curiosity, or whether you have any curiosity at all for things so far -distant. To say the truth, I am, at this present writing, not very much -turned for the recollection of what is diverting, my head being wholly -filled with the preparations necessary for the increase of my family, -which I expect every day. You may easily guess at my uneasy situation. -But I am, however, in some degree comforted, by the glory that accrues -to me from it, and a reflection on the contempt I should otherwise fall -under. You won't know what to make of this speech: but, in this country, -it is more despicable to be married and not fruitful, than it is with us -to be fruitful before marriage. They have a notion, that, whenever a -woman leaves off bringing children, it is because she is too old for -that business, whatever her face says to the contrary, and this opinion -makes the ladies here so ready to make proofs of their youth (which is -as necessary, in order to be a received beauty, as it is to shew the -proofs of nobility, to be admitted knight of Malta), that they do not -content themselves with using the natural means, but fly to all sorts of -quackeries, to avoid the scandal of being past child-bearing, and often -kill themselves by them. Without any exaggeration, all the women of my -acquaintance that have been married ten years, have twelve or thirteen -children; and the old ones boast of having had five-and-twenty or thirty -a-piece, and are respected according to the number they have produced. -When they are with child, it is their common expression to say, They -hope God will be so merciful to them to send two this time; and when I -have asked them sometimes, How they expected to provide for such a flock -as they desire? they answered, That the plague will certainly kill half -of them; which, indeed, generally happens, without much concern to the -parents, who are satisfied with the vanity of having brought forth so -plentifully. - -"The French Ambassadress is forced to comply with this fashion as well -as myself. She has not been here much above a year, and has lain in -once, and is big again. What is most wonderful is, the exemption they -seem to enjoy from the curse entailed on the sex. They see all company -the day of their delivery, and, at the fortnight's end, return visits, -set out in their jewels and new clothes. I wish I may find the influence -of the climate in this particular. But I fear I shall continue an -Englishwoman in that affair." - - -Lady Mary gave birth to a daughter, Mary, in February. "I don't mention -this as one of my diverting adventures," she wrote to Lady Mar, "though -I must own that it is not half so mortifying here as in England, there -being as much difference as there is between a little cold in the head, -which sometimes happens here, and the consumptive cough, so common in -London. Nobody keeps their house a month for lying in; and I am not so -fond of any of our customs to retain them when they are not necessary. I -returned my visits at three weeks' end." - -So soon as possible after this domestic event, preparations for the -return journey were made. The party went by sea to Tunis, thence to -Genoa, Turin, Lyons, and Paris. Their arrival at Paris in October was -notified by Lady Mar to her husband: "You'll be surprised to hear 657 -[i.e., Lady Mary] is here. She arrived the day after me. You may believe -how much incognito I am. 'Twas in vain to attempt being so. Twould fill -a whole letter to tell you the people that have been to see me. I was -very much pleased at seeing 657 and she appeared to be the same." The -sisters had not met for three years. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -A SCANDAL - -Montagu re-enters the House of Commons--His miserliness--Pope refers to -it--Comments on Society--Lady Mary and a first-class scandal--Rémond-- -His admiration for her--Her imprudent letters to him--The South Sea -Bubble--Lady Mary speculates for Rémond--She loses money for him--He -demands to be re-imbursed--He threatens to publish her letters--She -states the case in letters to Lady Mar--Lady Mary meets Pope--His letters -to her when she was abroad--He affects to be in love with her--Her -matter-of-fact replies--Her parody of his verses, "On John Hughes and -Sarah Drew." - - -Montagu, on his return to England, again entered the House of Commons, -where he represented Huntingdon from 1722 to 1734, and then for -Peterborough from 1734 to 1747 and from 1754 to 1761. Whether it was -lack of ambition or just want of appreciation of his talents by the -leaders of his party, there is no evidence. Even with his family -connections and his wealth, he was never offered a place in any -Administration, nor, it must be confessed, did he in any way distinguish -himself in Parliament. As the years passed, his chief pleasure, if -indeed it was not his only one, was in the hoarding of money--in this -pursuit he was splendidly successful. From references to Lady Mary in -contemporary correspondence, it would appear that she too had no small -streak of the miser in her. Pope, after his quarrel with her, referred -to Montagu as "Worldly," "Shylock," and "Gripus," and in the fourth -Epistle of the _Essay on Man_ wrote: - - "Is yellow dirt the passion of thy life? - Look but on Gripus and Gripus' wife." - -Also he lampooned them under the style of Avidieu and Avidieu's wife, -who - - "Sell their presented partridges or fruits, - And humbly live on rabbits and on roots; - One half-pint bottle serves them both to dine, - And is at once their vinegar and wine. - But on some lucky day (as when they found - A lost bank note, or heard their son was drowned), - At such a feast old vinegar to spare - Is what two souls so generous cannot bear: - Oil, though it stink, they drop by drop impart, - But souse the cabbage with a bounteous heart." - -Lady Mary took her place, as of right, as a leader of society, and for a -while plunged into the gaieties of the town. "Public places flourish -more than ever," she wrote to her sister. "We have assemblies for every -day in the week, besides Court, operas, and masquerades. With youth and -money, 'tis certainly possible to be well diverted in spite of malice -and ill-nature, though they are more and more powerful every day. For my -part, as it is my established opinion that this globe of ours is no -better than a Holland cheese, and the walkers about in it mites, I -possess my soul in patience, let what will happen--and I should feel -tolerably easy, though a great rat came and ate half of it." That is a -philosophical outlook with a vengeance! - -However, Lady Mary managed on the whole to enjoy herself. "The town -improves in gaiety every day; the young people are younger than they -used to be, and all the old are grown young. Nothing is talked of but -entertainments of gallantry by land and water, and we insensibly begin -to taste all the joys of arbitrary power. Politics are no more; nobody -pretends to wince or kick under their burdens; but we go on cheerfully -with our bells at our ears, ornamented with ribands, and highly -contented with our present condition; so much for the general state of -the nation," she made her comment on polite circles. "We are much -mistaken here as to our ideas of Paris--to hear gallantry has deserted -it, sounds as extraordinary to me as a want of ice in Greenland. -We have nothing but ugly faces in this country, but more lovers than -ever. There are but three pretty men in England, and they are all in -love with me, at this present writing. This will amaze you extremely; -but if you were to see the reigning girls at present, I will assure you, -there is very little difference between them and old women." - -Lady Mary could never resist a good story, and, indeed, never made any -attempt to do so, and she usually wrote them down to amuse Lady Mar. - - -"'Tis but reasonable I should conclude with a farce, that I may not -leave you in ill humour. I have so good an opinion of your taste, to -believe Harlequin in person will never make you laugh so much as the -Earl of Stair's furious passion for Lady Walpole (aged fourteen and some -months). Mrs. Murray undertook to bring the business to bear, and -provided the opportunity (a great ingredient you'll say); but the young -lady proved skittish. She did not only turn this heroic flame into -present ridicule, but exposed all his generous sentiments, to divert her -husband and father-in-law. His lordship is gone to Scotland; and if -there was anybody wicked enough to write about it, there is a subject -worthy the pen of the best ballad-maker in Grub-street." - - * * * * * - -"Lord Townshend has renewed his lease of life by his French journey, and -is at present situated in his house in Grosvenor-street in perfect -health. My good lady is coming from the Bath to meet him with the joy -you may imagine. Kitty Edwin has been the companion of his [her?] -pleasures there. The alliance seems firmer than ever between them, after -their Tunbridge battles, which served for the entertainment of the -public. The secret cause is variously guessed at; but it is certain Lady -Townshend came into the great room gently behind her friend, and tapping -her on the shoulder with her fan, said aloud, _I know where, how, and -who_. These mysterious words drew the attention of all the company, -and had such an effect upon poor Kitty, she was carried to her lodgings -in strong hysterics. However, by the intercession of prudent mediators -peace was concluded; and if the conduct of these heroines was considered -in a true light, perhaps it might serve for an example even to higher -powers, by showing that the surest method to obtain a lasting and -honourable peace, is to begin with vigorous war. But leaving these -reflections, which are above my capacity, permit me to repeat my desire -of hearing often from you. Your letters would be my greatest pleasure if -I had flourished in the first years of Henry the Eighth's court; judge -then how welcome they are to me in the present desolate state of this -deserted town of London." - - -Lady Mary's own morals were more than once assailed; but this did not -prevent her humorous attack on society at large: "Those things [Bills of -Divorce] grow more fashionable every day, and in a little time won't be -at all scandalous. The best expedient for the public, and to prevent the -expense of private families, would be a general act of divorcing all the -people of England. You know those that pleased might marry again; and it -would save the reputation of several ladies that are now in peril of -being exposed every day." - -Not long after Lady Mary had returned to England, about the winter of -1720, she, who loved to retail malicious stories about others, found -herself, to her great dismay, the subject of a first-class scandal. - -When Lady Mary was in Paris, Rémond was introduced to her by the Abbé -Conti. He had seen a letter or two addressed by her to the Abbé, and -expressed himself with enthusiasm of her brilliance as a correspondent. -Presently he came to England, and sought out Lady Mary, who was no more -immune from flattery than most folk of either sex. How far the intimacy -developed from the platonic to the amorous it is impossible to say. That -Rémond made love to her there can be little doubt. Sir Leslie Stephen -holds the view that she did not encourage his passion. Anyhow, it is -beyond question that she wrote him imprudent letters, which he was -prudent enough to keep. - -Lady Mary basked in the admiration of Rémond, and thought to reward him -for his intelligence, at no cost to herself, by putting him on to "a -good thing." Also, getting a little fearsome of his very marked -attentions, or perhaps it was only wearying of them, she thought, as she -confessed to her sister, the Countess of Mar, it would be the more easy -to rid herself of this somewhat turbulent lover. - -At this time the famous "boom" known as the South Sea Bubble was at the -height of its brief career. The South Sea Company had taken over the -National Debt, on terms, and its stock, carefully manipulated, rose by -leaps and bounds. In 1714 the stock stood at 85. After the defeat of the -rebellion of 1715, it was quoted at prices varying from par to 106. In -the autumn of 1719, when rumours of its great scheme were spread about -the town, it rose to 126. Early in the following year it could not be -purchased for less than 400. It fluctuated wildly, going up and down -hundreds of points. On June 2, 1720, it went up in the morning to 890, -in the afternoon fell to 640; and many who were speculating in -differences were utterly ruined. Later in the day it recovered, though -only to 770. Ultimately it rose to 1,000. Of course the prices were -fictitious, but everyone in society tried their luck, and while some -came out of it with a fortune, the majority lost practically every penny -they had. The directors, most of whom were guilty of fraud, made vast -sums of money. That astute financier, Robert Walpole, speculated on a -vast scale, sold out before the slump, and realised a fortune more than -sufficient to enable him to rebuild Houghton and to gather together his -famous collection of pictures. On the other hand the Duke of Portland, -who held on too long, was so hard hit that he had to solicit the post of -Captain-General of Jamaica. - -Rémond held some South Sea stock, and, acting on Lady Mary's advice, -sold out at a considerable profit. Not content with his gains, however, -he insisted, just before his departure for France, on leaving in Lady -Mary's hands Ł900 for investment as opportunity should arise. -Reluctantly Lady Mary consented--she would probably have agreed almost -to anything, so anxious was she that Rémond should leave the country. - -On August 22, 1720, Pope, with the best intentions in the world, wrote -to Lady Mary: "I was made acquainted last night that I might depend upon -it as a certain gain to buy the South Sea stock at the present price, -which will assuredly rise in some weeks or less. I can be as sure of -this as the nature of any such thing will allow, from the first and best -hands, and therefore have despatched the bearer with all speed to you." -No doubt the phrase "the first and best hands," was intended to convey -the fact that his informant was his friend and neighbour, James Craggs -the younger, the Secretary of State who was so deeply involved in the -affairs of the South Sea Company that when the "bubble" burst he only -escaped prosecution by conveniently dying of small-pox. Acting on the -hint given by Pope, Lady Mary purchased stock for herself and Rémond. -The stock fell rapidly--in August it stood at 750 and in December at -130. What she lost is not known, but she had been sufficiently involved -to make her desire to sell her diamonds, and more than once she asked -Lady Mar if there was a market for the jewels in Paris. Rémond's Ł900 -had dwindled to Ł400. On receiving these distressful tidings, the -Frenchman believed, or affected to believe, that he had been swindled, -and he threatened, unless he were repaid in full, he would publish Lady -Mary's letters to him. Lady Mary's fear was lest the matter should come -to the cognisance of her husband: it would certainly be unfair to -Montagu to suggest that he might not have forgiven his wife for a -love-affair; but he would certainly never have pardoned her any -transaction that cost him money. - -Many malicious things were said about this business. Walpole gave a -version utterly discreditable to Lady Mary, and Pope, after the quarrel, -referred to the matter in the second book of the _Dunciad_: - - "Whence hapless Monsieur much complains at Paris - Of wrongs from Duchesses and Lady Maries." - -The case was put by Lady Mary in a series of letters to her sister, Lady -Mar, to whom she could unburden herself freely, and who might be able to -influence Rémond, who was then at Paris. - - -[1721.] - -"From the tranquil and easy situation in which you left me, dear sister, -I am reduced to that of the highest degree of vexation, which I need not -set out to you better than by the plain matter of fact, which I heartily -wish I had told you long since; and nothing hindered me but a certain -_mauvaise honte_ which you are reasonable enough to forgive, as very -natural, though not very excusable where there is nothing to be ashamed -of; since I can only accuse myself of too much good-nature, or at worst -too much credulity, though I believe there never was more pains taken to -deceive any body. In short, a person whose name is not necessary, -because you know it, took all sorts of methods, during almost two years -[_sic_], to persuade me that there never was so extraordinary an -attachment (or what you please to call it) as they had for me. This -ended in coming over to make me a visit against my will, and, as was -pretended, very much against their interest. I cannot deny I was very -silly in giving the least credit to this stuff. But if people are so -silly, you'll own 'tis natural for any body that is good-natured to pity -and be glad to serve a person they believe unhappy upon their account. -It came into my head, out of a high point of generosity (for which I -wish myself hanged), to do this creature all the good I possibly could, -since 'twas impossible to make them happy their own way. I advised him -very strenuously to sell out of the subscription, and in compliance to -my advice he did so; and in less than two days saw he had done very -prudently. After a piece of service of this nature, I thought I could -more decently press his departure, which his follies made me think -necessary for me. He took leave of me with so many tears and grimaces -(which I can't imagine how he could counterfeit) as really moved my -compassion; and I had much ado to keep to my first resolution of -exacting his absence, which he swore would be his death. I told him that -there was no other way in the world I would not be glad to serve him in, -but that his extravagances made it utterly impossible for me to keep him -company. He said that he would put into my hands the money that I had -won for him, and desired me to improve it, saying that if he had enough -to buy a small estate, and retire from the world, 'twas all the -happiness he hoped for in it. I represented to him that if he had so -little money as he said, 'twas ridiculous to hazard at all. He replied -that 'twas too little to be of any value, and he would either have it -double or quit. After many objections on my side and replies on his, I -was so weak to be overcome by his entreaties, and flattered myself also -that I was doing a very heroic action, in trying to make a man's fortune -though I did not care for his addresses. He left me with these -imaginations, and my first care was to employ his money to the best -advantage. I laid it all out in stock, the general discourse and private -intelligence then scattered about being of a great rise. You may -remember it was two or three days before the fourth subscription, and -you were with me when I paid away the money to Mr. Binfield. I thought I -had managed prodigious well in selling out the said stock the day after -the shutting the books (for a small profit) to Cox and Cleeve, -goldsmiths of very good reputation. When the opening of the books came, -my men went off, leaving the stock upon my hands, which was already sunk -from near nine hundred pounds to four hundred pounds. I immediately writ -him word of this misfortune, with the sincere sorrow natural to have -upon such an occasion, and asked his opinion as to the selling the stock -remaining in. He made me no answer to this part of my letter, but a long -eloquent oration of miseries of another nature. I attributed this -silence to his disinterested neglect of his money; but, however, -resolved to make no more steps in his business without direct orders, -after having been so unlucky. This occasioned many letters to no -purpose; but the very post after you left London, I received a letter -from him, in which he told me that he had discovered all my tricks; that -he was convinced I had all his money remaining untouched: and he would -have it again, or he would print all my letters to him; which though, -God knows, very innocent in the main, yet may admit of ill -constructions, besides the monstrousness of being exposed in such a -manner. I hear from other people that he is liar enough to publish that -I have borrowed the money of him; though I have a note under his hand, -by which he desires me to employ it in the funds, and acquits me of -being answerable for the losses that may happen. At the same time, I -have attestations and witnesses of the bargains I made, so that nothing -can be clearer than my integrity in this business; but that does not -hinder me from being in the utmost terror for the consequences (as you -may easily guess) of his villany; the very story of which appears so -monstrous to me, I can hardly believe myself while I write it; though I -omit (not to tire you) a thousand aggravating circumstances. I cannot -forgive myself the folly of ever regarding one word he said; and I see -now that his lies have made me wrong several of my acquaintances, and -you among the rest, for having said (as he told me) horrid things -against me to him. 'Tis long since that your behaviour has acquitted you -in my opinion; but I thought I ought not to mention, to hurt him with -you, what was perhaps more misunderstanding, or mistake, than a designed -lie. But he has very amply explained his character to me. What is very -pleasant is, that, but two posts before, I received a letter from him -full of higher flights than ever. I beg your pardon (dear sister) for -this tedious account; but you see how necessary 'tis for me to get my -letters from this madman. Perhaps the best way is by fair means; at -least, they ought to be first tried. I would have you, then (my dear -sister), try to make the wretch sensible of the truth of what I advance, -without asking for the letters, which I have already asked for. Perhaps -you may make him ashamed of his infamous proceedings by talking of me, -without taking notice that you know of his threats, only of my dealings. -I take this method to be the most likely to work upon him. I beg you -would send me a full and true account of this detestable affair -(enclosed to Mrs. Murray). If I had not been the most unlucky creature -in the world, his letter would have come while you were here, that I -might have shewed you both his note and the other people's. I knew he -was discontented, but was far from imagining a possibility of this -thing. I give you a great deal of trouble, but you see I shall owe you -the highest obligation if you can serve me: the very endeavouring of it -is a tie upon me to serve you the rest of my life without reserve and -with eternal gratitude." - - -[Twickenham, 1721.] - -"I am now at Twickenham: 'tis impossible to tell you, dear sister, what -agonies I suffer every post-day; my health really suffers so much from -my fears, that I have reason to apprehend the worst consequences. If -that monster acted on the least principles of reason, I should have -nothing to fear, since 'tis certain that after he has exposed me he will -get nothing by it. Mr. Wortley can do nothing for his satisfaction I am -not willing to do myself. I desire not the least indulgence of any kind. -Let him put his affair into the hands of any lawyer whatever. I am -willing to submit to any examination; 'tis impossible to make a fairer -offer than this is: whoever he employs may come to me hither on several -pretences. I desire nothing from him, but that he would send no letters -nor messages to my house at London, where Mr. Wortley now is. I am come -hither in hopes of benefit from the air, but I carry my distemper about -me in an anguish of mind that visibly decays my body every day. I am too -melancholy to talk of any other subject. Let me beg you (dear sister) to -take some care of this affair, and think you have it in your power to do -more than save the life of a sister that loves you." - - -[Twickenham, 1721.] - -"I give you many thanks (my dear sister) for the trouble you have given -yourself in my affair; but am afraid 'tis not yet effectual. I must beg -you to let him know I am now at Twickenham, and that whoever has his -procuration may come here on divers pretences, but must by no means go -to my house at London. I wonder you can think Lady Stafford has not writ -to him; she shewed me a long plain letter to him several months ago; as -a demonstration he received it, I saw his answer. 'Tis true she treated -him with the contempt he deserved, and told him she would never give -herself the trouble of writing again to so despicable a wretch. She is -willing to do yet further, and write to the Duke of Villeroi about it, -if I think it proper. Rémond does nothing but lie, and either does not, -or will not, understand what is said to him. You will forgive me -troubling you so often with this business; the importance of it is the -best excuse; in short, - - '--'tis joy or sorrow, peace or strife. - 'Tis all the colour of remaining life.' - -I can foresee nothing else to make me unhappy, and, I believe, shall -take care another time not to involve myself in difficulties by an -overplus of heroic generosity. - -"I am, dear sister, ever yours, with the utmost esteem and affection. If -I get over this cursed affair, my style may enliven." - - -[June, 1721.] - -"I have just received your letter of May 30th, and am surprised, since -you own the receipt of my letter, that you give me not the least hint -concerning the business that I writ so earnestly to you about. Till that -is over, I am as little capable of hearing or repeating news, as I -should be if my house was on fire. I am sure, a great deal must be in -your power; the hurting of me can be in no way his interest. I am ready -to assign, or deliver the money for Ł500 stock, to whoever he will name, -if he will send my letters into Lady Stafford's hands; which, were he -sincere in his offer of burning them, he would readily do. Instead of -that, he has writ a letter to Mr. W. [Wortley] to inform him of the -whole affair: luckily for me, the person he has sent it to assures me it -shall never be delivered; but I am not the less obliged to his good -intentions. For God's sake, do something to set my mind at ease from -this business, and then I will not fail to write you regular accounts of -all your acquaintance." - - -[July (?), 1721.] - -"I cannot enough thank you, dear sister, for the trouble you give -yourself in my affairs, though I am still so unhappy to find your care -very ineffectual. I have actually in my present possession a formal -letter directed to Mr. Wortley to acquaint him with the whole business. -You may imagine the inevitable eternal misfortunes it would have thrown -me into, had it been delivered by the person to whom it was intrusted. I -wish you would make him sensible of the infamy of this proceeding, which -can no way in the world turn to his advantage. Did I refuse giving the -strictest account, or had I not the clearest demonstration in my hands -of the truth and sincerity with which I acted, there might be some -temptation to this baseness; but all he can expect by informing Mr. -Wortley is to hear him repeat the same things I assert; he will not -retrieve one farthing, and I am for ever miserable. I beg no more of him -than to direct any person, man or woman, either lawyer, broker, or a -person of quality, to examine me; and as soon as he has sent a proper -authority to discharge me on enquiry, I am ready to be examined. I think -no offer can be fairer from any person whatsoever; his conduct towards -me is so infamous, that I am informed I might prosecute him by law if he -was here; he demanding the whole sum as a debt from Mr. Wortley, at the -same time I have a note under his hand signed to prove the contrary. I -beg with the utmost earnestness that you would make him sensible of his -error. I believe 'tis very necessary to say something to fright him. I -am persuaded, if he was talked to in a style of that kind, he would not -dare to attempt to ruin me. I have a great inclination to write -seriously to your lord about it, since I desire to determine this affair -in the fairest and the clearest manner. I am not at all afraid of making -any body acquainted with it; and if I did not fear making Mr. Wortley -uneasy (who is the only person from whom I would conceal it), all the -transactions should have been long since enrolled in Chancery. I have -already taken care to have the broker's depositions taken before a -lawyer of reputation and merit. I deny giving him no satisfaction; and -after that offer, I think there is no man of honour that would refuse -signifying to him that as 'tis all he can desire, so, if he persists in -doing me an injury, he may repent it. You know how far 'tis proper to -take this method, I say nothing of the uneasiness I am under, 'tis far -beyond any expression; my obligation would be proportionable to any body -that would deliver me from it, and I should not think it paid by all the -services of my life." - - -[Twickenham, June (?), 1721.] - -"Dear Sister, - -"Having this occasion, I would not omit writing, though I have received -no answer to my two last. The bearer is well acquainted with my affair, -though not from me, till he mentioned it to me first, having heard it -from those to whom Rémond had told it with all the false colours he -pleased to lay on. I shewed him the formal commission I had to employ -the money, and all the broker's testimonies taken before Delpeeke, with -his certificate. Your remonstrances have hitherto had so little effect, -that R. [Rémond] will neither send a letter of attorney to examine my -accounts, or let me be in peace. I received a letter from him but two -posts since, in which he renews his threats except I send him the whole -sum, which is as much in my power as it is to send a million. I can -easily comprehend that he may be ashamed to send a procuration, which -must convince the world of all the lies he has told. For my part, I am -so willing to be rid of the plague of hearing from him, I desire no -better than to restore him with all expedition the money I have in my -hands; but I will not do it without a general acquittance in due form, -not to have fresh demands every time he wants money. If he thinks that -he has a larger sum to receive than I offer, why does he not name a -procurator to examine me? If he is content with that sum, I only insist -on the acquittance for my own safety. I am ready to send it to him, with -full license to tell as many lies as he pleases afterwards. I am weary -with troubling you with repetitions which cannot be more disagreeable to -you than they are to me. I have had, and still have, so much vexation -with this execrable affair, 'tis impossible to describe it. I had rather -talk to you of any thing else, but it fills my whole head." - - -Lady Mary was no coward, but when she heard that Rémond intended to come -to London in connection with this business, she was at first in despair -However, she summoned her courage to aid, and asked Lady Mar to tell him -that if he was spoiling for a fight she would do her best to indulge him. - - -"I send you, dear sister, by Lady Lansdowne this letter, accompanied -with the only present that was ever sent me by that monster. I beg you -to return it immediately. I am told he is preparing to come to London. -Let him know that 'tis not at all necessary for receiving his money or -examining my accounts; he has nothing to do but to send a letter of -attorney to whom he pleases (without exception), and I will readily -deliver up what I have in my hands, and his presence will not obtain one -farthing more: his design then can only be to expose my letters here. I -desire you would assure him that my first step shall be to acquaint my -Lord Stair[4] with all his obligations to him, as soon as I hear he is -in London; and if he dares to give me further trouble, I shall take care -to have him rewarded in a stronger manner than he expects; there is -nothing more true than this; and I solemnly swear, that if all the -credit or money that I have in the world can do it, either for -friendship or hire, I shall not fail to have him used as he deserves; -and since I know this journey can only be designed to expose me, I shall -not value what noise is made. Perhaps you may prevent it; I leave you to -judge of the most proper method; 'tis certain no time should be lost; -fear is his predominant passion, and I believe you may fright him from -coming hither, where he will certainly find a reception very -disagreeable to him." - -[Footnote 4: John Dalrymple, second Earl of Stair (1673-1747), British -Ambassador at Paris, 1715-1720.] - - -"September 6, 1721. - -"I have consulted my lawyer, and he says I cannot, with safety to -myself, deposit the money I have received into other hands, without the -express order of Rémond; and he is so unreasonable, that he will neither -send a procuration to examine my accounts, or any order for me to -transfer his stock into another name. I am heartily weary of the trust, -which has given me so much trouble, and can never think myself safe till -I am quite got rid of it: rather than be plagued any longer with the -odious keeping, I am willing to abandon my letters to his discretion. I -desire nothing more of him than an order to place his money in other -hands, which methinks should not be so hard to obtain, since he is so -dissatisfied with my management; but he seems to be bent to torment me, -and will not even touch his money, because I beg it of him. I wish you -would represent these things to him; for my own part, I live in so much -uneasiness about it, that I sometimes weary of life itself." - - -[October (?) 1721.] - -"I cannot forbear (dear sister) accusing you of unkindness that you take -so little care of a business of the last consequence to me. R. [Rémond] -writ to me some time ago, to say if I would immediately send him Ł2,000 -sterling, he would send me an acquittance. As this was sending him -several hundreds out of my own pocket, I absolutely refused it; and, in -return, I have just received a threatening letter, to print I know not -what stuff against me. I am too well acquainted with the world (of which -poor Mrs. Murray's affair is a fatal instance), not to know that the -most groundless accusation is always of ill consequence to a woman; -besides the cruel misfortune it may bring upon me in my own family. If -you have any compassion either for me or my innocent children, I am sure -you will try to prevent it. The thing is too serious to be delayed. I -think (to say nothing either of blood or affection), that humanity and -Christianity are interested in my preservation. I am sure I can answer -for my hearty gratitude and everlasting acknowledgment of a service much -more important than that of saving my life." - - -In Lady Mary's correspondence there is no further reference to this -sorry business, and so it cannot be said how it ended. Nor can it be -decided whether Rémond really believed he had been swindled or whether -he was just a blackmailer. - -The intimacy between Lady Mary and Pope is especially interesting -because it culminated in one of the most famous quarrels in the literary -annals of this country, and second only to that between Pope and -Addison. - -When Lady Mary went abroad in 1716 Pope, who always wanted to make the -best of both worlds, thought, it has been related by his biographers, of -what dramatic situation describing the separation of lovers would best -suit him to express his feelings, and he found exactly what he wanted on -the supposed authentic letters of Eloisa to Abelard. Pope sent Lady Mary -a volume of his poems, saying: "Among the rest you have all I am worth, -that is, my works. There are few things in them but what you have -already seen, except the 'Epistle of Eloisa to Abelard,' in which you -will find one passage that I cannot tell whether to wish you should -understand or not." - -Pope corresponded with Lady Mary during the two years of her stay -abroad. The first letter from Pope begins: - - -"So natural as I find it is to me to neglect every body else in your -company, I am sensible I ought to do anything that might please you, and -I fancied upon recollection, our writing the letter you proposed was of -that nature. I therefore sate down to my part of it last night, when I -should have gone out of town. Whether or no you will order me, in -recompense, to see you again, I leave to you, for indeed I find I begin -to behave myself worse to you than to any other woman, as I value you -more, and yet if I thought I should not see you again, I would say some -things here, which I could not to your person. For I would not have you -die deceived in me, that is, go to Constantinople without knowing that I -am to some degree of extravagance, as well as with the utmost reason, -madam, your, etc." - - -Some passages from Pope's subsequent letters must be given to indicate -the lines on which this correspondence was conducted. - - -"You may easily imagine how desirous I must be of correspondence with a -person who had taught me long ago, that it was as possible to esteem at -first sight, as to love; and who has since ruined me for all the -conversation of one sex and almost all the friendship of the other. I am -but too sensible, through your means, that the company of men, wants a -certain softness to recommend it, and that of women wants everything -else. How often have I been quietly going to take possession of that -tranquility and indolence I had so long found in the country, when one -evening of your conversation has spoiled me for a solitaire too! Books -have lost their effect upon me, and I was convinced since I saw you, -that there is something more powerful than philosophy, and since I heard -you, that there is one alive wiser than all the sages. A plague of -female wisdom! it makes a man ten times more uneasy than his own. What -is very strange, Virtue herself, when you have the dressing of her, is -too amiable for one's repose. What a world of good might you have done -in your time, if you had allowed half the fine gentlemen who have seen -you to have but conversed with you! They would have been strangely -caught, while they thought only to fall in love with a fair face, and -you had bewitched them with reason and virtue, two beauties that the -very fops pretend to have an acquaintance with." - - -"August 20, 1716. - -"Madam, - -"You will find me more troublesome than ever Brutus did his evil genius, -I shall meet you in more places than one, and often refreshen your -memory before you arrive at your Philippi. These shadows of me (my -letters) will be haunting you from time to time, and putting you in mind -of the man who has really suffered by you, and whom you have robbed of -the most valuable of his enjoyments, your conversation. The advantage of -learning your sentiments by discovering mine, was what I always thought -a great one, and even with the risk I run of manifesting my own -indiscretion. You then rewarded my trust in you the moment it was given, -for you pleased and informed me the minute you answered. I must now be -contented with slow returns. However, it is some pleasure, that your -thoughts upon paper will be a more lasting possession to me, and that I -shall no longer have cause to complain of a loss I have so often -regretted, that of anything you said, which I happened to forget. In -earnest, Madam, if I were to write you as often as I think of you, it -must be every day of my life. I attend you in spirit through all your -ways, I follow in books of travel through every stage, I wish for you, -fear for you through whole folios, you make me shrink at the past -dangers of dead travellers, and when I read an agreeable prospect or -delightful place, I hope it yet subsists to give you pleasure. I inquire -the roads, the amusements, the company of every town and country you -pass through, with as much diligence, as if I were to set out next week -to overtake you. In a word no one can have you more constantly in mind, -not even your guardian-angel (if you have one), and I am willing to -indulge so much Popery as to fancy some Being takes care of you who -knows your value better than you do yourself. I am willing to think that -Heaven never gave so much self-neglect and resolution to a woman, to -occasion her calamity, but am pious enough to believe those qualities -must be intended to her benefit and her glory." - - -Pope's letters of this period to Lady Mary were all written in a strain -of adulation, which may well have pleased Lady Mary and must certainly -have amused her. She can, however, scarcely have been led into any -self-deception as regards the sincerity of her correspondent, in spite -of the fact that in one of the earliest epistles he addressed to her he -subscribed himself: "I am, with all unalterable esteem and sincerity, -Madam, your most faithful, obedient, humble servant." Yet, no doubt, she -was pleased enough to read: "I communicated your letter to Mr. Congreve; -he thinks of you as he ought, I mean as I do, for one always thinks that -to be just as it ought.... We never meet but we lament over you: we pay -a kind of weekly rites to your memory, when we strew flowers of rhetoric -and offer such libations to your name as if it were a profaneness to -call toasting." Well, alcoholic refreshment by any other name is just as -potent. It must have been grateful and comforting to be told when in -exile: "I must tell you, too, that the Duke of Buckingham has been more -than once your high priest in performing the office of your praises: and -upon the whole I believe there are few men who do not deplore your -departure, as women that sincerely do." - -Most excellent Pope, who would play at make-believe. It is almost a pity -that he could not persuade the lady that he meant even a tithe of what -he wrote to her. Listen to him again: "For my part, I hate a great many -women for your sake, and undervalue all the rest. 'Tis you who are to -blame, and may God revenge it upon you, with all those blessings and -earthy prosperities which the divines tell us, are the cause of our -perdition: for if He makes you happy in this world, I dare trust your -own virtue to do it in the other." These poets! - -Lady Mary took all this in the right way, and as love-letters appraised -them at their true value. "Perhaps you'll laugh at me for thanking you -very gravely for all the obliging concern you express for me," she wrote -from Vienna in September, with, perhaps, just a touch of irony. "'Tis -certain that I may, if I please, take the fine things you say to me for -wit and raillery; and it may be, it would be taking them right. But I -never in my life was half so well disposed to believe you in earnest; -and that distance which makes the continuation of your friendship -improbable, has very much increased my faith for it, and I find that I -have (as well as the rest of my sex), whatever face I set on't, a strong -disposition to believe in miracles." As regards the rest, her side of -the correspondence was matter-of-fact to such a degree that it suggests -that she adopted that tone in order to lease him. Her replies can -scarcely have given Pope any satisfaction. From Vienna she gave him a -detailed account of the opera and the theatre; from Belgrade she told -him of the war and of an Arabic scholar and also of the climate; from -Adrianople she discoursed of the Hebrus, of the lads of the village, of -Addison and Theocritus, pays him compliments on his translation of -Homer, and a copy of some Turkish verses; and so on. The most striking -thing about her letters is the absence of the personal note, which is so -often introduced when she was writing to others. They read more like -essays than communications to a friend. - -Pope, in a letter dated September 1, 1718, sent Lady Mary a copy of his -verses. - - ON JOHN HUGHES AND SARAH DREW - - When Eastern lovers fear'd the fun'eral fire - On the same pile the faithful pair expire! - Here pitying Heav'n that virtue mutual found, - And blasted both, that it might neither wound. - Hearts so sincere th' Almighty saw well pleas'd, - Sent his own lightning and the victims seiz'd. - - I - Think not by vig'rous judgment seiz'd, - A pair so faithful could expire; - Victims so pure Heav'n saw well pleas'd, - And snatch'd them in celestial fire. - - II - Live well, and fear no sudden fate: - When God calls virtue to the grave; - Alike 'tis justice, soon or late, - Mercy alike to kill or save. - Virtue unmov'd can hear the call. - And face the flash that melts the ball. - -These verses she acknowledged in a letter which, written while on the -homeward path, she sent from Dover, where she arrived at the beginning -of November. - - -"I have this minute received a letter of yours, sent me from Paris. I -believe and hope I shall very soon see both you and Mr. Congreve; but as -I am here in an inn, where we stay to regulate our march to London, bag -and baggage, I shall employ some of my leisure time in answering that -part of yours that seems to require an answer. - -"I must applaud your good nature, in supposing that your pastoral lovers -(vulgarly called haymakers) would have lived in everlasting joy and -harmony, if the lightning had not interrupted their scheme of happiness. -I see no reason to imagine that John Hughes and Sarah Drew were either -wiser or more virtuous than their neighbours. That a well-set man of -twenty five should have a fancy to marry a brown woman of eighteen, is -nothing marvellous; and I cannot help thinking, that, had they married, -their lives would have passed in the common track with their fellow -parishioners. His endeavouring to shield her from the storm, was a -natural action, and what he would have certainly done for his horse, if -he had been in the same situation. Neither am I of opinion, that their -sudden death was a reward of their mutual virtue. You know the Jews were -reproved for thinking a village destroyed by fire more wicked than those -that had escaped the thunder. Time and chance happen to all men. Since -you desire me to try my skill in an epitaph, I think the following lines -perhaps more just, though not so poetical as yours: - - Here lies John Hughes and Sarah Drew; - Perhaps you'll say, what's that to you? - Believe me, friend, much may be said - On this poor couple that are dead. - On Sunday next they should have married; - But see how oddly things are carried! - On Thursday last it rain'd and lighten'd; - These tender lovers, sadly frighten'd, - Shelter'd beneath the cocking hay, - In hopes to pass the storm away; - But the bold thunder found them out - (Commissioned for that end, no doubt), - And, seizing on their trembling breath, - Consign'd them to the shades of death. - Who knows if 'twas not kindly done? - For had they seen the next year's sun, - A beaten wife and cuckold swain - Had jointly curs'd the marriage chain; - Now they are happy in their doom, - For P. has wrote upon their tomb. - -"I confess, these sentiments are not altogether so heroic as yours; but -I hope you will forgive them in favour of the two last lines. You see -how much I esteem the honour you have done them; though I am not very -impatient to have the same, and had rather continue to be your stupid -living humble servant, than be celebrated by all the pens in Europe. - -"I would write to Mr. Congreve, but suppose you will read this to him, -if he enquires after me." - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -AT TWICKENHAM - -The Montagus take a house at Twickenham--Lady Mary's liking for country -life--Neighbours and visitors--Pope--Bononcini, Anastasia Robinson, -Senesino--Lord Peterborough--Sir Geoffrey Kneller--Henrietta -Howard--Lord Bathurst--The Duke of Wharton--His early history--He comes -to Twickenham--His relations with Lady Mary--Horace Walpole's reference -to them--Pope's bitter onslaught on the Duke--An Epilogue by Lady -Mary--"On the death of Mrs. Bowes"--The Duke quarrels with Lady Mary. - - -Pope went to live at Twickenham in 1718, and it was generally believed -that it was by his persuasion that the Montagus rented a house in that -little riverside hamlet. It was not until 1722 that they bought "the -small habitation." - -Lady Mary divided her time between London and Twickenham, but apparently -enjoyed herself more at her country retreat. "I live in a sort of -solitude that wants very little of being such as I would have it," she -wrote to her sister, Lady Mar, in August, 1721. As a matter of fact, the -solitude was more imaginary than real, for round about there was a small -colony of friends. - -She was, indeed, very rarely lonely. "My time is melted away in almost -perpetual concerts," she told her sister. "I do not presume to judge, -but I'll assure you I am a very hearty as well as an humble admirer. I -have taken my little thread satin beauty into the house with me; she is -allowed by Bononcini to have the finest voice he ever heard in England. -He and Mrs. Robinson and Senesino lodge in this village, and sup often -with me: and this easy indolent life would make me the happiest -in the world, if I had not this execrable affair [of Rémond] still -hanging over my head." To Anastasia Robinson there is more than one -allusion in Lady Mary's correspondence, and she gives a most amusing -account of an incident in that lady's career. - - -"Could one believe that Lady Holdernesse is a beauty, and in love? and -that Mrs. Robinson is at the same time a prude and a kept mistress? and -these things in spite of nature and fortune. The first of these ladies -is tenderly attached to the polite Mr. Mildmay, and sunk in all the joys -of happy love, notwithstanding she wants the use of her two hands by a -rheumatism, and he has an arm that he cannot move. I wish I could send -you the particulars of this amour, which seems to me as curious as that -between two oysters; and as well worth the serious enquiry of the -naturalists. The second heroine has engaged half the town in arms, from -the nicety of her virtue, which was not able to bear the too near -approach of Senesino in the opera; and her condescension in accepting of -Lord Peterborough for her champion, who has signalised both his love and -courage upon this occasion in as many instances as ever Don Quixote did -for Dulcinea. Poor Senesino, like a vanquished giant, was forced to -confess upon his knees that Anastasia was a nonpariel of virtue and -beauty. Lord Stanhope, as dwarf to the said giant, joked of his side, -and was challenged for his pains. Lord Delawar was Lord Peterborough's -second; my lady miscarried--the whole town divided into parties on this -important point. Innumerable have been the disorders between the two -sexes on so great an account, besides half the house of peers being put -under arrest. By the providence of Heaven, and the wise cares of his -Majesty, no bloodshed ensued. However, things are now tolerably -accommodated; and the fair lady rides through the town in triumph, in -the shining berlin of her hero, not to reckon the essential advantage of -Ł100 a month, which 'tis said he allows her." - - -This story is, as a matter of fact, not far removed from the truth. It -omits, however, the fact that Lord Peterborough, then about sixty years -of age, had married Anastasia Robinson in 1722; but the marriage was -secret, although Lady Oxford was present at the ceremony, and it was not -made public until thirteen years later, although long before there were -many who suspected it. He died in the same year that the announcement -was made. His widow survived him by a score of years. - -Sir Godfrey Kneller had a house at Twickenham, and, at the instigation -of Pope, sat to him for her portrait, upon which the following lines -(generally ascribed to Pope) were written: - - "The playful smiles around the dimpled mouth. - That happy air of majesty and truth; - So would I draw (but oh! 'tis vain to try, - My narrow genius does the power deny;) - The equal lustre of the heav'nly mind, - Where ev'ry grace with every virtue's join'd; - Learning not vain, and wisdom not severe, - With greatness easy, and with wit sincere; - With just description show the work divine, - And the whole princess in my work should shine." - -Mrs. Howard, afterwards the Countess of Suffolk, was a neighbour from -1723, when the Prince of Wales, whose mistress she was, provided her -with funds for the purchase of Marble Hill. However, though, of course, -she and Lady Mary were acquainted, there was at no time any intimacy -between them. Lady Mary, in fact, does not appear to have liked -Henrietta Howard. At least she on more than one occasion tittle-tattled -about her. "The most surprising news is Lord Bathurst's assiduous court -to their Royal Highnesses, which fills the coffee-houses with profound -speculations. But I, who smell a rat at a profound distance, do believe -in private that Mrs. Howard and his lordship have a friendship that -borders upon 'the tender.' - - "And though in histories, learned ignorance - Attributes all to cunning or to chance, - Love in that grave disguise does often smile, - Knowing the cause was kindness all the while." - -So Lady Mary wrote to Lady Mar in 1724, and shortly after returned to -the subject in another epistle: "You may remember I mentioned in my last -some suspicions of my own in relation to Lord Bathurst, which I really -never mentioned, for fifty reasons, to anyone whatsoever; but, as there -is never smoke without some fire, there is very rarely fire without some -smoke. These smothered flames, though admirably covered with whole heaps -of politics laid over them, were at last seen, felt, heard, and -understood; and the fair lady given to understand by her commanding -officer, that if she showed under other colours, she must expect to have -her pay retrenched. Upon which the good Lord was dismissed, and has not -attended the drawing-room since. You know one cannot help laughing, when -one sees him next, and I own I long for that pleasurable moment." - -To Twickenham came Philip, Duke of Wharton, and leased a villa, later -called The Grove, at the farther end of the hamlet from London. Of all -the lads of the village there was none for wildness like unto him. Born -in 1698, and therefore nine years younger than Lady Mary, he had at an -early age made himself conspicuous by unbridled excesses. Soon after the -death of his father, Thomas, first Marquess of Wharton, in 1715, his -conduct created so much scandal at home, that his guardians sent him -abroad in the custody of a tutor. To the horror of that unfortunate -person, his charge enrolled himself as an adherent of the Pretender, and -went to pay his respects at Avignon. The Duke had talent beyond the -ordinary. He could write fairly well, make an excellent speech, and had -a keen sense of wit. When he went to Paris, the British Ambassador, Lord -Stair, took it upon himself to give this madcap some sound advice. He -extolled the virtues of the late Marquess of Wharton, and, "I hope," he -said, "you will follow so illustrious an example of fidelity to your -Prince and love to your country." "I thank your Excellency for your good -counsel," replied the visitor courteously, "and as your Excellency had -also a worthy and discerning father, I hope that you will likewise copy -so bright an example, and tread in all his footsteps,"--an effective -though a brutal rejoinder, for the first Lord Stair had betrayed his -Sovereign. Young Wharton, on his return, however, showed by his conduct -that his visit to Avignon had been little more than a prank, for while -he had accepted a dukedom from the Pretender, he, in 1718, being still a -minor, accepted a dukedom from the British Sovereign--the single -instance of such a dignity being conferred upon a minor. - -Wharton, who did everything in haste, had in his seventeenth year eloped -with Martha, daughter of Major-General Richard Holmes, and married her -in the Fleet on March 2, 1715. As was only to be expected from a person -so volatile he from the beginning neglected his wife; but, as is put -quaintly in that unreliable work, _Memoirs of a Certain Island adjacent -to the Kingdom of Utopia_, which was concocted by Mrs. Eliza Haywood, -"after some years of continu'd extravagance, the Duke, either through -the natural Inconsistency of his Temper, or the Reflection how much he -had been drawn in by his unworthy Companions to embezel his Estate ... -began to think there were Comforts in Retirement; and falling into the -Conversation of the sober part of Mankind, more than he had done, was -persuaded by them to take home his Dutchess.... He brought her to his -House; but Love had no part in his Resolution. He lived with her indeed -but she is with him as a Housekeeper, as a Nurse." The relations were, -however, more intimate than Mrs. Haywood believed, for in March, 1719, a -son was born to them. - - -"The Duke of Wharton has brought his Duchess to town, and is fond of her -to distraction; in order to break the hearts of all other women that -have any claim on him," Lady Mary wrote to Lady Mar. "He has public -devotions twice a day, and assists at them in person with exemplary -devotion; and there is nothing pleasanter than the remarks of some pious -ladies on the conversion of such a sinner." - - -The letter from which the above passage is an extract must have been -written not later than the early spring of 1720, for after that date -the Duke and Duchess of Wharton did not again live together. The -immediate cause of the separation was that Wharton had forbidden his -wife to come to London where small-pox was raging at the time. She, -however, whether irked by the dulness of the country, or thinking by her -presence to guard her husband against those temptations to which he was -prone, followed him to the town, where the infant sickened of the -epidemic and died. After one great scene, they never met again. - -There is mention of the Duke in another letter of Lady Mary to Lady Mar, -dated February, 1724: - - -"In general, gallantry never was in so elevated a figure as it is at -present. Twenty very pretty fellows (the Duke of Wharton being president -and chief director) have formed themselves into a committee of -gallantry. They call themselves _Schemers_; and meet regularly three -times a week, to consult on gallant schemes for the advantage and -advancement of that branch of happiness.... I consider the duty of a -true Englishwoman is to do what honour she can to her native country; -and that it would be a sin against the pious love I bear the land of my -nativity, to confine the renown due to the Schemers within the small -extent of this little island, which ought to be spread wherever men can -sigh, or women wish. 'Tis true they have the envy and curses of the old -and ugly of both sexes, and a general persecution from all old women; -but this is no more than all reformations must expect in their -beginning." - - -More than one writer has asserted that it was the wit and beauty of Lady -Mary that drew him thither. At the time the Duke was twenty-four and the -lady nine years older. Certainly he paid her marked attention, but as he -paid marked attention to all women who had not a hump or a squint-- -sometimes, maybe, he even overlooked the squint--it is as impossible to -say whether he was in love with her as it is to assert that she was in -love with him. From the little that is known of their intimacy, it would -seem that they were merely good comrades--good comrades of the type that -might bite or scratch at any moment. Horace Walpole, who was more than -usually malicious where Lady Mary was concerned, could scarcely induce -himself to allow her any qualities. "My Lady Stafford,"[5] he wrote to -George Montagu in 1751, "used to live at Twickenham when Lady Mary -Wortley and the Duke of Wharton lived there; she had more wit than both -of them. What would I give to have had Strawberry Hill twenty years ago! -I think anything but twenty years. Lady Stafford used to say to her -sister, 'Well, child, I have come without my wit to-day'; that is, she -had not taken her opium, which she was forced to do if she had any -appointment, to be in particular spirits." - -[Footnote 5: Claude Charlotte, Countess of Stafford, wife of Henry, Earl of -Stafford, and daughter of Philibert, Count of Grammont, and Elizabeth -Hamilton, his wife.] - -Horace Walpole alluded to Lady Mary and the Duke in "The Parish Register -of Twickenham": - - "Twickenham, where frolic Wharton revelled - Where Montagu, with locks dishevelled. - Conflict of dirt and warmth combin'd, - Invoked--and scandalised the _Nine_." - -What Pope thought of the Duke he expressed with the utmost vigour: - - "Wharton, the scorn and wonder of our days, - Whose ruling passion was the lust of praise: - Born with whate'er could win it from the wise, - Women and fools must like him, or he dies: - Though wondering senates hung on all he spoke. - The club must hail him master of the joke. - Shall parts so various aim at nothing new? - He'll shine a Tully and a Wilmot too. - Then turns repentant, and his God adores - With the same spirit that he drinks and whores; - Enough, if all around him but admire, - And now the punk applaud, and now the friar. - Thus with each gift of nature and of art, - And wanting nothing but an honest heart; - Grown all to all; from no one vice exempt, - And most contemptible, to shun contempt: - His passion still, to covet general praise, - His life, to forfeit it a thousand ways; - A constant bounty which no friend has made; - An angel tongue, which no man can persuade; - A fool, with more of wit than half mankind; - Too rash for thought, for action too refined: - A tyrant to his wife his heart approves; - A rebel to the very king he loves; - He dies, sad outcast of each church and state, - And, harder still! flagitious, yet not great. - Ask you why Wharton broke through every rule? - 'Twas all for fear the knaves should call him fool." - -The Duke wrote a play on Mary Queen of Scots--of which only four lines -have been preserved: - - "Sure were I free, and Norfolk were a prisoner, - I'd fly with more impatience to his arms, - Than the poor Israelite gaz'd on the serpent. - When life was the reward of every look." - -It is usually stated that this play was written at some time between -1728 and 1730, but it is certain that it was begun at this time-- -probably it was never finished. Perhaps only the scenario was drawn up, -and a few scenes outlined; but that so much at least was done while the -author was at Twickenham is proved conclusively by the fact that at this -time Lady Mary composed for the play an epilogue, designed to be spoken -by Mrs. Oldfield. - - "What could luxurious woman wish for more. - To fix her joys, or to extend her pow'r? - Their every wish was in this Mary seen. - Gay, witty, youthful, beauteous, and a queen. - Vain useless blessings with ill-conduct join'd! - Light as the air, and fleeting as the wind. - Whatever poets write, and lovers vow. - Beauty, what poor omnipotence hast thou? - Queen Bess had wisdom, council, power and laws; - How few espous'd a wretched beauty's cause? - Learn thence, ye fair, more solid charms to prize, - Contemn the idle flatt'rers of your eyes. - The brightest object shines but while 'tis new. - That influence lessens by familiar view. - Monarchs and beauties rule with equal sway, - All strive to serve, and glory to obey, - Alike unpitied when depos'd they grow-- - Men mock the idol of their former vow. - Two great examples have been shown to-day, - To what sure ruin passion does betray, - What long repentance to short joys is due, - When reason rules, what glory must ensue. - If you will love, love like Eliza then, - Love for amusement, like those traitors, men. - Think that the pastime of a leisure hour - She favor'd oft--but never shar'd her pow'r. - The traveller by desert wolves pursued, - If by his heart the savage foe's subdu'd, - The world will still the noble act applaud, - Though victory was gain'd by needful fraud. - Such is, my tender sex, our helpless case, - And such the barbarous heart, hid by the begging face, - By passion fir'd, and not withheld by shame, - They cruel hunters are, we trembling game. - Trust me, dear ladies, (for I know 'em well), - They burn to triumph, and they sigh to tell: - Cruel to them that yield, cullies to them that sell. - Believe me, 'tis far the wiser course, - Superior art should meet superior force: - Hear, but be faithful to your int'rest still: - Secure your hearts--then fool with whom you will." - -At Twickenham the Duke seems in some degree to have relied for his -entertainment upon his pen. There he wrote his articles for the _True -Briton_, and also indited various trifles in verse. Never neglecting an -opportunity to indulge his humour, when Lady Mary Wortley Montagu wrote -a poem on the untimely death of a friend, he could not refrain from -presenting her with a parody. - - - ON THE DEATH OF MRS. BOWES - - _By Lady Mary Wortley Montagu_ - - "Hail, happy bride! for thou art truly bless'd, - Three months of rapture crown'd with endless rest. - Merit like yours was Heav'n's peculiar care, - You lov'd--yet tasted happiness sincere: - To you the sweets of love were only shown, - The sure succeeding bitter dregs unknown. - You had not yet the fatal change deplor'd - The tender lover for th' imperious lord, - Nor felt the pains that jealous fondness brings, - Nor wept that coldness from possession springs, - Above your sex distinguish'd in your fate, - You trusted--yet experienc'd no deceit. - Soft were your hours, and wing'd with pleasure flew, - No vain repentance gave a sign to you, - And if superior bliss heav'n can bestow, - With fellow-angels you enjoy it now." - - - THE ANSWER - - _By the Duke of Wharton_ - - "Hail, Poetess! for thou art truly blest, - Of wit, of beauty, and of love possest, - Your muse does seem to bless poor Bowes's fate, - But far 'tis from you to desire her state, - In every line your wanton soul appears. - Your verse, tho' smooth, scarce fit for modest ears, - No pangs of jealous fondness doth thou shew. - And bitter dregs of love thou ne'er didst know: - The coldness that your husband oft has mourn'd, - Does vanish quite, when warm'd on Turkish ground. - For Fame does say, if Fame don't lying prove, - You paid obedience to the Sultan's love. - Who, fair one, then, was your imperious Lord? - Not Montagu, but Mahomet the word: - Great as your wit, just so is Wortley's love, - Your next attempt will be on thund'ring Jove, - The little angels you on Bowes bestow. - But gods themselves are only fit for you." - - -No writer of verses likes to have fun poked at them, even in the form of -friendly banter, but Lady Mary seems to have borne the affliction -admirably. - -Two persons with such impish humour could not but frequently find -themselves at loggerheads, but their liking for each other's society was -genuine, and quarrels were followed by peace-making. "Sophia [as she -nicknamed the young man] and I have been quite reconciled, and are now -quite broke, and I believe not likely to piece up again," Lady Mary -wrote to her sister. This was in February, 1725, and a little later in -the year the breach was widened by the really outrageous conduct of the -Duke: - - -"Sophia and I have an immortal quarrel; which though I resolve never to -forgive, I can hardly forbear laughing at. An acquaintance of mine is -married, whom I wish very well to: Sophia has been pleased, on this -occasion, to write the most infamous ballad that ever was written; where -both the bride and bridegroom are intolerably mauled, especially the -last, who is complimented with the hopes of cuckoldom, and forty other -things equally obliging, and Sophia has distributed this ballad in such -a manner as to make it pass for mine, on purpose to pique the poor -innocent soul of the new-married man, whom I should be the last of -creatures to abuse. I know not how to clear myself of this vile -imputation, without a train of consequences I have no mind to fall into. -In the mean time, Sophia enjoys the pleasure of heartily plaguing both -me and that, person." - - -Probably this "immortal quarrel" would have been made up, but at the -beginning of July the Duke went abroad never to return. "Sophia is going -to Aix-la-Chapelle, and thence to Paris," Lady Mary wrote to Lady Mar. -"I dare swear she'll endeavour to get acquainted with you. We are broke -to an iremediable degree. Various are the persecutions I have endured -from her this winter, in all of which I remain neuter, and shall -certainly go to heaven from the passive meekness of my temper." - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -A FAMOUS QUARREL - -Pope and Lady Mary--He pays her compliments--His jealousy of her other -admirers--The cause of his quarrel with her--His malicious attacks on -her thereafter--Writes of her as "Sappho"--Lady Mary asks Arbuthnot to -protect her--Molly Skerritt--Lady Stafford--Lady Mary's malicious tongue -and pen--Mrs. Murray--"An Epistle from Arthur Grey"--Lady Mary, Lord -Hervey, and Molly Lepell--Death of the Earl of Kingston--Lady -Gower--Lady Mar--Marriage of Lady Mary's daughter. - - -Of Pope, it is curious to relate, though he was a near neighbour, she -saw less and less. It has been suggested that the first rift in the lute -was her parody of his verses about the lovers struck by lightning; but -even he, most sensitive of men, can scarcely have been seriously offended. -So far as is known, only two letters passed between them after 1719. - - -"I pass my time in a small snug set of dear intimates, and go very -little into the _grand monde_, which has always had my hearty contempt" -(she wrote to Lady Mar in the spring of 1722). "I see sometimes Mr. -Congreve, and very seldom Mr. Pope, who continues to embellish his house -at Twickenham. He has made a subterranean grotto, which he has furnished -with looking-glass, and they tell me it has a very good effect. I here -send you some verses addressed to Mr. Gay, who wrote him a -congratulatory letter on the finishing his house. I stifled them here, -and I beg they may die the same death at Paris, and never go further -than your closet: - - 'Ah, Friend, 'tis true--this truth you lovers know-- - In vain my structures rise, my gardens grow, - In vain fair Thames reflects the double scenes - Of hanging mountains, and of sloping greens: - Joy lives not here; to happier seats it flies, - And only dwells where Wortley casts her eyes. - - What is the gay parterre, the chequer'd shade, - The morning bower, the ev'ning colonnade, - But soft recesses of uneasy minds, - To sigh unheard in, to the passing winds? - So the struck deer in some sequestrate part - Lies down to die, the arrow at his heart; - There, stretch'd unseen in coverts hid from day, - Bleeds drop by drop, and pants his life away.' - - -It may here be remarked that in Epistle VIII of the _Moral Essays_ Pope -had a line: - - "And other beauties envy Wortley's eyes"; - -but in a reprint of the poem he substituted [Lady] "Worsley" for -"Wortley" in order to give the impression that "Wortley" had been a -misprint. - -Pope's quarrel with Lady Mary began in or about 1722. The cause is -obscure. Many reasons have been advanced. Lady Mary in her -correspondence gives no clue as to the breach. - -It has been said that it arose out of the fact that Pope lent the -Montagus a pair of sheets and that they were returned unwashed, to the -great indignation of his mother who lived with him. It is difficult to -believe this. - -Others have it that he was jealous of the favour which Lady Mary -accorded to the Duke of Wharton and Lord Hervey. Certainly he lampooned -the Duke, and he was never weary of writing insultingly about the other. - -Most probable is the account given by Lady Louisa Stuart, Lady Mary's -grand-daughter, which is to the effect that Pope made a declaration of -love, and that Lady Mary received it with shrieks of laughter. If Pope -were serious, it must have galled him indeed, though nothing can excuse -the malignity with which he pursued her for years and years. And if he -were not in earnest, he would probably have been nearly, if not quite, -as indignant. - -Anyhow, it is a sorry story, and a blot on the scutcheon of the poet, -who, good-hearted as he usually was, was cursed by the gift, refined to -a rare degree, of alienating his friends, more often than not for some -fancied slight. Addison he lampooned, and from Dennis and Philips he -parted company. "Leave him as soon as you can," Addison had warned Lady -Mary. "He will certainly play you some devilish trick else: he has an -appetite for satire." Lady Mary presently must have wished that she had -followed this sage counsel. - -When Pope fought, he fought with the gloves off; and not the sex or the -age or the standing of the subject of his wrath deterred him a whit. - - "Have I, in silent wonder, seen such things - As pride in slaves, and avarice in kings; - And at a peer, or peeress, shall I fret, - Who starves a sister, or forswears a debt?" - -Thus Pope in the First Dialogue of the _Epilogue to the Satires._ The -reference to forswearing a debt, is, of course, to the Rémond business; -"who starves a sister" is an allusion to Lady Mary and Lady Mar.[6] - -[Footnote 6: _See_ p. 200 of this work.] - -Pope returned to the attack again and again. In _The Satires of Dr. John -Donne Versified_, he inserted the following lines, although there is -nothing in the original to warrant the stroke at Lady Mary: - - "Yes, thank my stars! as early as I knew - This town, I had the sense to hate it too: - Yet here, as e'en in hell, there must be still - One giant vice, so excellently ill. - That all beside, one pities, not abhors: - As who knows Sappho, smiles at other whores." - -Again, in the _Epistle to Martha Blount_: - - "As Sappho's diamonds with her dirty smock; - Or Sappho at her toilet's greasy task, - With Sappho radiant at an evening mask." - -Pope would not admit that he alluded to Lady Mary as Sappho, but -everyone realised that this was so. Lady Mary, much distressed, begged -Lord Peterborough to urge Pope to refrain. The mission was undertaken -reluctantly, and the result was scarcely satisfactory. "He said to me," -Lord Peterborough wrote to Lady Mary, "what I had taken the liberty of -saying to you, that he wondered how the town would apply these lines to -any but some noted common woman; that he would yet be more surprised if -you should take them to yourself; he named to me four remarkable -poetesses and scribblers, Mrs. Centlivre, Mrs. Heywood, Mrs. Manley, and -Mrs. Behn, assuring me that such only were the objects of his satire." - - -Much upset, Lady Mary wrote the following letter to Arbuthnot: - - -January 3 [1735]. - -"Sir, - -"I have perused the last lampoon of your ingenious friend, and am not -surprised you did not find me out under the name of Sappho, because -there is nothing I ever heard in our characters or circumstances to make -a parallel, but as the town (except you, who know better) generally -suppose Pope means me, whenever he mentions that name, I cannot help -taking notice of the horrible malice he bears against the lady signified -by that name, which appears to be irritated by supposing her writer of -the Verses to the Imitator of Horace. Now I can assure him they were -wrote (without my knowledge) by a gentleman of great merit, whom I very -much esteem, who he will never guess, and who, if he did know, he durst -not attack; but I own the design was so well meant, and so excellently -executed, that I cannot be sorry they were written. I wish you would -advise poor Pope to turn to some more honest livelihood than libelling; -I know he will allege in his excuse that he must write to eat, and he -has now grown sensible that nobody will buy his verses except their -curiosity is piqued to it, to see what is said of their acquaintance; -but I think this method of gain so exceeding vile that it admits of no -excuse at all.--Can anything be more detestable than his abusing poor -Moore, scarce cold in his grave, when it is plain he kept back his poem, -while he lived, for fear he should beat him for it? This is shocking to -me, though of a man I never spoke to and hardly knew by sight; but I am -seriously concerned at the worse scandal he has heaped on Mr. Congreve, -who was my friend, and whom I am obliged to justify, because I can do it -on my own knowledge, and, which is yet farther bring witness of it, from -those who were then often with me that he was so far from loving Pope's -rhyme, both that--and his conversation were perpetual jokes to him, -exceeding despicable in his opinion, and he has often made us laugh in -talking of them, being particularly pleasant on that subject. As to -Pope's being born of honest parents, I verily believe it, and will add -one praise to his mother's character, that (though I only knew her very -old) she always appeared to me to have much better sense than himself. I -desire, sir, as a favour, that you would show this letter to Pope, and -you will very much oblige, sir, - -"Your humble servant." - - -Lady Mary was not a person, after severe chastisement, to turn the other -cheek, and Pope was well aware of it. He believed that more than one -social satire upon him came from her pen; and he especially suspected -her of having written, or anyhow of having had a hand in the composition -of _A Pop upon Pope_, in which an account was given of a whipping in Ham -Walk which was said to have been administered to him. The poet was so -furious--he regarded it as an indirect attack on his physical deformity, -of which he was always so conscious--that he actually inserted an -announcement in the papers that no such incident had ever occurred-- -thereby drawing yet more attention to the lampoon. "You may be certain I -shall never reply to such a libel as Lady Mary's," he wrote to -Fortescue. "It is a pleasure and comfort at once to find out that with -so much mind as so much malice must have to accuse or blacken my -character, it can fix upon no one ill or immoral thing in my life and -must content itself to say, my poetry is dull and my person ugly." - -Lady Mary, in a letter to Arbuthnot, denied the authorship of _A Pop -upon Pope_: - - -"Sir, - -"Since I saw you I have made some inquiries, and heard more, of the -story you was so kind to mention to me. I am told Pope has had the -surprising impudence to assert he can bring the lampoon when he pleases -to produce it, under my own hand; I desire he may be made to keep to -this offer. If he is so skilful in counterfeiting hands, I suppose he -will not confine that great talent to the gratifying his malice, but -take some occasion to increase his fortune by the same method, and I may -hope (by such practices) to see him exalted according to his merit, -which nobody will rejoice at more than myself. I beg of you, sir (as an -act of justice), to endeavour to set the truth in an open light, and -then I leave to your judgment the character of those who have attempted -to hurt mine in so barbarous a manner. I can assure you (in particular) -you named a lady to me (as abused in this libel) whose name I never -heard before, and as I never had any acquaintance with Dr. Swift am an -utter stranger to all his affairs and even his person, which I never saw -to my knowledge, and am now convinced the whole is a contrivance of -Pope's to blast the reputation of one who never injured him. I am not -more sensible of his injustice, than I am, sir, of your [_sic_] candour, -generosity, and good sense I have found in you, which has obliged me to -be with a very uncommon warmth your real friend, and I heartily wish for -an opportunity of showing I am so more effectually than by subscribing -myself your very - -"Humble servant." - - -Whether, in spite of her denial, Lady Mary had a hand in _A Pop upon -Pope_ cannot be said; but it is certainly safe to believe that the -following lines were written by her, in conjunction, the gossip of the -day had it, with Lord Hervey, with some assistance from Mr. Wyndham, -then tutor to the Duke of Cumberland: - - "VERSES ADDRESSED TO THE IMITATOR OF THE FIRST SATIRE OF THE - SECOND BOOK OF HORACE. - - _By a Lady_ - - "Nor thou the justice of the world disown. - That leaves thee thus an outcast and alone: - For though in law the murder be to kill, - In equity the murder is the will. - Then while with coward hand you stab a name, - And try at least to assassinate our fame, - Like the first bold assassin be thy lot, - Ne'er be thy guilt forgiven or forgot; - But as thou hat'st by hatred by mankind, - And with the emblem of thy crooked mind - Marked on thy back, like Cain, by God's own hand, - Wander like him accursed through the land." - -It was this malignant attack upon his person that inspired Pope's lines -in the _Epistle to Arbuthnot_: - - "Once, and but once, his heedless youth was bit, - And liked that dangerous thing, a female wit. - Safe, so he thought, though all the prudent chid; - He writ no libels, but my lady did; - Great odds, in amorous or poetic game, - Where woman's is the sin, and man's the shame." - -With the following extract from a letter written by Lady Mary from -Florence in 1740 this unpleasing incident may be dismissed: - - -"The word malignity, and a passage in your letter, call to my mind the -wicked wasp of Twickenham: his lies affect me now no more; they will be -all as much despised as the story of the seraglio and the handkerchief, -of which I am persuaded he was the only inventor. That man has a -malignant and ungenerous heart; and he is base enough to assume the mask -of a moralist, in order to decry human nature, and to give a decent vent -to his hatred of man and woman kind.--But I must quit this contemptible -subject, on which a just indignation would render my pen so fertile, -that after having fatigued you with a long letter, I would surfeit you -with a supplement twice as long." - - -At Twickenham Lady Mary interested herself in planning alterations in -the house and gardens. "There is a sort of pleasure," she said, "in -shewing one's own fancy on one's own ground." The longer she stayed at -the riverside, the better she liked it. "I am at present at Twickenham," -she wrote in July, 1723, "which is become so fashionable, and the -neighbourhood so much enlarged, that 'tis more like Tunbridge or the -Bath than a country retreat." - - -"I am now at the same distance from London that you are from Paris, and -could fall into solitary amusements with a good deal of taste; but I -resist it, as a temptation of Satan, and rather turn my endeavours to -make the world as agreeable to me as I can, which is the true -philosophy; that of despising it is of no use but to hasten wrinkles" -(she wrote to Lady Mar in 1725). "I ride a good deal, and have got a -horse superior to any two-legged animal, he being without a fault. I -work like an angel. I receive visits upon idle days, and I shade my life -as I do my tent-stitch, that is, make as easy transitions as I can from -business to pleasure; the one would be too flaring and gaudy without -some dark shades of t'other; and if I worked altogether in the grave -colours, you know 'twould be quite dismal. Miss Skerritt is in the house -with, me, and Lady Stafford has taken a lodging at Richmond: as their -ages are different, and both agreeable in their kind, I laugh with the -one, or reason with the other, as I happen to be in a gay or serious -humour; and I manage my friends with such a strong yet with a gentle -hand, that they are both willing to do whatever I have a mind to." - - -"Molly," that is, Maria Skerritt or Skirrett, is best known for her -connection with Sir Robert Walpole. There was nothing clandestine about -the relationship: it was openly avowed. Miss Skerritt, who was the -daughter of a London merchant, had great good looks and an ample -fortune, and Walpole declared that she was indispensable to his -happiness. She was received everywhere, and moved in fashionable -society. It was to Lady Walpole and Molly Skerritt that Gay alluded in -the song that he put in the mouth of Macheath (who was meant for Robert -Walpole): - - "How happy could I be with either, - Were t'other dear Charmer away!" - -Lady Walpole survived until the summer of 1738, and after her death the -others married. The second Lady Walpole died of a miscarriage in June, -1739, to the great and enduring sorrow of her husband. For the surviving -child, Walpole, when he accepted a peerage in 1742, secured the rank of -an earl's daughter. - -Lady Mary now spent her time between London and Twickenham. At Court, -she was as popular as ever with the King; and she was liked in literary -circles, and on good terms with Young, Arbuthnot, Garth, and the rest of -the set. "I see every body but converse with nobody but _des amies -choisses_; in the first rank of these are Lady Stafford and dear Molly -Skerritt, both of whom have now the additional merit of being old -acquaintances, and never having given me any reason to complain of -either of 'em. I pass some days with the Duchess of Montagu, who might -be a reigning beauty if she pleased. I see the whole town every Sunday, -and select a few that I retain to supper. In short, if life could be -always what it is, I believe I have so much humility in my temper I -could be contented without anything better than this two or three -hundred years but, alas! - - 'Dulness, and wrinkles, and disease, must come, - And age, and death's irrevocable doom.'" - -Lady Mary, who had some two-score years still to live, began at this -time to deplore her increasing age. "For my own part," she wrote to -Lady Mar, "I have some coteries where wit and pleasure reign, and I -should not fail to amuse myself tolerably enough, but for the d----d -d----d quality of growing older every day, and my present joys are made -imperfect by fears of the future." However, this depression was not -always on her, and later she was writing: - - -"I think this is the first time in my life that a letter of yours has -lain by me two posts unanswered. You'll wonder to hear that short -silence is occasioned by not having a moment unemployed at Twickenham; -but I pass many hours on horseback, and, I'll assure you, ride -stag-hunting, which I know you'll stare to hear of. I have arrived to -vast courage and skill that way, and am as well pleased with it as with -the acquisition of a new sense: his Royal Highness [the Prince of Wales] -hunts in Richmond Park, and I make one of the _beau monde_ in his train. -I desire you after this account not to name the word old woman to me any -more: I approach to fifteen nearer than I did ten years ago, and am in -hopes to improve every year in health and vivacity." - - -Lady Mary's tongue made her many enemies in society, and when her tongue -failed her she brought her pen into action. Her love of scandal must -have gone far to make her unpopular, and if her letters to her sister at -Paris had been published she would have found herself with scarcely a -friend in the world. - -Correspondence between Lady Mary, from London or Twickenham, to her -sister, the Countess of Mar, at Paris, was a very one-sided affair. This -was, in part, owing to the fact that Lord Mar was, of course, suspect, -and that letters to him or to members of his family and household were -(in all probability) intercepted in this country. Lady Mary, who had -suspected this more than once, became more and more convinced that her -suspicions were justified. "I have writ to you at least five-and-forty -letters, dear sister, without receiving any answer, and resolved not to -confide in post-house fidelity any more, being firmly persuaded that -they never came to your hands, or you would not refuse one line to let -me know how you do, which is and ever will be of great importance to -me." That was written at Christmas, 1722, and though in the meantime -Lady Mary heard from her sister, she realised that if she wanted her -letters to arrive she must be careful as to the topics upon which she -discoursed. "Letters are so surely opened, I dare say nothing to you -either of our intrigues or duels, both of which would afford great -matter of mirth and speculation." The difficulties of communication did -not decrease. "I have writ to you twice since I received yours in answer -to that I sent by Mr. de Caylus," she remarked a little later; "but I -believe none of what I send by the post ever come to your hands, nor -ever will while they are directed to Mr. Waters, for reasons that you -may easily guess. I wish you would give me a safer direction; it is very -seldom I can have the opportunity of a private messenger, and it is very -often that I have a mind to write to my dear sister." - - -Lady Mary, of course, often stayed in London, and in her correspondence -are many references to her friends and her doings. - - -"Operas flourish more than ever, and I have been in a tract of going -every time," she wrote to her sister in April, 1723. "The people I live -most with are none of your acquaintance; the Duchess of Montagu -excepted, whom I continue to see often. Her daughter Belle is at this -instant in the paradisal state of receiving visits every day from a -passionate lover, who is her first love; whom she thinks the finest -gentleman in Europe, and is, besides that, Duke of Manchester. Her mamma -and I often laugh and sigh reflecting on her felicity, the consummation -of which will be in a fortnight. In the mean time they are permitted to -be alone together every day and all the day." - - -Mary's very best vein is the following letter, written about the same -time, and also addressed to her sister: - - -"I am yet in this wicked town, but purpose to leave it as soon as the -Parliament rises. Mrs. Murray and all her satellites have so seldom -fallen in my way, I can say little about them. Your old friend Mrs. -Lowther is still fair and young, and in pale pink every night in the -Parks; but, after being highly in favour, poor I am in utter disgrace, -without my being able to guess wherefore, except she fancied me the -author or abettor of two vile ballads written on her dying adventure, -which I am so innocent of that I never saw [them]. _A propos_ of -ballads, a most delightful one is said or sung in most houses about our -dear beloved plot, which has been laid firstly to Pope, and secondly to -me, when God knows we have neither of us wit enough to make it. Mrs. -Hervey lies-in of a female child. Lady Rich is happy in dear Sir -Robert's absence, and the polite Mr. Holt's return to his allegiance, -who, though in a treaty of marriage with one of the prettiest girls in -town (Lady Jane Wharton), appears better with her than ever. Lady Betty -Manners is on the brink of matrimony with a Yorkshire Mr. Monckton of -Ł3,000 per annum: it is a match of the young duchess's making, and she -thinks matter of great triumph over the two coquette beauties, who can -get nobody to have and to hold; they are decayed to a piteous degree and -so neglected that they are grown constant and particular to the two -ugliest fellows in London. Mrs. Pulteney condescends to be publicly kept -by the noble Earl of Cadogan; whether Mr. Pulteney has a pad nag -deducted out of the profits for his share I cannot tell, but he appears -very well satisfied with it. This is, I think, the whole state of love; -as to that of wit, it splits itself into ten thousand branches; poets -increase and multiply to that stupendous degree, you see them at every -turn, even in embroidered coats and pink-coloured top-knots; making -verses is almost as common as taking snuff, and God can tell what -miserable stuff people carry about in their pockets, and offer to -their acquaintances, and you know one cannot refuse reading and taking a -pinch. This is a very great grievance, and so particularly shocking to -me, that I think our wise lawgivers should take it into consideration, -and appoint a fast-day to beseech Heaven to put a stop to this -epidemical disease, as they did last year for the plague with great -success." - - -Another typical letter from Lady Mary contains a story of the class that -strongly appealed to her: - - -"The most diverting story about town at present is in relation to -Edgcombe; though your not knowing the people concerned so well as I do, -will, I fear hinder you from being so much entertained by it. I can't -tell whether you know a tall, musical, silly, ugly thing, niece to Lady -Essex Roberts, who is called Miss Leigh. She went a few days ago to -visit Mrs. Betty Tichborne, Lady Sunderland's sister, who lives in the -house with her, and was denied at the door; but, with the true manners -of a great fool, told the porter that if his lady was at home she was -very positive she would be very glad to see her. Upon which she was -shewed up stairs to Miss Tichborne, who was ready to drop down at the -sight of her, and could not help asking her in a grave way how she got -in, being denied to every mortal, intending to pass the evening in -devout preparation. Miss Leigh said she had sent away her chair and -servants, with intent of staying till nine o'clock. There was then no -remedy, and she was asked to sit down; but had not been there a quarter -of an hour when she heard a violent rap at the door, and somebody -vehemently run up stairs. Miss Tichborne seemed much surprised, and said -she believed it was Mr. Edgcombe, and was quite amazed how he took it -into his head to visit her. During these excuses enter Edgcombe, who -appeared frighted at the sight of a third person. Miss Tichborne told -him almost at his entrance that the lady he saw there was perfect -mistress of music, and as he passionately loved it, she thought she -could not oblige him more than by desiring her to play. Miss Leigh very -willingly sat to the harpsichord; upon which her audience decamped to -the adjoining room, and left her to play over three or four lessons to -herself. They returned, and made what excuses they could, but said very -frankly they had not heard her performance, and begged her to begin -again; which she complied with, and gave them the opportunity of a -second retirement. Miss Leigh was by this time all fire and flame to see -her heavenly harmony thus slighted; and when they returned, told them -she did not understand playing to an empty room. Mr. Edgcombe begged ten -thousand pardons, and said, if she would play _Godi_, it was a tune he -died to hear, and it would be an obligation he should never forget. She -made answer she would do him a much greater favour by her absence, which -she supposed was all that was necessary at that time; and ran down -stairs in a great fury to publish as fast as she could; and was so -indefatigable in this pious design, that in four-and-twenty hours all -the people in town had heard the story. My Lady Sunderland could not -avoid hearing this story, and three days after, invited Miss Leigh to -dinner, where, in the presence of her sister and all the servants, she -told her she was very sorry she had been so rudely treated in her house; -that it was very true Mr. Edgcombe had been a perpetual companion of her -sister's these two years, and she thought it high time he should explain -himself, and she expected her sister should act in this matter as -discreetly as Lady K. [Katherine] Pelham had done in the like case; who -had given Mr. Pelham four months to resolve in, and after that he was -either to marry her or to lose her for ever. Sir Robert Sutton -interrupted her by saying, that he never doubted the honour of Mr. -Edgcombe, and was persuaded he could have no ill design in his family. -The affair stands thus, and Mr. Edgcombe has four months to provide -himself elsewhere; during which time he has free egress and regress; and -'tis seriously the opinion of many that a wedding will in good earnest -be brought about by this admirable conduct. - -"I send you a novel instead of a letter, but, as it is in your power to -shorten it when you please, by reading no farther than you like, I will -make no excuses for the length of it." - - -Lady Mary had contracted an intimacy with Griselda Baillie, the wife of -Mr. (afterwards Sir A.) Murray, of Stanhope, after her return from -abroad, and there is frequent mention of her in the correspondence; but -the friendship came to an abrupt end in 1725. - - -"Among the rest a very odd whim has entered the little head of Mrs. -Murray: do you know she won't visit me this winter?" Lady Mary wrote to -Lady Mar. "I, according to the usual integrity of my heart, and -simplicity of my manners, with great _naďveté_ desired to explain with -her on the subject, and she answered that she was convinced that I had -made the ballad upon her, and was resolved never to speak to me again. I -answered (which was true), that I utterly defied her to have any one -single proof of my making it, without being able to get any thing from -her, but repetitions that she knew it. I cannot suppose that any thing -you have said should occasion this rupture, and the reputation of a -quarrel is always so ridiculous on both sides, that you will oblige me -in mentioning it to her, for 'tis now at that pretty pass, she won't -curtsey to me whenever she mets me, which is superlatively silly (if she -really knew it), after a suspension of resentment for two years -together." - - -Mrs. Murray had had an unpleasant adventure with her footman, Arthur -Grey, who had broken into her bedroom. Lady Mary had written and -circulated _An Epistle from Arthur Grey,_ and later another, and an -improper, ballad had appeared under the title of _Virtue in Danger_. -Mrs. Murray was firmly convinced that both pieces came from the same -pen. - -Lady Mar, on receipt of the above letter, proposed to act as peacemaker. -"I give you thanks for the good offices you promise with regard to Mrs. -Murray," Lady Mary wrote to her in reply, "and I shall think myself -sincerely obliged to you, as I already am on many accounts. 'Tis very -disagreeable in her to go about behaving and talking as she does, and -very silly into the bargain." - - -"Mrs. Murray is in open war with me in such a manner as makes her very -ridiculous without doing me much harm; my moderation having a very -bright pretence of shewing itself" (she wrote to Lady Mar). "Firstly, -she was pleased to attack me in very Billingsgate at a masquerade, where -she was as visible as ever she was in her own clothes. I had the temper -not only to keep silence myself, but enjoined it to the person with me; -who would have been very glad to have shewn his great skill in sousing -upon that occasion. She endeavoured to sweeten him by very exorbitant -praises of his person, which might even have been mistaken for making -love from a woman of less celebrated virtue; and concluded her oration -with pious warnings to him, to avoid the conversation of one so unworthy -his regard as myself, who to her certain knowledge loved another man. -This last article, I own, piqued me more than all her preceding -civilities. The gentleman she addressed herself to had a very slight -acquaintance with me, and might possibly go away in the opinion that she -had been confidante in some very notorious affair of mine. However, I -made her no answer at the time, but you may imagine I laid up these -things in my heart; and the first assembly I had the honour to meet her -at, with a meek tone of voice, asked her how I had deserved so much -abuse at her hands, which I assured her I would never return. She denied -it in the spirit of lying; and in the spirit of folly owned it at -length. I contented myself with telling her she was very ill advised, -and thus we parted. But two days ago, when Sir Geoffrey Kneller's -pictures were to be sold, she went to my sister Gower, and very civily -asked if she intended to bid for your picture; assuring her that, if she -did, she would not offer at purchasing it. You know crimp and quadrille -incapacitate that poor soul from ever buying any thing; but she told me -this circumstance; and I expected the same civility from Mrs. Murray, -having no way provoked her to the contrary. But she not only came to the -auction, but with all possible spite bid up the picture, though I told -her that, if you pleased to have it, I would gladly part with it to you, -though to no other person. This had no effect upon her, nor her malice -any more on me than the loss of ten guineas extraordinary, which I paid -upon her account. The picture is in my possession, and at your service -if you please to have it. She went to the masquerade a few nights -afterwards, and had the good sense to tell people there that she was -very unhappy in not meeting me, being come there on purpose to abuse me. -What profit or pleasure she has in these ways I cannot find out. This I -know, that revenge has so few joys for me, I shall never lose so much -time as to undertake it." - -So early as 1721, Lady Mary, writing to Lady Mar, mentions that "the -most considerable incident that has happened a good while, was the -ardent affection that Mrs. Hervey and her dear spouse[7] took to me. -They visited me twice or thrice a day, and were perpetually cooing in my -rooms. I was complaisant a great while; but (as you know) my talent has -never lain much that way. I grew at last so weary of those birds of -paradise, I fled to Twickenham, as much to avoid their persecutions as -for my own health, which is still in a declining way." Lady Mary did not -like Lady Hervey, the beautiful "Molly" Lepell, whom Gay eulogised: - - "Hervey, would you know the passion - You have kindled in my breast? - Trifling is the inclination - That by words can be expressed. - - In my silence see the lover; - True love is by silence known; - In my eyes you'll best discover, - All the power of your own." - -[Footnote 7: The Hon. John Hervey (1696-1743), younger son of John, -first Earl of Bristol; known as Lord Hervey after the death of his elder -brother Carr in 1723; Vice-Chamberlain of George II's Household, 1730; -created Baron Hervey of Ickworth, 1733, Lord Privy Seal, 1740-1742.] - -For Hervey, however, Lady Mary came to have a strong liking that many -believed to have, as she would have said, bordered upon "the tender"; -although it is on record that she once remarked that she divided the -human race into men, women, and Herveys. They met whenever they could; -when they could not meet they corresponded. Pope bitterly resented the -intimacy between Lady Mary and Hervey, and in the _Epistle of Arbuthnot_ -gave vent to the malignity with which his soul had been for years -overflowing: - - "P. Let Sporus tremble. - - A. What? That thing of silk; - Sporus, that mere white curd of ass's milk? - Satire or sense, alas! can Sporus feel? - Who breaks a butterfly on the wheel? - - P. Yet let me flap this bug with gilded wings, - This painted Child of dirt, that stinks and stings; - Whose buzz the witty and the fair annoys, - Yet wit ne'er tastes and beauty ne'er enjoys: - So well-bred spaniels civilly delight - In mumbling of the game they dare not bite. - Eternal smiles his emptiness betray, - As shallow streams run dimpling all the way. - Whether in florid impotence he speaks, - And, as the prompter breathes, the puppet squeaks; - Or at the ear of Eve,[8] familiar toad. - Half froth, half venom, spits himself abroad, - In pun, or politics, or tales, or lies. - Or spite, or smut, or rhymes, or blasphemies. - His wit all see-saw, between that and this, - Now high, now low, now make up, now miss, - And he himself one vile antithesis. - Amphibious thing! that acting either part, - The trifling head, or the corrupted heart; - Fop at the hostel, flatterer at the board, - Now trips a lady, and now struts a Lord. - Eve's tempter thus the Rabbins have expressed, - A cherub's face--a reptile all the rest. - Beauty that shocks you, parts that none can trust, - Wit that can creep, and pride that licks the dust." - -[Footnote 8: Queen Caroline.] - -This was a heavy price to pay for the favours even of Lady Mary Wortley -Montagu. - -Whatever the relations between Lady Mary and Hervey, Lady Hervey was not -indulgent to them, which may have inspired Lady Mary to write to her -sister: "Lady Hervey, by aiming too high, has fallen very low; and is -reduced to trying to persuade folks she has an intrigue, and gets nobody -to believe her; the man in question taking a great deal of pains to -clear himself of the scandal." Lady Hervey and Mrs. Murray were active -partisans of Lord Grange in his persecution of Lady Mary, and aided him -in his attempts to get possession of her sister, Lady Mar. - -The bad terms on which Lady Mary and Lady Hervey were is most clearly -defined by Lady Louisa Stuart: "At the time of Lady Mary Wortley's return -home [in 1762, after an absence abroad of more than twenty years], Lady -Hervey was living in great intimacy with Lady Bute, for whom she -professed, and it is believed really felt, the highest esteem and -admiration. On hearing of her mother's arrival, she came to her, owning -herself embarrassed by the fear of giving her pain or offence, but yet -compelled to declare that formerly something had passed between her and -Lady Mary which made any renewal of their acquaintance impossible; -therefore, if she forbore visiting her, she threw herself upon Lady -Bute's friendship and candour for pardon. No explanation followed. Lady -Bute, who must have early seen the necessity of taking care not to be -entangled in her mother's quarrels, which, to speak truth, were seldom -few in number, only knew that there had been an old feud between her, -Lady Hervey, and Lady Hervey's friend, Mrs. (or Lady) Murray; the -particulars of which, forgotten even then by everybody but themselves, -may well be now beyond recall." - -During this period there were several domestic happenings in Lady Mary's -family. - -On March 5, 1726, died her father, the Duke of Kingston. After the -accession of George I, the Marquess of Dorchester (as he then was) was -high in favour at Court, and honours were showered upon him with a -lavish hand. He was in 1714 appointed Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire, and -in the same year Chief Justice in Eyre, north of Trent, which latter -dignity he held for two years. In August, 1715, he was created Duke of -Kingston upon Hull, in the county of Yorkshire. He held the high office -of Lord Privy Seal from 1716 to 1719 in the Administrations of Townshend -and Stanhope, in the latter year becoming Lord President of the Council. -When Walpole became First Lord of the Treasury, the Duke again became -Lord Privy Seal, and held the post until his death. He was given the -Garter in 1719, and was four times named as one of the Lord Justices of -the Realm during the King's absences from England on visits to Hanover. -He had married, secondly, Isabella, fifth daughter of William Bentinck, -first Earl of Portland, by his first wife, Anne, daughter of Sir Edward -Villiers, who survived him two years. - -The Duke had never really forgiven Lady Mary for eloping. Her defiance -of him hurt his pride inordinately. Everyone else to some degree at -least he could control; his young daughter not at all. Only so far were -they ever reconciled that he would occasionally visit the Montagus at -their London house and play with the children. - -In his later years the Duke's health was unsatisfactory, but it was not -thought that the end was so near. "I have now to tell you of the -surprising death of my father, and a great deal of surprising management -of the people about him, which I leave informing you until another time, -being now under some spirit of hurry myself," Lady Mary wrote to Lady -Mar in March, 1726. "I am unfeignedly sorry that I cannot send you word -of a considerable legacy for yourself." On April 15 she supplemented -this account; but not to a degree to make it very intelligible: - - -"To be sure, the shock must be very great to you whenever you heard it; -as indeed it was to us all here, being so sudden. It is to no purpose -now to relate particulars, but only renewing our grief. I can't forbear -telling you the Duchess has behaved very oddly in endeavouring to get -the guardianship of the young Duke and his sister, contrary to her -husband's will; but the boy, when he was fourteen, confirmed the -trustees his grandfather left; so that ended all disputes; and Lady -Fanny is to live with my aunt Cheyne. There is a vast number of things -that have happened, and some people's behaviour so extraordinary in this -melancholy business, that it would be great ease of mind if I could tell -it you; but I must not venture to speak too freely in a letter." - - -A week or so later, some further details were forthcoming: - - -"I received yours, dear sister, this minute, and am very sorry both for -your past illness and affliction; though _au bout du compte_, I don't -know why filial piety should exceed fatherly fondness. So much by way of -consolation. As to the management at that time--I do verily believe, if -my good aunt and sister had been less fools, and my dear mother-in-law -less mercenary, things might have had a turn more to your advantage and -mine too; when we meet, I will tell you many circumstances which would -be tedious in a letter. I could not get my sister Gower to join to act -with me, and mamma and I were in an actual scold when my poor father -expired; she has shewn a hardness of heart upon this occasion that would -appear incredible to any body not capable of it themselves. The addition -to her jointure is, one way or other, Ł2000 per annum; so her good Grace -remains a passable rich widow, and is already presented by the town with -a variety of young husbands; but I believe her constitution is not good -enough to let her amorous inclinations get the better of her covetous." - - -Lady Mary was very angry, because she heard that at the end her father -had really expressed a great deal of kindness to her, and even a desire -of talking to her, which the Duchess would not permit. However, he left -her in his will, she having married without a settlement, Ł6,000 for her -separate use during her life, with reversion to her daughter. - -As regards the heir, she wrote: "The Duke of Kingston has hitherto had so -ill an education, 'tis hard to make any judgment of him; he has spirit, -but I fear he will never have his father's good sense. As young noblemen -go, 'tis possible he may make a good figure among them." - -The young Duke was sent to France, and there was much discussion as to -what should be done with his sister, Lady Frances Pierrepont. Her having -Ł400 per annum for maintenance, has, Lady Mary remarked ironically, -"awakened the consciences of half her relations to take care of her -education, and (excepting myself) they have all been squabbling about -her. My sister Gower carries her off to-morrow morning to Staffordshire. -The lies, twaddles, and contrivances about this affair are innumerable. -I should pity the poor girl if I saw she pitied herself." - -Lady Gower did not long enjoy her victory over her friends and her fond -relations, for she died in June, 1727. - -In May, 1732, Lord Mar died at Aix-la-Chapelle. Lady Mary's sister, Lady -Mar, in later years suffered from mental irregularity. Her brother-in-law, -James Erskine, Lord Grange, endeavoured to secure possession of her -person by some process of law, but was thwarted by Lady Mary, who -obtained a warrant from the King's Bench. For years Lady Mar remained in -her sister's custody. She survived until 1761. There was a rumour that -Lady Mary treated her badly, but there is no reason to believe that -there was any substantial ground for the accusation. - -Lady Mary's daughter, Mary, married in 1736, John Stuart, third Earl of -Bute, the favourite of the Princess of Wales, and afterwards Prime -Minister. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -ON THE CONTINENT (1739-1744) - -Lady Mary leaves England--She does not return for twenty years--Montagu -supposed to join her--The domestic relations of the Montagus--A -septennial act for marriage--Lady Mary corresponds with her -husband--Dijon--Turin--Venice--Bologna--Florence--The Monastery of La -Trappe--Horace Walpole at Florence--His comments on Lady Mary and her -friends--Reasons for his dislike of her--Rome--The Young Pretender and -Henry, Cardinal York--Wanderings--Cheapness of life in Italy--Lady -Mary's son, Edward--He is a great trouble to his parents--His absurd -marriage--His extravagance and folly--Account of his early years--He -visits Lady Mary at Valence--Her account of the interviews. - - -In July, 1739, Lady Mary went abroad. She did not return until the -beginning of 1762, a few months before her death. - -She went abroad without her husband, and, indeed, they never met again. -At first, apparently, he had intended to join her--at least so she gave -Lady Pomfret to understand: - - -"You have put me to a very difficult choice, yet, when I consider we are -both in Italy, and yet do not see one another, I am astonished at the -capriciousness of my fortune" (she wrote from Venice late in 1739). "My -affairs are so uncertain, I can answer for nothing that is future. I -have taken some pains to put the inclination for travelling into Mr. -Wortley's head, and was so much afraid he would change his mind, that I -hastened before him in order (at least) to secure my journey. He -proposed following me in six weeks, his business requiring his presence -at Newcastle. Since that, the change of scene that has happened in -England has made his friends persuade him to attend parliament this -session: so that what his inclinations, which must govern mine, will be -next spring I cannot absolutely foresee. For my own part, I like my own -situation so well that it will be a displeasure to me to change it. To -postpone such a conversation as yours a whole twelvemonth is a terrible -appearance; on the other hand, I would not follow the example of the -first of our sex, and sacrifice for a present pleasure a more lasting -happiness. In short, I can determine nothing on this subject. When you -are at Florence, we may debate it over again." - - -So little is known of the domestic relations of the Montagus that it is -hazardous to advance a conjecture. One writer has suggested that there -was a quarrel over money, but there are no grounds to support this. -Another has it that Lady Mary's flirtations or intrigues did not meet -with her husband's approval. Yet another thinks that Montagu found his -wife with her sharp tongue, very ill to live with. - -The Montagus had been married for seven-and-twenty years; their younger -child was now twenty-one. Since Montagu assisted Lady Mary as a girl -with her Latin studies, they do not seem to have had much in common. -Lady Mary cut a figure in the social world; Montagu was a nonentity in -political life and seemed content so to be. Perhaps they were tired of -each other, and welcomed a separation that at the outset was intended -only to be temporary. "It was from the customs of the Turks that I first -had the thought of a septennial bill for the benefit of married -persons," Lady Mary once said to Joseph Spence; and it is more than -likely that she would have taken advantage of such an Act of Parliament -had it been in existence. - -That there was no definite breach is evident from the fact that husband -and wife corresponded, though it must be confessed that her letters to -her husband are almost uniformly dull, except when the topic is their -son. On the other hand, there was certainly no especial degree of -friendship between them, and in one of her letters Lady Mary said -pointedly: "You do not seem desirous to hear news, which makes me not -trouble you with any." For the rest there are descriptions of the places -which Lady Mary visited and an account of the people she met. - -Lady Mary proceeded from Dover to Calais, and thence to Dijon, where she -arrived in the middle of August. Wherever she went she found herself -among friends. "There is not any town in France where there is not -English, Scotch or Irish families established; and I have met with -people who have seen me (though often such as I do not remember to have -seen) in every town I have passed through; and I think the farther I go, -the more acquaintance I meet," she told her husband. At Dijon there were -no less than sixteen families of fashion. Lord Mansel had lodgings in -the house with her at Dijon, and Mrs. Whitsted, a daughter of Lord -Bathurst, resided in the same street. She met Lady Peterborough, and -just missed the Duke of Rutland, at St. Omer. At Port Beauvoisin she ran -across Lord Carlisle. - -From Turin, she travelled, on the advice of Lord Carlisle, to Vienna, -which he declared was the best place in Italy in which to stay. The fact -that it was the intention of Lady Pomfret to remove from Sienna to -Vienna was the deciding factor. She liked the latter city so well that -she remained there until August of the following year (1740). It had one -great merit in Lady Mary's eyes, that it was cheap. Next to that, she -derived pleasure from the consideration with which she was treated. "I -like this place extremely, and am of opinion you would do so too: as to -cheapness, I think 'tis impossible to find any part of Europe where both -the laws and customs are so contrived purposely to avoid expenses of all -sorts; and here is a universal liberty that is certainly one of the -greatest _agréments_ in life. We have foreign ambassadors from all parts -of the world, who have all visited me. I have received visits from many -of the noble Venetian ladies; and upon the whole I am very much at my -ease here. If I was writing to Lady Sophia, I would tell her of the -comedies and operas which are every night, at very low prices; but I -believe even you will agree with me that they are ordered to be as -convenient as possible, every mortal going in a mask, and consequently -no trouble in dressing, or forms of any kind." So Lady Mary wrote to -Lady Pomfret on October 10; and a few days later she supplemented the -information in a letter to her husband: - - -"I find myself very well here. I am visited by the most considerable -people of the town, and all the foreign ministers, who have most of them -made great entertainments for me. I dined yesterday at the Spanish -ambassador's, who even surpassed the French in magnificence. He met me -at the hall-door, and the lady at the stair-head, to conduct me through -the long apartment; in short, they could not have shown me more honours, -if I had been an ambassadress. She desired me to think myself patrona -del casa, and offered me all the services in her power, to wait on me -where I pleased, &c. They have the finest palace in Venice. What is very -convenient, I hear it is not at all expected I should make any dinners, -it not being the fashion for anybody to do it here but the foreign -ministers; and I find I can live here very genteelly on my allowance. I -have already a very agreeable general acquaintance; though when I came, -here was no one I had ever seen in my life, but the Cavaliere Grimani -and the Abbé Conti. I must do them [the] justice to say they have taken -pains to be obliging to me. The Procurator brought his niece (who is at -the head of his family) to wait on me; and they invited me to reside -with them at their palace on the Brent, but I did not think it proper to -accept of it. He also introduced me to the Signora Pisani Mocenigo, who -is the most considerable lady here. The Nuncio is particularly civil to -me; he has been several times to see me, and has offered me the use of -his box at the opera. I have many others at my service, and, in short -it, is impossible for a stranger to be better received than I am. Here -are no English, except a Mr. Bertie and his governor, who arrived two -days ago, and who intends but a short stay." - - -Lady Mary thoroughly enjoyed herself at Venice, where she found a -variety of occupations to occupy her time. In the mornings she was -"wrapt up among my books with antiquarians and virtuosi"; in the -afternoons there were visits to pay and receive; in the evenings dinners -(at other people's expense--which fact did not detract from her -pleasure), assemblies, and the theatre and the opera. In fact, she found -there every delight except scandal, but that she did not miss, because -she said, she "never found any pleasure in malice." So strange a thing -is human nature that perhaps she believed it! - - -"Upon my word, I have spoken my real thoughts in relation to Venice; but -I will be more particular in my description, lest you should find the -same reason of complaint you have hitherto experienced" (she wrote in -November to Lady Pomfret). "It is impossible to give any rule for the -agreeableness of conversation; but here is so great a variety, I think -'tis impossible not to find some to suit every taste. Here are foreign -ministers from all parts of the world, who, as they have no Court to -employ their hours, are overjoyed to enter into commerce with any -stranger of distinction. As I am the only lady here at present, I can -assure you I am courted, as if I was the only one in the world. As to -all the conveniences of life, they are to be had at very easy rates; and -for those that love public places, here are two playhouses and two -operas constantly performed every night, at exceeding low prices. But -you will have no reason to examine that article, no more than myself; -all the ambassadors having boxes appointed them; and I have every one of -their keys at my service, not only for my own person, but whoever I -please to carry or send. I do not make much use of this privilege, to -their great astonishment. It is the fashion for the greatest ladies to -walk the streets, which are admirably paved; and a mask, price sixpence, -with a little cloak, and the head of a domino, the genteel dress to -carry you everywhere. The greatest equipage is a gondola, that holds -eight persons, and is the price of an English chair. And it is so much -the established fashion for everybody to live their own way, that -nothing is more ridiculous than censuring the actions of another. This -would be terrible in London, where we have little other diversion; but -for me, who never found any pleasure in malice, I bless my destiny that -has conducted me to a part where people are better employed than in -talking of the affairs of their acquaintance. It is at present excessive -cold (which is the only thing I have to find fault with), but in -recompense we have a clear bright sun, and fogs and factions things -unheard of in this climate." - - -Certainly everybody did the utmost to make Venice agreeable to Lady -Mary. With all her good opinion of herself and of her position, she -found herself treated with more distinction than she "could possibly -expect." When, on Christmas Eve, she went to see the ceremony of High -Mass celebrated by the Doge, she was surprised to find that he had set -aside for her and the Prince of Wolfenbuttel a gallery, to which none -were admitted but their parties. "A greater compliment could not have -been paid me if I had been a sovereign Princess." To her husband she -wrote: "It is impossible to be better treated, I may even say more -courted, than I am here." - -All the English who came to Venice, as a matter of course paid their -respects to Lady Mary. - - -"Lord Fitzwilliam arrived here three days ago; he came to see me the -next day, as all the English do, who are much surprised at the -civilities and familiarity which I am with the noble ladies. Everybody -tells me 'tis what never was done but to myself; and I own I have a -little vanity in it, because the French ambassador told me when I first -came, that though the Procurator Grimani might persuade them to visit -me, he defied me to enter into any sort of intimacy with them: instead -of which they call me out almost every day on some diversion or other, -and are desirous to have me in all their parties of pleasure. I am -invited to-morrow to the Foscarini to dinner, which is to be followed -by a concert and a ball, where I shall be the only stranger, though here -are at present a great number come to see the regatta, which is fixed -for the 29th of this month, N.S. I shall see it at the Procurator -Grimani's, where there will be a great entertainment that day. My own -house is very well situated to see it, being on the Grand Canal; but I -would not refuse him and his niece, since they seem desirous of my -company, and I shall oblige some other ladies with my windows. They are -hired at a great rate to see the show." - -There was just one fly in the ointment. "I am impatient to hear good -sense pronounced in my native tongue; having only heard my language out -of the mouths of boys and governors for these five months" (she -complained to Lady Pomfret). "Here are inundations of them broke in upon -us this carnival, and my apartment must be their refuge; the greater -part of them having kept an inviolable fidelity to the languages their -nurses taught them; their whole business abroad (as far as I can -perceive) being to buy new clothes, in which they shine in some obscure -coffee-house, where they are sure of meeting only one another; and after -the important conquest of some waiting gentlewoman of an opera queen, -whom perhaps they remember as long as they live, return to England -excellent judges of men and manners. I find the spirit of patriotism so -strong in me every time I see them, that I look on them as the greatest -blockheads in nature; and, to say truth, the compound of booby and -_petit maître_ makes up a very odd sort of animal." - -It was not until the middle of August (1740) that Lady Mary left Venice, -going first to Bologna, where she stayed a day or two "to prepare for -the dreadful passage of the Apennines." On her way to Florence, she -visited the monastery of La Trappe--her account of which may be given as -a companion portrait to that of the nunnery printed in an earlier -chapter. - - -"The monastery of La Trappe, is of French origin, and one of the most -austere and self-denying orders I have met with. In this gloomy retreat -it gave me pain to observe the infatuation of men, who have devoutly -reduced themselves to a much worse condition than that of the beasts. -Folly, you see, is the lot of humanity, whether it arises in the flowery -paths of pleasure, or the thorny ones of an ill-judged devotion. But of -the two sorts of fools, I shall always think that the merry one has the -most eligible fate; and I cannot well form a notion of that spiritual -and ecstatic joy, that is mixed with sighs, groans, hunger, and thirst, -and the other complicated miseries of monastic discipline. It is a -strange way of going to work for happiness to excite an enmity between -soul and body, which Nature and Providence have designed to live -together in union and friendship, and which we cannot separate like man -and wife when they happen to disagree. The profound silence that is -enjoined upon the monks of La Trappe is a singular circumstance of their -unsociable and unnatural discipline, and were this injunction never to -be dispensed with, it would be needless to visit them in any other -character than as a collection of statues; but the superior of the -convent suspended in our favour that rigorous law, and allowed one of -the mutes to converse with me, and answer a few discreet questions. He -told me that the monks of this order in France are still more austere -than those of Italy, as they never taste wine, flesh, fish, or eggs; but -live entirely upon vegetables. The story that is told of the institution -of this order is remarkable, and is well attested, if my information is -good. Its founder was a French nobleman whose name was Bouthillior de -Rancé, a man of pleasure and gallantry, which were converted into the -deepest gloom of devotion by the following incident. His affairs obliged -him to absent himself, for some time, from a lady with whom he had lived -in the most intimate and tender connexions of successful love. At his -return to Paris he proposed to surprise her agreeably, and, at the same -time, to satisfy his own impatient desire of seeing her, by going -directly and without ceremony to her apartment by a back stair, which he -was well acquainted with--but think of the spectacle that presented -itself to him at his entrance into the chamber that had so often been -the scene of love's highest raptures! his mistress dead--dead of the -small-pox--disfigured beyond expression--a loathsome mass of putrified -matter--and the surgeon separating the head from the body, because the -coffin had been made too short! He stood for a moment motionless in -amazement, and filled with horror--and then retired from the world, shut -himself up in the convent of La Trappe, where he passed the remainder of -his days in the most cruel and disconsolate devotion.--Let us quit this -sad subject." - - -The news that Lady Mary was coming to Florence came to the ears of -Horace Walpole, who was staying there. If he had not yet made her -acquaintance, he certainly knew much about her. "On Wednesday we expect -a third she-meteor," he wrote to Richard West, July 31, 1740. "Those -learned luminaries the Ladies Pomfret and Walpole[9] are to be joined by -the Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. You have not been witness to the rhapsody -of mystic nonsense which these two fair ones debate incessantly, and -consequently cannot figure what must be the issue of this triple -alliance: we have some idea of it. Only figure the coalition of prudery, -debauchery, sentiment, history, Greek, Latin, French, Italian and -metaphysics; all, except the second, understood by halves, by quarters, -or not at all. You shall have the journals of this notable academy." -Walpole sent, some seven weeks later, an account of the lady to the Hon. -Henry Seymour Conway: "Did I tell you Lady Mary Wortley is here? She -laughs at my Lady Walpole, scolds my Lady Pomfret, and is laughed at by -the whole town. Her dress, her avarice, and her impudence must amaze any -one that never heard her name. She wears a foul mob, that does not cover -her greasy black locks, that hang loose, never combed or curled, -mazarine blue wrapper, that gapes open and discovers a canvas petticoat. -Her face swollen violently on one side is partly covered with a -plaister, and partly with white paint, which for cheapness she has -bought so coarse, that you would not use it to wash a chimney." - -[Footnote 9: The wife of the eldest son of Sir Robert Walpole, who in -1723 was created Baron Walpole. He later succeeded as (second) Earl of -Orford.] - -In another letter, to Richard West (October 2, 1740), Walpole gives an -account of the "Academy." "But for the Academy, I am not of it; but -frequently in company with it," he wrote. "Tis all disjointed. Madame -----,[10] who, though a learned lady, has not lost her modesty and -character, is extremely scandalised with the two other dames, especially -with Moll Worthless,[11] who knows no bounds. She is at rivalry with -Lady W---- [12] for a certain Mr.----, whom perhaps you knew at -Oxford.... He fell into sentiments with my Lady W., and was happy to -catch her at platonic love; but as she seldom stops there, the poor man -will be frightened out of his senses when she shall break the matter to -him, for he never dreamt that her purposes were so naught. Lady Mary is -so far gone that to get him from the mouth of her antagonist, she -literally took him out to dance country dances at a formal ball, where -there was no measure kept in laughing at her.... She played at Pharaoh -two or three times at Princess Craon's, where she cheats horse and foot. -She is really entertaining: I have been reading her works, which she -lends out in manuscript; but they are too womanish: I like few of her -performances." - -[Footnote 10: Lady Pomfret.] -[Footnote 11: Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.] -[Footnote 12: Lady Walpole.] - -Lady Mary was, of course, entirely ignorant of Horace Walpole's feelings -about her, of which naturally he showed no sign in social intercourse -with her. "I saw him often both at Florence and Genoa, and you may -believe I know him," she told her daughter. "I was well acquainted with -Mr. Walpole at Florence, and indeed he was particularly civil to me," -she wrote on another occasion. "I have great encouragement to ask favour -of him, if I did not know that few people have so good memories to -remember so many years backwards as have passed since I have seen him. -If he has treated the character of Queen Elizabeth with disrespect [in -_A Catalogue of the Royal and Noble Authors of England_], all the women -should tear him to pieces, for abusing the glory of their sex. Neither -is it just to put her in the list of authors, having never published -anything, though we have Mr. Camden's authority that she wrote many -valuable pieces, chiefly Greek translations. I wish all monarchs would -bestow their leisure hours on such studies: perhaps they would not be -very useful to mankind; but it may be asserted, for a certain truth, -their own minds could be more improved than by the amusements of -quadrille or Cavagnole." - -Lady Mary need not have feared that Walpole had forgotten her; he bore -her much in mind to his dying day, and found never a kind thing to say -about her. It may be presumed that his animosity arose from the fact -that Lady Mary had championed Molly Skerritt against his mother, when -Miss Skerritt was living openly as the mistress of Sir Robert Walpole. -Yet, though he wrote so abusively about her, he concerned himself with a -new edition of the _Court Poems_, though with what right has never -transpired. "I have lately had Lady Mary Wortley's Ecloques published; -but they don't please, though so excessively good," he wrote to Sir -Horace Mann, November 24, 1747. "I say so confidently, for Mr. Chute -agrees with me: he says, for the _Epistle from Arthur Grey_, scarce any -woman could have written it, and no man; for a man who had had -experience enough to paint such sentiments so well, would not have had -warmth enough left. Do you know anything of Lady Mary? Her adventurous -son is come in Parliament, but has not opened." - -From Florence, Lady Mary repaired to Rome. There, she did not see the -Chevalier de St. George, but she did see his two sons, Charles Edward, -the Young Pretender, and Henry, Cardinal York. "The eldest seems -thoughtless enough, and is really not unlike Mr. Lyttelton in his shape -and air," she wrote to Montagu. "The youngest is very well made, dances -finely, and has an ingenuous countenance; he is but fourteen years of -age. The family live very splendidly, yet pay everybody, and (wherever -they get it) are certainly in no want of money." - -Lady Mary seems to have had no prepared itinerary, but to have wandered -as the spirit moved her--Naples, Leghorn, Turin, Genoa. The cheapness of -Italy appealed to her frugal mind. - -"The manners of Italy are so much altered since we were here last, the -alteration is scarce credible. They say it has been by the last war. The -French, being masters, introduced all their customs, which were eagerly -embraced by the ladies, and I believe will never be laid aside; yet the -different governments make different manners in every state. You know, -though the republic is not rich, here are many private families vastly -so, and live at a great superfluous expense: all the people of the first -quality keep coaches as fine as the Speaker's, and some of them two or -three, though the streets are too narrow to use them in the town; but -they take the air in them, and their chairs carry them to the gates. The -liveries are all plain: gold or silver being forbidden to be worn within -the walls, the habits are all obliged to be black, but they wear -exceeding fine lace and linen; and in their country-houses, which are -generally in the faubuurg, they dress very rich, and have extreme fine -jewels. Here is nothing cheap but houses. A palace fit for a prince may -be hired for fifty pounds per annum; I mean unfurnished. All games of -chance are strictly prohibited, and it seems to me the only law they do -not try to evade: they play at quadrille, piquet, &c., but not high. -Here are no regular public assemblies. I have been visited by all of the -first rank, and invited to several fine dinners, particularly to the -wedding of one of the house of Spinola, where there were ninety-six sat -down to table, and I think the entertainment one of the best I ever saw. -There was the night following a ball and supper for the same company, -with the same profusion. They tell me that all their great marriages are -kept in the same public manner. Nobody keeps more than two horses, all -their journeys being post; the expense of them, including the coachman, -is (I am told) fifty pounds per annum. A chair is very near as much; I -give eighteen francs a week for mine. The senators can converse with no -strangers during the time of their magistracy, which lasts two years. -The number of servants is regulated, and almost every lady has the same, -which is two footmen, a gentleman-usher, and a page, who follows her -chair. - - -Certainly the simple life appealed to Lady Mary, but much as she liked -Geneva the cost of living irked her. "Everything is as dear as it is at -London," she complained to her husband in November, 1741. "'Tis true, as -all equipages are forbidden, that expense is entirely retrenched.... The -way of living is absolutely the reverse of that in Italy. Here is no -show, and a great deal of eating; there is all the magnificence -imaginable, and no dinners but on particular occasions; yet the -difference of the prices renders the total expense very near equal.... -The people here are very well to be liked, and this little republic has -an air of the simplicity of old Rome in its earliest age. The -magistrates toil with their own hands, and their wives literally dress -their dinners against their return from their little senate. Yet without -dress and equipage 'tis as dear living here for a stranger, as in places -where one is obliged to both, from the price of all sort of provision, -which they are forced to buy from their neighbours, having almost no -land of their own." How much more agreeable, from Lady Mary's point of -view, was Chambery: "Here is the most profound peace and unbounded -plenty that is to be found in any corner of the universe; but not one -rag of money. For my part, I think it amounts to the same thing, whether -one is obliged to give several pence for bread, or can have a great deal -of bread for a penny, since the Savoyard nobility here keep as good -tables, without money, as those in London, who spend in a week what -would be here a considerable yearly revenue. Wine, which is equal to the -best burgundy, is sold for a penny a quart, and I have a cook for very -small wages, that is capable of rivalling Chloé." - -"My girl gives me great prospect of satisfaction, but my young rogue of -a son is the most ungovernable little rake that ever played truant," -Lady Mary wrote to Lady Mar in July, 1727, when the boy was fourteen and -the girl nine years old. - - -It has already been mentioned that young Edward, who was placed at -Westminster School at the early age of five, ran away. In fact, he ran -away more than once. "My blessed offspring has already made a great -noise in the world," his mother told Lady Mar in July, 1726. "That young -rake, my son, took to his heels t'other day and transported his person -to Oxford; being in his own opinion thoroughly qualified for the -University. After a good deal of search we found and reduced him, much -against his will, to the humble condition of a schoolboy. It happens -very luckily that the sobriety and discretion is of my daughter's side; -I am sorry the ugliness is so too, for my son grows extremely handsome." -The lad was incorrigible. In the following year he disappeared for some -months, to be found selling fish at Blackwall. - - -"My cousin is going to Paris, and I will not let her go without a letter -for you, my dear sister, though I was never in a worse humour for -writing" (the anxious mother wrote to her sister). "I am vexed to the -blood by my young rogue of a son; who has contrived at his age to make -himself the talk of the whole nation. He is gone knight-erranting, God -knows where; and hitherto 'tis impossible to find him. You may judge of -my uneasiness by what your own would be if dear Lady Fanny was lost. -Nothing that ever happened to me has troubled me so much; I can hardly -speak or write of it with tolerable temper, and I own it has changed -mine to that degree I have a mind to cross the water, to try what effect -a new heaven and a new earth will have upon my spirit." - - -Later, Edward ran away again, joining the crew of a ship going to -Oporto, and was not discovered in that city until a considerable period -had elapsed since his flight. - -He capped all his follies by marrying at the age of twenty a woman of no -social standing and much older than himself. - -His parents were at their wits' end. It was hopeless to treat him as a -rational being. His wife was induced to accept a pension to leave him, -and he himself was put in charge of a keeper. Several times he had to be -kept in close confinement. He was, however, by no means devoid of -brains, and in the autumn of 1741 he had sufficiently recovered to be -entered as a student at the University of Leyden. His allowance was Ł300 -a year, which he found so insufficient for the indulgence of his tastes -that he was soon considerably in debt. - -In Lady Mary's correspondence there are many letters to her husband -about their son. - - -"Genoa, Aug. 15, 1741. - -"I am sorry to trouble you on so disagreeable a subject as our son, but -I received a letter from him last post, in which he solicits your -dissolving his marriage, as if it was wholly in your power, and the -reason he gives for it, is so that he may marry more to your -satisfaction. It is very vexatious (though no more than I expected) that -time has no effect, and that it is impossible to convince him of his -true situation. He enclosed this letter in one to Mr. Birtles, and tells -me that he does not doubt that debt of Ł200 is paid. You may imagine -this silly proceeding occasioned me a dun from Mr. Birtles. I told him -the person that wrote the letter, was, to my knowledge, not worth a -groat, which was all I thought proper to say on the subject." - - -"Lyons, April 23, 1742. - -"I am very glad you have been prevailed on to let our son take a -commission: if you had prevented it, he would have always said, and -perhaps thought, and persuaded other people, you had hindered his -rising in the world; though I am fully persuaded that he can never make -a tolerable figure in any station of life. When he was at Morins, on his -first leaving France, I then tried to prevail with him to serve the -Emperor as volunteer; and represented to him that a handsome behaviour -one campaign might go a great way in retrieving his character; and -offered to use my interest with you (which I said I did not doubt would -succeed) to furnish him with a handsome equipage. He then answered, he -supposed I wished him killed out of the way. I am afraid his pretended -reformation is not very sincere. I wish time may prove me in the wrong. -I here enclose the last letter I received from him; I answered it the -following post in these words: - -"'I am very glad you resolve to continue obedient to your father, and -are sensible of his goodness towards you. Mr. Birtles showed me your -letter to him, in which you enclosed yours to me, where you speak to him -as your friend; subscribing yourself his faithful humble servant. He was -at Genoa in his uncle's house when you was there, and well acquainted -with you; though you seem ignorant of everything relating to him. I wish -you would make such sort of apologies for any errors you may commit. I -pray God your future behaviour may redeem the past, which will be a -great blessing to your affectionate mother.' - -"I have not since heard from him; I suppose he knew not what to say to -so plain a detected falsehood. It is very disagreeable to me to converse -with one from whom I do not expect to hear a word of truth, and who, I -am very sure, will repeat many things that never passed in our -conversation. You see the most solemn assurances are not binding from -him, since he could come to London in opposition to your commands, after -having so frequently protested he would not move a step except by your -order. However, as you insist on my seeing him, I will do it, and think -Valence the properest town for that interview; it is but two days' -journey from this place; it is in Dauphiné. - -"I shall stay here till I have an answer to this letter. If you order -your son to go to Valence, I desire you would give him a strict command -of going by a feigned name. I do not doubt your returning me whatever -money I may give him; but as I believe, if he receives money from me, he -will be making me frequent visits, it is clearly my opinion I should -give him none. Whatever you may think proper for his journey, you may -remit to him." - - -"Lyons, April 25 [1742]. - -"On recollection (however inconvenient it may be to me on many -accounts), I am not sorry to converse with my son. I shall at least have -the satisfaction of making a clear judgment of his behaviour and temper: -which I shall deliver to you in the most sincere and unprejudiced -manner. You need not apprehend that I shall speak to him in passion. I -do not know that I ever did in my life. I am not apt to be over-heated -in discourse, and am so far prepared, even for the worst on his side, -that I think nothing he can say can alter the resolution I have taken of -treating him with calmness. Both nature and interest (were I inclined to -follow blindly the dictates of either) would determine me to wish him -your heir rather than a stranger; but I think myself obliged both by -honour, conscience and my regard for you, no way to deceive you; and I -confess, hitherto I see nothing but falsehood and weakness through his -whole conduct. It is possible this person may be altered since I saw -him, but his figure then was very agreeable and his manner insinuating. -I very well remember the professions he made to me, and do not doubt he -is as lavish of them to other people. Perhaps Lord Carteret may think -him no ill match for an ugly girl that sticks upon his hands. The -project of breaking his marriage shows at least his devotion -counterfeit, since I am sensible it cannot be done but by false witness. -His wife is not young enough to get gallants, nor rich enough to buy -them. - -"I make choice of Valence for our interview as a town where we are not -likely to find any English, and he may if he pleases be quite unknown; -which it is hardly possible to be in any capital town either of France -or Italy. - - -"Lyons, May 2 [1742]. - -"I received this morning yours of April 12, and at the same time the -enclosed which I send you. Tis the first I have received since the -detection of that falsehood in regard to Mr. Birtles. I always send my -letters open, that Mr. Clifford (who has the character of sense and -honesty) might be witness of what I said; and he not left at liberty to -forge orders he never received. I am very glad I have done so, and am -persuaded that had his reformation been what you suppose it, Mr. -Clifford would have wrote to me in his favour. I confess I see no -appearance of it. His last letter to you, and this to me, seems to be no -more in that submissive style he has used, but like one that thinks -himself well protected. I will see him, since you desire it, at Valence; -which is a by-town, where I am less likely to meet with English than any -town in France; but I insist on his going by a feigned name, and coming -without a servant. People of superior fortunes to him (to my knowledge) -have often travelled from Paris to Lyons in the _diligence_; the expense -is but one hundred livres, Ł5 sterling, all things paid. It would not be -easy to me, at this time, to send him any considerable sum; and whatever -it is, I am persuaded, coming from me, he would not be satisfied with -it, and make his complaints to his companions. As to the alteration of -his temper, I see the same folly throughout. He now supposes (which is -at best downright childish) that one hour's conversation will convince -me of his sincerity. I have not answered his letter, nor will not, till -I have your orders what to say to him." - - -[Avignon] May 6 [1742]. - -"I here send you enclosed the letter I mentioned of your son's; the -packet in which it was put was mislaid in the journey; it will serve to -show you how little he is to be depended on. I saw a Savoyard man of -quality at Chambery, who knew him at Venice, and afterwards at Genoa, -who asked me (not suspecting him for my son) if he was related to my -family. I made answer he was some relation. He told me several tricks of -his. He said, that at Genoa he had told him that an uncle of his was -dead and had left him Ł5,000 or Ł6,000 per annum, and that he was -returning to England to take possession of his estate; in the meantime -he wanted money; and would have borrowed some of him, which he refused. -I made answer that he did very well. I have heard of this sort of -conduct in other places; and by the Dutch letters you have sent me I am -persuaded he continues the same method of lying which convinces me that -his pretended enthusiasm is only to cheat those that can be imposed on -by it. However, I think he should not be hindered accepting a -commission. I do not doubt it will be pawned or sold in a twelvemonth; -which will prove to those that now protect him how little he deserves -it. I am now at Avignon, which is within one day's journey of Valence." - - -"Avignon, May 23 [1742]. - -"I received this morning yours of April 12 and 29th, and at the same -time one from my son at Paris, dated the 4th instant. I have wrote to -him this day, that on his answer I will immediately set out to Valence, -and shall be glad to see him there. I suppose you are now convinced I -have never been mistaken in his character; which remains unchanged, and -what is yet worse, I think is unchangeable. I never saw such a -complication of folly and falsity as in his letter to Mr. Gibson. -Nothing is cheaper than living in an inn in a country town in France; -they being obliged to ask no more than twenty-five sous for dinner, and -thirty for supper and lodging, of those that eat at the public table; -which all the young men of quality I have met have always done. It is -true I am forced to pay double, because I think the decency of my sex -confines me to eat in my chamber. I will not trouble you with detecting -a number of other falsehoods that are in his letters. My opinion on the -whole (since you give me leave to tell it) is, that if I was to speak -in your place, I would tell him, 'That since he is obstinate in going -into the army, I will not oppose it; but as I do not approve, I will -advance no equipage till I know his behaviour to be such as shall -deserve my future favour. Hitherto he has always been directed, either -by his own humour, or the advice of those he thought better friends to -him than myself. If he renounces the army, I will continue to him his -former allowance; notwithstanding his repeated disobedience, under the -most solemn professions of duty. When I see him act like a sincere -honest man, I shall believe well of him; the opinion of others, who -either do not know him or are imposed on by his pretences, weighs -nothing with me." - - -On May 30 Lady Mary went from Avignon to Valence, where about a week -later her son visited her. She at once sent a full account to Montagu. - - -"Avignon, June 10 [1742.] - -"I am just returned from passing two days with our son, of whom I will -give you the most exact account I am capable of. He is so much altered -in his person, I should scarcely have known him. He has entirely lost -his beauty, and looks at least seven years older than he is; and the -wildness that he always had in his eyes is so much increased it is -downright shocking, and I am afraid will end fatally. He is grown fat, -but is still genteel, and has an air of politeness that is agreeable. He -speaks French like a Frenchman, and has got all the fashionable -expressions of that language, and a volubility of words which he always -had, and which I do not wonder should pass for wit with inconsiderate -people. His behaviour is perfectly civil, and I found him very -submissive; but in the main, no way really improved in his -understanding, which is exceedingly weak; and I am convinced he will -always be led by the person he converses with either right or wrong, not -being capable of forming any fixed judgment of his own. As to his -enthusiasm, if he had it, I suppose he has already lost it; since I -could perceive no turn of it in all his conversation. But with his head -I believe it is possible to make him a monk one day and a Turk three -days after. He has a flattering, insinuating manner, which naturally -prejudices strangers in his favour. He began to talk to me in the usual -silly cant I have so often heard from him, which I shortened by telling -him I desired not to be troubled with it; that professions were of no -use where actions were expected; and that the only thing could give me -hopes of a good conduct was regularity and truth. He very readily agreed -to all I said (as indeed he has always done when he has not been -hot-headed). I endeavoured to convince him how favourably he has been -dealt with, his allowance being much more than, had I been his father, I -would have given in the same case. The Prince of Hesse, who is now -married to the Princess of England, lived some years at Geneva on Ł300 -per annum. Lord Hervey sent his son at sixteen thither, and to travel -afterwards, on no larger pension than Ł200; and, though without a -governor, he had reason enough, not only to live within the compass of -it, but carried home little presents for his father and mother, which he -showed me at Turin. In short, I know there is no place so expensive, but -a prudent single man may live in it on Ł100 per annum, and an -extravagant one may run out ten thousand in the cheapest. Had you (said -I to him) thought rightly, or would have regarded the advice I gave you -in all my letters, while in the little town of Islestein, you would have -laid up Ł150 per annum; you would now have had Ł750 in your pocket; -which would have almost paid your debts, and such a management would -have gained you the esteem of the reasonable part of mankind. I -perceived this reflection, which he had never made himself, had a very -great weight with him. He would have excused part of his follies, by -saying Mr. G. had told him it became Mr. W.'s son to live handsomely. I -made answer, that whether Mr. G. had said so or no, the good sense of -the thing was noway altered by it; that the true figure of a man was -the opinion the world had of his sense and probity, and not the idle -expenses, which were only respected by foolish or ignorant people; that -his case was particular, he had but too publicly shown his inclination -to vanities, and the most becoming part he could now act would be owning -the ill use he had made of his father's indulgence, and professing to -endeavour to be no further expense to him, instead of scandalous -complaints, and being always at his last shirt and last guinea, which -any man of spirit would be ashamed to own. I prevailed so far with him -that he seemed very willing to follow this advice; and I gave him a -paragraph to write to G., which I suppose you will easily distinguish -from the rest of his letter. He asked me if you had settled your estate. -I made answer, that I did not doubt (like all other wise men) you always -had a will by you; but that you had certainly not put anything out of -your power to change. On that, he began to insinuate, that if I could -prevail on you to settle the estate on him, I might expect anything from -his gratitude. I made him a very clear and positive answer in these -words: 'I hope your father will outlive me, and if I should be so -unfortunate to have it otherwise, I do not believe he will leave me in -your power, But was I sure of the contrary, no interest nor no necessity -shall ever make me act against my honour or conscience; and I plainly -tell you, that I will never persuade your father to do anything for you -till I think you deserve it.' He answered by great promises of future -good behaviour, and economy. He is highly delighted with the prospect of -going into the army; and mightily pleased with the good reception he had -from Lord Stair, though I find it amounts to no more than telling him he -was sorry he had already named his aides-de-camp, and otherwise should -have been glad of him in that post. He says Lord Carteret has confirmed -to him his promise of a commission. - -"The rest of his conversation was extremely gay. The various things he -has seen has given him a superficial universal knowledge. He really -knows most of the modern languages, and if I could believe him, can read -Arabic, and has read the Bible in Hebrew. He said it was impossible for -him to avoid going back to Paris; but he promised me to lie but one -night there, and go to a town six posts from thence on the Flanders -road, where he would wait your orders, and go by the name of Mons. du -Durand, a Dutch officer; under which name I saw him. These are the most -material passages, and my eyes are so much tired I can write no more at -this time. I gave him 240 livres for his journey." - - -No amount of admonition had any effect upon Edward. At the age of thirty -he was as irresponsible as he was when he was thirteen years old. He -promised his mother at Avignon most solemnly to reform, and at once got -into mischief. "I am persuaded," Lady Mary said, "whoever protects him -will be very soon convinced of the impossibility of his behaving like a -rational creature." - - -Avignon, November 20, 1743. - -"As to my son's behaviour at Montelimart, it is nothing more than a -proof of his weakness; and how little he is to be depended on in his -most solemn professions. He told me that he had made acquaintance with a -lady on the road, who has an assembly at her house at Montelimart, and -that she had invited him thither. I asked immediately if she knew his -name. He assured me no, and that he passed for a Dutch officer by the -name of Durand. I advised him not go thither, since it would raise a -curiosity concerning him, and I was very unwilling it should be known -that I had conversed with him, on many accounts. He gave me the most -solemn assurances that no mortal should know it; and agreed with me in -the reasons I gave him for keeping it an entire secret; yet rid straight -to Montelimart, where he told at the assembly that he came into this -country purely on my orders, and that I had stayed with him two days at -Orange; talking much of my kindness to him, and insinuating that he had -another name, much more considerable than that he appeared with. I knew -nothing of this, till several months after, that a lady of that country -came hither, and meeting her in company, she asked me if I was -acquainted with Monsieur Durand. I had really forgot he had ever taken -that name, and made answer no; and that if such a person mentioned me, -it was probably some _chevalier d'industrie_ who sought to introduce -himself into company by a supposed acquaintance with me. She made -answer, the whole town believed so, by the improbable tales he told -them; and informed me what he had said; by which I knew what I have -related to you. - -"I expect your orders in relation to his letters." - - -Edward was still anxious to join the army, and his parents were not -averse to the scheme. Lady Mary, however, thought that certain -precautions should be taken in the event of his securing a commission. -"It is my opinion," she wrote to Montagu in January, 1744, "he should -have no distinction, in equipage, from any other cornet; everything of -that sort will only serve to blow his vanity and consequently heighten -his folly. Your indulgence has always been greater to him than any other -parent's would have been in the same circumstances. I have always said -so, and thought so. If anything can alter him, it will be thinking -firmly that he has no dependence but on his own conduct for a future -maintenance." - - -Edward obtained a commission, and was present at Fontenoy. - -On his return to England, in 1747, he was elected to Parliament for the -family borough of Huntingdon. This he held until 1754, when he was -returned for the borough of Bossiney, in Cornwall, which he represented -for the next eight years. - -Of his subsequent career it is not necessary to say anything here, -except that his father left him an annuity of Ł1,000 a year, to be -increased to Ł2,000 on his mother's death. Lady Mary in her will -bequeathed him one guinea. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -LADY MARY AS A READER - -Her fondness for reading--Her difficulty to get enough books while -abroad--Lady Bute keeps her supplied--Lady Mary's catholic taste in -literature--Samuel Richardson--The vogue of _Clarissa Harlowe_--Lady -Mary tells a story of the Richardson type--Henry Fielding--_Joseph -Andrews--Tom Jones_--Her high opinion of Fielding and Steele--Tobias -Smollett--_Peregrine Pickle--_Lady Vane's _Memoirs of a Lady of -Quality_--Sarah Fielding--Minor writers--Lord Orrery's _Remarks on -Swift_--Bolingbroke's works--Addison and Pope--Dr. Johnson. - - -In her quiet retreat, Lady Mary found plenty of time for books. "I yet -retain and carefully cherish my taste for reading," she wrote to her -daughter in 1752. "If relays of eyes were to be hired like post-horses, -I would never admit any but select companions: they afford a constant -variety of entertainment, and is almost the only one pleasing in the -enjoyment and inoffensive in the consequence." - -Her trouble was that she could not get books enough to occupy her time. -She was always asking Lady Bute to send her some, and was duly grateful -when they reached her. "I fancy you are now saying, 'tis a sad thing to -grow old; what does my poor mamma mean by troubling me with criticisms -on books that nobody but herself will ever read? You must allow -something to my solitude." And again: "I thank God my taste still -continues for the gay part of reading. Wiser people may call it -trifling, but it serves to sweeten life to me, and is worst better than -the generality of conversation." - -Lady Mary's taste in books was catholic. She has seen the "Memoirs of -her old friend, the Duchess of Maryborough," but would be glad of the -_Apology for a late Resignation_ and of Colin Campbell's books on -_Architecture_. She has read Mrs. Lennox's _The Female Quixote_, and -much of Sarah Fielding; and she desires Henry Fielding's posthumous -works, with his _Memoirs of Jonathan Wild_ and _The Journey to the Next -World;_ also the _Memoirs of Verocand_, a man of pleasure, and those of -a Young Lady. "You will call all this trash, trumpery, etc.," she said -to her daughter. "I can assure you I was more entertained by G. Edwards -than H. St. John, of whom you have sent me duplicates. I see new story -books with the same pleasure your eldest daughter does a new dress, or -the youngest a new baby. I thank God, I can find playthings for my age. -I am not of Cowley's mind, that this world is - - 'A dull, ill-acted comedy;' - -nor of Mr. Philips's, that it is - - 'A too well-acted tragedy.' - - -"I look upon it as a very pretty farce, for those that can see it in -that light. I confess a severe critic, that would examine by ancient -rules, might find many defects, but 'tis ridiculous to judge seriously -of a puppet-show. Those that can laugh, and be diverted with -absurdities, are the wisest spectators, be it of writings, actions, or -people." - - -Presently Lady Mary is asking for books the names of which she has seen -in the-newspapers: "_Fortunate Mistress, Accomplished Rake, Mrs. -Charke's Memoirs, Modern Lovers, History of Two Orphans, Memoirs of -David Ranger, Miss Mostyn, Dick Hazard, History of a Lady Platonist, -Sophia Shakespear, Jasper Banks, Frank Hammond, Sir Andrew Thompson, Van -a Clergyman's Son, Cheantles and Celemena_. I do not doubt at least the -greater part of these are trash, lumber, etc.; however, they will serve -to pass away the idle time, if you will be so kind as to send them to -your most affectionate mother." - -Richardson Lady Mary liked in spite of herself, as so many others then -and since have done, though it is true that she spoke of the "very -extraordinary (and I think undeserved) success of Pamela, which, she -said, was all the fashion at Paris and Versailles, and is still the joy -of the chambermaids of all nations." - - -"I was such an old fool as to weep over _Clarissa Harlowe_, like any -milkmaid of sixteen over the ballad of the _Lady's Fall_" (she wrote to -her daughter). "To say truth, the first volume softened me by a near -resemblance of my maiden days; but on the whole 'tis most miserable -stuff. Miss How, who is called a young lady of sense and honour, is not -only extreme silly, but a more vicious character than Sally Martin, -whose crimes are owing at first to seduction, and afterwards to -necessity; while this virtuous damsel, without any reason, insults her -mother at home and ridicules her abroad; abuses the man she marries; and -is impertinent and impudent with great applause. Even that model of -affection, Clarissa, is so faulty in her behaviour as to deserve little -compassion. Any girl that runs away with a young fellow, without -intending to marry him, should be carried to Bridewell or to Bedlam the -next day. Yet the circumstances are so laid as to inspire tenderness, -notwithstanding the low style and absurd incidents; and I look upon this -and _Pamela_ to be two books that will do more general mischief than the -works of Lord Rochester. There is something humorous in _R. Random_, -that makes me believe that the author is H. Fielding. I am horribly -afraid I guess too well the writer of those abominable insipidities of -_Cornelia, Leonora_, and the _Ladies' Drawing Room_." - -"This Richardson is a strange fellow," she said in another letter. "I -heartily despise him, and eagerly read him, nay, sob over his works in a -most scandalous manner." - -"I have now read over Richardson--he sinks horribly in his third volume -(he does so in his story of _Clarissa_). When he talks of Italy, it is -plain he is no better acquainted with it than he is with the kingdom of -Mancomugi. He might have made his Sir Charles's amour with Clementina -begin in a convent, where the pensioners sometimes take great liberties, -but that such familiarity should be permitted in her father's house, is -as repugnant to custom, as it would be in London for a young lady of -quality to dance on the ropes at Bartholomew fair: neither does his hero -behave to her in a manner suitable to his nice notions. It was -impossible a discerning man should not see her passion early enough to -check it, if he had really designed it. His conduct puts me in mind of -some ladies I have known, who could never find out a man to be in love -with them, let him do or say what he would, till he made a direct -attempt, and then they were so surprised, I warrant you! Nor do I -approve Sir Charles's offered compromise (as he calls it). There must be -a great indifference as to religion on both sides, to make so strict a -union as marriage tolerable between people of such distinct persuasions. -He seems to think women have no souls, by agreeing so easily that his -daughters should be educated in bigotry and idolatry.--You will perhaps -think this last a hard word; yet it is not difficult to prove, that -either the papists are guilty of idolatry, or the pagans never were so. -You may see in Lucian (in his vindication of his images), that they did -not take their statues to be real gods, but only the representations of -them. The same doctrine may be found in Plutarch; and it is all the -modern priests have to say in excuse for their worshipping wood and -stone, though they cannot deny, at the same time, that the vulgar are -apt to confound that distinction." - - -Lady Mary frequently re-read Richardson, and not seldom referred to them -in her correspondence. - - -"It is certain there are as many marriages as ever. Richardson is so -eager for the multiplication of them, I suppose he is some parish -curate, whose chief profit depends on weddings and christenings. He is -not a man-midwife; for he would be better skilled in physic than to -think fits and madness any ornament to the characters of his heroines: -though his Sir Charles had no thoughts of marrying Clementina till she -had lost her wits, and the divine Clarissa never acted prudently till -she was in the same condition, and then very wisely desired to be -carried to Bedlam, which is really all that is to be done in that case. -Madness is as much corporal distemper as the gout or asthma, never -occasioned by affliction, or to be cured by the enjoyment of their -extravagant wishes. Passion may indeed bring on a fit, but the disease -is lodged in the blood, and it is not more ridiculous to attempt to -relieve the gout by an embroidered slipper, than to restore reason by -the gratification of wild desires. - -"Richardson is as ignorant in morality as he is in anatomy, when he -declares abusing an obliging husband, or an indulgent parent, to be an -innocent recreation. His Anna How and Charlotte Grandison are -recommended as patterns of charming pleasantry, and applauded by his -saint-like dames, who mistake pert folly for wit and humour, and -impudence and ill nature for spirit and fire. Charlotte behaves like a -humorsome child, and should have been used like one, and*** well whipped -in the presence of her friendly confidante Harriet. Lord Halifax very -justly tells his daughter, that a husband's kindness is to be kindly -received by a wife, even when he is drunk, and though it is wrapped up -in never so much impertinence. Charlotte acts with an ingratitude that I -think too black for human nature, with such coarse jokes and low -expressions as are only to be heard among the lowest class of people. -Women of that rank often plead a right to beat their husbands, when they -don't cuckold them; and I believe this author was never admitted into -higher company, and should confine his pen to the amours of housemaids, -and the conversation at the steward's table, where I imagine he has -sometimes intruded, though oftener in the servants hall: yet, if the -title be not a puff, this work has passed three editions. I do not -forgive him his disrespect of old china, which is below nobody's taste, -since it has been the D. of Argyll's, whose understanding has never been -doubted either by his friends or enemies. - -"Richardson never had probably money enough to purchase any, or even a -ticket for a masquerade, which gives him such an aversion to them; -though his intended satire against them is very absurd on the account of -his Harriet, since she might have been carried off in the same manner if -she had been going from supper with her grandmamma. Her whole behaviour, -which he designs to be exemplary, is equally blamable and ridiculous. -She follows the maxim of Clarissa, of declaring all she thinks to all -the people she sees, without reflecting that in this mortal state of -imperfection, fig-leaves are as necessary for our minds as our bodies, -and 'tis as indecent to show all we think, as all we have. He has no -idea of the manners of high life: his old Lord M. talks in the style of -a country justice, and his virtuous young ladies romp like the wenches -round a maypole. Such liberties as pass between Mr. Lovelace and his -cousins, are not to be excused by the relation. I should have been much -astonished if Lord Denbigh should have offered to kiss me; and I dare -swear Lord Trentham never attempted such an impertinence to you." - -Lady Mary was in sore trouble about Richardson. She would not like him, -she was angry with him, yet could never away with him. When she heard of -an adventure at Lovere, she, who herself had a gift for novel-writing, -must needs send an account of it to Lady Bute, saying that it exactly -resembled and, she believed, was copied from _Pamela_. "I know not under -what constellation that foolish stuff was wrote, but it has been -translated into more languages than any modern performance I ever heard -of," she added. "No proof of its influence was ever stronger than this -story, which in Richardson's hands would serve very well to furnish out -seven or eight volumes: I shall make it as short as I can." - - -As an example of Lady Mary's skill in narrative, her account of the -Richardsonian adventure is well worth reprinting. - - -"Here is a gentleman's family, consisting of an old bachelor and his -sister, who have fortune enough to live with great elegance, though -without any magnificence, possessed of the esteem of all their -acquaintance, he being distinguished by his probity, and she by her -virtue. They are not only suffered but sought by all the best company, -and indeed are the most conversable, reasonable people in the place. She -is an excellent housewife, and particularly remarkable for keeping her -pretty house as neat as any in Holland. She appears no longer in public, -being past fifty, and passes her time chiefly at home with her work, -receiving few visitants. This Signora Diana, about ten years since, saw, -at a monastery, a girl about eight years old, who came thither to beg -alms for her mother. Her beauty, though covered with rags, was very -observable, and gave great compassion to the charitable lady, who -thought it meritorious to rescue such a modest sweetness as appeared in -her face from the ruin to which her wretched circumstances exposed her. -She asked her some questions, to which she answered with a natural -civility that seemed surprising; and finding the head of her family (her -brother) to be a cobbler, who could hardly live by that trade, and her -mother too old to work for her maintenance, she bid the child follow her -home; and sending for her parent, proposed to her to breed the little -Octavia for her servant. This was joyfully accepted, the old woman -dismissed with a piece of money, and the girl remained with the Signora -Diana, who bought her decent clothes, and took pleasure in teaching her -whatever she was capable of learning. She learned to read, write, and -cast accounts, with uncommon facility; and had such a genius for work, -that she excelled her mistress in embroidery, point, and every operation -of the needle. She grew perfectly skilled in confectionary, had a good -insight into cookery, and was a great proficient in distillery. To these -accomplishments she was so handy, well bred, humble and modest, that not -only her master and mistress, but everybody that frequented the house, -took notice of her. She lived thus near nine years, never going out but -to church. However, beauty is as difficult to conceal as light; hers -began to make a great noise. Signora Diana told me she observed an -unusual concourse of pedling women that came on pretext to sell -penn'orths of lace, china, etc., and several young gentlemen, very well -powdered, that were perpetually walking before her door, and looking up -at the windows. These prognostics alarmed her prudence, and she listened -very willingly to some honourable proposals that were made by many -honest, thriving tradesmen. She communicated them to Octavia, and told -her, that though she was sorry to lose so good a servant, yet she -thought it right to advise her to choose a husband. The girl answered -modestly, that it was her duty to obey all her commands, but she found -no inclination to marriage; and if she would permit her to live single, -she should think it a greater obligation than any other she could -bestow. Signora Diana was too conscientious to force her into a state -from which she could not free her, and left her to her own disposal. -However, they parted soon after; whether (as the neighbours say) Signor -Aurelio Ardinghi, her brother, looked with too much attention on the -young woman, or that she herself (as Diana says) desired to seek a place -of more profit, she removed to Bergamo, where she soon found preferment, -being strongly recommended by the Ardinghi family. She was advanced to -be first waiting-woman to an old countess, who was so well pleased with -her service, she desired, on her death bed, Count Jeronimo Sosi, her -son, to be kind to her. He found no repugnance to this act of obedience, -having distinguished the beautiful Octavia from his first sight of her; -and, during the six months that she had served in the house, had tried -every art of a fine gentleman, accustomed to victories of that sort, to -vanquish the virtue of this fair virgin. He has a handsome figure, and -has had an education uncommon in this country, having made the tour of -Europe, and brought from Paris all the improvements that are to be picked -up there, being celebrated for his grace in dancing, and skill in -fencing and riding, by which he is a favourite among the ladies, and -respected by the men. Thus qualified for conquest, you may judge of his -surprise at the firm yet modest resistance of this country girl, who was -neither to be moved by address, nor gained by liberality, nor on any -terms would be prevailed on to stay as his housekeeper, after the death -of his mother. She took that post in the house of an old judge, where -she continued to be solicited by the emissaries of the count's passion, -and found a new persecutor in her master, who, after three months' -endeavour to corrupt her, offered her marriage. She chose to return to -her former obscurity, and escaped from his pursuit, without asking any -wages, and privately returned to the Signora Diana. She threw herself at -her feet, and, kissing her hands, begged her, with tears, to conceal her -at least some time, if she would not accept of her service. She -protested she had never been happy since she left it. While she was -making these submissions, Signor Aurelio entered. She entreated his -intercession on her knees, who was easily persuaded to consent she -should stay with them, though his sister blamed her highly for her -precipitate flight, having no reason, from the age and character of her -master, to fear any violence, and wondered at her declining the honour -he offered her. Octavia confessed that perhaps she had been too rash in -her proceedings, but said, that he seemed to resent her refusal in such -a manner as frighted her; she hoped that after a few days' search he -would think no more of her; and that she scrupled entering into the holy -bands of matrimony, where her heart did not sincerely accompany all the -words of the ceremony. Signora Diana had nothing to say in contradiction -to this pious sentiment; and her brother applauded the honesty which -could not be perverted by any interest whatever. She remained concealed -in their house, where she helped in the kitchen, cleaned the rooms, and -redoubled her usual diligence and officiousness. Her old master came to -Lovere on pretence of adjusting a lawsuit, three days after, and made -private inquiry after her; but hearing from her mother and brother (who -knew nothing of her being here) that they had never heard of her, he -concluded she had taken another route, and returned to Bergamo; and she -continued in this retirement near a fortnight. - -"Last Sunday, as soon as the day was closed, arrived at Signer Aurelio's -door a handsome equipage in a large bark, attended by four well-armed -servants on horseback. An old priest stepped out of it, and desiring to -speak with Signora Diana, informed her he came from the Count Jeronimo -Sosi to demand Octavia; that the count waited for her at a village four -miles from hence, where he intended to marry her; and had sent him, who -was engaged to perform the divine rite, that Signora Diana might resign -her to his care without any difficulty. The young damsel was called for, -who entreated she might be permitted the company of another priest with -whom she was acquainted: this was readily granted; and she sent for a -young man that visits me very often, being remarkable for his sobriety -and learning. Meanwhile, a valet-de-chambre presented her with a box, in -which was a complete genteel undress for a lady. Her laced linen and -fine nightgown were soon put on, and away they marched, leaving the -family in a surprise not to be described. - -"Signor Aurelio came to drink coffee with me next morning: his first -words were, he had brought me the history of Pamela. I said, laughing, I -had been tired with it long since. He explained himself by relating this -story, mixed with great resentment for Octavia's conduct. Count -Jeronimo's father had been his ancient friend and patron; and this -escape from his house (he said) would lay him under a suspicion of -having abetted the young man's folly, and perhaps expose him to the -anger of all his relations, for contriving an action he would rather -have died than suffered, if he had known how to prevent it. I easily -believed him, there appearing a latent jealousy under his affliction, -that showed me he envied the bridegroom's happiness, at the same time he -condemned his extravagance. - -"Yesterday noon, being Saturday, Don Joseph returned, who has got the -name of Parson Williams by this expedition: he relates, that when the -bark which carried the coach and train arrived, they found the amorous -count waiting for his bride on the bank of the lake: he would have -proceeded immediately to the church; but she utterly refused it, till -they had each of them been at confession; after which the happy knot was -tied by the parish priest. They continued their journey, and came to -their palace at Bergamo in a few hours, where everything was prepared -for their reception. They received the communion next morning, and the -count declares that the lovely Octavia has brought him an inestimable -portion, since he owes to her the salvation of his soul. He has -renounced play, at which he had lost a great deal of time and money. She -has already retrenched several superfluous servants, and put his family -into an exact method of economy, preserving all the splendour necessary -to his rank. He has sent a letter in his own hand to her mother, -inviting her to reside with them, and subscribing himself her dutiful -son: but the countess has sent another privately by Don Joseph, in which -she advises the old woman to stay at Lovere, promising to take care she -shall want nothing, accompanied with a token of twenty sequins, which is -at least nineteen more than ever she saw in her life. - -"I forgot to tell you that from Octavia's first serving the old lady, -there came frequent charities in her name to her poor parent, which -nobody was surprised at, the lady being celebrated for pious works, and -Octavia known to be a great favourite with her. It is now discovered -that they were all sent by the generous lover, who has presented Don -Joseph very handsomely, but he has brought neither letter nor message to -the house of Ardinghi, which affords much speculation." - - -Lady Mary followed this narrative with her reflections. She was sure -that all these adventures proceeded from artifice on one side and -weakness on the other. "An honest, tender mind," she says, "is betrayed -to ruin by the charms that make the fortune of a designing head, which, -when joined with a beautiful face, can never fail of advancement, except -barred by a wise mother, who locks up her daughters from view till -nobody cares to look on them." She instanced the case of "my poor -friend" the Duchess of Bolton, who "was educated in solitude, with some -choice books, by a saint-like governess: crammed with virtue and good -qualities, she thought it impossible not to find gratitude, though she -failed to give passion; and upon this plan threw away her estate, was -despised by her husband, and laughed at by the public." Lady Mary -compared the case of the Duchess with that of "Polly, bred in an -ale-house, and produced on the stage, who has obtained wealth and title, -and found the way to be esteemed." This particular instance hardly -furnishes the basis for the general rule laid down by her: "So useful is -early experience--without it half of life is dissipated in correcting -the errors that we have been taught to receive as indisputable truths." -According to all accounts Charles Paulet, third Duke of Bolton, was at -the age of twenty-eight forced by his father to marry Lady Anne Vaughan, -only daughter and heiress of John, Earl of Carbery. When the old Duke -died in 1722 they separated. Some years later the Duke took for his -mistress Lavinia Fenton, the "Polly" in Gay's "Beggar's Opera." On the -death of his wife in 1751 he married her. - -Henry Fielding, was Lady Mary's second cousin; but there had never been -any intimacy between them, although some acquaintance. The novelist was -eighteen years the younger. In 1727, when he was twenty and near the -beginning of his career as a playwright, he had consulted her about his -comedy, "Love in Several Masques," of which, when it was published in -the following year, he sent her a copy. "I have presumed to send your -Ladyship a copy of the play which you did me the honour of reading three -acts last spring and hope it may meet as light a censure from your -Ladyship's judgment as then; for while your goodness permits me (what I -esteem the greatest and indeed only happening of my life) to offer my -unworthy performances to your perusal, it will be entirely from your -sentence that they will be regarded or disesteemed by me." Fielding -wrote Lady Mary another letter about four years later: "I hope your -Ladyship will honour the scenes which I presume to lay before you, with -your perusal. As they are written on a model I never yet attempted, I am -exceedingly anxious less they should find less mercy from you than my -lighter productions. It will be a slight compensation to 'The Modern -Husband' that your Ladyship's censure will defend him from the -possibility of any other reproof, since your least approbation will -always give me pleasure, infinitely superior to the loudest applauses of -a theatre. For whatever has passed your judgment may, I think, without -any imputation of immodesty, refer want of success to want of judgment -in an audience. I shall do myself the honour of waiting upon your -Ladyship at Twickenham to receive my sentence." - -One evening when she arrived home, after having ridden twenty miles in -the moonlight, she found a box of books, and pouncing upon her cousin -Fielding's works, sat up all night reading. - -"I think _Joseph Andrews_ better than his _Foundling._[13] I believe I -was the more struck with it, having at present a Fanny in my own house, -not only by the name, which happens to be the same, but the -extraordinary beauty, joined with an understanding yet more -extraordinary at her age, which is but few months past sixteen: she is -in the post of my chambermaid. I fancy you will tax my discretion for -taking a servant thus qualified; but my woman, who is also my -housekeeper, was always teasing me with her having too much work, and -complaining of ill-health, which determined me to take her a deputy; and -when I was at Lovere, where I drank the waters, one of the most -considerable merchants there pressed me to take this daughter of his: -her mother has an uncommon good character, and the girl has had a -better education than is usual for those of her rank; she writes a good -hand, and has been brought up to keep accounts, which she does to great -perfection; and had herself such a violent desire to serve me, that I -was persuaded to take her: I do not yet repent it from any part of her -behaviour. But there has been no peace in the family ever since she came -into it; I might say the parish, all the women in it having declared -open war with her, and the men endeavouring at treaties of a different -sort: my own woman puts herself at the head of the first party, and her -spleen is increased by having no reason for it, the young creature never -stirring from my apartment, always at needle, and never complaining of -anything." - -[Footnote 13: _The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling_.] - - -Later Lady Mary has more to say about Fielding's books: - - -"H. Fielding has given a true picture of himself and his first wife, in -the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Booth, some compliments to his own figure -excepted; and, I am persuaded, several of the incidents he mentions are -real matters of fact. I wonder he does not perceive Tom Jones and Mr. -Booth are sorry scoundrels. All these sort of books have the same fault, -which I cannot easily pardon, being very mischievous. They place a merit -in extravagant passions, and encourage young people to hope for -impossible events, to draw them out of the misery they chose to plunge -themselves into, expecting legacies from unknown relations, and generous -benefactors to distressed virtue, as much out of nature as fairy -treasures. Fielding has really a fund of true humour, and was to be -pitied at his first entrance into the world, having no choice, as he -said himself, but to be a hackney writer, or a hackney coachman. His -genius deserved a better fate; but I cannot help blaming that continued -indiscretion, to give it the softest name, that has run through his -life, and I am afraid still remains. I guessed _Random_ to be his though -without his name. I cannot think _Ferdinand Count Fathom_ wrote by the -same hand, it is every way so much below it." - - -Adventures of Roderick Random_ (1748) and _The Adventures of Ferdinand -Count Fathom_ (1753) were published anonymously. Lady Mary was not the -only one to attribute _Roderick Random_ to Fielding, and it was actually -translated into French in his name. - -When Lady Mary heard of Fielding's death, she expressed deep regret: - - -"I am sorry for H. Fielding's death, not only as I shall read no more of -his writings, but I believe he lost more than others, as no man enjoyed -life more than he did, though few had less reason to do so, the highest -of his preferment being raking in the lowest sinks of vice and misery. I -should think it a nobler and less nauseous employment to be one of the -staff-officers that conduct the nocturnal weddings. His happy -constitution (even when he had, with great pains, half demolished it) -made him forget everything when he was before a venison pasty, or over a -flask of champagne; and I am persuaded he has known more happy moments -than any prince upon earth. His natural spirits gave him rapture with -his cook-maid, and cheerfulness when he was fluxing in a garret. There -was a great similitude between his character and that of Sir Richard -Steele. He had the advantage both in learning and, in my opinion, -genius: they both agreed in wanting money in spite of all their friends, -and would have wanted it, if their hereditary lands had been as -extensive as their imagination; yet each of them was so formed for -happiness; it is a pity he was not immortal." - - -Writing of imaginative prose literature generally, Lady Mary wrote: - - -"The general want of invention which reigns among our writers, inclines -me to think it is not the natural growth of our island, which has not -sun enough to warm the imagination. The press is loaded by the servile -flock of imitators. Lord B. [Bolingbroke] would have quoted Horace in -this place. Since I was born, no original has appeared excepting -Congreve and Fielding, who would, I believe, have approached nearer to -his excellences, if not forced by necessity to publish without -correction, and throw many productions into the world he would have -thrown into the fire if meat could have been got without money, or money -without scribbling. The greatest virtue, justice, and the most -distinguishing prerogative of mankind, writing, when duly executed, do -honour to human nature; but when degenerated into trades, are the most -contemptible ways of getting bread. I am sorry not to see any more of -Peregrine Pickle's performances: I wish you would tell me his name." - - -It appears strange that Lady Mary should have been ignorant, when she -wrote the above passage in July or August, 1755, of the authorship of -_Roderick Random_, for in January of that year she had evinced an -interest in Smollett: "I am sorry my friend Smollett loses his time in -translations; he has certainly a talent for invention, though I think it -flags a little in his last work. _Don Quixote_ is a difficult -undertaking: I shall never desire to read any attempt to redress him. -Though I am a mere piddler in the Spanish language, I had rather take -pains to understand him in the original than sleep over a stupid -translation." - - -_Peregrine Pickle_, however, Lady Mary had read shortly after its -appearance in 1751: - - -"I began by your direction with _Peregrine Pickle_. I think Lady Vane's -_Memoirs_[14] contain more truth and less malice than any I ever read in -my life. When she speaks of her own being disinterested, I am apt to -believe she really thinks herself so, as many highwaymen, after having -no possibility of retrieving the character of honesty, please themselves -with that of being generous, because, whatever they get on the road, -they always spend at the next ale-house, and are still as beggarly as -ever. Her history, rightly considered, would be more instructive to -young women than any sermon I know. They may see there what -mortifications and variety of misery are the unavoidable consequences of -gallantries. I think there is no rational creature that would not prefer -the life of the strictest Carmelite to the round of hurry and misfortune -she has gone through. Her style is clear and concise, with some strokes -of humour, which appear to me so much above her, I can't help being of -opinion the whole has been modelled by the author of the book in which -it is inserted, who is some subaltern admirer of hers. I may judge -wrong, she being no acquaintance of mine, though she has married two of -my relations. Her first wedding was attended with circumstances that -made me think a visit not at all necessary, though I disobliged Lady -Susan by neglecting it; and the second, which happened soon after, made -her so near a neighbour, that I rather choose to stay the whole summer -in town than partake of her balls and parties of pleasure, to which I -did not think it proper to introduce you; and had no other way of -avoiding it, without incurring the censure of a most unnatural mother -for denying you diversions that the pious Lady Ferrers permitted to her -exemplary daughters. Mr. Shirley has had uncommon fortune in making the -conquest of two such extraordinary ladies, equal in their heroic -contempt of shame, and eminent above their sex, the one for beauty, and -the other wealth, both which attract the pursuit of all mankind, and -have been thrown into his arms with the same unlimited fondness. He -appeared to me gentile [_sic_], well bred, well shaped and sensible; but -the charms of his face and eyes, which Lady Vane describes with so much -warmth, were, I confess, always invisible to me, and the artificial part -of his character very glaring, which I think her story shows in a strong -light." - -[Footnote 14: Frances Anne Hawes (1713-1788) married Lord William -Douglas in 1731, and after his death, William, second Viscount Vane, in -1735. She was notorious for profligacy and extravagance of all kinds. -She was responsible for the scandalous _Memoirs of a Lady of Quality_ -which she paid Smollett to insert in _Peregrine Pickle_.] - - -Of minor novelists Lady Mary had also something to say from time to -time. - - -"Sally [Fielding] has mended her style in her last volume of _David -Simple_, which conveys a useful moral, though she does not seem to have -intended it: I mean, shows the ill consequences of not providing against -casual losses, which happen to almost everybody. Mrs. Orgueil's -character is well drawn, and is frequently to be met with. The _Art of -Tormenting_, the _Female Quixote_[15] and _Sir C. Goodville_ are all -sale work. I suppose they proceed from her pen, and heartily pity her, -constrained by her circumstances to seek her bread by a method, I do not -doubt, she despises. Tell me who is that accomplished countess she -celebrates. I left no such person in London; nor can I imagine who is -meant by the English Sappho mentioned in Betsy Thoughtless, whose -adventures and those of Jenny Jessamy, gave me some amusement." - -[Footnote 15: By Charlotte Lennox.] - -"I have read _The Cry_[16] and if I would write in the style to be -admired by good Lord Orrery, I would tell you _The Cry_ made me ready to -cry, and the _Art of Tormenting_ tormented me very much. I take them to -be Sally Fielding's, and also the _Female Quixote_; the plan of that is -pretty, but ill executed: on the contrary, the fable of _The Cry_ is the -most absurd I ever saw, but the sentiments generally just; and I think, -if well dressed, would make a better body of ethics than Bolingbroke's. -Her inventing new words, that are neither more harmonious or significant -than those already in use, is intolerable. - -[Footnote 16: By Sarah Fielding and Miss Collier.] - -"The next book I laid my hand on was _The Parish Girl_ which interested -me enough not to be able to quit it till it was read over, though the -author has fallen into the common mistake of romance-writers; intending -a virtuous character, and not knowing how to draw it; the first step of -his heroine (leaving her patroness's house) being altogether absurd and -ridiculous, justly entitling her to all the misfortunes she met with. - -"Candles came (and my eyes grown weary), I took up the next book, merely -because I supposed from the title it could not engage me long. It was -_Pompey the Little_,[17] which has really diverted me more than any of -the others, and it was impossible to go to bed till it was finished. It -was a real and exact representation of life, as it is now acted in -London, as it was in my time, and as it will be (I do not doubt) a -hundred years hence, with some little variation of dress, and perhaps -government. I found there many of my acquaintance. Lady T. and Lady O. -are so well painted, I fancied I heard them talk, and have heard them -say the very things there repeated.... - -[Footnote 17: By Francis Coventry.] - -"I opened my eyes this morning on _Leonora_, from which I defy the -greatest chemist in morals to extract any instruction; the style most -affectedly florid, and naturally insipid, with such a confused heap of -admirable characters, that never were, or can be, in human nature. I -flung it aside after fifty pages, and laid hold of _Mrs. Philips_, where -I expected to find at least probable, if not true facts, and was not -disappointed. There is a great similitude in the genius and adventures -(the one being productive of the other) between Madame Constantia and -Lady Vane: the first mentioned has the advantage in birth and, if I am -not mistaken, in understanding: they have both had scandalous lawsuits -with their husbands, and are endowed with the same intrepid assurance. -Con. seems to value herself also on her generosity, and has given the -same proofs of it. The parallel might be drawn out to be as long as any -of Plutarch's; but I dare swear you are already heartily weary of my -remarks, and wish I had not read so much in so short a time, that you -might not be troubled with my comments; but you must suffer me to say -something of the polite Mr. Ste, whose name I should never have guessed -by the rapturous description his mistress makes of his person, having -always looked upon him as one of the most disagreeable fellows about -town, as odious in his outside as stupid in his conversation, and I -should as soon have expected to hear of his conquests at the head of an -army as among women; yet he has been, it seems, the darling favourite of -the most experienced of the sex, which shows me I am a very bad judge of -merit. But I agree with Mrs. Philips, that, however profligate she may -have been, she is infinitely his superior in virtue; and if her -penitence is as sincere as she says, she may expect their future fate to -be like that of Dives and Lazarus." - - -Lady Mary received from her daughter a copy of Lord Orrery's _Remarks on -the Life and Writings of Jonathan Swift_, published in 1751, six years -after the death of Swift. This book so aroused the ire of Lady Mary -that, writing of it, she attacked everyone concerned. - - -"Lord Orrery's work has extremely entertained, and not at all surprised -me, having the honour of being acquainted with him, and knowing him for -one of those danglers after wit, who, like those after beauty, spend -their time in humbly admiring, and are happy in being permitted to -attend, though they are laughed at, and only encouraged to gratify the -insatiate vanity of those professed wits and beauties who aim at being -publicly distinguished in those characters. Dean Swift, by his -lordship's own account, was so intoxicated with the love of flattery, he -sought it amongst the lowest of the people, and the silliest of women; -and was never so well pleased with any companions as those that -worshipped him while he insulted them. It is a wonderful condescension -in a man of quality to offer his incense in such a crowd, and think it -an honour to share a friendship with Sheridan, &c., especially being -himself endowed with such universal merit as he displays in these -Letters, where he shows that he is a poet, a patriot, a philosopher, a -physician, a critic, a complete scholar, and most excellent moralist; -shining in private life as a submissive son, a tender father, and -zealous friend. His only error has been that love of learned ease which -he has indulged in a solitude, which has prevented the world from being -blest with such a general, minister, or admiral, being equal to any of -these employments, if he would have turned his talents to the use of the -public. Heaven be praised, he has now drawn his pen in its service, and -given an example to mankind that the most villanous actions, nay, the -coarsest nonsense, are only small blemishes in a great genius. I happen -to think quite contrary, weak woman as I am. I have always avoided the -conversation of those who endeavour to raise an opinion of their -understanding by ridiculing what both law and decency obliges them to -revere; but, whenever I have met with any of those bright spirits who -would be smart on sacred subjects, I have ever cut short their discourse -by asking them if they had any lights and revelations by which they -would propose new articles of faith? Nobody can deny but religion is a -comfort to the distressed, a cordial to the sick, and sometimes a -restraint on the wicked; therefore, whoever would argue or laugh it out -of the world, without giving some equivalent for it, ought to be treated -as a common enemy: but, when this language comes from a churchman, who -enjoys large benefices and dignities from that very Church he openly -despises, it is an object of horror for which I want a name, and can -only be excused by madness, which I think the Dean was strongly touched -with. His character seems to me a parallel with that of Caligula; and -had he had the same power would have made the same use of it. That -emperor erected a temple to himself, where he was his own high priest, -preferred his horse to the highest honours in the state, professed -enmity to [the] human race, and at last lost his life by a nasty jest on -one of his inferiors, which I dare swear Swift would have made in his -place. There can be no worse picture made of the Doctor's morals than he -has given us himself in the letters printed by Pope. We see him vain, -trifling, ungrateful to the memory of his patron, the Earl of Oxford, -making a servile court where he had any interested views, and meanly -abusive when they were disappointed, and, as he says (in his own -phrase), flying in the face of mankind, in company with his adorer Pope. -It is pleasant to consider, that, had it not been for the good nature -of these very mortals they contemn, these two superior beings were -entitled, by their birth and hereditary fortune, to be only a couple of -link-boys. I am of opinion their friendship would have continued, though -they had remained in the same kingdom: it had a very strong -foundation--the love of flattery on the one side, and the love of money -on the other. Pope courted with the utmost assiduity all the old men -from whom he could hope a legacy, the Duke of Buckingham, Lord -Peterborough, Sir G. Kneller, Lord Bolingbroke, Mr. Wycherley, Mr. -Congreve, Lord Harcourt, &c., and I do not doubt projected to sweep the -Dean's whole inheritance, if he could have persuaded him to throw up his -deanery, and come to die in his house; and his general preaching against -money was meant to induce people to throw it away, that he might pick it -up. There cannot be a stronger proof of his being capable of any action -for the sake of gain than publishing his literary correspondence, which -lays open such a mixture of dulness and iniquity, that one would imagine -it visible even to his most passionate admirers, if Lord Orrery did not -show that smooth lines have as much influence over some people as the -authority of the Church in these countries, where it cannot only veil, -but sanctify any absurdity or villany whatever. It is remarkable that -his lordship's family have been smatterers in wit and learning for three -generations: his grandfather has left monuments of his good taste in -several rhyming tragedies, and the romance of Parthenissa. His father -began the world by giving his name to a treatise wrote by Atterbury and -his club, which gained him great reputation; but (like Sir Martin -Marall, who would fumble with his lute when the music was over) he -published soon after a sad comedy of his own, and, what was worse, a -dismal tragedy he had found among the first Earl of Orrery's papers. -People could easier forgive his being partial to his own silly works, as -a common frailty, than the want of judgment in producing a piece that -dishonoured his father's memory. - -"Thus fell into dust a fame that had made a blaze by borrowed fire. To -do justice to the present lord, I do not doubt this fine performance is -all his own, and is a public benefit, if every reader has been as well -diverted with it as myself. I verily believe it has contributed to the -establishment of my health." - - -Nor was Lady Mary more kindly about the writings and character of Lord -Bolingbroke, for whom she had always had a feeling even more of hatred -than disapproval. - -"I have now read over the books you were so good to send, and intend to -say something of them all, though some are not worth speaking of" (she -wrote to her daughter). "I shall begin, in respect to his dignity, with -Lord Bolingbroke, who is a glaring proof how far vanity can blind a man, -and how easy it is to varnish over to one's self the most criminal -conduct. He declares he always loved his country, though he confesses he -endeavoured to betray her to popery and slavery; and loved his friends, -though he abandoned them in distress, with all the blackest -circumstances of treachery. His account of the Peace of Utrecht is -almost equally unfair or partial: I shall allow that, perhaps, the views -of the Whigs, at that time, were too vast and the nation, dazzled by -military glory, had hopes too sanguine; but sure the same terms that the -French consented to, at the treaty of Gertruydenberg, might have been -obtained; or if the displacing of the Duke of Marlborough raised the -spirits of our enemies to a degree of refusing what they had before -offered, how can he excuse the guilt of removing him from the head of a -victorious army, and exposing us to submit to any articles of peace, -being unable to continue the war? I agree with him, that the idea of -conquering France is a wild, extravagant notion, and would, if possible, -be impolitic; but she might have been reduced to such a state as would -have rendered her incapable of being terrible to her neighbours for some -ages: nor should we have been obliged, as we have done almost ever -since, to bribe the French ministers to let us live in quiet. So much -for his political reasonings, which, I confess, are delivered in a -florid, easy style; but I cannot be of Lord Orrery's opinion, that he is -one of the best English writers. Well-turned periods or smooth lines are -not the perfection either of prose or verse; they may serve to adorn, -but can never stand in the place of good sense. Copiousness of words, -however ranged, is always false eloquence, though it will ever impose on -some sort of understandings. How many readers and admirers has Madame de -Sévigné, who only gives us, in a lively manner and fashionable phrases, -mean sentiments, vulgar prejudices, and endless repetitions? Sometimes -the tittle-tattle of a fine lady, sometimes that of an old nurse, always -tittle-tattle; yet so well gilt over by airy expressions, and a flowing -style, she will always please the same people to whom Lord Bolingbroke -will shine as a first-rate author. She is so far to be excused, as her -letters were not intended for the press; while her labours to display to -posterity all the wit and learning he is master of, and sometimes spoils -a good argument by a profusion of words, running out into several pages -a thought that might have been more clearly expressed in a few lines, -and, what is worse, often falls into contradiction and repetitions, -which are almost unavoidable to all voluminous writers, and can only be -forgiven to those retailers whose necessity compels them to diurnal -scribbling, who load their meaning with epithets, and run into -digressions, because (in the jockey phrase) it rids the ground, that is, -covers a certain quantity of paper, to answer the demand of the day. A -great part of Lord B.'s letters are designed to show his reading, which, -indeed, appears to have been very extensive; but I cannot perceive that -such a minute account of it can be of any use to the pupil he pretends -to instruct; nor can I help thinking he is far below either Tillotson or -Addison, even in style, though the latter was sometimes more diffuse -than his judgment approved, to furnish out the length of a daily -_Spectator_. I own I have small regard for Lord B. as an author, and the -highest contempt for him as a man. He came into the world greatly -favoured both by nature and fortune, blest with a noble birth, heir to -a large estate, endowed with a strong constitution, and, as I have -heard, a beautiful figure, high spirits, a good memory and a lively -apprehension, which was cultivated by a learned education: all these -glorious advantages being left to the direction of a judgment stifled by -unbounded vanity, he dishonoured his birth, lost his estate, ruined his -reputation, and destroyed his health, by a wild pursuit of eminence even -in vice and trifles. - -"I am far from making misfortune a matter of reproach. I know there are -accidental occurences not to be foreseen or avoided by human prudence, -by which a character may be injured, wealth dissipated, or a -constitution impaired: but I think I may reasonably despise the -understanding of one who conducts himself in such a manner as naturally -produces such lamentable consequences, and continues in the same -destructive paths to the end of a long life, ostentatiously boasting of -morals and philosophy in print, and with equal ostentation bragging of -the scenes of low debauchery in public conversation, though deplorably -weak both in mind and body, and his virtue and his vigour in a state of -non-existence. His confederacy with Swift and Pope puts me in mind of -that of Bessus and his sword-men, in the _King and no King_,[18] who -endeavour to support themselves by giving certificates of each other's -merit. Pope has triumphantly declared that they may do and say whatever -silly things they please, they will still be the greatest geniuses -nature ever exhibited. I am delighted with the comparison given of their -benevolence, which is indeed most aptly figured by a circle in the -water, which widens till it comes to nothing at all; but I am provoked -at Lord B.'s misrepresentation of my favourite Atticus, who seems to -have been the only Roman that, from good sense, had a true notion of the -times in which he lived, in which the republic was inevitably perishing, -and the two factions, who pretended to support it, equally endeavouring -to gratify their ambition in its ruin. A wise man, in that case, would -certainly declare for neither, and try to save himself and family from -the general wreck, which could not be done but by a superiority of -understanding acknowledged on both sides. I see no glory in losing life -or fortune by being the dupe of either, and very much applaud that -conduct which could preserve an universal esteem amidst the fury of -opposite parties. We are obliged to act vigorously, where action can do -any good; but in a storm, when it is impossible to work with success, -the best hands and ablest pilots may laudably gain the shore if they -can. Atticus could be a friend to men without engaging in their -passions, disapprove their maxims without awaking their resentment, and -be satisfied with his own virtue without seeking popular fame: he had -the reward of his wisdom in his tranquillity, and will ever stand among -the few examples of true philosophy, either ancient or modern.... - -[Footnote 18: A play by Beaumont and Fletcher, licensed for the stage in -1611.] - -"I must add a few words on the _Essay on Exile_, which I read with -attention, as a subject that touched me. I found the most abject -dejection under a pretended fortitude. That the author felt it, can be -no doubt to one that knows (as I do) the mean submissions and solemn -promises he made to obtain a return, flattering himself (I suppose) he -need only appear to be at the head of the administration, as every -ensign of sixteen fancies he is in a fair way to be a general on the -first sight of his commission. - -"You will think I have been too long on the character of Atticus. I own -I took pleasure in explaining it. Pope thought himself covertly very -severe on Mr. Addison by giving him that name; and I feel indignation -when he is abused, both from his own merit, and having been your -father's friend; besides that it is naturally shocking to see any one -lampooned after his death by the same man who had paid him the most -servile court while he lived and was highly obliged by him." - - -As a periodical writer she compared Johnson unfavourably with Steele and -Addison: - - -"The _Rambler_ is certainly a strong misnomer; he always plods in the -beaten road of his predecessors, following the _Spectator_ (with the -same pace a pack-horse would do a hunter) in the style that is proper to -lengthen a paper. These writers may, perhaps, be of service to the -public, which is saying a great deal in their favour. There are numbers -of both sexes who never read anything but such productions, and cannot -spare time, from doing nothing, to go through a sixpenny pamphlet. Such -gentle readers may be improved by a moral hint, which, though repeated -over and over, from generation to generation, they never heard in their -lives. I should be glad to know the name of this laborious author." - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -LADY MARY ON EDUCATION AND WOMAN'S RIGHTS - -The choice of books for children's reading--The dangers of a narrow -education--Lady Mary advocates the higher education of women--Girls -should be taught languages--Lady Mary's theories of education for -girls--Women writers in Italy--A "rumpus" made by ladies in the House of -Lords--Woman's Rights--Lady Mary's views on religion. - - -In spite of her own fondness for books, Lady Mary was not a wholehearted -believer in reading for young folk, unless the choice of volumes was -carefully made by some competent person. This point she emphasised in -one of her letters to her daughter. - -"I can't forbear saying something in relation to my granddaughters, who -are very near my heart. If any of them are fond of reading, I would not -advise you to hinder them (chiefly because it is impossible) seeing -poetry, plays, or romances; but accustom them to talk over what they -read, and point out to them, as you are very capable of doing, the -absurdity often concealed under fine expressions, where the sound is apt -to engage the admiration of young people. I was so much charmed, at -fourteen, with the dialogue of Henry and Emma, I can say it by heart to -this day, without reflecting on the monstrous folly of the story in -plain prose, where a young heiress to a fond father is represented -falling in love with a fellow she had only seen as a huntsman, a -falconer, and a beggar, and who confesses, without any circumstances of -excuse, that he is obliged to run his country, having newly committed a -murder. She ought reasonably to have supposed him, at best, a -highwayman; yet the virtuous virgin resolves to run away with him, to -live among the banditti, and wait upon his trollop, if she had no other -way of enjoying his company. This senseless tale is, however, so well -varnished with melody of words and pomp of sentiments, I am convinced it -has hurt more girls than ever were injured by the lewdest poems extant." - - -Life, Lady Mary was at pains to insist upon, is a much better instructor -for the young than any story-book, however innocuous it may seem to -grown-up people, who for the greater number have not the faculty of -seeing how the tale would have affected them in their childhood. - - -"I congratulate my granddaughters on being born in an age so much -enlightened. Sentiments are certainly extreme silly, and only qualify -young people to be the bubbles of all their acquaintance. I do not doubt -the frequency of assemblies has introduced a more enlarged way of -thinking; it is a kind of public education, which I have always thought -as necessary for girls as for boys. A woman married at five-and-twenty, -from under the eye of a strict parent, is commonly as ignorant as she -was at five; and no more capable of avoiding the snares, and struggling -with the difficulties, she will infallibly meet with in the commerce of -the world. The knowledge of mankind (the most useful of all knowledge) -can only be acquired by conversing with them. Books are so far from -giving that instruction, they fill the head with a set of wrong notions, -from whence spring the tribes of Clarissas, Harriets, &c. Yet such was -the method of education when I was in England, which I had it not in my -power to correct; the young will always adopt the opinions of all their -companions, rather than the advice of their mothers." - - -"Ignorance and a narrow education lay the foundations of vice," Mary -Astell had laid down as an axiom, and Lady Mary was always propounding -this to her daughter. - - -"I am extremely concerned to hear you complain of ill health, at a time -of life when you ought to be in the flower of your strength. I hope I -need not recommend to you the care of it: the tenderness you have for -your children is sufficient to enforce you to the utmost regard for the -preservation of a life so necessary to their well-being. I do not doubt -your prudence in their education: neither can I say anything particular -relating to it at this distance, different tempers requiring different -management. In general, never attempt to govern them (as most people do) -by deceit: if they find themselves cheated, even in trifles, it will so -far lessen the authority of their instructor, as to make them neglect -all their future admonitions. And, if possible, breed them free from -prejudices; those contracted in the nursery often influence the whole -life after, of which I have seen many melancholy examples. I shall say -no more of this subject, nor would have said this little if you had not -asked my advice: 'tis much easier to give rules than to practise them. I -am sensible my own natural temper is too indulgent: I think it the least -dangerous error, yet still it is an error. I can only say with truth, -that I do not know in my whole life having ever endeavoured to impose on -you, or give a false colour to anything that I represented to you. If -your daughters are inclined to love reading, do not check their -inclination by hindering them of the diverting part of it; it is as -necessary for the amusement of women as the reputation of men; but teach -them not to expect or desire any applause from it. Let their brothers -shine, and let them content themselves with making their lives easier by -it, which I experimentally know is more effectually done by study than -any other way. Ignorance is as much the fountain of vice as idleness, -and indeed generally produces it. People that do not read, or work for a -livelihood, have many hours they know not how to employ; especially -women, who commonly fall into vapours, or something worse." - - -Mary was an advocate, one of the earliest advocates, for the higher -education of woman. Although she had educated herself, she realised that -the circumstances in her case were exceptional, and no doubt it was also -borne in on her that she had been an exceptional girl even as she was a -remarkable woman. It was not so much lack of education against which she -tilted, as ill-directed studies. - - -"You have given me a great deal of satisfaction by your account of your -eldest daughter. I am particularly pleased to hear she is a good -arithmetician; it is the best proof of understanding: the knowledge of -numbers is one of the chief distinctions between us and the brutes. If -there is anything in blood, you may reasonably expect your children -should be endowed with an uncommon share of good sense. Mr. Wortley's -family and mine have both produced some of the greatest men that have -been born in England: I mean Admiral Sandwich, and my grandfather, who -was distinguished by the name of Wise William. I have heard Lord Bute's -father mentioned as an extraordinary genius, though he had not many -opportunities of showing it; and his uncle, the present Duke of Argyll, -has one of the best heads I ever knew. I will therefore speak to you as -supposing Lady Mary not only capable, but desirous of learning; in that -case by all means let her be indulged in it. You will tell me I did not -make it a part of your education: your prospect was very different from -hers. As you had no defect either in mind or person to hinder, and much -in your circumstances to attract, the highest offers, it seemed your -business to learn how to live in the world, as it is hers to know how to -be easy out of it. It is the common error of builders and parents to -follow some plan they think beautiful (and perhaps is so), without -considering that nothing is beautiful that is displaced. Hence we see so -many edifices raised that the raisers can never inhabit, being too large -for their fortunes. Vistas are laid open over barren heaths, and -apartments contrived for a coolness very agreeable in Italy, but killing -in the north of Britain: thus every woman endeavours to breed her -daughter a fine lady, qualifying her for a station in which she will -never appear, and at the same time incapacitating her for that -retirement to which she is destined. Learning, if she has a real taste -for it, will not only make her contented, but happy in it. No -entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting. She -will not want new fashions, nor regret the loss of expensive diversions, -or variety of company, if she can be amused with an author in her -closet. To render this amusement extensive, she should be permitted to -learn the languages. I have heard it lamented that boys lose so many -years in mere learning of words: this is no objection to a girl, whose -time is not so precious: she cannot advance herself in any profession, -and has therefore more hours to spare; and as you say her memory is -good, she will be very agreeably employed this way. There are two -cautions to be given on this subject: first, not to think herself -learned when she could read Latin, or even Greek. Languages are more -properly to be called vehicles of learning than learning itself, as may -be observed in many schoolmasters, who, though perhaps critics in -grammar, are the most ignorant fellows upon earth. True knowledge -consists in knowing things, not words. I would wish her no further a -linguist than to enable her to read books in their originals, that are -often corrupted, and always injured, by translations. Two hours' -application every morning will bring this about much sooner than you can -imagine, and she will have leisure enough besides to run over the -English poetry, which is a more important part of a woman's education -than it is generally supposed. Many a young damsel has been ruined by a -fine copy of verses, which she would have laughed at if she had known it -had been stolen from Mr. Waller. I remember, when I was a girl, I saved -one of my companions from destruction, who communicated to me an epistle -she was quite charmed with. As she had a natural good taste, she -observed the lines were not so smooth as Prior's or Pope's, but had more -thought and spirit than any of theirs. She was wonderfully delighted -with such a demonstration of her lover's sense and passion, -a little pleased with her own charms, that had force enough to inspire -such elegancies. In the midst of this triumph I showed her that they -were taken from Randolph's poems, and the unfortunate transcriber was -dismissed with the scorn he deserved. To say truth, the poor plagiary -was very unlucky to fall into my hands; that author being no longer in -fashion, would have escaped any one of less universal reading than -myself. You should encourage your daughter to talk over with you what -she reads; and, as you are very capable of distinguishing, take care she -does not mistake pert folly for wit and humour, or rhyme for poetry, -which are the common errors of young people, and have a train of ill -consequences. The second caution to be given her (and which is most -absolutely necessary) is to conceal whatever learning she attains, with -as much solicitude as she would hide crookedness or lameness; the parade -of it can only serve to draw on her the envy, and consequently the most -inveterate hatred, of all he and she fools, which will certainly be at -least three parts in four of all her acquaintance. The use of knowledge -in our sex, besides the amusement of solitude, is to moderate the -passions, and learn to be contented with a small expense, which are the -certain effects of a studious life; and it may be preferable even to -that fame which men have engrossed to themselves, and will not suffer us -to share. You will tell me I have not observed this rule myself; but you -are mistaken: it is only inevitable accident that has given me any -reputation that way. I have always carefully avoided it, and ever -thought it a misfortune. The explanation of this paragraph would -occasion a long digression, which I will not trouble you with, it being -my present design only to say what I think useful for the instruction of -my granddaughter, which I have much at heart. If she has the same -inclination (I should say passion) for learning that I was born with, -history, geography, and philosophy will furnish her with materials to -pass away cheerfully a longer life than is allotted to mortals. I -believe there are few heads capable of making Sir I. Newton's -calculations, but the result of them is not difficult to be understood by -a moderate capacity. Do not fear this should make her affect the character -of Lady----, or Lady----, or Mrs.----: those women are ridiculous, -not because they have learning but because they have it not. One thinks -herself a complete historian, after reading Echard's Roman History; -another a profound philosopher, having got by heart some of Pope's -unintelligible essays; and a third an able divine, on the strength of -Whitefield's sermons: thus you hear them screaming politics and -controversy. - -"It is a saying of Thucydides, ignorance is bold, and knowledge -reserved. Indeed, it is impossible to be far advanced in it without -being more humbled by a conviction of human ignorance, than elated by -learning. At the same time I recommend books, I neither exclude work nor -drawing. I think it as scandalous for a woman not to know how to use a -needle, as for a man not to know how to use a sword. I was once -extremely fond of my pencil, and it was a great mortification to me when -my father turned off my master, having made a considerable progress for -a short time I learnt. My over-eagerness in the pursuit of it had -brought a weakness on my eyes, that made it necessary to leave it off; -and all the advantage I got was the improvement of my hand. I see, by -hers, that practice will make her a ready writer: she may attain it by -serving you for a secretary, when your health or affairs make it -troublesome to you to write yourself; and custom will make it an -agreeable amusement to her. She cannot have too many for that station of -life which will probably be her fate. The ultimate end of your education -was to make you a good wife (and I have the comfort to hear that you are -one): hers ought to be, to make her happy in a virgin state. I will not -say it is happier; but it is undoubtedly safer than any marriage. In a -lottery, which there are (at the lowest computation) ten thousand blanks -to a prize, it is the most prudent choice not to venture. I have always -been so thoroughly persuaded of this truth, that, notwithstanding the -flattering views I had for you (as I never intended you a sacrifice to -my vanity), I thought I owed you the justice to lay before you all the -hazards attending matrimony: you may recollect I did so in the strongest -manner. Perhaps you may have more success in the instructing your -daughter: she has so much company at home, she will not need seeking it -abroad, and will more readily take the notions you think fit to give her. -As you were alone in my family, it would have been thought a great -cruelty to suffer you no companions of your own age, especially having -so many near relations, and I do not wonder their opinions influenced -yours. I was not sorry to see you not determined on a single life, -knowing it was not your father's intention, and contented myself with -endeavouring to make your home so easy that you might not be in haste to -leave it." - - -Lady Mary's views on the education of children were well in advance of -her day. They were certainly not the stereotyped opinions current among -governesses or even parents somewhat more enlightened than the rest, and -evidently she had given much consideration to the subject before she put -her thoughts on paper. - - -"People commonly educate their children as they build their houses, -according to some plan they think beautiful, without considering whether -it is suited to the purposes for which they are designed. Almost all -girls of quality are educated as if they were to be great ladies, which -is often as little to be expected, as an immoderate heat of the sun in -the north of Scotland. You should teach yours to confine their desires -to probabilities, to be as useful as is possible to themselves, and to -think privacy (as it is) the happiest state of life. I do not doubt you -giving them all the instructions necessary to form them to a virtuous -life; but 'tis a fatal mistake to do this without proper restrictions. -Vices are often hid under the name of virtues, and the practice of them -followed by the worst of consequences. Sincerity, friendship, piety, -disinterestedness, and generosity, are all great virtues; but, -without discretion, become criminal. I have seen ladies indulge their -own ill humour by being very rude and impertinent, and think they -deserved approbation by saying I love to speak truth. One of your -acquaintance made a ball the next day after her mother died, to show she -was sincere. I believe your own reflection will furnish you with but too -many examples of the ill effects of the rest of the sentiments I have -mentioned, when too warmly embraced. They are generally recommended to -young people without limits or distinction, and this prejudice hurries -them into great misfortunes, while they are applauding themselves in the -noble practice (as they fancy) of very eminent virtues. - -"I cannot help adding (out of my real affection to you), I wish you -would moderate that fondness you have for your children. I do not mean -you should abate any part of your care, or not do your duty to them in -its utmost extent: but I would have you early prepare yourself for -disappointments, which are heavy in proportion to their being -surprising. It is hardly possible, in such a number, that none should be -unhappy; prepare yourself against a misfortune of that kind. I confess -there is hardly any more difficult to support; yet it is certain -imagination has a great share in the pain of it, and it is more in our -power than it is commonly believed to soften whatever ills are founded -or augmented by fancy. Strictly speaking, there is but one real evil--I -mean, acute pain; all other complaints are so considerably diminished by -time, that it is plain the grief is owing to our passion, since the -sensation of it vanishes when that is over. - -"There is another mistake, I forgot to mention, usual in mothers: if any -of their daughters are beauties, they take great pains to persuade them -that they are ugly, or at least that they think so, which the young -woman never fails to believe springs from envy, and is perhaps not much -in the wrong. I would, if possible, give them a just notion of their -figure, and show them how far it is valuable. Every advantage has its -price, and may be either over or undervalued. It is the common -doctrine of (what are called) good books, to inspire a contempt of -beauty, riches, greatness, &c., which has done as much mischief among -the young of our sex as an over eager desire of them. They should look -on these things as blessings where they are bestowed, though not -necessaries that it is impossible to be happy without." - - -Of course, all these expressions of opinions, although here gathered -together, were spread over a term of years. Yet, Lady Mary had from time -to time some qualms as to how her admonitions would be received by her -daughter, although, as she was careful once to point out: "I do not give -them as believing my age has furnished me with superior wisdom, but in -compliance with your desire." - - -"I cannot help writing a sort of apology for my laster letter, -foreseeing that you will think it wrong, or at least Lord Bute will be -extremely shocked at the proposal of a learned education for daughters, -which the generality of men believe as great a profanation as the clergy -would do if the laity should presume to exercise the functions of the -priesthood. I desire you would take notice, I would not have learning -enjoined them as a task, but permitted as a pleasure, if their genius -leads them naturally to it. I look upon my granddaughters as a sort of -lay nuns: destiny may have laid up other things for them, but they have -no reason to expect to pass their time otherwise than their aunts do at -present; and I know, by experience, it is in the power of study not only -to make solitude tolerable, but agreeable. I have now lived almost seven -years in a stricter retirement than yours in the Isle of Bute, and can -assure you, I have never had half an hour heavy on my hands, for want of -something to do. Whoever will cultivate their own mind, will find full -employment. Every virtue does not only require great care in the -planting, but as much daily solicitude in cherishing, as exotic fruits -and flowers. The vices and passions (which I am afraid are the natural -product of the soil) demand perpetual weeding. Add to this the search -after knowledge (every branch of which is entertaining), and the longest -life is too short for the pursuit of it; which, though in some regards -confined to very strait limits, leaves still a vast variety of -amusements to those capable of tasting them, which is utterly impossible -for those that are blinded by prejudices which are the certain effect of -an ignorant education. My own was one of the worst in the world, being -exactly the same as Clarissa Hawlowe's; her pious Mrs. Norton so -perfectly resembling my governess, who had been nurse to my mother, I -could almost fancy the author was acquainted with her. She took so much -pains, from my infancy, to fill my head with superstitious tales and -false notions, it was none of her fault I am not at this day afraid of -witches and hobgoblins, or turned methodist. Almost all girls are bred -after this manner. I believe you are the only woman (perhaps I might -say, person) that never was either frighted or cheated into anything by -your parents. I can truly affirm, I never deceived anybody in my life, -excepting (which I confess has often happened undesignedly) by speaking -plainly; as Earl Stanhope used to say (during his ministry) he always -imposed on the foreign ministers by telling them the naked truth, which, -as they thought impossible to come from the mouth of a statesman, they -never failed to write informations to their respective courts directly -contrary to the assurances he gave them: most people confounding the -ideas of sense and cunning, though there are really no two things in -nature more opposite: it is, in part, from this false reasoning, the -unjust custom prevails of debarring our sex from the advantages of -learning, the men fancying the improvement of our understandings would -only furnish us with more art to deceive them, which is directly -contrary to the truth. Fools are always enterprising, not seeing the -difficulties of deceit, or the ill consequences of detection. I could -give many examples of ladies whose ill conduct has been very notorious, -which has been owing to that ignorance which has exposed them to -idleness, which is justly called the mother of mischief. There is -nothing so like the education of a woman of quality as that of a prince: -they are taught to dance, and the exterior part of what is called good -breeding, which, if they attain, they are extraordinary creatures in -their kind, and have all the accomplishments required by their -directors. The same characters are formed by the same lessons, which -inclines me to think (if I dare say it) that nature has not placed us in -an inferior rank to men, no more than the females of other animals, -where we see no distinction of capacity; though, I am persuaded, if -there was a commonwealth of rational horses (as Doctor Swift has -supposed), it would be an established maxim among them, that a mare -could not be taught to pace. I could add a great deal on this subject, -but I am not now endeavouring to remove the prejudices of mankind; my -only design is, to point out to my granddaughters the method of being -contented with that retreat, to which probably their circumstances will -oblige them, and which is perhaps preferable to all the show of public -life. It has always been my inclination. Lady Stafford (who knew me -better than anybody else in the world, both from her own just -discernment, and my heart being ever as open to her as myself) used to -tell me, my true vocation was a monastery; and I now find, by -experience, more sincere pleasure with my books and garden, than all the -flutter of a court could give me. - -"If you follow my advice in relation to Lady Mary, my correspondence may -be of use to her; and I shall very willingly give her those instructions -that may be necessary in the pursuit of her studies. Before her age I -was in the most regular commerce with my grandmother, though the -difference of our time of life was much greater, she being past -forty-five when she married my grandfather. She died at ninety-six, -retaining, to the last, the vivacity and clearness of her understanding, -which was very uncommon. You cannot remember her, being then in your -nurse's arms. I conclude with repeating to you, I only recommend, but am -far from commanding, which I think I have no right to do. I tell you my -sentiments, because you desired to know them, and hope you will receive -them with some partiality, as coming from - -"Your most affectionate mother." - - -One of Lady Mary's friends was Cardinal Gerolamo Guerini, a distinguished -scholar as well as a great churchman. One day, in October, 1753, he sent -a request, by one of his chief chaplains, that Lady Mary would send him -her printed works for the shelves that he was dedicating to English -literature in the library attached to the college at Brescia that he had -founded. - - -"I was struck dumb for some time with this astonishing request; when I -recovered my vexatious surprise (foreseeing the consequence), I made -answer, I was highly sensible of the honour designed me, but, upon my -word, I had never printed a single line in my life. I was answered in a -cold tone, his Eminence could send for them to England, but they would -be a long time coming, and with some hazard; and that he had flattered -himself I would not refuse him such a favour, and I need not be ashamed -of seeing my name in a collection where he admitted none but the most -eminent authors. It was to no purpose to endeavour to convince him. He -would not stay to dinner, though earnestly invited; and went away with -the air of one that thought he had reason to be offended. I know his -master will have the same sentiments, and I shall pass in his opinion -for a monster of ingratitude, while it is the blackest of vices in my -opinion, and of which I am utterly incapable--I really could cry for -vexation. - -"Sure nobody ever had such various provocations to print as myself. I -have seen things I have wrote, so mangled and falsified, I have scarce -known them. I have seen poems I never read, published with my name at -length; and others, that were truly and singly wrote by me, printed -under the names of others. I have made myself easy under all these -mortifications, by the reflection I did not deserve them, having never -aimed at the vanity of popular applause; but I own my philosophy is not -proof against losing a friend, and it may be making an enemy of one to -whom I am obliged." - - -In this letter to Lady Mar, in which Lady Mary explains her plight, she -goes on to deliver herself of her sentiments concerning the difference -of opinion as regards women writers that was current in Italy and in -England. - -Lady Mary held strong views on what are called to-day, or at least were -so called until they were lately in the main conceded, women's rights. -Although she said that she did not complain that it was men, and men -only, who were privileged to exercise the power of government, it is not -unlikely that she yielded this point in order the more effectively to -emphasise some other. Anyhow she was unfeignedly pleased to be able to -record (to Lady Pomfret, March, 1737) a "rumpus" made by ladies who -regarded their exclusion from a debate in Parliament as unwarrantable. - - -"I confess I have often been complimented, since I have been in Italy, -on the books I have given the public. I used at first to deny it with -some warmth; but, finding I persuaded nobody, I have of late contented -myself with laughing whenever I heard it mentioned, knowing the -character of a learned woman is far from being ridiculous in this -country, the greatest families being proud of having produced female -writers; and a Milanese lady being now professor of mathematics in the -university of Bologna, invited thither by a most obliging letter, wrote -by the present Pope, who desired her to accept of the chair, not as a -recompense for her merit, but to do honour to a town which is under his -protection. To say truth, there is no part of the world where our sex is -treated with so much contempt as in England. I do not complain of men -for having engrossed the government: in excluding us from all degrees of -power, they preserve us from many fatigues, many dangers, and perhaps -many crimes. The small proportion of authority that has fallen to my -share (only over a few children and servants) has always been a burden, -and never a pleasure, and I believe every one finds it so who acts from -a maxim (I think an indispensable duty), that whoever is under my power -is under my protection. Those who find a joy in inflicting hardships, -and seeing objects of misery, may have other sensations; but I have -always thought corrections, even when necessary, as painful to the giver -as to the sufferer, and am therefore very well satisfied with the state -of subjection we are placed in: but I think it the highest injustice to -be debarred the entertainment of my closet, and that the same studies -which raise the character of a man should hurt that of a woman. We are -educated in the grossest ignorance, and no art omitted to stifle our -natural reason; if some few get above their nurses' instructions, our -knowledge must rest concealed, and be as useless to the world as gold in -the mine. I am now speaking according to our English notions, which may -wear out, some ages hence, along with others equally absurd. It appears -to me the strongest proof of a clear understanding in Longinus (in every -light acknowledged one of the greatest men among the ancients), when I -find him so far superior to vulgar prejudices as to choose his two -examples of fine writing from a Jew (at that time the most despised -people upon earth) and a woman. Our modern wits would be so far from -quoting, they would scarce own they had read the works of such -contemptible creatures, though, perhaps, they would condescend to steal -from them, at the same time they declared they were below their notice. -This subject is apt to run away with me; I will trouble you with no more -of it." - -"Here is no news to be sent you from this place, which has been for this -fortnight and still continues overwhelmed with politics, and which are -of so mysterious a nature, one ought to have some of the gifts of Lilly -or Partridge to be able to write about them; and I leave all those -dissertations to those distinguished mortals who are endowed with the -talent of divination though I am at present the only one of my sex who -seems to be of that opinion, the ladies having shown their zeal and -appetite for knowledge in a most glorious manner. At the last warm -debate in the House of Lords, it was unanimously resolved there should -be no crowd of unnecessary auditors; consequently the fair sex were -excluded, and the gallery destined to the sole use of the House of -Commons. Notwithstanding which determination, a tribe of dames resolved -to show on this occasion that neither men nor laws could resist them. -These heroines were Lady Huntingdon, the Duchess of Queensberry, the -Duchess of Ancaster, Lady Westmorland, Lady Cobham, Lady Charlotte -Edwin, Lady Archibald Hamilton and her daughter, Mrs. Scott, and Mrs. -Pendarves, and Lady Frances Saunderson. I am thus particular in their -names, since I look upon them to be the boldest assertors, and most -resigned sufferers for liberty, I ever read of. They presented -themselves at the door at nine o'clock in the morning, where Sir William -Saunderson respectfully informed them that the Chancellor had made an -order against their admittance. The Duchess of Queensberry, as head of -the squadron, pished at the ill-breeding of a mere lawyer, and desired -him to let them upstairs privately. After some modest refusals, he swore -by G--he would not let them in. Her Grace, with a noble warmth, -answered, by G--they would come in in spite of the Chancellor and the -whole House. This being reported, the Peers resolved to starve them out; -an order was made that the doors should not be opened till they had -raised their siege. These Amazons now showed themselves qualified for -the duty of even foot soldiers; they stood there till five in the -afternoon, without either sustenance or evacuation, every now and then -playing volleys of thumps, kicks, and raps against the door, with so -much violence that the speakers in the House were scarce heard. When the -Lords were not to be conquered by this, the two duchesses (very well -apprised of the use of stratagems in war) commanded a dead silence of -half an hour; and the Chancellor, who thought this a certain proof of -their absence (the Commons also being very impatient to enter), gave -order for the opening of the door, upon which they all rushed in, pushed -aside their competitors, and placed themselves in the front rows of the -gallery. They stayed there till after eleven, when the House rose; and -during the debate gave applause, and showed marks of dislike, not only -by smiles and winks (which have always been allowed in these cases), but -by noisy laughs and apparent contempts; which is supposed the true -reason why poor Lord Hervey spoke miserably. I beg your pardon, dear -madam, for this long relation; but 'tis impossible to be short on so -copious a subject; and you must own this action very well worthy of -record, and I think not to be paralleled in history, ancient or modern." - - -Lady Mary, however, was less concerned with "the open door" for women in -politics: her primary desire was that a woman should have the right, -within reason, to live her own life, and not merely be a chattel of her -husband. There is the conduct of her own married life to prove her -sincerity. - -Her view of the Turkish woman has already been given, as also has her -opinion that marriages should be for the limited period of seven years. -Now, she gave her opinion of the woman question in Italy, and it would -seem that, realising that her own marriage has been anything but -satisfactory to either party, she wrote from her heart. - - -"I cannot let pass in silence the prodigious alteration, since Misson's -writing, in regard to our sex. This reformation (or, if you please, -depravation) began so lately as the year 1732, when the French overran -this part of Italy; but it has been carried on with such fervour and -success, that the Italian go far beyond their patterns, the Parisian -ladies, in the extent of their liberty. I am not so much surprised at -the women's conduct, as I am amazed at the change in the men's -sentiments. Jealousy, which was once a point of honour among them, is -exploded to that degree, it is the most infamous and ridiculous of all -characters; and you cannot more affront a gentleman than to suppose -him capable of it. Divorces are also introduced, and frequent enough; -they have long been in fashion in Genoa; several of the finest and -greatest ladies there having two husbands alive. The constant pretext is -impotency, to which the man often pleads guilty, and though he marries -again, and has children by another wife, the plea remains good by saying -he was so in regard to his first; and when I told them that in England a -complaint of that kind was esteemed so impudent no reasonable woman -would submit to make it, I was answered we lived without religion, and -that their consciences obliged them rather to strain a point of modesty -than to live in a state of damnation. However, as this method is not -without inconvenience (it being impracticable where there is children), -they have taken another here: the husband deposes upon oath that he has -had a commerce with his mother-in-law, on which the marriage is declared -incestuous and nullified, though the children remain legitimate. You -will think this hard on the old lady, who is scandalised; but it is no -scandal at all, nobody supposing it to be true, without circumstances to -confirm it; but the married couple are set free to their mutual content; -for I believe it would be difficult to get a sentence of divorce, if -either side made opposition: at least I have heard no example of it." - - -Lady Mary made no secret of her views upon marriage; and though she did -not so frequently air her religious beliefs, she often pondered the -subject, and when challenged to speak was not reticent. As regards -sacred matters, she always had the courage of her convictions, even as -she had in mundane affairs. - - -"I always, if possible, avoid controversial disputes: whenever I cannot -do it, they are very short" (she wrote to her daughter in October, -1755). "I ask my adversary if he believes in the Scripture? When that is -answered affirmatively their church may be proved, by a child of ten -years old, contradictory to it, in their most important points. My -second question is, if they think St. Peter and St. Paul knew the true -Christian religion? The constant reply is, O yes. Then say I, purgatory, -transubstantiation, invocation of saints, adoration of the Virgin, -relics (of which they might have had a cartload), the observation of -Lent, is no part of it, since they neither taught nor practised any of -these things. Vows of celibacy are not more contrary to nature, than to -the positive precept of St. Paul. He mentions a very common case, in -which people are obliged, by conscience, to marry. No mortal can promise -that case shall never be theirs, which depends on the disposition of the -body as much as a fever; and 'tis as reasonable to engage never to feel -the one as the other. He tells us, the marks of the Holy Spirit are -charity, humility, truth, and long suffering. Can anything be more -uncharitable than damning eternally so many millions for not believing -what they never heard? or prouder than calling their head a Vice-god? -Pious frauds are avowedly permitted, and persecution applauded: these -maxims cannot be dictated by the spirit of peace, which is so warmly -preached in the Gospel. The creeds of the apostles, and council of Nice, -do not speak of the mass, or real presence, as articles of belief; and -Athanasius asserts, whosoever believes according to them shall be saved. -Jesus Christ, in answer to the lawyer, bids him love God above all -things, and his neighbour as himself, as all that is necessary to -salvation. When he describes the last judgment, he does not examine what -sect, or what church, men were of, but how far they had been beneficent -to mankind. Faith cannot determine reward or punishment, being -involuntary, and only the consequence of conviction: we do not believe -what we please, but what appears to us with the face of truth. As I do -not mistake exclamation, invective, or ridicule for argument, I never -recriminate on the lives of their popes and cardinals, when they urge -the character of Henry the Eighth; I only answer, good actions are often -done by all men through interested motives, and 'tis the common method -of Providence to bring good out of evil: history, both sacred and -profane, furnishes many examples of it. When they tell me I have forsook -the worship of my ancestors, I say I have had more ancestors heathen -than Christian, and my faith is certainly ancienter than theirs, since I -have added nothing to the practice of the primitive professors of -Christianity. As to the prosperity or extent of the dominion of their -church, which Cardinal Bellarmin counts among the proofs of its -orthodoxy, the Mahometans, who have larger empires, and have made a -quicker progress, have a better plea for the visible protection of -Heaven. If the fopperies of their religion were only fopperies, they -ought to be complied with, wherever it is established, like any -ridiculous dress in fashion; but I think them impieties: their devotions -are scandal to humanity from their nonsense; the mercenary deceits and -barbarous tyranny of their ecclesiastics, inconsistent with moral -honesty. If they object the diversity of our sects as a mark of -reprobation, I desire them to consider, that objection has equal force -against Christianity in general. When they thunder with the names of -fathers and councils, they are surprised to find me as well (often -better) acquainted with them than themselves. I show them the variety of -their doctrines, their virulent contests and various factions, instead -of that union they boast of. I have never been attacked a second time in -any of the towns where I have resided, and perhaps shall never be so -again after my last battle, which was with an old priest, a learned man, -particularly esteemed as a mathematician, and who has a head and heart -as warm as poor Whiston's. When I first came hither, he visited me every -day, and talked of me everywhere with such violent praise, that, had we -been young people, God knows what would have been said. I have always -the advantage of being quite calm on a subject which they cannot talk of -without heat. He desired I would put on paper what I had said. I -immediately wrote one side of a sheet, leaving the other for his answer. -He carried it with him, promising to bring it the next day, since which -time I have never seen it, though I have often demanded it, being of -my defective Italian. I fancy he sent it to his friend the Archbishop of -Milan. I have given over asking for it, as a desperate debt. He still -visits me, but seldom, and in a cold sort of a way. When I have found -disputants I less respected, I have sometimes taken pleasure in raising -their hopes by my concessions: they are charmed when I agree with them -in the number of the sacraments; but are horridly disappointed when I -explain myself by saying the word sacrament is not to be found either in -Old or New Testament; and one must be very ignorant not to know it is -taken from the listing oath of the Roman soldiers, and means nothing -more than a solemn, irrevocable engagement. Parents vow, in infant -baptism, to educate their children in the Christian religion, which they -take upon themselves by confirmation; the Lord's Supper is frequently -renewing the same oath. Ordination and matrimony are solemn vows of a -different kind: confession includes a vow of revealing all we know, and -reforming what is amiss: extreme unction, the last vow, that we have -lived in the faith we were baptised: in this sense they are all -sacraments. As to the mysteries preached since, they were all invented -long after, and some of them repugnant to the primitive institution." - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -ON THE CONTINENT (1745-1760) - -Lady Mary stays at Avignon--She removes to Brescia--And then to -Lovere--She abandons all idea of Montagu joining her abroad--Her house -at Lovere--Her daily round--Her health--Her anxiety about her son--An -amazing incident--A serious illness--A novel in a letter--Her -correspondence attracts the attention of the Italian authorities--Sir -James and Lady Frances Steuart--Politics--She is in the bad books of the -British Resident at Venice--Lord Bute--The philosophy of Lady -Mary--Letters to Lady Bute and Sir James Steuart. - - -Lady Mary liked Avignon so well that she stayed there until July 1746. -Then she moved to Brescia, where she stayed for a year, and then took up -her quarters at Lovere, a small place in Lombardy on the Lake d'Iseo, a -most attractive spot, as she was at pains to tell her daughter at some -length. For some time she alternated between Lovere and Brescia. - - -"I am now in a place the most beautifully romantic I ever saw in my -life: it is the Tunbridge of this part of the world, to which I was sent -by the doctor's order, my ague often returning, notwithstanding the -loads of bark I have taken" (she wrote to her daughter from Lovere, July -24, 1747). "To say truth, I have no reason to repent my journey, though -I was very unwilling to undertake it, it being forty miles, half by land -and half by water; the land so stony I was almost shook to pieces, and I -had the ill luck to be surprised with a storm on the lake, that if I had -not been near a little port (where I passed a night in a very poor inn), -the vessel must have been lost. A fair wind brought me hither next -morning early. I found a very good lodging, a great deal of good -company, and a village in many respects resembling Tunbridge Wells, not -only in the quality of the waters, which is the same, but in the manner -of the buildings, most of the houses being separate at little distances, -and all built on the sides of hills, which indeed are far different from -those of Tunbridge, being six times as high: they are really vast rocks -of different figures, covered with green moss, or short grass, -diversified by tufts of trees, little woods, and here and there -vineyards, but no other cultivation, except gardens like those on -Richmond-hill. The whole lake, which is twenty-five miles long, and -three broad, is all surrounded with these impassable mountains, the -sides of which, towards the bottom, are so thick set with villages (and -in most of them gentlemen's seats), that I do not believe there is -anywhere above a mile distance one from another, which adds very much to -the beauty of the prospect. - -"We have an opera here, which is performed three times in the week. I -was at it last night, and should have been surprised at the neatness of -the scenes, goodness of the voices and justness of the actors, if I had -not remembered I was in Italy. Several gentlemen jumped into the -orchestra, and joined in the concert, which I suppose is one of the -freedoms of the place, for I never saw it in any great town. I was yet -more amazed (while the actors were dressing for the farce that concluded -the entertainment) to see one of the principal among them, and as errant -a _petit maitre_ as if he had passed all his life at Paris, mount the -stage, and present us with a cantata of his own performing. He had the -pleasure of being almost deafened with applause. The ball began -afterwards, but I was not witness of it, having accustomed myself to -such early hours, that I was half asleep before the opera finished: it -begins at ten o'clock, so that it was one before I could get to bed, -though I had supped before I went, which is the custom. - -"I am much better pleased with the diversions on the water, where all -the town assembles every night, and never without music; but we have -none so rough as trumpets, kettle-drums, and French horns: they are all -violins, lutes, mandolins, and flutes doux. Here is hardly a man that -does not excel in some of these instruments, which he privately -addresses to the lady of his affections, and the public has the -advantage of it by his adding to the number of the musicians. - -"The fountain where we drink the waters rises between two hanging hills, -and is overshadowed with large trees, that give a freshness in the -hottest time of the day. The provisions are all excellent, the fish of -the lake being as large and well tasted as that of Geneva, and the -mountains abounding in game, particularly blackcocks, which I never saw -in any other part of Italy." - - -Lady Mary, though still corresponding with her husband, had clearly -given up all idea of returning to England or of Montagu joining her -abroad. She was quite content with her state, which, after all, so far -as we know, was her own choice. She took a house at Lovere, and -interested herself in improving it and developing the grounds. - - -"I have been these six weeks, and still am, at my dairy-house, which -joins to my garden" (she wrote to her daughter in July, 1748). "I -believe I have already told you it is a long mile from the castle, which -is situated in the midst of a very large village, once a considerable -town, part of the walls still remaining, and has not vacant ground -enough about it to make a garden, which is my greatest amusement, it -being now troublesome to walk, or even go in the chaise till the -evening. I have fitted up in this farm-house a room for myself--that is -to say, strewed the floor with rushes, covered the chimney with moss and -branches, and adorned the room with basins of earthen-ware (which is -made here to great perfection) filled with flowers, and put in some -straw chairs, and a couch bed, which is my whole furniture. This spot of -ground is so beautiful, I am afraid you will scarce credit the -description, which, however, I can assure you, shall be very literal, -without any embellishment from imagination. It is on a bank, forming a -kind of peninsula, raised from the river Oglio fifty feet, to which you -may descend by easy stairs cut in the turf, and either take the air on -the river, which is as large as the Thames at Richmond, or by walking -[in] an avenue two hundred yards on the side of it, you find a wood of a -hundred acres, which was all ready cut into walks and ridings when I -took it. I have only added fifteen bowers in different views, with seats -of turf. They were easily made, here being a large quantity of -underwood, and a great number of wild vines, which twist to the top of -the highest trees, and from which they make a very good sort of wine -they call _brusco_. I am now writing to you in one of these arbours, -which is so thickly shaded, the sun is not troublesome, even at noon. -Another is on the side of the river, where I have made a camp kitchen, -that I may take the fish, dress, and eat it immediately, and at the same -time see the barks, which ascend or descend every day to or from Mantua, -Guastalla, or Pont de Vie, all considerable towns. This little wood is -carpeted, in their succeeding seasons, with violets and strawberries, -inhabited by a nation of nightingales, and filled with game of all -kinds, excepting deer and wild boar, the first being unknown here, and -not being large enough for the other. - -"My garden was a plain vineyard when it came into my hands not two years -ago, and it is, with a small expense, turned into a garden that (apart -from the advantage of the climate) I like better than that of -Kensington. The Italian vineyards are not planted like those in France, -but in clumps, fastened to trees planted in equal ranks (commonly -fruit-trees), and continued in festoons from one to another, which I -have turned into covered galleries of shade, that I can walk in the heat -without being incommoded by it. I have made a dining-room of verdure, -capable of holding a table of twenty covers; the whole ground is three -hundred and seventeen feet in length, and two hundred in breadth. You -see it is far from large; but so prettily disposed (though I say it), -that I never saw a more agreeable rustic garden, abounding with all sort -of fruit, and produces a variety of wines. I would send you a piece [_sic_] -if I did not fear the customs would make you pay too dear for it." - - -Lady Mary was now in her sixtieth year, and asked for nothing better -than peace and comfort. Her manner of life she described as being as -regular as that of any monastery. She rose at six, and after an early -breakfast worked in the garden. Then she visited the dairy and inspected -her chickens--at one time she had two hundred of them--and her turkeys, -geese, ducks, and peacocks, her bees and her silkworms. At eleven she -read for an hour, and after an early dinner would take a siesta. Then -she played picquet or whist with some friendly priests. In the evening -she walked in the woods, or rode, or went on the lake. "I enjoy every -amusement that solitude can afford," she said. "I confess I sometimes -wish for a little conversation, but I reflect that the commerce of the -world gives more uneasiness than pleasure, and quiet is all the hope -that can reasonably be indulged at my age." It would not have been Lady -Mary if she had not kept a keen eye on the pence. She was delighted to -be able to say in relation to her house and grounds that "all things -have hitherto prospered under my care; my bees and silkworms are -doubled, and I am told that, without accidents, my capital will be so in -two years' time." She enjoyed the more her evening now and her fish at -dinner, because neither cost her anything. "The fishery of this part of -the river belongs to me; and my fisherman's little boat (where I have a -green lutestring awning) serves me for a barge. He and his sons are my -rowers without expense, he being very well paid by the profit of the -fish, which I give him on condition of having every day one dish for my -table." - -Age dealt gently with Lady Mary. At the age of sixty-two, she could say -that her hearing and her memory were good, and her sight better than she -had any right to expect. She had appetite enough to relish what she ate, -slept as soundly as she had ever done, and had never a headache. Still, -the fact was forced upon her that she was no longer so young as she had -been--which unpleasing reflection she accepted philosophically enough. - - -"I no more expect to arrive at the age of the Duchess of Marlborough[19] -than to that of Methusalem; neither do I desire it" (she wrote to Lady -Bute in the early spring of 1751). "I have long thought myself useless -to the world. I have seen one generation pass away; and it is gone; for -I think there are very few of those left that flourished in my youth. -You will perhaps call these melancholy reflections: they are not so. -There is a quiet after the abandoning of pursuits, something like the -rest that follows a laborious day. I tell you this for your comfort. It -was formerly a terrifying view to me, that I should one day be an old -woman. I now find that Nature has provided pleasures for every state. -Those are only unhappy who will not be contented with what she gives, -but strive to break through her laws, by affecting a perpetuity of youth -which appears to me as little desirable at present as the babies do to -you, that were the delight of your infancy." - -[Footnote 19: The Duchess of Marlborough was born on May 29, 1660, and -died on October 18, 1744.] - - -She reverted to the same subject when writing to her husband a month or -two later: - - -"I can no longer resist the desire I have to know what is become of my -son. I have long suppressed it, from a belief that if there was anything -of good to be told, you would not fail to give me the pleasure of -hearing it. I find it now grows so much upon me, that whatever I am to -know, I think it would be easier for me to support, than the anxiety I -suffer from my doubts. I beg to be informed, and prepare myself for the -worst, with all the philosophy I have. At my time of life I ought to be -detached from a world which I am soon to leave; to be totally so is a -vain endeavour, and perhaps there is vanity in the endeavour: while we -are human, we must submit to human infirmities, and suffer them in mind -as well as body. All that reflection and experience can do is to -mitigate, we can never extinguish, our passions. I call by that name -every sentiment that is not founded upon reason, and own I cannot -justify to mine the concern I feel for one who never gave me any view of -satisfaction. - -"This is too melancholy a subject to dwell upon. You compliment me on -the continuation of my spirits: 'tis true, I try to maintain them by -every art I can, being sensible of the terrible consequences of losing -them. Young people are too apt to let theirs sink on any disappointment." - - -There was, in 1751, some extraordinary incident in the life of Lady -Mary, the true history of which has never been made public. - - -"Pray tell me," Horace Walpole wrote to Sir Horace Mann on August 31 of -that year, "if you know anything of Lady Mary Wortley: we have an -obscure history here of her being in durance in the Brescian or the -Bergamasco: that a young fellow that she set out with keeping has taken -it into his head to keep her close prisoner, not permitting her to write -or receive any letters but which he sees: he seems determined, if her -husband should die, not to lose her, as the Count [Richcourt] did Lady -Oxford." - - -No reply to this letter reached Walpole, but his insatiable curiosity -would not accept this as a check, and he wrote again on October 14: "Did -you ever receive the question I asked you about Lady Mary Wortley's -being confined by a lover that she keeps somewhere in the Brescian? I -long to know the particulars." - -At the time of this incident Lady Mary was in her sixty-second year. It -is possible, but extremely improbable, therefore, that Lady Mary should -have taken a young man into keeping. Horace Walpole may always be -trusted to make the best of a rumour. Still, it may be stated, on the -authority of Wright, that among Lady Mary's papers there was found a -long account of the matter, written in Italian. In this she mentioned -that for some time she had been forcibly detained in a country house -belonging to an Italian Count and occupied by him and his mother. This -paper, it is further mentioned, seems to have been submitted to a lawyer -for his opinion or for production in a court of law. It may be, of -course, that Lady Mary did, to some extent, adopt the young man, who -thought that by keeping possession of her person he might be able to -extort money from her. - -Not long after this business, in fact, in February, 1752, Lady Mary was -reporting that she was well enough in health. She had been reading -Coventry's _Pompey the Little_, and tells her daughter that she saw -herself in the character of Mrs. Qualmsick: - - -"You will be surprised at this, no Englishwoman being so free from -vapours, having never in my life complained of low spirits or weak -nerves; but our resemblance is very strong in the fancied loss of -appetite, which I have been silly enough to be persuaded into by the -physician of this place. He visits me frequently, as being one of the -most considerable men in the parish, and is a grave, sober thinking -great fool, whose solemn appearance, and deliberate way of delivering -his sentiments gives them an air of good sense, though they are often -the most injudicious that ever were pronounced. By perpetual telling me -I eat so little, he is amazed I am able to subsist, he had brought me to -be of his opinion; and I began to be seriously uneasy at it. This useful -treatise has roused me into a recollection of what I eat yesterday, and -do almost every day the same. I wake generally about seven, and drink -half a pint of warm asses' milk, after which I sleep two hours; as soon -as I am risen, I constantly take three cups of milk coffee, and -hours after that a large cup of milk chocolate: two hours more brings my -dinner, where I never fail swallowing a good dish (I don't mean plate) -of gravy soup, with all the bread, roots, &c., belonging to it. I then -eat a wing and the whole body of a large fat capon, and a veal -sweetbread, concluding with a competent quantity of custard, and some -roasted chestnuts. At five in the afternoon I take another dose of -asses' milk; and for supper twelve chestnuts (which would weigh -twenty-four of those in London), one new laid egg, and a handsome -porringer of white bread and milk. With this diet, notwithstanding the -menaces of my wise doctor, I am now convinced I am in no danger of -starving; and am obliged to Little Pompey for this discovery." - - -Two years later, however, when she was in her sixty-fifth year, Lady -Mary found herself far from well. In April of that year, she told her -daughter: "My time is wholly dedicated to the care of a decaying body, -and endeavouring, as the old song says, to grow wiser and better, as my -strength wears away." Shortly after, she was taken seriously unwell at -Gottolengo. When she had recovered she, always interested in medical -science, sent Lady Bute a full account of her illness and of the -extraordinary physician from the neighbouring village of Lovere. - - -"Soon after I wrote my last letter to my dear child, I was seized with -so violent a fever, accompanied with so many bad symptoms, my life was -despaired of by the physician of Gottolengo, and I prepared myself for -death with as much resignation as that circumstance admits: some of my -neighbours without my knowledge, sent express for the doctor of this -place, whom I have mentioned to you formerly as having uncommon secrets. -I was surprised to see him at my bedside. He declared me in great -danger, but did not doubt my recovery, if I was wholly under his care; -and his first prescription was transporting me hither; the other -physician asserted positively I should die on the road. It has always -been my opinion that it is a matter of the utmost indifference where we -expire, and I consented to be removed. My bed was placed on a bancard; -my servants followed in chaises; and in this equipage I set out. I bore -the first day's journey of fifteen miles without any visible alteration. -The doctor said, as I was not worse, I was certainly better; and the -next day proceeded twenty miles to Iséo, which is at the head of this -lake. I lay each night at noblemen's houses, which were empty. My cook, -with my physician, aways preceded two or three hours, and I found my -chamber, with all necessaries, ready prepared with the exactest -attention. I was put into a bark in my litter bed, and in three hours -arrived here. My spirits were not at all wasted (I think rather raised) -by the fatigue of my journey. I drank the water next morning, and, with -a few doses of my physician's prescription, in three days found myself -in perfect health, which appeared almost a miracle to all that saw me. -You may imagine I am willing to submit to the orders of one that I must -acknowledge the instrument of saving my life, though they are not -entirely conformable to my will and pleasure. He has sentenced me to a -long continuance here, which, he says, is absolutely necessary to the -confirmation of my health, and would persuade me that my illness has -been wholly owing to my omission of drinking the waters these two years -past. I dare not contradict him, and must own he deserves (from the -various surprising cures I have seen) the name given to him in this -country of the miraculous man. Both his character and practice are so -singular, I cannot forbear giving you some account of them. He will not -permit his patients to have either surgeon or apothecary: he performs -all the operations of the first with great dexterity; and whatever -compounds he gives, he makes in his own house: those are very few; the -juice of herbs, and these waters, being commonly his sole prescriptions. -He has very little learning, and professes drawing all his knowledge -from experience, which he possesses, perhaps, in a greater degree than -any other mortal, being the seventh doctor of his family in a direct -line. His forefathers have all of them left journals and registers -solely for the use of their posterity, none of them having published -anything; and he has recourse to these manuscripts on every difficult -case, the veracity of which, at least, is unquestionable. His vivacity -is prodigious, and he is indefatigable in his industry: but what most -distinguishes him is a disinterestedness I never saw in any other: he is -as regular in his attendance on the poorest peasant, from whom he never -can receive one farthing, as on the richest of the nobility; and, -whenever he is wanted, will climb three or four miles in the mountains, -in the hottest sun, or heaviest rain, where a horse cannot go, to arrive -at a cottage, where, if their condition requires it, he does not only -give them advice and medicines gratis, but bread, wine, and whatever is -needful. There never passes a week without one or more of these -expeditions. His last visit is generally to me. I often see him as dirty -and tired as a foot post, having eat nothing all day but a roll or two -that he carries in his pocket, yet blest with such a perpetual flow of -spirits, he is always gay to a degree above cheerfulness. There is a -peculiarity in his character that I hope will incline you to forgive my -drawing it." - - -It was probably by the advice of her physician that Lady Mary decided to -make Lovere her headquarters. He prescribed taking the waters there and -a long rest. Lovere was a dull place, visitors coming only during the -water-drinking season. The plague that overran Europe in 1626 had -ravaged it: the poor were almost destroyed, and the rich deserted it. A -few of the ancient palaces had been turned into lodging-houses; the rest -were in ruinous condition. Lady Mary bought one of the palaces. - - -"I see you lift up your eyes in wonder at my indiscretion. I beg you to -hear my reasons before you condemn me. In my infirm state of health the -unavoidable noise of a public lodging is very disagreeable; and here is -no private one: secondly, and chiefly, the whole purchase is but one -hundred pounds, with a very pretty garden in terraces down to the water, -and a court behind the house. It is founded on a rock, and the walls so -thick, they will probably remain as long as the earth. It is true, the -apartments are in most tattered circumstances, without doors or windows. -The beauty of the great saloon gained my affection: it is forty-two feet -in length by twenty-five, proportionably high, opening into a balcony of -the same length, with marble balusters: the ceiling and flooring are in -good repair, but I have been forced to the expense of covering the wall -with new stucco; and the carpenter is at this minute taking measure of -the windows, in order to make frames for sashes. The great stairs are in -such a declining way, it would be a very hazardous exploit to mount -them: I never intend to attempt it. The state bedchamber shall also -remain for the sole use of the spiders that have taken possession of it, -along with the grand cabinet, and some other pieces of magnificence, -quite useless to me, and which would cost a great deal to make -habitable. I have fitted up six rooms, with lodgings for five servants, -which are all I ever will have in this place; and I am persuaded that I -could make a profit if I would part with my purchase, having been very -much befriended in the sale, which was by auction, the owner having died -without children, and I believe he had never seen this mansion in his -life, it having stood empty from the death of his grandfather. The -governor bid for me, and nobody would bid against him. Thus I am become -a citizen of Lovere, to the great joy of the inhabitants, not (as they -would pretend) from their respect for my person, but I perceive they -fancy I shall attract all the travelling English; and, to say the truth, -the singularity of the place is well worth their curiosity; but, as I -have no correspondents, I may be buried here fifty years, and nobody -know anything of the matter." - - -Lady Mary found great pleasure in her correspondence. It was one of the -occupations with which she solaced her loneliness, and she was never more -happy than when she had an exciting story to set down, for she could set -it down with the ease of a Walpole and an individual touch that was all -her own: - - -"I was quietly reading in my closet, when I was interrupted by the -chambermaid of the Signora Laura Bono, who flung herself at my feet, -and, in an agony of sobs and tears, begged me, for the love of the holy -Madonna, to hasten to her master's house, where the two brothers would -certainly murder one another, if my presence did not stop their fury. I -was very much surprised, having always heard them spoken of as a pattern -of fraternal union. However, I made all possible speed thither, without -staying for hoods or attendance. I was soon there (the house touching my -garden wall), and was directed to the bedchamber by the noise of oaths -and execrations; but, on opening the door, was astonished to a degree -you may better guess than I describe, by seeing the Signora Laura -prostrate on the ground, melting in tears, and her husband standing with -a drawn stiletto in his hand, swearing she should never see tomorrow's -sun. I was soon let into the secret. The good man, having business of -consequence at Brescia, went thither early in the morning; but, as he -expected his chief tenant to pay his rent that day, he left orders with -his wife, that if the farmer, who lived two miles off, came himself, or -sent any of his sons, she should take care to make him very welcome. She -obeyed him with great punctuality, the money coming in the hand of a -handsome lad of eighteen: she did not only admit him to her own table, -and produce the best wine in the cellar, but resolved to give him _chęre -entičre_. While she was exercising this generous hospitality, the -husband met midway the gentleman he intended to visit, who was posting -to another side of the country; they agreed on another appointment, and -he returned to his own house, where, giving his horse to be led round to -the stable by the servant that accompanied him, he opened his door with -the _passe-partout_ key, and proceeded to his chamber, without meeting -anybody, where he found his beloved spouse asleep on the bed with her -gallant. The opening of the door waked them: the young fellow -immediately leaped out of the window, which looked into the garden, and -was open, it being summer, and escaped over the fields, leaving his -breeches on a chair by the bedside--very striking circumstance. In -short, the case was such, I do not think the queen of fairies herself -could have found an excuse, though Chaucer tells us she has made a -solemn promise to leave none of her sex unfurnished with one, to all -eternity. As to the poor criminal, she had nothing to say for herself -but what I dare swear you will hear from your youngest daughter, if ever -you catch her stealing of sweetmeats--"Pray, pray, she would do so no -more, and indeed it was the first time." This last article found no -credit with me: I cannot be persuaded that any woman who had lived -virtuous till forty (for such is her age) could suddenly be endowed with -such consummate impudence, to solicit a youth at first sight, there -being no probability, his age and station considered, that he would have -made any attempt of that kind. I must confess I was wicked enough to -think the unblemished reputation she had hitherto maintained, and did -not fail to put us in mind of, was owing to a series of such frolics; -and to say truth, they are the only amours that can reasonably hope to -remain undiscovered. Ladies that can resolve to make love thus -_extempore_, may pass unobserved, especially if they can content -themselves with low life, where fear may oblige their favourites to -secrecy: there wants only a very lewd constitution, a very bad heart, -and a moderate understanding, to make this conduct easy: and I do not -doubt it has been practised by many prudes beside her I am now speaking -of. You may be sure I did not communicate these reflections. The first -word I spoke was to desire Signer Carlo to sheathe his poniard, not -being pleased with its glittering! He did so very readily, begging my -pardon for not having done it on my first appearance, saying he did not -know what he did, and indeed he had the countenance and gesture of a man -distracted. I did not endeavour a defence; that seemed to me impossible; -but represented to him, as well as I could, the crime of a murder, which, -if he could justify before men, was still a crying sin before God; the -disgrace he would bring on himself and posterity, and irreparable injury -he would do his eldest daughter, a pretty girl of fifteen, that I knew -he was extremely fond of. I added, that if he thought it proper to part -from his lady, he might easily find a pretext for it some months hence; -and that it was as much his interest as hers to conceal this affair from -the knowledge of the world. I could not presently make him taste these -reasons, and was forced to stay there near five hours (almost from five -to ten at night) before I durst leave them together, which I would not -do till he had sworn in the most serious manner he would make no future -attempt on her life. I was content with his oath, knowing him to be very -devout, and found I was not mistaken. How the matter was made up between -them afterwards I know not; but it is now two years since it happened, -and all appearances remaining as if it had never been. The secret is in -very few hands; his brother, being at that time at Brescia, I believe -knows nothing of it to this day. The chambermaid and myself have preserved -the strictest silence, and the lady retains the satisfaction of insulting -all her acquaintance on the foundation of a spotless character, that only -she can boast in the parish, where she is most heartily hated, from these -airs of impertinent virtue, and another very essential reason, being the -best dressed woman among them, though one of the plainest in her figure. - -"The discretion of the chambermaid in fetching me, which possibly saved -her mistress's life, and her taciturnity since, I fancy appear very -remarkable to you, and is what would certainly never happen in England. -The first part of her behaviour deserves great praise; coming of her own -accord, and inventing so decent an excuse for her admittance: but her -silence may be attributed to her knowing very well that any servant that -presumes to talk of his master will most certainly be incapable of -talking at all in a short time, their lives being entirely in the power -of their superiors: I do not mean by law but by custom, which has full -as much force. If one of them was killed, it would either never be -inquired into at all, or very slightly passed over; yet it seldom -happens, and I know no instance of it, which I think is owing to the -great submission of domestics, who are sensible of their dependence, and -the national temper not being hasty, and never inflamed by wine, -drunkenness being a vice abandoned to the vulgar, and spoke of with -greater detestation than murder, which is mentioned with as little -concern as a drinking-bout in England, and is almost as frequent. It was -extreme shocking to me at my first coming, and still gives me a sort of -horror, though custom has in some degree familiarised it to my -imagination. Robbery would be pursued with great vivacity, and punished -with the utmost rigour, therefore is very rare, though stealing is in -daily practice; but as all the peasants are suffered the use of -fire-arms, the slightest provocation is sufficient to shoot, and they -see one of their own species lie dead before them with as little remorse -as a hare or a partridge, and, when revenge spurs them on, with much -more pleasure. A dissertation on this subject would engage me in a -discourse not proper for the post." - - -Lady Mary, being a prolific letter-writer, came under the suspicions of -the Italian authorities, who carefully examined the correspondence--a -fact that was only by a chance conversation revealed to her. "I think I -now know why our correspondence is so miserably interrupted, and so many -of my letters lost to and from England," she wrote to her husband in -October, 1753; "but I am no happier in the discovery than a man who has -found out his complaints proceed from a stone in the kidneys; I know the -cause, but am entirely ignorant of the remedy, and must suffer my -uneasiness with what patience I can." - -"An old priest made me a visit as I was folding my last packet to my -daughter. Observing it to be large, he told me I had done a great deal of -business that morning. I made answer, I had done no business at all; I -had only wrote to my daughter on family affairs, or such trifles as make -up women's conversation. He said gravely, people like your Excellenza -do not use to write long letters upon trifles. I assured him, that if he -understood English, I would let him read my letter. He replied, with a -mysterious smile, if I did understand English, I should not understand -what you have written, except you would give me the key, which I durst -not presume to ask. What key? (said I, staring) there is not one cypher -besides the date. He answered, cyphers were only used by novices in -politics, and it was very easy to write intelligibly, under feigned -names of persons and places, to a correspondent, in such a manner as -should be almost impossible to be understood by anybody else. - -"Thus I suppose my innocent epistles are severely scrutinized; and when -I talk of my grandchildren, they are fancied to represent all the -potentates of Europe. This is very provoking. I confess there are good -reasons for extraordinary caution at this juncture; but 'tis very hard I -cannot pass for being as insignificant as I really am." - - -Lady Mary clearly was happy in Italy, and did not in the least hanker -after the delights of London society, which in her earlier days she had -so much enjoyed. - - -"By the account you give me of London, I think it very much reformed; at -least you have one sin the less, and it was a very reigning one in my -time, I mean scandal: it must be literally reduced to a whisper, since -the custom of living all together. I hope it has also banished the -fashion of talking all at once, which was very prevailing when I was in -town, and may perhaps contribute to brotherly love and unity, which was -so much declined in my memory, that it was hard to invite six people -that would not, by cold looks, or piquing reflections affront one -another. I suppose parties are at an end, though I fear it is the -consequence of the old almanac prophecy, "Poverty brings peace"; and I -fancy you really follow the French mode, and the lady keeps an assembly, -that the assembly may keep the lady, and card money pay for clothes and -equipage as well as cards and candles. I find I should be as solitary in -London as I am here in the country, it being impossible for me to submit -to live in a _drum_, which I think so far from a cure of uneasiness, -that it is, in my opinion, adding one more to the heap. There are so -many attached to humanity, 'tis impossible to fly from them all; but -experience has confirmed to me what I always thought, that the pursuit -of pleasure will be ever attended with pain, and the study of ease be -most certainly accompanied with pleasures. I have had this morning as -much delight in a walk in the sun as ever I felt formerly in the crowded -Mall, even when I imagined I had my share of the admiration of the place, -which was generally soured before I slept by the informations of my -female friends, who seldom failed to tell me, it was observed, I had -showed an inch above my shoe-heels, or some other criticism of equal -weight, which was construed affectation, and utterly destroyed all the -satisfaction my vanity had given me. I have now no other but in my little -houswifery, which is easily gratified in this country, where, by the help -of my receipt-book, I make a very shining figure among my neighbours, by -the introduction of custards, cheesecakes, and minced pies, which were -entirely unknown to these parts, and are received with universal -applause; and I have reason to believe will preserve my memory even to -future ages, particularly by the art of butter-making, in which I have -so improved them, that they now make as good as in any part of England." - - -Lady Mary made the acquaintance in 1758 of Sir James Steuart,[20] and -his wife, Lady Frances, the eldest daughter of the Earl of Wemyss and -sister of the Jacobite Lord Elcho. Steuart, when making the grand -tour, had met the exiled Stuarts at Rome, and had become attached to -their cause. When the Young Pretender landed in Scotland in 1745, -Steuart threw in his lot with him. On his master's business he went to -Paris, and was abroad when Culloden was fought. When an Act of Oblivion -was passed in 1748 he was exempted by name, and, therefore, his return -was at the time impossible. He and his wife wandered about the -Continent, and it was at Venice that they encountered Lady Mary, who was -delighted with them. "I was charmed to find a man of uncommon sense and -learning, and a lady that without beauty is more admirable than the -fairest of her sex," she wrote enthusiastically to her daughter. "I -offered them all the little good offices in my power, and invited them -to supper; upon which our wise Minister[21] has discovered that I am in -the interest of popery and slavery. As he has often said the same thing -of Mr. Pitt, it would give me no mortification, if I did not apprehend -that his fertile imagination may support this wise idea by such -circumstances as may influence those that do not know me. It is very -remarkable that after having suffered all the rage of that party at -Avignon for my attachment to the present reigning family, I should be -accused here of favouring rebellion, when I hoped all our odious -diversions were forgotten." - -[Footnote 20: Sir James Steuart (1712-1780), in 1773, on inheriting an -estate from a relative, took the additional surname of Denham. He was -the author of works on currency and political economy.] - -[Footnote 21: The British Resident at Venice at this time was John -Murray] - - -Lady Mary was anxious that nothing she did should reflect upon her -daughter or in any way affect Lord Bute. "I am afraid you may think -some imprudent behaviour of mine has occasioned all this ridiculous -persecution [by the Resident]" she wrote to them in May, 1758. "I can -assure you I have always treated him and his family with the utmost -civility, and am now retired to Padua, to avoid the comments that will -certainly be made on his extraordinary conduct towards me. I only desire -privacy and quiet, and am very well contented to be without visits, -which oftener disturb than amuse me. My single concern is the design he -has formed of securing (as he calls it) my effects immediately on my -decease; if they ever fall into his hands, I am persuaded they will -never arrive entire into yours, which is a very uneasy thought to me." - -Although not primarily interested in politics, Lady Mary had met so many -politicians that she was naturally eager to hear what was going on, and -the fact that her son-in-law, Lord Bute, was active in that department -of life made her follow ministerial events in England so closely as -possible. "I stay here, though I am on many accounts better pleased with -Padua," she wrote to her daughter from Venice, January 20, 1758. "Our -great minister, the Resident, treats me as one of the Opposition. I am -inclined to laugh rather than be displeased at his political airs; yet, -as I am among strangers they are disagreeable; and, could I have -foreseen them, would have settled in some other part of the world: but I -have taken leases of my houses, been at much pains and expense in -furnishing them, and am no longer of an age to make long journeys." - -Pitt's Coalition Ministry, formed in June, 1757, in which Pitt and Lord -Holdernesse were Secretaries of State, the Duke of Newcastle First Lord -of the Treasury, Legge Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Lord Granville, -Lord Temple, Sir Robert Henley, the Duke of Devonshire, the Duke of -Bedford, and Henry Fox held office, moved Lady Mary to merriment. - - -"Your account of the changes in ministerial affairs do not surprise me; -but nothing could be more astonishing than their all coming together" -(she wrote to Lady Bute). "It puts me in mind of a friend of mine who -had a large family of favourite animals; and not knowing how to convey -them to his country-house in separate equipages, he ordered a Dutch -mastiff, a cat and her kittens, a monkey, and a parrot, all to be packed -up together in one large hamper, and sent by a waggon. One may easily -guess how this set of company made their journey; and I have never been -able to think of the present compound ministry without the idea of -barking, scratching, and screaming. 'Tis too ridiculous a one, I own, -for the gravity of their characters, and still more for the situation the -kingdom is in; for as much as one may encourage the love of laughter, -'tis impossible to be indifferent to the welfare of one's native -country." - - -The Resident was, so far as Lady Mary was concerned, an ill-conditioned -fellow. She asked him once or twice for the English papers, but the -reply made, with intention, on each occasion was that they were engaged. -"Since the Ministry of Mr. Pitt," she remarked, "he is so desirous to -signalise his zeal for the contrary faction, he is perpetually saying -ridiculous things, to manifest his attachment; and as he looks upon me -(nobody knows why) to be the friend of a man I never saw, he has not -visited me once this winter. The misfortune is not great." Lady Mary was -amused at being mistaken for a politician. "I have often been so, though -I ever thought politics so far removed from my sphere. I cannot accuse -myself of dabbling in them, even when I heard them talked over in all -companies; but, as the old song says, - - 'Tho' through the wide world we should range, - 'Tis in vain from our fortune to fly.'" - -Lady Mary always cherished affection and respect for her son-in-law, -Lord Bute. He had been since 1747 a favourite with Frederick, Prince of -Wales, who in 1750 appointed him a Lord of his Bedchamber. When -Frederick died in the following year Bute had established his popularity -with the Princess, who, in 1756, secured his appointment as Groom of the -Stole. "I have something to mention that I believe will be agreeable to -you," Edward Wortley Montagu wrote to his wife at this time; "I mean -some particulars relating to Lord Bute. He stood higher in the Prince of -Wales's favour than any man. His attendance was frequent at Leicester -House, where this young Prince has resided, and since his father's death -has continued without intermission, till new officers were to be placed -under him. It is said that another person was to be Groom of the Stole, -but that the Prince's earnest request was complied with in my Lord's -favour. It is supposed that the governors, preceptors, etc., who were -about him before will now be set aside, and that my Lord is now the -principal adviser." Neither Montagu nor his wife in their published -correspondence make any allusion to the scandal current about the -intimate relations of the Princess and Lord Bute, though it was so -widely spread it is almost impossible it should not have come to the -ears of one or other of them. - -On the accession of George III Bute was sworn a member of the Privy -Council, and in November, 1760, appointed Groom of the Stole and First -Gentleman of the Bedchamber. His influence with the young King was -paramount. "I pity Lady Bute," Walpole wrote to Sir Horace Mann on -January 27, 1761, "her mother will sell to whoever does not know her, -all kinds of promises and reversions, bestow lies gratis and wholesale, -and make so much mischief, that they will be forced to discard her in -three months, which will go to Lady Bute's heart, who is one of the best -and most sensible women in the world; and who, educated by such a -mother, has never made a false step." As a matter of fact, the only -request known to be made by Lady Mary was to ask Lord Bute, through her -daughter, to take care that Sir James Steuart's name was not excluded in -the Act of Indemnity. It is, however, true that there is the following -statement in the Diaries of the Right Hon. William Windham, under the -date of November 25, 1772, which is given here for what it is worth. -"Mr. Montagu told me this evening about Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, that -at her death, 'A note of his was found among her papers for one thousand -guineas,' which had been given her by a gentleman of Ireland as the -premium for some honours to be received through her interest. The -honours stipulated for were not obtained before her death, and the -gentleman upon representation of the story to the family recovered the -note which she had deposited by agreement in a particular drawer shewn -to him. It may reasonably be supposed that this was not the first -instance of her accepting money on those conditions, and that much of -Lord Bute's interest has been employed in her service." - -As Lady Mary advanced in the sixties of her life, she looked upon the -world with the eyes of a vast experience, and found it more sad than she -had thought it in youth or middle age. _Vanitas vanitatum_ was the text -of many a homily that she delivered, and a certain sadness replaced the -sense of malice that had once possessed her. Once more than aggressive, -now she had had bestowed upon her in some degree that gift of -understanding that engenders sympathy. As she grew older she grew more -wise, and was anxious to impart her wisdom, especially to her daughter, -for her benefit or for that of her daughter's children. - - -"How important is the charge of youth! and how useless all the -advantages of nature and fortune without a well-turned mind! I have -lately heard of a very shining instance of this truth, from two -gentlemen (very deserving ones they seem to be) who have had the -curiosity to travel into Moscovy, and now return to England with Mr. -Archer. I inquired after my old acquaintance Sir Charles [Hanbury] -Williams, who I hear is much broken, both in spirits and constitution. -How happy that man might have been, if there had been added to his -natural and acquired endowments a dash of morality! If he had known how -to distinguish between false and true felicity; and, instead of seeking -to increase an estate already too large, and hunting after pleasures -that have made him rotten and ridiculous, he had bounded his desires of -wealth, and follow the dictates of his conscience. His servile ambition -has gained him two yards of red ribbon, and an exile into a miserable -country, where there is no society and so little taste, that I believe -he suffers under a dearth of flatterers. This is said for the use of -your growing sons, whom I hope no golden temptations will induce to -marry women they cannot love, or comply with measures they do not -approve. All the happiness this world can afford is more within reach -than is generally supposed. Whoever seeks pleasure will undoubtedly find -pain; whoever will pursue ease will as certainly find pleasures. The -world's esteem is the highest gratification of human vanity; and that is -more easily obtained in a moderate fortune than an overgrown one, which -is seldom possessed, never gained, without envy. I say esteem; for, as -to applause, it is a youthful pursuit, never to be forgiven after twenty, -and naturally succeeds the childish desire of catching the setting sun, -which I can remember running very hard to do: a fine thing truly if it -could be caught; but experience soon shows it to be impossible. A wise -and honest man lives to his own heart, without that silly splendour that -makes him a prey to knaves, and which commonly ends in his becoming one -of the fraternity. I am very glad to hear Lord Bute's decent economy sets -him above anything of that kind. I wish it may become national. A -collective body of men differs very little from a single man; frugality -is the foundation of generosity. I have often been complimented on the -English heroism, who have thrown away so many millions, without any -prospect of advantage to themselves, purely to succour a distressed -princess. I never could hear these praises without some impatience; they -sounded to me like panegyrics made by the dependents on the Duke of -Newcastle and poor Lord Oxford, bubbled when they were commended, and -laughed at when undone. Some late events will, I hope, open our eyes: we -shall see we are an island, and endeavour to extend our commerce rather -than the Quixote reputation of redressing wrongs and placing diadems on -heads that should be equally indifferent to us. When time has ripened -mankind into common sense, the name of conqueror will be an odious title. -I could easily prove that, had the Spaniards established a trade with the -Americans, they would have enriched their country more than by the -addition of twenty-two kingdoms, and all the mines they now work--I do -not say possess; since, though they are the proprietors, others enjoy the -profit." - - -Mary's letters at this period of her life are so entertaining that a few -may well be inserted here for the sheer pleasure of reading them. - - -TO THE COUNTESS OF BUTE - -"Padua, September 30, 1757. - -"Lord Bute has been so obliging as to let me know your safe delivery, -and the birth of another daughter; may she be as meritorious in your -eyes as you are in mine! I can wish nothing better to you both, though I -have some reproaches to make you. Daughter! daughter! don't call names; -you are always abusing my pleasures, which is what no mortal will bear. -Trash, lumber, sad stuff, are the titles you give to my favourite -amusement. If I called a white staff a stick of wood, a gold key gilded -brass, and the ensigns of illustrious orders coloured strings, this may -be philosophically true, but would be very ill received. We have all our -playthings: happy are they that can be contented with those they can -obtain: those hours are spent in the wisest manner, that can easiest -shade the ills of life, and are lest productive of ill consequences. I -think my time better employed in reading the adventures of imaginary -people, than the Duchess of Marlborough's, who passed the latter years -of her life in paddling with her will, and contriving schemes of -plaguing some, and extracting praise from others, to no purpose; -eternally disappointed, and eternally fretting. The active scenes are -over at my age. I indulge, with all the art I can, my taste for reading. -If I would confine it to valuable books, they are almost as rare as -valuable men. I must be content with what I can find. As I approach a -second childhood, I endeavour to enter into the pleasures of it. Your -youngest son is, perhaps, at this very moment riding on a poker with -great delight, not at all regretting that it is not a gold one, and much -less wishing it an Arabian horse, which he would not know how to manage. -I am reading an idle tale, not expecting wit or truth in it, and am very -glad it is not metaphysics to puzzle my judgment, or history to mislead -my opinion. He fortifies his health by exercise; I calm my cares by -oblivion. The methods may appear low to busy people; but, if he improves -his strength, and I forget my infirmities, we attain very desirable ends." - - -To THE COUNTESS OF BUTE - -"Venice, November 8, 1758. - -"... Some few months before Lord W. Hamilton married, there appeared a -foolish song, said to be wrote by a poetical great lady, who I really -think was the character of Lady Arabella, in _The Female Quixote_ -(without the beauty): you may imagine such a conduct, at court, made her -superlatively ridiculous. Lady Delawarr, a woman of great merit, with -whom I lived in much intimacy, showed this fine performance to me: we -were very merry in supposing what answer Lord William would make to -these passionate addresses; she begged me to say something for a poor -man, who had nothing to say for himself. I wrote, _extempore_, on the -back of the song, some stanzas that went perfectly well to the tune. She -promised they should never appear as mine, and faithfully kept her word. -By what accident they have fallen into the hands of that thing Dodsley, -I know not, but he has printed them as addressed, by me, to a very -contemptible puppy, and my own words as his answer. I do not believe -either Job or Socrates ever had such a provocation. You will tell me, it -cannot hurt me with any acquaintance I ever had: it is true; but it is -an excellent piece of scandal for the same sort of people that -propagate, with success, that your nurse left her estate, husband, and -family, to go with me to England; and, then I turned her to starve, -after defrauding her of God knows what. I thank God witches are out of -fashion, or I should expect to have it deposed, by several credible -witnesses, that I had been seen flying through the air on a broomstick, -&c. I am really sick with vexation." - - -TO SIR JAMES STEUART - -"Venice, November 14, 1758. - -"This letter will be solely to you, and I desire you will not -communicate it to Lady Fanny: she is the best woman in the world, and I -would by no means make her uneasy; but there will be such strange things -in it that the Talmud or the Revelations are not half so mysterious: -what these prodigies portend, God knows; but I never should have -suspected half the wonders I see before my eyes, and am convinced of the -necessity of the repeal of the witch act (as it is commonly called), I -mean, to speak correctly, the tacit permission given to witches, so -scandalous to all good Christians: though I tremble to think of it for -my own interests. It is certain the British islands have always been -strangely addicted to this diabolical intercourse, of which I dare swear -you know many instances; but since this public encouragement given to -it, I am afraid there will not be an old woman in the nation entirely -free from suspicion. The devil rages more powerfully than ever: you will -believe me, when I assure you the great and learned English minister is -turned methodist, several duels have been fought in the Place of St. -Marc for the charms of his excellent lady, and I have been seen flying -in the air in the figure of Julian Cox, which history is related with so -much candour and truth by the pious pen of Joseph Glanville, chaplain to -K. Charles. I know you young rakes make a jest of all those things, but -I think no good lady can doubt of a relation so well attested. She was -about seventy years old (very near my age), and the whole sworn to -before Judge Archer, 1663: very well worth reading, but rather too long -for a letter. You know (wretch that I am) 'tis one of my wicked maxims -to make the best of a bad bargain; and I have said publicly that every -period of life has its privileges, and that even the most despicable -creatures alive may find some pleasures. Now observe this comment; who -are the most despicable creatures? Certainly, old women. What pleasure -can an old woman take? Only witchcraft. I think this argument as clear -as any of the devout Bishop of Cloyne's metaphysics: this being decided -in a full congregation of saints, only such atheists as you and Lady -Fanny can deny it. I own all the facts, as many witches have done before -me, and go every night in a public manner astride upon a black cat to a -meeting where you are suspected to appear: this last article is not -sworn to, it being doubtful in what manner our clandestine midnight -correspondence is carried on. Some think it treasonable, others lewd -(don't tell Lady Fanny); but all agree there was something very odd and -unaccountable in such sudden likings. I confess, as I said before, it is -witchcraft. You won't wonder I do not sign (notwithstanding all my -impudence) such dangerous truths: who knows the consequence? The devil -is said to desert his votaries." - - -To SIR JAMES STEUART - -"Venice, January 13, 1759. - -"I have indulged myself some time with day-dreams of the happiness I -hope to enjoy this summer in the conversation of Lady Fanny and Sir -James S.; but I hear such frightful stories of precipices and hovels -during the whole journey, I begin to fear there is no such pleasure -allotted me in the book of fate: the Alps were once molehills in my -sight when they interposed between me and the slightest inclination; now -age begins to freeze, and brings with it the usual train of melancholy -apprehensions. Poor human-kind! We always march blindly on; the fire of -youth represents to us all our wishes possible; and, that over, we fall -into despondency that prevents even easy enterprises: a store in winter, -a garden in summer, bounds all our desires, or at least our undertakings. -If Mr. Steuart would disclose all his imaginations, I dare swear he has -some thoughts of emulating Alexander or Demosthenes, perhaps both: -nothing seems difficult at his time of life, everything at name. I am -very unwilling, but am afraid I must submit to the confinement of my -boat and my easy-chair, and go no farther than they can carry me. Why -are our views so extensive and our powers so miserably limited? This -is among the mysteries which (as you justly say) will remain ever -unfolded to our shallow capacities. I am much inclined to think we are -no more free agents than the queen of clubs when she victoriously takes -prisoner the knave of hearts; and all our efforts (when we rebel against -destiny) as weak as a card that sticks to a glove when the gamester is -determined to throw it on the table. Let us then (which is the only true -philosophy) be contented with our chance, and make the best of that bad -bargain of being born in this vile planet; where we may find, however -(God be thanked), much to laugh at, though little to approve. - -"I confess I delight extremely in looking on men in that light. How many -thousands trample under foot honour, ease, and pleasure, in pursuit of -ribands of certain colours, dabs of embroidery on their clothes, and -gilt wood carved behind their coaches in a particular figure? Others -breaking their hearts till they are distinguished by the shape and -colour of their hats; and, in general, all people earnestly seeking what -they do not want, while they neglect the real blessings in their -possession--I mean the innocent gratification of their senses, which is -all we can properly call our own. For my part, I will endeavour to -comfort myself for the cruel disappointment I find in renouncing -Tubingen, by eating some fresh oysters on the table. I hope you are -sitting down with dear Lady F. to some admirable red partridges, which I -think are the growth of that country. Adieu! Live happy, and be not -unmindful of your sincere distant friend, who will remember you in the -tenderest manner while there is any such faculty as memory in the -machine called." - - -To THE COUNTESS OF BUTE - -"Venice, May 22, 1759. - -"... Building is the general weakness of old people; I have had a twitch -of it myself, though certainly it is the highest absurdity, and as sure -a proof of dotage as pink-coloured ribands, or even matrimony. Nay, -perhaps, there is more to be said in defence of the last; I mean in a -childless old man; he may prefer a boy born in his own house, though he -knows it is not his own, to disrespectful or worthless nephews or -nieces. But there is no excuse for beginning an edifice he can never -inhabit, or probably see finished. The Duchess of Marlborough used to -ridicule the vanity of it, by saying one might always live upon other -people's follies: yet you see she built the most ridiculous house I ever -saw, since it really is not habitable, from the excessive damps; so true -it is, the things that we would do, those do we not, and the things we -would not do, those do we daily. I feel in myself a proof of this -assertion, being much against my will at Venice, though I own it is the -only great town where I can properly reside, yet here I find so many -vexations, that, in spite of all my philosophy and (what is more -powerful) my phlegm, I am oftener out of humour than among my plants and -poultry in the country. I cannot help being concerned at the success of -iniquitous schemes, and grieve for oppressed merit. You, who see these -things every day, think me as unreasonable, in making them matter of -complaint, as if I seriously lamented the change of seasons. You should -consider I have lived almost a hermit ten years, and the world is as new -to me as to a country girl transported from Wales to Coventry. I know I -ought to think my lot very good, that can boast of some sincere friends -among strangers." - - -Old age will, in the long run, have its way. Lady Mary, as pleasantly -loquacious as ever, found the manual labour of writing not always to be -endured, and she tried the experiment of dictating her correspondence. - - -"Thus far" (she wrote to Sir James Steuart from Padua, July 19, 1759), -"I have dictated for the first time of my life, and perhaps it will be -the last, for my amanuensis is not to be hired, and I despair of ever -meeting with another. He is the first that could write as fast as I -talk, and yet you see there are so many mistakes, it wants a comment -longer than my letter to explain my insignificant meaning, and I have -fatigued my poor eyes more with correcting it, than I should have done -in scribbling two sheets of paper. You will think, perhaps, from this -idle attempt, that I have some fluxion on my sight; no such matter; I -have suffered myself to be persuaded by such sort of arguments as those -by which people are induced to strict abstinence, or to take physic. -Fear, paltry fear, founded on vapours rising from the heat, which is now -excessive, and has so far debilitated my miserable nerves that I submit -to a present displeasure, by way of precaution against a future evil, -that possibly may never happen. I have this to say in my excuse, that -the evil is of so horrid a nature, I own I feel no philosophy that could -support me under it, and no mountain girl ever trembled more at one of -Whitfield's pathetic lectures than I do at the word blindness, though I -know all the fine things that may be said for consolation in such a case: -but I know, also, they would not operate on my constitution. 'Why, then' -(say my wise monitors), 'will you persist in reading or writing seven -hours in a day?' 'I am happy while I read and write.' 'Indeed, one would -suffer a great deal to be happy,' say the men, sneering; and the ladies -wink at each other, and hold up their fans. A fine lady of three score -had the goodness to add, 'At least, madam, you should use spectacles; I -have used them myself these twenty years; I was advised to it by a famous -oculist when I was fifteen. I am really of opinion that they have -preserved my sight, notwithstanding the passion I always had both for -reading and drawing.' This good woman, you must know, is half blind, and -never read a larger volume than a newspaper. I will not trouble you with -the whole conversation, though it would make an excellent scene in a -farce; but after they had in the best bred way in the world convinced me -that they thought I lied when I talked of reading without glasses, the -foresaid matron obligingly said she should be very proud to see the -writing I talked of, having heard me say formerly I had no correspondents -but my daughter and Mr. Wortley. She was interrupted by her sister, who -said, simpering, 'You forgot Sir J.S.' I took her up something short, I -confess, and said in a dry stern tone, 'Madam, I do write to Sir J.S. and -will do it as long as he will permit that honour.' This rudeness of mine -occasioned a profound silence for some minutes, and they fell into a -good-natured discourse of the ill consequences of too much application, -and remembered how many apoplexies, gouts, and dropsies had happened -amongst the hard students of their acquaintance. As I never studied -anything in my life, and have always (at least from fifteen) thought the -reputation of learning a misfortune to a woman, I was resolved to believe -these stories were not meant at me: I grew silent in my turn, and took up -a card that lay on a table, and amused myself with smoking it over a -candle. In the mean time (as the song says), - - 'Their tattles all run, as swift as the sun, - Of who had won, and who was undone - By their gaming and sitting up late,' - -When it was observed I entered into none of these topics, I was -addressed by an obliging lady, who pitied my stupidity. 'Indeed, madam, -you should buy horses to that fine machine you have at Padua; of what -use is it standing in the portico?' 'Perhaps,' said another, wittily, -'of as much use as a standing dish.' A gaping schoolboy added with still -more wit, 'I have seen at a country gentleman's table a venison-pasty -made of wood.' I was not at all vexed by said schoolboy, not because he -was (in more senses than one) the highest of the company, but knowing he -did not mean to offend me. I confess (to my shame be it spoken) I was -grieved at the triumph that appeared in the eyes of the king and queen -of the company, the court being tolerably full. His majesty walked off -early with the air befitting his dignity, followed by his train of -courtiers, who, like courtiers, were laughing amongst themselves as they -followed him: and I was left with the two queens, one of whom was making -ruffles for the man she loved, and the other slopping tea for the good -of her country. They renewed their generous endeavours to set me right, -and I (graceless beast that I am) take up the smoked card which lay -before me, and with the corner of another wrote-- - - If ever I one thought bestow - On what such fools advise, - May I be dull enough to grow - Most miserably wise. - -And flung down the card on the table, and myself out of the room, in the -most indecent fury. A few minutes on the cold water convinced me of my -folly, and I went home as much mortified as my Lord E. when he has lost -his last stake at hazard. Pray don't think (if you can help it) this is -an affectation of mine to enhance the value of a talent I would be -thought to despise; as celebrated beauties often talk of the charms of -good sense, having some reason to fear their mental qualities are not -quite so conspicuous as their outside lovely form.--_Ŕ propos_ of -beauties: - - I know not why, but Heaven has sent this way - A nymph, fair, kind, poetical, and gay; - And what is more (tho' I express it dully), - A noble, wise, right honourable cully: - A soldier worthy of the name he bears, - As brave and senseless as the sword he wears. - -"You will not doubt I am talking of a puppet-show; and indeed so I am; -but the figures (some of them) bigger than the life, and not stuffed -with straw like those commonly shown at fairs. I will allow you to think -me madder than Don Quixote when I confess I am governed by the -_que-dira-t-on_ of these things, though I remember whereof they are -made, and know they are but dust. Nothing vexes me so much as that they -are below satire. (Between you and me) I think there are but two -pleasures permitted to mortal man, love and vengeance; both which are, -in a peculiar manner, forbidden to us wretches who are condemned to -petticoats. Even vanity itself, of which you daily accuse us, is the sin -against the Holy Ghost not to be forgiven in this world or the next. - - Our sex's weakness you expose and blame, - Of every prating fop the common theme; - Yet from this weakness you suppose is due - Sublimer virtue than your Cato knew. - From whence is this unjust distinction shown? - Are we not formed with passions like your own? - Nature with equal fire our souls endued: - Our minds as lofty, and as warm our blood. - O'er the wide world your wishes you pursue, - The change is justified by something new, - But we must sigh in silence and be true. - -"How the great Dr. Swift would stare at this vile triplet! And then what -business have I to make apologies for Lady Vane, whom I never spoke to, -because her life is writ by Dr. Smollett, whom I never saw? Because my -daughter fell in love with Lord Bute, am I obliged to fall in love with -the whole Scots nation? 'Tis certain I take their quarrels upon myself -in a very odd way; and I cannot deny that (two or three dozen excepted) -I think they make the first figure in all arts and sciences; even in -gallantry, in spite of the finest gentlemen that have finished their -education at Paris. - -"You will ask me what I mean by all this nonsense, after having declared -myself an enemy to obscurity to such a degree that I do not forgive it -to the great Lord Viscount Bolingbroke, who professes he studied it. I -dare swear you will sincerely believe him when you read his celebrated -works. I have got them for you, and intend to bring them. _Oime! -l'huomo. propone, Dio dispone_. I hope you won't think this dab of -Italian, that slid involuntarily from my pen, an affectation like his -Gallicisms, or a rebellion against Providence, in imitation of his -lordship, who I never saw but once in my life: he then appeared in a -corner of the drawing-room, in the exact similitude of Satan when he was -soliciting the court of Heaven for leave to torment an honest man." - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -LAST YEARS (1760-1762) - -Lady Mary writes the history of her own times--Her health--Death of -Edward Wortley Montagu--His will--Lady Mary ponders the idea of -returning to England--She leaves Italy--She is held up at Rotterdam--She -reaches London--Horace Walpole visits her--Her last illness--Her -fortitude--Her death--She leaves one guinea to her son. - -One of Lady Mary's amusements towards the end of her life was writing -the history of her own time. "It has been my fortune," she said, "to -have a more exact knowledge both of the persons and facts that have made -the greatest figure in England in this age, than is common; and I take -pleasure in putting together what I know, with an impartiality that is -altogether unusual. Distance of tie and place has totally blotted from -my mind all traces of resentment or prejudice; and I speak with the same -indifference to the Court of Great Britain as I should do of that of -Augustus Caesar." Lady Mary, however, merely wrote for her own -entertainment, and burnt her manuscript almost as soon as it was -composed. It would certainly have made interesting reading; but she -never had any idea of publication. "I know mankind too well to think -they are capable of receiving the truth, much less of applauding it; or, -were it otherwise, applause to me is as insignificant as garlands on the -dead." - - -"I am exceedingly glad of your father's good health: he owes it to his -uncommon abstinence and resolution," Lady Mary wrote to her daughter, -April 11, 1759. "I wish I could boast the same. I own I have too much -indulged a sedentary humour and have been a rake in reading. You will -laugh at the expression, but I think the liberal meaning of the ugly -word rake is one that follows his pleasures in contradiction to his -reason. I thought mine so innocent I might pursue them with impunity. I -now find that I was mistaken, and that all excesses are (though not -equally) blamable. My spirits in company are false fire: I have a damp -within; from marshy grounds frequently arises an appearance of light. I -grow splenetic, and consequently ought to stop my pen, for fear of -conveying the infection." - -"My health is very precarious; may yours long continue and see the -prosperity of your family. I bless God I have lived to see you so well -established, and am ready to sing my _Nunc dimittis_ with pleasure," -Lady Mary wrote to her daughter in November, 1760; and early in the next -year she touched on the same subject in a letter to Sir James Steuart. -"I have not returned my thanks for your obliging letter so soon as both -duty and inclination prompted me but I have had so severe a cold, -accompanied with a weakness in my eyes, that I have been confined to my -stove for many days.... I am preparing for my last and longest journey, -and stand on the threshold of this dirty world, my several infirmities -like posthorses ready to hurry me away." - - -It was in January, 1761, that Edward Wortley Montagu passed away at the -age of eighty-three. He died at Wharncliffe, the family seat of the -Wortleys, where he had lived in a most miserly manner. He had only one -luxury--tokay, of which he was passionately fond. He left a great -fortune, the highest estimate of which was Ł1,350,000. Horace Walpole -said the estate was worth Ł600,000. Walpole gives some particulars of -the legacies: "To his son, on whom six hundred a-year was settled, the -reversion of which he has sold, he gives Ł1,000 a-year for life, but not -to descend to any children he may have by any of his many wives. To Lady -Mary, in lieu of dower, but which to be sure she will not accept, -instead of the thirds of such a fortune, Ł1,200 a-year; and after her to -their son for life; and then the Ł1,200 and Ł1,000 to Lady Bute and to -her second son; with Ł2,000 to each of her younger children; all the -rest, in present, to Lady Bute, then to her second son, taking the name -of Wortley, and in succession to all the rest of her children, which are -numerous; and after them to Lord Sandwich, to whom, in present, he -leaves about Ł40,000. The son, you perceive, is not so well treated by -his own father as his companion Taaffe[22] is by the French Court, where -he lives, and is received on the best footing; so near is Fort l'Evęque -to Versailles." - -[Footnote 22: Theodore Taaffe, an Irish adventurer, who, with Edward -Wortley Montagu, was imprisoned in Fort l'Evęque, at Paris, for cheating -at cards in 1751. The incident has been given in a pamphlet written by -Montagu.] - -On hearing of the death of her husband, Lady Mary bethought herself of -returning to England, from which she had been absent for more than a -score of years. She was seventy-two years old, and may well have thought -that her time, too, would soon come, and that she would like to die in -her native country. Still, it was some time before she could bring -herself to a decision to set out. She was delighted with the political -success of Lord Bute and pleased with her daughter's prosperity, but "I -am doubtful whether I will attempt to be a spectator of it," she -confided in Sir James Steuart in April. "I have so many years indulged -my natural inclinations to solitude and reading, I am unwilling to -return to crowds and bustle, which would be unavoidable in London. The -few friends I esteemed are now no more: the new set of people who fill -the stage at present are too indifferent to me even to raise my -curiosity." Also, as she said, she was beginning to feel the worst -effects of age, blindness excepted, and was grown timorous and -suspicious. - -It was no light thing for a woman of Lady Mary's age to voyage alone, -except for a servant or two, from Venice to London. Yet her indomitable -spirit came to her aid, and in the autumn of 1761 she left Italy. She -travelled by way of Augsberg and Frankfort to Rotterdam. The journey had -been far from agreeable. "I am dragging my ragged remnant of life to -England," she wrote to Sir James Steuart on November 20. "The wind and -tide are against me; how far I have strength to struggle against both I -know not; that I am arrived here is as much a miracle as any in the -golden legend; and if I had foreseen half the difficulties I have met -with I should not certainly have had courage to undertake it.... I am -nailed down here by a severe illness of my poor Marianne, who has not -been able to endure the frights and fatigues that we have passed." - -When, about three weeks later, Marianne had sufficiently recovered to -move on, Lady Mary was held up by a hard, impenetrable frost. The delay -irked her, and she became somewhat depressed, and said that she was -dubious, in her precarious state of health, whether she would arrive at -her destination. At the beginning of the new year, she did actually make -a start, and got half way to Helvoet, and was obliged to turn back by -the mountains of sea that obstructed the passage. "I have had so many -disappointments I can scarce entertain the flattering thought of -arriving in London," the poor lady complained; but she found comfort in -that "It is uncommon at my age to have no distemper, and to retain all -my senses in their first degree of perfection." Later in the month she -arrived in London. - -Horace Walpole, who heard everything, had, of course, heard that Lady -Mary was returned to England, and in a letter of October 8, 1761, -announced her return, adding with a brutality unusual even in him: "I -have not seen her yet, though they have not made her perform quarantine -for her own dirt." However, as he discovered shortly after, it was Lady -Mary Wrottisley, and not Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who had arrived. - -Of course, when Lady Mary had come to London, Walpole was one of the -first to go and see her. "I went last night to visit her," he wrote to -Sir Horace Mann on January 29. "I give you my honour, and you who know -her, would credit me without it, the following is a faithful description. -I found her in a miserable little chamber of a ready-furnished house, -with two tallow candles, and a bureau covered with pots and pans. On -her head, in full of all accounts, she had an old black-laced hood, -wrapped entirely round, so as to conceal all hair or want of hair. No -handkerchief, but up to her chin a kind of horse-man's riding-coat, -calling itself a _pet-en-l'air,_ made of a dark green (green I -think it had been) brocade, with coloured and silver flowers, and lined -with furs; boddice laced, a foul dimity petticoat sprig'd, velvet -muffeteens on her arms, grey stockings and slippers. Her face less -changed in twenty years than I could have imagined; I told her so, and -she was not so tolerable twenty years ago that she needed to have taken -it for flattery, but she did, and literally gave me a box on the ear. -She is very lively, all her senses perfect, her languages as imperfect -as ever, her avarice greater. She entertained me at first with nothing -but the dearness of provisions at Helvoet. With nothing but an Italian, -a French, and a Prussian, all men-servants, and something she calls an -_old_ secretary, but whose age till he appears will be doubtful; -she receives all the world who go to homage her as Queen-mother, and -crams them into this kennel. The Duchess of Hamilton, who came in just -after me, was so astonished and diverted, that she could not speak to -her for laughing. She says that she left all her clothes at Venice. I -really pity Lady Bute; what will the progress be of such a commencement?" - -Lady Mary rented a house in Great George Street, Hanover Square, whither -her daughter and grandchildren came often. Occasionally she went about, -and from time to time would grace an assembly with her presence. Horace -Walpole saw her at some gathering, dressed in yellow velvet and sables, -with a decent laced head and a black hood, almost like a veil, over her -face. His prognostication that she would by her interference and demands -for "jobs" make life hideous for Lord and Lady Bute proved to be -unfounded, and he had the grace to say, "She is much more discreet than -I expected, and meddles with nothing"; but he could not refrain from -saying that "she is woefully tedious in her narrations." - -Lady Mary was suffering from cancer, which she concealed from her family -and acquaintances until about the beginning of July (1762). Then it -burst, and there was no hope of her life being much prolonged. On July 2 -she wrote her last letter to Lady Frances Steuart, saying, "I have been -ill a long time, and am now so bad I am little capable of writing, but I -would not pass in your opinion as either stupid or ungrateful. My heart -is always warm in your service, and I am always told your affairs shall -be taken care of." If she was a bad woman to cross, at least even on her -deathbed she tried to do service to her friends. Death had no terrors -for her; she said she had lived long enough; and she died, as she had -lived, with great fortitude. - -Lady Mary passed away on August 21, 1762, at the age of seventy-three. -Her remains were interred in the graveyard of Grosvenor Chapel, where -also lie Ambrose Phillips, David Mallett, Lord Chesterfield, William -Whitehead, John Wilkes, and Elizabeth Carter. - -All that Lady Mary possessed, except some trifling legacies, she left to -Lady Bute. Her fortune is believed to have been inconsiderable, except -for some valuable jewels. Walpole had one last gibe: "With her usual -maternal tenderness and usual generosity, she has left her son one -guinea." The gibe was unworthy, because Walpole knew quite well the -career of that son, who, anyhow, was sufficiently provided for. It may -be that it was the pricking of Walpole's conscience for this last -outburst that made him later administer a stern rebuke to Lady Craven. -"I am sorry to hear, Madam, that by your account Lady Mary Wortley was -not so accurate and faithful as modern travellers. The invaluable art of -inoculation, which she brought from Constantinople, so dear to all -admirers of beauty, and to which we owe, perhaps the preservation of -yours, stamps her an universal benefactress; and as you rival her in -poetic talents I had rather you would employ them to celebrate her for -her nostrum, than detect her for romancing." - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Lady Mary Wortley Montague, by Lewis Melville - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGUE *** - -***** This file should be named 10590-8.txt or 10590-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/5/9/10590/ - -Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Charles Aldarondo, (no name) and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team. - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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For -example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: - - https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/2/3/10234 - -or filename 24689 would be found at: - https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/6/8/24689 - -An alternative method of locating eBooks: - https://www.gutenberg.org/GUTINDEX.ALL - - diff --git a/old/10590-8.zip b/old/10590-8.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 89c7893..0000000 --- a/old/10590-8.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/10590.txt b/old/10590.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 27184de..0000000 --- a/old/10590.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10774 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Lady Mary Wortley Montague, by Lewis Melville - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Lady Mary Wortley Montague - Her Life and Letters (1689-1762) - -Author: Lewis Melville - -Release Date: January 4, 2004 [EBook #10590] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGUE *** - - - - -Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Charles Aldarondo, (no name) and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team. - - - - - -LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGU - -Her Life and Letters (1689-1762) - - -By - - -LEWIS MELVILLE - - -_WITH A FRONTISPIECE BY AUBREY HAMMOND, AND SIXTEEN OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS_ - - - - -To -EDITH AND JOHN CABOURN - - - - -PREFACE - - -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu has her niche in the history of medicine as -having introduced inoculation from the Near East into England; but her -principal fame is as a letter-writer. - -Of her gifts as a correspondent she was proud, and with reason. It was -in all sincerity that in June, 1726, she wrote to her sister, Lady Mar: -"The last pleasures that fell in my way was Madame Sevigne's letters: -very pretty they are, but I assert, without the least vanity, that mine -will be full as entertaining forty years hence. I advise you, therefore, -to put none of them to the use of waste paper." And again, later in the -year, she said half-humorously to the same correspondent: "I writ to you -some time ago a long letter, which I perceive never came to your hands: -very provoking; it was certainly a _chef d'oeuvre_ of a letter, and -worthy any of the Sevigne's or Grignan's, crammed with news." That Lady -Mary's belief in herself was well founded no one has disputed. Even -Horace Walpole, who detested her and made attacks on her whenever -possible, said that "in most of her letters the wit and style are -superior to any letters I have ever read but Madame de Sevigne's." A -very pleasant tribute from one who had a goodly conceit of himself as a -letter-writer. - -Walpole, as a correspondent, was perhaps more sarcastic and more witty; -Cowper undoubtedly more tender and more gentle; but Lady Mary had -qualities all her own. She had powers of observation and the gift of -description, which qualities are especially to be remarked in the -letters she wrote when abroad with her husband on his Mission to the -Porte. She had an ironic wit which gave point to the many society -scandals she narrated, a happy knack of gossip, and a style so easy as -to make reading a pleasure. - -Some of the incidents which Lady Mary retails with so much humour may be -accepted as not outraging the conventions of the early eighteenth -century when it was customary to call a spade a spade; when gallantry -was gallantry indeed, and the pursuit of it openly conducted. What is -not mentioned by those who have written about her is that she was -possessed of a particularly unsavoury strain of impropriety which -outraged even the canons of her age. Some twenty years after her death, -it was mentioned in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ that Dr. Young, the -author of _Night Thoughts_, had a little before his death destroyed a -great number of her letters, assigning as a reason of his doing so that -they were too indecent for public inspection. Only the other day I had -confirmation of this from a distinguished man of letters who wrote to -me: "I have somewhere hidden away a copy of a letter by Lady Mary -Wortley Montagu, which was sent to me by a well-known collector about -thirty-five years ago, because he couldn't destroy it and wouldn't for -worlds be found dead with it in his possession--so terrific is it in -character. I'll tell you about it some day when we meet: I can't write -it. In any case you couldn't use it or even refer to it.... I suppose -that my friend quite felt that the document, however objectionable, -should not, on literary grounds, be destroyed. What my executors will -think of me for having it in my possession, the Devil only knows." - -Whether this strain permeated the diary which Lady Mary left behind her -when she eloped in 1712, and which was destroyed by one of her sisters, -no one can say; but it is a curious fact that the diary she kept in -later years was destroyed by her devoted daughter, Lady Bute. "Though -Lady Bute always spoke of Lady Mary with great respect," wrote Lady -Louisa Stuart, "yet it might be perceived that she knew it had been too -much her custom to note down and enlarge upon all the scandalous rumours -of the day, without weighing their truth or even their probability; to -record as certain facts stories that perhaps sprang up like mushrooms -from the dirt, and had as brief an existence, but tended to defame -persons of the most spotless character. In this age, she said everything -got into print sooner or later; the name of Lady Mary Wortley would be -sure to attract curiosity; and were such details ever made public, they -would neither edify the world, nor do honour to her memory." - -Lady Bute heard that her mother's letters were in existence, and, -fearful of what they might contain, purchased them. "It is known that -when on her way to die, as it proved, in her own country, Lady Mary gave -a copy of the letters to Mr. Snowden, minister of the English church at -Rotterdam, attesting the gift by her signature," Lady Louisa Stuart has -written. "This showed it was her wish that they should eventually be -published; but Lady Bute, hearing only that a number of her mother's -letters were in a stranger's hands, and having no certainty what they -might be, to whom addressed, or how little of a private matter, could -not but earnestly desire to obtain them, and readily paid the price -demanded--five hundred pounds. In a few months she saw them appear in -print. Such was the fact, and how it came about nobody at this time of -day need either care or inquire." - -With regard to other correspondence of Lady Mary, Sir Robert Walpole -returned to her the letters she had written to his second wife, Molly -Skerritt, after the death of that lady; and when Lord Hervey died, his -eldest son sealed up and sent her her letters, with an assurance that he -had read none of them. To Lord Hervey's heir, Lady Louisa Stuart has -mentioned, Lady Mary wrote a letter of thanks for his honourable -conduct, adding that she could almost regret he had not glanced his eye -over a correspondence which would have shown him what so young a man -might perhaps be inclined to doubt--the possibility of a long and steady -friendship subsisting between two persons of different sexes without the -least mixture of love. Much pleased with this letter, he preserved it; -and, when Lady Mary came to England, showed it to Lady Bute desiring -she would ask leave for him to visit her mother. - -It is to be presumed that Lady Mary, or her daughter, Lady Bute, -destroyed these collections. For her part, Lady Mary returned letters -that she had received from Lord Hervey, but only those that belonged to -the last fourteen years of an acquaintance that had endured twice so -long. These are for the greater number platonic in character, although -there are a few phrases of a freer kind. Croker, who edited Lord -Hervey's _Memoirs_, mentions that Hervey, answering one of her letters -in 1737, in which she had complained that she was too old to inspire -passion, after paying a compliment to her charms more gallant than -decorous, said: "I should think anybody a great fool that said he liked -spring better than summer merely because it is further from autumn, or -that they loved green fruit better than ripe only because it was further -from being rotten. I ever did, and believe ever shall, like women best-- - - "Just in the noon of life--those golden days, - When the mind ripens as the form decays." - -Lady Mary was then in her forty-ninth year, being six years Hervey's -senior. - -Lady Louisa Stuart, writing in 1837--that is, seventy-five years after -the death of her grandmother, Lady Mary--wrote indignantly of the -attacks that had been made upon her ancestress. "The multitude of -stories circulated about her--as about all people who were objects of -note in their day--increase, instead of lessening, the difficulty," she -said. "Some of these may be confidently pronounced inventions, simple -and purely false; some, if true, concerned a different person; some were -grounded upon egregious blunders; and not a few upon jests, mistaken by -the dull and literal for earnest. Others, again, where a little truth -and a great deal of falsehood were probably intermingled, nobody now -living can pretend to confirm, or contradict, or unravel. Nothing is so -readily believed, yet nothing is usually so unworthy of credit, as tales -learned from report, or caught up in casual conversation. A circumstance -carelessly told, carelessly listened to, half comprehended, and -imperfectly remembered, has a poor chance of being repeated accurately -by the first hearer; but when, after passing through the moulding of -countless hands, it comes, with time, place, and person, gloriously -confounded, into those of a bookmaker ignorant of all its bearings, it -will be lucky indeed if any trace of the original groundwork remains -distinguishable." - -Lady Mary's most redoubtable assailants were Pope and Horace Walpole, -and both were biassed. The story of Pope's quarrel with her is told in -the following pages. Walpole, it has been suggested, disliked her much -because she had championed his father's mistress, Molly Skerritt, -against the mother to whom he was devoted. Pope, of course, knew her -well; but Walpole, who was twenty-eight years her junior, only met her -in her late middle age. Walpole's prejudice was so great what when Lady -Mary said, "People wish their enemies dead--but I do not. I say, give -them the gout, give them the stone," he reported it solemnly. - -Of course, it is not to be assumed that Lady Mary had not her full share -of malice--she was undoubtedly well equipped with that useful -quality--and she did not turn the other cheek when she was assailed. She -could even stand up to the vitriolic Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and -stand up so effectively that they tacitly agreed to an armed neutrality -that verged perilously upon friendship. The young Duke of Wharton -sometimes beat her in open fight, but she harboured no very angry -feelings towards him. As regards Pope, if it was not tit-for-tat with -him, at least she gave him hard knocks. Pope, great poet as he was, -never played fair in war. - -"Lady Mary, quite contrary," she might have been dubbed, for she was -frequently in trouble. The Remond scandal, that will presently be -unfolded, was a thing apart; but her witty tongue made her many enemies -and cost her many friends. Had the contents of her letters about London -society become known at the time, nearly every man's and all women's -hands would have been against her. She had, in fact, little that was -kind to say about people; when she had, she usually refrained from -mentioning it. - -In this work Lady Mary's letters, either whole or in part, are given -only in so far as they have biographical or historical value. At the -same time I have, wherever possible, allowed Lady Mary to tell her -story, or to give her impressions, in her own words. The quotations have -been taken, by kind permission of Messrs. J.M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., from -the edition of the letters in their "Everyman Library" (edited by Mr. -Ernest Rhys), with an introduction by Mr. R. Brimley Johnson. - -The first edition of the letters appeared in three volumes in 1763, -believed to have been edited by John Cleland. A fourth volume, issued in -1763, is regarded by Sir Leslie Stephen as of doubtful authenticity. -James Dallaway, in 1803, brought out an enlarged collection and added to -it the poems, and a second edition, with some new letters, appeared -fourteen years later. Lady Mary's great-grandson, Lord Wharncliffe, -edited the correspondence in 1837, and this, revised by Mr. Moy Thomas, -was reprinted in 1861 and again in 1887. - -There have been published selections from the correspondence by Mr. A.R. -Ropes (1892) and by Mr. Hannaford Bennett (1923). - -The principal authorities for the life of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu are -the Memoirs of James Dallaway prefixed to an edition of the _Works_ -(1803) and the _Introductory Anecdotes_ in a new edition (1837) by Lady -Louisa Stuart, the daughter of Lady Bute and the granddaughter of Lady -Mary. There is another account of Lady Mary by the late Moy Thomas in -revised editions of the letters and writings (1861 and 1887). Sir Leslie -Stephen was responsible for the memoir in the _Dictionary of National -Biography_. In 1907 appeared _Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and her Times_, -by that sound authority on the eighteenth century, "George Paston," who -was so fortunate as to discover many scores of letters hitherto -unpublished. - -Other sources of information are to be found in Pope's Correspondence, -Spence's _Anecdotes_, Dilke's _Papers of a Critic,_ Cobbetts _Memorials -of Twickenham_, the Stuart MSS. at Windsor Castle, the MSS. of the Duke -of Beaufort, and the Lindsay MSS. - -My thanks--though not, perhaps, the thanks of my readers--are especially -due to that ripe scholar Mr. Hannaford Bennett, who suggested this work -to me. I am indebted to Mr. M.H. Spielmann and other friends and -correspondents for information and suggestions. Finally, I must -acknowledge the valuable assistance of Mrs. E. Constance Monfrino in the -preparation of this biography. - -LEWIS MELVILLE. - -_London, -March, 1925_. - - - - -CONTENTS - - -PREFACE - - -CHAPTER I - -CHILDHOOD (1689-1703) - -Birth of Mary Pierrepont, after Lady Mary Wortley Montagu--Account of -the Pierrepont family--Lady Mary's immediate ancestors--Her father, -Evelyn Pierrepont, succeeds to the Earldom of Kingston in 1790--The -extinct marquisate of Dorchester revived in his favour--His -marriage--Issue of the marriage--Death of his wife--Lady Mary stays with -her grandmother, Mrs. Elizabeth Pierrepont--Her early taste for -reading--She learns Latin, and, presently, Italian--Encouraged in her -literary ambitions by her uncle, William Feilding, and Bishop -Burnet--Submits to the Bishop a translation of "Encheiridion" of -Epictetus--An attractive child--A "toast" at the Kit-Cat Club--Acts as -hostess to her father - - -CHAPTER II - -GIRLHOOD (1703-1710) - -Lady Mary makes the acquaintance of Edward Wortley Montagu--Montagu -attracted by her looks and her literary gifts. Assists her in her -studies--Montagu a friend of the leading men of letters of the -day--Addison, Steele, Congreve, Vanbrugh, and others--The second volume -of the _Tatler_ dedicated to him by Steele--Montagu a staunch Whig--His -paternal interest for Lady Mary does not endure--He becomes a suitor for -her hand--Lady Mary's devotion and respect for him--Her flirtations--She -and Montagu correspond through the medium of his sister, Anne--Lady -Mary's mordant humour--Her delight in retailing society scandal--The -death of Anne Wortley--Lady Mary and Montagu henceforth communicate -direct--Her first letter to him - - -CHAPTER III - -COURTSHIP, ELOPEMENT, AND MARRIAGE (1710-1712) - -A lengthy courtship--Montagu a laggard lover--Lady Mary and Montagu -exchange views on married life--Montagu proposes for her to Lord -Dorchester--Dorchester refuses, since Montagu will not make -settlements--Montagu's views on settlements expressed (by Steele) in the -_Tatler_--Although not engaged, the young people continue to -correspond--Lord Dorchester produces another suitor of his daughter--She -consents to an engagement--The preparations for the wedding--She -confides the whole story to Montagu--She breaks off the engagement--She -and Montagu decide to elope--She runs up to London--Marriage--Lady -Mary's diary destroyed by her sister, Lady Frances Pierrepont - - -CHAPTER IV - -EARLY MARRIED LIFE (1712-1714) - -An uneventful existence--Montagu's Parliamentary duties take him to -London--Lady Mary stays mostly in the country--Correspondence--Montagu a -careless husband, but very careful of his money--Later he becomes a -miser--Lady Mary does not disguise the tedium of her existence-- -Concerning a possible reconciliation with her father--Lord -Pierrepont of Hanslope--Lord Halifax--Birth of a son, christened after -his father, Edward Wortley Montagu--The mother's anxiety about his -health--Family events--Lady Evelyn Pierrepont marries Baron (afterwards -Earl) Gower--Lady Frances Pierrepont marries the Earl of Mar--Lord -Dorchester marries again--Has issue, two daughters--The death of Lady -Mary's brother, William. His son, Evelyn, in due course succeeds to the -Dukedom of Kingston--Elizabeth Chudleigh--The political situation in -1714--The death of Queen Anne--The accession of George I--The unrest in -the country--Lady Mary's alarm for her son - - -CHAPTER V - -THE ACCESSION OF GEORGE I (1714) - -Lady Mary shows an increasing interest in politics--She tries to incite -her husband to be ambitious--Montagu not returned to the new -Parliament--His lack of energy--Correspondence--The Council of -Regency--The King commands Lord Townshend to form a Government--The -Cabinet--Lord Halifax, First Lord of the Treasury--Montagu appointed a -Lord Commissioner of the Treasury--Correspondence--The unsatisfactory -relations between Lady Mary and Montagu - - -CHAPTER VI - -LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGU'S ACCOUNT OF THE COURT OF GEORGE I - - -CHAPTER VII - -AT HERRENHAUSEN AND ST. JAMES (1714-1716) - -The Elector George Lewis not delighted at his accession to the British -throne--A greater man in Hanover than in London--Lady Mary modifies her -first impression of the King--She is in high favour at Court--An amusing -incident at St. James's--The early unpopularity of George I in England -generally, and especially in the capital--The Hanoverians in the Royal -Household--The Duchess of Kendal--The Countess of Darlington--Lady -Mary's description of the Hanoverian ladies--The Duchess of Kendal's -passion for money--Her influence with the King in political matters-- -Count de Broglie--The scandal about Lady Darlington refuted--Lady Mary -and the Prince of Wales--The King and the Prince of Wales--The poets -and wits of the day--Gray's tribute to Lady Mary--Pope's verses on -her--"Court Poems" - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE EMBASSY TO THE PORTE (1716-1718)--I - -Montagu loses his place at the Treasury--His antagonism against -Walpole--Lady Mary, "Dolly" Walpole, and Molly Skerritt--The Earl and -Countess of Mar leave England--Montagu appointed Ambassador to the -Porte--Leaves England for Constantinople, accompanied by his wife-- -Letters during the Embassy to Constantinople--Rotterdam--Vienna--Lady -Mary at Court--Her gown--Her interest in clothes--Viennese society-- -Gallantry--Lady Mary's experience--Court Tarrocco--Precedence at -Vienna--A nunnery--The Montagus visit the German Courts--A dangerous -drive--Prince Frederick (afterwards Prince of Wales)--Herrenhausen - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE EMBASSY TO THE PORTS (1716-1718)--II - -Adrianople--Turkish baths--Lady Mary wears Turkish dress--Her -description of the costume--Her views on Turkish women--She becomes -acquainted with the practice of inoculation--Her son engrafted--Her -belief in the operation--She later introduces it into England--Dr. -Richard Mead--Richard Steele supports her campaign--Constantinople--Lady -Mary homesick--Exposes the British ignorance of Turkish life--Montagu -recalled--Addison's private letter to him--Lady Mary gives birth to a -daughter--The return journey--The Montagus at Paris--Lady Mary sees her -sister, Lady Mar - - -CHAPTER X - -A SCANDAL - -Montagu re-enters the House of Commons--His miserliness--Pope refers to -it--Comments on Society--Lady Mary and a first-class scandal--Remond-- -His admiration for her--Her imprudent letters to him--The South Sea -Bubble--Lady Mary speculates for Remond--She loses money for him--He -demands to be re-imbursed--He threatens to publish her letters--She -states the case in letters to Lady Mar--Lady Mary meets Pope--His letters -to her when she was abroad--He affects to be in love with her--Her -matter-of-fact replies--Her parody of his verses, "On John Hughes and -Sarah Drew" - - -CHAPTER XI - -AT TWICKENHAM - -The Montagus take a house at Twickenham--Lady Mary's liking for country -life--Neighbours and visitors--Pope--Bononcini, Anastasia Robinson, -Senesino--Lord Peterborough--Sir Geoffrey Kneller--Henrietta -Howard--Lord Bathurst--The Duke of Wharton--His early history--He comes -to Twickenham--His relations with Lady Mary--Horace Walpole's reference -to them--Pope's bitter onsaught on the Duke--An Epilogue by Lady -Mary--"On the Death of Mrs. Bowes"--The Duke quarrels with Lady Mary - - -CHAPTER XII - -A FAMOUS QUARREL - -Pope and Lady Mary--He pays her compliments--His jealousy of her other -admirers--The cause of his quarrel with her--His malicious attacks on -her thereafter--Writer of her as "Sappho"--Lady Mary asks Arbuthnot to -protect her--Molly Skerritt--Lady Stafford--Lady Mar's malicious tongue -and pen--Mrs. Murray--"An Epistle from Arthur Grey"--Lady Mary, Lord -Hervey, and Molly Lepell--Death of the Earl of Kingston--Lady -Gower--Lady Mar--Marriage of Lady Mary's daughter - - -CHAPTER XIII - -ON THE CONTINENT (1739-1744) - -Lady Mary leaves England--She does not return for twenty years Montagu -supposed to join her--The domestic relations of the Montagus--A -septennial act for marriage--Lady Mary corresponds with her -husband--Dijon--Turin--Venice--Bologna--Florence--The Monastery of La -Trappe--Horace Walpole at Florence--His comments on Lady Mary and her -friends--Reasons for his dislike of her--Rome--The Young Pretender and -Henry, Cardinal York--Wanderings--Cheapness of life in Italy--Lady -Mary's son, Edward--He is a great trouble to his parents--His absurd -marriage--His extravagance and folly--Account of his early years--He -visits Lady Mary at Valence--Her account of the interviews - - -CHAPTER XIV - -LADY MARY AS A READER - -Her fondness for reading--Her difficulty to get enough books while -abroad--Lady Bute keeps her supplied--Lady Mary's catholic taste in -literature--Samuel Richardson--The vogue of _Clarissa Harlowe_--Lady Mary -tells a story of the Richardson type--Henry Fielding--_Joseph -Andrews--Tom Jones--_Her high opinion of Fielding and Steele--Tobias -Smollett--_Peregrins Pickle_--Lady Vare's _Memoirs of a Lady of -Quality_--Sarah Fielding--Minor writers--Lord Orrery's _Remarks on -Swift_--Bolingbroke's works--Addison and Pope--Dr. Johnson - - -CHAPTER XV - -LADY MARY ON EDUCATION AND WOMAN'S RIGHTS - -The choice of books for children's reading--The dangers of a narrow -education--Lady Mary advocates the higher education of women--Girls -should be taught languages--Lady Mary's theories of education for -girls--Women writers in Italy--A "rumpus" made by ladies in the House of -Lords--Woman's Rights--Lady Mary's views on religion - - -CHAPTER XVI - -ON THE CONTINENT (1745-1760) - -Lady Mary stays at Avignon--She removes to Brescia--And then to -Lovere--She abandons all idea of Montagu joining her abroad--Her house -at Lovere--Her daily round--Her health--Her anxiety about her son--An -amazing incident--A serious illness--A novel in a letter--Her -correspondence attracts the attention of the Italian authorities--Sir -James and Lady Frances Steuart--Politics--She is in the bad books of the -British Resident at Venice--Lord Bute--The philosophy of Lady -Mary--Letters to Lady Bute and Sir James Steuart - - -CHAPTER XVII - -LAST YEARS (1760-1762) - -Lady Mary writes the history of her own times--Her health--Death of -Edward Wortley Montagu--His will--Lady Mary ponders the idea of -returning to England--She leaves Italy--She is held up at Rotterdam--She -reaches London--Horace Walpole visits her--Her last illness--Her -fortitude--Her death--She leaves one guinea to her son - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (age 8) at the Kit-Cat Club--_Frontispiece_ - -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu - -Lady Mary Pierrepont - -Evelyn Pierrepont, first Duke of Kingston - -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, 1720 - -Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough - -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu - -Frances, Countess of Mar - -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu - -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu - -Alexander Pope - -Joseph Addison - -Henrietta Louisa, Countess of Pomfret - -Horace Walpole - -John, Lord Hervey of Ickworth - -Mary, Countess of Bute - -Edward Wortley Montagu, Junior - - - - -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu: - -Her Life and Letters - -(1689-1762) - - - - -CHAPTER I - -CHILDHOOD (1689-1703) - -Birth of Mary Pierrepont, after Lady Mary Wortley Montagu--Account of -the Pierrepont family--Lady Mary's immediate ancestors--Her father, -Evelyn Pierrepont, succeeds to the Earldom of Kingston in 1690--The -extinct marquisate of Dorchester revived in his favour--His -marriage--Issue of the marriage--Death of his wife--Lady Mary stays with -her grandmother, Mrs. Elizabeth Pierrepont--Her early taste for -reading--She learns Latin, and, presently, Italian--Encouraged in her -literary ambitions by her uncle, William Feilding, and Bishop -Bumet--Submits to the Bishop a translation of "Encheiridion" of -Epictetus--An attractve child--A "toast" at the Kit-Cat Club--Acts as -hostess to her father. - - -Mary Pierrepont, afterwards Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, was born in May, -1689, and was baptised on the twenty-sixth day of that month at St. -Paul's, Covent Garden. In the register is the entry: "Mary, daughter of -Evelyn Pierrepoint, Esquire, and Lady Mary, his wife." - -The event, it may be remarked, was not one of any considerable social -interest, for the Hon. Evelyn Pierrepont was merely a younger son and -remote from the succession to the Earldom of Kingston. - -The Pierreponts of Holme Pierrepont were a Nottinghamshire family of -considerable antiquity, though of no particular distinction. One Robert -Pierrepont, who was born in 1584, the son of Sir Henry by Frances, -sister of William, first Earl of Devonshire, was the first of the family -upon whom a peerage was bestowed. He was created in 1627 Baron -Pierrepont of Holme Pierrepont and Viscount Newark, and in the following -year was elevated to the dignity of Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull, Co. -York. A zealous royalist, he was in 1643 appointed Lieutenant-General of -the King's forces in the counties of Lincoln, Rutland, Huntingdon, -Cambridge, and Norfolk, and soon after taking up this command was -accidentally shot near Gainsborough, when being carried off in a pinnace -as a prisoner to Hull by the Parliamentary Army. He married in 1601 -Gertrude, eldest daughter and co-heir of Sir William Reyner, of Orton -Longueville, Co. Huntingdon. She survived her husband six years. - -The second Earl was Henry Pierrepont, who was born in 1607. From 1628, -when his father was given the earldom, he was known under the style of -Viscount Newark. In that year he was elected Member of Parliament for -Nottingham, and he represented that constituency until 1641, when he was -summoned to the House of Lords in his father's barony as Lord -Pierrepont. He, too, was an ardent supporter of the King, and was a -member of His Majesty's Council of War at Oxford. He was created -Marquess of Dorchester in 1645. After the Restoration he was in high -favour at Whitehall. He was Commissioner of Claims at the Coronation of -Charles II, and in 1662 and again in 1673 he acted as Joint Commissioner -of the office of Earl Marshal. He was twice married, but had no direct -heirs, and on his death in 1680 the marquessate became extinct. - -The earldom passed to the family of the younger brother of the last -holder. This was the great grandfather of Lady Mary, William Pierrepont, -who deservedly earned the title of "Wise William." He sided with the -Parliament, and during the Long Parliament, in the proceedings of which -he took an active part, he sat for Great Wenlock. He was one of the -Commissioners selected to treat with Charles in 1642, and after the -failure to open negotiations he was anxious to retire from public -affairs. However, he was persuaded not to resign, and in 1644 was -appointed one of the Committee of both Kingdoms. He became a leader of -the independent party, and did not always see eye to eye with Cromwell. -He quarrelled with his party, disapproving of its attitude towards -Purge's Pride and the trial of the King. After this he took little part -in politics, though the Protector sought, and he gave on occasions, his -advice. In February, 1660, he was elected to the new Council of State at -the head of the list, and in the Convention Parliament represented -Nottingham. In the negotiations with Charles II he was a moderating -influence. Afterwards, he retired into private life. He died in 1678 or -1679. His eldest son, Robert, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir -John Evelyn, pre-deceased his father, dying in 1666, and the earldom -passed to his eldest son, Robert, who died unmarried in 1682. The title -then went to his next brother, William, who died without issue eight -years later. - -A younger brother of Robert and William, Evelyn Pierrepont, now -succeeded as (fifth) earl. He was the father of Lady Mary. Born in 1665, -he was returned to Parliament for East Retford in 1689, but his stay in -the House of Commons was brief, for in the following year the peerage -descended to him. In December, 1706, the higher dignity that had once -been in his family was revived in his favour, and he was created Earl of -Dorchester, with a special remainder, failing heirs male of his body, to -his uncle Gervase Pierrepont, who had himself been raised to the peerage -as Lord Pierrepont of Ardglass in Ireland and later was given the -dignity of Lord Pierrepont of Hanslope in Buckinghamshire. Lord -Pierrepont died in 1715, and both his titles became extinct. - -The Marquess married Mary, daughter of William Feilding, third Earl of -Denbigh, by his first wife, Mary, sister of John, first Baron of -Kingston, in the peerage of Ireland. Lady Mary was, therefore, a -relation of the novelist, Henry Fielding, whose surname was spelt -differently because, he explained, his branch of the family was the only -one that could spell correctly. - -Of this marriage, there was issue: - -(i.) William, who took the style of Viscount Newark until 1706, and then -was known as Earl of Kingston until his death in 1713, at the age of -twenty-one. He had married before 1711 Rachel, daughter of Thomas -Baynton, of Little Charfield, Wilts, who outlived her husband eight -years. There was a son, Evelyn, who succeeded to the peerage. - -(ii.) Lady Mary, the subject of this memoir. - -(iii.) Lady Frances, who in 1714 became the second wife of John Erskine, -sixth or eleventh Earl of Mar; and - -(iv.) Lady Evelyn, who married John, second Baron, and afterwards first -Earl Gower, and died in June, 1727. - -In the winter of 1697, when Lady Mary was eight years old, her mother -died. After this, the little girl was allowed to run rather wild. Lord -Kingston was very much a man about town and a gallant, and was too -greatly occupied with his affairs and his parliamentary duties, which -took him often from home, to concern himself about her education. In -fact, before her mother's death, it would seem that Lady Mary spent -months at her grandmother's, Mrs. Elizabeth Pierrepont, at her house at -West Dean. When she was in her ninth year she returned to Holme -Pierrepont, where, as she later complained, she was left "to the care of -an old governess, who, though perfectly good and pious, wanted -capacity." - -Lady Mary early had a taste for books, and enjoyed to the full the -library, where she no doubt read much that was good for her, and a good -deal that was not. She read everything that she could lay her hands on, -the old romances, poetry, and plays. One account has it that she was -taught Greek and Latin by her brother's tutor; but Sir Leslie Stephen -was doubtful about the Greek and inclined to the belief that she taught -herself Latin. Later, certainly, she taught herself Italian, and quoted -Tasso in her letters. In her studies she was encouraged by her uncle, -William Feilding, and also by Bishop Burnet, of whom she said many -years later: "I knew him in my very early youth, and his condescension -in directing a girl in her studies is an obligation I can never forget." -She had literary aspirations, and just after her twenty-first birthday -she submitted to Burnet, with the following letter, a translation of -"Encheiridion" of Epictetus from the Latin version. This will be found -in the collected works. - - -"July 20, 1710. - -"My Lord, - -"Your hours are so well employed, I hardly dare offer you this trifle to -look over; but then, so well am I acquainted with the sweetness of -temper which accompanies your learning, I dare ever assure myself of a -pardon. You have already forgiven me greater impertinencies, and -condescended yet further in giving me instructions and bestowing some of -your minutes in teaching me. This surprising humility has all the effect -it ought to have on my heart; I am sensible of the gratitude I owe to so -much goodness, and how much I am ever bound to be your servant. Here is -the work of one week of my solitude--by the many faults in it your -lordship will easily believe I spent no more time upon it; it was hardly -finished when I was obliged to begin my journey, and I had not leisure -to write it over again. You have it here without any corrections, with -all its blots and errors: I endeavoured at no beauty of style, but to -keep as literally as I could to the sense of the author. My only -intention in presenting it, is to ask your lordship whether I have -understood Epictetus? The fourth chapter, particularly, I am afraid I -have mistaken. Piety and greatness of soul set you above all misfortunes -that can happen to yourself, and the calumnies of false tongues; but -that same piety which renders what happens to yourself indifferent to -you, yet softens the natural compassion in your temper to the greatest -degree of tenderness for the interests of the Church, and the liberty -and welfare of your country: the steps that are now made towards the -destruction of both, the apparent danger we are in, the manifest growth -of injustice, oppression, and hypocrisy, cannot do otherwise than give -your lordship those hours of sorrow, which, did not your fortitude of -soul, and reflections from religion and philosophy, shorten, would add -to the national misfortunes, by injuring the health of so great a -supporter of our sinking liberties. I ought to ask pardon for this -digression; it is more proper for me in this place to say something to -excuse an address that looks so very presuming. My sex is usually forbid -studies of this nature, and folly reckoned so much our proper sphere, we -are sooner pardoned any excesses of that, than the least pretensions to -reading or good sense. We are permitted no books but such as tend to the -weakening and effeminating of the mind. Our natural defects are every -way indulged, and it is looked upon as in a degree criminal to improve -our reason, or fancy we have any. We are taught to place all our art in -adorning our outward forms, and permitted, without reproach, to carry -that custom even to extravagancy, while our minds are entirely -neglected, and, by disuse of reflections, filled with nothing but the -trifling objects our eyes are daily entertained with. This custom, so -long established and industriously upheld, makes it even ridiculous to -go out of the common road, and forces one to find as many excuses, as if -it were a thing altogether criminal not to play the fool in concert with -other women of quality, whose birth and leisure only serve to render -them the most useless and most worthless part of the creation. There is -hardly a character in the world more despicable, or more liable to -universal ridicule, than that of a learned woman; those words imply, -according to the received sense, a talking, impertinent, vain, and -conceited creature. I believe nobody will deny that learning may have -this effect, but it must be a very superficial degree of it. Erasmus was -certainly a man of great learning, and good sense, and he seems to have -my opinion of it, when he says _Foemina qui_ [sic] _vere sapit, non -videtur sibi sapere; contra, quae cum nihil sapiat sibi videtur sapere, -ea demum bis stulta est_. The Abbe Bellegarde gives a right reason for -women's talking overmuch: they know nothing, and every outward object -strikes their imagination, and produces a multitude of thoughts, which, -if they knew more, they would know not worth their thinking of. I am not -now arguing for an equality of the two sexes. I do not doubt God and -nature have thrown us into an inferior rank, we are a lower part of the -creation, we owe obedience and submission to the superior sex, and any -woman who suffers her vanity and folly to deny this, rebels against the -law of the Creator, and indisputable order of nature; but there is a -worse effect than this, which follows the careless education given to -women of quality, its being so easy for any man of sense, that finds it -either his interest or his pleasure, to corrupt them. The common method -is, to begin by attacking their religion: they bring them a thousand -fallacious arguments, which their excessive ignorance hinders them from -refuting: and I speak now from my own knowledge and conversation among -them, there are more atheists among the fine ladies than the loosest -sort of rakes; and the same ignorance that generally works out into -excess of superstition, exposes them to the snares of any who have a -fancy to carry them to t'other extreme. I have made my excuses already -too long, and will conclude in the words of Erasmus:--_Vulgus sentit -quod lingua Latina, non convenit foeminis, quia parum facit ad tuendam -illarum pundicitiam, quoniam rarum et insolitum est foeminam scire -Latinam; attamen consuetudo omnium malarum rerum magistra. Decorum est -foeminam in Germania nata_ [sic] _discere Gallice, ut loquatur_ _cum his -qui sciunt Gallice; cur igitur habetur indecorum discere Latine, ut -quotidie confabuletur cum tot autoribus tam facundis, tam eruditis, tam -sapientibus, tam fides consultoribus. Certe mihi quantulumcunque cerebri -est, malim in bonis studiis consumere, quam in precibus sine mente -dictis, in pernoctibus conviviis, in exhauriendis, capacibus pateris, -&c."_ - - -This was not the sort of letter that in the opening years of the -eighteenth century even Bishops received from young ladies of rank, who -usually took their pleasure in other and lighter ways. Lady Mary, -however, loved to exercise her pen. She later composed some imitations of -Ovid, and tried her hand at one or two romances in the French manner. -She thus acquired a facility of expression that stood her in good stead -when she came to write those letters that constitute her principal claim -to fame. - -Lady Mary was an attractive child, and her father was very proud of her, -especially when she was in what may be called the kitten stage. The -story is told that, when she was about eight years old, he named her as -a "toast" at the Kit-Cat Club, and as she was not known to the majority -of the members he sent for her, where, on her arrival, she was received -with acclamation by the Whig wits there assembled. - -Sometimes Lady Mary in her girlhood stayed at Thoresby, and occasionally -came up to her father's London house, which was in Arlington Street, -which visits, accepting the story told by her granddaughter, Lady Louisa -Stuart, cannot have been an unmixed delight. "Some particulars, in -themselves too insignificant to be worth recording, may yet interest the -curious, by setting before them the manners of our ancestors," Lady -Louisa says. "Lord Dorchester, having no wife to do the honours of his -table at Thoresby, imposed that task upon his eldest daughter, as soon -as she had bodily strength for the office: which in those days required -no small share. For this mistress of a country mansion was not only to -invite--that is urge and tease--her company to eat more than human -throats could conveniently swallow, but to carve every dish, when -chosen, with her own hands. The greater the lady, the more indispensable -the duty. Each joint was carried up in its turn, to be operated upon by -her, and her alone; since the peers and knights on either hand were so -far from being bound to offer their assistance, that the very master of -the house, posted opposite her, might not act as her croupier, his -department was to push the bottle after dinner. As for the crowd of -guests, the most inconsiderable among them--the curate, or subaltern, or -squire's younger brother--if suffered through her neglect to help -himself to a slice of the mutton placed before him, would have chewed -it in bitterness and gone home an affronted man, half inclined to give a -wrong vote at the next election. There were then professed -carving-masters, who taught young ladies the art scientifically; from -one of whom Lady Mary said she took lessons three times a week that she -might be perfect on her father's public days, when, in order to perform -her functions without interruption, she was forced to eat her own dinner -alone an hour or two beforehand." - - - - -CHAPTER II - -GIRLHOOD (1703-1710) - -Lady Mary makes the acquaintance of Edward Wortley Montagu--Montagu -attracted by her looks and her literary gifts--Assists her in her -studies--Montagu a friend of the leading men of letters of the -day--Addison, Steele, Congreve, Vanbrugh, and others--The second volume -of the _Tatler_ dedicated to him by Steele--Montagu a staunch Whig--His -paternal interest for Lady Mary does not endure--He becomes a suitor for -her hand--Lady Mary's devotion and respect for him--Her flirtations--She -and Montagu correspond through the medium of his sister, Anne--Lady -Mary's mordant humour--Her delight in retailing society scandal--The -death of Anne Wortley--Lady Mary and Montagu henceforth communicate -direct--Her first letter to him. - - -At the age of fourteen the precocious Lady Mary, when on a visit to -Wharncliffe Lodge, some thirty miles from Thoresby, made a conquest that -was vastly to influence her life. The conquest was no less a person than -Edward Wortley Montagu, son of Sidney Wortley Montagu, who was the -second son of Edward, first Earl of Sandwich, the famous Admiral of -Charles II. Sidney had taken the name of Wortley on his marriage to -Anne, daughter of Sir Francis Wortley. To Sidney Wortley Montagu, of -whom there is to-day little known, is an interesting reference in a -letter from the Earl of Danby to his wife, dated from Kiveton, September -6, 1684: "I have had Mr. Montague with me--my Lord Sandwich his son--who -lives at Wortley, and calls himself by that name, and is really a very -fine gentleman and told me he was sorry that any of his relations--much -more of his name--should have carried themselves so unjustly towards me, -and he hoped I would not have the worse opinion of him for their -ill-behaviour." - -Edward Wortley Montagu, who was then twenty-five, was already a person -of some distinction. He was a good classical scholar, acquainted with -modern languages, and versed in what his grand-daughter, Lady Louisa -Stuart, styled "polite literature." He was interested in the pretty, -clever girl, and encouraged her to talk to him of her reading and -writing. "When I was very young," she said, as is recorded in the -_Anecdotes_ of the Rev. Joseph Spence, "I was a great admirer of Ovid's -'Metamorphosis,' and that was one of the reasons that set me upon the -thoughts of stealing the Latin language. Mr. Wortley was the only person -to whom I communicated my design, and he encouraged me in it. I used to -study five or six hours a day for two years in my father's library, and -so got that language whilst everybody else thought I was reading nothing -but novels and romances." - -Montagu affected the company of men of letters. He was intimate with -Addison, a close friend of Steele, and on terms with Congreve, Vanbrugh, -and Garth, the author of _The Dispensary._ Steele, in fact, dedicated -the second volume of the _Tatler_ to him. - - -"SIR, - -"When I send you this Volume, I am rather to make a Request than a -Dedication. I must desire, that if you think fit to throw away any -Moments on it, you would not do it after reading those excellent Pieces -with which you are usually conversant. The Images which you will meet -with here, will be very feint, after the Perusal of the _Greeks_ and -_Romans_, who are your ordinary Companions. I must confess I am obliged -to you for the Taste of many of their Excellencies, which I had not -observed till you pointed them to me. I am very proud that there are -some things in these Papers which I know you pardon, and it is no small -Pleasure to have one's Labours suffered by the Judgment of a Man who so -well understands the true Charms of Eloquence and Poesie. But I direct -this Address to you, not that I think I can entertain you with my -Writings, but to thank you for the new Delight I have from your -Conversation in those of other men. - -"May you enjoy a long Continuance of the true Relish of the Happiness -Heaven hath bestowed on you. I know not how to say a more affectionate -Thing to you, than to wish you may be always what you are, and that you -may ever think, as I know you now do, that you have a much larger -Fortune than you want. I am, - -"Sir, - -"Your most Obedient and most Humble Servant, - -"ISAAC BICKERSTAFF." - - -Montagu was also interested in politics. He was a staunch Whig, and in -favour with the leaders of his party. He sat in the House of Commons -from 1705 to 1713 as member for Huntingdon, where there was family -interest. It was not, however, until after the accession of George I -that he held office. - -At first, it may be, Montagu took some kind of paternal interest in Lady -Mary. This attitude did not long endure. When the change in his feelings -took place there is no means of knowing. He does not seem to have been a -passionate man, nor a very ardent lover, but there is no doubt that at -this period he inspired the girl with a very real devotion and respect, -even though perhaps her heart was not deeply engaged. - -Montagu would have had the girl find her pleasures exclusively in books -and in his own conversation. She, at the age of twenty, on the other -hand, was full of the joy of life and liked the various social pleasures -that came her way. Naturally, she tried the effect of her good looks and -wit on men. In fact, she was fond of flirting, and as it must probably -have been impossible to flirt with Montagu, she indulged herself in that -agreeable pastime with more than one other--to the great annoyance of -that pompous prig of an admirer of hers. The following letter, dated -September 5, 1709, written to Anne Wortley for her brother's perusal, -was clearly an endeavour to sooth away the man's jealousy. - - -"September 5, 1709. - -"My dear Mrs. Wortley, as she has the entire power of raising, can also, -with a word, calm my passions. The kindness of your last recompenses me -for the injustice of your former letter; but you cannot sure be angry at -my little resentment. You have read that a man who, with patience, hears -himself called heretic, can never be esteemed a good Christian. To be -capable of preferring the despicable wretch you mention to Mr. Wortley, -is as ridiculous, if not as criminal, as forsaking the Deity to worship -a calf. Don't tell me any body ever had so mean an opinion of my -inclinations; 'tis among the number of those things I would forget. My -tenderness is always built upon my esteem, and when the foundation -perishes, it falls: I must own, I think it is so with every body--but -enough of this: you tell me it was meant for raillery--was not the -kindness meant so too? I fear I am too apt to think what is amusement -designed in earnest--no matter, 'tis for my repose to be deceived, and I -will believe whatever you tell me. - -"I should be very glad to be informed of a right method, or whether -there is such a thing alone, but am afraid to ask the question. It may -be reasonably called presumption in a girl to have her thoughts that -way. You are the only creature that I have made my confidante in that -case: I'll assure you, I call it the greatest secret of my life. Adieu, -my dear, the post stays, my next shall be longer." - - -Lady Mary was probably more complaisant on paper than actually in her -conduct of life. She desired male as well as female companionship; she -liked the admiration and the flattery of men, and, no doubt, did her -best to evoke it. It is strange, however, that with her beauty--for that -she was in her early years beautiful has generally been accepted--she -was not unduly attractive to men. It may be that her good looks brought -young men to her feet, and that her tongue drove them away. In no age -has a clever woman been very popular with the other sex, and in the -early years of the eighteenth century, when girls could do little more -than read and write--and not always so much--wit such as hers and the -readiness of reply with which she was gifted must have been a deterrent. -What could the ordinary social butterfly think of a Lady Mary who had as -a friend Mary Ansell, the author of a _Serious Proposal to Ladies--_ -what, though perhaps not one of them had read the book? - -Still, there was enough levity in Lady Mary's behaviour in society for -her to think it desirable to make some explanation to Montagu. - - -"[Indorsed '9 April,' 1711.] - -"I thought to return no answer to your letter, but I find I am not so -wise as I thought myself. I cannot forbear fixing my mind a little on -that expression, though perhaps the only insincere one in your whole -letter--I would die to be secure of your heart, though but for a -moment:--were this but true, what is there I would not do to secure you? - -"I will state the case to you as plainly as I can; and then ask yourself -if you use me well. I have shewed, in every action of my life, an esteem -for you that at least challenges a grateful regard. I have trusted my -reputation in your hands; I have made no scruple of giving you, under my -own hand, an assurance of my friendship. After all this, I exact nothing -from you: if you find it inconvenient for your affairs to take so small -a fortune, I desire you to sacrifice nothing to me; I pretend no tie -upon your honour: but, in recompence for so clear and so disinterested a -proceeding, must I ever receive injuries and ill usage? - -"I have not the usual pride of my sex; I can bear being told I am in the -wrong, but tell it me gently. Perhaps I have been indiscreet; I came -young into the hurry of the world; a great innocence and an undesigning -gaiety may possibly have been construed coquetry and a desire of being -followed, though never meant by me. I cannot answer for the [reflections] -that may be made on me: all who are malicious attack the careless and -defenceless: I own myself to be both. I not anything I can say more to -shew my perfect desire of pleasing you and making you easy, than to -proffer to be confined with you in what manner you please. Would any -woman but me renounce all the world for one? or would any man but you -be insensible of such a proof of sincerity?" - - -From an early age Lady Mary indulged her somewhat mordant humour, not -less in her letters than in her conversation, and as that quality must -have some subject upon which to exercise itself, she was generally on -the look-out for some tit-bit of scandal which she could relate in her -own inimitable manner. - - -"Next to the great ball, what makes the most noise is the marriage of an -old maid, who lives in this street, without a portion, to a man of -L7,000 _per annum_, and they say L40,000 in ready money," she wrote to -Mrs. Hewet about the beginning of 1709. "Her equipage and liveries -outshine anybody's in town. He has presented her with L3,000 in jewels; -and never was man more smitten with these charms that had lain invisible -for these forty years; but, with all his glory, never bride had fewer -enviers, the dear beast of a man is so filthy, frightful, odious, and -detestable. I would turn away such a footman, for fear of spoiling my -dinner, while he waited at table. They were married on Friday, and came -to church _en parade_ on Sunday. I happened to sit in the pew with them, -and had the honour of seeing Mrs. Bride fall fast asleep in the middle -of the sermon, and snore very comfortably; which made several women in -the church think the bridegroom not quite so ugly as they did before. -Envious people say 'twas all counterfeited to please him, but I believe -that to be scandal; for I dare swear, nothing but downright necessity -could make her miss one word of the sermon. He professes to have married -her for her devotion, patience, meekness, and other Christian virtues he -observed in her; his first wife (who has left no children) being very -handsome, and so good natured as to have ventured her own salvation to -secure his. He has married this lady to have a companion in that -paradise where his first has given him a title. I believe I have given -you too much of this couple; but they are not to be comprehended in few -words." - - -Here is another malicious story that appealed to Lady Mary's wayward -fancy, - - -"Mrs. Braithwayte, a Yorkshire beauty," she wrote to the same -correspondent in March, 1712, "who had been but two days married to a -Mr. Coleman, ran out of bed _en chemise_, and her husband followed her -in his, in which pleasant dress they ran as far as St. James's Street, -where they met with a chair, and prudently crammed themselves both into -it, observing the rule of dividing the good and bad fortune of this -life, resolved to run all hazards together, and ordered the chairmen to -carry them both away, perfectly representing, both in love and -nakedness, and want of eyes to see that they were naked, our first happy -parents. Sunday last I had the pleasure of hearing the whole history -from the lady's own mouth." - - -Love-affairs, other people's love-affairs anyhow, had an attraction for -Lady Mary. "You talk of the Duke of Leeds," she wrote. "I hear that he -has placed his heroic love upon the bright charms of a pewterer's wife; -and, after a long amour, and many perilous adventures, has stolen the -fair lady, which, in spite of his wrinkles and grandchild, persuade -people of his youth and gallantry." The nobleman in question, Peregrine -Osborne, second Duke of Leeds, was then fifty-six--which, after all, -regarded from the standpoint of to-day, is not such a great age as is -suggested by the story. - -If Montagu objected to the indiscretions of Lady Mary, it does not -appear that he was in any hurry to get married to her. Of course, it may -be--it is only fair to him to say--that Lady Mary held him temporarily -at bay, preferring the frivolities of those of her own age to the -austere attentions of one who acted as if he might have been her father. - -For some years she and Montagu were apparently content with writing long -letters to each other when they were not both in town. When the -correspondence started is uncertain. The first letter of Lady Mary that -has been preserved is dated Thoresby, May 2, 1709; but there can be no -doubt that they had been in regular communication before then. - -It is specially to be noted that the earlier letters of Lady Mary were -addressed to Montagu's sister, Anne. It is evident, however, that they -were definitely written for his perusal, and it is equally clear that -Anne's replies were inspired, and sometimes, if not always, drafted by -him. This practice continued until the death of Anne Wortley in March, -1710. Yet there seems to have been no reason for this camouflage. In -1709 Lady Mary was twenty years of age, and Montagu was a very eligible -_parti_. - -The respectful, highfalutin gallantry that is the key-note of the -correspondence recalls the correspondence that presently was exchanged -between Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk, and the octogenarian Earl -of Peterborough. - -Some typical passages from the letters to "My dear Mrs. Wortley" may be -given--it should be mentioned that it was the social custom of the day -to address as "Mrs." maiden ladies as well as married women. - - -"Thoresby, August 8, 1709. - -"I know no pretence I have to your good opinion but my hearty desiring -it; I wish I had that imagination you talk of, to render me a fitter -correspondent for you, who can write so well on every thing. I am now so -much alone, I have leisure to pass whole days in reading, but am not at -all proper for so delicate an employment as choosing you books. Your own -fancy will better direct you. My study at present is nothing but -dictionaries and grammars. I am trying whether it be possible to learn -without a master; I am not certain (and dare hardly hope) I shall make -any great progress; but I find the study so diverting I am not only -easy, but pleased with the solitude that indulges it. I forget there is -such a place as London, and wish for no company but yours. You see, my -dear, in making my pleasures consist of these unfashionable diversions, -I am not of the number who cannot be easy out of the mode. I believe -more follies are committed out of complaisance to the world, than in -following our own inclinations--Nature is seldom in the wrong, custom -always; it is with some regret I follow it in all the impertinencies of -dress; the compliance is so trivial it comforts me; but I am amazed to -see it consulted even in the most important occasions of our lives; and -that people of good sense in other things can make their happiness -consist in the opinions of others, and sacrifice every thing in the -desire of appearing in fashion. I call all people who fall in love with -furniture, clothes, and equipage, of this number, and I look upon them -as no less in the wrong than when they were five years old, and doated -on shells, pebbles, and hobby-horses: I believe you will expect this -letter to be dated from the other world, for sure I am you never heard -an inhabitant of this talk so before. I suppose you expect, too, I -should conclude with begging pardon for this extreme tedious and very -nonsensical letter; quite contrary, I think you will be obliged to me -for it. I could not better show my great concern for your reproaching me -with neglect I knew myself innocent of, than proving myself mad in three -pages." - - -"August 21, 1709. - -"I am infinitely obliged to you, my dear Mrs. Wortley, for the wit, -beauty, and other fine qualities, you so generously bestow upon me. Next -to receiving them from Heaven, you are the person from whom I would -chuse to receive gifts and graces: I am very well satisfied to owe them -to your own delicacy of imagination, which represents to you the idea of -a fine lady, and you have good nature enough to fancy I am she. All this -is mighty well, but you do not stop there; imagination is boundless. -After giving me imaginary wit and beauty, you give me imaginary -passions, and you tell me I'm in love: if I am, 'tis a perfect sin of -ignorance, for I don't so much as know the man's name: I have been -studying these three hours, and cannot guess who you mean. I passed the -days of Nottingham races, [at] Thoresby, without seeing or even wishing -to see one of the sex. Now, if I am in love, I have very hard fortune to -conceal it so industriously from my own knowledge, and yet discover it -so much to other people. 'Tis against all form to have such a passion as -that, without giving one sigh for the matter. Pray tell me the name of -him I love, that I may (according to the laudable custom of lovers) sigh -to the woods and groves hereabouts, and teach it to the echo. You see, -being I am _[sic]_ in love, I am willing to be so in order and rule: I -have been turning over God knows how many books to look for precedents. -Recommend an example to me; and, above all, let me know whether 'tis -most proper to walk in the woods, encreasing the winds with my sighs, or -to sit by a purling stream, swelling the rivulet with my tears; may be, -both may do well in their turns:--but to be a minute serious, what do -you mean by this reproach of inconstancy? I confess you give me several -good qualities I have not, and I am ready to thank you for them, but -then you must not take away those few I have. No, I will never exchange -them; take back the beauty and wit you bestow upon me, leave me my own -mediocrity of agreeableness and genius, but leave me also my sincerity, -my constancy and my plain dealing; 'tis all I have to recommend me to -the esteem either of others or myself. How should I despise myself if I -could think I was capable of either inconstancy or deceit! I know not -how I may appear to other people, nor how much my face may belie my -heart, but I know that I never was or can be guilty of dissimulation or -inconstancy--you will think this vain, but 'tis all that I pique myself -upon. Tell me you believe me and repent of your harsh censure. Tell it -me in pity to my uneasiness, for you are one of those few people about -whose good opinion I am in pain. I have always took so little care to -please the generality of the world, that I am never mortified or -delighted by its reports which is a piece of stoicism born with me; but -I cannot be one minute easy while you think ill of - -"Your faithful--" - - -"This letter is a good deal grave, and, like other grave things, dull; -but I won't ask pardon for what I can't help." - - -Was the sentiment expressed in the following letter, written about the -same time as that printed above, intended for Anne or her brother, or -both? - - -"When I said it cost nothing to write tenderly, I believe I spoke of -another sex; I am sure not of myself: 'tis not in my power (I would to -God it was!) to hide a kindness where I have one, or dissemble it where -I have none. I cannot help answering your letter this minute, and -telling you I infinitely love you, though, it may be, you'll call the -one impertinence, and the other dissimulation; but you may think what -you please of me, I must eternally think the same things of you." - - -Lady Mary was occasionally wearisome owing to the reiteration of the -assurance that she believed her letters to be dull, the more so as she -certainly was conscious of the skill with which she composed them. "What -do you mean by complaining I never write to you in the quiet situation -of mind I do to other people?" she asks Anne Wortley. "My dear, people -never write calmly, but when they write indifferently." - -After a letter dated September 5, 1709, a passage from which has been -printed here, there is a break in the (preserved) correspondence. In the -spring of the following year Anne Wortley died, and Lady Mary, on March -28, paid tribute to her departed friend, addressing herself for the -first time direct to Montagu. - - -"Perhaps you'll be surprized at this letter; I have had many debates -with myself before I could resolve on it. I know it is not acting in -form, but I do not look upon you as I do upon the rest of the world, and -by what I do for _you_, you are not to judge my manner of acting with -others. You are brother to a woman I tenderly loved; my protestations of -friendship are not like other people's, I never speak but what I mean, -and when I say I love, 'tis for ever. I had that real concern for Mrs. -Wortley, I look with some regard on every one that is related to her. -This and my long acquaintance with you may in some measure excuse what I -am now doing. I am surprized at one of the 'Tatlers' you send me; is it -possible to have any sort of esteem for a person one believes capable of -having such trifling inclinations? Mr. Bickerstaff has very wrong -notions of our sex. I can say there are some of us that despise charms -of show, and all the pageantry of greatness, perhaps with more ease than -any of the philosophers. In contemning the world, they seem to take -pains to contemn it; we despise it, without taking the pains to read -lessons of morality to make us do it. At least I know I have always -looked upon it with contempt, without being at the expense of one -serious reflection to oblige me to it. I carry the matter yet farther; -was I to choose of two thousand pounds a year or twenty thousand, the -first would be my choice. There is something of an unavoidable -_embarras_ in making what is called a great figure in the world; [it] -takes off from the happiness of life; I hate the noise and hurry -inseparable from great estates and titles, and look upon both as -blessings that ought only to be given to fools, for 'tis only to them -that they are blessings. The pretty fellows you speak of, I own -entertain me sometimes; but is it impossible to be diverted with what -one despises? I can laugh at a puppet-show; at the same time I know -there is nothing in it worth my attention or regard. General notions are -generally wrong. Ignorance and folly are thought the best foundations -for virtue, as if not knowing what a good wife is was necessary to make -one so. I confess that can never be my way of reasoning; as I always -forgive an _injury_ when I think it not done out of malice, I never -think myself _obliged_ by what is done without design." - - -Lady Mary, who was now one-and-twenty, was no bread-and-butter miss. She -knew her mind and had the gift to express herself, and in this same -letter she very prettily rebukes her laggard lover. - - -"Give me leave to say it, (I know it sounds vain,) I know how to make a -man of sense happy; but then that man must resolve to contribute -something towards it himself. I have so much esteem for you, I should be -very sorry to hear you was unhappy; but for the world I would not be the -instrument of making you so; which (of the humour you are) is hardly to -be avoided if I am your wife. You distrust me--I can neither be easy, -nor loved, where I am distrusted. Nor do I believe your passion for me -is what you pretend it; at least I am sure was I in love I could not -talk as you do. Few women would have spoke so plainly as I have done; -but to dissemble is among the things I never do. I take more pains to -approve my conduct to myself than to the world; and would not have to -accuse myself of a minute's deceit. I wish I loved you enough to devote -myself to be for ever miserable, for the pleasure of a day or two's -happiness. I cannot resolve upon it. You must think otherwise of me, or -not at all." - -"I don't enjoin you to burn this letter," she said in conclusion. "I -know you will. 'Tis the first I ever writ to one of your sex, and shall -be the last. You must never expect another. I resolve against all -correspondence of the kind--my resolutions are seldom made and never -broken." - - -Whatever happened to most of Lady Mary's resolutions, this one, at -least, was not kept. Actually, Lady Mary was not quite so emancipated at -this time of her life as she may have imagined. She never sent a letter, -except in fear and trembling. "I hazard a great deal if it falls -into other hands, and I write for all that," was her constant cry. Yet, -there was nothing in the correspondence, save the fact of it, to offend -even a most austere maiden aunt of the day. - -The correspondence, of course, continued. The lovers, if so they can be -called, now indulged in a slightly acid academic discussion, or rather a -number of slightly acid academic discussions, about marriage. It is -evident that Montagu held strong views as to the duty of a wife; so -undoubtedly did Lady Mary--only, the trouble was, the views were by no -means identical. If he were determined to set himself up as the strong -loquacious man, his _fiancee_ was certainly not prepared meekly to obey -his behests in silence. They indulged in a somewhat candid examination -of each other's character--and of their own. It is really rather -amusing, this careful cold-blooded dissection of their feelings. It is a -safe guess that at this game Lady Mary scored heavily. - - -"I wish, with all my soul, I thought as you do," she wrote on April 25, -1710. "I endeavour to convince myself by your arguments, and am sorry my -reason is so obstinate, not to be deluded into an opinion, that 'tis -impossible a man can esteem a woman. I suppose I should then be very -easy at your thoughts of me; I should thank you for the wit and beauty -you give me, and not be angry at the follies and weaknesses; but, to my -infinite affliction, I can believe neither one nor t'other. One part of -my character is not so good, nor t'other so bad, as you fancy it. Should -we ever live together, you would be disappointed both ways; you would -find an easy equality of temper you do not expect, and a thousand faults -you do not imagine. You think, if you married me, I should be -passionately fond of you one month, and of somebody else the next: -neither would happen. I can esteem, I can be a friend, but I don't know -whether I can love. Expect all that is complaisant and easy, but never -what is fond, in me. You judge very wrong of my heart, when you suppose -me capable of views of interest, and that anything could oblige me to -flatter any body. Was I the most indigent creature in the world, I -should answer you as I do now, without adding or diminishing. I am -incapable of art, and 'tis because I will not be capable of it. Could I -deceive one minute, I should never regain my own good opinion; and who -could bear to live with one they despised? If you can resolve to live -with a companion that will have all the deference due to your -superiority of good sense, and that your proposals can be agreeable to -those on whom I depend, I have nothing to say against them." - - - - -CHAPTER III - -COURTSHIP, ELOPEMENT, AND MARRIAGE (1710-1712) - -A lengthy courtship--Montagu a laggard lover--Lady Mary and Montagu -exchange views on married life--Montagu proposes for her to Lord -Dorchester--Dorchester refuses, since Montagu will not make -settlements--Montagu's views on settlements expressed (by Steele) in the -_Tatler_--Although not engaged, the young people continue to -correspond--Lord Dorchester produces another suitor for his -daughter--She consents to an engagement--The preparations for the -wedding--She confides the whole story to Montagu--She breaks off the -engagement--She and Montagu decide to elope--She runs up to -London--Marriage--Lady Mary's diary destroyed by her sister, Lady -Frances Pierrepont. - - -After seven years or so of acquaintance, matters at last looked like -coming to a head. It would appear that Montagu, tentatively at least, -had put the question, because Lady Mary gives her views as to the life -they should lead after marriage. She is not averse from travelling; she -has no objection to leaving London; in fact, she would be willing to -spend a few months in the country, if it so pleased him. It is all so -extraordinarily unloverlike. There is too much philosophy about it. Love -does not see so clearly. - - -"Where people are tied for life, 'tis their mutual interest not to grow -weary of one another," she wrote on April 25, 1710. "If I had all the -personal charms that I want, a face is too slight a foundation for -happiness. You would be soon tired with seeing every day the same thing. -Where you saw nothing else, you would have leisure to remark all the -defects; which would increase in proportion as the novelty lessened, -which is always a great charm. I should have the displeasure of seeing a -coldness, which, though I could not reasonably blame you for, being -involuntary, yet it would render me uneasy; and the more, because I know -a love may be revived which absence, inconstancy, or even infidelity, -has extinguished; but there is no returning from a _degout_ given by -satiety." - - -Perhaps Lady Mary believed that, while it is well to hope for the best, -it is sound policy to prepare for the worst. - -Montagu may have found some comfort in the lady's assurance that if she -had a choice between two thousand a year or twenty thousand a year she -would choose the smaller income. - -An apartment in London would satisfy Lady Mary. She would not choose to -live in a crowd, but would like to have a small circle of agreeable -people--she was very precise as to her desires: actually she wants to -see eight or nine pleasant folk. She does not believe that she can find -entire happiness in solitude, not even (or perhaps especially not) in a -solitude of two; and she is at least as sure that he would not either. -Anyhow she has not the slightest intention of taking the chance. - -It becomes increasingly clear that she had had about enough of this -epistolary philandering, and she indicated this in no uncertain manner. -"I will never think of anything without the consent of my family," she -wrote. "Make no answer to this, if you can like me on my own terms. 'Tis -not to me you must make the proposals; if not, to what purpose is our -correspondence?" - -And now comes a touch of the spur: "However, preserve me your -friendship, which I think of with a great deal of pleasure. If ever you -see me married, I flatter myself you'll see a conduct you would not be -sorry your wife should imitate." - -Even this did not bring Montagu to the point of asking Lord Dorchester -for the hand of his daughter. The correspondence, however, still -continued, and soon they were hard at it again. - - -"Kindness, you say, would be your destruction," she wrote in August, -1710. "In my opinion, this is something contradictory to some other -expressions. People talk of being in love just as widows do of -affliction. Mr. Steele has observed, in one of his plays, the most -passionate among them have always calmness enough to drive a hard -bargain with the upholders. I never knew a lover that would not -willingly secure his interest as well as his mistress; or, if one must -be abandoned, had not the prudence (among all his distractions) to -consider, a woman was but a woman, and money was a thing of more real -merit than the whole sex put together. Your letter is to tell me, you -should think yourself undone if you married me; but if I would be so -tender as to confess I should break my heart if you did not, then you'd -consider whether you would or no; but yet you hoped you should not. I -take this to be the right interpretation of--even your kindness can't -destroy me of a sudden--I hope I am not in your power--I would give a -good deal to be satisfied, &c. - -"As to writing--that any woman would do that thought she writ well. Now -I say, no woman of common sense would. At best, 'tis but doing a silly -thing well, and I think it is much better not to do a silly thing at -all. You compare it to dressing. Suppose the comparison just: perhaps -the Spanish dress would become my face very well; yet the whole town -would condemn me for the highest extravagance if I went to court in it, -though it improved me to a miracle. There are a thousand things, not ill -in themselves, which custom makes unfit to be done. This is to convince -you I am so far from applauding my own conduct, my conscience flies in -my face every time I think on't. The generality of the world have a -great indulgence to their own follies: without being a jot wiser than my -neighbours, I have the peculiar misfortune to know and condemn all the -wrong things I do. - -"You beg to know whether I would not be out of humour. The expression is -modest enough; but that is not what you mean. In saying I could be easy, -I have already said I should not be out of humour: but you would have me -say I am violently in love; that is, finding you think better of me than -you desire, you would have me give you a just cause to contemn me. I -doubt much whether there is a creature in the world humble enough to do -that. I should not think you more unreasonable if you was in love with -my face, and asked me to disfigure it to make you easy. I have heard of -some nuns that made use of that expedient to secure their own happiness; -but, amongst all the popish saints and martyrs, I never read of one -whose charity was sublime enough to make themselves deformed, or -ridiculous, to restore their lovers to peace and quietness. In short, if -nothing can content you but despising me heartily, I am afraid I shall -be always so barbarous to wish you may esteem me as long as you live." - - -At last Montagu formally approached Lord Dorchester, who had no -objection whatever to him as a suitor for the hand of Lady Mary. They -could not come to terms in the matter of settlements. Dorchester -demanded that the estates should be put into entail. Also he desired -that his future son-in-law should provide a town residence for Lady -Mary. This did not seem unreasonable, but Montagu did not see his way to -agree to them. He was willing enough to make all proper provision for -his wife, but he declined absolutely to settle his landed property upon -a son who, as he put it, for aught he knew, might prove unworthy to -inherit it, who might be a spendthrift, an idiot, or a villain--as a -matter of fact, the only son of the marriage turned out most things he -should not. Anyhow, Montagu held strong views on the subject, and these -he expounded to Richard Steele, who presented them in No. 223 of the -_Tatler_ (September 12, 1710). - - -"That this method of making settlements was first invented by a griping -lawyer, who made use of the covetous tempers of the parents of each -side, to force two young people into these vile measures of diffidence -for no other end, but to increase the skins of parchment, by which they -were put into each other's possession out of each other's power. The law -of our country has given an ample and generous provision for the wife, -even the third of her husband's estate, and left to her good-humour and -his gratitude the expectation of farther provision, but the fantastical -method of going farther, with relation to the heirs, has a foundation in -nothing but pride, and folly: for as all men with their children as like -themselves, and as much better as they can possibly, it seems monstrous -that we should give out of ourselves the opportunities of rewarding and -discouraging them according to their defects. The wife institution has -no more sense in it, than if a man should begin a deed with 'Whereas no -man living knows how long he shall continue to be a reasonable creature, -or an honest man, and whereas I.B. am going to enter into the state of -matrimony with Mrs. D., therefore I shall from henceforth make it -indifferent to me whether from this time forward I shall be a fool or -knave. And therefore, in full and perfect health of body, and a sound -mind, not knowing which of my children will prove better or worse, I -give to my first-born, be he perverse, ungrateful, impious, or cruel, -the lump and bulk of my estate, and leave one year's purchase only to -each of my younger children, whether they shall be brave or beautiful, -modest or honourable, from the time of the date hereof, wherein I resign -my senses, and hereby promise to employ my judgment no farther in the -distribution of my worldly goods from the date hereof, hereby farther -confessing and covenanting, that I am henceforth married, and dead in -law....' - -"How strangely men are sometimes partial to themselves, appears by the -rapine of him, that has a daughter's beauty under his direction. He will -make no scruple of using it to force from her lover as much of his -estate, as is worth ten thousand pounds, and at the same time, as a -justice on the bench, will spare no pains to get a man hanged that has -taken but a horse from him. - -"It is to be hoped that the legislature will in due time take this kind -of robbery into consideration, and not suffer men to prey upon each -other when they are about making the most solemn league, and entering -into the strictest bonds. The only sure remedy is to fix a certain rate -on every woman's fortune, one price for that of a maid, and another for -that of a widow: for it is of infinite advantage, that there should be -no frauds or uncertainties in the sale of our women." - - -Unless Montagu were tactless beyond the general, the position as regards -himself and Lord Dorchester must indeed have been hopeless before he -inspired the paper in the _Tatler_ on settlements. Anyhow, Montagu, who -was used to having his way, and was probably very cross at being -thwarted on this occasion, would not yield a step; and Lord Dorchester -maintained his attitude that philosophic theories were all very well in -their way, but he would not sanction a marriage that involved the risk -of his grandchildren being left beggars. - -Lady Mary was powerless in the matter, but, although her father said -there was no engagement between her and Montagu, the young people -continued their correspondence with unabated vigour. - - -"I am going to comply with your request, and write with all the -plainness I am capable of," she replied in November, 1710, to one of -Montagu's effusions. "I know what may be said upon such a proceeding, -but am sure you will not say it. Why should you always put the worst -construction upon my words? Believe me what you will, but do not believe -I can be ungenerous or ungrateful. I wish I could tell you what answer -you will receive from some people, or upon what terms. If my opinion -could sway, nothing should displease you. Nobody ever was so -disinterested as I am. I would not have to reproach myself (I don't -suppose you would) that I had any way made you uneasy in your -circumstances. Let me beg you (which I do with the utmost sincerity) -only to consider yourself in this affair; and, since I am so unfortunate -to have nothing in my own disposal, do not think I have any hand in -making settlements. People in my way are sold like slaves; and I cannot -tell what price my master will put on me. If you do agree, I shall -endeavour to contribute, as much as lies in my power, to your happiness. -I so heartily despise a great figure, I have no notion of spending money -so foolishly; though one had a great deal to throw away. If this breaks -off, I shall not complain of you: and as, whatever happens, I shall -still preserve the opinion you have behaved yourself well. Let me -entreat you, if I have committed any follies, to forgive them; and be so -just to think I would not do an ill thing." - - -Shortly afterwards, Lady Mary wrote again to Montagu. "I have tried to -write plainly," she said; and she did not have to reproach herself with -failure. It had now come to a struggle for mastery, and she would not -yield a foot of her ground. - - -"Indeed I do not at all wonder that absence, and variety of new faces, -should make you forget me; but I am a little surprised at your curiosity -to know what passes in my heart (a thing wholly insignificant to you), -except you propose to yourself a piece of ill-natured satisfaction, in -finding me very much disquieted. Pray which way would you see into my -heart? You can frame no guesses about it from either my speaking or -writing; and, supposing I should attempt to show it you, I know no other -way. - -"I begin to be tired of my humility: I have carried my complaisances to -you farther than I ought. You make new scruples; you have a great deal -of fancy; and your distrusts being all of your own making, are more -immovable than if there was some real ground for them. Our aunts and -grandmothers always tell us that men are a sort of animals, that, if -they are constant, 'tis only where they are ill used. 'Twas a kind of -paradox I could never believe: experience has taught me the truth of it. -You are the first I ever had a correspondence with, and I thank God I -have done with it for all my life. You needed not to have told me you -are not what you have been: one must be stupid not to find a difference -in your letters. You seem, in one part of your last, to excuse yourself -from having done me any injury in point of fortune. Do I accuse you of -any? - -"I have not spirits to dispute any longer with you. You say you are not -yet determined: let me determine for you, and save you the trouble of -writing again. Adieu for ever! make no answer. I wish, among the variety -of acquaintance, you may find some one to please you; and can't help the -vanity of thinking, should you try them all, you won't find one that -will be so sincere in their treatment, though a thousand more deserving, -and every one happier. 'Tis a piece of vanity and injustice I never -forgive in a woman, to delight to give pain; what must I think of a man -that takes pleasure in making me uneasy? After the folly of letting you -know it is in your power, I ought in prudence to let this go no farther, -except I thought you had good nature enough never to make use of that -power. I have no reason to think so: however, I am willing, you see, to -do you the highest obligation 'tis possible for me to do; that is, to -give you a fair occasion of being rid of me." - - -There is now another break in the (preserved) correspondence until the -end of February, 1711, and then Lady Mary, writing with more than a -tinge of bitterness, broke off all relations with him--or, at least, -affected to do so. - - -"I intended to make no answer to your letter; it was something very -ungrateful, and I resolved to give over all thoughts of you. I could -easily have performed that resolve some time ago, but then you took -pains to please me; now you have brought me to esteem you, you make use -of that esteem to give me uneasiness; and I have the displeasure of -seeing I esteem a man that dislikes me. Farewell then: since you will -have it so, I renounce all the ideas I have so long flattered myself -with, and will entertain my fancy no longer with the imaginary pleasure -of pleasing you. How much wiser are all those women I have despised than -myself! In placing their happiness in trifles, they have placed it in -what is attainable. I fondly thought fine clothes and gilt coaches, -balls, operas, and public adoration, rather the fatigues of life; and -that true happiness was justly defined by Mr. Dryden (pardon the romantic -air of repeating verses), when he says, - - 'Whom Heav'n would bless it does from pomps remove - And makes their wealth in privacy and love.' - -These notions had corrupted my judgment as much as Mrs. Biddy Tipkin's. -According to this scheme, I proposed to pass my life with you. I yet do -you the justice to believe, if any man could have been contented with -this manner of living, it would have been you. Your indifference to me -does not hinder me from thinking you capable of tenderness, and the -happiness of friendship; but I find it is not to me you'll ever have -them; you think me all that is detestable; you accuse me of want of -sincerity and generosity. To convince you of your mistake, I'll show you -the last extremes of both. - -"While I foolishly fancied you loved me, (which I confess I had never -any great reason for, more than that I wished it,) there is no condition -of life I could not have been happy in with you, so very much I liked -you--I may say loved, since it is the last thing I'll ever say to you. -This is telling you sincerely my greatest weakness; and now I will -oblige you with a new proof of generosity--I'll never see you more. I -shall avoid all public places; and this is the last letter I shall send. -If you write, be not displeased if I send it back unopened. I force my -inclinations to oblige yours; and remember that you have told me I could -not oblige you more than by refusing you. Had I intended ever to see you -again, I durst not have sent this letter. Adieu." - - -The above letter was evidently sent in a fit of pique. Certainly the -position must have been almost unbearable to a young woman of spirit. -Here was Lady Mary, in her twenty-second or twenty-third year, for all -practical purposes betrothed, and her father and her lover quarrelling -over settlements. Her friends were all getting married and having -establishments of their own, and she more or less in disgrace, living at -one or other of her father's houses. - -Nothing came of her announcement that she desired no further relation -with Montagu. She could not bring herself definitely to break with -Montagu, and he would neither wed her nor give her up. The -correspondence continued with unabated vigour. - - -"I am in pain about the letter I sent you this morning," she wrote in -March, 1911. "I fear you should think, after what I have said, you -cannot, in point of honour, break off with me. Be not scrupulous on that -article, nor affect to make me break first, to excuse your doing it; I -would owe nothing but to inclination: if you do not love me, I may have -the less esteem of myself, but not of you: I am not of the number of -those women that have the opinion of their persons Mr. Bayes had of his -play, that 'tis the touchstone of sense, and they are to frame their -judgment of people's understanding according to what they think of them. - -"You may have wit, good humour, and good nature, and not like me. I -allow a great deal for the inconstancy of mankind in general, and my own -want of merit in particular. But 'tis a breach, at least, of the two -last, to deceive me. I am sincere: I shall be sorry if I am not now what -pleases; but if I (as I could with joy) abandon all things to the care -of pleasing you, I am then undone if I do not succeed.--Be generous." - - -It was about this time that she confided her troubles to Mrs. Hewet. -"At present, my domestic affairs go on so ill, I want spirits to look -round," she wrote. "I have got a cold that disables my eyes and -disorders me every other way. Mr. Mason has ordered me blooding, to -which I have submitted, after long contestation. You see how stupid I -am; I entertain you with discourses of physic, but I have the oddest -jumble of disagreeable things in my head that ever plagued poor mortals; -a great cold, a bad peace, people I love in disgrace, sore eyes, the -horrid prospect of a civil war, and the thought of a filthy potion to -take. I believe nobody ever had such a _melange_ before." - -The unsatisfactory situation, apparently, might have continued -indefinitely, for, even if Montagu had been more pressing, Lady Mary, in -spite of her independent attitude, was most reluctant, indeed, almost -determined, not to marry without her father's consent. - -In the early summer of 1712, however, Lord Dorchester created a crisis. -Thinking, perhaps, that his daughter might one day get out of hand and, -in despair, defy him, he decided to find her a husband other than -Montagu. At first, from a sense of weariness and from filial duty, Lady -Mary inclined to obey the parental injunction--to her father's great -delight. All the preparations for the wedding were put in train--then, -ultimately, Lady Mary declared that she could not and would not go -through with it on any terms. Who the bridegroom was she does not -mention, but, in a manner somewhat involved, she in a letter in July, -1912, confided the whole story to Montagu. - - -"I am going to write you a plain long letter. What I have already told -you is nothing but the truth. I have no reason to believe I am going to -be otherwise confined than by my duty; but I, that know my own mind, -know that is enough to make me miserable. I see all the misfortune of -marrying where it is impossible to love; I am going to confess a -weakness may perhaps add to your contempt of me. I wanted courage to -resist at first the will of my relations; but, as every day added to my -fears, those, at last, grew strong enough to make me venture the -disobliging them. A harsh word damps my spirits to a degree of silencing -all I have to say. I knew the folly of my own temper, and took the -method of writing to the disposer of me. I said everything in this -letter I thought proper to move him, and proffered, in atonement for not -marrying whom he would, never to marry at all. He did not think fit to -answer this letter, but sent for me to him. He told me he was very much -surprized that I did not depend on his judgment for my future happiness; -that he knew nothing I had to complain of, &c.; that he did not doubt I -had some other fancy in my head, which encouraged me to this -disobedience; but he assured me, if I refused a settlement he had -provided for me, he gave me his word, whatever proposals were made him, -he would never so much as enter into a treaty with any other; that, if I -founded any hopes upon his death, I should find myself mistaken, he -never intended to leave me anything but an annuity of L400 per annum; -that, though another would proceed in this manner after I had given so -just a pretence for it, yet he had [the] goodness to leave my destiny -yet in my own choice, and at the same time commanded me to communicate -my design to my relations, and ask their advice. As hard as this may -sound, it did not shock my resolution; I was pleased to think, at any -price, I had it in my power to be free from a man I hated. I told my -intention to all my nearest relations. I was surprised at their blaming -it, to the greatest degree. I was told, they were sorry I would ruin -myself; but, if I was so unreasonable, they could not blame my F. -[father] whatever he inflicted on me. I objected I did not love him. -They made answer, they found no necessity of loving; if I lived well -with him, that was all was required of me; and that if I considered this -town, I should find very few women in love with their husbands, and yet -a many happy. It was in vain to dispute with such prudent people; they -looked upon me as a little romantic, and I found it impossible to -persuade them that living in London at liberty was not the height of -happiness. However, they could not change my thoughts, though I found I -was to expect no protection from them. When I was to give my final -answer to----, I told him that I preferred a single life to any other; -and, if he pleased to permit me, I would take that resolution. He -replied, he could not hinder my resolutions, but I should not pretend -after that to please him; since pleasing him was only to be done by -obedience; that if I would disobey, I knew the consequences; he would -not fail to confine me, where I might repent at leisure; that he had -also consulted my relations, and found them all agreeing in his -sentiments. He spoke this in a manner hindered my answering. I retired -to my chamber, where I writ a letter to let him know my aversion to the -man proposed was too great to be overcome, that I should be miserable -beyond all things could be imagined, but I was in his hands, and he -might dispose of me as he thought fit. He was perfectly satisfied with -this answer, and proceeded as if I had given a willing consent.--I -forgot to tell you, he named you, and said, if I thought that way, I was -very much mistaken; that if he had no other engagements, yet he would -never have agreed to your proposals, having no inclination to see his -grandchildren beggars. - -"I do not speak this to endeavour to alter your opinion, but to shew the -improbability of his agreeing to it. I confess I am entirely of your -mind. I reckon it among the absurdities of custom that a man must be -obliged to settle his whole estate on an eldest son, beyond his power to -recall, whatever he proves to be, and make himself unable to make happy -a younger child that may deserve to be so. If I had an estate myself, I -should not make such ridiculous settlements, and I cannot blame you for -being in the right. - -"I have told you all my affairs with a plain sincerity. I have avoided -to move your compassion, and I have said nothing of what I suffer; and I -have not persuaded you to a _treaty_, which I am sure my family will -never agree to. I can have no fortune without an entire obedience. - -"Whatever your business is, may it end to your satisfaction. I think of -the public as you do. As little as _that_ is a woman's care, it may be -permitted into the number of a woman's fears. But, wretched as I am, I -have no more to fear for myself. I have still a concern for my friends, -and I am in pain for your danger. I am far from taking ill what you say, -I never valued myself as the daughter of----, and ever despised those -that esteemed me on that account. With pleasure I could barter all that, -and change to be any country gentleman's daughter that would have reason -enough to make happiness in privacy. My letter is too long. I beg your -pardon. You may see by the situation of my affairs 'tis without design." - - -The marriage with the gentleman unknown was thus called off--to the very -considerable anger of Lord Dorchester. Lord Pierrepont wrote offering to -come to her aid, by representing to her father the hardship he was -inflicting by endeavouring to force her inclination. He went so far as -to say that he would assist her to marry a man of moderate means, if -there were such an one in her heart. She was little used to sympathy, -and the proposal affected her deeply. "The generosity and goodness of -this letter wholly determines my softest inclinations on your side," she -wrote with unusual gentleness to Montagu on a Thursday night in August. -"You are in the wrong to suspect me of artifice; plainly showing me the -kindness of your heart (if you have any there for me) is the surest way -to touch mine, and I am at this minute more inclined to speak tenderly -to you than ever I was in my life--so much inclined I will say nothing. -I could wish you would leave England, but I know not how to object to -anything that pleases you. In this minute I have no will that does not -agree with yours." - -There is a reference in the letter just printed to a meeting of Lady -Anne and Montagu, but how often they saw each other at this time there -is no knowing. - -However, it must have been in August that, failing the consent of Lord -Dorchester to their marriage, they made up their minds to elope. From -whom the suggestion first came, who can say? Let it be hoped for the -sake of maiden modesty it came from Montagu. What drove them to this -step may well have been the fear that Lord Dorchester might, to all -intents and purposes, imprison his daughter on one of his estates. Even -at the eleventh hour, Lady Mary was determined that there should be no -misunderstanding between her and her _fiance_. She wrote to him saying -that if she came to him in this way, she would come to him without a -portion. To this part of her letter he vouchsafed no reply, so she again -touched upon the matter. - - -"You made no reply to one part of my letter concerning my fortune. I am -afraid you flatter yourself that my F. [father] may be at length -reconciled and brought to reasonable terms. I am convinced, by what I -have often heard him say, speaking of other cases like this, he never -will. The fortune he has engaged to give with me, was settled on my B. -[brother]'s marriage, on my sister and on myself; but in such a manner, -that it was left in his power to give it all to either of us, or divide -as he thought fit. He has given it all to me. Nothing remains for my -sister, but the free bounty of my F. [father] from what he can save; -which, notwithstanding the greatness of his estate, may be very little. -Possibly, after I have disobliged him so much, he may be glad to have -her so easily provided for, with money already raised; especially if he -has a design to marry himself, as I hear. I do not speak this that you -should not endeavour to come to terms with him, if you please; but I am -fully persuaded it will be to no purpose." - - -Lady Mary assured Montagu that Lord Dorchester's attitude was this: She -had consented to an engagement with another man, that she had let him -incur an expenditure of some four hundred pounds for a trousseau, and -that, by breaking it off, had made him look foolish. In fact, her -father, she added, had given her clearly to understand that he would -entertain no dealings whatsoever with any suitor other than the one of -his choice, that he would send her to his estate in the north of -England, and that it was his intention to leave her, on his death, only -an annuity of four hundred pounds. - -As a good sportsman she at the last moment gave Montagu a chance to -retreat. - - -"He [my father] will have a thousand plausible reasons for being -irreconcileable, and 'tis very probable the world will be of his side. -Reflect now for the last time in what manner you must take me. I shall -come to you with only a night-gown and petticoat, and that is all you -will get with me. I told a lady of my friends what I intended to do. You -will think her a very good friend when I tell you she has proffered to -lend us her house if we would come there the first night. I did not -accept of this till I had let you know it. If you think it more -convenient to carry me to your lodgings, make no scruple of it. Let it -be where it will: if I am your wife I shall think no place unfit for me -where you are. I beg we may leave London next morning, wherever you -intend to go. I should wish to go out of England if it suits with your -affairs. You are the best judge of your father's temper. If you think it -would be obliging to him, or necessary for you, I will go with you -immediately to ask his pardon and his blessing. If that is not proper at -first, I think the best scheme is going to the Spa. When you come back, -you may endeavour to make your father admit of seeing me, and treat with -mine (thought I persist in thinking it will be to no purpose). But I -cannot think of living in the midst of my relations and acquaintance -after so unjustifiable a step:--unjustifiable to the world,--but I think -I can justify myself to myself. I again beg you to hire a coach to be at -the door early Monday morning, to carry us some part of our way, -wherever you resolve our journey shall be. If you determine to go to -that lady's house, you had better come with a coach and six at seven -o'clock to-morrow. She and I will be in the balcony that looks on the -road: you have nothing to do but to stop under it, and we will come down -to you. Do in this what you like best. After all, think very seriously. -Your letter, which will be waited for, is to determine everything. I -forgive you a coarse expression in your last, which, however, I wish had -not been there. You might have said something like it without expressing -it in that manner; but there was so much complaisance in the rest of it -I ought to be satisfied. You can shew me no goodness I shall not be -sensible of. However, think again, and resolve never to think of me if -you have the least doubt, or that it is likely to make you uneasy in -your fortune. I believe to travel is the most likely way to make a -solitude agreeable, and not tiresome: remember you have promised it." - - -Even in this hour of excitement Lady Mary did not lose her head, and she -asked for a settlement that would make her easy in her mind. - - -"Tis something odd for a woman that brings nothing to expect anything; -but after the way of my education, I dare not pretend to live but in -some degree suitable to it. I had rather die than return to a dependancy -upon relations I have disobliged. Save me from that fear if you love me. -If you cannot, or think I ought not to expect it, be sincere and tell me -so. 'Tis better I should not be yours at all, than, for a short -happiness, involve myself in ages of misery. I hope there will never be -occasion for this precaution; but, however, 'tis necessary to make it. I -depend entirely on your honour, and I cannot suspect you of any way -doing wrong. Do not imagine I shall be angry at anything you can tell -me. Let it be sincere; do not impose on a woman that leaves all things -for you." - - -No woman could be more sensible than was Lady Mary at this time, and -she gave expression to the most exemplary sentiments. - - -"A woman that adds nothing to a man's fortune ought not to take from his -happiness. If possible I would add to it; but I will not take from you -any satisfaction you could enjoy without me." - -"If we marry, our happiness must consist in loving one another: 'tis -principally my concern to think of the most probable method of making -the love eternal." - -"There is one article absolutely necessary--to be ever beloved, one must -be ever agreeable." - -"Very few people that have settled entirely in the country but have -grown at length weary of one another. The lady's conversation generally -falls into a thousand impertinent effects of idleness, and the gentleman -falls _in_ love with his dogs and horses and _out_ of love with -everything else." - - -And so on. - -Possibly if Lady Mary had had less brains and more passion, if she had -not so calmly worked out the permutations and combinations of married -life, the alliance might have been more successful. She, with all her -intelligence, did not seem to realise that matrimony is not an affair of -rules and regulations, of aphorisms and epigrams, nor that the lines on -which husband and wife shall conduct themselves to a happy ending can be -settled by a study of vulgar fractions. - -Anyhow, the plunge was at last taken--with some not unnatural -trepidation on the part of the twenty-three-year-old bride. On Friday -night, August 15, 1712, she wrote to Montagu: - - -"I tremble for what we are doing.--Are you sure you will love me for -ever? Shall we never repent? I fear and I hope. I forsee all that will -happen on this occasion. I shall incense my family in the highest -degree. The generality of the world will blame my conduct, and the -relations and friends of ---- will invent a thousand stories of me; yet, -'tis possible, you may recompense everything to me. In this letter, -which I am fond of, you promise me all that I wish. Since I writ so far, -I received your Friday letter. I will be only yours, and I will do what -you please. - -"You shall hear from me again to-morrow, not to contradict, but to give -some directions. My resolution is taken. Love me and use me well." - - -The wedding licence is dated August 16, and the marriage took place in a -day or two. - -The bride had the active assistance of her uncle, William Feilding, who -may have been present at the ceremony; and the full sympathy of her -brother, Lord Kingston, who, however, did not accompany her, perhaps -deeming it impolitic to quarrel with his father. - -The family must have thought that Lord Dorchester would examine Lady -Mary's papers, for her sister, Lady Frances destroyed all she could -find, including, unfortunately, a diary that Lady Mary had kept for -several years. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -EARLY MARRIED LIFE (1712-1714) - -An uneventful existence--Montagu's Parliamentary duties take him to -London--Lady Mary stays mostly in the country--Correspondence--Montagu a -careless husband, but very careful of his money--Later he becomes a -miser--Lady Mary does not disguise the tedium of her existence-- -Concerning a possible reconciliation with her father--Lord Pierrepont -of Hanslope--Lord Halifax--Birth of a son, christened after his father, -Edward Wortley Montagu--The mother's anxiety about his health--Family -events--Lady Evelyn Pierrepont marries Baron (afterwards Earl) Gower--Lady -Frances Pierrepont marries the Earl of Mar--Lord Dorchester marries -again--Has issue, two daughters--the death of Lady Mary's brother, -William--His son, Evelyn, in due course succeeds to the Dukedom of -Kingston--Elizabeth Chudleigh--The political situation in 1714--The death -of Queen Anne--The accession of George I--The unrest in the country-- -Lady Mary's alarm for her son. - - -The records for the first years of the married life of Edward and Lady -Mary Wortley Montagu are scanty indeed. From the wedding day until 1716, -when they went abroad, Lady Mary's life was, for months together, as -uneventful as that of the ordinary suburban housewife. Montagu's -parliamentary duties took him frequently to town, and kept him there for -prolonged periods, during which he certainly showed no strong desire for -her to join him. Lady Mary, indeed, spent most of the time in the -country. Sometimes she stayed at the seat of her father-in-law, -Wharncliffe Lodge, near Sheffield; occasionally she visited Lord -Sandwich at Hinchinbrooke; for a while they stayed at Middlethorpe, in -the neighbourhood of Bishopthorpe and York. From time to time they hired -houses in other parts of Yorkshire. The honeymoon lasted from August -until October, 1712, when Montagu had to go to Westminster. - -The first letter of this period is dated characteristically: "Walling -Wells, October 22, which is the first post I could write. Monday night -being so fatigued and sick I went straight to bed from the coach." It -starts: - - -"I don't know very well how to begin; I am perfectly unacquainted with a -proper matrimonial stile. After all, I think 'tis best to write as if we -were not married at all. I lament your absence, as if you were still my -lover, and I am impatient to hear you are got safe to Durham, and that -you have fixed a time for your return." - - -Marriage made Lady Mary more human. She no longer dwelt upon the various -points that in her maidenhood days she had thought would be conducive to -happiness in matrimonial life; she was now, anyhow for the moment, in -love with her husband, or at least persuaded herself that this was the -case, and was at pains to inform him of the fact. - - -"I have not been very long in this family; and I fancy myself in that -described in the 'Spectator,'" the letter of October 22 continues. "The -good people here look upon their children with a fondness that more than -recompenses their care of them. I don't perceive much distinction in -regard to their merits; and when they speak sense or nonsense, it -affects the parents with almost the same pleasure. My friendship for the -mother, and kindness for Miss Biddy, make me endure the squalling of -Miss Nanny and Miss Mary with abundance of patience: and my foretelling -the future conquests of the eldest daughter, makes me very well with the -family.--I don't know whether you will presently find out that this -seeming impertinent account is the tenderest expressions of my love to -you; but it furnishes my imagination with agreeable pictures of our -future life; and I flatter myself with the hopes of one day enjoying -with you the same satisfactions; and that, after as many years -together, I may see you retain the same fondness for me as I shall -certainly mine for you, and the noise of a nursery may have more charms -for us than the music of an opera. - -[_Torn_] "as these are the sure effect of my sincere love, since 'tis -the nature of that passion to entertain the mind with pleasures in -prospect; and I check myself when I grieve for your absence, by -remembering how much reason I have to rejoice in the hope of passing my -whole life with you. A good fortune not to be valued!--I am afraid of -telling you that I return thanks for it to Heaven, because you will -charge me with hypocrisy; but you are mistaken: I assist every day at -public prayers in this family, and never forget in my private -ejaculation how much I owe to Heaven for making me yours. 'Tis -candle-light, or I should not conclude so soon. - -"Pray, my dear, begin at the top, and read till you come to the bottom." - - -Montagu, for his part, was somewhat careless as regards correspondence--for -which offence she rebuked him more than once, but in the most flattering -manner. - - -"I am at present in so much uneasiness, my letter is not likely to be -intelligible, if it all resembles the confusion of my head. I sometimes -imagine you not well, and sometimes that you think of it small -importance to write, or that greater matters have taken up your -thoughts. This last imagination is too cruel for me. I will rather fancy -your letter has miscarried, though I find little probability to think -so. I know not what to think, and am very near being distracted, amongst -my variety of dismal apprehensions. I am very ill company to the good -people of the house, who all bid me make you their compliments. Mr. -White begins your health twice every day. You don't deserve all this if -you can be so entirely forgetful of all this part of the world. I am -peevish with you by fits, and divide my time between anger and sorrow, -which are equaly troublesome to me. 'Tis the most cruel thing in the -world, to think one has reason to complain of what one loves. How can -you be so careless?--is it because you don't love writing? You should -remember I want to know you are safe at Durham. I shall imagine you have -had some fall from your horse, or ill accident by the way, without -regard to probability; there is nothing too extravagant for a woman's -and a lover's fears. Did you receive my last letter? if you did not, the -direction is wrong, you won't receive this, and my question is in vain. -I find I begin to talk nonsense, and 'tis time to leave off. Pray, my -dear, write to me, or I shall be very mad." - - -Montagu was, not to put too fine a point on it, a careless husband. Not -only did he neglect to write to his wife, but he neglected, or forgot, -to keep her adequately supplied with money. She had more than once to -remind him of this. "I wish you would write again to Mr. Phipps, for I -don't hear of any money, and am in the utmost necessity for it," she -told him in November, 1712. Montagu, even at this time a well-to-do man, -found it difficult to part with his money. A couple of years later, Lady -Mary had again to say to him: "Pray order me some money, for I am in -great want, and must run into debt if you don't do it soon." Even in -these days Montagu evidently had begun to be miserly. With all his -riches, he never spent a crown when a smaller sum would suffice, and -during most of his life he, as Sir Leslie Stephen put it, "devoted -himself chiefly to saving money." - -In the winter of 1712, Lady Mary, who was with child, suffered much from -ill-health, and this was to some extent aggravated by intense boredom, -although of that boredom she wrote good-humouredly enough. - - -"I don't believe you expect to hear from me so soon, if I remember you -did not so much as desire it, but I will not be so nice to quarrel with -you on that point; perhaps you would laugh at that delicacy, which is, -however, an attendant of a tender friendship," she wrote to her husband -from Hinchinbrooke at the beginning of December, 1712. - -"I opened the closet where I expected to find so many books; to my great -disappointment there were only some few pieces of the law, and folios of -mathematics; my Lord Hinchinbrook and Mr. Twiman having disposed of the -rest. But as there is no affliction, no more than no happiness, without -alloy, I discovered an old trunk of papers, which to my great diversion -I found to be the letters of the first Earl of Sandwich; and am in hopes -that those from his lady will tend much to my edification, being the -most extraordinary lessons of economy that ever I read in my life. To -the glory of your father, I find that _his_ looked upon him as destined -to be the honour of the family. - -"I walked yesterday two hours on the terrace. These are the most -considerable events that have happened in your absence; excepting that a -good-natured robin red-breast kept me company almost all the afternoon -with so much good humour and humanity as gives me faith for the piece of -charity ascribed to these little creatures in the Children in the Wood, -which I have hitherto thought only a poetical ornament to that history. - -"I expect a letter next post to tell me you are well in London and that -your business will not detain you long from her that cannot be happy -without you." - - -Even in these early days of marriage Montagu seemed to have no love for -domestic life, and often he stayed in London when he could have been in -the country with his wife, or had her with him in town. "As much as you -say I love the town, if you think it necessary for your interest to stay -some time here, I would not advise you to neglect a certainty for an -uncertainty? but I believe if you pass the Christmas here, great matters -will be expected from your hospitality: however, you are a better judge -than I am." So Lady Mary wrote from Hinchinbrooke in the first week of -December. She did not disguise from him the tedium of her existence. - - -"I continue indifferently well, and endeavour as much as I can to -preserve myself from spleen and melancholy; not for my own sake; I think -that of little importance; but in the condition I am, I believe it may -be of very ill consequence; yet, passing whole days alone as I do, I do -not always find it possible, and my constitution will sometimes get the -better of my reason. Human nature itself, without any additional -misfortunes, furnishes disagreeable meditations enough. Life itself to -make it supportable, should not be considered too near; my reason -represents to me in vain the inutility of serious reflections. The idle -mind will sometimes fall into contemplations that serve for nothing but -to ruin the health, destroy good humour, hasten old age and wrinkles, -and bring on an habitual melancholy. 'Tis a maxim with me to be young as -long as one can: there is nothing can pay one for that invaluable -ignorance which is the companion of youth; those sanguine groundless -hopes, and that lively vanity, which make all the happiness of life. To -my extreme mortification I grow wiser every day than other [sic]. I -don't believe Solomon was more convinced of the vanity of temporal -affairs than I am; I lose all taste of this world, and I suffer myself -to be bewitched by the charms of the spleen, though I know and foresee -all the irremediable mischiefs arising from it. I am insensibly fallen -into the writing you a melancholy letter, after all my resolutions to -the contrary; but I do not enjoin you to read it: make no scruple of -flinging it into the fire at the first dull line. Forgive the ill -effects of my solitude, and think me as I am, - -"Ever yours." - - -There was still hope in the hearts of Lady Mary and her husband that it -might be possible to effect a reconciliation with Lord Dorchester. Since -apparently the Marquess was not directly approachable by either of them, -they perforce had to seek an intermediary. Such an one, they trusted at -one time, would be one of Lady Mary's relatives, Lord Pierrepont of -Hanslope. To this matter there are many allusions in the correspondence, -"The Bishop of Salisbury writes me word that he hears my Lord Pierrepont -declares very much for us," Lady Mary wrote from Hinchinbrooke early in -December to her husband in town. "As the Bishop is no infallible -prelate, I should not depend much on that intelligence; but my sister -Frances tells me the same thing. Since it is so, I believe you'll think -it very proper to pay him a visit, if he is in town, and give him thanks -for the good offices you hear he has endeavoured to do me, unasked. If -his kindness is sincere, 'tis too valuable to be neglected. However, the -very appearance of it may be of use to us. If I know him, his desire of -making my Father appear in the wrong, will make him zealous for us. I -think I ought to write him a letter of acknowledgment for what I hear he -has already done." Very shortly after, however, it appears that Lord -Pierrepont was a broken reed upon which to rely. "I did not expect," Lady -Mary said bitterly, "that my Lord Pierrepont would speak at all in our -favour, much less show zeal upon that occasion, that never showed any in -his life." You cannot put it plainer than that. - -One who did really endeavour to bring about the resumption of friendly -relations was Montagu's cousin, Charles Montagu, first Baron Halifax of -Halifax, who was afterwards created first Earl of Halifax. - -To judge from Lady Mary's comments, sometimes when Montagu did write it -had been better he should not have done so. - - -"I am alone, without any amusements to take up my thoughts. I am in -circumstances in which melancholy is apt to prevail even over all -amusements, dispirited and alone, and you write me quarrelling letters," -she rebuked him on one occasion. - -"I hate complaining; 'tis no sign I am easy that I do not trouble you -with my head-aches, and my spleen; to be reasonable one should never -complain but when one hopes redress. A physician should be the only -confidant of bodily pains; and for those of the mind, they should never -be spoke of but to them that can and will relieve 'em. Should I tell you -that I am uneasy, that I am out of humour, and out of patience, should I -see you half an hour the sooner? I believe you have kindness enough for -me to be very sorry, and so you would tell me; and things remain in -their primitive state; I chuse to spare you that pain; I would always -give you pleasure. I know you are ready to tell me that I do not ever -keep to these good maxims. I confess I often speak impertinently, but I -always repent of it. My last stupid letter was not come to you, before I -would have had it back again had it been in my power; such as it was, I -beg your pardon for it." - - -In May, 1713, Lady Mary was delivered of a boy, who was christened after -his father, Edward Wortley Montagu. Some account of his unsatisfactory -career will be given in a later chapter. As an infant, he suffered from -ill-health. - - -"I am in abundance of pain about our dear child: though I am convinced -in my reason 'tis both silly and wicked to set one's heart too fondly on -anything in this world, yet I cannot overcome myself so far as to think -of parting with him with the resignation that I ought to do," the mother -wrote from Middlethorpe at the end of July. "I hope and I beg of God he -may live to be a comfort to us both. They tell me there is nothing -extraordinary in want of teeth at his age, but his weakness makes me -very apprehensive; he is almost never out of my sight. Mrs. Behn says -that the cold bath is the best medicine for weak children, but I am very -fearful and unwilling to try any hazardous remedies. He is very cheerful -and full of play." - -"I hope the child is better than he was," she mentioned a little later; -"but I wish you would let Dr. Garth know he has a bigness in his joints, -but not much; his ankles seem chiefly to have a weakness. I should be -very glad of his advice upon it, and whether he approves rubbing them -with spirits, which I am told is good for him." Then came more -favourable news about young Edward. "I thank God this cold well agrees -with the child; and he seems stronger and better every day," Lady Mary -was able to report. "But I should be very glad, if you saw Dr. Garth, if -you asked his opinion concerning the use of cold baths for young -children. I hope you love the child as well as I do; but if you love me -at all, you'll desire the preservation of his health, for I should -certainly break my heart for him." Garth, it may be assumed, was the -famous Samuel Garth, afterwards physician-in-ordinary to George I and -author of _The Dispensary_. His views on cold baths for children of -fifteen months have not been handed down to posterity by Lady Mary. - - -Meantime things were happening in the Pierrepont family. Lady Mary's -sister, Lady Frances, had, on March 8, 1712, married John, second Baron -Gower, who afterwards was created Earl Gower. Lady Mary's other sister, -Lady Evelyn, on July 26, 1714, became the second wife of John Erskine, -sixth or eleventh Earl of Mar of the Erskine line, who presently came -into prominence as an adherent of the Pretender in the rebellion of '15, -after which he fled the country. He was created Duke of Mar by the -Pretender. Finally, the Marquess of Dorchester, being then in his -fiftieth year, took for his second wife, on August 2, 1714, Lady -Isabella Bentinck, fifth daughter of William, first Earl of Portland and -his first wife, Anne, sister of Edward, first Earl of Jersey. There was -issue of this marriage two daughters: Caroline, who married Thomas -Brand, of Kempton, Hertfordshire; and Anne, who died unmarried in 1739 -at the age of twenty. - -Already, on July 1, 1723, had died Lord Dorchester's only son and heir, -William, who took the style of Earl of Kingston. He had married Rachel, -daughter of Thomas Baynton, of Little Chalfield, Wiltshire, by whom he -had one son, named Evelyn, after his grandfather, whom he succeeded in -1726 as the second Duke of Kingston. - -The career of Evelyn was undistinguished. Born in 1711, his aunt, Lady -Mary, said of him at the age of fifteen: "The Duke of Kingston has -hitherto had so ill an education, 'tis hard to make any judgment of him; -he has his spirit, but I fear will never have his father's sense. As -young gentlemen go, 'tis possible he may make a good figure among them." -Than which it would be unkind to say anything more cutting. Of course, -honours came to him. He was created Knight of the Garter in 1741, in -which year he was appointed a Lord of the Bedchamber. He rose to the -rank of colonel in the army in 1745, and twenty-seven years later was -promoted General; but it does not appear that he saw any service. The -second Duke of Kingston will, however, always be remembered for his -marriage in 1769 with the beautiful and notorious Elizabeth Chudleigh, -who was nine years his junior. She had in 1744 married secretly Augustus -John Hervey, afterwards sixth Earl of Bristol, who survived until -December, 1779. She had long been living with the Duke, but in 1769 she -obtained a divorce _a mensa et thoro_, which she believed erroneously -annulled the marriage. The Duke died in 1773, when all his titles became -extinct. His Duchess was in the following year tried before the House of -Lords for bigamy, found guilty, but, pleading benefit of peerage, was -discharged. Thus, she carried out the prognostication of Lord Chief -Justice Mansfield, who had opposed the prosecution. "The arguments about -the place of trial suggest to my mind the question about the propriety -of any trial at all," he said in a debate in the House of Lords. "_Cui -bono_? What utility is to be obtained? Suppose a conviction to be the -result?--the lady makes your lordships a courtesy, and you return a -bow." She survived, living on the continent, until 1788. As an epitaph -for her there can be nothing better than a remark of Horace Walpole: "I -can tell you nothing more extraordinary, nor would any history figure -near hers. It shows genius to strike anything so new as her -achievements. Though we have many uncommon personages, it is not easy -for them to be so superiorly particular." - -More generally interesting than these domestic matters was the political -situation. Queen Anne's life had for some time been hanging in the -balance. It was thought that she might linger for some time, but there -was no hope of her recovery. The fight that was carried on between the -supporters of the Hanoverian succession and the adherents of the -Pretender is, of course, a matter of history. On August 5, 1714, came to -the Elector of Hanover, James Craggs, junior, with a letter from the -Privy Council, dated July 31, announcing the precarious state of Anne's -health, and conveying assurances that in the event of her demise every -precaution would be taken to safeguard the rights of George Lewis. The -same night messengers arrived at Hanover from London with the news of -the death of the Queen, who had passed away on July 31, shortly after -the departure of Craggs. - -During the interval between the proclamation of the accession of George -I and his arrival, which did not take place until September 17, the -country was in a disturbed state, and it is not unnatural that Lady Mary -in Yorkshire was alarmed for the safety of herself and the child. - - -"I cannot forbear taking it something unkindly that you do not write to -me, when you may be assured I am in a great fright, and know not -certainly what to expect upon this sudden change," she wrote from -Middlethorpe to Montagu. "The Archbishop of York has been come to -Bishopthorpe but three days. I went with my cousin to-day to see the -King proclaimed, which was done; the Archbishop walking next the Lord -Mayor, all the country gentry following, with greater crowds of people -than I believed to be in York, vast acclamations, and the appearance of -a general satisfaction. The Pretender afterwards dragged about the -streets and burned. Ringing of bells, bonfires, and illuminations, the -mob crying Liberty and Property! and Long live King George! This morning -all the principal men of any figure took post for London, and we are -alarmed with the fear of attempts from Scotland, though all Protestants -seem unanimous for the Hanover succession. The poor young ladies at -Castle Howard are as much afraid as I am, being left all alone, without -any hopes of seeing their father again (though things should prove well) -this eight or nine months. They have sent to desire me very earnestly to -come to them, and bring my boy; 'tis the same thing as pensioning in a -nunnery, for no mortal man ever enters the doors in the absence of their -father, who is gone post. During this uncertainty, I think it will be a -safe retreat; for Middlethorpe stands exposed to plunderers, if there be -any at all." - - -A day or two later this letter was followed by another: - - -"You made me cry two hours last night. I cannot imagine why you use me -so ill; for what reason you continue silent, when you know at any time -your silence cannot fail of giving me a great deal of pain; and now to a -higher degree because of the perplexity that I am in, without knowing -where you are, what you are doing, or what to do with myself and my dear -little boy. However (persuaded there can be no objection to it), I -intend to go to-morrow to Castle Howard, and remain there with the young -ladies, 'till I know when I shall see you, or what you would command. -The Archbishop and everybody else are gone to London. We are alarmed -with a story of a fleet being seen from the coasts of Scotland. An -express went from thence through York to the Earl of Mar. I beg you -would write to me. 'Till you do I shall not have an easy minute. I am -sure I do not deserve from you that you should make me uneasy. I find I -am scolding, 'tis better for me not to trouble you with it; but I cannot -help taking your silence very unkindly." - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE ACCESSION OF GEORGE I (1714) - -Lady Mary shows an increasing interest in politics--She tries to incite -her husband to be ambitious--Montagu not returned to the new -Parliament--His lack of energy--Correspondence--The Council of -Regency--The King commands Lord Townshend to form a Government--The -Cabinet--Lord Halifax, First Lord of the Treasury--Montagu appointed a -Lord Commissioner of the Treasury--Correspondence--The unsatisfactory -relations between Lady Mary and Montagu. - - -At the time of the death of Queen Anne Lady Mary began to show an -increased interest in polities, at least in so far as the career of -Montagu was bound up with it. She began to try to persuade her husband -to be, to some extent at least, ambitious. It may be that she was not -happy at the thought of being married to a man who was regarded as a -nonentity. She was always urging him to put his best foot forward. -Sometimes she wrote to him as to a naughty child. "I am very much -surprised that you do not tell me in your last letter that you have -spoke to my Father," she said in August, 1714. "I hope after staying in -the town on purpose, you do not intend to omit it. I beg you would not -leave any sort of business unfinished, remembering those two necessary -maxims, Whatever you intend to do as long as you live do as soon as you -can; and to leave nothing to be done by another that 'tis possible to do -yourself." What sort of a man must Montagu have been at the age of -thirty-six that his wife should deem it necessary to give him such -first-aid advice? - -Montagu was evidently of a procrastinating turn of mind. He had, as has -been said, sat for Huntingdon in the House of Commons from 1705 until -1713. In the latter year Parliament was dissolved on August 8, but -Montagu had made no definite plans as regards his future political -career--for some reason or other his father reserved for himself the -seat for Huntingdon. Montagu found no other constituency, and -consequently did not sit in the new Parliament that assembled on the -following November 11. - - -"I suppose you may now come in at Aldburgh, and I heartily wish you was -in Parliament," Lady Mary wrote to him. "I saw the Archbishop [of -York]'s list of the Lords Regents appointed, and perceive Lord Wharton -is not one of them; by which I guess the new scheme is not to make use -of any man grossly infamous in either party; consequently, those who -have been honest in regard to both, will stand fairest for preferment. -You understand these things much better than me; but I hope you will be -persuaded by me and your other friends (who I don't doubt will be of -opinion) that 'tis necessary for the common good for an honest man to -endeavour to be powerful, when he can be the one without losing the -first more valuable title; and remember that money is the source of -power. I hear that Parliament sits but six months; you know best whether -'tis worth any expense or bustle to be in for so short a time." - - -Lady Mary's letters now contain many references to political affairs, -anyhow in so far as they directly concern Montagu. - - -"I hope you are convinced I was not mistaken in my judgment of Lord -Pelham; he is very silly but very good-natured. I don't see how it can -be improper for you to get it represented to him that he is obliged in -honour to get you chose at Aldburgh, and may more easily get Mr. Jessop -chose at another place. I can't believe but you may manage it in such a -manner, Mr. Jessop himself would not be against it, nor would he have so -much reason to take it ill, if he should not be chose, as you have after -so much money fruitlessly spent. I dare say you may order it so that it -may be so, if you talk to Lord Townshend about it, &c. I mention this, -because I cannot think you can stand at York, or anywhere else, without -a great expense. Lord Morpeth is just now of age, but I know not whether -he'll think it worth while to return from travel upon that occasion. -Lord Carlisle is in town, you may if you think fit make him a visit, and -enquire concerning it. After all, I look upon Aldburgh to be the surest -thing. Lord Pelham is easily persuaded to any thing, and I am sure he -may be told by Lord Townshend that he has used you ill; and I know he'll -be desirous to do all things in his power to make it up. In my opinion, -if yon resolve upon an extraordinary expense to be in Parliament, you -should resolve to have it turn to some account. Your father is very -surprizing if he persists in standing at Huntingdon; but there is -nothing surprizing in such a world as this." - - -Later in August Lady Mary wrote again on the same subject, and this -letter shows that she had been at pains to acquire some practical -knowledge of borough-mongering. - - -"You seem not to have received my letters, or not to have understood -them; you had been chose undoubtedly at York, if you had declared in -time; but there is not any gentleman or tradesman disengaged at this -time; they are treating every night. Lord Carlisle and the Thompsons -have given their interest to Mr. Jenkins. I agree with you of the -necessity of your standing this Parliament, which, perhaps, may be more -considerable than any that are to follow it; but, as you proceed, 'tis -my opinion, you will spend your money and not be chose. I believe there -is hardly a borough unengaged. I expect every letter should tell me you -are sure of some place; and, as far as I can perceive you are sure of -none. As it has been managed, perhaps it will be the best way to deposit -a certain sum in some friend's hands, and buy some little Cornish -borough: it would, undoubtedly, look better to be chose for a -considerable town; but I take it to be now too late. If you have any -thoughts of Newark, it will be absolutely necessary for you to enquire -after Lord Lexington's interest; and your best way to apply yourself to -Lord Holdernesse, who is both a Whig and an honest man. He is now in -town, and you may enquire of him if Brigadier Sutton stands there; and -if not, try to engage him for you. Lord Lexington is so ill at the Bath, -that it is a doubt if he will live 'till the election; and if he dies, -one of his heiresses, and the whole interest of his estate, will -probably fall on Lord Holdernesse. - -"'Tis a surprise to me that you cannot make sure of some borough, when -so many of your friends bring in several Parliament-men without trouble -or expense. 'Tis too late to mention it now, but you might have applied -to Lady Winchester, as Sir Joseph Jekyl did last year, and by her -interest the Duke of Bolton brought him in for nothing; I am sure she -would be more zealous to serve me than Lady Jekyl. You should understand -these things better than me. I heard, by a letter last post, that Lady -M. Montagu and Lady Hinchinbrooke are to be Bedchamber Ladies to the -Princess, and Lady Townshend Groom of the Stole. She must be a strange -Princess if she can pick a favourite out of them; and as she will be one -day Queen, and they say has an influence over her husband, I wonder they -don't think fit to place women about her with a little common sense." - - -Again, in the middle of September Lady Mary returned to the subject of -Montagu finding a seat in the House: - - -"I cannot be very sorry for your declining at Newark, being very -uncertain of your success; but I am surprized you do not mention where -you intend to stand. Dispatch, in things of this nature, if not a -security, at least delay is a sure way to lose, as you have done, being -easily chose at York, for not resolving in time, and Aldburgh, for not -applying soon enough to Lord Pelham. Here are people here had rather -choose Fairfax than Jenkins, and others that prefer Jenkins to Fairfax; -but both parties, separately, have wished to me you would have stood, -with assurances of having preferred you to either of them. At Newark, -Lord Lexington has a very considerable interest. If you have any -thoughts of standing, you must endeavour to know how he stands affected; -though I am afraid he will assist Brigadier Sutton, or some other Tory. -Sir Matthew Jenison has the best interest of any Whig; but he stood last -year himself, and will, perhaps, do so again. Newdigate will certainly -be chose there for one. Upon the whole, 'tis the most expensive and -uncertain place you can stand at. Tis surprizing to me, that you are all -this while in the midst of your friends without being sure of a place, -when so many insignificant creatures come in without any opposition. -They say Mr. Strickland is sure at Carlisle, where he never stood -before. I believe most places are engaged by this time. I am very sorry, -for your sake, that you spent so much money in vain last year, and will -not come in this, when you might make a more considerable figure than -you could have done then. I wish Lord Pelham would compliment Mr. Jessop -with his Newark interest, and let you come in at Aldburgh." - - -On the death of the Queen, the Council, which had assembled at -Kensington Palace, adjourned to St. James's. By the Regency Bill the -administration of the government (in the event of the King being absent -from the realm at the time of his accession to the throne) devolved upon -the holders for the time being of the Great Officers of State: the -Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Thomas Tenison), the Lord Chancellor -(Simon, Lord Harcourt), the Lord President (John, Duke of -Buckinghamshire), the Lord High Treasurer (Charles, Duke of Shrewsbury), -the Lord Privy Seal (William, Earl of Dartmouth), the First Lord of the -Admiralty (Thomas, Earl of Strafford), and the Lord Chief Justice of the -King's Bench (Sir Thomas Parker, afterwards Earl of Macclesfield). Under -another clause of the Regency Act the Sovereign was entitled to nominate -a number of Lords Justices. Baron von Bothmer, the Hanovarian Envoy -Extraordinary to the Court of St. James's, opened the sealed packet -containing the Commission of Regency, drawn up by George after the death -of his mother. The King's nominees were the Archbishop of York, the -Dukes of Shrewsbury,[1] Somerset, Bolton, Devonshire, Kent, Argyll, -Montrose, and Roxborough; the Earls of Pembroke, Anglesea, Carlisle, -Nottingham, Abingdon, Scarborough, and Oxford; Viscount Townshend; and -Barons Halifax and Cowper. Marlborough was not in the Commission, but he -was appointed Captain-General of the Forces. - -[Footnote 1: The Commission was, of course, made out before the Duke of -Shrewsbury was given the White Staff, the possession of which made him a -Lord Justice in virtue of his office.] - -From The Hague, where he arrived on September 5, 1714, George I sent -authority to Charles, Viscount Townshend, to form a Cabinet, with power -to nominate his colleagues. Townshend took the office of Secretary of -State for the Northern Department, and appointed James Stanhope -Secretary of State for the Southern Department. Lord Halifax became -First Lord of the Treasury; Lord Cowper, Lord Chancellor; the Earl of -Nottingham, Lord President; the Marquis of Wharton, Lord Privy Seal; the -Earl of Oxford, First Lord of the Admiralty; the Earl of Sunderland, -Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland; Robert Walpole, Paymaster-General of the -Forces. As Captain-General Marlborough was in the Cabinet. - -Lord Halifax, when making out the Commission of the Treasury, invited -his cousin Montagu to be one of the Commissioners, although the latter -had not secured a seat in Parliament. "It will be surprizing to add," -says Lady Mary, "that he hesitated to accept it at a time when his -father was alive and his present income very small; but he had certainly -refused it if he had not been persuaded to it by a rich old uncle of -mine, Lord Pierrepont, whose fondness for me gave him expectations of a -large legacy." Lady Mary, though glad enough that her husband had been -given a place, was not over and above delighted that it was one so -modest. - - -_Lady Mary Wortley Montagu to her Husband_ - -[Enclosed, September 24, 1714.] - -"Though I am very impatient to see you, I would not have you, by -hastening to come down, lose any part of your interest. I am surprized -you say nothing of where you stand. I had a letter from Mrs. Hewet last -post, who said she heard you stood at Newark, and would be chose without -opposition; but I fear her intelligence is not at all to be depended on. -I am glad you think of serving your friends; I hope it will put you in -mind of serving yourself. I need not enlarge upon the advantages of -money; every thing we see, and every thing we hear, puts us in -remembrance of it. If it was possible to restore liberty to your -country, or limit the encroachments of the prerogative, by reducing -yourself to a garret, I should be pleased to share so glorious a poverty -with you; but as the world is, and will be, 'tis a sort of duty to be -rich, that it may be in one's power to do good; riches being another -word for power, towards the obtaining of which the first necessary -qualification is impudence, and (as Demosthenes said of pronunciation in -oratory) the second is impudence, and the third, still, impudence. No -modest man ever did or ever will make his fortune. Your friend Lord -H[alifa]x, R. W[alpo]le, and all other remarkable instances of quick -advancement, have been remarkably impudent. The Ministry is like a play -at Court; there's a little door to get in, and a great crowd without, -shoving and thrusting who shall be foremost: people who knock others -with their elbows, disregard a little kick of the shins, and still -thrust heartily forwards, are sure of a good place. Your modest man -stands behind in the crowd, is shoved about by every body, his cloaths -tore, almost squeezed to death, and sees a thousand get in before him, -that don't make so good a figure as himself. - -"I don't say it is impossible for an impudent man not to rise in the -world; but a moderate merit, with a large share of impudence, is more -probable to be advanced, than the greatest qualifications without it. - -"If this letter is impertinent, it is founded upon an opinion of your -merit, which, it if is a mistake, I would not be undeceived in: it is my -interest to believe (as I do) that you deserve every thing, and are -capable of every thing; but nobody else will believe you if they see you -get nothing." - - -[Postmark, October 6, 1714.] - -"I cannot imagine why you should desire that I should not be glad, -though from a mistake, since, at least, it is an agreeable one. I -confess I shall ever be of opinion, if you are in the Treasury, it will -be an addition to your figure and facilitate your election, though it is -no otherwise advantageous; and that, if you have nothing when all your -acquaintance are preferred, the world generally will not be persuaded -that you neglect your fortune, but that you are neglected." - - -[Endorsed, October 9, 1714.] - -"You do me wrong in imagining (as I perceive you do) that my reason for -being solicitous for your having that place, was in view of spending -more money than we do. You have no cause of fancying me capable of such -a thought. I don't doubt but Lord H[alifa]x will very soon have the -Staff, and it is my belief you will not be at all the richer: but I -think it looks well, and may facilitate your election; and that is all -the advantage I hope from it. When all your intimate acquaintance are -preferred, I think you would have an ill air in having nothing; upon -that account only, I am sorry so many considerable places are disposed -on [_sic_]. I suppose, now, you will certainly be chose somewhere or -other; and I cannot see why you should not pretend to be Speaker. I -believe all the Whigs would be for you, and I fancy you have a -considerable interest amongst the Tories, and for that reason would be -very likely to carry it. 'Tis impossible for me to judge of this so well -as you can do; but the reputation of being thoroughly of no party, is (I -think) of use in this affair, and I believe people generally esteem you -impartial; and being chose by your country is more honourable than -holding _any_ place from _any_ king." - - -The relations between Lady Mary and her husband did not improve. Not -only did he neglect to write to her when he left her in the country, but -he does not at any time appear to have had any desire to have her with -him in town. Lady Mary showed extreme, in fact overmuch, forbearance, -but towards the end of November her patience gave out: "I cannot forbear -any longer telling you, I think you use me very unkindly." - - -"I don't say so much of your absence, as I should do if you was in the -country and I in London; because I would not have you believe I am -impatient to be in town, when I say I am impatient to be with you; but I -am very sensible I parted with you in July and 'tis now the middle of -November," she went on to say. "As if this was not hardship enough, you -do not tell me you are sorry for it. You write seldom, and with so much -indifference as shews you hardly think of me at all. I complain of ill -health, and you only say you hope 'tis not so bad as I make it. You -never enquire after your child. I would fain flatter myself you have -more kindness for me and him than you express; but I reflect with grief -a man that is ashamed of passions that are natural and reasonable, is -generally proud of those that [are] shameful and silly." - - -Lady Mary, once having given vent to her feeling of injustice, was not -concerned to mince her words: "You seem perfectly pleased with our -separation, and indifferent how long it continues.... When I reflect on -your behaviour, I am ashamed of my own: I think I am playing the part of -my Lady Winchester. At least be as generous as My Lord; and as he made -early confession of his aversion, own to me your inconstancy, and upon -my word I will give you no more trouble about it.... For my part, as -'tis my first, this is my last complaint, and your next of the kind -shall go back enclosed to you in blank paper." - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGU'S ACCOUNT OF THE COURT OF GEORGE I - - -Lady Mary, then, had been in Yorkshire when the Queen died, and was -still in the country, much against her will, when the King arrived on -September 18. Soon after, however, she came to town, and, so to speak, -looked around the Court. Her "Account of the Court of George I" is not -always accurate, and is certainly often prejudiced. It is not the less -interesting because the writer did not mince her words, even when -discussing the character of her friend, "Dolly" Walpole. Notwithstanding, -this bird-eye view of the royal and political circles at the accession -of the first of the Hanoverian monarchs is so valuable as to deserve -inclusion in this work. - - -"The new Court with all their train was arrived before I left the -country. The Duke of Marlborough was returned in a sort of triumph, with -the apparent merit of having suffered for his fidelity in the -succession, and was reinstated in his office of general, &c. In short, -all people who had suffered any hardship or disgrace during the late -ministry would have it believed that it was occasioned by their -attachment to the House of Hanover. Even Mr. Walpole, who had been sent -to the Tower for a piece of bribery proved upon him, was called a -confessor to the cause. But he had another piece of good luck that yet -more contributed to his advancement, he had a very handsome sister, -whose folly had lost her reputation in London; but the yet greater folly -of Lord Townshend, who happened to be a neighbour in Norfolk to Mr. -Walpole, had occasioned his being drawn in to marry her some months -before the Queen died. - -"Lord Townshend had that sort of understanding which commonly makes men -honest in the first part of their lives; they follow the instruction of -their tutor, and, till somebody thinks it worth while to show them a new -path, go regularly on in the road where they are set. Lord Townshend had -then been many years an excellent husband to a sober wife, a kind master -to all his servants and dependants, a serviceable relation whenever it -was in his power, and followed the instinct of nature in being fond of -his children. Such a sort of behaviour without any glaring absurdity, -either in prodigality or avarice, always gains a man the reputation of -reasonable and honest; and this was his character when the Earl of -Godolphin sent him envoy to the States, not doubting but he would be -faithful to his orders, without giving himself the trouble of -criticising on them, which is what all ministers wish in an envoy. -Robethon, a French refugee (secretary to Bernstorff, one of the Elector -of Hanover's ministers), happened to be at The Hague, and was civilly -received by Lord Townshend, who treated him at his table with the -English hospitality; and he was charmed with a reception which his birth -and education did not entitle him to. Lord Townshend was recalled when -the Queen changed her ministry, his wife died, and he retired into the -country, where (as I have said before) Walpole had art enough to make -him marry his sister Dolly. At that time, I believe, he did not propose -much more advantage by the match than to get rid of a girl that lay -heavy on his hands. - -"When King George ascended the throne, he was surrounded by all his -German ministers and playfellows, male and female. Baron Goertz was the -most considerable among them both for birth and fortune. He had managed -the King's treasury, for thirty years, with the utmost fidelity and -economy; and had the true German honesty, being a plain, sincere and -unambitious man. Bernstorff, the Secretary, was of a different turn. He -was avaricious, artful, and designing, and had got his share in the -King's councils by bribing his women. Robethon was employed in these -matters, and had the sanguine ambition of a Frenchman. He resolved there -should be an English ministry of his choosing; and, knowing none of them -personally but Townshend, he had not failed to recommend him to his -master, and his master to the King, as the only proper person for the -important post of Secretary of State; and he entered upon that office -with universal applause, having at that time a very popular character, -which he might probably have retained for ever if he had not been -entirely governed by his wife and her brother Robert Walpole, whom he -immediately advanced to be Paymaster, esteemed a post of exceeding -profit, and very necessary for his indebted estate. - -"But he had yet higher views, or rather he found it necessary to move -higher, lest he should not be able to keep that. The Earl of Wharton, -now Marquis, both hated and despised him. His large estate, the whole -income of which was spent in the service of the party and his own parts, -made him considerable, though his profligate life lessened that weight -that a more regular conduct would have given him. - -"Lord Halifax, who was now advanced to the dignity of Earl, and graced -with the Garter, and First Commissioner of the Treasury, treated him -with contempt. The Earl of Nottingham, who had the real merit of having -renounced the ministry in Queen Anne's reign, when he thought they were -going to alter the succession, was not to be reconciled to Walpole, whom -he looked upon as stigmatised for corruption. - -"The Duke of Marlborough, who in his old age was making the same figure -at Court that he did when he first came into it--I mean, bowing and -smiling in the antechamber while Townshend was in the closet,--was not, -however, pleased with the Walpole, who began to behave to him with the -insolence of new favour, and his Duchess, who never restrained her -tongue in her life, used to make public jokes of the beggary she first -knew him in, when her caprice gave him a considerable place, against the -opinion of Lord Godolphin and the Duke of Marlborough. - -"To balance these, he had introduced some friends of his own, by his -recommendation to Lord Townshend (who did nothing but by his -instigation). Colonel Stanhope was made the Secretary of State. He had -been unfortunate in Spain, and there did not want those who attributed -it to ill conduct; but he was called generous, brave, true to his -friends, and had an air of probity which prejudiced the world in his -favour. - -"The King's character may be comprised in very few words. In private -life he would have been called an honest blockhead; and Fortune that -made him a king, added nothing to his happiness, only prejudiced his -honesty, and shortened his days. No man was ever more free from -ambition; he loved money, but loved to keep his own, without being -rapacious of other men's. He would have grown rich by saving, but was -incapable of laying schemes for getting; he was more properly dull than -lazy, and would have been so well contented to have remained in his -little town of Hanover, that if the ambition of those about him had not -been greater than his own, we should never have seen him in England; and -the natural honesty of his temper, joined with the narrow notions of a -low education, made him look upon his acceptance of the crown as an act -of usurpation, which was always uneasy to him. But he was carried by the -stream of the people about him, in that, as in every action of his life. -He could speak no English, and was past the age of learning it. Our -customs and laws were all mysteries to him, which he neither tried to -understand, nor was capable of understanding if he had endeavoured it. -He was passively good-natured, and wished all mankind enjoyed quiet, if -they would let him do so. - -"The mistress that followed him hither was so much of his own temper, -that I do not wonder at the engagement between them. She was duller than -himself, and consequently did not find out that he was so; and had lived -in that figure at Hanover almost forty years (for she came hither at -three score) without meddling in any affairs of the Electorate, content -with the small pension he allowed her, and the honour of his visits when -he had nothing else to do, which happened very often. She even refused -coming hither at first, fearing that the people of England, who, she -thought, were accustomed to use their kings barbarously, might chop off -his head in the first fortnight; and had not love or gratitude enough to -venture being involved in his ruin. And the poor man was in peril of -coming hither without knowing where to pass his evenings; which he was -accustomed to do in the apartments of women free from business. But -Madame Keilmansegg saved him from this misfortune. She was told that -Mademoiselle Schulenburg scrupled this terrible journey, and took the -opportunity of offering her service to his Majesty, who willingly -accepted it, though he did not facilitate it to her by the payment of -debts, which made it very difficult for her to leave Hanover without -permission of her creditors. But she was a woman of wit and spirit, and -knew very well of what importance this step was to her fortune. She got -out of the town in disguise, and made the best of her way in a -post-chaise to Holland, from whence she embarked with the King, and -arrived at the same time with him in England; which was enough to make -her called his mistress, or at least so great a favourite that the whole -Court began to pay her uncommon respect. - -"This lady deserves that I should be a little particular in her -character, there being something in it worth speaking of. She was past -forty; she had never been a beauty, but certainly very agreeable in her -person when adorned with youth; and had once appeared so charming to the -King, that it was said the divorce and ruin of his beautiful Princess, -the Duke of Celle's daughter, was owing to the hopes her mother (who was -declared mistress to the King's father, and all-powerful in his Court,) -had of setting her daughter in her place; and that project did not -succeed, by the passion which Madame Kielmansegg took for M. Kielmansegg, -who was a son of a merchant of Hamburg, and after having a child by him, -there was nothing left for her but to marry him. Her ambitions ran mad -with the disappointment, and died in that deplorable manner, leaving -L40,000 which she had heaped by the favour of the Elector, to this -daughter, which was very easily squandered by one of her temper. She was -both luxurious and generous, devoted to her pleasures, and seemed to have -taken Lord Rochester's resolution of avoiding all sorts of self-denial. -She had a greater vivacity in conversation than ever I knew in a German -of either sex. She loved reading, and had a taste of all polite learning. -Her humour was easy and sociable. Her constitution inclined her to -gallantry. She was well-bred and amusing in company. She knew both how -to please and be pleased, and had experience enough to know it was hard -to do either without money. Her unlimited expenses had left her with -very little remaining, and she made what haste she could to make -advantage of the opinion the English had of her power with the King, by -receiving the presents that were made her from all quarters, and which -she knew very well must cease when it was known that the King's idleness -carried him to her lodgings without either regard for her advice, or -affection for her person, which time and very bad paint had left without -any of the charms which had once attracted him. His best-beloved mistress -remained still at Hanover, which was the beautiful Countess of Platen. - -"Perhaps it will be thought a digression in this place to tell the story -of his amour with her; but, as I write only for myself, I shall always -think I am at liberty to make what digressions I think fit, proper or -improper; besides that in my opinion can set the King's character in a -clearer light. That lady was married to Madame Kielmansegg's brother, -the most considerable man in Hanover for birth and fortune; and her -beauty was as far beyond that of any of the other women that appeared. -However, the King saw her every day without taking notice of it, and -contented himself with his habitual commerce with Mademoiselle -Schulenburg. - -"In those little Courts there is no distinction of much value but what -arises from the favour of the Prince, and Madame Platen saw with great -indignation that all her charms were passed over unregarded; and she -took a method to get over this misfortune which would never have entered -into the head of a woman of sense, and yet which met with wonderful -success. She asked an audience of his Highness, who granted it without -guessing what she meant by it; and she told him that as nobody could -refuse her the first rank in that place, it was very mortifying to see -his Highness not show her any mark of favour; and as no person could be -more attached to his person than herself, she begged with tears in her -fine eyes that he would alter his behaviour to her. The Elector, very -much astonished at this complaint, answered that he did not know any -reason he had given her to believe he was wanting in respect for her, -and that he thought her not only the greatest lady, but the greatest -beauty of the court. 'If that be true, sire,' replied she, sobbing, 'why -do you pass all your time with Mademoiselle Schulenburg, while I hardly -receive the honour of a visit from you?' His Highness promised to mend -his manners, and from that time was very assiduous in waiting upon her. -This ended in a fondness, which her husband disliked so much that he -parted with her, and she had the glory of possessing the heart and -person of her master, and to turn the whole stream of courtiers that -used to attend Mademoiselle Schulenburg to her side. However, he did not -break with his first love, and often went to her apartment to cut paper, -which was his chief employment there; which the Countess of Platen -easily permitted him, having often occasion for his absence. She was -naturally gallant; and, after having thus satisfied her ambition, -pursued her warmer inclinations. - -"Young Craggs came about this time to Hanover, where his father sent him -to take a view of that court in his tour of travelling. He was in his -first bloom of youth and vigour, and had so strong an appearance of that -perfection, that it was called beauty by the generality of women: though -in my opinion there was a coarseness in his face and shape that had more -the air of a porter than a gentleman; and, if fortune had not interposed -her almighty power, he might by his birth have appeared in that figure; -his father being nothing more considerable at his first appearance in -the world than footman to Lady Mary Mordaunt, the gallant Duchess of -Norfolk, who had always half a dozen intrigues to manage. Some servant -must always be trusted in affairs of that kind and James Craggs had the -good fortune to be chose for that purpose. She found him both faithful -and discreet, and he was soon advanced to the dignity of _valet-de-chambre._ - -"King James II had an amour with her after he was upon the throne, and -respected the Queen enough to endeavour to keep it entirely from her -knowledge. James Craggs was the messenger between the King and the -Duchess, and did not fail to make the best use of so important a trust. -He scraped a great deal of money from the bounty of this royal lover, -and was too inconsiderable to be hurt by his ruin; and did not concern -much for that of his mistress, which by lower intrigues happened soon -after. This fellow, from the report of all parties, and even from that -of his professed enemies, had a very uncommon genius; a head well turned -for calculation, great industry, and was so just an observer of the -world, that the meanness of his education never appeared in his -conversation. - -"The Duke of Marlborough, who was sensible how well he was qualified for -affairs that required secrecy, employed him as his procurer both for -women and money, and he acquitted himself so well of these trusts as to -please his master, and yet raise a considerable fortune, by turning his -money in the public funds, the secret of which came often to his -knowledge by the Duke's employing him. He had this only son, whom he -looked on with the partiality of a parent, and resolved to spare nothing -in his education that could add to his figure. - -"Young Craggs had great vivacity, a happy memory, and flowing elocution, -he was brave and generous, and had an appearance of open-heartedness in -his manner that gained him a universal good-will, if not a universal -esteem. It is true there appeared a heat and want of judgment in all his -words and actions, which did not make him valuable in the eyes of cool -judges, but Madame Platen was not of that number. His youth and fire -made him appear very well worthy of his passionate addresses. Two people -so well disposed towards each other were very soon in the closest -engagement; and the first proof Madame Platen gave him of her affection -was introducing him to the favour of the Elector, who took it on her -word that he was a young man of extraordinary merit, and he named him -for Cofferer at his first accession to the Crown of England, and I -believe it was the only place that he then disposed of from any -inclination of his own. This proof of Madame Platen's favour hindered -her coming hither. - -"Bernstorff was afraid she might meddle in the distribution of places -that he was willing to keep in his own hands; and he represented to the -King that the Roman Catholic religion that she professed was an -insuperable objection to her appearance at the Court of England, at -least so early; but he gave her private hopes that things might be so -arranged as to make her admittance easy when the King was settled in his -new dominions. And with this hope she consented without much concern to -let him go without her; not reflecting that weak minds lose all -impressions by even short absences. But as her own understanding did not -furnish her with very great refinements, she was troubled with none of -the fears that would have affected a stronger head, and had too good an -opinion of her own beauty to believe anything in England could efface -it, while Madame Kielmansegg attached herself to the one thing -necessary--getting what money she could by the sale of places, and the -credulity of those who thought themselves very polite in securing her -favour. - -"Lord Halifax was one of this number; his ambition was unbounded, and he -aimed at no less than the Treasurer's staff, and thought himself in a -fine road for it by furnishing Madame Kielmansegg both with money and a -lover. Mr. Methuen was the man he picked out for that purpose. He was -one of the Lords of the Treasury; he was handsome and well-made; he had -wit enough to be able to affect any part he pleased and a romantic turn -in his conversation that could entertain a lady with as many adventures -as Othello,--and it is no ill way of gaining Desdemonas. Women are very -apt to take their lovers' characters from their own mouths; and if you -will believe Mr. Methuen's account of himself, neither Artamenes nor -Oroondates ever had more valour, honour, constancy, and discretion. Half -of these bright qualities were enough to charm Madame Kielmansegg, and -they were soon in the strictest familiarity, which continued for -different reasons, to the pleasure of both parties, till the arrival of -Mademoiselle Schulenburg, which was hastened by the German ministers, -who envied the money accumulated by Madame Kielmansegg, which they -longed to turn into another channel, which they thought would be more -easily drawn into their own hands. They took care to inform Mademoiselle -Schulenburg of the fond reception all the Germans met with in England, -and gave her a view of the immense fortune that waited her here. This -was enough to cure her fears, and she arrived accompanied by a young -niece who had already made some noise at Hanover. She had projected the -conquest of the Prince of Wales, and had so far succeeded as to obtain -his favours for some months, but the Princess, who dreaded a rival to -her power, soon put an end to the correspondence, and she was no longer -possessed of his good graces when she came hither. - -"I have not yet given the character of the Prince. The fire of his -temper appeared in every look and gesture; which, being unhappily under -the direction of a small understanding, was every day throwing him upon -some indiscretion. He was naturally sincere, and his pride told him that -he was placed above constraint; not reflecting that a high rank carries -along with it a necessity if a more decent and regular behaviour than is -expected from those who are not set in so conspicuous a light. He was -far from being of that opinion, that he looked on all men and women he -saw as creatures he might kick or kiss for his diversion; and whenever -he met with any opposition in those designs, he thought his opposers -insolent rebels to the will of God, who created them for his use, and -judged of the merit of all people by their submission to his orders, or -the relation they had to his power. And in this view, he looked upon the -Princess, as the most meritorious of her sex; and she took care to keep -him in that sentiment by all the arts she was mistress of. He had -married her by inclination; his good-natured father had been so -complaisant as to let him choose a wife for himself. She was of the -house of Anspach, and brought him no great addition either of money or -alliance; but was at that time esteemed a German beauty, and had genius -which qualified her for the government of a fool; and made her -despicable in the eyes of men of sense; I mean a low cunning, which gave -her an inclination to cheat all the people she conversed with, and often -cheated herself in the first place, by showing her the wrong side of her -interest, not having understanding enough to observe that falsehood in -conversation, like red on the face, should be used very seldom, and very -sparingly, or they destroy that interest and beauty which they are -designed to heighten. - -"Her first thought on her marriage was to secure to herself the sole and -whole direction of her spouse; and to that purpose she counterfeited the -most extravagant fondness for his person; yet, at the same time, so -devoted to his pleasures (which she often told him were the rule of all -her thoughts and actions), that whenever he thought proper to find them -with other women, she even loved whoever was instrumental to his -entertainment, and never resented anything but what appeared to her a -want of respect for him; and in this light she really could not help -taking notice that the presents made to her on her wedding were not -worthy of his bride, and at least she ought to have had all his mother's -jewels. This was enough to make him lose all respect for his indulgent -father. He downright abused his ministers, and talked impertinently to -his old grandmother the Princess Sophia, which ended in such a coldness -towards all his family as left him entirely under the government of his -wife. - -"The indolent Elector contented himself with showing his resentment by -his silence towards him; and this was the situation the family first -appeared in when they came into England. This behaviour did not, -however, hinder schemes being laid by various persons of gratifying -their ambition, or making their fortunes, by particular attachments to -each of the Royal Family." - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -AT HERRENHAUSEN AND ST. JAMES (1714-1716) - -The Elector George Lewis not delighted at his accession to the British -throne--A greater man in Hanover than in London--Lady Mary modifies her -first impression of the King--She is in high favour at Court--An amusing -incident at St. James's--The early unpopularity of George I in England -generally, and especially in the capital--The Hanoverians in the Royal -Household--The Duchess of Kendal--The Countess of Darlington--Lady -Mary's description of the Hanoverian ladies--The Duchess of Kendal's -passion for money--Her influence with the King in political matters--Count -de Broglie--The scandal about Lady Darlington refuted--Lady Mary and the -Prince of Wales--The King and the Prince of Wales--The poets and wits of -the day--Gay's tribute to Lady Mary--Pope's verses on her--"Court Poems." - - -It is beyond question that the accession to the British throne gave no -thrill of pleasure to the King. He was fifty-four years of age, and had -no desire to change his state. It was necessary for him, as the present -writer has said elsewhere, now to go from a country where he was -absolute, to another where, so far from being supreme, when King and -people differed on a matter of vital importance, the monarch had to give -way--the price of resistance having been fixed, at worst at death, at -best exile or civil war. He had to go from a country where he was the -wealthiest and most important personage to another where he would be -merely regarded as a minor German princeling set up as a figurehead, and -where many of the gentry were wealthier than he. This point was -appreciated by Lady Mary when she went to Hanover in November, 1716, for -she wrote from there to the Countess of Bristol: "I have now made the -tour of Germany, and cannot help observing difference between -travelling here and in England. One sees none of those fine seats of -noblemen that are so common among us, nor anything like a country -gentleman's house, though they have many situations perfectly fine. But -the whole people are divided into absolute sovereignties, where all the -riches and magnificence are at Court, or communities of merchants, such -as Nuremberg and Frankfort, where they live always in town for the -convenience of trade." - -Worse than all George must set forth by no means sure of his reception, -and with no love, nor even liking, for the people over whom he was -called to reign. That he did go at all is greatly to his credit, for he -was doubtful if he would be allowed to remain, and he never revisited -Hanover without some suspicion that he might not be able to return to -England. He would have been a much happier man if he could have remained -at his beloved Herrenhausen. He never felt he owed Britain anything, and -indeed he did not: the throne had been settled on his mother, not for -love of her, but simply because she was the only alternative to the -succession of the dreaded Roman Catholic heirs. So George came as a -visitor, rather submitting to be King of England, than anxious for the -honour, prepared to be forced by circumstances to return, little -dreaming that two hundred years later his descendants would be firmly -seated upon his throne. - -It may be mentioned that Lady Mary, as she became better acquainted with -the King, grew to like him. In the letter from Hanover just quoted, she -says: "His Majesty dines and sups constantly in public. The Court is -very numerous, and his affability and goodness make it one of the most -agreeable places in the world to me." The King was indeed at his best -when in residence at Herrenhausen. Lord Peterborough said that George -was so happy there that he believed he had forgot _the accident that -occurred to him and his family on the 1st of August_, 1714. - -It may be that, the King having taken a great fancy to Lady Mary, -modified that lady's earlier impression. When she and her husband went -to Hanover, the King, as she mentioned in one of her letters to Lady -Bristol, "has had the goodness to appoint us a lodging in one part of -the Palace, without which we should be very ill accommodated; for the -vast number of English crowds the town so much, it is very good luck to -be able to get one sorry room in a miserable tavern. I dined to-day with -the Portuguese ambassador, who thinks himself very happy to have two -wretched parlours in an inn." - -Lady Mary was, indeed, in high favour at the Courts of Hanover and St. -James's. "Mr. Wortley and his lady are here," the British Minister at -Hanover, John Clavering, wrote in December, 1716, to Lady Cowper. "They -were so very impatient to see his Majesty that they travelled night and -day from Vienna here. Her Ladyship is mighty gay and airy, and occasions -a great deal of discourse. Since her arrival the King has took but -little notice of any other lady, not even of Madame Kielmansegg, which -the ladies of Hanover don't relish very much; for my part, I can't help -rejoicing to see his Majesty prefer us to the Germans." - -It was evidently before that the following incident occurred. Lady Mary -often went to St. James's, but, as it was very dull there, was often -glad to go instead to some less august and more amusing assembly. One -evening Lady Mary particularly desired to leave early, and induced the -Duchess of Kendal to persuade the King to dismiss her. The King -reluctantly acquiesced, though, when Lady Mary made her bow, he declared -it was an act of perfidy to run away, but, in spite of that and other -complimentary remarks, she at last contrived to make her escape. - -At the foot of the staircase she met Mr. Secretary Craggs, who, seeing -her leave so early, enquired if the King had retired, but she reassured -him on that point, and dwelt complacently on the King's reluctance to -let her go. Craggs made no remark, but took her in his arms, ran -upstairs, and deposited her in the ante-chamber, whereupon the pages at -once threw open the doors leading to the King's apartment. - -"_Ah! la re-voila_," cried his Majesty and the Duchess of Kendal, and -expressed their pleasure that she had changed her mind, but Lady Mary -was so flustered that, instead of maintaining a discreet silence she -burst out, "Oh, Lord, Sir, I have been so frightened!" and related her -adventure. - -She had scarcely finished relating her adventure, when the door was -thrown open, and Mr. Secretary Craggs was announced. He entered calmly, -and made his bow as if nothing had happened, but the King strode up to -him, and said angrily: "_Mais, comment, donc, Monsieur Craggs, est ce -que c'est l'usage de ce pays de porter des belles dames comme un sac de -froment_?" ("Is it the custom of this country to carry about fair ladies -as if they were a sack of wheat?") The culprit was dumbfounded by the -unexpected attack, and glanced reproachfully at Lady Mary for having -betrayed him, but, soon finding his wits, parried with, "There is -nothing I would not do for your Majesty's satisfaction." - -One of the reasons for the early unpopularity of George I was that he -brought with him a large suite from Hanover. - -The household that accompanied him numbered sixty-three. There was Baron -von Kielmansegg, who was Master of the Horse; Count von Platen, son of -the late Prime Minister of Hanover; and Baron von Hardenburg, Marshal of -the Court. With them came the Lutheran clergyman, Braun; a group of -physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries; five body-servants, including -the Turks, Mahomet and Mustapha; four pages, two trumpeters, a carver, -twelve footmen, eighteen cooks, three cellarmen, two housemaids, and one -washerwoman. It may be mentioned that in 1696 there were only two -washerwomen for the three hundred and seven persons, exclusive of -royalty, that at this date made up the Court of Hanover. - -The political staff that came included twenty-three persons. Baron von -Bothmer was already in England. Now arrived Baron von Bernstorff, Prime -Minister of Hanover; Baron von Schlitz-Goertz, Hanoverian Finance -Minister; Baron von Hattorf, Hanoverian Minister of War; and John -Robethon. - -To these men, who advised the King in his capacity of Elector of -Hanover, there would have been no objection had they confined their -energies to administering that country. This, unfortunately, was not the -case. Some of them, at least, notably Bernstorff and Robethon, meddled -in English politics, and most of them desired high office, lucrative -appointments, peerages, and other grants. It is certain that they must -have known that they were barred from such delights by an Act of 1700 -which carefully guarded against foreigners acquiring any share in the -government of this country. Nothing, in fact, could be more definite -than clause three of the "Act for the further limitation of the Crown": -"No person born out of the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, or Ireland, or -the dominions thereunto belonging (although he be naturalised or made a -denizen, except such as are born of English parents)," so runs clause -three of the above-mentioned Act, "shall be capable of the Privy -Council, or a Member of either House of Parliament, or to enjoy any -office or place of trust, either civil or military, or to have any grant -of lands, tenements, or hereditaments from the Crown to himself or to -any other or others in trust for him." Still, Acts of Parliament have -been repealed, and the invaders may well have hoped that, with the -King's support, their influence might increase until they were strong -enough to have the clause revoked. - -As a matter of fact, nothing of the kind happened, and no Hanoverian -statesman or court officer was appointed to any place of profit under -the Crown or rewarded for his services in the Electorate by the grant of -a British peerage. It may be noted that the Hanoverian officials, fond -as all Germans were and are of wordy distinctions, styled themselves -"Koenigliche-Gross-britannische-Kurfuerstlich-Braunschweig-Lueneburgische" -(Royal-British-Electoral-Brunswick-Luenburg) councillors or magistrates. - -The Hanoverians who were on the political side or held posts in the -Household might, by the exercise of a little tact, have lived down an -unpopularity that was the result of circumstances rather than arising -from any personal animosity. That they did not do so may be ascribed -partly, anyhow, to their own fault. - -On the other hand, nothing probably would have overcome the prejudice -against the ladies who followed George to this country. These were the -Countess Ehrengard Melusina von der Schulenburg, who, in 1716, was -created Duchess of Munster in the Irish peerage, and three years after -Duchess of Kendal, by which latter title she is more generally known, -and the Baroness von Kielmansegg (_nee_ Platen), who was presently -elevated to the dignity of Countess of Darlington. It was generally -assured that these ladies were the King's mistresses, and they were -accordingly disliked not only at Court but also by the mob. One of them -when driving in London was assailed by terms of abuse--as she understood -scarcely any English, she could only go by the tone of the voices--and -putting her head out of the coach said: "Good people, why abuse us? We -come for all your goods." "Yes, damn you," cried someone, "and for our -chattels, too." The man in the crowd only voiced the general opinion, -and, it must be said, the general opinion was not far removed from the -truth. - -Of course, the Jacobites made the most of this, and, as Horace Walpole -has related, "the seraglio was food for all the venom of the Jacobites, -and, indeed, nothing could be grosser that was vomited out in lampoons, -libels, and every channel of abuse against the Sovereign and the new -Court and chanted even in their hearing in the public streets." - -It is mentioned in _Walpoliana_ that "this couple of rabbits, the -favourites, as they were called, occasioned much jocularity on their -first importation." Some of the jocularity was aroused by their -appearance. The style of beauty, or what passed for beauty, in each -country was markedly different. Hear Lady Mary Wortley Montagu writing -from Hanover in December, 1716: "I have now got into the regions of -beauty," she told Lady Rich. "All the women have literally rosy cheeks, -snowy foreheads and bosoms, jet eye-brows, and scarlet lips, to which -they generally add coal-black hair. These perfections never leave them -till the hour of their death, and have a very fine effect by candle-light, -but I could wish they were handsome with a little more variety. They -resemble one another as much as Mrs. Salmon's Court of Great Britain, -and are in much danger of melting away by too near approaching the fire -which they for that reason carefully avoid, though it is now such -excessively cold weather, that I believe they suffer extremely by that -piece of self-denial." - -The Duchess of Kendal at the time of the accession of George I was -forty-seven years of age. The King's mother, the Electress Sophia, had -commented on her to Mrs. Howard: "Look at that mawkin, and think of her -being my son's passion." If a family portrait, now in the possession of -Count Werner Schulenburg, may be trusted, she was what is called "a fine -figure of a woman"; she had blue eyes and fair hair. She was so tall -that she was nicknamed in England "the May-pole." She was certainly -determined to make the most of her opportunities, and the more eager -because at the beginning of the reign she was very doubtful whether -George I would not have hurriedly to retire to Hanover for good and all. -So doubtful of the likelihood of the duration of the Hanoverian line in -this country was she that at first she declined to accompany the -Elector, and she only changed her mind when she found the Baroness von -Kielmansegg had decided to go to England. She was in high favour with -George, and took every advantage of her influence. She left an immense -fortune, which was acquired in ways into which an eulogistic biographer -of the lady would not enquire. Certainly, she received for her good -offices large sums of money from the promoters of the South Sea Act, she -accepted bribes to secure peerages, and, it is said on the authority of -Sir Robert Walpole, that Bolingbroke presented her with L11,000 to -endeavour to secure his restoration to the royal favour. It may be -remarked, _en passant_, that Spence records that Lady Mary Wortley -Montagu said to him: "I would never be acquainted with Lord Bolingbroke, -because I always looked upon him as a vile man." - -Duchess of Kendal was not content with indulging her passion for money; -she, in matters of politics, acted as the hidden hand behind the -throne--any services that she rendered were, it is certain, adequately -remunerated. Her ascendancy over the King was unquestionable, and -Walpole was compelled to admit that she "was in effect as much Queen of -England as ever any was, that he did everything by her." She not only -used her power in connection with home affairs, but also in matters of -foreign policy, and the Count de Broglie, French Minister of the Court -of St. James, was urgent in his endeavours to secure her support. - -"As the Duchess of Kendal seemed to express a wish to see me often, I -have been very attentive to her, being convinced that it is highly -essential to the advantage of your Majesty's service to be on good terms -with her, for she is closely united with the three ministers who now -govern," the Count wrote to Louis XV on July 6, 1724, and four days -later returned to the subject: "The more I consider state affairs, the -more I am convinced that the Government is entirely in the hands of Mr. -Walpole, Lord Townshend, and the Duchess of Newcastle, who are on the -best terms with the Duchess of Kendal. The King visits her every -afternoon from five till eight, and it is there that she endeavours to -penetrate the sentiments of his Britannic majesty for the purpose of -consulting the three ministers, and pursuing the measures which may be -thought necessary for accomplishing their designs. She sent me word that -she was desirous of my friendship, and that I should place confidence in -her. I assured her that I would do everything in my power to merit her -esteem and friendship. I am convinced that she may be advantageously -employed in promoting your Majesty's service, and that it will be -necessary to employ her, though I will not trust her further than is -absolutely necessary." To these letters Louis replied on July 18: "There -is no doubt that the Duchess of Kendal, having a great ascendancy over -the King of Great Britain, and maintaining strict union with his -ministers, must materially influence their principal resolutions. You -will neglect nothing to acquire a share of her confidence, from a -conviction that nothing can be more conducive to my interests. There is, -however, a manner of giving additional value to the marks of confidence -you bestow on her in private, by avoiding in public all appearances -which might seem too pointed, by which means you will avoid falling into -the inconvenience of being suspected by those who are not friendly to -the Duchess, at the same time that a kind of mysteriousness in public on -the subject of your confidence, will give rise to a firm belief of your -having formed a friendship mutually sincere." - -The case of Lady Darlington was different. It was assured generally that -she, too, was a mistress of the King, a view that Lady Mary Wortley -Montagu accepted, and one which was endorsed by the historians and -biographers for more than a century. The first English writer to -discover the truth was Carlyle, who in his _Life of Frederick the Great_ -said: "Miss Kielmansegg, Countess of Darlington, was, and is, believed -by the gossiping English to have been a second simultaneous Mistress of -His Majesty's, but seems after all to have been his Half-Sister and -nothing more." She was, in fact, a daughter of the Countess of Platen -(_nee_ Clara Elizabeth von Meysenbach), not, indeed, by that lady's -husband, but by Ernest Augustus, Duke (afterwards Elector) of Hanover, -the father of George I. Only Lady Cowper seems to have known this, and -to have accepted it as a fact. Yet there was no secrecy concerning the -paternity of the Countess, and it was, of course, well-known in the -German Courts. Further, it was overlooked that in the patent of nobility -in 1721 there is a reference to the royal blood of the recipient of the -title, and actually the patent, in addition to the Great Seal, had a -miniature of the King and the arms of the houses of Platen, Kielmansegg, -and Great Britain (Brunswick-Lueneburg) with the bar-sinister.[2] - -[Footnote 2: Refutation of the scandal is to be found in a work -published in Hanover in 1902: "_Briefe des Hertzogs Ernst August zu -Braun schweig-Lueneburg an Johann Franz Diedrich von Wendt aus dem Jahren -1705 bis 1726_," edited by Erich Graf Kielmansegg.] - -All this at this time must have been very distressing to Lady Darlington, -for she was very careful of her reputation, as the following amusing -incident, given in Lady Cowper's Diary (February 4, 1716) indicates: -"Madame Kielmansegg had been told that the Prince, afterwards George II, -had said that she intrigued with all the men at Hanover. She came to -complain of this to the Princess, who replied, she did not believe the -Prince had said so, it not being his custom to speak in that manner. -Madame Kielmansegg cried and said it had made her despised, and that -many of her acquaintance had left her upon that story, but that her -husband had taken all the care she could to vindicate her reputation, -and thereupon she drew forth a certificate under her husband's hand, in -which he certified, in all the due forms, that she had always been a -faithful wife to him, and that he had never had any cause to suspect her -honesty. The Princess smiled, and said she did not doubt it at all, and -that all the trouble was very unnecessary, and that it was a very bad -reputation that wanted such a support." - -In appearance, Lady Darlington was a contrast to the Duchess of Kendal. -She was in her youth a good-looking woman, but as the years passed she -became immensely corpulent, and Horace Walpole, who saw her at his -mother's when he was a child, thus described her: "Two fierce black -eyes, large and rolling between two lofty arched eye-brows, two acres of -cheeks spread with crimson, an ocean of neck that overflowed, and was -not distinguished from the lower part of her body, and no part -restrained by stays." He christened her "Elephant and Castle." - -For a while, Lady Mary was popular also with the Prince of Wales, who -was attracted by her looks and her vivacity. It is recorded that on one -occasion when Lady Mary appeared in a gown more than usually becoming -the Prince called his wife from the card table to admire her. The -Princess came, looked, and then said calmly, "Lady Mary always dresses -so well," and went on with her game. - -It was impossible, however, even for the most tactful person in the -world to be on good terms with the King and the Prince of Wales. It is -said of George I that he was of an affectionate disposition and that -throughout his life he hated only three people in the world: his mother, -who was dead, his wife, who was imprisoned at Ahlden, and his son. It -has been said that the trouble began when in his early youth the Prince -expressed sympathy with his mother; it may be that it started from the -fact that the Prince was the son of a woman who had sullied the honour -of the Royal House. It is, however, unnecessary to look for reasons; to -hate the heir-apparent was a tradition with the Georges. - -Matters did not improve after the accession of George I to the British -throne. He disliked his daughter-in-law, Caroline, daughter of John -Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Anspach, and spoke of her as "_Cette -diablesse Madame la Princesse."_ The opposition was not slow to take -advantage of the rift, and planted itself on the side of his Royal -Highness. It proposed, on the Civil List vote, a separate revenue of -L100,000 for the Prince--which infuriated the King, as it was intended -to do. - -In 1716 George was anxious to visit his beloved Hanover, but he was torn -between the desire to do so and the dislike to leave his son in England -as Regent during his absence. Indeed, he almost decided not to go, -unless he could join others with the Prince in the administration and -limit his authority by the most rigorous restriction. To this, however, -the Government could not consent, and Townshend stated that "on a -careful persual of precedents, finding no instance of persons being -joined in commission with the Prince of Wales, and few, if any, -restrictions, they were of opinion that the constant tenour of ancient -practice could not conveniently be receded from." - -Lady Mary, like the rest of the world, found the Court dull, and she -much preferred to spend her time in the more congenial society of men of -letters. Addison, she knew, and Steele, and Arbuthnot, and Jervas, and -Gay, who presently paid her a pretty compliment in _Mr. Pope's Welcome -from Greece,_ wherein he inserted tributes to the ladies of the Court: - - "What lady's that to whom he gently bends? - Who knows her not? Ah, those are Wortley's eyes. - How art thou honour'd, number'd with her friends; - For she distinguishes the good and wise." - -Pope, too, wrote of her with appreciation: - - TO LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGU - - I - - In beauty or wit, - No mortal as yet - To question your empire has dared. - But men of discerning - Have thought that in learning, - To yield to a lady was hard. - - II - - Impertinent schools, - With musty dull rules, - Have reading to females denied; - So Papists refuse - The Bible to use - Lest flocks should be wise as their guides. - - III - - Twas woman at first - (Indeed she was curst) - In knowledge that tasted delight, - And sages agree - The laws should decree - To the first possessor the right. - - IV - - Then bravely, fair dame, - Resume the old claim, - Which to your whole sex does belong; - And let men receive - From a second bright Eve - The knowledge of right and of wrong. - - V - - But if the first Eve - Hard doom did receive, - When only one apple had she, - What a punishment new - Shall be found out for you, - Who tasting, have robb'd the whole tree! - -The acquaintance with Pope began shortly after Lady Mary came to town in -the autumn of 1714. It soon developed into friendship. "Lady Mary -Wortley," Jervas wrote to the poet, probably in 1715 or early in the -following year, "ordered me by express this morning, _cedente Gayo et -ridente Fortescuvio_, to send you a letter, or some other proper notice, -to come to her on Thursday about five, which I suppose she meant in the -evening." - -There appeared in March, 1716, a volume bearing the title _Court Poems_, -the authorship being attributed to "A Lady of Quality," who, it soon -became known, was Lady Mary. The book was issued by Roberts, who had -received the three sets of verses contained in it from the notorious -piratical publisher, Edmund Curll. How the manuscript "fell" into the -hands of Curll it is not easy to imagine. Curll's account is that they -were found in a pocket-book taken up in Westminster Hall on the last day -of the trial of the Jacobite Lord Winton. Anyhow, however it came about, -the volume was published in 1716, when it was found to contain "The -Basset Table," "The Drawing Room," and "The Toilet." - -Curll was an excellent publicity agent for his wares. He wrote, or -caused to be written, a most intriguing "advertisement" about the -authorship of the poems: - - -"Upon reading them over at St. James' Coffee House, they were attributed -by the general voice to be the productions of a lady of quality. When I -produced them at Button's, the poetical jury there brought in a -different verdict; and the foreman strenuously insisted upon it that Mr. -Gay was the man. Not content with these two decisions, I was resolved to -call in an umpire, and accordingly chose a gentleman of distinguished -merit, who lives not far from Chelsea. I sent him the papers, which he -returned next day, with this answer: "Sir, depend upon it these lines -could come from no other hand than the judicious translator of Homer." -Thus, having impartially given the sentiments of the Town, I hope I may -deserve thanks for the pains I have taken in endeavouring to find out -the author of these valuable performances, and everybody is at liberty -to bestow the laurel as they please." - - -Pope was furious, and there is a story that he invited Curll to drink -wine with him at a coffee-house, and put in his glass some poison that -acted as an emetic. What is certain is that the poet wrote a pamphlet -with the title, "A full and true Account of a horrid and barbarous -Revenge by Poison on the body of Edmund Curll." - -The three pieces in _Court Poems_ were claimed by Lady Mary as her own, -but this claim was disputed. Pope declared himself the author of "The -Basset Table," and it was printed among his works, and he asserted that -"'The Toilet' is almost wholly Gay's," there being "only five or six -lines in it by that lady." "The Toilet" is included in his collected -edition of Gay's poems. - -The whole matter is best explained by that sound student of the -eighteenth century, "George Paston," who suggests that the truth seems -to be that the verses were handed round in manuscript to be read and -corrected by the writer's literary friends, and therefore they owe -something to the different hands. "George Paston" goes on to say: "Lady -Mary was not unaware of the danger of this proceeding, for Richardson -the painter relates that on one occasion she showed Pope a copy of her -verses in which she intended to make some trifling alterations, but -refused his help, saying, 'No, Pope, no touching, for then whatever is -good for anything will pass for yours, and the rest for mine.'" - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE EMBASSY TO THE PORTE--I (1716) - -Montagu loses his place at the Treasury--His antagonism against -Walpole--Lady Mary, "Dolly" Walpole, and Molly Skerritt--The Earl and -Countess of Mar leave England--Montagu appointed Ambassador to the -Porte--Leaves England for Constantinople, accompanied by his -wife--Letters during the Embassy to Constantinople--Rotterdam--Vienna-- -Lady Mary at Court--Her gown--Her interest in clothes--Viennese -society--Gallantry--Lady Mary's experience--Count Tarrocco--Precedence -at Vienna--A nunnery--The Montagus visit the German Courts--A dangerous -drive--Prince Frederick (afterwards Prince of Wales)--Herrenhausen. - - -Edward Wortley Montagu did not long hold office. Lord Halifax, First -Lord of the Treasury in the Townshend Administration, died in May, 1715, -when his place was taken by Lord Carlisle, who, however, held it only -until the following October. Carlisle was succeeded by Sir Robert -Walpole, promoted from the less important but far more lucrative post of -Paymaster-General. In the new Commission of the Treasury Montagu's name -did not appear. Why Montagu was removed has not transpired; it may, -indeed, be that he resigned, for he had a strong dislike for the new -Minister. There may also have been some family sentiment in the matter, -for while Lady Mary was an intimate friend of Walpole's harum-scarum -sister, "Dolly," who was now Lady Townshend, Lady Walpole was very -decidedly her enemy. Lady Mary presently had her tit-for-tat with Lady -Walpole by "taking up" Walpole's mistress, Molly Skerritt. - -It may be here mentioned that Lady Mar was at this time living with her -husband at Paris, at St. Germain, and that she remained abroad for the -rest of her life. She had left England owing to the conduct of Lord Mar -in taking an active part in the rebellion of '15. He had set up the -Pretender's standard at Braemar, had suffered defeat at Sheriffmuir, and -had been so fortunate as to escape with his master to Gravelines. In -gratitude for his services, the Pretender created Lord Mar a Duke. Mar -lived until 1732, dying at the age of fifty-seven, and he spent the -years in losing the confidence of the Jacobites and endeavouring to -ingratiate himself with the Hanoverian Kings of England--in which latter -quest he was markedly unsuccessful. His Scotch estates were confiscated, -and his title attained--the attainder of the earldom was not reversed -until 1824. - -Montagu, having tasted the sweets of office, even so minor a place as -that of a Lord of the Treasury, was not content to enjoy such pleasures -as a private life could afford. He desired to be somebody. Probably he -worried the Government of the day, possibly he pointed out to the -leaders of the Whig Party that he was possessed of parts that should -not, in justice to his country, be ignored. He may even have approached -the Throne. It is not inconceivable that he made himself a nuisance to -all concerned. - -Anyhow, it was ultimately decided that something must be done with him. -But what? Austria and Turkey were at war in 1716; what better than to -send Montagu as Ambassador to the Porte, with a mission to endeavour to -reconcile the protagonists? He was appointed to this post on June 5. - -It was while accompanying her husband on this mission that Lady Mary -wrote her famous "Letters during the Embassy to Constantinople," which -constitute a very important document on the state of Europe at the time. -It is by no means certain, however, that, in the first instance, these -reflections were all cast in letter-form; it is much more likely that -some were written in a diary. The letters appear as addressed to the -Countess of Bristol, to the Princess of Wales, to Mrs. Thistlethwayte, -to Lady Rich, to Alexander Pope, to the Abbe Conti, to Miss Sarah -Chiswell, to Mrs. Hewet, to Lady Mary's sister, the Countess of Mar, and -others. - -At the beginning of August, 1716, Montagu, with his wife and son, and, -it is to be presumed, his suite, left England, and, after a very bad -crossing, landed at Rotterdam. From that city, the cleanliness of which -surprised and delighted Lady Mary--"you may see the Dutch maids washing -the pavement of the street with more application than ours do our -bed-chambers"--the party proceeded by way of the Hague, Nimeguen, -Cologne, Frankfort-on-the-Main, Wurzberg, and Ratisbon to Vienna, where -they arrived during the first week in September. - -Lady Mary was all impatient to go to Court, for, as she put it, "I am -not without a great impatience to see a beauty that has been the -admiration of so many nations," but she was forced to stay for a gown, -without which there was no waiting on the Empress. Presently the gown -was ready, and Lady Mary was presented. - - -"I was squeezed up in a gown" (she wrote to her sister, Lady Mar), "and -adorned with a gorget and the other implements thereunto belonging: a -dress very inconvenient, but which certainly shews the neck and shape to -great advantage. I cannot forbear in this place giving you some -description of the fashions here which are more monstrous and contrary -to all common sense and reason, than 'tis possible for you to imagine. -They build certain fabrics of gauze on their heads about a yard high, -consisting of three or four stories fortified with numberless yards of -heavy ribbon. The foundation of this structure is a thing they call a -_Bourle_ which is exactly of the same shape and kind, but about four -times as big, as those rolls our prudent milk-maids make use of to fix -their pails upon. This machine they cover with their own hair, which -they mix with a great deal of false, it being a particular beauty to -have their heads too large to go into a moderate tub. Their hair is -prodigiously powdered, to conceal the mixture, and set out with three or -four rows of bodkins (wonderfully large, that stick [out] two or three -inches from their hair), made of diamonds, pearls, red, green, and -yellow stones, that it certainly requires as much art and experience to -carry the load upright, as to dance upon May-day with the garland. Their -whalebone petticoats outdo ours by several yards circumference, and -cover some acres of ground. - -"You may easily suppose how much this extraordinary dress sets off and -improves the natural ugliness with which God Almighty has been pleased -to endow them all generally. Even the lovely Empress herself is obliged -to comply, in some degree, with these absurd fashions, which they would -not quit for all the world." - - -The above passage is the more interesting because it has so often been -asserted that Lady Mary took no interest in dress. As a matter of fact, -however, there are several indications in her letters that she thought a -good deal about clothes. - -"My little commission is hardly worth speaking of; if you have not -already laid out that small sum in St. Cloud ware, I had rather have it -in plain lutestring of any colour," she wrote in June, 1721, to her -sister, Lady Mar, at Paris. - -"I would have no black silk, having bought here," she said on another -occasion; and again, "My paper is done, and I will only put you in mind -of my lutestring, which I beg you will send me plain, of what colour you -please." "Dear Sister, adieu," she wrote in 1723. "I have been very free -in this letter, because I think I am sure of its going safe. I wish my -nightgown may do the same: I only choose that as most convenient to you; -but if it was equally so, I had rather the money was laid out in plain -lutestring, if you could send me eight yards at a time of different -colours, designing it for linings; but if this scheme is impracticable, -send me a nightgown _a la mode_." - -Apparently Lady Mar was careless or forgetful of the commission, for a -little later Lady Mary was writing pathetically: "I wish you would think -of my lutestring, for I am in terrible want of linings." - -The account of the Austrian Court of the day, as given by Lady Mary, is -invaluable, for there is no other available written by an English person -accustomed to another Court. - -Lady Mary's descriptions of Viennese society are also delightful, and if -she wrote of the royal circle with respect, she bubbled over with -merriment when writing of folk less highly placed. A letter of hers to -Lady Rich is too delicious to be omitted. - - -"I have compassion for the mortifications that you tell me befall our -little friend, and I pity her much more, since I know that they are only -owing to the barbarous customs of our country. Upon my word, if she was -here, she would have no other fault but being something too young for -the fashion, and she has nothing to do but to transplant hither about -seven years hence, to be again a young and blooming beauty. I can assure -you that wrinkles, or a small stoop in the shoulders, nay, even grey -hair itself, is no objection to the making new conquests. I know you -cannot easily figure to yourself a young fellow of five-and-twenty -ogling my Lady Suffolk with passion, or pressing to lead the Countess of -Oxford from an opera. But such are the sights I see every day, and I -don't perceive any body surprised at them but myself. A woman, till -five-and-thirty, is only looked upon as a raw girl, and can possibly -make no noise in the world till about forty. I don't know what your -ladyship may think of this matter; but 'tis a considerable comfort to -me, to know there is upon earth such a paradise for old women; and I am -content to be insignificant at present, in the design of returning when -I am fit to appear nowhere else. I cannot help lamenting upon this -occasion, the pitiful case of too many good English ladies, long since -retired to prudery and ratafia, whom if their stars had luckily -conducted hither, would still shine in the first rank of beauties; and -then that perplexing word reputation has quite another meaning here than -what you give it at London; and getting a lover is so far from losing, -that 'tis properly getting reputation; ladies being much more -respected in regard to the rank of their lovers, than that of their -husbands. - -"But what you'll think very odd, the two sects that divide our whole -nation of petticoats, are utterly unknown. Here are neither coquettes -nor prudes. No woman dares appear coquette enough to encourage two -lovers at a time. And I have not seen any such prudes as to pretend -fidelity to their husbands, who are certainly the best-natured set of -people in the world, and they look upon their wives' gallants as -favourably as men do upon their deputies, that take the troublesome part -of their business off of their hands; though they have not the less to -do; for they are generally deputies in another place themselves; in one -word, 'tis the established custom for every lady to have two husbands, -one that bears the name, and another that performs the duties. And these -engagements are so well known, that it would be a downright affront, and -publicly resented, if you invited a woman of quality to dinner, without -at the same time inviting her two attendants of lover and husband, -between whom she always sits in state with great gravity. These -sub-marriages generally last twenty years together, and the lady often -commands the poor lover's estate even to the utter ruin of his family; -though they are as seldom begun by any passion as other matches. But a -man makes but an ill figure who is not in some commerce of this nature; -and a woman looks out for a lover as soon as she's married, as part of -her equipage, without which she could not be genteel; and the first -article of the treaty is establishing the pension, which remains to the -lady though the gallant should prove inconstant; and this chargeable -point of honour I look upon as the real foundation of so many wonderful -instances of constancy. I really know several women of the first -quality, whose pensions are as well known as their annual rents, and yet -nobody esteems them the less; on the contrary, their discretion would be -called in question, if they should be suspected to be mistresses for -nothing; and a great part of their emulation consists in trying who -shall get most; and having no intrigue at all is so far a disgrace that, -I'll assure you, a lady, who is very much my friend here, told me but -yesterday, how much I was obliged to her for justifying my conduct in a -conversation on my subject, where it was publicly asserted that I could -not possibly have common sense, that I had been about town above a -fortnight, and had made no steps towards commencing an amour. My friend -pleaded for me that my stay was uncertain; and she believed that was the -cause of my seeming stupidity and this was all she could find to say in -my justification." - - -But Lady Mary, though only twenty-seven, and therefore, according to her -own account, much too youthful for the gallants of Vienna, yet had an -experience: - - -"But one of the pleasantest adventures I ever met in my life was last -night, and which will give you a just idea after what a delicate manner -the _belles passions_ are managed in this country. I was at the assembly -of the Countess of ----, and the young Count of ---- led me down stairs, -and he asked me how long I intended to stay here? I made answer that my -stay depended on the emperor, and it was not in my power to determine -it. Well, madam, (said he), whether your time here is to be long or -short, I think you ought to pass it agreeably, and to that end you must -engage in a little affair of the heart.--My heart (answered I gravely -enough) does not engage very easily, and I have no design of parting -with it. I see, madam, (said he sighing,) by the ill nature of that -answer, that I am not to hope for it, which is a great mortification to -me that am charmed with you. But, however, I am still devoted to your -service; and since I am not worthy of entertaining you myself, do me the -honour of letting me know whom you like best among us, and I'll engage -to manage the affair entirely to your satisfaction.--You may judge in -what manner I should have received this compliment in my own country, -but I was well enough acquainted with the way of this, to know that he -really intended me an obligation, and thanked him with a grave -courtesy for his zeal to serve me, and only assured him that I had no -occasion to make use of it. - -"Thus you see, my dear, gallantry and good-breeding are as different, in -different climates, as morality and religion. Who have the rightest -notions of both, we shall never know till the day of judgment, for which -great day of _eclaircissement_, I own there is very little impatience in -your, &c." - - -Love-making was indeed one of the principal pastimes at Vienna. There -was Count Tarrocco (who was in attendance on the Prince of Portugal), -and, as she told Lady Mar, "just such a Roman Catholic as you." "He -succeeds greatly with the devout beauties here," she went on to say; -"his first overtures in gallantry are disguised under the luscious -strains of spiritual love, that were sung formerly by the sublimely -voluptuous Fenelon and the tender Madam Guion, who turned the spirit of -carnal love to divine objects; thus the Count begins with the spirit and -ends generally with the flesh, when he makes his addresses to holy -virgins." Presently, she teased her sister about this same young man. -"Count Tarrocco is just come in," she wrote. "He is the only person I -have excepted in my general order to receive no company--I think I see -you smile--but I am not so far gone as to stand in need of absolution; -though as my heart is deceitful, and the Count very agreeable, you may -think that even though I should not want an absolution, I would -nevertheless be glad to have an indulgence.--No such thing. However, as -I am a heretic, and you no confessor, I shall make no more declarations -on this head.--The design of the Count's visit is a ball;--more -pleasure--I shall be surfeited." - -The "phlegm of the country" surprised Lady Mary, who declared that it -was not from Austria that one could write with vivacity--and by her -letters at once disproved her statement. According to her, amours and -quarrels were carried on calmly and almost good-temperedly. Strong -feelings only came into play when points of ceremony were concerned. A -man not only scorned to marry a woman of family less illustrious than -his own, but even to make love to her--"the pedigree is much more -considered by them than either the complexion or features of their -mistresses. Happy are the shes that can number among their ancestors -Counts of the Empire; they have neither occasion for beauty, money, or -good conduct to get them husbands." How far this passion for rank and -precedence went is indicated by an amusing incident related by Lady -Mary. - - -"'Tis not long since two coaches, meeting in a narrow street at night, -the ladies in them not being able to adjust the ceremonial of which -should go back, sat there with equal gallantry till two in the morning, -and were both so fully determined to die upon the spot, rather than -yield in a point of that importance, that the street would never have -been cleared till their deaths, if the emperor had not sent his guards -to part them; and even then they refused to stir, till the expedient was -found out of taking them both out in chairs exactly at the same moment; -after which it was with some difficulty the _pas_ was decided between -the two coachmen, no less tenacious of their rank than the ladies." - - -Lady Mary herself was, of course, unaffected, because, as the wife of an -ambassador, she, by their own customs, had the _pas_ before all other -ladies--to the great envy of the town. - -Lady Mary, who had had enough of solitude during her long residence in -Yorkshire, now in Vienna was determined to enjoy herself and flung -herself into all the social gaieties. She went everywhere and met -everyone. She dined at the villa of Count Schoenbrunn, the -Vice-Chancellor; she attended all the assemblies of Madame Rabutin and -the other leaders of society, and all the "gala days"; she danced; she -went to the theatre, and, then, as a contrast, to a nunnery, which left -her unhappy, as, indeed, she put on record: - - -"I was surprised to find here the only beautiful young woman I have -seen at Vienna, and not only beautiful, but genteel, witty, and -agreeable, of a great family, and who had been the admiration of the -town. I could not forbear shewing my surprise at seeing a nun like her. -She made me a thousand obliging compliments, and desired me to come -often. It will be an infinite pleasure to me, (said she, sighing,) to -see you; but I avoid, with the greatest care, seeing any of my former -acquaintance, and whenever they come to our convent, I lock myself in -my cell. I observed tears come into her eyes, which touched me -extremely, and I began to talk to her in that strain of tender pity she -inspired me with; but she would not own to me that she is not perfectly -happy. I have since endeavoured to learn the real cause of her -retirement, without being able to get any other account, but that every -body was surprised at it, and nobody guessed the reason. - -"I have been several times to see her; but it gives me too much -melancholy to see so agreeable a young creature buried alive, and I am -not surprised that nuns have so often inspired violent passions; the -pity one naturally feels for them, when they seem worthy of another -destiny, making an easy way for yet more tender sentiments; and I never -in my life had so little charity for the Roman-catholic religion as -since I see the misery it occasions; so many poor unhappy women! and the -gross superstition of the common people, who are, some or other of them, -day and night offering bits of candle to the wooden figures that are set -up almost in every street. The processions I see very often, are a -pageantry as offensive, and apparently contradictory to all common -sense, as the pagodas of China. God knows whether it be the womanly -spirit of contradiction that works in me; but there never before was so -much zeal against popery in the heart of, - -"Dear madam, &c." - - -In November the Montagus interrupted their stay at Vienna to visit some -of the German Courts. They went to Prague, where the attire of the -ladies amused Lady Mary. "I have been visited by some of the most -considerable ladies, whose relations I know at Vienna," she wrote to -Lady Mar. "They are dressed after the fashions there, as people at -Exeter imitate those of London; that is, the imitation is more excessive -than the original; 'tis not easy to describe what extraordinary figures -they make. The person is so much lost between head-dress and petticoat, -they have as much occasion to write upon their backs 'This is a woman,' -for the information of travellers, as ever sign-post painter had to -write, 'This is a bear.'" From Prague to Dresden, travelling thither by -a most alarming route: - - -"You may imagine how heartily I was tired with twenty-four hours' -post-travelling [to Dresden], without sleep or refreshment (for I can -never sleep in a coach, however fatigued). We passed by moonshine the -frightful precipices that divide Bohemia from Saxony, at the bottom of -which runs the river Elbe; but I cannot say that I had reason to fear -drowning in it, being perfectly convinced that, in case of a tumble, it -was utterly impossible to come alive to the bottom. In many places the -road is so narrow, that I could not discern an inch of space between the -wheels and the precipice. Yet I was so good a wife not to wake Mr. -Wortley, who was fast asleep by my side, to make him share in my fears, -since the danger was unavoidable, till I perceived by the bright light -of the moon, our postilions nodding on horseback, while the horses were -on a full gallop, and I thought it very convenient to call out to desire -them to look where they were going. My calling waked Mr. Wortley, and he -was much more surprised than myself at the situation we were in, and -assured me that he had passed the Alps five times in different places, -without ever having gone a road so dangerous. I have been told since it -is common to find the bodies of travellers in the Elbe; but, thank God, -that was not our destiny; and we came safe to Dresden, so much tired -with fear and fatigue, it was not possible for me to compose myself to -write." - - -From Dresden the travellers visited Leipzig, and then went to Brunswick, -and afterwards to Hanover, where they paid their respects to George I. -It was there that Lady Mary first made the acquaintance of the eldest -son of the Prince of Wales, Frederick Louis, himself presently Prince -of Wales and father of George III. He was then nine years of age. - - -"I am extremely pleased that I can tell you, without either flattery or -partiality, that our young Prince has all the accomplishments that it is -possible to have at his age, with an air of sprightliness and -understanding, and something so very engaging and easy in his behaviour, -that he needs not the advantage of his rank to appear charming. I had -the honour of a long conversation with him last night, before the King -came in. His governor retired on purpose (as he told me afterwards) that -I might make some judgment of his genius, by hearing him speak without -constraint; and I was surprised at the quickness and politeness that -appeared in every thing he said; joined to a person perfectly agreeable, -and the fine fair hair of the Princess." - - -Amazed as Lady Mary was at the size of the Palace at Hanover which, she -said, was capable of holding a greater court than that of St. James's, -and the opera-house which was larger than that at Vienna, what -principally amazed her was the orangery at Herrenhausen and what -principally delighted her was the use of stoves, then unknown in -England. - - -"I was very sorry that the ill weather did not permit me to see -Herrenhausen in all its beauty; but, in spite of the snow, I thought the -gardens very fine" (she wrote with enthusiasm to Lady Mar). "I was -particularly surprised at the vast number of orange trees, much larger -than I have ever seen in England, though this climate is certainly -colder. But I had more reason to wonder that night at the King's table. -There was brought to him from a gentleman of this country, two large -baskets full of ripe oranges and lemons of different sorts, many of -which were quite new to me; and, what I thought worth all the rest, two -ripe bananas, which, to my taste, are a fruit perfectly delicious. You -know they are naturally the growth of Brazil, and I could not imagine -how they could come there but by enchantment. Upon enquiry, I learnt -that they have brought their stoves to such perfection, they lengthen -the summer as long as they please, giving to every plant the degree of -heat it would receive from the sun in its native soil. The effect is -very near the same; I am surprised we do not practise in England so -useful an invention. - -"This reflection naturally leads me to consider our obstinacy in shaking -with cold six months in the year, rather than make use of stoves, which -are certainly one of the greatest conveniences of life; and so far from -spoiling the form of a room, they add very much to the magnificence of -it, when they are painted and gilt, as at Vienna, or at Dresden, where -they are often in the shape of china jars, statues, or fine cabinets, so -naturally represented, they are not to be distinguished. If ever I -return, in defiance to the fashion, you shall certainly see one in the -chamber of, - -"Dear sister, &c." - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE EMBASSY TO THE PORTE--II(1717-1718) - -Adrianople--Turkish baths--Lady Mary wears Turkish dress--Her -description of the costume--Her views on Turkish women--She becomes -acquainted with the practice of inoculation--Her son engrafted--Her -belief in the operation--She later introduces it into England--Dr. -Richard Mead--Richard Steele supports her campaign--Constantinople--Lady -Mary homesick--Exposes the British ignorance of Turkish life--Montagu -recalled--Addison's private letter to him--Lady Mary gives birth to a -daughter--The return journey--The Montagus at Paris--Lady Mary sees her -sister, Lady Mar. - - -The Montagus returned to Vienna for the new year (1717), but late in -January went to Peterwaradin, thence to Belgrade, and arrived at -Adrianople at the end of March. It was in Adrianople that Lady Mary made -acquaintance with the Turkish Bath, which so impressed her that she sent -home a long account of it. It was not until about 1860 that they became -popular in England, a century and a half later. - - -"I went to the bagnio about ten o'clock. It was already full of women. -It is built of stone, in the shape of a dome, with no windows but in the -roof, which gives light enough, There were five of these domes joined -together, the outmost being less than the rest, and serving only as a -hall, where the portress stood at the door. Ladies of quality generally -give this woman the value of a crown or ten shillings; and I did not -forget that ceremony. The next room is a very large one paved with -marble, and all round it, raised, two sofas of marble, one above -another. There were four fountains of cold water in this room, falling -first into marble basins, and then running on the floor in little -channels made for that purpose, which carried the streams into the next -room, something less than this, with the same sort of marble sofas but -so hot with steams of sulphur proceeding from the baths joining to it, -it was impossible to stay there with one's clothes on. The two other -domes were the hot baths, one of which had cocks of cold water turning -into it, to temper it to what degree of warmth the bathers have a mind -to. - -"I was in my travelling habit, which is a riding dress, and certainly -appeared very extraordinary to them. Yet there was not one of them that -shewed the least surprise or impertinent curiosity, but received me with -all the obliging civility possible. I know no European court where the -ladies would have behaved themselves in so polite a manner to a -stranger. I believe in the whole, there were two hundred women, and yet -none of those disdainful smiles, or satiric whispers, that never fail in -our assemblies when any body appears that is not dressed exactly in the -fashion. They repeated over and over to me, "Uzelle, pek uzelle," which -is nothing but Charming, very charming.--The first sofas were covered -with cushions and rich carpets, on which sat the ladies; and on the -second, their slaves behind them, but without any distinction of rank by -their dress, all being in the state of nature, that is, in plain -English, stark naked, without any beauty or defect concealed. Yet there -was not the least wanton smile or immodest gesture amongst them. They -walked and moved with the same majestic grace which Milton describes of -our general mother. There were many amongst them as exactly proportioned -as ever any goddess was drawn by the pencil of Guido or Titian,--and -most of their skins shiningly white, only adorned by their beautiful -hair divided into many tresses, hanging on their shoulders, braided -either with pearl or ribbon, perfectly representing the figures of the -Graces. - -"I was here convinced of the truth of a reflection I had often made, -that if it was the fashion to go naked, the face would be hardly -observed. I perceived that the ladies with the finest skins and most -delicate shapes had the greatest share of my admiration, though their -faces were sometimes less beautiful than those of their companions. To -tell you the truth, I had wickedness enough to wish secretly that Mr. -Jervas[3] could have been there invisible. I fancy it would have very -much improved his art, to see so many fine women naked, in different -postures, some in conversation, some working, others drinking coffee or -sherbet, and many negligently lying on their cushions, while their -slaves (generally pretty girls of seventeen or eighteen) were employed -in braiding their hair in several pretty fancies. In short, it is the -women's coffee-house, where all the news of the town is told, scandal -invented, &c.--They generally take this diversion once a-week, and stay -there at least four or five hours without getting cold by immediate -coming out of the hot bath into the cold room, which was very surprising -to me. The lady that seemed the most considerable among them, entreated -me to sit by her, and would fain have undressed me for the bath. I -excused myself with some difficulty. They being all so earnest in -persuading me, I was at last forced to open my shirt, and shew them my -stays; which satisfied them very well, for, I saw, they believed I was -so locked up in that machine, that it was not in my own power to open -it, which contrivance they attributed to my husband." - -[Footnote 3: Charles Jervas (1675?-1739), portrait painter and -translator of _Don Quixote_, the friend of Pope.] - - -Lady Mary was much amused by this last, and referred to the incident in -conversation with Joseph Spence. "One of the highest entertainments in -Turkey," she told him, "is having you to their baths, and when I was -introduced the lady of the house came to undress me, which is another -high compliment that they pay to strangers. After she had slipped off my -gown and seen my stays she was much struck at the sight of them and -cried out to the other ladies in the bath 'Come hither and see how -cruelly the poor English ladies are used by their husbands. You need -boast indeed of the superior liberties allowed you, when they lock you -up in a box!'" - -Lady Mary had a Turkish dress made for her, which she frequently wore, -when she found that the English costume made her unpleasantly -conspicuous. "The ladies at Constantinople used to be extremely -surprised to see me go always with my bosom uncovered," she noted. "It -was in vain that I told them that everybody did the same thing among us, -and alleged everything I could in defence of it. They could never be -reconciled to so immodest a custom, as they thought it; and one of them, -after I had been defending it to my utmost, said: 'Oh, my Sultana, you -can never defend the manners of your country, even with all your wit; -but I see that you are in pain for them, and shall, therefore, press it -no further.'" - -Lady Mary was proud of her appearance in her Turkish clothes, and has -given a minute description of them: - - -"The first piece of my dress is a pair of drawers, very full, that reach -to my shoes, and conceal the legs more modestly than your petticoats. -They are of a thin rose-coloured damask, brocaded with silver flowers, -my shoes are of white kid leather, embroidered with gold. Over this -hangs my smock, of a fine white silk gauze, edged with embroidery. This -smock has wide sleeves, hanging half way down the arm, and is closed at -the neck with a diamond button; but the shape and colour of the bosom -very well to be distinguished through it. The _antery_ is a waistcoat, -made close to the shape, of white and gold damask, with very long -sleeves falling back, and fringed with deep gold fringe, and should have -diamond or pearl buttons. My _caftan_, of the same stuff with my -drawers, is a robe exactly fitted to my shape, and reaching to my feet, -with very long strait falling sleeves. Over this is the girdle, of about -four fingers broad, which all that can afford have entirely of diamonds -or other precious stones; those who will not be at that expense, have -it of exquisite embroidery on satin; but it must be fastened before with -a clasp of diamonds. The _curdee_ is a loose robe they throw off or put -on according to the weather, being of a rich brocade (mine is green and -gold), either lined with ermine or sables; the sleeves reach very little -below the shoulders. The head-dress is composed of a cap, called -_talpock_, which is in winter of fine velvet embroidered with pearls or -diamonds, and in summer of a light shining silver stuff. This is fixed -on one side of the head, hanging a little way down with a gold tassel, -and bound on either side with a circle of diamonds (as I have seen -several) or a rich embroidered handkerchief. On the other side of the -head, the hair is laid flat; and here the ladies are at liberty to shew -their fancies; some putting flowers, others a plume of heron's feathers, -and, in short, what they please; but the most general fashion is a large -_bouquet_ of jewels, made like natural flowers; that is the buds of -pearl; the roses, of different coloured rubies; the jessamines, of -diamonds; the jonquils, of topazes, &c., so well set and enamelled, 'tis -hard to imagine any thing of that kind so beautiful. The hair hangs at -its full length behind, divided into tresses braided with pearl or -ribbon, which is always in great quantity." - - -Much that Lady Mary wrote was of great value in exploding many -ill-founded beliefs at home as regards Turkish life, and especially -concerning the manners and customs of Turkish women. - - -"As to their morality or good conduct, I can say, like Harlequin, that -'tis just as it is with you; and the Turkish ladies don't commit one sin -the less for not being Christians. Now I am a little acquainted with -their ways, I cannot forbear admiring either the exemplary discretion or -extreme stupidity of all the writers that have given accounts of them. -'Tis very easy to see they have more liberty than we have. No woman, of -what rank soever, being permitted to go into the streets without two -muslins; one that covers her face all but her eyes, and another that -hides the whole dress of her head, and hangs half way down her back, and -their shapes are wholly concealed by a thing they call a _ferigee_, -which no woman of any sort appears without; this has strait sleeves, -that reach to their finger-ends, and it laps all round them, not unlike -a riding-hood. In winter 'tis of cloth, and in summer plain stuff or -silk. You may guess how effectually this disguises them, [so] that there -is no distinguishing the great lady from her slave. 'Tis impossible for -the most jealous husband to know his wife when he meets her; and no man -dare either touch or follow a woman in the street. - -"This perpetual masquerade gives them entire liberty of following their -inclinations without danger of discovery. The most usual method of -intrigue is, to send an appointment to the lover to meet the lady at a -Jew's shop, which are as notoriously convenient as our Indian-houses; -and yet, even those who don't make use of them, do not scruple to go to -buy pennyworths, and tumble over rich goods, which are chiefly to be -found amongst that sort of people. The great ladies seldom let their -gallants know who they are; and it is so difficult to find it out, that -they can very seldom guess at her name they have corresponded with above -half a year together. You may easily imagine the number of faithful -wives very small in a country where they have nothing to fear from a -lover's indiscretion, since we see so many that have the courage to -expose themselves to that in this world, and all the threatened -punishment of the next, which is never preached to the Turkish damsels. -Neither have they much to apprehend from the resentment of their -husbands; those ladies that are rich having all their money in their own -hands, which they take with them upon a divorce, with an addition which -he is obliged to give them. - -"Upon the whole, I look upon the Turkish women as the only free people -in the empire: the very Divan pays a respect to them; and the Grand -Signior himself, when a pasha is executed, never violates the privileges -of the _harem_ (or women's apartment), which remains unsearched and -entire to the widow. They are queens of their slaves, whom the husband -has no permission so much as to look upon, except it be an old woman or -two that his lady chooses. 'Tis true their law permits them four wives; -but there is no instance of a man of quality that makes use of this -liberty, or of a woman of rank that would suffer it. When a husband -happens to be inconstant (as those things will happen), he keeps his -mistress in a house apart, and visits her as privately as he can, just -as it is with you. Amongst all the great men here, I only know the -_tefterdar_ (i.e., treasurer), that keeps a number of she slaves for his -own use (that is, on his own side of the house; for a slave once given -to serve a lady is entirely at her disposal), and he is spoken of as a -libertine, or what we should call a rake, and his wife won't see him, -though she continues to live in his house. - -"Thus, you see, dear sister, the manners of mankind do not differ so -widely as our voyage writers would make us believe. Perhaps it would be -more entertaining to add a few surprising customs of my own invention; -but nothing seems to me so agreeable as truth, and I believe nothing so -acceptable to you." - - -The most fortunate thing that happened to Lady Mary, and through her to -England, during her stay in Adrianople, was being made acquainted with -the practice of inoculation, then widely in vogue in Turkey. Though she -had no medical knowledge, she made enquiries as to its effect, and soon -became convinced that it was very highly beneficial. She was the more -interested because an attack of small-pox had somewhat dimmed her -beauty. It was to Miss Sarah Chiswell that she unburdened herself of the -discovery she had made. - - -"Those dreadful stories you have heard of the plague have very little -foundation in truth. I own I have much ado to reconcile myself to the -sound of a word which has always given me such terrible ideas, though I -am convinced there is little more in it than a fever. As a proof of -which we passed through two or three towns most violently infected. In -the very next house where we lay (in one of those places) two persons -died of it. Luckily for me, I was so well deceived that I knew nothing -of the matter; and I was made believe, that our second cook who fell ill -here had only a great cold. However, we left our doctor to take care of -him, and yesterday they both arrived here in good health; and I am now -let into the secret that he has had the _plague_. There are many that -escape it; neither is the air ever infected. I am persuaded it would be -as easy to root it out here as out of Italy and France; but it does so -little mischief, they are not very solicitous about it, and are content -to suffer this distemper instead of our variety, which they are utterly -unacquainted with. - -"_A propos_ of distempers, I am going to tell you a thing that I am sure -will make you wish yourself here. The small-pox, so fatal, and so -general amongst us, is here entirely harmless by the invention of -_ingrafting_, which is the term they give it. There is a set of old -women who make it their business to perform the operation every autumn, -in the month of September, when the great heat is abated. People send to -one another to know if any of their family has a mind to have the -small-pox; they make parties for this purpose, and when they are met -(commonly fifteen or sixteen together), the old woman comes with a -nut-shell full of the matter of the best sort of small-pox, and asks -what veins you please to have opened. She immediately rips open that you -offer to her with a large needle (which gives you no more pain than a -common scratch), and puts into the vein as much venom as can lie upon -the head of her needle, and after binds up the little wound with a -hollow bit of shell; and in this manner opens four or five veins. The -Grecians have commonly the superstition of opening one in the midde of -the forehead, in each arm, and on the breast, to mark the sign of the -cross; but this has a very ill effect, all these wounds leaving little -scars, and is not done by those that are not superstitious, who choose -to have them in the legs, or that part of the arm that is concealed. The -children or young patients play together all the rest of the day, and -are in perfect health to the eighth. Then the fever begins to seize -them, and they keep their beds two days, very seldom three. They have -very rarely above twenty or thirty in their faces, which never mark; and -in eight days' time they are as well as before their illness. Where they -are wounded, there remain running sores during the distemper, which I -don't doubt is a great relief to it. Every year thousands undergo this -operation; and the French embassador says pleasantly, that they take the -small-pox here by way of diversion, as they take the waters in other -countries. There is no example of any one that has died in it; and you -may believe I am very well satisfied of the safety of this experiment, -since I intend to try it on my dear little son. - -"I am patriot enough to take pains to bring this useful invention into -fashion in England; and I should not fail to write to some of our -doctors very particularly about it, if I knew any one of them that I -thought had virtue enough to destroy such a considerable branch of their -revenue for the good of mankind. But that distemper is too beneficial to -them not to expose to all their resentment the hardy wight that should -undertake to put an end to it. Perhaps, if I live to return, I may, -however, have courage to war with them. Upon this occasion admire the -heroism in the heart of your friend, &c." - - -The immediate history of inoculation, so far as Lady Mary is concerned, -may here briefly be given. She first heard of the practice in March, -1717, and within a year her faith in its effect was so strong that in -the spring of the following year she had her son inoculated at Pera--he -was the first English person to undergo the operation. "The boy was -engrafted last Tuesday," she wrote to her husband the following Sunday, -"and is at this time singing and playing, and very impatient for his -supper.... I cannot engraft the girl; her nurse has not had the -small-pox." It is amusing to learn that the inoculation of the young -Edward Wortley Montagu proved presently to have an advantage which was -certainly not at the time of the operation present to the mind of the -mother. At the age of six or thereabouts, the child ran away from -Westminster school--he was always running away from school--and a reward -of L20 and expenses was offered to whoever found him. The advertisement -gave the following clue: there are "two marks by which he is easily -known, _viz_., on the back of each arm, about two or three inches above -the wrist, a small roundish scar, less than a silver penny, like a large -mark of the small-pox." - -When Lady Mary returned to London, she carried out her intention to -introduce the operation. Dr. Maitland, who had been physician to the -mission to the Porte, set up in practice and inoculated under her -patronage. The "heathen rite" was vigorously preached against by the -clergy and was violently abused by the medical faculty. Undismayed by -the powerful opposition, however, she persevered in season and out, -until her efforts were crowned with success. She was fortunate in -enlisting the co-operation of that distinguished doctor, Richard Mead, -celebrated by Pope in his "Epistle to Bolingbroke," - - "I'll do what Mead and Cheselden advise." - -Mead, in 1720, when an epidemic of the plague was feared in London, -published a treatise: "A Short Discourse concerning Pestilential -Contagion and the Methods to be used to Prevent it." It was reprinted -seven times within a year, and an eighth edition appeased in 1722. Lady -Mary obtained permission, in 1721, to experiment on seven condemned -criminals. Mead supervised the inoculations, and all recovered. In the -following year two members of the royal family underwent the operation -successfully. Thereafter, it became, in most circles, fashionable. - -"I suppose," Lady Mary wrote with pardonable pride to Lady Mar in the -spring of 1722, "that the same faithful historians give you regular -accounts of the growth and spreading of the inoculation of the -small-pox, which is become almost a general practice, attended with -great success." Elated as she was at the success that had resulted from -her persistent efforts, she was correspondingly distressed when a young -relative died of the disease. "I am sorry to inform you of the death, of -our nephew, my sister Gower's son, of the small-pox," she said in a -letter to Lady Mar in July, 1723. "I think she has a great deal of -regret it, in consideration of the offer I made her, two years together, -of taking the child home to my house, where I would have inoculated him -with the same care and safety I did my own. I know nobody that has -hitherto repented the operation; though it has been very troublesome to -some fools, who had rather be sick by the doctor's prescriptions, than -in health in rebellion to the college." - -Among those who supported Lady Mary's campaign was Steele, who -congratulated her upon her "godlike delight" of saving "many thousand -British lives every year." He wrote on the subject in the _Plain Dealer_ -(July 3, 1724), in an article that attracted much attention: - - -"It is the Observation of some Historian; but I forget where I met with -it: that _England has ow'd to Women the greatest Blessings she has been -distinguish'd by_. In the Case, we are now upon, this Reflection will -stand justified.-- - -"We are indebted to the Reason and Courage of a _Lady_, for the -Introduction of this Art; which gives such Strength in its Progress, -that the Memory of its Illustrious Foundress will be render'd Sacred by -it, to future Ages. - -"This Ornament of her Sex, and Country, who ennobles her own _Nobility_, -by her Learning, Wit, and Vertues, accompanying her Consort into -_Turkey_, observ'd the Benefit of this Practice, with its Frequency, -even among those obstinate _Proedestinarians_; and brought it over, for -the Service, and the Safety, of her Native _England_; where she -consecrated its first effects on the Persons of her own fine Children! -And has, already, receiv'd this Glory from it, 'That the Influence of -her example has reach'd as high as the Blood Royal.' And our noblest, -and most ancient Families, in Confirmation of her happy Judgment, add -the daily Experience of those, who are most dear to them. - -"I Have seen a short Poetical Essay, on the Occasion we are now treating -of. I wou'd say, if I meant the Verses an _Encomium_ they shou'd be -envied for,' That their _Subject_ need not blush at them!' - - _On Lady_ Mary Wortley Montagu's _bringing with her, out of - _ Turkey, _the Art of Inoculating the_ Small-Pox. - - _When_ Greece, _reviving into short Delight, - Felt Pride, and Comfort, at_ Our _Muse's Sight: - The Rival'd_ Nine _no sooner saw her Face, - But ev'n their_ Envy _gave their_ Wonder _Place! - Charm'd into_ Love, _of what eclips'd their Fame! - They mak'd_ Apollo, _with her pow'rful Name. - See!--God of_ Grecian _Wit!_ Urania _cries, - How sweet a_ Muse, _the Western World supplies! - Say, shou'd she ask some Favour, from your throne, - What could you_ bid _her_ take, _that's not_ her own? - _Sparkling in Charms, the heav'nly Stranger view - So_ grac'd! _she scarce can owe a_ Beam _to_ You! - Beauty, _with Love_, her _Pow'r to_ Yours _prefers: - And_ Wit, _and_ Learning, _are already_, Hers! - _Rous'd, at her_ name,--_receding from her Eyes, - The gazing God rose slow, in soft Surprise! - Fair_ Miracle, _he said,--and paus'd a while: - Then, thus_,--Sweet Glory, _of your envied Isle! - Charm'd, and oblig'd, lest, we ungrateful seem, - Bear hence, at least_, one Mark _of our Esteem._ - One, _Of my three great Claims_, your _Wish may fit; - Whose Voice is_ Musick: _and whose Thoughts are_ Wit! - Physick, _alone, remains, to grant you, here-- - A _Skill! your godlike_ Pity _will_ endear. - _Form'd to give_ Wounds, _which must no Ease procure, - _ Atone _your Influ'nce, by new Arts, to_ cure, - _Beauty's chief Foe, a fear'd, and fierce_ Disease! - _Bows, at my Beck; and knows its_ God's _Decrees. - Breath'd, in this_ Kiss, _take Pow'r to tame its Rage: - And, from its Rancour_, free _the rescu'd Age. - High, o'er each Sex, in_ Double _Empire, fit: - Protecting_ Beauty, _and inspiring Wit_. - - -When Lady Mary had been abroad for a year, she became homesick and began -to long for England. It was really very dull for her in Turkey, even -though she could pass the time of day in the language of the country. -Supervising the nurses of her child did not take a large share of her -tune; and she found only a mild excitement in going into the bazaar in -native woman's attire to collect Oriental rugs and whatnot. - - -"To say truth, I am sometimes very weary of this singing, and dancing, -and sunshine, and wish for the smoke and impertinencies in which you -toil, though I endeavour to persuade myself that I live in a more -agreeable variety than you do; and that Monday, setting of partridges-- -Tuesday, reading English--Wednesday, studying the Turkish language (in -which, by the way, I am already very learned)--Thursday, classical -authors--Friday, spent in writing--Saturday, at my needle--and Sunday, -admitting of visits, and hearing music, is a better way of disposing -the week, than Monday, at the drawing-room--Tuesday, Lady Mohun's-- -Wednesday, the opera--Thursday, the play--Friday, Mrs. Chetwynd's, &c., -a perpetual round of hearing the same scandal, and seeing the same -follies acted over and over, which here affect me no more than they do -other dead people. I can now hear of displeasing things with pity, and -without indignation. The reflection on the great gulf between you and me, -cools all news that come hither. I can neither be sensibly touched with -joy nor grief, when I consider that possibly the cause of either is -removed before the letter comes to my hands. But (as I said before) this -indolence does not extend to my few friendships; I am still warmly -sensible of yours and Mr. Congreve's, and desire to live in your \ -remembrances, though dead to all the world beside." - - -There is no doubt that it was to her pen that Lady Mary had recourse in -her endeavours to overcome ennui. A perusal of the letters written -during this first sojourn in Europe shows that nothing escaped her eye, -trivial or serious, from the washing of the Rotterdam pavements to the -dwarfs at the Court of Vienna, from the palaces of the great to the -cosmetics used by the women. - -Occasionally Lady Mary became impatient at the ignorance of her friends -as regards the Near East. - - -"I heartily beg your ladyship's pardon; but I really could not forbear -laughing heartily at your letter, and the commissions you are pleased to -honour me with" (she wrote to one of her acquaintances from Belgrade -Village in June, 1717). - -"You desire me to buy you a Greek slave, who is to be mistress of a -thousand good qualities. The Greeks are subjects, and not slaves. Those -who are to be bought in that manner, are either such as are taken in -war, or stolen by the Tartars from Russia, Circassia, or Georgia, and -are such miserable, awkward, poor wretches, you would not think any of -them worthy to be your housemaids. 'Tis true that many thousands were -taken in the Morea; but they have been, most of them, redeemed by the -charitable contributions of the Christians, or ransomed by their own -relations at Venice. The fine slaves that wait upon the great ladies, or -serve the pleasures of the great men, are all bought at the age of eight -or nine years old, and educated with great care, to accomplish them in -singing, dancing, embroidery, &c. They are commonly Circassians, and -their patron never sells them, except it is as a punishment for some -very great fault. If ever they grow weary of them, they either present -them to a friend, or give them their freedom. Those that are exposed to -sale at the markets are always either guilty of some crime, or so -entirely worthless that they are of no use at all. I am afraid you will -doubt the truth of this account, which I own is very different from our -common notions in England; but it is no less truth for all that. - -"Your whole letter is full of mistakes from one end to the other. I see -you have taken your ideas of Turkey from that worthy author Dumont, who -has written with equal ignorance and confidence. 'Tis a particular -pleasure to me here, to read the voyages to the Levant, which are -generally so far removed from the truth, and so full of absurdities, I -am very well diverted with them. They never fail giving you an account -of the women, whom 'tis certain they never saw, and talking very wisely -of the genius of the men, into whose company they are never admitted; -and very often describe mosques, which they dare not peep into. The -Turks are very proud, and will not converse with a stranger they are not -assured is considerable in his own country. I speak of the men of -distinction; for, as to the ordinary fellows, you may imagine what ideas -their conversation can give of the general genius of the people. - -"I am more inclined, out of a true female spirit of contradiction, to -tell you the falsehood of a great part of what you find in authors; as, -for example, in the admirable Mr. Hill, who so gravely asserts, that he -saw in Sancta Sophia a sweating pillar, very balsamic for disordered -heads. There is not the least tradition of any such matter; and I -suppose it was revealed to him in a vision during his wonderful stay in -the Egyptian catacombs; for I am sure he never heard of any such miracle -here. - -"'Tis also very pleasant to observe how tenderly he and all his brethren -voyage-writers lament the miserable confinement of the Turkish ladies, -who are perhaps freer than any ladies in the universe, and are the only -women in the world that lead a life of uninterrupted pleasure exempt -from cares; their whole time being spent in visiting, bathing, or the -agreeable amusement of spending money, and inventing new fashions. A -husband would be thought mad that exacted any degree of economy from his -wife, whose expenses are no way limited but by her own fancy. 'Tis his -business to get money, and hers to spend it: and this noble prerogative -extends itself to the very meanest of the sex. Here is a fellow that -carries embroidered handkerchiefs upon his back to sell, as miserable a -figure as you may suppose such a mean dealer, yet I'll assure you his -wife scorns to wear anything less than cloth of gold; has her ermine -furs, and a very handsome set of jewels for her head. They go abroad -when and where they please. Tis true they have no public places but the -bagnios, and there can only be seen by their own sex; however, that is a -diversion they take great pleasure in." - - -In the meantime, Montagu's conduct of affairs was much criticised at -home, and Lord Stanhope's Administration, which had come into power in -April, 1717, decided to recall him. This invidious task fell upon his -old friend Addison, now Secretary of State for the Southern Department. -The recall was notified to those concerned in a circular letter dated -October 13. Addison, in a private letter dated September 28, notified -him of the impending change: - - -"Having been confined to my chamber for some time by a dangerous fit of -sickness, I find, upon my coming abroad, some things have passed which I -think myself obliged to communicate to you, not as the Secretary to the -Ambassador, but as an humble servant to his friend.... Our great men are -of opinion that your being possessed [of the reversion of certain -places] (which they look upon as sure and sudden) it would be agreeable -to your inclinations, as well as for the King's service, which you are -so able to promote in Parliament, rather to return to your own country -than to live at Constantinople. For this reason, they have thought of -relieving Mr. Stanyan, who is now at the Imperial Court, and of joining -Sir Robert Sutton with him in the mediation of a peace between the -Emperor and the Turks. I need not suggest to you that Mr. Stanyan is in -great favour at Vienna, and how necessary it is to humour that Court in -the present juncture. Besides, as it would have been for your honour to -have acted as sole mediator in such a negotiation, perhaps it would not -have been so agreeable to you to act only in commission. This was -suggested to me the other day by one of our first ministers, who told me -that he believed Sir R. Sutton's being joined in a mediation, which was -carried on by my Lord Paget singly, would be shocking to you, but that -they could be more free with a person of Mr. Stanyan's quality. I find -by his Majesty's way of speaking of you, that you are much in his favour -and esteem, and I fancy you would find your ease and advantage more in -being nearer his person than at the distance you are from him at -present. I omit no opportunity of doing you justice where I think it is -for your service, and wish I could know your mind as to these several -particulars by a more speedy and certain conveyance, that I might act -accordingly to the utmost of my powers. Madame Kielmansegg and my Lady -Hervey desire me to forward the enclosed to my Lady Mary Wortley, to -whom I beg you will deliver them with my most humble regards." - - -What Montagu's feelings were can only be imagined. It is almost certain -that he felt himself vastly aggrieved. Nothing could have been more -delicate or complimentary than Addison's letter, but it did not, and -could not, disguise the main fact. It was easy for the Secretary of -State to suggest that at least one reason for the recall was that -Montagu must be anxious to return, but that certainly could not have -deceived the Ambassador who was, indeed, so little anxious to get home -that he remained at Constantinople until the following June. Likewise, -the statement that he would be able to promote the King's service in -Parliament, flattering as it read, meant, of course, nothing at all. -Certainly, though Montagu sat in the House of Commons until his death, -office was never offered him in any Administration. - -Lady Mary found herself again with child. Whether this pleased her or -not no one can say, but in a letter to Mrs. Thistlethwayte she treated -the incident divertingly enough. - - -"I wish I could return your goodness with some diverting accounts from -hence. But I know not what part of the scenes here would gratify your -curiosity, or whether you have any curiosity at all for things so far -distant. To say the truth, I am, at this present writing, not very much -turned for the recollection of what is diverting, my head being wholly -filled with the preparations necessary for the increase of my family, -which I expect every day. You may easily guess at my uneasy situation. -But I am, however, in some degree comforted, by the glory that accrues -to me from it, and a reflection on the contempt I should otherwise fall -under. You won't know what to make of this speech: but, in this country, -it is more despicable to be married and not fruitful, than it is with us -to be fruitful before marriage. They have a notion, that, whenever a -woman leaves off bringing children, it is because she is too old for -that business, whatever her face says to the contrary, and this opinion -makes the ladies here so ready to make proofs of their youth (which is -as necessary, in order to be a received beauty, as it is to shew the -proofs of nobility, to be admitted knight of Malta), that they do not -content themselves with using the natural means, but fly to all sorts of -quackeries, to avoid the scandal of being past child-bearing, and often -kill themselves by them. Without any exaggeration, all the women of my -acquaintance that have been married ten years, have twelve or thirteen -children; and the old ones boast of having had five-and-twenty or thirty -a-piece, and are respected according to the number they have produced. -When they are with child, it is their common expression to say, They -hope God will be so merciful to them to send two this time; and when I -have asked them sometimes, How they expected to provide for such a flock -as they desire? they answered, That the plague will certainly kill half -of them; which, indeed, generally happens, without much concern to the -parents, who are satisfied with the vanity of having brought forth so -plentifully. - -"The French Ambassadress is forced to comply with this fashion as well -as myself. She has not been here much above a year, and has lain in -once, and is big again. What is most wonderful is, the exemption they -seem to enjoy from the curse entailed on the sex. They see all company -the day of their delivery, and, at the fortnight's end, return visits, -set out in their jewels and new clothes. I wish I may find the influence -of the climate in this particular. But I fear I shall continue an -Englishwoman in that affair." - - -Lady Mary gave birth to a daughter, Mary, in February. "I don't mention -this as one of my diverting adventures," she wrote to Lady Mar, "though -I must own that it is not half so mortifying here as in England, there -being as much difference as there is between a little cold in the head, -which sometimes happens here, and the consumptive cough, so common in -London. Nobody keeps their house a month for lying in; and I am not so -fond of any of our customs to retain them when they are not necessary. I -returned my visits at three weeks' end." - -So soon as possible after this domestic event, preparations for the -return journey were made. The party went by sea to Tunis, thence to -Genoa, Turin, Lyons, and Paris. Their arrival at Paris in October was -notified by Lady Mar to her husband: "You'll be surprised to hear 657 -[i.e., Lady Mary] is here. She arrived the day after me. You may believe -how much incognito I am. 'Twas in vain to attempt being so. Twould fill -a whole letter to tell you the people that have been to see me. I was -very much pleased at seeing 657 and she appeared to be the same." The -sisters had not met for three years. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -A SCANDAL - -Montagu re-enters the House of Commons--His miserliness--Pope refers to -it--Comments on Society--Lady Mary and a first-class scandal--Remond-- -His admiration for her--Her imprudent letters to him--The South Sea -Bubble--Lady Mary speculates for Remond--She loses money for him--He -demands to be re-imbursed--He threatens to publish her letters--She -states the case in letters to Lady Mar--Lady Mary meets Pope--His letters -to her when she was abroad--He affects to be in love with her--Her -matter-of-fact replies--Her parody of his verses, "On John Hughes and -Sarah Drew." - - -Montagu, on his return to England, again entered the House of Commons, -where he represented Huntingdon from 1722 to 1734, and then for -Peterborough from 1734 to 1747 and from 1754 to 1761. Whether it was -lack of ambition or just want of appreciation of his talents by the -leaders of his party, there is no evidence. Even with his family -connections and his wealth, he was never offered a place in any -Administration, nor, it must be confessed, did he in any way distinguish -himself in Parliament. As the years passed, his chief pleasure, if -indeed it was not his only one, was in the hoarding of money--in this -pursuit he was splendidly successful. From references to Lady Mary in -contemporary correspondence, it would appear that she too had no small -streak of the miser in her. Pope, after his quarrel with her, referred -to Montagu as "Worldly," "Shylock," and "Gripus," and in the fourth -Epistle of the _Essay on Man_ wrote: - - "Is yellow dirt the passion of thy life? - Look but on Gripus and Gripus' wife." - -Also he lampooned them under the style of Avidieu and Avidieu's wife, -who - - "Sell their presented partridges or fruits, - And humbly live on rabbits and on roots; - One half-pint bottle serves them both to dine, - And is at once their vinegar and wine. - But on some lucky day (as when they found - A lost bank note, or heard their son was drowned), - At such a feast old vinegar to spare - Is what two souls so generous cannot bear: - Oil, though it stink, they drop by drop impart, - But souse the cabbage with a bounteous heart." - -Lady Mary took her place, as of right, as a leader of society, and for a -while plunged into the gaieties of the town. "Public places flourish -more than ever," she wrote to her sister. "We have assemblies for every -day in the week, besides Court, operas, and masquerades. With youth and -money, 'tis certainly possible to be well diverted in spite of malice -and ill-nature, though they are more and more powerful every day. For my -part, as it is my established opinion that this globe of ours is no -better than a Holland cheese, and the walkers about in it mites, I -possess my soul in patience, let what will happen--and I should feel -tolerably easy, though a great rat came and ate half of it." That is a -philosophical outlook with a vengeance! - -However, Lady Mary managed on the whole to enjoy herself. "The town -improves in gaiety every day; the young people are younger than they -used to be, and all the old are grown young. Nothing is talked of but -entertainments of gallantry by land and water, and we insensibly begin -to taste all the joys of arbitrary power. Politics are no more; nobody -pretends to wince or kick under their burdens; but we go on cheerfully -with our bells at our ears, ornamented with ribands, and highly -contented with our present condition; so much for the general state of -the nation," she made her comment on polite circles. "We are much -mistaken here as to our ideas of Paris--to hear gallantry has deserted -it, sounds as extraordinary to me as a want of ice in Greenland. -We have nothing but ugly faces in this country, but more lovers than -ever. There are but three pretty men in England, and they are all in -love with me, at this present writing. This will amaze you extremely; -but if you were to see the reigning girls at present, I will assure you, -there is very little difference between them and old women." - -Lady Mary could never resist a good story, and, indeed, never made any -attempt to do so, and she usually wrote them down to amuse Lady Mar. - - -"'Tis but reasonable I should conclude with a farce, that I may not -leave you in ill humour. I have so good an opinion of your taste, to -believe Harlequin in person will never make you laugh so much as the -Earl of Stair's furious passion for Lady Walpole (aged fourteen and some -months). Mrs. Murray undertook to bring the business to bear, and -provided the opportunity (a great ingredient you'll say); but the young -lady proved skittish. She did not only turn this heroic flame into -present ridicule, but exposed all his generous sentiments, to divert her -husband and father-in-law. His lordship is gone to Scotland; and if -there was anybody wicked enough to write about it, there is a subject -worthy the pen of the best ballad-maker in Grub-street." - - * * * * * - -"Lord Townshend has renewed his lease of life by his French journey, and -is at present situated in his house in Grosvenor-street in perfect -health. My good lady is coming from the Bath to meet him with the joy -you may imagine. Kitty Edwin has been the companion of his [her?] -pleasures there. The alliance seems firmer than ever between them, after -their Tunbridge battles, which served for the entertainment of the -public. The secret cause is variously guessed at; but it is certain Lady -Townshend came into the great room gently behind her friend, and tapping -her on the shoulder with her fan, said aloud, _I know where, how, and -who_. These mysterious words drew the attention of all the company, -and had such an effect upon poor Kitty, she was carried to her lodgings -in strong hysterics. However, by the intercession of prudent mediators -peace was concluded; and if the conduct of these heroines was considered -in a true light, perhaps it might serve for an example even to higher -powers, by showing that the surest method to obtain a lasting and -honourable peace, is to begin with vigorous war. But leaving these -reflections, which are above my capacity, permit me to repeat my desire -of hearing often from you. Your letters would be my greatest pleasure if -I had flourished in the first years of Henry the Eighth's court; judge -then how welcome they are to me in the present desolate state of this -deserted town of London." - - -Lady Mary's own morals were more than once assailed; but this did not -prevent her humorous attack on society at large: "Those things [Bills of -Divorce] grow more fashionable every day, and in a little time won't be -at all scandalous. The best expedient for the public, and to prevent the -expense of private families, would be a general act of divorcing all the -people of England. You know those that pleased might marry again; and it -would save the reputation of several ladies that are now in peril of -being exposed every day." - -Not long after Lady Mary had returned to England, about the winter of -1720, she, who loved to retail malicious stories about others, found -herself, to her great dismay, the subject of a first-class scandal. - -When Lady Mary was in Paris, Remond was introduced to her by the Abbe -Conti. He had seen a letter or two addressed by her to the Abbe, and -expressed himself with enthusiasm of her brilliance as a correspondent. -Presently he came to England, and sought out Lady Mary, who was no more -immune from flattery than most folk of either sex. How far the intimacy -developed from the platonic to the amorous it is impossible to say. That -Remond made love to her there can be little doubt. Sir Leslie Stephen -holds the view that she did not encourage his passion. Anyhow, it is -beyond question that she wrote him imprudent letters, which he was -prudent enough to keep. - -Lady Mary basked in the admiration of Remond, and thought to reward him -for his intelligence, at no cost to herself, by putting him on to "a -good thing." Also, getting a little fearsome of his very marked -attentions, or perhaps it was only wearying of them, she thought, as she -confessed to her sister, the Countess of Mar, it would be the more easy -to rid herself of this somewhat turbulent lover. - -At this time the famous "boom" known as the South Sea Bubble was at the -height of its brief career. The South Sea Company had taken over the -National Debt, on terms, and its stock, carefully manipulated, rose by -leaps and bounds. In 1714 the stock stood at 85. After the defeat of the -rebellion of 1715, it was quoted at prices varying from par to 106. In -the autumn of 1719, when rumours of its great scheme were spread about -the town, it rose to 126. Early in the following year it could not be -purchased for less than 400. It fluctuated wildly, going up and down -hundreds of points. On June 2, 1720, it went up in the morning to 890, -in the afternoon fell to 640; and many who were speculating in -differences were utterly ruined. Later in the day it recovered, though -only to 770. Ultimately it rose to 1,000. Of course the prices were -fictitious, but everyone in society tried their luck, and while some -came out of it with a fortune, the majority lost practically every penny -they had. The directors, most of whom were guilty of fraud, made vast -sums of money. That astute financier, Robert Walpole, speculated on a -vast scale, sold out before the slump, and realised a fortune more than -sufficient to enable him to rebuild Houghton and to gather together his -famous collection of pictures. On the other hand the Duke of Portland, -who held on too long, was so hard hit that he had to solicit the post of -Captain-General of Jamaica. - -Remond held some South Sea stock, and, acting on Lady Mary's advice, -sold out at a considerable profit. Not content with his gains, however, -he insisted, just before his departure for France, on leaving in Lady -Mary's hands L900 for investment as opportunity should arise. -Reluctantly Lady Mary consented--she would probably have agreed almost -to anything, so anxious was she that Remond should leave the country. - -On August 22, 1720, Pope, with the best intentions in the world, wrote -to Lady Mary: "I was made acquainted last night that I might depend upon -it as a certain gain to buy the South Sea stock at the present price, -which will assuredly rise in some weeks or less. I can be as sure of -this as the nature of any such thing will allow, from the first and best -hands, and therefore have despatched the bearer with all speed to you." -No doubt the phrase "the first and best hands," was intended to convey -the fact that his informant was his friend and neighbour, James Craggs -the younger, the Secretary of State who was so deeply involved in the -affairs of the South Sea Company that when the "bubble" burst he only -escaped prosecution by conveniently dying of small-pox. Acting on the -hint given by Pope, Lady Mary purchased stock for herself and Remond. -The stock fell rapidly--in August it stood at 750 and in December at -130. What she lost is not known, but she had been sufficiently involved -to make her desire to sell her diamonds, and more than once she asked -Lady Mar if there was a market for the jewels in Paris. Remond's L900 -had dwindled to L400. On receiving these distressful tidings, the -Frenchman believed, or affected to believe, that he had been swindled, -and he threatened, unless he were repaid in full, he would publish Lady -Mary's letters to him. Lady Mary's fear was lest the matter should come -to the cognisance of her husband: it would certainly be unfair to -Montagu to suggest that he might not have forgiven his wife for a -love-affair; but he would certainly never have pardoned her any -transaction that cost him money. - -Many malicious things were said about this business. Walpole gave a -version utterly discreditable to Lady Mary, and Pope, after the quarrel, -referred to the matter in the second book of the _Dunciad_: - - "Whence hapless Monsieur much complains at Paris - Of wrongs from Duchesses and Lady Maries." - -The case was put by Lady Mary in a series of letters to her sister, Lady -Mar, to whom she could unburden herself freely, and who might be able to -influence Remond, who was then at Paris. - - -[1721.] - -"From the tranquil and easy situation in which you left me, dear sister, -I am reduced to that of the highest degree of vexation, which I need not -set out to you better than by the plain matter of fact, which I heartily -wish I had told you long since; and nothing hindered me but a certain -_mauvaise honte_ which you are reasonable enough to forgive, as very -natural, though not very excusable where there is nothing to be ashamed -of; since I can only accuse myself of too much good-nature, or at worst -too much credulity, though I believe there never was more pains taken to -deceive any body. In short, a person whose name is not necessary, -because you know it, took all sorts of methods, during almost two years -[_sic_], to persuade me that there never was so extraordinary an -attachment (or what you please to call it) as they had for me. This -ended in coming over to make me a visit against my will, and, as was -pretended, very much against their interest. I cannot deny I was very -silly in giving the least credit to this stuff. But if people are so -silly, you'll own 'tis natural for any body that is good-natured to pity -and be glad to serve a person they believe unhappy upon their account. -It came into my head, out of a high point of generosity (for which I -wish myself hanged), to do this creature all the good I possibly could, -since 'twas impossible to make them happy their own way. I advised him -very strenuously to sell out of the subscription, and in compliance to -my advice he did so; and in less than two days saw he had done very -prudently. After a piece of service of this nature, I thought I could -more decently press his departure, which his follies made me think -necessary for me. He took leave of me with so many tears and grimaces -(which I can't imagine how he could counterfeit) as really moved my -compassion; and I had much ado to keep to my first resolution of -exacting his absence, which he swore would be his death. I told him that -there was no other way in the world I would not be glad to serve him in, -but that his extravagances made it utterly impossible for me to keep him -company. He said that he would put into my hands the money that I had -won for him, and desired me to improve it, saying that if he had enough -to buy a small estate, and retire from the world, 'twas all the -happiness he hoped for in it. I represented to him that if he had so -little money as he said, 'twas ridiculous to hazard at all. He replied -that 'twas too little to be of any value, and he would either have it -double or quit. After many objections on my side and replies on his, I -was so weak to be overcome by his entreaties, and flattered myself also -that I was doing a very heroic action, in trying to make a man's fortune -though I did not care for his addresses. He left me with these -imaginations, and my first care was to employ his money to the best -advantage. I laid it all out in stock, the general discourse and private -intelligence then scattered about being of a great rise. You may -remember it was two or three days before the fourth subscription, and -you were with me when I paid away the money to Mr. Binfield. I thought I -had managed prodigious well in selling out the said stock the day after -the shutting the books (for a small profit) to Cox and Cleeve, -goldsmiths of very good reputation. When the opening of the books came, -my men went off, leaving the stock upon my hands, which was already sunk -from near nine hundred pounds to four hundred pounds. I immediately writ -him word of this misfortune, with the sincere sorrow natural to have -upon such an occasion, and asked his opinion as to the selling the stock -remaining in. He made me no answer to this part of my letter, but a long -eloquent oration of miseries of another nature. I attributed this -silence to his disinterested neglect of his money; but, however, -resolved to make no more steps in his business without direct orders, -after having been so unlucky. This occasioned many letters to no -purpose; but the very post after you left London, I received a letter -from him, in which he told me that he had discovered all my tricks; that -he was convinced I had all his money remaining untouched: and he would -have it again, or he would print all my letters to him; which though, -God knows, very innocent in the main, yet may admit of ill -constructions, besides the monstrousness of being exposed in such a -manner. I hear from other people that he is liar enough to publish that -I have borrowed the money of him; though I have a note under his hand, -by which he desires me to employ it in the funds, and acquits me of -being answerable for the losses that may happen. At the same time, I -have attestations and witnesses of the bargains I made, so that nothing -can be clearer than my integrity in this business; but that does not -hinder me from being in the utmost terror for the consequences (as you -may easily guess) of his villany; the very story of which appears so -monstrous to me, I can hardly believe myself while I write it; though I -omit (not to tire you) a thousand aggravating circumstances. I cannot -forgive myself the folly of ever regarding one word he said; and I see -now that his lies have made me wrong several of my acquaintances, and -you among the rest, for having said (as he told me) horrid things -against me to him. 'Tis long since that your behaviour has acquitted you -in my opinion; but I thought I ought not to mention, to hurt him with -you, what was perhaps more misunderstanding, or mistake, than a designed -lie. But he has very amply explained his character to me. What is very -pleasant is, that, but two posts before, I received a letter from him -full of higher flights than ever. I beg your pardon (dear sister) for -this tedious account; but you see how necessary 'tis for me to get my -letters from this madman. Perhaps the best way is by fair means; at -least, they ought to be first tried. I would have you, then (my dear -sister), try to make the wretch sensible of the truth of what I advance, -without asking for the letters, which I have already asked for. Perhaps -you may make him ashamed of his infamous proceedings by talking of me, -without taking notice that you know of his threats, only of my dealings. -I take this method to be the most likely to work upon him. I beg you -would send me a full and true account of this detestable affair -(enclosed to Mrs. Murray). If I had not been the most unlucky creature -in the world, his letter would have come while you were here, that I -might have shewed you both his note and the other people's. I knew he -was discontented, but was far from imagining a possibility of this -thing. I give you a great deal of trouble, but you see I shall owe you -the highest obligation if you can serve me: the very endeavouring of it -is a tie upon me to serve you the rest of my life without reserve and -with eternal gratitude." - - -[Twickenham, 1721.] - -"I am now at Twickenham: 'tis impossible to tell you, dear sister, what -agonies I suffer every post-day; my health really suffers so much from -my fears, that I have reason to apprehend the worst consequences. If -that monster acted on the least principles of reason, I should have -nothing to fear, since 'tis certain that after he has exposed me he will -get nothing by it. Mr. Wortley can do nothing for his satisfaction I am -not willing to do myself. I desire not the least indulgence of any kind. -Let him put his affair into the hands of any lawyer whatever. I am -willing to submit to any examination; 'tis impossible to make a fairer -offer than this is: whoever he employs may come to me hither on several -pretences. I desire nothing from him, but that he would send no letters -nor messages to my house at London, where Mr. Wortley now is. I am come -hither in hopes of benefit from the air, but I carry my distemper about -me in an anguish of mind that visibly decays my body every day. I am too -melancholy to talk of any other subject. Let me beg you (dear sister) to -take some care of this affair, and think you have it in your power to do -more than save the life of a sister that loves you." - - -[Twickenham, 1721.] - -"I give you many thanks (my dear sister) for the trouble you have given -yourself in my affair; but am afraid 'tis not yet effectual. I must beg -you to let him know I am now at Twickenham, and that whoever has his -procuration may come here on divers pretences, but must by no means go -to my house at London. I wonder you can think Lady Stafford has not writ -to him; she shewed me a long plain letter to him several months ago; as -a demonstration he received it, I saw his answer. 'Tis true she treated -him with the contempt he deserved, and told him she would never give -herself the trouble of writing again to so despicable a wretch. She is -willing to do yet further, and write to the Duke of Villeroi about it, -if I think it proper. Remond does nothing but lie, and either does not, -or will not, understand what is said to him. You will forgive me -troubling you so often with this business; the importance of it is the -best excuse; in short, - - '--'tis joy or sorrow, peace or strife. - 'Tis all the colour of remaining life.' - -I can foresee nothing else to make me unhappy, and, I believe, shall -take care another time not to involve myself in difficulties by an -overplus of heroic generosity. - -"I am, dear sister, ever yours, with the utmost esteem and affection. If -I get over this cursed affair, my style may enliven." - - -[June, 1721.] - -"I have just received your letter of May 30th, and am surprised, since -you own the receipt of my letter, that you give me not the least hint -concerning the business that I writ so earnestly to you about. Till that -is over, I am as little capable of hearing or repeating news, as I -should be if my house was on fire. I am sure, a great deal must be in -your power; the hurting of me can be in no way his interest. I am ready -to assign, or deliver the money for L500 stock, to whoever he will name, -if he will send my letters into Lady Stafford's hands; which, were he -sincere in his offer of burning them, he would readily do. Instead of -that, he has writ a letter to Mr. W. [Wortley] to inform him of the -whole affair: luckily for me, the person he has sent it to assures me it -shall never be delivered; but I am not the less obliged to his good -intentions. For God's sake, do something to set my mind at ease from -this business, and then I will not fail to write you regular accounts of -all your acquaintance." - - -[July (?), 1721.] - -"I cannot enough thank you, dear sister, for the trouble you give -yourself in my affairs, though I am still so unhappy to find your care -very ineffectual. I have actually in my present possession a formal -letter directed to Mr. Wortley to acquaint him with the whole business. -You may imagine the inevitable eternal misfortunes it would have thrown -me into, had it been delivered by the person to whom it was intrusted. I -wish you would make him sensible of the infamy of this proceeding, which -can no way in the world turn to his advantage. Did I refuse giving the -strictest account, or had I not the clearest demonstration in my hands -of the truth and sincerity with which I acted, there might be some -temptation to this baseness; but all he can expect by informing Mr. -Wortley is to hear him repeat the same things I assert; he will not -retrieve one farthing, and I am for ever miserable. I beg no more of him -than to direct any person, man or woman, either lawyer, broker, or a -person of quality, to examine me; and as soon as he has sent a proper -authority to discharge me on enquiry, I am ready to be examined. I think -no offer can be fairer from any person whatsoever; his conduct towards -me is so infamous, that I am informed I might prosecute him by law if he -was here; he demanding the whole sum as a debt from Mr. Wortley, at the -same time I have a note under his hand signed to prove the contrary. I -beg with the utmost earnestness that you would make him sensible of his -error. I believe 'tis very necessary to say something to fright him. I -am persuaded, if he was talked to in a style of that kind, he would not -dare to attempt to ruin me. I have a great inclination to write -seriously to your lord about it, since I desire to determine this affair -in the fairest and the clearest manner. I am not at all afraid of making -any body acquainted with it; and if I did not fear making Mr. Wortley -uneasy (who is the only person from whom I would conceal it), all the -transactions should have been long since enrolled in Chancery. I have -already taken care to have the broker's depositions taken before a -lawyer of reputation and merit. I deny giving him no satisfaction; and -after that offer, I think there is no man of honour that would refuse -signifying to him that as 'tis all he can desire, so, if he persists in -doing me an injury, he may repent it. You know how far 'tis proper to -take this method, I say nothing of the uneasiness I am under, 'tis far -beyond any expression; my obligation would be proportionable to any body -that would deliver me from it, and I should not think it paid by all the -services of my life." - - -[Twickenham, June (?), 1721.] - -"Dear Sister, - -"Having this occasion, I would not omit writing, though I have received -no answer to my two last. The bearer is well acquainted with my affair, -though not from me, till he mentioned it to me first, having heard it -from those to whom Remond had told it with all the false colours he -pleased to lay on. I shewed him the formal commission I had to employ -the money, and all the broker's testimonies taken before Delpeeke, with -his certificate. Your remonstrances have hitherto had so little effect, -that R. [Remond] will neither send a letter of attorney to examine my -accounts, or let me be in peace. I received a letter from him but two -posts since, in which he renews his threats except I send him the whole -sum, which is as much in my power as it is to send a million. I can -easily comprehend that he may be ashamed to send a procuration, which -must convince the world of all the lies he has told. For my part, I am -so willing to be rid of the plague of hearing from him, I desire no -better than to restore him with all expedition the money I have in my -hands; but I will not do it without a general acquittance in due form, -not to have fresh demands every time he wants money. If he thinks that -he has a larger sum to receive than I offer, why does he not name a -procurator to examine me? If he is content with that sum, I only insist -on the acquittance for my own safety. I am ready to send it to him, with -full license to tell as many lies as he pleases afterwards. I am weary -with troubling you with repetitions which cannot be more disagreeable to -you than they are to me. I have had, and still have, so much vexation -with this execrable affair, 'tis impossible to describe it. I had rather -talk to you of any thing else, but it fills my whole head." - - -Lady Mary was no coward, but when she heard that Remond intended to come -to London in connection with this business, she was at first in despair -However, she summoned her courage to aid, and asked Lady Mar to tell him -that if he was spoiling for a fight she would do her best to indulge him. - - -"I send you, dear sister, by Lady Lansdowne this letter, accompanied -with the only present that was ever sent me by that monster. I beg you -to return it immediately. I am told he is preparing to come to London. -Let him know that 'tis not at all necessary for receiving his money or -examining my accounts; he has nothing to do but to send a letter of -attorney to whom he pleases (without exception), and I will readily -deliver up what I have in my hands, and his presence will not obtain one -farthing more: his design then can only be to expose my letters here. I -desire you would assure him that my first step shall be to acquaint my -Lord Stair[4] with all his obligations to him, as soon as I hear he is -in London; and if he dares to give me further trouble, I shall take care -to have him rewarded in a stronger manner than he expects; there is -nothing more true than this; and I solemnly swear, that if all the -credit or money that I have in the world can do it, either for -friendship or hire, I shall not fail to have him used as he deserves; -and since I know this journey can only be designed to expose me, I shall -not value what noise is made. Perhaps you may prevent it; I leave you to -judge of the most proper method; 'tis certain no time should be lost; -fear is his predominant passion, and I believe you may fright him from -coming hither, where he will certainly find a reception very -disagreeable to him." - -[Footnote 4: John Dalrymple, second Earl of Stair (1673-1747), British -Ambassador at Paris, 1715-1720.] - - -"September 6, 1721. - -"I have consulted my lawyer, and he says I cannot, with safety to -myself, deposit the money I have received into other hands, without the -express order of Remond; and he is so unreasonable, that he will neither -send a procuration to examine my accounts, or any order for me to -transfer his stock into another name. I am heartily weary of the trust, -which has given me so much trouble, and can never think myself safe till -I am quite got rid of it: rather than be plagued any longer with the -odious keeping, I am willing to abandon my letters to his discretion. I -desire nothing more of him than an order to place his money in other -hands, which methinks should not be so hard to obtain, since he is so -dissatisfied with my management; but he seems to be bent to torment me, -and will not even touch his money, because I beg it of him. I wish you -would represent these things to him; for my own part, I live in so much -uneasiness about it, that I sometimes weary of life itself." - - -[October (?) 1721.] - -"I cannot forbear (dear sister) accusing you of unkindness that you take -so little care of a business of the last consequence to me. R. [Remond] -writ to me some time ago, to say if I would immediately send him L2,000 -sterling, he would send me an acquittance. As this was sending him -several hundreds out of my own pocket, I absolutely refused it; and, in -return, I have just received a threatening letter, to print I know not -what stuff against me. I am too well acquainted with the world (of which -poor Mrs. Murray's affair is a fatal instance), not to know that the -most groundless accusation is always of ill consequence to a woman; -besides the cruel misfortune it may bring upon me in my own family. If -you have any compassion either for me or my innocent children, I am sure -you will try to prevent it. The thing is too serious to be delayed. I -think (to say nothing either of blood or affection), that humanity and -Christianity are interested in my preservation. I am sure I can answer -for my hearty gratitude and everlasting acknowledgment of a service much -more important than that of saving my life." - - -In Lady Mary's correspondence there is no further reference to this -sorry business, and so it cannot be said how it ended. Nor can it be -decided whether Remond really believed he had been swindled or whether -he was just a blackmailer. - -The intimacy between Lady Mary and Pope is especially interesting -because it culminated in one of the most famous quarrels in the literary -annals of this country, and second only to that between Pope and -Addison. - -When Lady Mary went abroad in 1716 Pope, who always wanted to make the -best of both worlds, thought, it has been related by his biographers, of -what dramatic situation describing the separation of lovers would best -suit him to express his feelings, and he found exactly what he wanted on -the supposed authentic letters of Eloisa to Abelard. Pope sent Lady Mary -a volume of his poems, saying: "Among the rest you have all I am worth, -that is, my works. There are few things in them but what you have -already seen, except the 'Epistle of Eloisa to Abelard,' in which you -will find one passage that I cannot tell whether to wish you should -understand or not." - -Pope corresponded with Lady Mary during the two years of her stay -abroad. The first letter from Pope begins: - - -"So natural as I find it is to me to neglect every body else in your -company, I am sensible I ought to do anything that might please you, and -I fancied upon recollection, our writing the letter you proposed was of -that nature. I therefore sate down to my part of it last night, when I -should have gone out of town. Whether or no you will order me, in -recompense, to see you again, I leave to you, for indeed I find I begin -to behave myself worse to you than to any other woman, as I value you -more, and yet if I thought I should not see you again, I would say some -things here, which I could not to your person. For I would not have you -die deceived in me, that is, go to Constantinople without knowing that I -am to some degree of extravagance, as well as with the utmost reason, -madam, your, etc." - - -Some passages from Pope's subsequent letters must be given to indicate -the lines on which this correspondence was conducted. - - -"You may easily imagine how desirous I must be of correspondence with a -person who had taught me long ago, that it was as possible to esteem at -first sight, as to love; and who has since ruined me for all the -conversation of one sex and almost all the friendship of the other. I am -but too sensible, through your means, that the company of men, wants a -certain softness to recommend it, and that of women wants everything -else. How often have I been quietly going to take possession of that -tranquility and indolence I had so long found in the country, when one -evening of your conversation has spoiled me for a solitaire too! Books -have lost their effect upon me, and I was convinced since I saw you, -that there is something more powerful than philosophy, and since I heard -you, that there is one alive wiser than all the sages. A plague of -female wisdom! it makes a man ten times more uneasy than his own. What -is very strange, Virtue herself, when you have the dressing of her, is -too amiable for one's repose. What a world of good might you have done -in your time, if you had allowed half the fine gentlemen who have seen -you to have but conversed with you! They would have been strangely -caught, while they thought only to fall in love with a fair face, and -you had bewitched them with reason and virtue, two beauties that the -very fops pretend to have an acquaintance with." - - -"August 20, 1716. - -"Madam, - -"You will find me more troublesome than ever Brutus did his evil genius, -I shall meet you in more places than one, and often refreshen your -memory before you arrive at your Philippi. These shadows of me (my -letters) will be haunting you from time to time, and putting you in mind -of the man who has really suffered by you, and whom you have robbed of -the most valuable of his enjoyments, your conversation. The advantage of -learning your sentiments by discovering mine, was what I always thought -a great one, and even with the risk I run of manifesting my own -indiscretion. You then rewarded my trust in you the moment it was given, -for you pleased and informed me the minute you answered. I must now be -contented with slow returns. However, it is some pleasure, that your -thoughts upon paper will be a more lasting possession to me, and that I -shall no longer have cause to complain of a loss I have so often -regretted, that of anything you said, which I happened to forget. In -earnest, Madam, if I were to write you as often as I think of you, it -must be every day of my life. I attend you in spirit through all your -ways, I follow in books of travel through every stage, I wish for you, -fear for you through whole folios, you make me shrink at the past -dangers of dead travellers, and when I read an agreeable prospect or -delightful place, I hope it yet subsists to give you pleasure. I inquire -the roads, the amusements, the company of every town and country you -pass through, with as much diligence, as if I were to set out next week -to overtake you. In a word no one can have you more constantly in mind, -not even your guardian-angel (if you have one), and I am willing to -indulge so much Popery as to fancy some Being takes care of you who -knows your value better than you do yourself. I am willing to think that -Heaven never gave so much self-neglect and resolution to a woman, to -occasion her calamity, but am pious enough to believe those qualities -must be intended to her benefit and her glory." - - -Pope's letters of this period to Lady Mary were all written in a strain -of adulation, which may well have pleased Lady Mary and must certainly -have amused her. She can, however, scarcely have been led into any -self-deception as regards the sincerity of her correspondent, in spite -of the fact that in one of the earliest epistles he addressed to her he -subscribed himself: "I am, with all unalterable esteem and sincerity, -Madam, your most faithful, obedient, humble servant." Yet, no doubt, she -was pleased enough to read: "I communicated your letter to Mr. Congreve; -he thinks of you as he ought, I mean as I do, for one always thinks that -to be just as it ought.... We never meet but we lament over you: we pay -a kind of weekly rites to your memory, when we strew flowers of rhetoric -and offer such libations to your name as if it were a profaneness to -call toasting." Well, alcoholic refreshment by any other name is just as -potent. It must have been grateful and comforting to be told when in -exile: "I must tell you, too, that the Duke of Buckingham has been more -than once your high priest in performing the office of your praises: and -upon the whole I believe there are few men who do not deplore your -departure, as women that sincerely do." - -Most excellent Pope, who would play at make-believe. It is almost a pity -that he could not persuade the lady that he meant even a tithe of what -he wrote to her. Listen to him again: "For my part, I hate a great many -women for your sake, and undervalue all the rest. 'Tis you who are to -blame, and may God revenge it upon you, with all those blessings and -earthy prosperities which the divines tell us, are the cause of our -perdition: for if He makes you happy in this world, I dare trust your -own virtue to do it in the other." These poets! - -Lady Mary took all this in the right way, and as love-letters appraised -them at their true value. "Perhaps you'll laugh at me for thanking you -very gravely for all the obliging concern you express for me," she wrote -from Vienna in September, with, perhaps, just a touch of irony. "'Tis -certain that I may, if I please, take the fine things you say to me for -wit and raillery; and it may be, it would be taking them right. But I -never in my life was half so well disposed to believe you in earnest; -and that distance which makes the continuation of your friendship -improbable, has very much increased my faith for it, and I find that I -have (as well as the rest of my sex), whatever face I set on't, a strong -disposition to believe in miracles." As regards the rest, her side of -the correspondence was matter-of-fact to such a degree that it suggests -that she adopted that tone in order to lease him. Her replies can -scarcely have given Pope any satisfaction. From Vienna she gave him a -detailed account of the opera and the theatre; from Belgrade she told -him of the war and of an Arabic scholar and also of the climate; from -Adrianople she discoursed of the Hebrus, of the lads of the village, of -Addison and Theocritus, pays him compliments on his translation of -Homer, and a copy of some Turkish verses; and so on. The most striking -thing about her letters is the absence of the personal note, which is so -often introduced when she was writing to others. They read more like -essays than communications to a friend. - -Pope, in a letter dated September 1, 1718, sent Lady Mary a copy of his -verses. - - ON JOHN HUGHES AND SARAH DREW - - When Eastern lovers fear'd the fun'eral fire - On the same pile the faithful pair expire! - Here pitying Heav'n that virtue mutual found, - And blasted both, that it might neither wound. - Hearts so sincere th' Almighty saw well pleas'd, - Sent his own lightning and the victims seiz'd. - - I - Think not by vig'rous judgment seiz'd, - A pair so faithful could expire; - Victims so pure Heav'n saw well pleas'd, - And snatch'd them in celestial fire. - - II - Live well, and fear no sudden fate: - When God calls virtue to the grave; - Alike 'tis justice, soon or late, - Mercy alike to kill or save. - Virtue unmov'd can hear the call. - And face the flash that melts the ball. - -These verses she acknowledged in a letter which, written while on the -homeward path, she sent from Dover, where she arrived at the beginning -of November. - - -"I have this minute received a letter of yours, sent me from Paris. I -believe and hope I shall very soon see both you and Mr. Congreve; but as -I am here in an inn, where we stay to regulate our march to London, bag -and baggage, I shall employ some of my leisure time in answering that -part of yours that seems to require an answer. - -"I must applaud your good nature, in supposing that your pastoral lovers -(vulgarly called haymakers) would have lived in everlasting joy and -harmony, if the lightning had not interrupted their scheme of happiness. -I see no reason to imagine that John Hughes and Sarah Drew were either -wiser or more virtuous than their neighbours. That a well-set man of -twenty five should have a fancy to marry a brown woman of eighteen, is -nothing marvellous; and I cannot help thinking, that, had they married, -their lives would have passed in the common track with their fellow -parishioners. His endeavouring to shield her from the storm, was a -natural action, and what he would have certainly done for his horse, if -he had been in the same situation. Neither am I of opinion, that their -sudden death was a reward of their mutual virtue. You know the Jews were -reproved for thinking a village destroyed by fire more wicked than those -that had escaped the thunder. Time and chance happen to all men. Since -you desire me to try my skill in an epitaph, I think the following lines -perhaps more just, though not so poetical as yours: - - Here lies John Hughes and Sarah Drew; - Perhaps you'll say, what's that to you? - Believe me, friend, much may be said - On this poor couple that are dead. - On Sunday next they should have married; - But see how oddly things are carried! - On Thursday last it rain'd and lighten'd; - These tender lovers, sadly frighten'd, - Shelter'd beneath the cocking hay, - In hopes to pass the storm away; - But the bold thunder found them out - (Commissioned for that end, no doubt), - And, seizing on their trembling breath, - Consign'd them to the shades of death. - Who knows if 'twas not kindly done? - For had they seen the next year's sun, - A beaten wife and cuckold swain - Had jointly curs'd the marriage chain; - Now they are happy in their doom, - For P. has wrote upon their tomb. - -"I confess, these sentiments are not altogether so heroic as yours; but -I hope you will forgive them in favour of the two last lines. You see -how much I esteem the honour you have done them; though I am not very -impatient to have the same, and had rather continue to be your stupid -living humble servant, than be celebrated by all the pens in Europe. - -"I would write to Mr. Congreve, but suppose you will read this to him, -if he enquires after me." - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -AT TWICKENHAM - -The Montagus take a house at Twickenham--Lady Mary's liking for country -life--Neighbours and visitors--Pope--Bononcini, Anastasia Robinson, -Senesino--Lord Peterborough--Sir Geoffrey Kneller--Henrietta -Howard--Lord Bathurst--The Duke of Wharton--His early history--He comes -to Twickenham--His relations with Lady Mary--Horace Walpole's reference -to them--Pope's bitter onslaught on the Duke--An Epilogue by Lady -Mary--"On the death of Mrs. Bowes"--The Duke quarrels with Lady Mary. - - -Pope went to live at Twickenham in 1718, and it was generally believed -that it was by his persuasion that the Montagus rented a house in that -little riverside hamlet. It was not until 1722 that they bought "the -small habitation." - -Lady Mary divided her time between London and Twickenham, but apparently -enjoyed herself more at her country retreat. "I live in a sort of -solitude that wants very little of being such as I would have it," she -wrote to her sister, Lady Mar, in August, 1721. As a matter of fact, the -solitude was more imaginary than real, for round about there was a small -colony of friends. - -She was, indeed, very rarely lonely. "My time is melted away in almost -perpetual concerts," she told her sister. "I do not presume to judge, -but I'll assure you I am a very hearty as well as an humble admirer. I -have taken my little thread satin beauty into the house with me; she is -allowed by Bononcini to have the finest voice he ever heard in England. -He and Mrs. Robinson and Senesino lodge in this village, and sup often -with me: and this easy indolent life would make me the happiest -in the world, if I had not this execrable affair [of Remond] still -hanging over my head." To Anastasia Robinson there is more than one -allusion in Lady Mary's correspondence, and she gives a most amusing -account of an incident in that lady's career. - - -"Could one believe that Lady Holdernesse is a beauty, and in love? and -that Mrs. Robinson is at the same time a prude and a kept mistress? and -these things in spite of nature and fortune. The first of these ladies -is tenderly attached to the polite Mr. Mildmay, and sunk in all the joys -of happy love, notwithstanding she wants the use of her two hands by a -rheumatism, and he has an arm that he cannot move. I wish I could send -you the particulars of this amour, which seems to me as curious as that -between two oysters; and as well worth the serious enquiry of the -naturalists. The second heroine has engaged half the town in arms, from -the nicety of her virtue, which was not able to bear the too near -approach of Senesino in the opera; and her condescension in accepting of -Lord Peterborough for her champion, who has signalised both his love and -courage upon this occasion in as many instances as ever Don Quixote did -for Dulcinea. Poor Senesino, like a vanquished giant, was forced to -confess upon his knees that Anastasia was a nonpariel of virtue and -beauty. Lord Stanhope, as dwarf to the said giant, joked of his side, -and was challenged for his pains. Lord Delawar was Lord Peterborough's -second; my lady miscarried--the whole town divided into parties on this -important point. Innumerable have been the disorders between the two -sexes on so great an account, besides half the house of peers being put -under arrest. By the providence of Heaven, and the wise cares of his -Majesty, no bloodshed ensued. However, things are now tolerably -accommodated; and the fair lady rides through the town in triumph, in -the shining berlin of her hero, not to reckon the essential advantage of -L100 a month, which 'tis said he allows her." - - -This story is, as a matter of fact, not far removed from the truth. It -omits, however, the fact that Lord Peterborough, then about sixty years -of age, had married Anastasia Robinson in 1722; but the marriage was -secret, although Lady Oxford was present at the ceremony, and it was not -made public until thirteen years later, although long before there were -many who suspected it. He died in the same year that the announcement -was made. His widow survived him by a score of years. - -Sir Godfrey Kneller had a house at Twickenham, and, at the instigation -of Pope, sat to him for her portrait, upon which the following lines -(generally ascribed to Pope) were written: - - "The playful smiles around the dimpled mouth. - That happy air of majesty and truth; - So would I draw (but oh! 'tis vain to try, - My narrow genius does the power deny;) - The equal lustre of the heav'nly mind, - Where ev'ry grace with every virtue's join'd; - Learning not vain, and wisdom not severe, - With greatness easy, and with wit sincere; - With just description show the work divine, - And the whole princess in my work should shine." - -Mrs. Howard, afterwards the Countess of Suffolk, was a neighbour from -1723, when the Prince of Wales, whose mistress she was, provided her -with funds for the purchase of Marble Hill. However, though, of course, -she and Lady Mary were acquainted, there was at no time any intimacy -between them. Lady Mary, in fact, does not appear to have liked -Henrietta Howard. At least she on more than one occasion tittle-tattled -about her. "The most surprising news is Lord Bathurst's assiduous court -to their Royal Highnesses, which fills the coffee-houses with profound -speculations. But I, who smell a rat at a profound distance, do believe -in private that Mrs. Howard and his lordship have a friendship that -borders upon 'the tender.' - - "And though in histories, learned ignorance - Attributes all to cunning or to chance, - Love in that grave disguise does often smile, - Knowing the cause was kindness all the while." - -So Lady Mary wrote to Lady Mar in 1724, and shortly after returned to -the subject in another epistle: "You may remember I mentioned in my last -some suspicions of my own in relation to Lord Bathurst, which I really -never mentioned, for fifty reasons, to anyone whatsoever; but, as there -is never smoke without some fire, there is very rarely fire without some -smoke. These smothered flames, though admirably covered with whole heaps -of politics laid over them, were at last seen, felt, heard, and -understood; and the fair lady given to understand by her commanding -officer, that if she showed under other colours, she must expect to have -her pay retrenched. Upon which the good Lord was dismissed, and has not -attended the drawing-room since. You know one cannot help laughing, when -one sees him next, and I own I long for that pleasurable moment." - -To Twickenham came Philip, Duke of Wharton, and leased a villa, later -called The Grove, at the farther end of the hamlet from London. Of all -the lads of the village there was none for wildness like unto him. Born -in 1698, and therefore nine years younger than Lady Mary, he had at an -early age made himself conspicuous by unbridled excesses. Soon after the -death of his father, Thomas, first Marquess of Wharton, in 1715, his -conduct created so much scandal at home, that his guardians sent him -abroad in the custody of a tutor. To the horror of that unfortunate -person, his charge enrolled himself as an adherent of the Pretender, and -went to pay his respects at Avignon. The Duke had talent beyond the -ordinary. He could write fairly well, make an excellent speech, and had -a keen sense of wit. When he went to Paris, the British Ambassador, Lord -Stair, took it upon himself to give this madcap some sound advice. He -extolled the virtues of the late Marquess of Wharton, and, "I hope," he -said, "you will follow so illustrious an example of fidelity to your -Prince and love to your country." "I thank your Excellency for your good -counsel," replied the visitor courteously, "and as your Excellency had -also a worthy and discerning father, I hope that you will likewise copy -so bright an example, and tread in all his footsteps,"--an effective -though a brutal rejoinder, for the first Lord Stair had betrayed his -Sovereign. Young Wharton, on his return, however, showed by his conduct -that his visit to Avignon had been little more than a prank, for while -he had accepted a dukedom from the Pretender, he, in 1718, being still a -minor, accepted a dukedom from the British Sovereign--the single -instance of such a dignity being conferred upon a minor. - -Wharton, who did everything in haste, had in his seventeenth year eloped -with Martha, daughter of Major-General Richard Holmes, and married her -in the Fleet on March 2, 1715. As was only to be expected from a person -so volatile he from the beginning neglected his wife; but, as is put -quaintly in that unreliable work, _Memoirs of a Certain Island adjacent -to the Kingdom of Utopia_, which was concocted by Mrs. Eliza Haywood, -"after some years of continu'd extravagance, the Duke, either through -the natural Inconsistency of his Temper, or the Reflection how much he -had been drawn in by his unworthy Companions to embezel his Estate ... -began to think there were Comforts in Retirement; and falling into the -Conversation of the sober part of Mankind, more than he had done, was -persuaded by them to take home his Dutchess.... He brought her to his -House; but Love had no part in his Resolution. He lived with her indeed -but she is with him as a Housekeeper, as a Nurse." The relations were, -however, more intimate than Mrs. Haywood believed, for in March, 1719, a -son was born to them. - - -"The Duke of Wharton has brought his Duchess to town, and is fond of her -to distraction; in order to break the hearts of all other women that -have any claim on him," Lady Mary wrote to Lady Mar. "He has public -devotions twice a day, and assists at them in person with exemplary -devotion; and there is nothing pleasanter than the remarks of some pious -ladies on the conversion of such a sinner." - - -The letter from which the above passage is an extract must have been -written not later than the early spring of 1720, for after that date -the Duke and Duchess of Wharton did not again live together. The -immediate cause of the separation was that Wharton had forbidden his -wife to come to London where small-pox was raging at the time. She, -however, whether irked by the dulness of the country, or thinking by her -presence to guard her husband against those temptations to which he was -prone, followed him to the town, where the infant sickened of the -epidemic and died. After one great scene, they never met again. - -There is mention of the Duke in another letter of Lady Mary to Lady Mar, -dated February, 1724: - - -"In general, gallantry never was in so elevated a figure as it is at -present. Twenty very pretty fellows (the Duke of Wharton being president -and chief director) have formed themselves into a committee of -gallantry. They call themselves _Schemers_; and meet regularly three -times a week, to consult on gallant schemes for the advantage and -advancement of that branch of happiness.... I consider the duty of a -true Englishwoman is to do what honour she can to her native country; -and that it would be a sin against the pious love I bear the land of my -nativity, to confine the renown due to the Schemers within the small -extent of this little island, which ought to be spread wherever men can -sigh, or women wish. 'Tis true they have the envy and curses of the old -and ugly of both sexes, and a general persecution from all old women; -but this is no more than all reformations must expect in their -beginning." - - -More than one writer has asserted that it was the wit and beauty of Lady -Mary that drew him thither. At the time the Duke was twenty-four and the -lady nine years older. Certainly he paid her marked attention, but as he -paid marked attention to all women who had not a hump or a squint-- -sometimes, maybe, he even overlooked the squint--it is as impossible to -say whether he was in love with her as it is to assert that she was in -love with him. From the little that is known of their intimacy, it would -seem that they were merely good comrades--good comrades of the type that -might bite or scratch at any moment. Horace Walpole, who was more than -usually malicious where Lady Mary was concerned, could scarcely induce -himself to allow her any qualities. "My Lady Stafford,"[5] he wrote to -George Montagu in 1751, "used to live at Twickenham when Lady Mary -Wortley and the Duke of Wharton lived there; she had more wit than both -of them. What would I give to have had Strawberry Hill twenty years ago! -I think anything but twenty years. Lady Stafford used to say to her -sister, 'Well, child, I have come without my wit to-day'; that is, she -had not taken her opium, which she was forced to do if she had any -appointment, to be in particular spirits." - -[Footnote 5: Claude Charlotte, Countess of Stafford, wife of Henry, Earl of -Stafford, and daughter of Philibert, Count of Grammont, and Elizabeth -Hamilton, his wife.] - -Horace Walpole alluded to Lady Mary and the Duke in "The Parish Register -of Twickenham": - - "Twickenham, where frolic Wharton revelled - Where Montagu, with locks dishevelled. - Conflict of dirt and warmth combin'd, - Invoked--and scandalised the _Nine_." - -What Pope thought of the Duke he expressed with the utmost vigour: - - "Wharton, the scorn and wonder of our days, - Whose ruling passion was the lust of praise: - Born with whate'er could win it from the wise, - Women and fools must like him, or he dies: - Though wondering senates hung on all he spoke. - The club must hail him master of the joke. - Shall parts so various aim at nothing new? - He'll shine a Tully and a Wilmot too. - Then turns repentant, and his God adores - With the same spirit that he drinks and whores; - Enough, if all around him but admire, - And now the punk applaud, and now the friar. - Thus with each gift of nature and of art, - And wanting nothing but an honest heart; - Grown all to all; from no one vice exempt, - And most contemptible, to shun contempt: - His passion still, to covet general praise, - His life, to forfeit it a thousand ways; - A constant bounty which no friend has made; - An angel tongue, which no man can persuade; - A fool, with more of wit than half mankind; - Too rash for thought, for action too refined: - A tyrant to his wife his heart approves; - A rebel to the very king he loves; - He dies, sad outcast of each church and state, - And, harder still! flagitious, yet not great. - Ask you why Wharton broke through every rule? - 'Twas all for fear the knaves should call him fool." - -The Duke wrote a play on Mary Queen of Scots--of which only four lines -have been preserved: - - "Sure were I free, and Norfolk were a prisoner, - I'd fly with more impatience to his arms, - Than the poor Israelite gaz'd on the serpent. - When life was the reward of every look." - -It is usually stated that this play was written at some time between -1728 and 1730, but it is certain that it was begun at this time-- -probably it was never finished. Perhaps only the scenario was drawn up, -and a few scenes outlined; but that so much at least was done while the -author was at Twickenham is proved conclusively by the fact that at this -time Lady Mary composed for the play an epilogue, designed to be spoken -by Mrs. Oldfield. - - "What could luxurious woman wish for more. - To fix her joys, or to extend her pow'r? - Their every wish was in this Mary seen. - Gay, witty, youthful, beauteous, and a queen. - Vain useless blessings with ill-conduct join'd! - Light as the air, and fleeting as the wind. - Whatever poets write, and lovers vow. - Beauty, what poor omnipotence hast thou? - Queen Bess had wisdom, council, power and laws; - How few espous'd a wretched beauty's cause? - Learn thence, ye fair, more solid charms to prize, - Contemn the idle flatt'rers of your eyes. - The brightest object shines but while 'tis new. - That influence lessens by familiar view. - Monarchs and beauties rule with equal sway, - All strive to serve, and glory to obey, - Alike unpitied when depos'd they grow-- - Men mock the idol of their former vow. - Two great examples have been shown to-day, - To what sure ruin passion does betray, - What long repentance to short joys is due, - When reason rules, what glory must ensue. - If you will love, love like Eliza then, - Love for amusement, like those traitors, men. - Think that the pastime of a leisure hour - She favor'd oft--but never shar'd her pow'r. - The traveller by desert wolves pursued, - If by his heart the savage foe's subdu'd, - The world will still the noble act applaud, - Though victory was gain'd by needful fraud. - Such is, my tender sex, our helpless case, - And such the barbarous heart, hid by the begging face, - By passion fir'd, and not withheld by shame, - They cruel hunters are, we trembling game. - Trust me, dear ladies, (for I know 'em well), - They burn to triumph, and they sigh to tell: - Cruel to them that yield, cullies to them that sell. - Believe me, 'tis far the wiser course, - Superior art should meet superior force: - Hear, but be faithful to your int'rest still: - Secure your hearts--then fool with whom you will." - -At Twickenham the Duke seems in some degree to have relied for his -entertainment upon his pen. There he wrote his articles for the _True -Briton_, and also indited various trifles in verse. Never neglecting an -opportunity to indulge his humour, when Lady Mary Wortley Montagu wrote -a poem on the untimely death of a friend, he could not refrain from -presenting her with a parody. - - - ON THE DEATH OF MRS. BOWES - - _By Lady Mary Wortley Montagu_ - - "Hail, happy bride! for thou art truly bless'd, - Three months of rapture crown'd with endless rest. - Merit like yours was Heav'n's peculiar care, - You lov'd--yet tasted happiness sincere: - To you the sweets of love were only shown, - The sure succeeding bitter dregs unknown. - You had not yet the fatal change deplor'd - The tender lover for th' imperious lord, - Nor felt the pains that jealous fondness brings, - Nor wept that coldness from possession springs, - Above your sex distinguish'd in your fate, - You trusted--yet experienc'd no deceit. - Soft were your hours, and wing'd with pleasure flew, - No vain repentance gave a sign to you, - And if superior bliss heav'n can bestow, - With fellow-angels you enjoy it now." - - - THE ANSWER - - _By the Duke of Wharton_ - - "Hail, Poetess! for thou art truly blest, - Of wit, of beauty, and of love possest, - Your muse does seem to bless poor Bowes's fate, - But far 'tis from you to desire her state, - In every line your wanton soul appears. - Your verse, tho' smooth, scarce fit for modest ears, - No pangs of jealous fondness doth thou shew. - And bitter dregs of love thou ne'er didst know: - The coldness that your husband oft has mourn'd, - Does vanish quite, when warm'd on Turkish ground. - For Fame does say, if Fame don't lying prove, - You paid obedience to the Sultan's love. - Who, fair one, then, was your imperious Lord? - Not Montagu, but Mahomet the word: - Great as your wit, just so is Wortley's love, - Your next attempt will be on thund'ring Jove, - The little angels you on Bowes bestow. - But gods themselves are only fit for you." - - -No writer of verses likes to have fun poked at them, even in the form of -friendly banter, but Lady Mary seems to have borne the affliction -admirably. - -Two persons with such impish humour could not but frequently find -themselves at loggerheads, but their liking for each other's society was -genuine, and quarrels were followed by peace-making. "Sophia [as she -nicknamed the young man] and I have been quite reconciled, and are now -quite broke, and I believe not likely to piece up again," Lady Mary -wrote to her sister. This was in February, 1725, and a little later in -the year the breach was widened by the really outrageous conduct of the -Duke: - - -"Sophia and I have an immortal quarrel; which though I resolve never to -forgive, I can hardly forbear laughing at. An acquaintance of mine is -married, whom I wish very well to: Sophia has been pleased, on this -occasion, to write the most infamous ballad that ever was written; where -both the bride and bridegroom are intolerably mauled, especially the -last, who is complimented with the hopes of cuckoldom, and forty other -things equally obliging, and Sophia has distributed this ballad in such -a manner as to make it pass for mine, on purpose to pique the poor -innocent soul of the new-married man, whom I should be the last of -creatures to abuse. I know not how to clear myself of this vile -imputation, without a train of consequences I have no mind to fall into. -In the mean time, Sophia enjoys the pleasure of heartily plaguing both -me and that, person." - - -Probably this "immortal quarrel" would have been made up, but at the -beginning of July the Duke went abroad never to return. "Sophia is going -to Aix-la-Chapelle, and thence to Paris," Lady Mary wrote to Lady Mar. -"I dare swear she'll endeavour to get acquainted with you. We are broke -to an iremediable degree. Various are the persecutions I have endured -from her this winter, in all of which I remain neuter, and shall -certainly go to heaven from the passive meekness of my temper." - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -A FAMOUS QUARREL - -Pope and Lady Mary--He pays her compliments--His jealousy of her other -admirers--The cause of his quarrel with her--His malicious attacks on -her thereafter--Writes of her as "Sappho"--Lady Mary asks Arbuthnot to -protect her--Molly Skerritt--Lady Stafford--Lady Mary's malicious tongue -and pen--Mrs. Murray--"An Epistle from Arthur Grey"--Lady Mary, Lord -Hervey, and Molly Lepell--Death of the Earl of Kingston--Lady -Gower--Lady Mar--Marriage of Lady Mary's daughter. - - -Of Pope, it is curious to relate, though he was a near neighbour, she -saw less and less. It has been suggested that the first rift in the lute -was her parody of his verses about the lovers struck by lightning; but -even he, most sensitive of men, can scarcely have been seriously offended. -So far as is known, only two letters passed between them after 1719. - - -"I pass my time in a small snug set of dear intimates, and go very -little into the _grand monde_, which has always had my hearty contempt" -(she wrote to Lady Mar in the spring of 1722). "I see sometimes Mr. -Congreve, and very seldom Mr. Pope, who continues to embellish his house -at Twickenham. He has made a subterranean grotto, which he has furnished -with looking-glass, and they tell me it has a very good effect. I here -send you some verses addressed to Mr. Gay, who wrote him a -congratulatory letter on the finishing his house. I stifled them here, -and I beg they may die the same death at Paris, and never go further -than your closet: - - 'Ah, Friend, 'tis true--this truth you lovers know-- - In vain my structures rise, my gardens grow, - In vain fair Thames reflects the double scenes - Of hanging mountains, and of sloping greens: - Joy lives not here; to happier seats it flies, - And only dwells where Wortley casts her eyes. - - What is the gay parterre, the chequer'd shade, - The morning bower, the ev'ning colonnade, - But soft recesses of uneasy minds, - To sigh unheard in, to the passing winds? - So the struck deer in some sequestrate part - Lies down to die, the arrow at his heart; - There, stretch'd unseen in coverts hid from day, - Bleeds drop by drop, and pants his life away.' - - -It may here be remarked that in Epistle VIII of the _Moral Essays_ Pope -had a line: - - "And other beauties envy Wortley's eyes"; - -but in a reprint of the poem he substituted [Lady] "Worsley" for -"Wortley" in order to give the impression that "Wortley" had been a -misprint. - -Pope's quarrel with Lady Mary began in or about 1722. The cause is -obscure. Many reasons have been advanced. Lady Mary in her -correspondence gives no clue as to the breach. - -It has been said that it arose out of the fact that Pope lent the -Montagus a pair of sheets and that they were returned unwashed, to the -great indignation of his mother who lived with him. It is difficult to -believe this. - -Others have it that he was jealous of the favour which Lady Mary -accorded to the Duke of Wharton and Lord Hervey. Certainly he lampooned -the Duke, and he was never weary of writing insultingly about the other. - -Most probable is the account given by Lady Louisa Stuart, Lady Mary's -grand-daughter, which is to the effect that Pope made a declaration of -love, and that Lady Mary received it with shrieks of laughter. If Pope -were serious, it must have galled him indeed, though nothing can excuse -the malignity with which he pursued her for years and years. And if he -were not in earnest, he would probably have been nearly, if not quite, -as indignant. - -Anyhow, it is a sorry story, and a blot on the scutcheon of the poet, -who, good-hearted as he usually was, was cursed by the gift, refined to -a rare degree, of alienating his friends, more often than not for some -fancied slight. Addison he lampooned, and from Dennis and Philips he -parted company. "Leave him as soon as you can," Addison had warned Lady -Mary. "He will certainly play you some devilish trick else: he has an -appetite for satire." Lady Mary presently must have wished that she had -followed this sage counsel. - -When Pope fought, he fought with the gloves off; and not the sex or the -age or the standing of the subject of his wrath deterred him a whit. - - "Have I, in silent wonder, seen such things - As pride in slaves, and avarice in kings; - And at a peer, or peeress, shall I fret, - Who starves a sister, or forswears a debt?" - -Thus Pope in the First Dialogue of the _Epilogue to the Satires._ The -reference to forswearing a debt, is, of course, to the Remond business; -"who starves a sister" is an allusion to Lady Mary and Lady Mar.[6] - -[Footnote 6: _See_ p. 200 of this work.] - -Pope returned to the attack again and again. In _The Satires of Dr. John -Donne Versified_, he inserted the following lines, although there is -nothing in the original to warrant the stroke at Lady Mary: - - "Yes, thank my stars! as early as I knew - This town, I had the sense to hate it too: - Yet here, as e'en in hell, there must be still - One giant vice, so excellently ill. - That all beside, one pities, not abhors: - As who knows Sappho, smiles at other whores." - -Again, in the _Epistle to Martha Blount_: - - "As Sappho's diamonds with her dirty smock; - Or Sappho at her toilet's greasy task, - With Sappho radiant at an evening mask." - -Pope would not admit that he alluded to Lady Mary as Sappho, but -everyone realised that this was so. Lady Mary, much distressed, begged -Lord Peterborough to urge Pope to refrain. The mission was undertaken -reluctantly, and the result was scarcely satisfactory. "He said to me," -Lord Peterborough wrote to Lady Mary, "what I had taken the liberty of -saying to you, that he wondered how the town would apply these lines to -any but some noted common woman; that he would yet be more surprised if -you should take them to yourself; he named to me four remarkable -poetesses and scribblers, Mrs. Centlivre, Mrs. Heywood, Mrs. Manley, and -Mrs. Behn, assuring me that such only were the objects of his satire." - - -Much upset, Lady Mary wrote the following letter to Arbuthnot: - - -January 3 [1735]. - -"Sir, - -"I have perused the last lampoon of your ingenious friend, and am not -surprised you did not find me out under the name of Sappho, because -there is nothing I ever heard in our characters or circumstances to make -a parallel, but as the town (except you, who know better) generally -suppose Pope means me, whenever he mentions that name, I cannot help -taking notice of the horrible malice he bears against the lady signified -by that name, which appears to be irritated by supposing her writer of -the Verses to the Imitator of Horace. Now I can assure him they were -wrote (without my knowledge) by a gentleman of great merit, whom I very -much esteem, who he will never guess, and who, if he did know, he durst -not attack; but I own the design was so well meant, and so excellently -executed, that I cannot be sorry they were written. I wish you would -advise poor Pope to turn to some more honest livelihood than libelling; -I know he will allege in his excuse that he must write to eat, and he -has now grown sensible that nobody will buy his verses except their -curiosity is piqued to it, to see what is said of their acquaintance; -but I think this method of gain so exceeding vile that it admits of no -excuse at all.--Can anything be more detestable than his abusing poor -Moore, scarce cold in his grave, when it is plain he kept back his poem, -while he lived, for fear he should beat him for it? This is shocking to -me, though of a man I never spoke to and hardly knew by sight; but I am -seriously concerned at the worse scandal he has heaped on Mr. Congreve, -who was my friend, and whom I am obliged to justify, because I can do it -on my own knowledge, and, which is yet farther bring witness of it, from -those who were then often with me that he was so far from loving Pope's -rhyme, both that--and his conversation were perpetual jokes to him, -exceeding despicable in his opinion, and he has often made us laugh in -talking of them, being particularly pleasant on that subject. As to -Pope's being born of honest parents, I verily believe it, and will add -one praise to his mother's character, that (though I only knew her very -old) she always appeared to me to have much better sense than himself. I -desire, sir, as a favour, that you would show this letter to Pope, and -you will very much oblige, sir, - -"Your humble servant." - - -Lady Mary was not a person, after severe chastisement, to turn the other -cheek, and Pope was well aware of it. He believed that more than one -social satire upon him came from her pen; and he especially suspected -her of having written, or anyhow of having had a hand in the composition -of _A Pop upon Pope_, in which an account was given of a whipping in Ham -Walk which was said to have been administered to him. The poet was so -furious--he regarded it as an indirect attack on his physical deformity, -of which he was always so conscious--that he actually inserted an -announcement in the papers that no such incident had ever occurred-- -thereby drawing yet more attention to the lampoon. "You may be certain I -shall never reply to such a libel as Lady Mary's," he wrote to -Fortescue. "It is a pleasure and comfort at once to find out that with -so much mind as so much malice must have to accuse or blacken my -character, it can fix upon no one ill or immoral thing in my life and -must content itself to say, my poetry is dull and my person ugly." - -Lady Mary, in a letter to Arbuthnot, denied the authorship of _A Pop -upon Pope_: - - -"Sir, - -"Since I saw you I have made some inquiries, and heard more, of the -story you was so kind to mention to me. I am told Pope has had the -surprising impudence to assert he can bring the lampoon when he pleases -to produce it, under my own hand; I desire he may be made to keep to -this offer. If he is so skilful in counterfeiting hands, I suppose he -will not confine that great talent to the gratifying his malice, but -take some occasion to increase his fortune by the same method, and I may -hope (by such practices) to see him exalted according to his merit, -which nobody will rejoice at more than myself. I beg of you, sir (as an -act of justice), to endeavour to set the truth in an open light, and -then I leave to your judgment the character of those who have attempted -to hurt mine in so barbarous a manner. I can assure you (in particular) -you named a lady to me (as abused in this libel) whose name I never -heard before, and as I never had any acquaintance with Dr. Swift am an -utter stranger to all his affairs and even his person, which I never saw -to my knowledge, and am now convinced the whole is a contrivance of -Pope's to blast the reputation of one who never injured him. I am not -more sensible of his injustice, than I am, sir, of your [_sic_] candour, -generosity, and good sense I have found in you, which has obliged me to -be with a very uncommon warmth your real friend, and I heartily wish for -an opportunity of showing I am so more effectually than by subscribing -myself your very - -"Humble servant." - - -Whether, in spite of her denial, Lady Mary had a hand in _A Pop upon -Pope_ cannot be said; but it is certainly safe to believe that the -following lines were written by her, in conjunction, the gossip of the -day had it, with Lord Hervey, with some assistance from Mr. Wyndham, -then tutor to the Duke of Cumberland: - - "VERSES ADDRESSED TO THE IMITATOR OF THE FIRST SATIRE OF THE - SECOND BOOK OF HORACE. - - _By a Lady_ - - "Nor thou the justice of the world disown. - That leaves thee thus an outcast and alone: - For though in law the murder be to kill, - In equity the murder is the will. - Then while with coward hand you stab a name, - And try at least to assassinate our fame, - Like the first bold assassin be thy lot, - Ne'er be thy guilt forgiven or forgot; - But as thou hat'st by hatred by mankind, - And with the emblem of thy crooked mind - Marked on thy back, like Cain, by God's own hand, - Wander like him accursed through the land." - -It was this malignant attack upon his person that inspired Pope's lines -in the _Epistle to Arbuthnot_: - - "Once, and but once, his heedless youth was bit, - And liked that dangerous thing, a female wit. - Safe, so he thought, though all the prudent chid; - He writ no libels, but my lady did; - Great odds, in amorous or poetic game, - Where woman's is the sin, and man's the shame." - -With the following extract from a letter written by Lady Mary from -Florence in 1740 this unpleasing incident may be dismissed: - - -"The word malignity, and a passage in your letter, call to my mind the -wicked wasp of Twickenham: his lies affect me now no more; they will be -all as much despised as the story of the seraglio and the handkerchief, -of which I am persuaded he was the only inventor. That man has a -malignant and ungenerous heart; and he is base enough to assume the mask -of a moralist, in order to decry human nature, and to give a decent vent -to his hatred of man and woman kind.--But I must quit this contemptible -subject, on which a just indignation would render my pen so fertile, -that after having fatigued you with a long letter, I would surfeit you -with a supplement twice as long." - - -At Twickenham Lady Mary interested herself in planning alterations in -the house and gardens. "There is a sort of pleasure," she said, "in -shewing one's own fancy on one's own ground." The longer she stayed at -the riverside, the better she liked it. "I am at present at Twickenham," -she wrote in July, 1723, "which is become so fashionable, and the -neighbourhood so much enlarged, that 'tis more like Tunbridge or the -Bath than a country retreat." - - -"I am now at the same distance from London that you are from Paris, and -could fall into solitary amusements with a good deal of taste; but I -resist it, as a temptation of Satan, and rather turn my endeavours to -make the world as agreeable to me as I can, which is the true -philosophy; that of despising it is of no use but to hasten wrinkles" -(she wrote to Lady Mar in 1725). "I ride a good deal, and have got a -horse superior to any two-legged animal, he being without a fault. I -work like an angel. I receive visits upon idle days, and I shade my life -as I do my tent-stitch, that is, make as easy transitions as I can from -business to pleasure; the one would be too flaring and gaudy without -some dark shades of t'other; and if I worked altogether in the grave -colours, you know 'twould be quite dismal. Miss Skerritt is in the house -with, me, and Lady Stafford has taken a lodging at Richmond: as their -ages are different, and both agreeable in their kind, I laugh with the -one, or reason with the other, as I happen to be in a gay or serious -humour; and I manage my friends with such a strong yet with a gentle -hand, that they are both willing to do whatever I have a mind to." - - -"Molly," that is, Maria Skerritt or Skirrett, is best known for her -connection with Sir Robert Walpole. There was nothing clandestine about -the relationship: it was openly avowed. Miss Skerritt, who was the -daughter of a London merchant, had great good looks and an ample -fortune, and Walpole declared that she was indispensable to his -happiness. She was received everywhere, and moved in fashionable -society. It was to Lady Walpole and Molly Skerritt that Gay alluded in -the song that he put in the mouth of Macheath (who was meant for Robert -Walpole): - - "How happy could I be with either, - Were t'other dear Charmer away!" - -Lady Walpole survived until the summer of 1738, and after her death the -others married. The second Lady Walpole died of a miscarriage in June, -1739, to the great and enduring sorrow of her husband. For the surviving -child, Walpole, when he accepted a peerage in 1742, secured the rank of -an earl's daughter. - -Lady Mary now spent her time between London and Twickenham. At Court, -she was as popular as ever with the King; and she was liked in literary -circles, and on good terms with Young, Arbuthnot, Garth, and the rest of -the set. "I see every body but converse with nobody but _des amies -choisses_; in the first rank of these are Lady Stafford and dear Molly -Skerritt, both of whom have now the additional merit of being old -acquaintances, and never having given me any reason to complain of -either of 'em. I pass some days with the Duchess of Montagu, who might -be a reigning beauty if she pleased. I see the whole town every Sunday, -and select a few that I retain to supper. In short, if life could be -always what it is, I believe I have so much humility in my temper I -could be contented without anything better than this two or three -hundred years but, alas! - - 'Dulness, and wrinkles, and disease, must come, - And age, and death's irrevocable doom.'" - -Lady Mary, who had some two-score years still to live, began at this -time to deplore her increasing age. "For my own part," she wrote to -Lady Mar, "I have some coteries where wit and pleasure reign, and I -should not fail to amuse myself tolerably enough, but for the d----d -d----d quality of growing older every day, and my present joys are made -imperfect by fears of the future." However, this depression was not -always on her, and later she was writing: - - -"I think this is the first time in my life that a letter of yours has -lain by me two posts unanswered. You'll wonder to hear that short -silence is occasioned by not having a moment unemployed at Twickenham; -but I pass many hours on horseback, and, I'll assure you, ride -stag-hunting, which I know you'll stare to hear of. I have arrived to -vast courage and skill that way, and am as well pleased with it as with -the acquisition of a new sense: his Royal Highness [the Prince of Wales] -hunts in Richmond Park, and I make one of the _beau monde_ in his train. -I desire you after this account not to name the word old woman to me any -more: I approach to fifteen nearer than I did ten years ago, and am in -hopes to improve every year in health and vivacity." - - -Lady Mary's tongue made her many enemies in society, and when her tongue -failed her she brought her pen into action. Her love of scandal must -have gone far to make her unpopular, and if her letters to her sister at -Paris had been published she would have found herself with scarcely a -friend in the world. - -Correspondence between Lady Mary, from London or Twickenham, to her -sister, the Countess of Mar, at Paris, was a very one-sided affair. This -was, in part, owing to the fact that Lord Mar was, of course, suspect, -and that letters to him or to members of his family and household were -(in all probability) intercepted in this country. Lady Mary, who had -suspected this more than once, became more and more convinced that her -suspicions were justified. "I have writ to you at least five-and-forty -letters, dear sister, without receiving any answer, and resolved not to -confide in post-house fidelity any more, being firmly persuaded that -they never came to your hands, or you would not refuse one line to let -me know how you do, which is and ever will be of great importance to -me." That was written at Christmas, 1722, and though in the meantime -Lady Mary heard from her sister, she realised that if she wanted her -letters to arrive she must be careful as to the topics upon which she -discoursed. "Letters are so surely opened, I dare say nothing to you -either of our intrigues or duels, both of which would afford great -matter of mirth and speculation." The difficulties of communication did -not decrease. "I have writ to you twice since I received yours in answer -to that I sent by Mr. de Caylus," she remarked a little later; "but I -believe none of what I send by the post ever come to your hands, nor -ever will while they are directed to Mr. Waters, for reasons that you -may easily guess. I wish you would give me a safer direction; it is very -seldom I can have the opportunity of a private messenger, and it is very -often that I have a mind to write to my dear sister." - - -Lady Mary, of course, often stayed in London, and in her correspondence -are many references to her friends and her doings. - - -"Operas flourish more than ever, and I have been in a tract of going -every time," she wrote to her sister in April, 1723. "The people I live -most with are none of your acquaintance; the Duchess of Montagu -excepted, whom I continue to see often. Her daughter Belle is at this -instant in the paradisal state of receiving visits every day from a -passionate lover, who is her first love; whom she thinks the finest -gentleman in Europe, and is, besides that, Duke of Manchester. Her mamma -and I often laugh and sigh reflecting on her felicity, the consummation -of which will be in a fortnight. In the mean time they are permitted to -be alone together every day and all the day." - - -Mary's very best vein is the following letter, written about the same -time, and also addressed to her sister: - - -"I am yet in this wicked town, but purpose to leave it as soon as the -Parliament rises. Mrs. Murray and all her satellites have so seldom -fallen in my way, I can say little about them. Your old friend Mrs. -Lowther is still fair and young, and in pale pink every night in the -Parks; but, after being highly in favour, poor I am in utter disgrace, -without my being able to guess wherefore, except she fancied me the -author or abettor of two vile ballads written on her dying adventure, -which I am so innocent of that I never saw [them]. _A propos_ of -ballads, a most delightful one is said or sung in most houses about our -dear beloved plot, which has been laid firstly to Pope, and secondly to -me, when God knows we have neither of us wit enough to make it. Mrs. -Hervey lies-in of a female child. Lady Rich is happy in dear Sir -Robert's absence, and the polite Mr. Holt's return to his allegiance, -who, though in a treaty of marriage with one of the prettiest girls in -town (Lady Jane Wharton), appears better with her than ever. Lady Betty -Manners is on the brink of matrimony with a Yorkshire Mr. Monckton of -L3,000 per annum: it is a match of the young duchess's making, and she -thinks matter of great triumph over the two coquette beauties, who can -get nobody to have and to hold; they are decayed to a piteous degree and -so neglected that they are grown constant and particular to the two -ugliest fellows in London. Mrs. Pulteney condescends to be publicly kept -by the noble Earl of Cadogan; whether Mr. Pulteney has a pad nag -deducted out of the profits for his share I cannot tell, but he appears -very well satisfied with it. This is, I think, the whole state of love; -as to that of wit, it splits itself into ten thousand branches; poets -increase and multiply to that stupendous degree, you see them at every -turn, even in embroidered coats and pink-coloured top-knots; making -verses is almost as common as taking snuff, and God can tell what -miserable stuff people carry about in their pockets, and offer to -their acquaintances, and you know one cannot refuse reading and taking a -pinch. This is a very great grievance, and so particularly shocking to -me, that I think our wise lawgivers should take it into consideration, -and appoint a fast-day to beseech Heaven to put a stop to this -epidemical disease, as they did last year for the plague with great -success." - - -Another typical letter from Lady Mary contains a story of the class that -strongly appealed to her: - - -"The most diverting story about town at present is in relation to -Edgcombe; though your not knowing the people concerned so well as I do, -will, I fear hinder you from being so much entertained by it. I can't -tell whether you know a tall, musical, silly, ugly thing, niece to Lady -Essex Roberts, who is called Miss Leigh. She went a few days ago to -visit Mrs. Betty Tichborne, Lady Sunderland's sister, who lives in the -house with her, and was denied at the door; but, with the true manners -of a great fool, told the porter that if his lady was at home she was -very positive she would be very glad to see her. Upon which she was -shewed up stairs to Miss Tichborne, who was ready to drop down at the -sight of her, and could not help asking her in a grave way how she got -in, being denied to every mortal, intending to pass the evening in -devout preparation. Miss Leigh said she had sent away her chair and -servants, with intent of staying till nine o'clock. There was then no -remedy, and she was asked to sit down; but had not been there a quarter -of an hour when she heard a violent rap at the door, and somebody -vehemently run up stairs. Miss Tichborne seemed much surprised, and said -she believed it was Mr. Edgcombe, and was quite amazed how he took it -into his head to visit her. During these excuses enter Edgcombe, who -appeared frighted at the sight of a third person. Miss Tichborne told -him almost at his entrance that the lady he saw there was perfect -mistress of music, and as he passionately loved it, she thought she -could not oblige him more than by desiring her to play. Miss Leigh very -willingly sat to the harpsichord; upon which her audience decamped to -the adjoining room, and left her to play over three or four lessons to -herself. They returned, and made what excuses they could, but said very -frankly they had not heard her performance, and begged her to begin -again; which she complied with, and gave them the opportunity of a -second retirement. Miss Leigh was by this time all fire and flame to see -her heavenly harmony thus slighted; and when they returned, told them -she did not understand playing to an empty room. Mr. Edgcombe begged ten -thousand pardons, and said, if she would play _Godi_, it was a tune he -died to hear, and it would be an obligation he should never forget. She -made answer she would do him a much greater favour by her absence, which -she supposed was all that was necessary at that time; and ran down -stairs in a great fury to publish as fast as she could; and was so -indefatigable in this pious design, that in four-and-twenty hours all -the people in town had heard the story. My Lady Sunderland could not -avoid hearing this story, and three days after, invited Miss Leigh to -dinner, where, in the presence of her sister and all the servants, she -told her she was very sorry she had been so rudely treated in her house; -that it was very true Mr. Edgcombe had been a perpetual companion of her -sister's these two years, and she thought it high time he should explain -himself, and she expected her sister should act in this matter as -discreetly as Lady K. [Katherine] Pelham had done in the like case; who -had given Mr. Pelham four months to resolve in, and after that he was -either to marry her or to lose her for ever. Sir Robert Sutton -interrupted her by saying, that he never doubted the honour of Mr. -Edgcombe, and was persuaded he could have no ill design in his family. -The affair stands thus, and Mr. Edgcombe has four months to provide -himself elsewhere; during which time he has free egress and regress; and -'tis seriously the opinion of many that a wedding will in good earnest -be brought about by this admirable conduct. - -"I send you a novel instead of a letter, but, as it is in your power to -shorten it when you please, by reading no farther than you like, I will -make no excuses for the length of it." - - -Lady Mary had contracted an intimacy with Griselda Baillie, the wife of -Mr. (afterwards Sir A.) Murray, of Stanhope, after her return from -abroad, and there is frequent mention of her in the correspondence; but -the friendship came to an abrupt end in 1725. - - -"Among the rest a very odd whim has entered the little head of Mrs. -Murray: do you know she won't visit me this winter?" Lady Mary wrote to -Lady Mar. "I, according to the usual integrity of my heart, and -simplicity of my manners, with great _naivete_ desired to explain with -her on the subject, and she answered that she was convinced that I had -made the ballad upon her, and was resolved never to speak to me again. I -answered (which was true), that I utterly defied her to have any one -single proof of my making it, without being able to get any thing from -her, but repetitions that she knew it. I cannot suppose that any thing -you have said should occasion this rupture, and the reputation of a -quarrel is always so ridiculous on both sides, that you will oblige me -in mentioning it to her, for 'tis now at that pretty pass, she won't -curtsey to me whenever she mets me, which is superlatively silly (if she -really knew it), after a suspension of resentment for two years -together." - - -Mrs. Murray had had an unpleasant adventure with her footman, Arthur -Grey, who had broken into her bedroom. Lady Mary had written and -circulated _An Epistle from Arthur Grey,_ and later another, and an -improper, ballad had appeared under the title of _Virtue in Danger_. -Mrs. Murray was firmly convinced that both pieces came from the same -pen. - -Lady Mar, on receipt of the above letter, proposed to act as peacemaker. -"I give you thanks for the good offices you promise with regard to Mrs. -Murray," Lady Mary wrote to her in reply, "and I shall think myself -sincerely obliged to you, as I already am on many accounts. 'Tis very -disagreeable in her to go about behaving and talking as she does, and -very silly into the bargain." - - -"Mrs. Murray is in open war with me in such a manner as makes her very -ridiculous without doing me much harm; my moderation having a very -bright pretence of shewing itself" (she wrote to Lady Mar). "Firstly, -she was pleased to attack me in very Billingsgate at a masquerade, where -she was as visible as ever she was in her own clothes. I had the temper -not only to keep silence myself, but enjoined it to the person with me; -who would have been very glad to have shewn his great skill in sousing -upon that occasion. She endeavoured to sweeten him by very exorbitant -praises of his person, which might even have been mistaken for making -love from a woman of less celebrated virtue; and concluded her oration -with pious warnings to him, to avoid the conversation of one so unworthy -his regard as myself, who to her certain knowledge loved another man. -This last article, I own, piqued me more than all her preceding -civilities. The gentleman she addressed herself to had a very slight -acquaintance with me, and might possibly go away in the opinion that she -had been confidante in some very notorious affair of mine. However, I -made her no answer at the time, but you may imagine I laid up these -things in my heart; and the first assembly I had the honour to meet her -at, with a meek tone of voice, asked her how I had deserved so much -abuse at her hands, which I assured her I would never return. She denied -it in the spirit of lying; and in the spirit of folly owned it at -length. I contented myself with telling her she was very ill advised, -and thus we parted. But two days ago, when Sir Geoffrey Kneller's -pictures were to be sold, she went to my sister Gower, and very civily -asked if she intended to bid for your picture; assuring her that, if she -did, she would not offer at purchasing it. You know crimp and quadrille -incapacitate that poor soul from ever buying any thing; but she told me -this circumstance; and I expected the same civility from Mrs. Murray, -having no way provoked her to the contrary. But she not only came to the -auction, but with all possible spite bid up the picture, though I told -her that, if you pleased to have it, I would gladly part with it to you, -though to no other person. This had no effect upon her, nor her malice -any more on me than the loss of ten guineas extraordinary, which I paid -upon her account. The picture is in my possession, and at your service -if you please to have it. She went to the masquerade a few nights -afterwards, and had the good sense to tell people there that she was -very unhappy in not meeting me, being come there on purpose to abuse me. -What profit or pleasure she has in these ways I cannot find out. This I -know, that revenge has so few joys for me, I shall never lose so much -time as to undertake it." - -So early as 1721, Lady Mary, writing to Lady Mar, mentions that "the -most considerable incident that has happened a good while, was the -ardent affection that Mrs. Hervey and her dear spouse[7] took to me. -They visited me twice or thrice a day, and were perpetually cooing in my -rooms. I was complaisant a great while; but (as you know) my talent has -never lain much that way. I grew at last so weary of those birds of -paradise, I fled to Twickenham, as much to avoid their persecutions as -for my own health, which is still in a declining way." Lady Mary did not -like Lady Hervey, the beautiful "Molly" Lepell, whom Gay eulogised: - - "Hervey, would you know the passion - You have kindled in my breast? - Trifling is the inclination - That by words can be expressed. - - In my silence see the lover; - True love is by silence known; - In my eyes you'll best discover, - All the power of your own." - -[Footnote 7: The Hon. John Hervey (1696-1743), younger son of John, -first Earl of Bristol; known as Lord Hervey after the death of his elder -brother Carr in 1723; Vice-Chamberlain of George II's Household, 1730; -created Baron Hervey of Ickworth, 1733, Lord Privy Seal, 1740-1742.] - -For Hervey, however, Lady Mary came to have a strong liking that many -believed to have, as she would have said, bordered upon "the tender"; -although it is on record that she once remarked that she divided the -human race into men, women, and Herveys. They met whenever they could; -when they could not meet they corresponded. Pope bitterly resented the -intimacy between Lady Mary and Hervey, and in the _Epistle of Arbuthnot_ -gave vent to the malignity with which his soul had been for years -overflowing: - - "P. Let Sporus tremble. - - A. What? That thing of silk; - Sporus, that mere white curd of ass's milk? - Satire or sense, alas! can Sporus feel? - Who breaks a butterfly on the wheel? - - P. Yet let me flap this bug with gilded wings, - This painted Child of dirt, that stinks and stings; - Whose buzz the witty and the fair annoys, - Yet wit ne'er tastes and beauty ne'er enjoys: - So well-bred spaniels civilly delight - In mumbling of the game they dare not bite. - Eternal smiles his emptiness betray, - As shallow streams run dimpling all the way. - Whether in florid impotence he speaks, - And, as the prompter breathes, the puppet squeaks; - Or at the ear of Eve,[8] familiar toad. - Half froth, half venom, spits himself abroad, - In pun, or politics, or tales, or lies. - Or spite, or smut, or rhymes, or blasphemies. - His wit all see-saw, between that and this, - Now high, now low, now make up, now miss, - And he himself one vile antithesis. - Amphibious thing! that acting either part, - The trifling head, or the corrupted heart; - Fop at the hostel, flatterer at the board, - Now trips a lady, and now struts a Lord. - Eve's tempter thus the Rabbins have expressed, - A cherub's face--a reptile all the rest. - Beauty that shocks you, parts that none can trust, - Wit that can creep, and pride that licks the dust." - -[Footnote 8: Queen Caroline.] - -This was a heavy price to pay for the favours even of Lady Mary Wortley -Montagu. - -Whatever the relations between Lady Mary and Hervey, Lady Hervey was not -indulgent to them, which may have inspired Lady Mary to write to her -sister: "Lady Hervey, by aiming too high, has fallen very low; and is -reduced to trying to persuade folks she has an intrigue, and gets nobody -to believe her; the man in question taking a great deal of pains to -clear himself of the scandal." Lady Hervey and Mrs. Murray were active -partisans of Lord Grange in his persecution of Lady Mary, and aided him -in his attempts to get possession of her sister, Lady Mar. - -The bad terms on which Lady Mary and Lady Hervey were is most clearly -defined by Lady Louisa Stuart: "At the time of Lady Mary Wortley's return -home [in 1762, after an absence abroad of more than twenty years], Lady -Hervey was living in great intimacy with Lady Bute, for whom she -professed, and it is believed really felt, the highest esteem and -admiration. On hearing of her mother's arrival, she came to her, owning -herself embarrassed by the fear of giving her pain or offence, but yet -compelled to declare that formerly something had passed between her and -Lady Mary which made any renewal of their acquaintance impossible; -therefore, if she forbore visiting her, she threw herself upon Lady -Bute's friendship and candour for pardon. No explanation followed. Lady -Bute, who must have early seen the necessity of taking care not to be -entangled in her mother's quarrels, which, to speak truth, were seldom -few in number, only knew that there had been an old feud between her, -Lady Hervey, and Lady Hervey's friend, Mrs. (or Lady) Murray; the -particulars of which, forgotten even then by everybody but themselves, -may well be now beyond recall." - -During this period there were several domestic happenings in Lady Mary's -family. - -On March 5, 1726, died her father, the Duke of Kingston. After the -accession of George I, the Marquess of Dorchester (as he then was) was -high in favour at Court, and honours were showered upon him with a -lavish hand. He was in 1714 appointed Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire, and -in the same year Chief Justice in Eyre, north of Trent, which latter -dignity he held for two years. In August, 1715, he was created Duke of -Kingston upon Hull, in the county of Yorkshire. He held the high office -of Lord Privy Seal from 1716 to 1719 in the Administrations of Townshend -and Stanhope, in the latter year becoming Lord President of the Council. -When Walpole became First Lord of the Treasury, the Duke again became -Lord Privy Seal, and held the post until his death. He was given the -Garter in 1719, and was four times named as one of the Lord Justices of -the Realm during the King's absences from England on visits to Hanover. -He had married, secondly, Isabella, fifth daughter of William Bentinck, -first Earl of Portland, by his first wife, Anne, daughter of Sir Edward -Villiers, who survived him two years. - -The Duke had never really forgiven Lady Mary for eloping. Her defiance -of him hurt his pride inordinately. Everyone else to some degree at -least he could control; his young daughter not at all. Only so far were -they ever reconciled that he would occasionally visit the Montagus at -their London house and play with the children. - -In his later years the Duke's health was unsatisfactory, but it was not -thought that the end was so near. "I have now to tell you of the -surprising death of my father, and a great deal of surprising management -of the people about him, which I leave informing you until another time, -being now under some spirit of hurry myself," Lady Mary wrote to Lady -Mar in March, 1726. "I am unfeignedly sorry that I cannot send you word -of a considerable legacy for yourself." On April 15 she supplemented -this account; but not to a degree to make it very intelligible: - - -"To be sure, the shock must be very great to you whenever you heard it; -as indeed it was to us all here, being so sudden. It is to no purpose -now to relate particulars, but only renewing our grief. I can't forbear -telling you the Duchess has behaved very oddly in endeavouring to get -the guardianship of the young Duke and his sister, contrary to her -husband's will; but the boy, when he was fourteen, confirmed the -trustees his grandfather left; so that ended all disputes; and Lady -Fanny is to live with my aunt Cheyne. There is a vast number of things -that have happened, and some people's behaviour so extraordinary in this -melancholy business, that it would be great ease of mind if I could tell -it you; but I must not venture to speak too freely in a letter." - - -A week or so later, some further details were forthcoming: - - -"I received yours, dear sister, this minute, and am very sorry both for -your past illness and affliction; though _au bout du compte_, I don't -know why filial piety should exceed fatherly fondness. So much by way of -consolation. As to the management at that time--I do verily believe, if -my good aunt and sister had been less fools, and my dear mother-in-law -less mercenary, things might have had a turn more to your advantage and -mine too; when we meet, I will tell you many circumstances which would -be tedious in a letter. I could not get my sister Gower to join to act -with me, and mamma and I were in an actual scold when my poor father -expired; she has shewn a hardness of heart upon this occasion that would -appear incredible to any body not capable of it themselves. The addition -to her jointure is, one way or other, L2000 per annum; so her good Grace -remains a passable rich widow, and is already presented by the town with -a variety of young husbands; but I believe her constitution is not good -enough to let her amorous inclinations get the better of her covetous." - - -Lady Mary was very angry, because she heard that at the end her father -had really expressed a great deal of kindness to her, and even a desire -of talking to her, which the Duchess would not permit. However, he left -her in his will, she having married without a settlement, L6,000 for her -separate use during her life, with reversion to her daughter. - -As regards the heir, she wrote: "The Duke of Kingston has hitherto had so -ill an education, 'tis hard to make any judgment of him; he has spirit, -but I fear he will never have his father's good sense. As young noblemen -go, 'tis possible he may make a good figure among them." - -The young Duke was sent to France, and there was much discussion as to -what should be done with his sister, Lady Frances Pierrepont. Her having -L400 per annum for maintenance, has, Lady Mary remarked ironically, -"awakened the consciences of half her relations to take care of her -education, and (excepting myself) they have all been squabbling about -her. My sister Gower carries her off to-morrow morning to Staffordshire. -The lies, twaddles, and contrivances about this affair are innumerable. -I should pity the poor girl if I saw she pitied herself." - -Lady Gower did not long enjoy her victory over her friends and her fond -relations, for she died in June, 1727. - -In May, 1732, Lord Mar died at Aix-la-Chapelle. Lady Mary's sister, Lady -Mar, in later years suffered from mental irregularity. Her brother-in-law, -James Erskine, Lord Grange, endeavoured to secure possession of her -person by some process of law, but was thwarted by Lady Mary, who -obtained a warrant from the King's Bench. For years Lady Mar remained in -her sister's custody. She survived until 1761. There was a rumour that -Lady Mary treated her badly, but there is no reason to believe that -there was any substantial ground for the accusation. - -Lady Mary's daughter, Mary, married in 1736, John Stuart, third Earl of -Bute, the favourite of the Princess of Wales, and afterwards Prime -Minister. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -ON THE CONTINENT (1739-1744) - -Lady Mary leaves England--She does not return for twenty years--Montagu -supposed to join her--The domestic relations of the Montagus--A -septennial act for marriage--Lady Mary corresponds with her -husband--Dijon--Turin--Venice--Bologna--Florence--The Monastery of La -Trappe--Horace Walpole at Florence--His comments on Lady Mary and her -friends--Reasons for his dislike of her--Rome--The Young Pretender and -Henry, Cardinal York--Wanderings--Cheapness of life in Italy--Lady -Mary's son, Edward--He is a great trouble to his parents--His absurd -marriage--His extravagance and folly--Account of his early years--He -visits Lady Mary at Valence--Her account of the interviews. - - -In July, 1739, Lady Mary went abroad. She did not return until the -beginning of 1762, a few months before her death. - -She went abroad without her husband, and, indeed, they never met again. -At first, apparently, he had intended to join her--at least so she gave -Lady Pomfret to understand: - - -"You have put me to a very difficult choice, yet, when I consider we are -both in Italy, and yet do not see one another, I am astonished at the -capriciousness of my fortune" (she wrote from Venice late in 1739). "My -affairs are so uncertain, I can answer for nothing that is future. I -have taken some pains to put the inclination for travelling into Mr. -Wortley's head, and was so much afraid he would change his mind, that I -hastened before him in order (at least) to secure my journey. He -proposed following me in six weeks, his business requiring his presence -at Newcastle. Since that, the change of scene that has happened in -England has made his friends persuade him to attend parliament this -session: so that what his inclinations, which must govern mine, will be -next spring I cannot absolutely foresee. For my own part, I like my own -situation so well that it will be a displeasure to me to change it. To -postpone such a conversation as yours a whole twelvemonth is a terrible -appearance; on the other hand, I would not follow the example of the -first of our sex, and sacrifice for a present pleasure a more lasting -happiness. In short, I can determine nothing on this subject. When you -are at Florence, we may debate it over again." - - -So little is known of the domestic relations of the Montagus that it is -hazardous to advance a conjecture. One writer has suggested that there -was a quarrel over money, but there are no grounds to support this. -Another has it that Lady Mary's flirtations or intrigues did not meet -with her husband's approval. Yet another thinks that Montagu found his -wife with her sharp tongue, very ill to live with. - -The Montagus had been married for seven-and-twenty years; their younger -child was now twenty-one. Since Montagu assisted Lady Mary as a girl -with her Latin studies, they do not seem to have had much in common. -Lady Mary cut a figure in the social world; Montagu was a nonentity in -political life and seemed content so to be. Perhaps they were tired of -each other, and welcomed a separation that at the outset was intended -only to be temporary. "It was from the customs of the Turks that I first -had the thought of a septennial bill for the benefit of married -persons," Lady Mary once said to Joseph Spence; and it is more than -likely that she would have taken advantage of such an Act of Parliament -had it been in existence. - -That there was no definite breach is evident from the fact that husband -and wife corresponded, though it must be confessed that her letters to -her husband are almost uniformly dull, except when the topic is their -son. On the other hand, there was certainly no especial degree of -friendship between them, and in one of her letters Lady Mary said -pointedly: "You do not seem desirous to hear news, which makes me not -trouble you with any." For the rest there are descriptions of the places -which Lady Mary visited and an account of the people she met. - -Lady Mary proceeded from Dover to Calais, and thence to Dijon, where she -arrived in the middle of August. Wherever she went she found herself -among friends. "There is not any town in France where there is not -English, Scotch or Irish families established; and I have met with -people who have seen me (though often such as I do not remember to have -seen) in every town I have passed through; and I think the farther I go, -the more acquaintance I meet," she told her husband. At Dijon there were -no less than sixteen families of fashion. Lord Mansel had lodgings in -the house with her at Dijon, and Mrs. Whitsted, a daughter of Lord -Bathurst, resided in the same street. She met Lady Peterborough, and -just missed the Duke of Rutland, at St. Omer. At Port Beauvoisin she ran -across Lord Carlisle. - -From Turin, she travelled, on the advice of Lord Carlisle, to Vienna, -which he declared was the best place in Italy in which to stay. The fact -that it was the intention of Lady Pomfret to remove from Sienna to -Vienna was the deciding factor. She liked the latter city so well that -she remained there until August of the following year (1740). It had one -great merit in Lady Mary's eyes, that it was cheap. Next to that, she -derived pleasure from the consideration with which she was treated. "I -like this place extremely, and am of opinion you would do so too: as to -cheapness, I think 'tis impossible to find any part of Europe where both -the laws and customs are so contrived purposely to avoid expenses of all -sorts; and here is a universal liberty that is certainly one of the -greatest _agrements_ in life. We have foreign ambassadors from all parts -of the world, who have all visited me. I have received visits from many -of the noble Venetian ladies; and upon the whole I am very much at my -ease here. If I was writing to Lady Sophia, I would tell her of the -comedies and operas which are every night, at very low prices; but I -believe even you will agree with me that they are ordered to be as -convenient as possible, every mortal going in a mask, and consequently -no trouble in dressing, or forms of any kind." So Lady Mary wrote to -Lady Pomfret on October 10; and a few days later she supplemented the -information in a letter to her husband: - - -"I find myself very well here. I am visited by the most considerable -people of the town, and all the foreign ministers, who have most of them -made great entertainments for me. I dined yesterday at the Spanish -ambassador's, who even surpassed the French in magnificence. He met me -at the hall-door, and the lady at the stair-head, to conduct me through -the long apartment; in short, they could not have shown me more honours, -if I had been an ambassadress. She desired me to think myself patrona -del casa, and offered me all the services in her power, to wait on me -where I pleased, &c. They have the finest palace in Venice. What is very -convenient, I hear it is not at all expected I should make any dinners, -it not being the fashion for anybody to do it here but the foreign -ministers; and I find I can live here very genteelly on my allowance. I -have already a very agreeable general acquaintance; though when I came, -here was no one I had ever seen in my life, but the Cavaliere Grimani -and the Abbe Conti. I must do them [the] justice to say they have taken -pains to be obliging to me. The Procurator brought his niece (who is at -the head of his family) to wait on me; and they invited me to reside -with them at their palace on the Brent, but I did not think it proper to -accept of it. He also introduced me to the Signora Pisani Mocenigo, who -is the most considerable lady here. The Nuncio is particularly civil to -me; he has been several times to see me, and has offered me the use of -his box at the opera. I have many others at my service, and, in short -it, is impossible for a stranger to be better received than I am. Here -are no English, except a Mr. Bertie and his governor, who arrived two -days ago, and who intends but a short stay." - - -Lady Mary thoroughly enjoyed herself at Venice, where she found a -variety of occupations to occupy her time. In the mornings she was -"wrapt up among my books with antiquarians and virtuosi"; in the -afternoons there were visits to pay and receive; in the evenings dinners -(at other people's expense--which fact did not detract from her -pleasure), assemblies, and the theatre and the opera. In fact, she found -there every delight except scandal, but that she did not miss, because -she said, she "never found any pleasure in malice." So strange a thing -is human nature that perhaps she believed it! - - -"Upon my word, I have spoken my real thoughts in relation to Venice; but -I will be more particular in my description, lest you should find the -same reason of complaint you have hitherto experienced" (she wrote in -November to Lady Pomfret). "It is impossible to give any rule for the -agreeableness of conversation; but here is so great a variety, I think -'tis impossible not to find some to suit every taste. Here are foreign -ministers from all parts of the world, who, as they have no Court to -employ their hours, are overjoyed to enter into commerce with any -stranger of distinction. As I am the only lady here at present, I can -assure you I am courted, as if I was the only one in the world. As to -all the conveniences of life, they are to be had at very easy rates; and -for those that love public places, here are two playhouses and two -operas constantly performed every night, at exceeding low prices. But -you will have no reason to examine that article, no more than myself; -all the ambassadors having boxes appointed them; and I have every one of -their keys at my service, not only for my own person, but whoever I -please to carry or send. I do not make much use of this privilege, to -their great astonishment. It is the fashion for the greatest ladies to -walk the streets, which are admirably paved; and a mask, price sixpence, -with a little cloak, and the head of a domino, the genteel dress to -carry you everywhere. The greatest equipage is a gondola, that holds -eight persons, and is the price of an English chair. And it is so much -the established fashion for everybody to live their own way, that -nothing is more ridiculous than censuring the actions of another. This -would be terrible in London, where we have little other diversion; but -for me, who never found any pleasure in malice, I bless my destiny that -has conducted me to a part where people are better employed than in -talking of the affairs of their acquaintance. It is at present excessive -cold (which is the only thing I have to find fault with), but in -recompense we have a clear bright sun, and fogs and factions things -unheard of in this climate." - - -Certainly everybody did the utmost to make Venice agreeable to Lady -Mary. With all her good opinion of herself and of her position, she -found herself treated with more distinction than she "could possibly -expect." When, on Christmas Eve, she went to see the ceremony of High -Mass celebrated by the Doge, she was surprised to find that he had set -aside for her and the Prince of Wolfenbuttel a gallery, to which none -were admitted but their parties. "A greater compliment could not have -been paid me if I had been a sovereign Princess." To her husband she -wrote: "It is impossible to be better treated, I may even say more -courted, than I am here." - -All the English who came to Venice, as a matter of course paid their -respects to Lady Mary. - - -"Lord Fitzwilliam arrived here three days ago; he came to see me the -next day, as all the English do, who are much surprised at the -civilities and familiarity which I am with the noble ladies. Everybody -tells me 'tis what never was done but to myself; and I own I have a -little vanity in it, because the French ambassador told me when I first -came, that though the Procurator Grimani might persuade them to visit -me, he defied me to enter into any sort of intimacy with them: instead -of which they call me out almost every day on some diversion or other, -and are desirous to have me in all their parties of pleasure. I am -invited to-morrow to the Foscarini to dinner, which is to be followed -by a concert and a ball, where I shall be the only stranger, though here -are at present a great number come to see the regatta, which is fixed -for the 29th of this month, N.S. I shall see it at the Procurator -Grimani's, where there will be a great entertainment that day. My own -house is very well situated to see it, being on the Grand Canal; but I -would not refuse him and his niece, since they seem desirous of my -company, and I shall oblige some other ladies with my windows. They are -hired at a great rate to see the show." - -There was just one fly in the ointment. "I am impatient to hear good -sense pronounced in my native tongue; having only heard my language out -of the mouths of boys and governors for these five months" (she -complained to Lady Pomfret). "Here are inundations of them broke in upon -us this carnival, and my apartment must be their refuge; the greater -part of them having kept an inviolable fidelity to the languages their -nurses taught them; their whole business abroad (as far as I can -perceive) being to buy new clothes, in which they shine in some obscure -coffee-house, where they are sure of meeting only one another; and after -the important conquest of some waiting gentlewoman of an opera queen, -whom perhaps they remember as long as they live, return to England -excellent judges of men and manners. I find the spirit of patriotism so -strong in me every time I see them, that I look on them as the greatest -blockheads in nature; and, to say truth, the compound of booby and -_petit maitre_ makes up a very odd sort of animal." - -It was not until the middle of August (1740) that Lady Mary left Venice, -going first to Bologna, where she stayed a day or two "to prepare for -the dreadful passage of the Apennines." On her way to Florence, she -visited the monastery of La Trappe--her account of which may be given as -a companion portrait to that of the nunnery printed in an earlier -chapter. - - -"The monastery of La Trappe, is of French origin, and one of the most -austere and self-denying orders I have met with. In this gloomy retreat -it gave me pain to observe the infatuation of men, who have devoutly -reduced themselves to a much worse condition than that of the beasts. -Folly, you see, is the lot of humanity, whether it arises in the flowery -paths of pleasure, or the thorny ones of an ill-judged devotion. But of -the two sorts of fools, I shall always think that the merry one has the -most eligible fate; and I cannot well form a notion of that spiritual -and ecstatic joy, that is mixed with sighs, groans, hunger, and thirst, -and the other complicated miseries of monastic discipline. It is a -strange way of going to work for happiness to excite an enmity between -soul and body, which Nature and Providence have designed to live -together in union and friendship, and which we cannot separate like man -and wife when they happen to disagree. The profound silence that is -enjoined upon the monks of La Trappe is a singular circumstance of their -unsociable and unnatural discipline, and were this injunction never to -be dispensed with, it would be needless to visit them in any other -character than as a collection of statues; but the superior of the -convent suspended in our favour that rigorous law, and allowed one of -the mutes to converse with me, and answer a few discreet questions. He -told me that the monks of this order in France are still more austere -than those of Italy, as they never taste wine, flesh, fish, or eggs; but -live entirely upon vegetables. The story that is told of the institution -of this order is remarkable, and is well attested, if my information is -good. Its founder was a French nobleman whose name was Bouthillior de -Rance, a man of pleasure and gallantry, which were converted into the -deepest gloom of devotion by the following incident. His affairs obliged -him to absent himself, for some time, from a lady with whom he had lived -in the most intimate and tender connexions of successful love. At his -return to Paris he proposed to surprise her agreeably, and, at the same -time, to satisfy his own impatient desire of seeing her, by going -directly and without ceremony to her apartment by a back stair, which he -was well acquainted with--but think of the spectacle that presented -itself to him at his entrance into the chamber that had so often been -the scene of love's highest raptures! his mistress dead--dead of the -small-pox--disfigured beyond expression--a loathsome mass of putrified -matter--and the surgeon separating the head from the body, because the -coffin had been made too short! He stood for a moment motionless in -amazement, and filled with horror--and then retired from the world, shut -himself up in the convent of La Trappe, where he passed the remainder of -his days in the most cruel and disconsolate devotion.--Let us quit this -sad subject." - - -The news that Lady Mary was coming to Florence came to the ears of -Horace Walpole, who was staying there. If he had not yet made her -acquaintance, he certainly knew much about her. "On Wednesday we expect -a third she-meteor," he wrote to Richard West, July 31, 1740. "Those -learned luminaries the Ladies Pomfret and Walpole[9] are to be joined by -the Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. You have not been witness to the rhapsody -of mystic nonsense which these two fair ones debate incessantly, and -consequently cannot figure what must be the issue of this triple -alliance: we have some idea of it. Only figure the coalition of prudery, -debauchery, sentiment, history, Greek, Latin, French, Italian and -metaphysics; all, except the second, understood by halves, by quarters, -or not at all. You shall have the journals of this notable academy." -Walpole sent, some seven weeks later, an account of the lady to the Hon. -Henry Seymour Conway: "Did I tell you Lady Mary Wortley is here? She -laughs at my Lady Walpole, scolds my Lady Pomfret, and is laughed at by -the whole town. Her dress, her avarice, and her impudence must amaze any -one that never heard her name. She wears a foul mob, that does not cover -her greasy black locks, that hang loose, never combed or curled, -mazarine blue wrapper, that gapes open and discovers a canvas petticoat. -Her face swollen violently on one side is partly covered with a -plaister, and partly with white paint, which for cheapness she has -bought so coarse, that you would not use it to wash a chimney." - -[Footnote 9: The wife of the eldest son of Sir Robert Walpole, who in -1723 was created Baron Walpole. He later succeeded as (second) Earl of -Orford.] - -In another letter, to Richard West (October 2, 1740), Walpole gives an -account of the "Academy." "But for the Academy, I am not of it; but -frequently in company with it," he wrote. "Tis all disjointed. Madame -----,[10] who, though a learned lady, has not lost her modesty and -character, is extremely scandalised with the two other dames, especially -with Moll Worthless,[11] who knows no bounds. She is at rivalry with -Lady W---- [12] for a certain Mr.----, whom perhaps you knew at -Oxford.... He fell into sentiments with my Lady W., and was happy to -catch her at platonic love; but as she seldom stops there, the poor man -will be frightened out of his senses when she shall break the matter to -him, for he never dreamt that her purposes were so naught. Lady Mary is -so far gone that to get him from the mouth of her antagonist, she -literally took him out to dance country dances at a formal ball, where -there was no measure kept in laughing at her.... She played at Pharaoh -two or three times at Princess Craon's, where she cheats horse and foot. -She is really entertaining: I have been reading her works, which she -lends out in manuscript; but they are too womanish: I like few of her -performances." - -[Footnote 10: Lady Pomfret.] -[Footnote 11: Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.] -[Footnote 12: Lady Walpole.] - -Lady Mary was, of course, entirely ignorant of Horace Walpole's feelings -about her, of which naturally he showed no sign in social intercourse -with her. "I saw him often both at Florence and Genoa, and you may -believe I know him," she told her daughter. "I was well acquainted with -Mr. Walpole at Florence, and indeed he was particularly civil to me," -she wrote on another occasion. "I have great encouragement to ask favour -of him, if I did not know that few people have so good memories to -remember so many years backwards as have passed since I have seen him. -If he has treated the character of Queen Elizabeth with disrespect [in -_A Catalogue of the Royal and Noble Authors of England_], all the women -should tear him to pieces, for abusing the glory of their sex. Neither -is it just to put her in the list of authors, having never published -anything, though we have Mr. Camden's authority that she wrote many -valuable pieces, chiefly Greek translations. I wish all monarchs would -bestow their leisure hours on such studies: perhaps they would not be -very useful to mankind; but it may be asserted, for a certain truth, -their own minds could be more improved than by the amusements of -quadrille or Cavagnole." - -Lady Mary need not have feared that Walpole had forgotten her; he bore -her much in mind to his dying day, and found never a kind thing to say -about her. It may be presumed that his animosity arose from the fact -that Lady Mary had championed Molly Skerritt against his mother, when -Miss Skerritt was living openly as the mistress of Sir Robert Walpole. -Yet, though he wrote so abusively about her, he concerned himself with a -new edition of the _Court Poems_, though with what right has never -transpired. "I have lately had Lady Mary Wortley's Ecloques published; -but they don't please, though so excessively good," he wrote to Sir -Horace Mann, November 24, 1747. "I say so confidently, for Mr. Chute -agrees with me: he says, for the _Epistle from Arthur Grey_, scarce any -woman could have written it, and no man; for a man who had had -experience enough to paint such sentiments so well, would not have had -warmth enough left. Do you know anything of Lady Mary? Her adventurous -son is come in Parliament, but has not opened." - -From Florence, Lady Mary repaired to Rome. There, she did not see the -Chevalier de St. George, but she did see his two sons, Charles Edward, -the Young Pretender, and Henry, Cardinal York. "The eldest seems -thoughtless enough, and is really not unlike Mr. Lyttelton in his shape -and air," she wrote to Montagu. "The youngest is very well made, dances -finely, and has an ingenuous countenance; he is but fourteen years of -age. The family live very splendidly, yet pay everybody, and (wherever -they get it) are certainly in no want of money." - -Lady Mary seems to have had no prepared itinerary, but to have wandered -as the spirit moved her--Naples, Leghorn, Turin, Genoa. The cheapness of -Italy appealed to her frugal mind. - -"The manners of Italy are so much altered since we were here last, the -alteration is scarce credible. They say it has been by the last war. The -French, being masters, introduced all their customs, which were eagerly -embraced by the ladies, and I believe will never be laid aside; yet the -different governments make different manners in every state. You know, -though the republic is not rich, here are many private families vastly -so, and live at a great superfluous expense: all the people of the first -quality keep coaches as fine as the Speaker's, and some of them two or -three, though the streets are too narrow to use them in the town; but -they take the air in them, and their chairs carry them to the gates. The -liveries are all plain: gold or silver being forbidden to be worn within -the walls, the habits are all obliged to be black, but they wear -exceeding fine lace and linen; and in their country-houses, which are -generally in the faubuurg, they dress very rich, and have extreme fine -jewels. Here is nothing cheap but houses. A palace fit for a prince may -be hired for fifty pounds per annum; I mean unfurnished. All games of -chance are strictly prohibited, and it seems to me the only law they do -not try to evade: they play at quadrille, piquet, &c., but not high. -Here are no regular public assemblies. I have been visited by all of the -first rank, and invited to several fine dinners, particularly to the -wedding of one of the house of Spinola, where there were ninety-six sat -down to table, and I think the entertainment one of the best I ever saw. -There was the night following a ball and supper for the same company, -with the same profusion. They tell me that all their great marriages are -kept in the same public manner. Nobody keeps more than two horses, all -their journeys being post; the expense of them, including the coachman, -is (I am told) fifty pounds per annum. A chair is very near as much; I -give eighteen francs a week for mine. The senators can converse with no -strangers during the time of their magistracy, which lasts two years. -The number of servants is regulated, and almost every lady has the same, -which is two footmen, a gentleman-usher, and a page, who follows her -chair. - - -Certainly the simple life appealed to Lady Mary, but much as she liked -Geneva the cost of living irked her. "Everything is as dear as it is at -London," she complained to her husband in November, 1741. "'Tis true, as -all equipages are forbidden, that expense is entirely retrenched.... The -way of living is absolutely the reverse of that in Italy. Here is no -show, and a great deal of eating; there is all the magnificence -imaginable, and no dinners but on particular occasions; yet the -difference of the prices renders the total expense very near equal.... -The people here are very well to be liked, and this little republic has -an air of the simplicity of old Rome in its earliest age. The -magistrates toil with their own hands, and their wives literally dress -their dinners against their return from their little senate. Yet without -dress and equipage 'tis as dear living here for a stranger, as in places -where one is obliged to both, from the price of all sort of provision, -which they are forced to buy from their neighbours, having almost no -land of their own." How much more agreeable, from Lady Mary's point of -view, was Chambery: "Here is the most profound peace and unbounded -plenty that is to be found in any corner of the universe; but not one -rag of money. For my part, I think it amounts to the same thing, whether -one is obliged to give several pence for bread, or can have a great deal -of bread for a penny, since the Savoyard nobility here keep as good -tables, without money, as those in London, who spend in a week what -would be here a considerable yearly revenue. Wine, which is equal to the -best burgundy, is sold for a penny a quart, and I have a cook for very -small wages, that is capable of rivalling Chloe." - -"My girl gives me great prospect of satisfaction, but my young rogue of -a son is the most ungovernable little rake that ever played truant," -Lady Mary wrote to Lady Mar in July, 1727, when the boy was fourteen and -the girl nine years old. - - -It has already been mentioned that young Edward, who was placed at -Westminster School at the early age of five, ran away. In fact, he ran -away more than once. "My blessed offspring has already made a great -noise in the world," his mother told Lady Mar in July, 1726. "That young -rake, my son, took to his heels t'other day and transported his person -to Oxford; being in his own opinion thoroughly qualified for the -University. After a good deal of search we found and reduced him, much -against his will, to the humble condition of a schoolboy. It happens -very luckily that the sobriety and discretion is of my daughter's side; -I am sorry the ugliness is so too, for my son grows extremely handsome." -The lad was incorrigible. In the following year he disappeared for some -months, to be found selling fish at Blackwall. - - -"My cousin is going to Paris, and I will not let her go without a letter -for you, my dear sister, though I was never in a worse humour for -writing" (the anxious mother wrote to her sister). "I am vexed to the -blood by my young rogue of a son; who has contrived at his age to make -himself the talk of the whole nation. He is gone knight-erranting, God -knows where; and hitherto 'tis impossible to find him. You may judge of -my uneasiness by what your own would be if dear Lady Fanny was lost. -Nothing that ever happened to me has troubled me so much; I can hardly -speak or write of it with tolerable temper, and I own it has changed -mine to that degree I have a mind to cross the water, to try what effect -a new heaven and a new earth will have upon my spirit." - - -Later, Edward ran away again, joining the crew of a ship going to -Oporto, and was not discovered in that city until a considerable period -had elapsed since his flight. - -He capped all his follies by marrying at the age of twenty a woman of no -social standing and much older than himself. - -His parents were at their wits' end. It was hopeless to treat him as a -rational being. His wife was induced to accept a pension to leave him, -and he himself was put in charge of a keeper. Several times he had to be -kept in close confinement. He was, however, by no means devoid of -brains, and in the autumn of 1741 he had sufficiently recovered to be -entered as a student at the University of Leyden. His allowance was L300 -a year, which he found so insufficient for the indulgence of his tastes -that he was soon considerably in debt. - -In Lady Mary's correspondence there are many letters to her husband -about their son. - - -"Genoa, Aug. 15, 1741. - -"I am sorry to trouble you on so disagreeable a subject as our son, but -I received a letter from him last post, in which he solicits your -dissolving his marriage, as if it was wholly in your power, and the -reason he gives for it, is so that he may marry more to your -satisfaction. It is very vexatious (though no more than I expected) that -time has no effect, and that it is impossible to convince him of his -true situation. He enclosed this letter in one to Mr. Birtles, and tells -me that he does not doubt that debt of L200 is paid. You may imagine -this silly proceeding occasioned me a dun from Mr. Birtles. I told him -the person that wrote the letter, was, to my knowledge, not worth a -groat, which was all I thought proper to say on the subject." - - -"Lyons, April 23, 1742. - -"I am very glad you have been prevailed on to let our son take a -commission: if you had prevented it, he would have always said, and -perhaps thought, and persuaded other people, you had hindered his -rising in the world; though I am fully persuaded that he can never make -a tolerable figure in any station of life. When he was at Morins, on his -first leaving France, I then tried to prevail with him to serve the -Emperor as volunteer; and represented to him that a handsome behaviour -one campaign might go a great way in retrieving his character; and -offered to use my interest with you (which I said I did not doubt would -succeed) to furnish him with a handsome equipage. He then answered, he -supposed I wished him killed out of the way. I am afraid his pretended -reformation is not very sincere. I wish time may prove me in the wrong. -I here enclose the last letter I received from him; I answered it the -following post in these words: - -"'I am very glad you resolve to continue obedient to your father, and -are sensible of his goodness towards you. Mr. Birtles showed me your -letter to him, in which you enclosed yours to me, where you speak to him -as your friend; subscribing yourself his faithful humble servant. He was -at Genoa in his uncle's house when you was there, and well acquainted -with you; though you seem ignorant of everything relating to him. I wish -you would make such sort of apologies for any errors you may commit. I -pray God your future behaviour may redeem the past, which will be a -great blessing to your affectionate mother.' - -"I have not since heard from him; I suppose he knew not what to say to -so plain a detected falsehood. It is very disagreeable to me to converse -with one from whom I do not expect to hear a word of truth, and who, I -am very sure, will repeat many things that never passed in our -conversation. You see the most solemn assurances are not binding from -him, since he could come to London in opposition to your commands, after -having so frequently protested he would not move a step except by your -order. However, as you insist on my seeing him, I will do it, and think -Valence the properest town for that interview; it is but two days' -journey from this place; it is in Dauphine. - -"I shall stay here till I have an answer to this letter. If you order -your son to go to Valence, I desire you would give him a strict command -of going by a feigned name. I do not doubt your returning me whatever -money I may give him; but as I believe, if he receives money from me, he -will be making me frequent visits, it is clearly my opinion I should -give him none. Whatever you may think proper for his journey, you may -remit to him." - - -"Lyons, April 25 [1742]. - -"On recollection (however inconvenient it may be to me on many -accounts), I am not sorry to converse with my son. I shall at least have -the satisfaction of making a clear judgment of his behaviour and temper: -which I shall deliver to you in the most sincere and unprejudiced -manner. You need not apprehend that I shall speak to him in passion. I -do not know that I ever did in my life. I am not apt to be over-heated -in discourse, and am so far prepared, even for the worst on his side, -that I think nothing he can say can alter the resolution I have taken of -treating him with calmness. Both nature and interest (were I inclined to -follow blindly the dictates of either) would determine me to wish him -your heir rather than a stranger; but I think myself obliged both by -honour, conscience and my regard for you, no way to deceive you; and I -confess, hitherto I see nothing but falsehood and weakness through his -whole conduct. It is possible this person may be altered since I saw -him, but his figure then was very agreeable and his manner insinuating. -I very well remember the professions he made to me, and do not doubt he -is as lavish of them to other people. Perhaps Lord Carteret may think -him no ill match for an ugly girl that sticks upon his hands. The -project of breaking his marriage shows at least his devotion -counterfeit, since I am sensible it cannot be done but by false witness. -His wife is not young enough to get gallants, nor rich enough to buy -them. - -"I make choice of Valence for our interview as a town where we are not -likely to find any English, and he may if he pleases be quite unknown; -which it is hardly possible to be in any capital town either of France -or Italy. - - -"Lyons, May 2 [1742]. - -"I received this morning yours of April 12, and at the same time the -enclosed which I send you. Tis the first I have received since the -detection of that falsehood in regard to Mr. Birtles. I always send my -letters open, that Mr. Clifford (who has the character of sense and -honesty) might be witness of what I said; and he not left at liberty to -forge orders he never received. I am very glad I have done so, and am -persuaded that had his reformation been what you suppose it, Mr. -Clifford would have wrote to me in his favour. I confess I see no -appearance of it. His last letter to you, and this to me, seems to be no -more in that submissive style he has used, but like one that thinks -himself well protected. I will see him, since you desire it, at Valence; -which is a by-town, where I am less likely to meet with English than any -town in France; but I insist on his going by a feigned name, and coming -without a servant. People of superior fortunes to him (to my knowledge) -have often travelled from Paris to Lyons in the _diligence_; the expense -is but one hundred livres, L5 sterling, all things paid. It would not be -easy to me, at this time, to send him any considerable sum; and whatever -it is, I am persuaded, coming from me, he would not be satisfied with -it, and make his complaints to his companions. As to the alteration of -his temper, I see the same folly throughout. He now supposes (which is -at best downright childish) that one hour's conversation will convince -me of his sincerity. I have not answered his letter, nor will not, till -I have your orders what to say to him." - - -[Avignon] May 6 [1742]. - -"I here send you enclosed the letter I mentioned of your son's; the -packet in which it was put was mislaid in the journey; it will serve to -show you how little he is to be depended on. I saw a Savoyard man of -quality at Chambery, who knew him at Venice, and afterwards at Genoa, -who asked me (not suspecting him for my son) if he was related to my -family. I made answer he was some relation. He told me several tricks of -his. He said, that at Genoa he had told him that an uncle of his was -dead and had left him L5,000 or L6,000 per annum, and that he was -returning to England to take possession of his estate; in the meantime -he wanted money; and would have borrowed some of him, which he refused. -I made answer that he did very well. I have heard of this sort of -conduct in other places; and by the Dutch letters you have sent me I am -persuaded he continues the same method of lying which convinces me that -his pretended enthusiasm is only to cheat those that can be imposed on -by it. However, I think he should not be hindered accepting a -commission. I do not doubt it will be pawned or sold in a twelvemonth; -which will prove to those that now protect him how little he deserves -it. I am now at Avignon, which is within one day's journey of Valence." - - -"Avignon, May 23 [1742]. - -"I received this morning yours of April 12 and 29th, and at the same -time one from my son at Paris, dated the 4th instant. I have wrote to -him this day, that on his answer I will immediately set out to Valence, -and shall be glad to see him there. I suppose you are now convinced I -have never been mistaken in his character; which remains unchanged, and -what is yet worse, I think is unchangeable. I never saw such a -complication of folly and falsity as in his letter to Mr. Gibson. -Nothing is cheaper than living in an inn in a country town in France; -they being obliged to ask no more than twenty-five sous for dinner, and -thirty for supper and lodging, of those that eat at the public table; -which all the young men of quality I have met have always done. It is -true I am forced to pay double, because I think the decency of my sex -confines me to eat in my chamber. I will not trouble you with detecting -a number of other falsehoods that are in his letters. My opinion on the -whole (since you give me leave to tell it) is, that if I was to speak -in your place, I would tell him, 'That since he is obstinate in going -into the army, I will not oppose it; but as I do not approve, I will -advance no equipage till I know his behaviour to be such as shall -deserve my future favour. Hitherto he has always been directed, either -by his own humour, or the advice of those he thought better friends to -him than myself. If he renounces the army, I will continue to him his -former allowance; notwithstanding his repeated disobedience, under the -most solemn professions of duty. When I see him act like a sincere -honest man, I shall believe well of him; the opinion of others, who -either do not know him or are imposed on by his pretences, weighs -nothing with me." - - -On May 30 Lady Mary went from Avignon to Valence, where about a week -later her son visited her. She at once sent a full account to Montagu. - - -"Avignon, June 10 [1742.] - -"I am just returned from passing two days with our son, of whom I will -give you the most exact account I am capable of. He is so much altered -in his person, I should scarcely have known him. He has entirely lost -his beauty, and looks at least seven years older than he is; and the -wildness that he always had in his eyes is so much increased it is -downright shocking, and I am afraid will end fatally. He is grown fat, -but is still genteel, and has an air of politeness that is agreeable. He -speaks French like a Frenchman, and has got all the fashionable -expressions of that language, and a volubility of words which he always -had, and which I do not wonder should pass for wit with inconsiderate -people. His behaviour is perfectly civil, and I found him very -submissive; but in the main, no way really improved in his -understanding, which is exceedingly weak; and I am convinced he will -always be led by the person he converses with either right or wrong, not -being capable of forming any fixed judgment of his own. As to his -enthusiasm, if he had it, I suppose he has already lost it; since I -could perceive no turn of it in all his conversation. But with his head -I believe it is possible to make him a monk one day and a Turk three -days after. He has a flattering, insinuating manner, which naturally -prejudices strangers in his favour. He began to talk to me in the usual -silly cant I have so often heard from him, which I shortened by telling -him I desired not to be troubled with it; that professions were of no -use where actions were expected; and that the only thing could give me -hopes of a good conduct was regularity and truth. He very readily agreed -to all I said (as indeed he has always done when he has not been -hot-headed). I endeavoured to convince him how favourably he has been -dealt with, his allowance being much more than, had I been his father, I -would have given in the same case. The Prince of Hesse, who is now -married to the Princess of England, lived some years at Geneva on L300 -per annum. Lord Hervey sent his son at sixteen thither, and to travel -afterwards, on no larger pension than L200; and, though without a -governor, he had reason enough, not only to live within the compass of -it, but carried home little presents for his father and mother, which he -showed me at Turin. In short, I know there is no place so expensive, but -a prudent single man may live in it on L100 per annum, and an -extravagant one may run out ten thousand in the cheapest. Had you (said -I to him) thought rightly, or would have regarded the advice I gave you -in all my letters, while in the little town of Islestein, you would have -laid up L150 per annum; you would now have had L750 in your pocket; -which would have almost paid your debts, and such a management would -have gained you the esteem of the reasonable part of mankind. I -perceived this reflection, which he had never made himself, had a very -great weight with him. He would have excused part of his follies, by -saying Mr. G. had told him it became Mr. W.'s son to live handsomely. I -made answer, that whether Mr. G. had said so or no, the good sense of -the thing was noway altered by it; that the true figure of a man was -the opinion the world had of his sense and probity, and not the idle -expenses, which were only respected by foolish or ignorant people; that -his case was particular, he had but too publicly shown his inclination -to vanities, and the most becoming part he could now act would be owning -the ill use he had made of his father's indulgence, and professing to -endeavour to be no further expense to him, instead of scandalous -complaints, and being always at his last shirt and last guinea, which -any man of spirit would be ashamed to own. I prevailed so far with him -that he seemed very willing to follow this advice; and I gave him a -paragraph to write to G., which I suppose you will easily distinguish -from the rest of his letter. He asked me if you had settled your estate. -I made answer, that I did not doubt (like all other wise men) you always -had a will by you; but that you had certainly not put anything out of -your power to change. On that, he began to insinuate, that if I could -prevail on you to settle the estate on him, I might expect anything from -his gratitude. I made him a very clear and positive answer in these -words: 'I hope your father will outlive me, and if I should be so -unfortunate to have it otherwise, I do not believe he will leave me in -your power, But was I sure of the contrary, no interest nor no necessity -shall ever make me act against my honour or conscience; and I plainly -tell you, that I will never persuade your father to do anything for you -till I think you deserve it.' He answered by great promises of future -good behaviour, and economy. He is highly delighted with the prospect of -going into the army; and mightily pleased with the good reception he had -from Lord Stair, though I find it amounts to no more than telling him he -was sorry he had already named his aides-de-camp, and otherwise should -have been glad of him in that post. He says Lord Carteret has confirmed -to him his promise of a commission. - -"The rest of his conversation was extremely gay. The various things he -has seen has given him a superficial universal knowledge. He really -knows most of the modern languages, and if I could believe him, can read -Arabic, and has read the Bible in Hebrew. He said it was impossible for -him to avoid going back to Paris; but he promised me to lie but one -night there, and go to a town six posts from thence on the Flanders -road, where he would wait your orders, and go by the name of Mons. du -Durand, a Dutch officer; under which name I saw him. These are the most -material passages, and my eyes are so much tired I can write no more at -this time. I gave him 240 livres for his journey." - - -No amount of admonition had any effect upon Edward. At the age of thirty -he was as irresponsible as he was when he was thirteen years old. He -promised his mother at Avignon most solemnly to reform, and at once got -into mischief. "I am persuaded," Lady Mary said, "whoever protects him -will be very soon convinced of the impossibility of his behaving like a -rational creature." - - -Avignon, November 20, 1743. - -"As to my son's behaviour at Montelimart, it is nothing more than a -proof of his weakness; and how little he is to be depended on in his -most solemn professions. He told me that he had made acquaintance with a -lady on the road, who has an assembly at her house at Montelimart, and -that she had invited him thither. I asked immediately if she knew his -name. He assured me no, and that he passed for a Dutch officer by the -name of Durand. I advised him not go thither, since it would raise a -curiosity concerning him, and I was very unwilling it should be known -that I had conversed with him, on many accounts. He gave me the most -solemn assurances that no mortal should know it; and agreed with me in -the reasons I gave him for keeping it an entire secret; yet rid straight -to Montelimart, where he told at the assembly that he came into this -country purely on my orders, and that I had stayed with him two days at -Orange; talking much of my kindness to him, and insinuating that he had -another name, much more considerable than that he appeared with. I knew -nothing of this, till several months after, that a lady of that country -came hither, and meeting her in company, she asked me if I was -acquainted with Monsieur Durand. I had really forgot he had ever taken -that name, and made answer no; and that if such a person mentioned me, -it was probably some _chevalier d'industrie_ who sought to introduce -himself into company by a supposed acquaintance with me. She made -answer, the whole town believed so, by the improbable tales he told -them; and informed me what he had said; by which I knew what I have -related to you. - -"I expect your orders in relation to his letters." - - -Edward was still anxious to join the army, and his parents were not -averse to the scheme. Lady Mary, however, thought that certain -precautions should be taken in the event of his securing a commission. -"It is my opinion," she wrote to Montagu in January, 1744, "he should -have no distinction, in equipage, from any other cornet; everything of -that sort will only serve to blow his vanity and consequently heighten -his folly. Your indulgence has always been greater to him than any other -parent's would have been in the same circumstances. I have always said -so, and thought so. If anything can alter him, it will be thinking -firmly that he has no dependence but on his own conduct for a future -maintenance." - - -Edward obtained a commission, and was present at Fontenoy. - -On his return to England, in 1747, he was elected to Parliament for the -family borough of Huntingdon. This he held until 1754, when he was -returned for the borough of Bossiney, in Cornwall, which he represented -for the next eight years. - -Of his subsequent career it is not necessary to say anything here, -except that his father left him an annuity of L1,000 a year, to be -increased to L2,000 on his mother's death. Lady Mary in her will -bequeathed him one guinea. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -LADY MARY AS A READER - -Her fondness for reading--Her difficulty to get enough books while -abroad--Lady Bute keeps her supplied--Lady Mary's catholic taste in -literature--Samuel Richardson--The vogue of _Clarissa Harlowe_--Lady -Mary tells a story of the Richardson type--Henry Fielding--_Joseph -Andrews--Tom Jones_--Her high opinion of Fielding and Steele--Tobias -Smollett--_Peregrine Pickle--_Lady Vane's _Memoirs of a Lady of -Quality_--Sarah Fielding--Minor writers--Lord Orrery's _Remarks on -Swift_--Bolingbroke's works--Addison and Pope--Dr. Johnson. - - -In her quiet retreat, Lady Mary found plenty of time for books. "I yet -retain and carefully cherish my taste for reading," she wrote to her -daughter in 1752. "If relays of eyes were to be hired like post-horses, -I would never admit any but select companions: they afford a constant -variety of entertainment, and is almost the only one pleasing in the -enjoyment and inoffensive in the consequence." - -Her trouble was that she could not get books enough to occupy her time. -She was always asking Lady Bute to send her some, and was duly grateful -when they reached her. "I fancy you are now saying, 'tis a sad thing to -grow old; what does my poor mamma mean by troubling me with criticisms -on books that nobody but herself will ever read? You must allow -something to my solitude." And again: "I thank God my taste still -continues for the gay part of reading. Wiser people may call it -trifling, but it serves to sweeten life to me, and is worst better than -the generality of conversation." - -Lady Mary's taste in books was catholic. She has seen the "Memoirs of -her old friend, the Duchess of Maryborough," but would be glad of the -_Apology for a late Resignation_ and of Colin Campbell's books on -_Architecture_. She has read Mrs. Lennox's _The Female Quixote_, and -much of Sarah Fielding; and she desires Henry Fielding's posthumous -works, with his _Memoirs of Jonathan Wild_ and _The Journey to the Next -World;_ also the _Memoirs of Verocand_, a man of pleasure, and those of -a Young Lady. "You will call all this trash, trumpery, etc.," she said -to her daughter. "I can assure you I was more entertained by G. Edwards -than H. St. John, of whom you have sent me duplicates. I see new story -books with the same pleasure your eldest daughter does a new dress, or -the youngest a new baby. I thank God, I can find playthings for my age. -I am not of Cowley's mind, that this world is - - 'A dull, ill-acted comedy;' - -nor of Mr. Philips's, that it is - - 'A too well-acted tragedy.' - - -"I look upon it as a very pretty farce, for those that can see it in -that light. I confess a severe critic, that would examine by ancient -rules, might find many defects, but 'tis ridiculous to judge seriously -of a puppet-show. Those that can laugh, and be diverted with -absurdities, are the wisest spectators, be it of writings, actions, or -people." - - -Presently Lady Mary is asking for books the names of which she has seen -in the-newspapers: "_Fortunate Mistress, Accomplished Rake, Mrs. -Charke's Memoirs, Modern Lovers, History of Two Orphans, Memoirs of -David Ranger, Miss Mostyn, Dick Hazard, History of a Lady Platonist, -Sophia Shakespear, Jasper Banks, Frank Hammond, Sir Andrew Thompson, Van -a Clergyman's Son, Cheantles and Celemena_. I do not doubt at least the -greater part of these are trash, lumber, etc.; however, they will serve -to pass away the idle time, if you will be so kind as to send them to -your most affectionate mother." - -Richardson Lady Mary liked in spite of herself, as so many others then -and since have done, though it is true that she spoke of the "very -extraordinary (and I think undeserved) success of Pamela, which, she -said, was all the fashion at Paris and Versailles, and is still the joy -of the chambermaids of all nations." - - -"I was such an old fool as to weep over _Clarissa Harlowe_, like any -milkmaid of sixteen over the ballad of the _Lady's Fall_" (she wrote to -her daughter). "To say truth, the first volume softened me by a near -resemblance of my maiden days; but on the whole 'tis most miserable -stuff. Miss How, who is called a young lady of sense and honour, is not -only extreme silly, but a more vicious character than Sally Martin, -whose crimes are owing at first to seduction, and afterwards to -necessity; while this virtuous damsel, without any reason, insults her -mother at home and ridicules her abroad; abuses the man she marries; and -is impertinent and impudent with great applause. Even that model of -affection, Clarissa, is so faulty in her behaviour as to deserve little -compassion. Any girl that runs away with a young fellow, without -intending to marry him, should be carried to Bridewell or to Bedlam the -next day. Yet the circumstances are so laid as to inspire tenderness, -notwithstanding the low style and absurd incidents; and I look upon this -and _Pamela_ to be two books that will do more general mischief than the -works of Lord Rochester. There is something humorous in _R. Random_, -that makes me believe that the author is H. Fielding. I am horribly -afraid I guess too well the writer of those abominable insipidities of -_Cornelia, Leonora_, and the _Ladies' Drawing Room_." - -"This Richardson is a strange fellow," she said in another letter. "I -heartily despise him, and eagerly read him, nay, sob over his works in a -most scandalous manner." - -"I have now read over Richardson--he sinks horribly in his third volume -(he does so in his story of _Clarissa_). When he talks of Italy, it is -plain he is no better acquainted with it than he is with the kingdom of -Mancomugi. He might have made his Sir Charles's amour with Clementina -begin in a convent, where the pensioners sometimes take great liberties, -but that such familiarity should be permitted in her father's house, is -as repugnant to custom, as it would be in London for a young lady of -quality to dance on the ropes at Bartholomew fair: neither does his hero -behave to her in a manner suitable to his nice notions. It was -impossible a discerning man should not see her passion early enough to -check it, if he had really designed it. His conduct puts me in mind of -some ladies I have known, who could never find out a man to be in love -with them, let him do or say what he would, till he made a direct -attempt, and then they were so surprised, I warrant you! Nor do I -approve Sir Charles's offered compromise (as he calls it). There must be -a great indifference as to religion on both sides, to make so strict a -union as marriage tolerable between people of such distinct persuasions. -He seems to think women have no souls, by agreeing so easily that his -daughters should be educated in bigotry and idolatry.--You will perhaps -think this last a hard word; yet it is not difficult to prove, that -either the papists are guilty of idolatry, or the pagans never were so. -You may see in Lucian (in his vindication of his images), that they did -not take their statues to be real gods, but only the representations of -them. The same doctrine may be found in Plutarch; and it is all the -modern priests have to say in excuse for their worshipping wood and -stone, though they cannot deny, at the same time, that the vulgar are -apt to confound that distinction." - - -Lady Mary frequently re-read Richardson, and not seldom referred to them -in her correspondence. - - -"It is certain there are as many marriages as ever. Richardson is so -eager for the multiplication of them, I suppose he is some parish -curate, whose chief profit depends on weddings and christenings. He is -not a man-midwife; for he would be better skilled in physic than to -think fits and madness any ornament to the characters of his heroines: -though his Sir Charles had no thoughts of marrying Clementina till she -had lost her wits, and the divine Clarissa never acted prudently till -she was in the same condition, and then very wisely desired to be -carried to Bedlam, which is really all that is to be done in that case. -Madness is as much corporal distemper as the gout or asthma, never -occasioned by affliction, or to be cured by the enjoyment of their -extravagant wishes. Passion may indeed bring on a fit, but the disease -is lodged in the blood, and it is not more ridiculous to attempt to -relieve the gout by an embroidered slipper, than to restore reason by -the gratification of wild desires. - -"Richardson is as ignorant in morality as he is in anatomy, when he -declares abusing an obliging husband, or an indulgent parent, to be an -innocent recreation. His Anna How and Charlotte Grandison are -recommended as patterns of charming pleasantry, and applauded by his -saint-like dames, who mistake pert folly for wit and humour, and -impudence and ill nature for spirit and fire. Charlotte behaves like a -humorsome child, and should have been used like one, and*** well whipped -in the presence of her friendly confidante Harriet. Lord Halifax very -justly tells his daughter, that a husband's kindness is to be kindly -received by a wife, even when he is drunk, and though it is wrapped up -in never so much impertinence. Charlotte acts with an ingratitude that I -think too black for human nature, with such coarse jokes and low -expressions as are only to be heard among the lowest class of people. -Women of that rank often plead a right to beat their husbands, when they -don't cuckold them; and I believe this author was never admitted into -higher company, and should confine his pen to the amours of housemaids, -and the conversation at the steward's table, where I imagine he has -sometimes intruded, though oftener in the servants hall: yet, if the -title be not a puff, this work has passed three editions. I do not -forgive him his disrespect of old china, which is below nobody's taste, -since it has been the D. of Argyll's, whose understanding has never been -doubted either by his friends or enemies. - -"Richardson never had probably money enough to purchase any, or even a -ticket for a masquerade, which gives him such an aversion to them; -though his intended satire against them is very absurd on the account of -his Harriet, since she might have been carried off in the same manner if -she had been going from supper with her grandmamma. Her whole behaviour, -which he designs to be exemplary, is equally blamable and ridiculous. -She follows the maxim of Clarissa, of declaring all she thinks to all -the people she sees, without reflecting that in this mortal state of -imperfection, fig-leaves are as necessary for our minds as our bodies, -and 'tis as indecent to show all we think, as all we have. He has no -idea of the manners of high life: his old Lord M. talks in the style of -a country justice, and his virtuous young ladies romp like the wenches -round a maypole. Such liberties as pass between Mr. Lovelace and his -cousins, are not to be excused by the relation. I should have been much -astonished if Lord Denbigh should have offered to kiss me; and I dare -swear Lord Trentham never attempted such an impertinence to you." - -Lady Mary was in sore trouble about Richardson. She would not like him, -she was angry with him, yet could never away with him. When she heard of -an adventure at Lovere, she, who herself had a gift for novel-writing, -must needs send an account of it to Lady Bute, saying that it exactly -resembled and, she believed, was copied from _Pamela_. "I know not under -what constellation that foolish stuff was wrote, but it has been -translated into more languages than any modern performance I ever heard -of," she added. "No proof of its influence was ever stronger than this -story, which in Richardson's hands would serve very well to furnish out -seven or eight volumes: I shall make it as short as I can." - - -As an example of Lady Mary's skill in narrative, her account of the -Richardsonian adventure is well worth reprinting. - - -"Here is a gentleman's family, consisting of an old bachelor and his -sister, who have fortune enough to live with great elegance, though -without any magnificence, possessed of the esteem of all their -acquaintance, he being distinguished by his probity, and she by her -virtue. They are not only suffered but sought by all the best company, -and indeed are the most conversable, reasonable people in the place. She -is an excellent housewife, and particularly remarkable for keeping her -pretty house as neat as any in Holland. She appears no longer in public, -being past fifty, and passes her time chiefly at home with her work, -receiving few visitants. This Signora Diana, about ten years since, saw, -at a monastery, a girl about eight years old, who came thither to beg -alms for her mother. Her beauty, though covered with rags, was very -observable, and gave great compassion to the charitable lady, who -thought it meritorious to rescue such a modest sweetness as appeared in -her face from the ruin to which her wretched circumstances exposed her. -She asked her some questions, to which she answered with a natural -civility that seemed surprising; and finding the head of her family (her -brother) to be a cobbler, who could hardly live by that trade, and her -mother too old to work for her maintenance, she bid the child follow her -home; and sending for her parent, proposed to her to breed the little -Octavia for her servant. This was joyfully accepted, the old woman -dismissed with a piece of money, and the girl remained with the Signora -Diana, who bought her decent clothes, and took pleasure in teaching her -whatever she was capable of learning. She learned to read, write, and -cast accounts, with uncommon facility; and had such a genius for work, -that she excelled her mistress in embroidery, point, and every operation -of the needle. She grew perfectly skilled in confectionary, had a good -insight into cookery, and was a great proficient in distillery. To these -accomplishments she was so handy, well bred, humble and modest, that not -only her master and mistress, but everybody that frequented the house, -took notice of her. She lived thus near nine years, never going out but -to church. However, beauty is as difficult to conceal as light; hers -began to make a great noise. Signora Diana told me she observed an -unusual concourse of pedling women that came on pretext to sell -penn'orths of lace, china, etc., and several young gentlemen, very well -powdered, that were perpetually walking before her door, and looking up -at the windows. These prognostics alarmed her prudence, and she listened -very willingly to some honourable proposals that were made by many -honest, thriving tradesmen. She communicated them to Octavia, and told -her, that though she was sorry to lose so good a servant, yet she -thought it right to advise her to choose a husband. The girl answered -modestly, that it was her duty to obey all her commands, but she found -no inclination to marriage; and if she would permit her to live single, -she should think it a greater obligation than any other she could -bestow. Signora Diana was too conscientious to force her into a state -from which she could not free her, and left her to her own disposal. -However, they parted soon after; whether (as the neighbours say) Signor -Aurelio Ardinghi, her brother, looked with too much attention on the -young woman, or that she herself (as Diana says) desired to seek a place -of more profit, she removed to Bergamo, where she soon found preferment, -being strongly recommended by the Ardinghi family. She was advanced to -be first waiting-woman to an old countess, who was so well pleased with -her service, she desired, on her death bed, Count Jeronimo Sosi, her -son, to be kind to her. He found no repugnance to this act of obedience, -having distinguished the beautiful Octavia from his first sight of her; -and, during the six months that she had served in the house, had tried -every art of a fine gentleman, accustomed to victories of that sort, to -vanquish the virtue of this fair virgin. He has a handsome figure, and -has had an education uncommon in this country, having made the tour of -Europe, and brought from Paris all the improvements that are to be picked -up there, being celebrated for his grace in dancing, and skill in -fencing and riding, by which he is a favourite among the ladies, and -respected by the men. Thus qualified for conquest, you may judge of his -surprise at the firm yet modest resistance of this country girl, who was -neither to be moved by address, nor gained by liberality, nor on any -terms would be prevailed on to stay as his housekeeper, after the death -of his mother. She took that post in the house of an old judge, where -she continued to be solicited by the emissaries of the count's passion, -and found a new persecutor in her master, who, after three months' -endeavour to corrupt her, offered her marriage. She chose to return to -her former obscurity, and escaped from his pursuit, without asking any -wages, and privately returned to the Signora Diana. She threw herself at -her feet, and, kissing her hands, begged her, with tears, to conceal her -at least some time, if she would not accept of her service. She -protested she had never been happy since she left it. While she was -making these submissions, Signor Aurelio entered. She entreated his -intercession on her knees, who was easily persuaded to consent she -should stay with them, though his sister blamed her highly for her -precipitate flight, having no reason, from the age and character of her -master, to fear any violence, and wondered at her declining the honour -he offered her. Octavia confessed that perhaps she had been too rash in -her proceedings, but said, that he seemed to resent her refusal in such -a manner as frighted her; she hoped that after a few days' search he -would think no more of her; and that she scrupled entering into the holy -bands of matrimony, where her heart did not sincerely accompany all the -words of the ceremony. Signora Diana had nothing to say in contradiction -to this pious sentiment; and her brother applauded the honesty which -could not be perverted by any interest whatever. She remained concealed -in their house, where she helped in the kitchen, cleaned the rooms, and -redoubled her usual diligence and officiousness. Her old master came to -Lovere on pretence of adjusting a lawsuit, three days after, and made -private inquiry after her; but hearing from her mother and brother (who -knew nothing of her being here) that they had never heard of her, he -concluded she had taken another route, and returned to Bergamo; and she -continued in this retirement near a fortnight. - -"Last Sunday, as soon as the day was closed, arrived at Signer Aurelio's -door a handsome equipage in a large bark, attended by four well-armed -servants on horseback. An old priest stepped out of it, and desiring to -speak with Signora Diana, informed her he came from the Count Jeronimo -Sosi to demand Octavia; that the count waited for her at a village four -miles from hence, where he intended to marry her; and had sent him, who -was engaged to perform the divine rite, that Signora Diana might resign -her to his care without any difficulty. The young damsel was called for, -who entreated she might be permitted the company of another priest with -whom she was acquainted: this was readily granted; and she sent for a -young man that visits me very often, being remarkable for his sobriety -and learning. Meanwhile, a valet-de-chambre presented her with a box, in -which was a complete genteel undress for a lady. Her laced linen and -fine nightgown were soon put on, and away they marched, leaving the -family in a surprise not to be described. - -"Signor Aurelio came to drink coffee with me next morning: his first -words were, he had brought me the history of Pamela. I said, laughing, I -had been tired with it long since. He explained himself by relating this -story, mixed with great resentment for Octavia's conduct. Count -Jeronimo's father had been his ancient friend and patron; and this -escape from his house (he said) would lay him under a suspicion of -having abetted the young man's folly, and perhaps expose him to the -anger of all his relations, for contriving an action he would rather -have died than suffered, if he had known how to prevent it. I easily -believed him, there appearing a latent jealousy under his affliction, -that showed me he envied the bridegroom's happiness, at the same time he -condemned his extravagance. - -"Yesterday noon, being Saturday, Don Joseph returned, who has got the -name of Parson Williams by this expedition: he relates, that when the -bark which carried the coach and train arrived, they found the amorous -count waiting for his bride on the bank of the lake: he would have -proceeded immediately to the church; but she utterly refused it, till -they had each of them been at confession; after which the happy knot was -tied by the parish priest. They continued their journey, and came to -their palace at Bergamo in a few hours, where everything was prepared -for their reception. They received the communion next morning, and the -count declares that the lovely Octavia has brought him an inestimable -portion, since he owes to her the salvation of his soul. He has -renounced play, at which he had lost a great deal of time and money. She -has already retrenched several superfluous servants, and put his family -into an exact method of economy, preserving all the splendour necessary -to his rank. He has sent a letter in his own hand to her mother, -inviting her to reside with them, and subscribing himself her dutiful -son: but the countess has sent another privately by Don Joseph, in which -she advises the old woman to stay at Lovere, promising to take care she -shall want nothing, accompanied with a token of twenty sequins, which is -at least nineteen more than ever she saw in her life. - -"I forgot to tell you that from Octavia's first serving the old lady, -there came frequent charities in her name to her poor parent, which -nobody was surprised at, the lady being celebrated for pious works, and -Octavia known to be a great favourite with her. It is now discovered -that they were all sent by the generous lover, who has presented Don -Joseph very handsomely, but he has brought neither letter nor message to -the house of Ardinghi, which affords much speculation." - - -Lady Mary followed this narrative with her reflections. She was sure -that all these adventures proceeded from artifice on one side and -weakness on the other. "An honest, tender mind," she says, "is betrayed -to ruin by the charms that make the fortune of a designing head, which, -when joined with a beautiful face, can never fail of advancement, except -barred by a wise mother, who locks up her daughters from view till -nobody cares to look on them." She instanced the case of "my poor -friend" the Duchess of Bolton, who "was educated in solitude, with some -choice books, by a saint-like governess: crammed with virtue and good -qualities, she thought it impossible not to find gratitude, though she -failed to give passion; and upon this plan threw away her estate, was -despised by her husband, and laughed at by the public." Lady Mary -compared the case of the Duchess with that of "Polly, bred in an -ale-house, and produced on the stage, who has obtained wealth and title, -and found the way to be esteemed." This particular instance hardly -furnishes the basis for the general rule laid down by her: "So useful is -early experience--without it half of life is dissipated in correcting -the errors that we have been taught to receive as indisputable truths." -According to all accounts Charles Paulet, third Duke of Bolton, was at -the age of twenty-eight forced by his father to marry Lady Anne Vaughan, -only daughter and heiress of John, Earl of Carbery. When the old Duke -died in 1722 they separated. Some years later the Duke took for his -mistress Lavinia Fenton, the "Polly" in Gay's "Beggar's Opera." On the -death of his wife in 1751 he married her. - -Henry Fielding, was Lady Mary's second cousin; but there had never been -any intimacy between them, although some acquaintance. The novelist was -eighteen years the younger. In 1727, when he was twenty and near the -beginning of his career as a playwright, he had consulted her about his -comedy, "Love in Several Masques," of which, when it was published in -the following year, he sent her a copy. "I have presumed to send your -Ladyship a copy of the play which you did me the honour of reading three -acts last spring and hope it may meet as light a censure from your -Ladyship's judgment as then; for while your goodness permits me (what I -esteem the greatest and indeed only happening of my life) to offer my -unworthy performances to your perusal, it will be entirely from your -sentence that they will be regarded or disesteemed by me." Fielding -wrote Lady Mary another letter about four years later: "I hope your -Ladyship will honour the scenes which I presume to lay before you, with -your perusal. As they are written on a model I never yet attempted, I am -exceedingly anxious less they should find less mercy from you than my -lighter productions. It will be a slight compensation to 'The Modern -Husband' that your Ladyship's censure will defend him from the -possibility of any other reproof, since your least approbation will -always give me pleasure, infinitely superior to the loudest applauses of -a theatre. For whatever has passed your judgment may, I think, without -any imputation of immodesty, refer want of success to want of judgment -in an audience. I shall do myself the honour of waiting upon your -Ladyship at Twickenham to receive my sentence." - -One evening when she arrived home, after having ridden twenty miles in -the moonlight, she found a box of books, and pouncing upon her cousin -Fielding's works, sat up all night reading. - -"I think _Joseph Andrews_ better than his _Foundling._[13] I believe I -was the more struck with it, having at present a Fanny in my own house, -not only by the name, which happens to be the same, but the -extraordinary beauty, joined with an understanding yet more -extraordinary at her age, which is but few months past sixteen: she is -in the post of my chambermaid. I fancy you will tax my discretion for -taking a servant thus qualified; but my woman, who is also my -housekeeper, was always teasing me with her having too much work, and -complaining of ill-health, which determined me to take her a deputy; and -when I was at Lovere, where I drank the waters, one of the most -considerable merchants there pressed me to take this daughter of his: -her mother has an uncommon good character, and the girl has had a -better education than is usual for those of her rank; she writes a good -hand, and has been brought up to keep accounts, which she does to great -perfection; and had herself such a violent desire to serve me, that I -was persuaded to take her: I do not yet repent it from any part of her -behaviour. But there has been no peace in the family ever since she came -into it; I might say the parish, all the women in it having declared -open war with her, and the men endeavouring at treaties of a different -sort: my own woman puts herself at the head of the first party, and her -spleen is increased by having no reason for it, the young creature never -stirring from my apartment, always at needle, and never complaining of -anything." - -[Footnote 13: _The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling_.] - - -Later Lady Mary has more to say about Fielding's books: - - -"H. Fielding has given a true picture of himself and his first wife, in -the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Booth, some compliments to his own figure -excepted; and, I am persuaded, several of the incidents he mentions are -real matters of fact. I wonder he does not perceive Tom Jones and Mr. -Booth are sorry scoundrels. All these sort of books have the same fault, -which I cannot easily pardon, being very mischievous. They place a merit -in extravagant passions, and encourage young people to hope for -impossible events, to draw them out of the misery they chose to plunge -themselves into, expecting legacies from unknown relations, and generous -benefactors to distressed virtue, as much out of nature as fairy -treasures. Fielding has really a fund of true humour, and was to be -pitied at his first entrance into the world, having no choice, as he -said himself, but to be a hackney writer, or a hackney coachman. His -genius deserved a better fate; but I cannot help blaming that continued -indiscretion, to give it the softest name, that has run through his -life, and I am afraid still remains. I guessed _Random_ to be his though -without his name. I cannot think _Ferdinand Count Fathom_ wrote by the -same hand, it is every way so much below it." - - -Adventures of Roderick Random_ (1748) and _The Adventures of Ferdinand -Count Fathom_ (1753) were published anonymously. Lady Mary was not the -only one to attribute _Roderick Random_ to Fielding, and it was actually -translated into French in his name. - -When Lady Mary heard of Fielding's death, she expressed deep regret: - - -"I am sorry for H. Fielding's death, not only as I shall read no more of -his writings, but I believe he lost more than others, as no man enjoyed -life more than he did, though few had less reason to do so, the highest -of his preferment being raking in the lowest sinks of vice and misery. I -should think it a nobler and less nauseous employment to be one of the -staff-officers that conduct the nocturnal weddings. His happy -constitution (even when he had, with great pains, half demolished it) -made him forget everything when he was before a venison pasty, or over a -flask of champagne; and I am persuaded he has known more happy moments -than any prince upon earth. His natural spirits gave him rapture with -his cook-maid, and cheerfulness when he was fluxing in a garret. There -was a great similitude between his character and that of Sir Richard -Steele. He had the advantage both in learning and, in my opinion, -genius: they both agreed in wanting money in spite of all their friends, -and would have wanted it, if their hereditary lands had been as -extensive as their imagination; yet each of them was so formed for -happiness; it is a pity he was not immortal." - - -Writing of imaginative prose literature generally, Lady Mary wrote: - - -"The general want of invention which reigns among our writers, inclines -me to think it is not the natural growth of our island, which has not -sun enough to warm the imagination. The press is loaded by the servile -flock of imitators. Lord B. [Bolingbroke] would have quoted Horace in -this place. Since I was born, no original has appeared excepting -Congreve and Fielding, who would, I believe, have approached nearer to -his excellences, if not forced by necessity to publish without -correction, and throw many productions into the world he would have -thrown into the fire if meat could have been got without money, or money -without scribbling. The greatest virtue, justice, and the most -distinguishing prerogative of mankind, writing, when duly executed, do -honour to human nature; but when degenerated into trades, are the most -contemptible ways of getting bread. I am sorry not to see any more of -Peregrine Pickle's performances: I wish you would tell me his name." - - -It appears strange that Lady Mary should have been ignorant, when she -wrote the above passage in July or August, 1755, of the authorship of -_Roderick Random_, for in January of that year she had evinced an -interest in Smollett: "I am sorry my friend Smollett loses his time in -translations; he has certainly a talent for invention, though I think it -flags a little in his last work. _Don Quixote_ is a difficult -undertaking: I shall never desire to read any attempt to redress him. -Though I am a mere piddler in the Spanish language, I had rather take -pains to understand him in the original than sleep over a stupid -translation." - - -_Peregrine Pickle_, however, Lady Mary had read shortly after its -appearance in 1751: - - -"I began by your direction with _Peregrine Pickle_. I think Lady Vane's -_Memoirs_[14] contain more truth and less malice than any I ever read in -my life. When she speaks of her own being disinterested, I am apt to -believe she really thinks herself so, as many highwaymen, after having -no possibility of retrieving the character of honesty, please themselves -with that of being generous, because, whatever they get on the road, -they always spend at the next ale-house, and are still as beggarly as -ever. Her history, rightly considered, would be more instructive to -young women than any sermon I know. They may see there what -mortifications and variety of misery are the unavoidable consequences of -gallantries. I think there is no rational creature that would not prefer -the life of the strictest Carmelite to the round of hurry and misfortune -she has gone through. Her style is clear and concise, with some strokes -of humour, which appear to me so much above her, I can't help being of -opinion the whole has been modelled by the author of the book in which -it is inserted, who is some subaltern admirer of hers. I may judge -wrong, she being no acquaintance of mine, though she has married two of -my relations. Her first wedding was attended with circumstances that -made me think a visit not at all necessary, though I disobliged Lady -Susan by neglecting it; and the second, which happened soon after, made -her so near a neighbour, that I rather choose to stay the whole summer -in town than partake of her balls and parties of pleasure, to which I -did not think it proper to introduce you; and had no other way of -avoiding it, without incurring the censure of a most unnatural mother -for denying you diversions that the pious Lady Ferrers permitted to her -exemplary daughters. Mr. Shirley has had uncommon fortune in making the -conquest of two such extraordinary ladies, equal in their heroic -contempt of shame, and eminent above their sex, the one for beauty, and -the other wealth, both which attract the pursuit of all mankind, and -have been thrown into his arms with the same unlimited fondness. He -appeared to me gentile [_sic_], well bred, well shaped and sensible; but -the charms of his face and eyes, which Lady Vane describes with so much -warmth, were, I confess, always invisible to me, and the artificial part -of his character very glaring, which I think her story shows in a strong -light." - -[Footnote 14: Frances Anne Hawes (1713-1788) married Lord William -Douglas in 1731, and after his death, William, second Viscount Vane, in -1735. She was notorious for profligacy and extravagance of all kinds. -She was responsible for the scandalous _Memoirs of a Lady of Quality_ -which she paid Smollett to insert in _Peregrine Pickle_.] - - -Of minor novelists Lady Mary had also something to say from time to -time. - - -"Sally [Fielding] has mended her style in her last volume of _David -Simple_, which conveys a useful moral, though she does not seem to have -intended it: I mean, shows the ill consequences of not providing against -casual losses, which happen to almost everybody. Mrs. Orgueil's -character is well drawn, and is frequently to be met with. The _Art of -Tormenting_, the _Female Quixote_[15] and _Sir C. Goodville_ are all -sale work. I suppose they proceed from her pen, and heartily pity her, -constrained by her circumstances to seek her bread by a method, I do not -doubt, she despises. Tell me who is that accomplished countess she -celebrates. I left no such person in London; nor can I imagine who is -meant by the English Sappho mentioned in Betsy Thoughtless, whose -adventures and those of Jenny Jessamy, gave me some amusement." - -[Footnote 15: By Charlotte Lennox.] - -"I have read _The Cry_[16] and if I would write in the style to be -admired by good Lord Orrery, I would tell you _The Cry_ made me ready to -cry, and the _Art of Tormenting_ tormented me very much. I take them to -be Sally Fielding's, and also the _Female Quixote_; the plan of that is -pretty, but ill executed: on the contrary, the fable of _The Cry_ is the -most absurd I ever saw, but the sentiments generally just; and I think, -if well dressed, would make a better body of ethics than Bolingbroke's. -Her inventing new words, that are neither more harmonious or significant -than those already in use, is intolerable. - -[Footnote 16: By Sarah Fielding and Miss Collier.] - -"The next book I laid my hand on was _The Parish Girl_ which interested -me enough not to be able to quit it till it was read over, though the -author has fallen into the common mistake of romance-writers; intending -a virtuous character, and not knowing how to draw it; the first step of -his heroine (leaving her patroness's house) being altogether absurd and -ridiculous, justly entitling her to all the misfortunes she met with. - -"Candles came (and my eyes grown weary), I took up the next book, merely -because I supposed from the title it could not engage me long. It was -_Pompey the Little_,[17] which has really diverted me more than any of -the others, and it was impossible to go to bed till it was finished. It -was a real and exact representation of life, as it is now acted in -London, as it was in my time, and as it will be (I do not doubt) a -hundred years hence, with some little variation of dress, and perhaps -government. I found there many of my acquaintance. Lady T. and Lady O. -are so well painted, I fancied I heard them talk, and have heard them -say the very things there repeated.... - -[Footnote 17: By Francis Coventry.] - -"I opened my eyes this morning on _Leonora_, from which I defy the -greatest chemist in morals to extract any instruction; the style most -affectedly florid, and naturally insipid, with such a confused heap of -admirable characters, that never were, or can be, in human nature. I -flung it aside after fifty pages, and laid hold of _Mrs. Philips_, where -I expected to find at least probable, if not true facts, and was not -disappointed. There is a great similitude in the genius and adventures -(the one being productive of the other) between Madame Constantia and -Lady Vane: the first mentioned has the advantage in birth and, if I am -not mistaken, in understanding: they have both had scandalous lawsuits -with their husbands, and are endowed with the same intrepid assurance. -Con. seems to value herself also on her generosity, and has given the -same proofs of it. The parallel might be drawn out to be as long as any -of Plutarch's; but I dare swear you are already heartily weary of my -remarks, and wish I had not read so much in so short a time, that you -might not be troubled with my comments; but you must suffer me to say -something of the polite Mr. Ste, whose name I should never have guessed -by the rapturous description his mistress makes of his person, having -always looked upon him as one of the most disagreeable fellows about -town, as odious in his outside as stupid in his conversation, and I -should as soon have expected to hear of his conquests at the head of an -army as among women; yet he has been, it seems, the darling favourite of -the most experienced of the sex, which shows me I am a very bad judge of -merit. But I agree with Mrs. Philips, that, however profligate she may -have been, she is infinitely his superior in virtue; and if her -penitence is as sincere as she says, she may expect their future fate to -be like that of Dives and Lazarus." - - -Lady Mary received from her daughter a copy of Lord Orrery's _Remarks on -the Life and Writings of Jonathan Swift_, published in 1751, six years -after the death of Swift. This book so aroused the ire of Lady Mary -that, writing of it, she attacked everyone concerned. - - -"Lord Orrery's work has extremely entertained, and not at all surprised -me, having the honour of being acquainted with him, and knowing him for -one of those danglers after wit, who, like those after beauty, spend -their time in humbly admiring, and are happy in being permitted to -attend, though they are laughed at, and only encouraged to gratify the -insatiate vanity of those professed wits and beauties who aim at being -publicly distinguished in those characters. Dean Swift, by his -lordship's own account, was so intoxicated with the love of flattery, he -sought it amongst the lowest of the people, and the silliest of women; -and was never so well pleased with any companions as those that -worshipped him while he insulted them. It is a wonderful condescension -in a man of quality to offer his incense in such a crowd, and think it -an honour to share a friendship with Sheridan, &c., especially being -himself endowed with such universal merit as he displays in these -Letters, where he shows that he is a poet, a patriot, a philosopher, a -physician, a critic, a complete scholar, and most excellent moralist; -shining in private life as a submissive son, a tender father, and -zealous friend. His only error has been that love of learned ease which -he has indulged in a solitude, which has prevented the world from being -blest with such a general, minister, or admiral, being equal to any of -these employments, if he would have turned his talents to the use of the -public. Heaven be praised, he has now drawn his pen in its service, and -given an example to mankind that the most villanous actions, nay, the -coarsest nonsense, are only small blemishes in a great genius. I happen -to think quite contrary, weak woman as I am. I have always avoided the -conversation of those who endeavour to raise an opinion of their -understanding by ridiculing what both law and decency obliges them to -revere; but, whenever I have met with any of those bright spirits who -would be smart on sacred subjects, I have ever cut short their discourse -by asking them if they had any lights and revelations by which they -would propose new articles of faith? Nobody can deny but religion is a -comfort to the distressed, a cordial to the sick, and sometimes a -restraint on the wicked; therefore, whoever would argue or laugh it out -of the world, without giving some equivalent for it, ought to be treated -as a common enemy: but, when this language comes from a churchman, who -enjoys large benefices and dignities from that very Church he openly -despises, it is an object of horror for which I want a name, and can -only be excused by madness, which I think the Dean was strongly touched -with. His character seems to me a parallel with that of Caligula; and -had he had the same power would have made the same use of it. That -emperor erected a temple to himself, where he was his own high priest, -preferred his horse to the highest honours in the state, professed -enmity to [the] human race, and at last lost his life by a nasty jest on -one of his inferiors, which I dare swear Swift would have made in his -place. There can be no worse picture made of the Doctor's morals than he -has given us himself in the letters printed by Pope. We see him vain, -trifling, ungrateful to the memory of his patron, the Earl of Oxford, -making a servile court where he had any interested views, and meanly -abusive when they were disappointed, and, as he says (in his own -phrase), flying in the face of mankind, in company with his adorer Pope. -It is pleasant to consider, that, had it not been for the good nature -of these very mortals they contemn, these two superior beings were -entitled, by their birth and hereditary fortune, to be only a couple of -link-boys. I am of opinion their friendship would have continued, though -they had remained in the same kingdom: it had a very strong -foundation--the love of flattery on the one side, and the love of money -on the other. Pope courted with the utmost assiduity all the old men -from whom he could hope a legacy, the Duke of Buckingham, Lord -Peterborough, Sir G. Kneller, Lord Bolingbroke, Mr. Wycherley, Mr. -Congreve, Lord Harcourt, &c., and I do not doubt projected to sweep the -Dean's whole inheritance, if he could have persuaded him to throw up his -deanery, and come to die in his house; and his general preaching against -money was meant to induce people to throw it away, that he might pick it -up. There cannot be a stronger proof of his being capable of any action -for the sake of gain than publishing his literary correspondence, which -lays open such a mixture of dulness and iniquity, that one would imagine -it visible even to his most passionate admirers, if Lord Orrery did not -show that smooth lines have as much influence over some people as the -authority of the Church in these countries, where it cannot only veil, -but sanctify any absurdity or villany whatever. It is remarkable that -his lordship's family have been smatterers in wit and learning for three -generations: his grandfather has left monuments of his good taste in -several rhyming tragedies, and the romance of Parthenissa. His father -began the world by giving his name to a treatise wrote by Atterbury and -his club, which gained him great reputation; but (like Sir Martin -Marall, who would fumble with his lute when the music was over) he -published soon after a sad comedy of his own, and, what was worse, a -dismal tragedy he had found among the first Earl of Orrery's papers. -People could easier forgive his being partial to his own silly works, as -a common frailty, than the want of judgment in producing a piece that -dishonoured his father's memory. - -"Thus fell into dust a fame that had made a blaze by borrowed fire. To -do justice to the present lord, I do not doubt this fine performance is -all his own, and is a public benefit, if every reader has been as well -diverted with it as myself. I verily believe it has contributed to the -establishment of my health." - - -Nor was Lady Mary more kindly about the writings and character of Lord -Bolingbroke, for whom she had always had a feeling even more of hatred -than disapproval. - -"I have now read over the books you were so good to send, and intend to -say something of them all, though some are not worth speaking of" (she -wrote to her daughter). "I shall begin, in respect to his dignity, with -Lord Bolingbroke, who is a glaring proof how far vanity can blind a man, -and how easy it is to varnish over to one's self the most criminal -conduct. He declares he always loved his country, though he confesses he -endeavoured to betray her to popery and slavery; and loved his friends, -though he abandoned them in distress, with all the blackest -circumstances of treachery. His account of the Peace of Utrecht is -almost equally unfair or partial: I shall allow that, perhaps, the views -of the Whigs, at that time, were too vast and the nation, dazzled by -military glory, had hopes too sanguine; but sure the same terms that the -French consented to, at the treaty of Gertruydenberg, might have been -obtained; or if the displacing of the Duke of Marlborough raised the -spirits of our enemies to a degree of refusing what they had before -offered, how can he excuse the guilt of removing him from the head of a -victorious army, and exposing us to submit to any articles of peace, -being unable to continue the war? I agree with him, that the idea of -conquering France is a wild, extravagant notion, and would, if possible, -be impolitic; but she might have been reduced to such a state as would -have rendered her incapable of being terrible to her neighbours for some -ages: nor should we have been obliged, as we have done almost ever -since, to bribe the French ministers to let us live in quiet. So much -for his political reasonings, which, I confess, are delivered in a -florid, easy style; but I cannot be of Lord Orrery's opinion, that he is -one of the best English writers. Well-turned periods or smooth lines are -not the perfection either of prose or verse; they may serve to adorn, -but can never stand in the place of good sense. Copiousness of words, -however ranged, is always false eloquence, though it will ever impose on -some sort of understandings. How many readers and admirers has Madame de -Sevigne, who only gives us, in a lively manner and fashionable phrases, -mean sentiments, vulgar prejudices, and endless repetitions? Sometimes -the tittle-tattle of a fine lady, sometimes that of an old nurse, always -tittle-tattle; yet so well gilt over by airy expressions, and a flowing -style, she will always please the same people to whom Lord Bolingbroke -will shine as a first-rate author. She is so far to be excused, as her -letters were not intended for the press; while her labours to display to -posterity all the wit and learning he is master of, and sometimes spoils -a good argument by a profusion of words, running out into several pages -a thought that might have been more clearly expressed in a few lines, -and, what is worse, often falls into contradiction and repetitions, -which are almost unavoidable to all voluminous writers, and can only be -forgiven to those retailers whose necessity compels them to diurnal -scribbling, who load their meaning with epithets, and run into -digressions, because (in the jockey phrase) it rids the ground, that is, -covers a certain quantity of paper, to answer the demand of the day. A -great part of Lord B.'s letters are designed to show his reading, which, -indeed, appears to have been very extensive; but I cannot perceive that -such a minute account of it can be of any use to the pupil he pretends -to instruct; nor can I help thinking he is far below either Tillotson or -Addison, even in style, though the latter was sometimes more diffuse -than his judgment approved, to furnish out the length of a daily -_Spectator_. I own I have small regard for Lord B. as an author, and the -highest contempt for him as a man. He came into the world greatly -favoured both by nature and fortune, blest with a noble birth, heir to -a large estate, endowed with a strong constitution, and, as I have -heard, a beautiful figure, high spirits, a good memory and a lively -apprehension, which was cultivated by a learned education: all these -glorious advantages being left to the direction of a judgment stifled by -unbounded vanity, he dishonoured his birth, lost his estate, ruined his -reputation, and destroyed his health, by a wild pursuit of eminence even -in vice and trifles. - -"I am far from making misfortune a matter of reproach. I know there are -accidental occurences not to be foreseen or avoided by human prudence, -by which a character may be injured, wealth dissipated, or a -constitution impaired: but I think I may reasonably despise the -understanding of one who conducts himself in such a manner as naturally -produces such lamentable consequences, and continues in the same -destructive paths to the end of a long life, ostentatiously boasting of -morals and philosophy in print, and with equal ostentation bragging of -the scenes of low debauchery in public conversation, though deplorably -weak both in mind and body, and his virtue and his vigour in a state of -non-existence. His confederacy with Swift and Pope puts me in mind of -that of Bessus and his sword-men, in the _King and no King_,[18] who -endeavour to support themselves by giving certificates of each other's -merit. Pope has triumphantly declared that they may do and say whatever -silly things they please, they will still be the greatest geniuses -nature ever exhibited. I am delighted with the comparison given of their -benevolence, which is indeed most aptly figured by a circle in the -water, which widens till it comes to nothing at all; but I am provoked -at Lord B.'s misrepresentation of my favourite Atticus, who seems to -have been the only Roman that, from good sense, had a true notion of the -times in which he lived, in which the republic was inevitably perishing, -and the two factions, who pretended to support it, equally endeavouring -to gratify their ambition in its ruin. A wise man, in that case, would -certainly declare for neither, and try to save himself and family from -the general wreck, which could not be done but by a superiority of -understanding acknowledged on both sides. I see no glory in losing life -or fortune by being the dupe of either, and very much applaud that -conduct which could preserve an universal esteem amidst the fury of -opposite parties. We are obliged to act vigorously, where action can do -any good; but in a storm, when it is impossible to work with success, -the best hands and ablest pilots may laudably gain the shore if they -can. Atticus could be a friend to men without engaging in their -passions, disapprove their maxims without awaking their resentment, and -be satisfied with his own virtue without seeking popular fame: he had -the reward of his wisdom in his tranquillity, and will ever stand among -the few examples of true philosophy, either ancient or modern.... - -[Footnote 18: A play by Beaumont and Fletcher, licensed for the stage in -1611.] - -"I must add a few words on the _Essay on Exile_, which I read with -attention, as a subject that touched me. I found the most abject -dejection under a pretended fortitude. That the author felt it, can be -no doubt to one that knows (as I do) the mean submissions and solemn -promises he made to obtain a return, flattering himself (I suppose) he -need only appear to be at the head of the administration, as every -ensign of sixteen fancies he is in a fair way to be a general on the -first sight of his commission. - -"You will think I have been too long on the character of Atticus. I own -I took pleasure in explaining it. Pope thought himself covertly very -severe on Mr. Addison by giving him that name; and I feel indignation -when he is abused, both from his own merit, and having been your -father's friend; besides that it is naturally shocking to see any one -lampooned after his death by the same man who had paid him the most -servile court while he lived and was highly obliged by him." - - -As a periodical writer she compared Johnson unfavourably with Steele and -Addison: - - -"The _Rambler_ is certainly a strong misnomer; he always plods in the -beaten road of his predecessors, following the _Spectator_ (with the -same pace a pack-horse would do a hunter) in the style that is proper to -lengthen a paper. These writers may, perhaps, be of service to the -public, which is saying a great deal in their favour. There are numbers -of both sexes who never read anything but such productions, and cannot -spare time, from doing nothing, to go through a sixpenny pamphlet. Such -gentle readers may be improved by a moral hint, which, though repeated -over and over, from generation to generation, they never heard in their -lives. I should be glad to know the name of this laborious author." - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -LADY MARY ON EDUCATION AND WOMAN'S RIGHTS - -The choice of books for children's reading--The dangers of a narrow -education--Lady Mary advocates the higher education of women--Girls -should be taught languages--Lady Mary's theories of education for -girls--Women writers in Italy--A "rumpus" made by ladies in the House of -Lords--Woman's Rights--Lady Mary's views on religion. - - -In spite of her own fondness for books, Lady Mary was not a wholehearted -believer in reading for young folk, unless the choice of volumes was -carefully made by some competent person. This point she emphasised in -one of her letters to her daughter. - -"I can't forbear saying something in relation to my granddaughters, who -are very near my heart. If any of them are fond of reading, I would not -advise you to hinder them (chiefly because it is impossible) seeing -poetry, plays, or romances; but accustom them to talk over what they -read, and point out to them, as you are very capable of doing, the -absurdity often concealed under fine expressions, where the sound is apt -to engage the admiration of young people. I was so much charmed, at -fourteen, with the dialogue of Henry and Emma, I can say it by heart to -this day, without reflecting on the monstrous folly of the story in -plain prose, where a young heiress to a fond father is represented -falling in love with a fellow she had only seen as a huntsman, a -falconer, and a beggar, and who confesses, without any circumstances of -excuse, that he is obliged to run his country, having newly committed a -murder. She ought reasonably to have supposed him, at best, a -highwayman; yet the virtuous virgin resolves to run away with him, to -live among the banditti, and wait upon his trollop, if she had no other -way of enjoying his company. This senseless tale is, however, so well -varnished with melody of words and pomp of sentiments, I am convinced it -has hurt more girls than ever were injured by the lewdest poems extant." - - -Life, Lady Mary was at pains to insist upon, is a much better instructor -for the young than any story-book, however innocuous it may seem to -grown-up people, who for the greater number have not the faculty of -seeing how the tale would have affected them in their childhood. - - -"I congratulate my granddaughters on being born in an age so much -enlightened. Sentiments are certainly extreme silly, and only qualify -young people to be the bubbles of all their acquaintance. I do not doubt -the frequency of assemblies has introduced a more enlarged way of -thinking; it is a kind of public education, which I have always thought -as necessary for girls as for boys. A woman married at five-and-twenty, -from under the eye of a strict parent, is commonly as ignorant as she -was at five; and no more capable of avoiding the snares, and struggling -with the difficulties, she will infallibly meet with in the commerce of -the world. The knowledge of mankind (the most useful of all knowledge) -can only be acquired by conversing with them. Books are so far from -giving that instruction, they fill the head with a set of wrong notions, -from whence spring the tribes of Clarissas, Harriets, &c. Yet such was -the method of education when I was in England, which I had it not in my -power to correct; the young will always adopt the opinions of all their -companions, rather than the advice of their mothers." - - -"Ignorance and a narrow education lay the foundations of vice," Mary -Astell had laid down as an axiom, and Lady Mary was always propounding -this to her daughter. - - -"I am extremely concerned to hear you complain of ill health, at a time -of life when you ought to be in the flower of your strength. I hope I -need not recommend to you the care of it: the tenderness you have for -your children is sufficient to enforce you to the utmost regard for the -preservation of a life so necessary to their well-being. I do not doubt -your prudence in their education: neither can I say anything particular -relating to it at this distance, different tempers requiring different -management. In general, never attempt to govern them (as most people do) -by deceit: if they find themselves cheated, even in trifles, it will so -far lessen the authority of their instructor, as to make them neglect -all their future admonitions. And, if possible, breed them free from -prejudices; those contracted in the nursery often influence the whole -life after, of which I have seen many melancholy examples. I shall say -no more of this subject, nor would have said this little if you had not -asked my advice: 'tis much easier to give rules than to practise them. I -am sensible my own natural temper is too indulgent: I think it the least -dangerous error, yet still it is an error. I can only say with truth, -that I do not know in my whole life having ever endeavoured to impose on -you, or give a false colour to anything that I represented to you. If -your daughters are inclined to love reading, do not check their -inclination by hindering them of the diverting part of it; it is as -necessary for the amusement of women as the reputation of men; but teach -them not to expect or desire any applause from it. Let their brothers -shine, and let them content themselves with making their lives easier by -it, which I experimentally know is more effectually done by study than -any other way. Ignorance is as much the fountain of vice as idleness, -and indeed generally produces it. People that do not read, or work for a -livelihood, have many hours they know not how to employ; especially -women, who commonly fall into vapours, or something worse." - - -Mary was an advocate, one of the earliest advocates, for the higher -education of woman. Although she had educated herself, she realised that -the circumstances in her case were exceptional, and no doubt it was also -borne in on her that she had been an exceptional girl even as she was a -remarkable woman. It was not so much lack of education against which she -tilted, as ill-directed studies. - - -"You have given me a great deal of satisfaction by your account of your -eldest daughter. I am particularly pleased to hear she is a good -arithmetician; it is the best proof of understanding: the knowledge of -numbers is one of the chief distinctions between us and the brutes. If -there is anything in blood, you may reasonably expect your children -should be endowed with an uncommon share of good sense. Mr. Wortley's -family and mine have both produced some of the greatest men that have -been born in England: I mean Admiral Sandwich, and my grandfather, who -was distinguished by the name of Wise William. I have heard Lord Bute's -father mentioned as an extraordinary genius, though he had not many -opportunities of showing it; and his uncle, the present Duke of Argyll, -has one of the best heads I ever knew. I will therefore speak to you as -supposing Lady Mary not only capable, but desirous of learning; in that -case by all means let her be indulged in it. You will tell me I did not -make it a part of your education: your prospect was very different from -hers. As you had no defect either in mind or person to hinder, and much -in your circumstances to attract, the highest offers, it seemed your -business to learn how to live in the world, as it is hers to know how to -be easy out of it. It is the common error of builders and parents to -follow some plan they think beautiful (and perhaps is so), without -considering that nothing is beautiful that is displaced. Hence we see so -many edifices raised that the raisers can never inhabit, being too large -for their fortunes. Vistas are laid open over barren heaths, and -apartments contrived for a coolness very agreeable in Italy, but killing -in the north of Britain: thus every woman endeavours to breed her -daughter a fine lady, qualifying her for a station in which she will -never appear, and at the same time incapacitating her for that -retirement to which she is destined. Learning, if she has a real taste -for it, will not only make her contented, but happy in it. No -entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting. She -will not want new fashions, nor regret the loss of expensive diversions, -or variety of company, if she can be amused with an author in her -closet. To render this amusement extensive, she should be permitted to -learn the languages. I have heard it lamented that boys lose so many -years in mere learning of words: this is no objection to a girl, whose -time is not so precious: she cannot advance herself in any profession, -and has therefore more hours to spare; and as you say her memory is -good, she will be very agreeably employed this way. There are two -cautions to be given on this subject: first, not to think herself -learned when she could read Latin, or even Greek. Languages are more -properly to be called vehicles of learning than learning itself, as may -be observed in many schoolmasters, who, though perhaps critics in -grammar, are the most ignorant fellows upon earth. True knowledge -consists in knowing things, not words. I would wish her no further a -linguist than to enable her to read books in their originals, that are -often corrupted, and always injured, by translations. Two hours' -application every morning will bring this about much sooner than you can -imagine, and she will have leisure enough besides to run over the -English poetry, which is a more important part of a woman's education -than it is generally supposed. Many a young damsel has been ruined by a -fine copy of verses, which she would have laughed at if she had known it -had been stolen from Mr. Waller. I remember, when I was a girl, I saved -one of my companions from destruction, who communicated to me an epistle -she was quite charmed with. As she had a natural good taste, she -observed the lines were not so smooth as Prior's or Pope's, but had more -thought and spirit than any of theirs. She was wonderfully delighted -with such a demonstration of her lover's sense and passion, -a little pleased with her own charms, that had force enough to inspire -such elegancies. In the midst of this triumph I showed her that they -were taken from Randolph's poems, and the unfortunate transcriber was -dismissed with the scorn he deserved. To say truth, the poor plagiary -was very unlucky to fall into my hands; that author being no longer in -fashion, would have escaped any one of less universal reading than -myself. You should encourage your daughter to talk over with you what -she reads; and, as you are very capable of distinguishing, take care she -does not mistake pert folly for wit and humour, or rhyme for poetry, -which are the common errors of young people, and have a train of ill -consequences. The second caution to be given her (and which is most -absolutely necessary) is to conceal whatever learning she attains, with -as much solicitude as she would hide crookedness or lameness; the parade -of it can only serve to draw on her the envy, and consequently the most -inveterate hatred, of all he and she fools, which will certainly be at -least three parts in four of all her acquaintance. The use of knowledge -in our sex, besides the amusement of solitude, is to moderate the -passions, and learn to be contented with a small expense, which are the -certain effects of a studious life; and it may be preferable even to -that fame which men have engrossed to themselves, and will not suffer us -to share. You will tell me I have not observed this rule myself; but you -are mistaken: it is only inevitable accident that has given me any -reputation that way. I have always carefully avoided it, and ever -thought it a misfortune. The explanation of this paragraph would -occasion a long digression, which I will not trouble you with, it being -my present design only to say what I think useful for the instruction of -my granddaughter, which I have much at heart. If she has the same -inclination (I should say passion) for learning that I was born with, -history, geography, and philosophy will furnish her with materials to -pass away cheerfully a longer life than is allotted to mortals. I -believe there are few heads capable of making Sir I. Newton's -calculations, but the result of them is not difficult to be understood by -a moderate capacity. Do not fear this should make her affect the character -of Lady----, or Lady----, or Mrs.----: those women are ridiculous, -not because they have learning but because they have it not. One thinks -herself a complete historian, after reading Echard's Roman History; -another a profound philosopher, having got by heart some of Pope's -unintelligible essays; and a third an able divine, on the strength of -Whitefield's sermons: thus you hear them screaming politics and -controversy. - -"It is a saying of Thucydides, ignorance is bold, and knowledge -reserved. Indeed, it is impossible to be far advanced in it without -being more humbled by a conviction of human ignorance, than elated by -learning. At the same time I recommend books, I neither exclude work nor -drawing. I think it as scandalous for a woman not to know how to use a -needle, as for a man not to know how to use a sword. I was once -extremely fond of my pencil, and it was a great mortification to me when -my father turned off my master, having made a considerable progress for -a short time I learnt. My over-eagerness in the pursuit of it had -brought a weakness on my eyes, that made it necessary to leave it off; -and all the advantage I got was the improvement of my hand. I see, by -hers, that practice will make her a ready writer: she may attain it by -serving you for a secretary, when your health or affairs make it -troublesome to you to write yourself; and custom will make it an -agreeable amusement to her. She cannot have too many for that station of -life which will probably be her fate. The ultimate end of your education -was to make you a good wife (and I have the comfort to hear that you are -one): hers ought to be, to make her happy in a virgin state. I will not -say it is happier; but it is undoubtedly safer than any marriage. In a -lottery, which there are (at the lowest computation) ten thousand blanks -to a prize, it is the most prudent choice not to venture. I have always -been so thoroughly persuaded of this truth, that, notwithstanding the -flattering views I had for you (as I never intended you a sacrifice to -my vanity), I thought I owed you the justice to lay before you all the -hazards attending matrimony: you may recollect I did so in the strongest -manner. Perhaps you may have more success in the instructing your -daughter: she has so much company at home, she will not need seeking it -abroad, and will more readily take the notions you think fit to give her. -As you were alone in my family, it would have been thought a great -cruelty to suffer you no companions of your own age, especially having -so many near relations, and I do not wonder their opinions influenced -yours. I was not sorry to see you not determined on a single life, -knowing it was not your father's intention, and contented myself with -endeavouring to make your home so easy that you might not be in haste to -leave it." - - -Lady Mary's views on the education of children were well in advance of -her day. They were certainly not the stereotyped opinions current among -governesses or even parents somewhat more enlightened than the rest, and -evidently she had given much consideration to the subject before she put -her thoughts on paper. - - -"People commonly educate their children as they build their houses, -according to some plan they think beautiful, without considering whether -it is suited to the purposes for which they are designed. Almost all -girls of quality are educated as if they were to be great ladies, which -is often as little to be expected, as an immoderate heat of the sun in -the north of Scotland. You should teach yours to confine their desires -to probabilities, to be as useful as is possible to themselves, and to -think privacy (as it is) the happiest state of life. I do not doubt you -giving them all the instructions necessary to form them to a virtuous -life; but 'tis a fatal mistake to do this without proper restrictions. -Vices are often hid under the name of virtues, and the practice of them -followed by the worst of consequences. Sincerity, friendship, piety, -disinterestedness, and generosity, are all great virtues; but, -without discretion, become criminal. I have seen ladies indulge their -own ill humour by being very rude and impertinent, and think they -deserved approbation by saying I love to speak truth. One of your -acquaintance made a ball the next day after her mother died, to show she -was sincere. I believe your own reflection will furnish you with but too -many examples of the ill effects of the rest of the sentiments I have -mentioned, when too warmly embraced. They are generally recommended to -young people without limits or distinction, and this prejudice hurries -them into great misfortunes, while they are applauding themselves in the -noble practice (as they fancy) of very eminent virtues. - -"I cannot help adding (out of my real affection to you), I wish you -would moderate that fondness you have for your children. I do not mean -you should abate any part of your care, or not do your duty to them in -its utmost extent: but I would have you early prepare yourself for -disappointments, which are heavy in proportion to their being -surprising. It is hardly possible, in such a number, that none should be -unhappy; prepare yourself against a misfortune of that kind. I confess -there is hardly any more difficult to support; yet it is certain -imagination has a great share in the pain of it, and it is more in our -power than it is commonly believed to soften whatever ills are founded -or augmented by fancy. Strictly speaking, there is but one real evil--I -mean, acute pain; all other complaints are so considerably diminished by -time, that it is plain the grief is owing to our passion, since the -sensation of it vanishes when that is over. - -"There is another mistake, I forgot to mention, usual in mothers: if any -of their daughters are beauties, they take great pains to persuade them -that they are ugly, or at least that they think so, which the young -woman never fails to believe springs from envy, and is perhaps not much -in the wrong. I would, if possible, give them a just notion of their -figure, and show them how far it is valuable. Every advantage has its -price, and may be either over or undervalued. It is the common -doctrine of (what are called) good books, to inspire a contempt of -beauty, riches, greatness, &c., which has done as much mischief among -the young of our sex as an over eager desire of them. They should look -on these things as blessings where they are bestowed, though not -necessaries that it is impossible to be happy without." - - -Of course, all these expressions of opinions, although here gathered -together, were spread over a term of years. Yet, Lady Mary had from time -to time some qualms as to how her admonitions would be received by her -daughter, although, as she was careful once to point out: "I do not give -them as believing my age has furnished me with superior wisdom, but in -compliance with your desire." - - -"I cannot help writing a sort of apology for my laster letter, -foreseeing that you will think it wrong, or at least Lord Bute will be -extremely shocked at the proposal of a learned education for daughters, -which the generality of men believe as great a profanation as the clergy -would do if the laity should presume to exercise the functions of the -priesthood. I desire you would take notice, I would not have learning -enjoined them as a task, but permitted as a pleasure, if their genius -leads them naturally to it. I look upon my granddaughters as a sort of -lay nuns: destiny may have laid up other things for them, but they have -no reason to expect to pass their time otherwise than their aunts do at -present; and I know, by experience, it is in the power of study not only -to make solitude tolerable, but agreeable. I have now lived almost seven -years in a stricter retirement than yours in the Isle of Bute, and can -assure you, I have never had half an hour heavy on my hands, for want of -something to do. Whoever will cultivate their own mind, will find full -employment. Every virtue does not only require great care in the -planting, but as much daily solicitude in cherishing, as exotic fruits -and flowers. The vices and passions (which I am afraid are the natural -product of the soil) demand perpetual weeding. Add to this the search -after knowledge (every branch of which is entertaining), and the longest -life is too short for the pursuit of it; which, though in some regards -confined to very strait limits, leaves still a vast variety of -amusements to those capable of tasting them, which is utterly impossible -for those that are blinded by prejudices which are the certain effect of -an ignorant education. My own was one of the worst in the world, being -exactly the same as Clarissa Hawlowe's; her pious Mrs. Norton so -perfectly resembling my governess, who had been nurse to my mother, I -could almost fancy the author was acquainted with her. She took so much -pains, from my infancy, to fill my head with superstitious tales and -false notions, it was none of her fault I am not at this day afraid of -witches and hobgoblins, or turned methodist. Almost all girls are bred -after this manner. I believe you are the only woman (perhaps I might -say, person) that never was either frighted or cheated into anything by -your parents. I can truly affirm, I never deceived anybody in my life, -excepting (which I confess has often happened undesignedly) by speaking -plainly; as Earl Stanhope used to say (during his ministry) he always -imposed on the foreign ministers by telling them the naked truth, which, -as they thought impossible to come from the mouth of a statesman, they -never failed to write informations to their respective courts directly -contrary to the assurances he gave them: most people confounding the -ideas of sense and cunning, though there are really no two things in -nature more opposite: it is, in part, from this false reasoning, the -unjust custom prevails of debarring our sex from the advantages of -learning, the men fancying the improvement of our understandings would -only furnish us with more art to deceive them, which is directly -contrary to the truth. Fools are always enterprising, not seeing the -difficulties of deceit, or the ill consequences of detection. I could -give many examples of ladies whose ill conduct has been very notorious, -which has been owing to that ignorance which has exposed them to -idleness, which is justly called the mother of mischief. There is -nothing so like the education of a woman of quality as that of a prince: -they are taught to dance, and the exterior part of what is called good -breeding, which, if they attain, they are extraordinary creatures in -their kind, and have all the accomplishments required by their -directors. The same characters are formed by the same lessons, which -inclines me to think (if I dare say it) that nature has not placed us in -an inferior rank to men, no more than the females of other animals, -where we see no distinction of capacity; though, I am persuaded, if -there was a commonwealth of rational horses (as Doctor Swift has -supposed), it would be an established maxim among them, that a mare -could not be taught to pace. I could add a great deal on this subject, -but I am not now endeavouring to remove the prejudices of mankind; my -only design is, to point out to my granddaughters the method of being -contented with that retreat, to which probably their circumstances will -oblige them, and which is perhaps preferable to all the show of public -life. It has always been my inclination. Lady Stafford (who knew me -better than anybody else in the world, both from her own just -discernment, and my heart being ever as open to her as myself) used to -tell me, my true vocation was a monastery; and I now find, by -experience, more sincere pleasure with my books and garden, than all the -flutter of a court could give me. - -"If you follow my advice in relation to Lady Mary, my correspondence may -be of use to her; and I shall very willingly give her those instructions -that may be necessary in the pursuit of her studies. Before her age I -was in the most regular commerce with my grandmother, though the -difference of our time of life was much greater, she being past -forty-five when she married my grandfather. She died at ninety-six, -retaining, to the last, the vivacity and clearness of her understanding, -which was very uncommon. You cannot remember her, being then in your -nurse's arms. I conclude with repeating to you, I only recommend, but am -far from commanding, which I think I have no right to do. I tell you my -sentiments, because you desired to know them, and hope you will receive -them with some partiality, as coming from - -"Your most affectionate mother." - - -One of Lady Mary's friends was Cardinal Gerolamo Guerini, a distinguished -scholar as well as a great churchman. One day, in October, 1753, he sent -a request, by one of his chief chaplains, that Lady Mary would send him -her printed works for the shelves that he was dedicating to English -literature in the library attached to the college at Brescia that he had -founded. - - -"I was struck dumb for some time with this astonishing request; when I -recovered my vexatious surprise (foreseeing the consequence), I made -answer, I was highly sensible of the honour designed me, but, upon my -word, I had never printed a single line in my life. I was answered in a -cold tone, his Eminence could send for them to England, but they would -be a long time coming, and with some hazard; and that he had flattered -himself I would not refuse him such a favour, and I need not be ashamed -of seeing my name in a collection where he admitted none but the most -eminent authors. It was to no purpose to endeavour to convince him. He -would not stay to dinner, though earnestly invited; and went away with -the air of one that thought he had reason to be offended. I know his -master will have the same sentiments, and I shall pass in his opinion -for a monster of ingratitude, while it is the blackest of vices in my -opinion, and of which I am utterly incapable--I really could cry for -vexation. - -"Sure nobody ever had such various provocations to print as myself. I -have seen things I have wrote, so mangled and falsified, I have scarce -known them. I have seen poems I never read, published with my name at -length; and others, that were truly and singly wrote by me, printed -under the names of others. I have made myself easy under all these -mortifications, by the reflection I did not deserve them, having never -aimed at the vanity of popular applause; but I own my philosophy is not -proof against losing a friend, and it may be making an enemy of one to -whom I am obliged." - - -In this letter to Lady Mar, in which Lady Mary explains her plight, she -goes on to deliver herself of her sentiments concerning the difference -of opinion as regards women writers that was current in Italy and in -England. - -Lady Mary held strong views on what are called to-day, or at least were -so called until they were lately in the main conceded, women's rights. -Although she said that she did not complain that it was men, and men -only, who were privileged to exercise the power of government, it is not -unlikely that she yielded this point in order the more effectively to -emphasise some other. Anyhow she was unfeignedly pleased to be able to -record (to Lady Pomfret, March, 1737) a "rumpus" made by ladies who -regarded their exclusion from a debate in Parliament as unwarrantable. - - -"I confess I have often been complimented, since I have been in Italy, -on the books I have given the public. I used at first to deny it with -some warmth; but, finding I persuaded nobody, I have of late contented -myself with laughing whenever I heard it mentioned, knowing the -character of a learned woman is far from being ridiculous in this -country, the greatest families being proud of having produced female -writers; and a Milanese lady being now professor of mathematics in the -university of Bologna, invited thither by a most obliging letter, wrote -by the present Pope, who desired her to accept of the chair, not as a -recompense for her merit, but to do honour to a town which is under his -protection. To say truth, there is no part of the world where our sex is -treated with so much contempt as in England. I do not complain of men -for having engrossed the government: in excluding us from all degrees of -power, they preserve us from many fatigues, many dangers, and perhaps -many crimes. The small proportion of authority that has fallen to my -share (only over a few children and servants) has always been a burden, -and never a pleasure, and I believe every one finds it so who acts from -a maxim (I think an indispensable duty), that whoever is under my power -is under my protection. Those who find a joy in inflicting hardships, -and seeing objects of misery, may have other sensations; but I have -always thought corrections, even when necessary, as painful to the giver -as to the sufferer, and am therefore very well satisfied with the state -of subjection we are placed in: but I think it the highest injustice to -be debarred the entertainment of my closet, and that the same studies -which raise the character of a man should hurt that of a woman. We are -educated in the grossest ignorance, and no art omitted to stifle our -natural reason; if some few get above their nurses' instructions, our -knowledge must rest concealed, and be as useless to the world as gold in -the mine. I am now speaking according to our English notions, which may -wear out, some ages hence, along with others equally absurd. It appears -to me the strongest proof of a clear understanding in Longinus (in every -light acknowledged one of the greatest men among the ancients), when I -find him so far superior to vulgar prejudices as to choose his two -examples of fine writing from a Jew (at that time the most despised -people upon earth) and a woman. Our modern wits would be so far from -quoting, they would scarce own they had read the works of such -contemptible creatures, though, perhaps, they would condescend to steal -from them, at the same time they declared they were below their notice. -This subject is apt to run away with me; I will trouble you with no more -of it." - -"Here is no news to be sent you from this place, which has been for this -fortnight and still continues overwhelmed with politics, and which are -of so mysterious a nature, one ought to have some of the gifts of Lilly -or Partridge to be able to write about them; and I leave all those -dissertations to those distinguished mortals who are endowed with the -talent of divination though I am at present the only one of my sex who -seems to be of that opinion, the ladies having shown their zeal and -appetite for knowledge in a most glorious manner. At the last warm -debate in the House of Lords, it was unanimously resolved there should -be no crowd of unnecessary auditors; consequently the fair sex were -excluded, and the gallery destined to the sole use of the House of -Commons. Notwithstanding which determination, a tribe of dames resolved -to show on this occasion that neither men nor laws could resist them. -These heroines were Lady Huntingdon, the Duchess of Queensberry, the -Duchess of Ancaster, Lady Westmorland, Lady Cobham, Lady Charlotte -Edwin, Lady Archibald Hamilton and her daughter, Mrs. Scott, and Mrs. -Pendarves, and Lady Frances Saunderson. I am thus particular in their -names, since I look upon them to be the boldest assertors, and most -resigned sufferers for liberty, I ever read of. They presented -themselves at the door at nine o'clock in the morning, where Sir William -Saunderson respectfully informed them that the Chancellor had made an -order against their admittance. The Duchess of Queensberry, as head of -the squadron, pished at the ill-breeding of a mere lawyer, and desired -him to let them upstairs privately. After some modest refusals, he swore -by G--he would not let them in. Her Grace, with a noble warmth, -answered, by G--they would come in in spite of the Chancellor and the -whole House. This being reported, the Peers resolved to starve them out; -an order was made that the doors should not be opened till they had -raised their siege. These Amazons now showed themselves qualified for -the duty of even foot soldiers; they stood there till five in the -afternoon, without either sustenance or evacuation, every now and then -playing volleys of thumps, kicks, and raps against the door, with so -much violence that the speakers in the House were scarce heard. When the -Lords were not to be conquered by this, the two duchesses (very well -apprised of the use of stratagems in war) commanded a dead silence of -half an hour; and the Chancellor, who thought this a certain proof of -their absence (the Commons also being very impatient to enter), gave -order for the opening of the door, upon which they all rushed in, pushed -aside their competitors, and placed themselves in the front rows of the -gallery. They stayed there till after eleven, when the House rose; and -during the debate gave applause, and showed marks of dislike, not only -by smiles and winks (which have always been allowed in these cases), but -by noisy laughs and apparent contempts; which is supposed the true -reason why poor Lord Hervey spoke miserably. I beg your pardon, dear -madam, for this long relation; but 'tis impossible to be short on so -copious a subject; and you must own this action very well worthy of -record, and I think not to be paralleled in history, ancient or modern." - - -Lady Mary, however, was less concerned with "the open door" for women in -politics: her primary desire was that a woman should have the right, -within reason, to live her own life, and not merely be a chattel of her -husband. There is the conduct of her own married life to prove her -sincerity. - -Her view of the Turkish woman has already been given, as also has her -opinion that marriages should be for the limited period of seven years. -Now, she gave her opinion of the woman question in Italy, and it would -seem that, realising that her own marriage has been anything but -satisfactory to either party, she wrote from her heart. - - -"I cannot let pass in silence the prodigious alteration, since Misson's -writing, in regard to our sex. This reformation (or, if you please, -depravation) began so lately as the year 1732, when the French overran -this part of Italy; but it has been carried on with such fervour and -success, that the Italian go far beyond their patterns, the Parisian -ladies, in the extent of their liberty. I am not so much surprised at -the women's conduct, as I am amazed at the change in the men's -sentiments. Jealousy, which was once a point of honour among them, is -exploded to that degree, it is the most infamous and ridiculous of all -characters; and you cannot more affront a gentleman than to suppose -him capable of it. Divorces are also introduced, and frequent enough; -they have long been in fashion in Genoa; several of the finest and -greatest ladies there having two husbands alive. The constant pretext is -impotency, to which the man often pleads guilty, and though he marries -again, and has children by another wife, the plea remains good by saying -he was so in regard to his first; and when I told them that in England a -complaint of that kind was esteemed so impudent no reasonable woman -would submit to make it, I was answered we lived without religion, and -that their consciences obliged them rather to strain a point of modesty -than to live in a state of damnation. However, as this method is not -without inconvenience (it being impracticable where there is children), -they have taken another here: the husband deposes upon oath that he has -had a commerce with his mother-in-law, on which the marriage is declared -incestuous and nullified, though the children remain legitimate. You -will think this hard on the old lady, who is scandalised; but it is no -scandal at all, nobody supposing it to be true, without circumstances to -confirm it; but the married couple are set free to their mutual content; -for I believe it would be difficult to get a sentence of divorce, if -either side made opposition: at least I have heard no example of it." - - -Lady Mary made no secret of her views upon marriage; and though she did -not so frequently air her religious beliefs, she often pondered the -subject, and when challenged to speak was not reticent. As regards -sacred matters, she always had the courage of her convictions, even as -she had in mundane affairs. - - -"I always, if possible, avoid controversial disputes: whenever I cannot -do it, they are very short" (she wrote to her daughter in October, -1755). "I ask my adversary if he believes in the Scripture? When that is -answered affirmatively their church may be proved, by a child of ten -years old, contradictory to it, in their most important points. My -second question is, if they think St. Peter and St. Paul knew the true -Christian religion? The constant reply is, O yes. Then say I, purgatory, -transubstantiation, invocation of saints, adoration of the Virgin, -relics (of which they might have had a cartload), the observation of -Lent, is no part of it, since they neither taught nor practised any of -these things. Vows of celibacy are not more contrary to nature, than to -the positive precept of St. Paul. He mentions a very common case, in -which people are obliged, by conscience, to marry. No mortal can promise -that case shall never be theirs, which depends on the disposition of the -body as much as a fever; and 'tis as reasonable to engage never to feel -the one as the other. He tells us, the marks of the Holy Spirit are -charity, humility, truth, and long suffering. Can anything be more -uncharitable than damning eternally so many millions for not believing -what they never heard? or prouder than calling their head a Vice-god? -Pious frauds are avowedly permitted, and persecution applauded: these -maxims cannot be dictated by the spirit of peace, which is so warmly -preached in the Gospel. The creeds of the apostles, and council of Nice, -do not speak of the mass, or real presence, as articles of belief; and -Athanasius asserts, whosoever believes according to them shall be saved. -Jesus Christ, in answer to the lawyer, bids him love God above all -things, and his neighbour as himself, as all that is necessary to -salvation. When he describes the last judgment, he does not examine what -sect, or what church, men were of, but how far they had been beneficent -to mankind. Faith cannot determine reward or punishment, being -involuntary, and only the consequence of conviction: we do not believe -what we please, but what appears to us with the face of truth. As I do -not mistake exclamation, invective, or ridicule for argument, I never -recriminate on the lives of their popes and cardinals, when they urge -the character of Henry the Eighth; I only answer, good actions are often -done by all men through interested motives, and 'tis the common method -of Providence to bring good out of evil: history, both sacred and -profane, furnishes many examples of it. When they tell me I have forsook -the worship of my ancestors, I say I have had more ancestors heathen -than Christian, and my faith is certainly ancienter than theirs, since I -have added nothing to the practice of the primitive professors of -Christianity. As to the prosperity or extent of the dominion of their -church, which Cardinal Bellarmin counts among the proofs of its -orthodoxy, the Mahometans, who have larger empires, and have made a -quicker progress, have a better plea for the visible protection of -Heaven. If the fopperies of their religion were only fopperies, they -ought to be complied with, wherever it is established, like any -ridiculous dress in fashion; but I think them impieties: their devotions -are scandal to humanity from their nonsense; the mercenary deceits and -barbarous tyranny of their ecclesiastics, inconsistent with moral -honesty. If they object the diversity of our sects as a mark of -reprobation, I desire them to consider, that objection has equal force -against Christianity in general. When they thunder with the names of -fathers and councils, they are surprised to find me as well (often -better) acquainted with them than themselves. I show them the variety of -their doctrines, their virulent contests and various factions, instead -of that union they boast of. I have never been attacked a second time in -any of the towns where I have resided, and perhaps shall never be so -again after my last battle, which was with an old priest, a learned man, -particularly esteemed as a mathematician, and who has a head and heart -as warm as poor Whiston's. When I first came hither, he visited me every -day, and talked of me everywhere with such violent praise, that, had we -been young people, God knows what would have been said. I have always -the advantage of being quite calm on a subject which they cannot talk of -without heat. He desired I would put on paper what I had said. I -immediately wrote one side of a sheet, leaving the other for his answer. -He carried it with him, promising to bring it the next day, since which -time I have never seen it, though I have often demanded it, being of -my defective Italian. I fancy he sent it to his friend the Archbishop of -Milan. I have given over asking for it, as a desperate debt. He still -visits me, but seldom, and in a cold sort of a way. When I have found -disputants I less respected, I have sometimes taken pleasure in raising -their hopes by my concessions: they are charmed when I agree with them -in the number of the sacraments; but are horridly disappointed when I -explain myself by saying the word sacrament is not to be found either in -Old or New Testament; and one must be very ignorant not to know it is -taken from the listing oath of the Roman soldiers, and means nothing -more than a solemn, irrevocable engagement. Parents vow, in infant -baptism, to educate their children in the Christian religion, which they -take upon themselves by confirmation; the Lord's Supper is frequently -renewing the same oath. Ordination and matrimony are solemn vows of a -different kind: confession includes a vow of revealing all we know, and -reforming what is amiss: extreme unction, the last vow, that we have -lived in the faith we were baptised: in this sense they are all -sacraments. As to the mysteries preached since, they were all invented -long after, and some of them repugnant to the primitive institution." - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -ON THE CONTINENT (1745-1760) - -Lady Mary stays at Avignon--She removes to Brescia--And then to -Lovere--She abandons all idea of Montagu joining her abroad--Her house -at Lovere--Her daily round--Her health--Her anxiety about her son--An -amazing incident--A serious illness--A novel in a letter--Her -correspondence attracts the attention of the Italian authorities--Sir -James and Lady Frances Steuart--Politics--She is in the bad books of the -British Resident at Venice--Lord Bute--The philosophy of Lady -Mary--Letters to Lady Bute and Sir James Steuart. - - -Lady Mary liked Avignon so well that she stayed there until July 1746. -Then she moved to Brescia, where she stayed for a year, and then took up -her quarters at Lovere, a small place in Lombardy on the Lake d'Iseo, a -most attractive spot, as she was at pains to tell her daughter at some -length. For some time she alternated between Lovere and Brescia. - - -"I am now in a place the most beautifully romantic I ever saw in my -life: it is the Tunbridge of this part of the world, to which I was sent -by the doctor's order, my ague often returning, notwithstanding the -loads of bark I have taken" (she wrote to her daughter from Lovere, July -24, 1747). "To say truth, I have no reason to repent my journey, though -I was very unwilling to undertake it, it being forty miles, half by land -and half by water; the land so stony I was almost shook to pieces, and I -had the ill luck to be surprised with a storm on the lake, that if I had -not been near a little port (where I passed a night in a very poor inn), -the vessel must have been lost. A fair wind brought me hither next -morning early. I found a very good lodging, a great deal of good -company, and a village in many respects resembling Tunbridge Wells, not -only in the quality of the waters, which is the same, but in the manner -of the buildings, most of the houses being separate at little distances, -and all built on the sides of hills, which indeed are far different from -those of Tunbridge, being six times as high: they are really vast rocks -of different figures, covered with green moss, or short grass, -diversified by tufts of trees, little woods, and here and there -vineyards, but no other cultivation, except gardens like those on -Richmond-hill. The whole lake, which is twenty-five miles long, and -three broad, is all surrounded with these impassable mountains, the -sides of which, towards the bottom, are so thick set with villages (and -in most of them gentlemen's seats), that I do not believe there is -anywhere above a mile distance one from another, which adds very much to -the beauty of the prospect. - -"We have an opera here, which is performed three times in the week. I -was at it last night, and should have been surprised at the neatness of -the scenes, goodness of the voices and justness of the actors, if I had -not remembered I was in Italy. Several gentlemen jumped into the -orchestra, and joined in the concert, which I suppose is one of the -freedoms of the place, for I never saw it in any great town. I was yet -more amazed (while the actors were dressing for the farce that concluded -the entertainment) to see one of the principal among them, and as errant -a _petit maitre_ as if he had passed all his life at Paris, mount the -stage, and present us with a cantata of his own performing. He had the -pleasure of being almost deafened with applause. The ball began -afterwards, but I was not witness of it, having accustomed myself to -such early hours, that I was half asleep before the opera finished: it -begins at ten o'clock, so that it was one before I could get to bed, -though I had supped before I went, which is the custom. - -"I am much better pleased with the diversions on the water, where all -the town assembles every night, and never without music; but we have -none so rough as trumpets, kettle-drums, and French horns: they are all -violins, lutes, mandolins, and flutes doux. Here is hardly a man that -does not excel in some of these instruments, which he privately -addresses to the lady of his affections, and the public has the -advantage of it by his adding to the number of the musicians. - -"The fountain where we drink the waters rises between two hanging hills, -and is overshadowed with large trees, that give a freshness in the -hottest time of the day. The provisions are all excellent, the fish of -the lake being as large and well tasted as that of Geneva, and the -mountains abounding in game, particularly blackcocks, which I never saw -in any other part of Italy." - - -Lady Mary, though still corresponding with her husband, had clearly -given up all idea of returning to England or of Montagu joining her -abroad. She was quite content with her state, which, after all, so far -as we know, was her own choice. She took a house at Lovere, and -interested herself in improving it and developing the grounds. - - -"I have been these six weeks, and still am, at my dairy-house, which -joins to my garden" (she wrote to her daughter in July, 1748). "I -believe I have already told you it is a long mile from the castle, which -is situated in the midst of a very large village, once a considerable -town, part of the walls still remaining, and has not vacant ground -enough about it to make a garden, which is my greatest amusement, it -being now troublesome to walk, or even go in the chaise till the -evening. I have fitted up in this farm-house a room for myself--that is -to say, strewed the floor with rushes, covered the chimney with moss and -branches, and adorned the room with basins of earthen-ware (which is -made here to great perfection) filled with flowers, and put in some -straw chairs, and a couch bed, which is my whole furniture. This spot of -ground is so beautiful, I am afraid you will scarce credit the -description, which, however, I can assure you, shall be very literal, -without any embellishment from imagination. It is on a bank, forming a -kind of peninsula, raised from the river Oglio fifty feet, to which you -may descend by easy stairs cut in the turf, and either take the air on -the river, which is as large as the Thames at Richmond, or by walking -[in] an avenue two hundred yards on the side of it, you find a wood of a -hundred acres, which was all ready cut into walks and ridings when I -took it. I have only added fifteen bowers in different views, with seats -of turf. They were easily made, here being a large quantity of -underwood, and a great number of wild vines, which twist to the top of -the highest trees, and from which they make a very good sort of wine -they call _brusco_. I am now writing to you in one of these arbours, -which is so thickly shaded, the sun is not troublesome, even at noon. -Another is on the side of the river, where I have made a camp kitchen, -that I may take the fish, dress, and eat it immediately, and at the same -time see the barks, which ascend or descend every day to or from Mantua, -Guastalla, or Pont de Vie, all considerable towns. This little wood is -carpeted, in their succeeding seasons, with violets and strawberries, -inhabited by a nation of nightingales, and filled with game of all -kinds, excepting deer and wild boar, the first being unknown here, and -not being large enough for the other. - -"My garden was a plain vineyard when it came into my hands not two years -ago, and it is, with a small expense, turned into a garden that (apart -from the advantage of the climate) I like better than that of -Kensington. The Italian vineyards are not planted like those in France, -but in clumps, fastened to trees planted in equal ranks (commonly -fruit-trees), and continued in festoons from one to another, which I -have turned into covered galleries of shade, that I can walk in the heat -without being incommoded by it. I have made a dining-room of verdure, -capable of holding a table of twenty covers; the whole ground is three -hundred and seventeen feet in length, and two hundred in breadth. You -see it is far from large; but so prettily disposed (though I say it), -that I never saw a more agreeable rustic garden, abounding with all sort -of fruit, and produces a variety of wines. I would send you a piece [_sic_] -if I did not fear the customs would make you pay too dear for it." - - -Lady Mary was now in her sixtieth year, and asked for nothing better -than peace and comfort. Her manner of life she described as being as -regular as that of any monastery. She rose at six, and after an early -breakfast worked in the garden. Then she visited the dairy and inspected -her chickens--at one time she had two hundred of them--and her turkeys, -geese, ducks, and peacocks, her bees and her silkworms. At eleven she -read for an hour, and after an early dinner would take a siesta. Then -she played picquet or whist with some friendly priests. In the evening -she walked in the woods, or rode, or went on the lake. "I enjoy every -amusement that solitude can afford," she said. "I confess I sometimes -wish for a little conversation, but I reflect that the commerce of the -world gives more uneasiness than pleasure, and quiet is all the hope -that can reasonably be indulged at my age." It would not have been Lady -Mary if she had not kept a keen eye on the pence. She was delighted to -be able to say in relation to her house and grounds that "all things -have hitherto prospered under my care; my bees and silkworms are -doubled, and I am told that, without accidents, my capital will be so in -two years' time." She enjoyed the more her evening now and her fish at -dinner, because neither cost her anything. "The fishery of this part of -the river belongs to me; and my fisherman's little boat (where I have a -green lutestring awning) serves me for a barge. He and his sons are my -rowers without expense, he being very well paid by the profit of the -fish, which I give him on condition of having every day one dish for my -table." - -Age dealt gently with Lady Mary. At the age of sixty-two, she could say -that her hearing and her memory were good, and her sight better than she -had any right to expect. She had appetite enough to relish what she ate, -slept as soundly as she had ever done, and had never a headache. Still, -the fact was forced upon her that she was no longer so young as she had -been--which unpleasing reflection she accepted philosophically enough. - - -"I no more expect to arrive at the age of the Duchess of Marlborough[19] -than to that of Methusalem; neither do I desire it" (she wrote to Lady -Bute in the early spring of 1751). "I have long thought myself useless -to the world. I have seen one generation pass away; and it is gone; for -I think there are very few of those left that flourished in my youth. -You will perhaps call these melancholy reflections: they are not so. -There is a quiet after the abandoning of pursuits, something like the -rest that follows a laborious day. I tell you this for your comfort. It -was formerly a terrifying view to me, that I should one day be an old -woman. I now find that Nature has provided pleasures for every state. -Those are only unhappy who will not be contented with what she gives, -but strive to break through her laws, by affecting a perpetuity of youth -which appears to me as little desirable at present as the babies do to -you, that were the delight of your infancy." - -[Footnote 19: The Duchess of Marlborough was born on May 29, 1660, and -died on October 18, 1744.] - - -She reverted to the same subject when writing to her husband a month or -two later: - - -"I can no longer resist the desire I have to know what is become of my -son. I have long suppressed it, from a belief that if there was anything -of good to be told, you would not fail to give me the pleasure of -hearing it. I find it now grows so much upon me, that whatever I am to -know, I think it would be easier for me to support, than the anxiety I -suffer from my doubts. I beg to be informed, and prepare myself for the -worst, with all the philosophy I have. At my time of life I ought to be -detached from a world which I am soon to leave; to be totally so is a -vain endeavour, and perhaps there is vanity in the endeavour: while we -are human, we must submit to human infirmities, and suffer them in mind -as well as body. All that reflection and experience can do is to -mitigate, we can never extinguish, our passions. I call by that name -every sentiment that is not founded upon reason, and own I cannot -justify to mine the concern I feel for one who never gave me any view of -satisfaction. - -"This is too melancholy a subject to dwell upon. You compliment me on -the continuation of my spirits: 'tis true, I try to maintain them by -every art I can, being sensible of the terrible consequences of losing -them. Young people are too apt to let theirs sink on any disappointment." - - -There was, in 1751, some extraordinary incident in the life of Lady -Mary, the true history of which has never been made public. - - -"Pray tell me," Horace Walpole wrote to Sir Horace Mann on August 31 of -that year, "if you know anything of Lady Mary Wortley: we have an -obscure history here of her being in durance in the Brescian or the -Bergamasco: that a young fellow that she set out with keeping has taken -it into his head to keep her close prisoner, not permitting her to write -or receive any letters but which he sees: he seems determined, if her -husband should die, not to lose her, as the Count [Richcourt] did Lady -Oxford." - - -No reply to this letter reached Walpole, but his insatiable curiosity -would not accept this as a check, and he wrote again on October 14: "Did -you ever receive the question I asked you about Lady Mary Wortley's -being confined by a lover that she keeps somewhere in the Brescian? I -long to know the particulars." - -At the time of this incident Lady Mary was in her sixty-second year. It -is possible, but extremely improbable, therefore, that Lady Mary should -have taken a young man into keeping. Horace Walpole may always be -trusted to make the best of a rumour. Still, it may be stated, on the -authority of Wright, that among Lady Mary's papers there was found a -long account of the matter, written in Italian. In this she mentioned -that for some time she had been forcibly detained in a country house -belonging to an Italian Count and occupied by him and his mother. This -paper, it is further mentioned, seems to have been submitted to a lawyer -for his opinion or for production in a court of law. It may be, of -course, that Lady Mary did, to some extent, adopt the young man, who -thought that by keeping possession of her person he might be able to -extort money from her. - -Not long after this business, in fact, in February, 1752, Lady Mary was -reporting that she was well enough in health. She had been reading -Coventry's _Pompey the Little_, and tells her daughter that she saw -herself in the character of Mrs. Qualmsick: - - -"You will be surprised at this, no Englishwoman being so free from -vapours, having never in my life complained of low spirits or weak -nerves; but our resemblance is very strong in the fancied loss of -appetite, which I have been silly enough to be persuaded into by the -physician of this place. He visits me frequently, as being one of the -most considerable men in the parish, and is a grave, sober thinking -great fool, whose solemn appearance, and deliberate way of delivering -his sentiments gives them an air of good sense, though they are often -the most injudicious that ever were pronounced. By perpetual telling me -I eat so little, he is amazed I am able to subsist, he had brought me to -be of his opinion; and I began to be seriously uneasy at it. This useful -treatise has roused me into a recollection of what I eat yesterday, and -do almost every day the same. I wake generally about seven, and drink -half a pint of warm asses' milk, after which I sleep two hours; as soon -as I am risen, I constantly take three cups of milk coffee, and -hours after that a large cup of milk chocolate: two hours more brings my -dinner, where I never fail swallowing a good dish (I don't mean plate) -of gravy soup, with all the bread, roots, &c., belonging to it. I then -eat a wing and the whole body of a large fat capon, and a veal -sweetbread, concluding with a competent quantity of custard, and some -roasted chestnuts. At five in the afternoon I take another dose of -asses' milk; and for supper twelve chestnuts (which would weigh -twenty-four of those in London), one new laid egg, and a handsome -porringer of white bread and milk. With this diet, notwithstanding the -menaces of my wise doctor, I am now convinced I am in no danger of -starving; and am obliged to Little Pompey for this discovery." - - -Two years later, however, when she was in her sixty-fifth year, Lady -Mary found herself far from well. In April of that year, she told her -daughter: "My time is wholly dedicated to the care of a decaying body, -and endeavouring, as the old song says, to grow wiser and better, as my -strength wears away." Shortly after, she was taken seriously unwell at -Gottolengo. When she had recovered she, always interested in medical -science, sent Lady Bute a full account of her illness and of the -extraordinary physician from the neighbouring village of Lovere. - - -"Soon after I wrote my last letter to my dear child, I was seized with -so violent a fever, accompanied with so many bad symptoms, my life was -despaired of by the physician of Gottolengo, and I prepared myself for -death with as much resignation as that circumstance admits: some of my -neighbours without my knowledge, sent express for the doctor of this -place, whom I have mentioned to you formerly as having uncommon secrets. -I was surprised to see him at my bedside. He declared me in great -danger, but did not doubt my recovery, if I was wholly under his care; -and his first prescription was transporting me hither; the other -physician asserted positively I should die on the road. It has always -been my opinion that it is a matter of the utmost indifference where we -expire, and I consented to be removed. My bed was placed on a bancard; -my servants followed in chaises; and in this equipage I set out. I bore -the first day's journey of fifteen miles without any visible alteration. -The doctor said, as I was not worse, I was certainly better; and the -next day proceeded twenty miles to Iseo, which is at the head of this -lake. I lay each night at noblemen's houses, which were empty. My cook, -with my physician, aways preceded two or three hours, and I found my -chamber, with all necessaries, ready prepared with the exactest -attention. I was put into a bark in my litter bed, and in three hours -arrived here. My spirits were not at all wasted (I think rather raised) -by the fatigue of my journey. I drank the water next morning, and, with -a few doses of my physician's prescription, in three days found myself -in perfect health, which appeared almost a miracle to all that saw me. -You may imagine I am willing to submit to the orders of one that I must -acknowledge the instrument of saving my life, though they are not -entirely conformable to my will and pleasure. He has sentenced me to a -long continuance here, which, he says, is absolutely necessary to the -confirmation of my health, and would persuade me that my illness has -been wholly owing to my omission of drinking the waters these two years -past. I dare not contradict him, and must own he deserves (from the -various surprising cures I have seen) the name given to him in this -country of the miraculous man. Both his character and practice are so -singular, I cannot forbear giving you some account of them. He will not -permit his patients to have either surgeon or apothecary: he performs -all the operations of the first with great dexterity; and whatever -compounds he gives, he makes in his own house: those are very few; the -juice of herbs, and these waters, being commonly his sole prescriptions. -He has very little learning, and professes drawing all his knowledge -from experience, which he possesses, perhaps, in a greater degree than -any other mortal, being the seventh doctor of his family in a direct -line. His forefathers have all of them left journals and registers -solely for the use of their posterity, none of them having published -anything; and he has recourse to these manuscripts on every difficult -case, the veracity of which, at least, is unquestionable. His vivacity -is prodigious, and he is indefatigable in his industry: but what most -distinguishes him is a disinterestedness I never saw in any other: he is -as regular in his attendance on the poorest peasant, from whom he never -can receive one farthing, as on the richest of the nobility; and, -whenever he is wanted, will climb three or four miles in the mountains, -in the hottest sun, or heaviest rain, where a horse cannot go, to arrive -at a cottage, where, if their condition requires it, he does not only -give them advice and medicines gratis, but bread, wine, and whatever is -needful. There never passes a week without one or more of these -expeditions. His last visit is generally to me. I often see him as dirty -and tired as a foot post, having eat nothing all day but a roll or two -that he carries in his pocket, yet blest with such a perpetual flow of -spirits, he is always gay to a degree above cheerfulness. There is a -peculiarity in his character that I hope will incline you to forgive my -drawing it." - - -It was probably by the advice of her physician that Lady Mary decided to -make Lovere her headquarters. He prescribed taking the waters there and -a long rest. Lovere was a dull place, visitors coming only during the -water-drinking season. The plague that overran Europe in 1626 had -ravaged it: the poor were almost destroyed, and the rich deserted it. A -few of the ancient palaces had been turned into lodging-houses; the rest -were in ruinous condition. Lady Mary bought one of the palaces. - - -"I see you lift up your eyes in wonder at my indiscretion. I beg you to -hear my reasons before you condemn me. In my infirm state of health the -unavoidable noise of a public lodging is very disagreeable; and here is -no private one: secondly, and chiefly, the whole purchase is but one -hundred pounds, with a very pretty garden in terraces down to the water, -and a court behind the house. It is founded on a rock, and the walls so -thick, they will probably remain as long as the earth. It is true, the -apartments are in most tattered circumstances, without doors or windows. -The beauty of the great saloon gained my affection: it is forty-two feet -in length by twenty-five, proportionably high, opening into a balcony of -the same length, with marble balusters: the ceiling and flooring are in -good repair, but I have been forced to the expense of covering the wall -with new stucco; and the carpenter is at this minute taking measure of -the windows, in order to make frames for sashes. The great stairs are in -such a declining way, it would be a very hazardous exploit to mount -them: I never intend to attempt it. The state bedchamber shall also -remain for the sole use of the spiders that have taken possession of it, -along with the grand cabinet, and some other pieces of magnificence, -quite useless to me, and which would cost a great deal to make -habitable. I have fitted up six rooms, with lodgings for five servants, -which are all I ever will have in this place; and I am persuaded that I -could make a profit if I would part with my purchase, having been very -much befriended in the sale, which was by auction, the owner having died -without children, and I believe he had never seen this mansion in his -life, it having stood empty from the death of his grandfather. The -governor bid for me, and nobody would bid against him. Thus I am become -a citizen of Lovere, to the great joy of the inhabitants, not (as they -would pretend) from their respect for my person, but I perceive they -fancy I shall attract all the travelling English; and, to say the truth, -the singularity of the place is well worth their curiosity; but, as I -have no correspondents, I may be buried here fifty years, and nobody -know anything of the matter." - - -Lady Mary found great pleasure in her correspondence. It was one of the -occupations with which she solaced her loneliness, and she was never more -happy than when she had an exciting story to set down, for she could set -it down with the ease of a Walpole and an individual touch that was all -her own: - - -"I was quietly reading in my closet, when I was interrupted by the -chambermaid of the Signora Laura Bono, who flung herself at my feet, -and, in an agony of sobs and tears, begged me, for the love of the holy -Madonna, to hasten to her master's house, where the two brothers would -certainly murder one another, if my presence did not stop their fury. I -was very much surprised, having always heard them spoken of as a pattern -of fraternal union. However, I made all possible speed thither, without -staying for hoods or attendance. I was soon there (the house touching my -garden wall), and was directed to the bedchamber by the noise of oaths -and execrations; but, on opening the door, was astonished to a degree -you may better guess than I describe, by seeing the Signora Laura -prostrate on the ground, melting in tears, and her husband standing with -a drawn stiletto in his hand, swearing she should never see tomorrow's -sun. I was soon let into the secret. The good man, having business of -consequence at Brescia, went thither early in the morning; but, as he -expected his chief tenant to pay his rent that day, he left orders with -his wife, that if the farmer, who lived two miles off, came himself, or -sent any of his sons, she should take care to make him very welcome. She -obeyed him with great punctuality, the money coming in the hand of a -handsome lad of eighteen: she did not only admit him to her own table, -and produce the best wine in the cellar, but resolved to give him _chere -entiere_. While she was exercising this generous hospitality, the -husband met midway the gentleman he intended to visit, who was posting -to another side of the country; they agreed on another appointment, and -he returned to his own house, where, giving his horse to be led round to -the stable by the servant that accompanied him, he opened his door with -the _passe-partout_ key, and proceeded to his chamber, without meeting -anybody, where he found his beloved spouse asleep on the bed with her -gallant. The opening of the door waked them: the young fellow -immediately leaped out of the window, which looked into the garden, and -was open, it being summer, and escaped over the fields, leaving his -breeches on a chair by the bedside--very striking circumstance. In -short, the case was such, I do not think the queen of fairies herself -could have found an excuse, though Chaucer tells us she has made a -solemn promise to leave none of her sex unfurnished with one, to all -eternity. As to the poor criminal, she had nothing to say for herself -but what I dare swear you will hear from your youngest daughter, if ever -you catch her stealing of sweetmeats--"Pray, pray, she would do so no -more, and indeed it was the first time." This last article found no -credit with me: I cannot be persuaded that any woman who had lived -virtuous till forty (for such is her age) could suddenly be endowed with -such consummate impudence, to solicit a youth at first sight, there -being no probability, his age and station considered, that he would have -made any attempt of that kind. I must confess I was wicked enough to -think the unblemished reputation she had hitherto maintained, and did -not fail to put us in mind of, was owing to a series of such frolics; -and to say truth, they are the only amours that can reasonably hope to -remain undiscovered. Ladies that can resolve to make love thus -_extempore_, may pass unobserved, especially if they can content -themselves with low life, where fear may oblige their favourites to -secrecy: there wants only a very lewd constitution, a very bad heart, -and a moderate understanding, to make this conduct easy: and I do not -doubt it has been practised by many prudes beside her I am now speaking -of. You may be sure I did not communicate these reflections. The first -word I spoke was to desire Signer Carlo to sheathe his poniard, not -being pleased with its glittering! He did so very readily, begging my -pardon for not having done it on my first appearance, saying he did not -know what he did, and indeed he had the countenance and gesture of a man -distracted. I did not endeavour a defence; that seemed to me impossible; -but represented to him, as well as I could, the crime of a murder, which, -if he could justify before men, was still a crying sin before God; the -disgrace he would bring on himself and posterity, and irreparable injury -he would do his eldest daughter, a pretty girl of fifteen, that I knew -he was extremely fond of. I added, that if he thought it proper to part -from his lady, he might easily find a pretext for it some months hence; -and that it was as much his interest as hers to conceal this affair from -the knowledge of the world. I could not presently make him taste these -reasons, and was forced to stay there near five hours (almost from five -to ten at night) before I durst leave them together, which I would not -do till he had sworn in the most serious manner he would make no future -attempt on her life. I was content with his oath, knowing him to be very -devout, and found I was not mistaken. How the matter was made up between -them afterwards I know not; but it is now two years since it happened, -and all appearances remaining as if it had never been. The secret is in -very few hands; his brother, being at that time at Brescia, I believe -knows nothing of it to this day. The chambermaid and myself have preserved -the strictest silence, and the lady retains the satisfaction of insulting -all her acquaintance on the foundation of a spotless character, that only -she can boast in the parish, where she is most heartily hated, from these -airs of impertinent virtue, and another very essential reason, being the -best dressed woman among them, though one of the plainest in her figure. - -"The discretion of the chambermaid in fetching me, which possibly saved -her mistress's life, and her taciturnity since, I fancy appear very -remarkable to you, and is what would certainly never happen in England. -The first part of her behaviour deserves great praise; coming of her own -accord, and inventing so decent an excuse for her admittance: but her -silence may be attributed to her knowing very well that any servant that -presumes to talk of his master will most certainly be incapable of -talking at all in a short time, their lives being entirely in the power -of their superiors: I do not mean by law but by custom, which has full -as much force. If one of them was killed, it would either never be -inquired into at all, or very slightly passed over; yet it seldom -happens, and I know no instance of it, which I think is owing to the -great submission of domestics, who are sensible of their dependence, and -the national temper not being hasty, and never inflamed by wine, -drunkenness being a vice abandoned to the vulgar, and spoke of with -greater detestation than murder, which is mentioned with as little -concern as a drinking-bout in England, and is almost as frequent. It was -extreme shocking to me at my first coming, and still gives me a sort of -horror, though custom has in some degree familiarised it to my -imagination. Robbery would be pursued with great vivacity, and punished -with the utmost rigour, therefore is very rare, though stealing is in -daily practice; but as all the peasants are suffered the use of -fire-arms, the slightest provocation is sufficient to shoot, and they -see one of their own species lie dead before them with as little remorse -as a hare or a partridge, and, when revenge spurs them on, with much -more pleasure. A dissertation on this subject would engage me in a -discourse not proper for the post." - - -Lady Mary, being a prolific letter-writer, came under the suspicions of -the Italian authorities, who carefully examined the correspondence--a -fact that was only by a chance conversation revealed to her. "I think I -now know why our correspondence is so miserably interrupted, and so many -of my letters lost to and from England," she wrote to her husband in -October, 1753; "but I am no happier in the discovery than a man who has -found out his complaints proceed from a stone in the kidneys; I know the -cause, but am entirely ignorant of the remedy, and must suffer my -uneasiness with what patience I can." - -"An old priest made me a visit as I was folding my last packet to my -daughter. Observing it to be large, he told me I had done a great deal of -business that morning. I made answer, I had done no business at all; I -had only wrote to my daughter on family affairs, or such trifles as make -up women's conversation. He said gravely, people like your Excellenza -do not use to write long letters upon trifles. I assured him, that if he -understood English, I would let him read my letter. He replied, with a -mysterious smile, if I did understand English, I should not understand -what you have written, except you would give me the key, which I durst -not presume to ask. What key? (said I, staring) there is not one cypher -besides the date. He answered, cyphers were only used by novices in -politics, and it was very easy to write intelligibly, under feigned -names of persons and places, to a correspondent, in such a manner as -should be almost impossible to be understood by anybody else. - -"Thus I suppose my innocent epistles are severely scrutinized; and when -I talk of my grandchildren, they are fancied to represent all the -potentates of Europe. This is very provoking. I confess there are good -reasons for extraordinary caution at this juncture; but 'tis very hard I -cannot pass for being as insignificant as I really am." - - -Lady Mary clearly was happy in Italy, and did not in the least hanker -after the delights of London society, which in her earlier days she had -so much enjoyed. - - -"By the account you give me of London, I think it very much reformed; at -least you have one sin the less, and it was a very reigning one in my -time, I mean scandal: it must be literally reduced to a whisper, since -the custom of living all together. I hope it has also banished the -fashion of talking all at once, which was very prevailing when I was in -town, and may perhaps contribute to brotherly love and unity, which was -so much declined in my memory, that it was hard to invite six people -that would not, by cold looks, or piquing reflections affront one -another. I suppose parties are at an end, though I fear it is the -consequence of the old almanac prophecy, "Poverty brings peace"; and I -fancy you really follow the French mode, and the lady keeps an assembly, -that the assembly may keep the lady, and card money pay for clothes and -equipage as well as cards and candles. I find I should be as solitary in -London as I am here in the country, it being impossible for me to submit -to live in a _drum_, which I think so far from a cure of uneasiness, -that it is, in my opinion, adding one more to the heap. There are so -many attached to humanity, 'tis impossible to fly from them all; but -experience has confirmed to me what I always thought, that the pursuit -of pleasure will be ever attended with pain, and the study of ease be -most certainly accompanied with pleasures. I have had this morning as -much delight in a walk in the sun as ever I felt formerly in the crowded -Mall, even when I imagined I had my share of the admiration of the place, -which was generally soured before I slept by the informations of my -female friends, who seldom failed to tell me, it was observed, I had -showed an inch above my shoe-heels, or some other criticism of equal -weight, which was construed affectation, and utterly destroyed all the -satisfaction my vanity had given me. I have now no other but in my little -houswifery, which is easily gratified in this country, where, by the help -of my receipt-book, I make a very shining figure among my neighbours, by -the introduction of custards, cheesecakes, and minced pies, which were -entirely unknown to these parts, and are received with universal -applause; and I have reason to believe will preserve my memory even to -future ages, particularly by the art of butter-making, in which I have -so improved them, that they now make as good as in any part of England." - - -Lady Mary made the acquaintance in 1758 of Sir James Steuart,[20] and -his wife, Lady Frances, the eldest daughter of the Earl of Wemyss and -sister of the Jacobite Lord Elcho. Steuart, when making the grand -tour, had met the exiled Stuarts at Rome, and had become attached to -their cause. When the Young Pretender landed in Scotland in 1745, -Steuart threw in his lot with him. On his master's business he went to -Paris, and was abroad when Culloden was fought. When an Act of Oblivion -was passed in 1748 he was exempted by name, and, therefore, his return -was at the time impossible. He and his wife wandered about the -Continent, and it was at Venice that they encountered Lady Mary, who was -delighted with them. "I was charmed to find a man of uncommon sense and -learning, and a lady that without beauty is more admirable than the -fairest of her sex," she wrote enthusiastically to her daughter. "I -offered them all the little good offices in my power, and invited them -to supper; upon which our wise Minister[21] has discovered that I am in -the interest of popery and slavery. As he has often said the same thing -of Mr. Pitt, it would give me no mortification, if I did not apprehend -that his fertile imagination may support this wise idea by such -circumstances as may influence those that do not know me. It is very -remarkable that after having suffered all the rage of that party at -Avignon for my attachment to the present reigning family, I should be -accused here of favouring rebellion, when I hoped all our odious -diversions were forgotten." - -[Footnote 20: Sir James Steuart (1712-1780), in 1773, on inheriting an -estate from a relative, took the additional surname of Denham. He was -the author of works on currency and political economy.] - -[Footnote 21: The British Resident at Venice at this time was John -Murray] - - -Lady Mary was anxious that nothing she did should reflect upon her -daughter or in any way affect Lord Bute. "I am afraid you may think -some imprudent behaviour of mine has occasioned all this ridiculous -persecution [by the Resident]" she wrote to them in May, 1758. "I can -assure you I have always treated him and his family with the utmost -civility, and am now retired to Padua, to avoid the comments that will -certainly be made on his extraordinary conduct towards me. I only desire -privacy and quiet, and am very well contented to be without visits, -which oftener disturb than amuse me. My single concern is the design he -has formed of securing (as he calls it) my effects immediately on my -decease; if they ever fall into his hands, I am persuaded they will -never arrive entire into yours, which is a very uneasy thought to me." - -Although not primarily interested in politics, Lady Mary had met so many -politicians that she was naturally eager to hear what was going on, and -the fact that her son-in-law, Lord Bute, was active in that department -of life made her follow ministerial events in England so closely as -possible. "I stay here, though I am on many accounts better pleased with -Padua," she wrote to her daughter from Venice, January 20, 1758. "Our -great minister, the Resident, treats me as one of the Opposition. I am -inclined to laugh rather than be displeased at his political airs; yet, -as I am among strangers they are disagreeable; and, could I have -foreseen them, would have settled in some other part of the world: but I -have taken leases of my houses, been at much pains and expense in -furnishing them, and am no longer of an age to make long journeys." - -Pitt's Coalition Ministry, formed in June, 1757, in which Pitt and Lord -Holdernesse were Secretaries of State, the Duke of Newcastle First Lord -of the Treasury, Legge Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Lord Granville, -Lord Temple, Sir Robert Henley, the Duke of Devonshire, the Duke of -Bedford, and Henry Fox held office, moved Lady Mary to merriment. - - -"Your account of the changes in ministerial affairs do not surprise me; -but nothing could be more astonishing than their all coming together" -(she wrote to Lady Bute). "It puts me in mind of a friend of mine who -had a large family of favourite animals; and not knowing how to convey -them to his country-house in separate equipages, he ordered a Dutch -mastiff, a cat and her kittens, a monkey, and a parrot, all to be packed -up together in one large hamper, and sent by a waggon. One may easily -guess how this set of company made their journey; and I have never been -able to think of the present compound ministry without the idea of -barking, scratching, and screaming. 'Tis too ridiculous a one, I own, -for the gravity of their characters, and still more for the situation the -kingdom is in; for as much as one may encourage the love of laughter, -'tis impossible to be indifferent to the welfare of one's native -country." - - -The Resident was, so far as Lady Mary was concerned, an ill-conditioned -fellow. She asked him once or twice for the English papers, but the -reply made, with intention, on each occasion was that they were engaged. -"Since the Ministry of Mr. Pitt," she remarked, "he is so desirous to -signalise his zeal for the contrary faction, he is perpetually saying -ridiculous things, to manifest his attachment; and as he looks upon me -(nobody knows why) to be the friend of a man I never saw, he has not -visited me once this winter. The misfortune is not great." Lady Mary was -amused at being mistaken for a politician. "I have often been so, though -I ever thought politics so far removed from my sphere. I cannot accuse -myself of dabbling in them, even when I heard them talked over in all -companies; but, as the old song says, - - 'Tho' through the wide world we should range, - 'Tis in vain from our fortune to fly.'" - -Lady Mary always cherished affection and respect for her son-in-law, -Lord Bute. He had been since 1747 a favourite with Frederick, Prince of -Wales, who in 1750 appointed him a Lord of his Bedchamber. When -Frederick died in the following year Bute had established his popularity -with the Princess, who, in 1756, secured his appointment as Groom of the -Stole. "I have something to mention that I believe will be agreeable to -you," Edward Wortley Montagu wrote to his wife at this time; "I mean -some particulars relating to Lord Bute. He stood higher in the Prince of -Wales's favour than any man. His attendance was frequent at Leicester -House, where this young Prince has resided, and since his father's death -has continued without intermission, till new officers were to be placed -under him. It is said that another person was to be Groom of the Stole, -but that the Prince's earnest request was complied with in my Lord's -favour. It is supposed that the governors, preceptors, etc., who were -about him before will now be set aside, and that my Lord is now the -principal adviser." Neither Montagu nor his wife in their published -correspondence make any allusion to the scandal current about the -intimate relations of the Princess and Lord Bute, though it was so -widely spread it is almost impossible it should not have come to the -ears of one or other of them. - -On the accession of George III Bute was sworn a member of the Privy -Council, and in November, 1760, appointed Groom of the Stole and First -Gentleman of the Bedchamber. His influence with the young King was -paramount. "I pity Lady Bute," Walpole wrote to Sir Horace Mann on -January 27, 1761, "her mother will sell to whoever does not know her, -all kinds of promises and reversions, bestow lies gratis and wholesale, -and make so much mischief, that they will be forced to discard her in -three months, which will go to Lady Bute's heart, who is one of the best -and most sensible women in the world; and who, educated by such a -mother, has never made a false step." As a matter of fact, the only -request known to be made by Lady Mary was to ask Lord Bute, through her -daughter, to take care that Sir James Steuart's name was not excluded in -the Act of Indemnity. It is, however, true that there is the following -statement in the Diaries of the Right Hon. William Windham, under the -date of November 25, 1772, which is given here for what it is worth. -"Mr. Montagu told me this evening about Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, that -at her death, 'A note of his was found among her papers for one thousand -guineas,' which had been given her by a gentleman of Ireland as the -premium for some honours to be received through her interest. The -honours stipulated for were not obtained before her death, and the -gentleman upon representation of the story to the family recovered the -note which she had deposited by agreement in a particular drawer shewn -to him. It may reasonably be supposed that this was not the first -instance of her accepting money on those conditions, and that much of -Lord Bute's interest has been employed in her service." - -As Lady Mary advanced in the sixties of her life, she looked upon the -world with the eyes of a vast experience, and found it more sad than she -had thought it in youth or middle age. _Vanitas vanitatum_ was the text -of many a homily that she delivered, and a certain sadness replaced the -sense of malice that had once possessed her. Once more than aggressive, -now she had had bestowed upon her in some degree that gift of -understanding that engenders sympathy. As she grew older she grew more -wise, and was anxious to impart her wisdom, especially to her daughter, -for her benefit or for that of her daughter's children. - - -"How important is the charge of youth! and how useless all the -advantages of nature and fortune without a well-turned mind! I have -lately heard of a very shining instance of this truth, from two -gentlemen (very deserving ones they seem to be) who have had the -curiosity to travel into Moscovy, and now return to England with Mr. -Archer. I inquired after my old acquaintance Sir Charles [Hanbury] -Williams, who I hear is much broken, both in spirits and constitution. -How happy that man might have been, if there had been added to his -natural and acquired endowments a dash of morality! If he had known how -to distinguish between false and true felicity; and, instead of seeking -to increase an estate already too large, and hunting after pleasures -that have made him rotten and ridiculous, he had bounded his desires of -wealth, and follow the dictates of his conscience. His servile ambition -has gained him two yards of red ribbon, and an exile into a miserable -country, where there is no society and so little taste, that I believe -he suffers under a dearth of flatterers. This is said for the use of -your growing sons, whom I hope no golden temptations will induce to -marry women they cannot love, or comply with measures they do not -approve. All the happiness this world can afford is more within reach -than is generally supposed. Whoever seeks pleasure will undoubtedly find -pain; whoever will pursue ease will as certainly find pleasures. The -world's esteem is the highest gratification of human vanity; and that is -more easily obtained in a moderate fortune than an overgrown one, which -is seldom possessed, never gained, without envy. I say esteem; for, as -to applause, it is a youthful pursuit, never to be forgiven after twenty, -and naturally succeeds the childish desire of catching the setting sun, -which I can remember running very hard to do: a fine thing truly if it -could be caught; but experience soon shows it to be impossible. A wise -and honest man lives to his own heart, without that silly splendour that -makes him a prey to knaves, and which commonly ends in his becoming one -of the fraternity. I am very glad to hear Lord Bute's decent economy sets -him above anything of that kind. I wish it may become national. A -collective body of men differs very little from a single man; frugality -is the foundation of generosity. I have often been complimented on the -English heroism, who have thrown away so many millions, without any -prospect of advantage to themselves, purely to succour a distressed -princess. I never could hear these praises without some impatience; they -sounded to me like panegyrics made by the dependents on the Duke of -Newcastle and poor Lord Oxford, bubbled when they were commended, and -laughed at when undone. Some late events will, I hope, open our eyes: we -shall see we are an island, and endeavour to extend our commerce rather -than the Quixote reputation of redressing wrongs and placing diadems on -heads that should be equally indifferent to us. When time has ripened -mankind into common sense, the name of conqueror will be an odious title. -I could easily prove that, had the Spaniards established a trade with the -Americans, they would have enriched their country more than by the -addition of twenty-two kingdoms, and all the mines they now work--I do -not say possess; since, though they are the proprietors, others enjoy the -profit." - - -Mary's letters at this period of her life are so entertaining that a few -may well be inserted here for the sheer pleasure of reading them. - - -TO THE COUNTESS OF BUTE - -"Padua, September 30, 1757. - -"Lord Bute has been so obliging as to let me know your safe delivery, -and the birth of another daughter; may she be as meritorious in your -eyes as you are in mine! I can wish nothing better to you both, though I -have some reproaches to make you. Daughter! daughter! don't call names; -you are always abusing my pleasures, which is what no mortal will bear. -Trash, lumber, sad stuff, are the titles you give to my favourite -amusement. If I called a white staff a stick of wood, a gold key gilded -brass, and the ensigns of illustrious orders coloured strings, this may -be philosophically true, but would be very ill received. We have all our -playthings: happy are they that can be contented with those they can -obtain: those hours are spent in the wisest manner, that can easiest -shade the ills of life, and are lest productive of ill consequences. I -think my time better employed in reading the adventures of imaginary -people, than the Duchess of Marlborough's, who passed the latter years -of her life in paddling with her will, and contriving schemes of -plaguing some, and extracting praise from others, to no purpose; -eternally disappointed, and eternally fretting. The active scenes are -over at my age. I indulge, with all the art I can, my taste for reading. -If I would confine it to valuable books, they are almost as rare as -valuable men. I must be content with what I can find. As I approach a -second childhood, I endeavour to enter into the pleasures of it. Your -youngest son is, perhaps, at this very moment riding on a poker with -great delight, not at all regretting that it is not a gold one, and much -less wishing it an Arabian horse, which he would not know how to manage. -I am reading an idle tale, not expecting wit or truth in it, and am very -glad it is not metaphysics to puzzle my judgment, or history to mislead -my opinion. He fortifies his health by exercise; I calm my cares by -oblivion. The methods may appear low to busy people; but, if he improves -his strength, and I forget my infirmities, we attain very desirable ends." - - -To THE COUNTESS OF BUTE - -"Venice, November 8, 1758. - -"... Some few months before Lord W. Hamilton married, there appeared a -foolish song, said to be wrote by a poetical great lady, who I really -think was the character of Lady Arabella, in _The Female Quixote_ -(without the beauty): you may imagine such a conduct, at court, made her -superlatively ridiculous. Lady Delawarr, a woman of great merit, with -whom I lived in much intimacy, showed this fine performance to me: we -were very merry in supposing what answer Lord William would make to -these passionate addresses; she begged me to say something for a poor -man, who had nothing to say for himself. I wrote, _extempore_, on the -back of the song, some stanzas that went perfectly well to the tune. She -promised they should never appear as mine, and faithfully kept her word. -By what accident they have fallen into the hands of that thing Dodsley, -I know not, but he has printed them as addressed, by me, to a very -contemptible puppy, and my own words as his answer. I do not believe -either Job or Socrates ever had such a provocation. You will tell me, it -cannot hurt me with any acquaintance I ever had: it is true; but it is -an excellent piece of scandal for the same sort of people that -propagate, with success, that your nurse left her estate, husband, and -family, to go with me to England; and, then I turned her to starve, -after defrauding her of God knows what. I thank God witches are out of -fashion, or I should expect to have it deposed, by several credible -witnesses, that I had been seen flying through the air on a broomstick, -&c. I am really sick with vexation." - - -TO SIR JAMES STEUART - -"Venice, November 14, 1758. - -"This letter will be solely to you, and I desire you will not -communicate it to Lady Fanny: she is the best woman in the world, and I -would by no means make her uneasy; but there will be such strange things -in it that the Talmud or the Revelations are not half so mysterious: -what these prodigies portend, God knows; but I never should have -suspected half the wonders I see before my eyes, and am convinced of the -necessity of the repeal of the witch act (as it is commonly called), I -mean, to speak correctly, the tacit permission given to witches, so -scandalous to all good Christians: though I tremble to think of it for -my own interests. It is certain the British islands have always been -strangely addicted to this diabolical intercourse, of which I dare swear -you know many instances; but since this public encouragement given to -it, I am afraid there will not be an old woman in the nation entirely -free from suspicion. The devil rages more powerfully than ever: you will -believe me, when I assure you the great and learned English minister is -turned methodist, several duels have been fought in the Place of St. -Marc for the charms of his excellent lady, and I have been seen flying -in the air in the figure of Julian Cox, which history is related with so -much candour and truth by the pious pen of Joseph Glanville, chaplain to -K. Charles. I know you young rakes make a jest of all those things, but -I think no good lady can doubt of a relation so well attested. She was -about seventy years old (very near my age), and the whole sworn to -before Judge Archer, 1663: very well worth reading, but rather too long -for a letter. You know (wretch that I am) 'tis one of my wicked maxims -to make the best of a bad bargain; and I have said publicly that every -period of life has its privileges, and that even the most despicable -creatures alive may find some pleasures. Now observe this comment; who -are the most despicable creatures? Certainly, old women. What pleasure -can an old woman take? Only witchcraft. I think this argument as clear -as any of the devout Bishop of Cloyne's metaphysics: this being decided -in a full congregation of saints, only such atheists as you and Lady -Fanny can deny it. I own all the facts, as many witches have done before -me, and go every night in a public manner astride upon a black cat to a -meeting where you are suspected to appear: this last article is not -sworn to, it being doubtful in what manner our clandestine midnight -correspondence is carried on. Some think it treasonable, others lewd -(don't tell Lady Fanny); but all agree there was something very odd and -unaccountable in such sudden likings. I confess, as I said before, it is -witchcraft. You won't wonder I do not sign (notwithstanding all my -impudence) such dangerous truths: who knows the consequence? The devil -is said to desert his votaries." - - -To SIR JAMES STEUART - -"Venice, January 13, 1759. - -"I have indulged myself some time with day-dreams of the happiness I -hope to enjoy this summer in the conversation of Lady Fanny and Sir -James S.; but I hear such frightful stories of precipices and hovels -during the whole journey, I begin to fear there is no such pleasure -allotted me in the book of fate: the Alps were once molehills in my -sight when they interposed between me and the slightest inclination; now -age begins to freeze, and brings with it the usual train of melancholy -apprehensions. Poor human-kind! We always march blindly on; the fire of -youth represents to us all our wishes possible; and, that over, we fall -into despondency that prevents even easy enterprises: a store in winter, -a garden in summer, bounds all our desires, or at least our undertakings. -If Mr. Steuart would disclose all his imaginations, I dare swear he has -some thoughts of emulating Alexander or Demosthenes, perhaps both: -nothing seems difficult at his time of life, everything at name. I am -very unwilling, but am afraid I must submit to the confinement of my -boat and my easy-chair, and go no farther than they can carry me. Why -are our views so extensive and our powers so miserably limited? This -is among the mysteries which (as you justly say) will remain ever -unfolded to our shallow capacities. I am much inclined to think we are -no more free agents than the queen of clubs when she victoriously takes -prisoner the knave of hearts; and all our efforts (when we rebel against -destiny) as weak as a card that sticks to a glove when the gamester is -determined to throw it on the table. Let us then (which is the only true -philosophy) be contented with our chance, and make the best of that bad -bargain of being born in this vile planet; where we may find, however -(God be thanked), much to laugh at, though little to approve. - -"I confess I delight extremely in looking on men in that light. How many -thousands trample under foot honour, ease, and pleasure, in pursuit of -ribands of certain colours, dabs of embroidery on their clothes, and -gilt wood carved behind their coaches in a particular figure? Others -breaking their hearts till they are distinguished by the shape and -colour of their hats; and, in general, all people earnestly seeking what -they do not want, while they neglect the real blessings in their -possession--I mean the innocent gratification of their senses, which is -all we can properly call our own. For my part, I will endeavour to -comfort myself for the cruel disappointment I find in renouncing -Tubingen, by eating some fresh oysters on the table. I hope you are -sitting down with dear Lady F. to some admirable red partridges, which I -think are the growth of that country. Adieu! Live happy, and be not -unmindful of your sincere distant friend, who will remember you in the -tenderest manner while there is any such faculty as memory in the -machine called." - - -To THE COUNTESS OF BUTE - -"Venice, May 22, 1759. - -"... Building is the general weakness of old people; I have had a twitch -of it myself, though certainly it is the highest absurdity, and as sure -a proof of dotage as pink-coloured ribands, or even matrimony. Nay, -perhaps, there is more to be said in defence of the last; I mean in a -childless old man; he may prefer a boy born in his own house, though he -knows it is not his own, to disrespectful or worthless nephews or -nieces. But there is no excuse for beginning an edifice he can never -inhabit, or probably see finished. The Duchess of Marlborough used to -ridicule the vanity of it, by saying one might always live upon other -people's follies: yet you see she built the most ridiculous house I ever -saw, since it really is not habitable, from the excessive damps; so true -it is, the things that we would do, those do we not, and the things we -would not do, those do we daily. I feel in myself a proof of this -assertion, being much against my will at Venice, though I own it is the -only great town where I can properly reside, yet here I find so many -vexations, that, in spite of all my philosophy and (what is more -powerful) my phlegm, I am oftener out of humour than among my plants and -poultry in the country. I cannot help being concerned at the success of -iniquitous schemes, and grieve for oppressed merit. You, who see these -things every day, think me as unreasonable, in making them matter of -complaint, as if I seriously lamented the change of seasons. You should -consider I have lived almost a hermit ten years, and the world is as new -to me as to a country girl transported from Wales to Coventry. I know I -ought to think my lot very good, that can boast of some sincere friends -among strangers." - - -Old age will, in the long run, have its way. Lady Mary, as pleasantly -loquacious as ever, found the manual labour of writing not always to be -endured, and she tried the experiment of dictating her correspondence. - - -"Thus far" (she wrote to Sir James Steuart from Padua, July 19, 1759), -"I have dictated for the first time of my life, and perhaps it will be -the last, for my amanuensis is not to be hired, and I despair of ever -meeting with another. He is the first that could write as fast as I -talk, and yet you see there are so many mistakes, it wants a comment -longer than my letter to explain my insignificant meaning, and I have -fatigued my poor eyes more with correcting it, than I should have done -in scribbling two sheets of paper. You will think, perhaps, from this -idle attempt, that I have some fluxion on my sight; no such matter; I -have suffered myself to be persuaded by such sort of arguments as those -by which people are induced to strict abstinence, or to take physic. -Fear, paltry fear, founded on vapours rising from the heat, which is now -excessive, and has so far debilitated my miserable nerves that I submit -to a present displeasure, by way of precaution against a future evil, -that possibly may never happen. I have this to say in my excuse, that -the evil is of so horrid a nature, I own I feel no philosophy that could -support me under it, and no mountain girl ever trembled more at one of -Whitfield's pathetic lectures than I do at the word blindness, though I -know all the fine things that may be said for consolation in such a case: -but I know, also, they would not operate on my constitution. 'Why, then' -(say my wise monitors), 'will you persist in reading or writing seven -hours in a day?' 'I am happy while I read and write.' 'Indeed, one would -suffer a great deal to be happy,' say the men, sneering; and the ladies -wink at each other, and hold up their fans. A fine lady of three score -had the goodness to add, 'At least, madam, you should use spectacles; I -have used them myself these twenty years; I was advised to it by a famous -oculist when I was fifteen. I am really of opinion that they have -preserved my sight, notwithstanding the passion I always had both for -reading and drawing.' This good woman, you must know, is half blind, and -never read a larger volume than a newspaper. I will not trouble you with -the whole conversation, though it would make an excellent scene in a -farce; but after they had in the best bred way in the world convinced me -that they thought I lied when I talked of reading without glasses, the -foresaid matron obligingly said she should be very proud to see the -writing I talked of, having heard me say formerly I had no correspondents -but my daughter and Mr. Wortley. She was interrupted by her sister, who -said, simpering, 'You forgot Sir J.S.' I took her up something short, I -confess, and said in a dry stern tone, 'Madam, I do write to Sir J.S. and -will do it as long as he will permit that honour.' This rudeness of mine -occasioned a profound silence for some minutes, and they fell into a -good-natured discourse of the ill consequences of too much application, -and remembered how many apoplexies, gouts, and dropsies had happened -amongst the hard students of their acquaintance. As I never studied -anything in my life, and have always (at least from fifteen) thought the -reputation of learning a misfortune to a woman, I was resolved to believe -these stories were not meant at me: I grew silent in my turn, and took up -a card that lay on a table, and amused myself with smoking it over a -candle. In the mean time (as the song says), - - 'Their tattles all run, as swift as the sun, - Of who had won, and who was undone - By their gaming and sitting up late,' - -When it was observed I entered into none of these topics, I was -addressed by an obliging lady, who pitied my stupidity. 'Indeed, madam, -you should buy horses to that fine machine you have at Padua; of what -use is it standing in the portico?' 'Perhaps,' said another, wittily, -'of as much use as a standing dish.' A gaping schoolboy added with still -more wit, 'I have seen at a country gentleman's table a venison-pasty -made of wood.' I was not at all vexed by said schoolboy, not because he -was (in more senses than one) the highest of the company, but knowing he -did not mean to offend me. I confess (to my shame be it spoken) I was -grieved at the triumph that appeared in the eyes of the king and queen -of the company, the court being tolerably full. His majesty walked off -early with the air befitting his dignity, followed by his train of -courtiers, who, like courtiers, were laughing amongst themselves as they -followed him: and I was left with the two queens, one of whom was making -ruffles for the man she loved, and the other slopping tea for the good -of her country. They renewed their generous endeavours to set me right, -and I (graceless beast that I am) take up the smoked card which lay -before me, and with the corner of another wrote-- - - If ever I one thought bestow - On what such fools advise, - May I be dull enough to grow - Most miserably wise. - -And flung down the card on the table, and myself out of the room, in the -most indecent fury. A few minutes on the cold water convinced me of my -folly, and I went home as much mortified as my Lord E. when he has lost -his last stake at hazard. Pray don't think (if you can help it) this is -an affectation of mine to enhance the value of a talent I would be -thought to despise; as celebrated beauties often talk of the charms of -good sense, having some reason to fear their mental qualities are not -quite so conspicuous as their outside lovely form.--_A propos_ of -beauties: - - I know not why, but Heaven has sent this way - A nymph, fair, kind, poetical, and gay; - And what is more (tho' I express it dully), - A noble, wise, right honourable cully: - A soldier worthy of the name he bears, - As brave and senseless as the sword he wears. - -"You will not doubt I am talking of a puppet-show; and indeed so I am; -but the figures (some of them) bigger than the life, and not stuffed -with straw like those commonly shown at fairs. I will allow you to think -me madder than Don Quixote when I confess I am governed by the -_que-dira-t-on_ of these things, though I remember whereof they are -made, and know they are but dust. Nothing vexes me so much as that they -are below satire. (Between you and me) I think there are but two -pleasures permitted to mortal man, love and vengeance; both which are, -in a peculiar manner, forbidden to us wretches who are condemned to -petticoats. Even vanity itself, of which you daily accuse us, is the sin -against the Holy Ghost not to be forgiven in this world or the next. - - Our sex's weakness you expose and blame, - Of every prating fop the common theme; - Yet from this weakness you suppose is due - Sublimer virtue than your Cato knew. - From whence is this unjust distinction shown? - Are we not formed with passions like your own? - Nature with equal fire our souls endued: - Our minds as lofty, and as warm our blood. - O'er the wide world your wishes you pursue, - The change is justified by something new, - But we must sigh in silence and be true. - -"How the great Dr. Swift would stare at this vile triplet! And then what -business have I to make apologies for Lady Vane, whom I never spoke to, -because her life is writ by Dr. Smollett, whom I never saw? Because my -daughter fell in love with Lord Bute, am I obliged to fall in love with -the whole Scots nation? 'Tis certain I take their quarrels upon myself -in a very odd way; and I cannot deny that (two or three dozen excepted) -I think they make the first figure in all arts and sciences; even in -gallantry, in spite of the finest gentlemen that have finished their -education at Paris. - -"You will ask me what I mean by all this nonsense, after having declared -myself an enemy to obscurity to such a degree that I do not forgive it -to the great Lord Viscount Bolingbroke, who professes he studied it. I -dare swear you will sincerely believe him when you read his celebrated -works. I have got them for you, and intend to bring them. _Oime! -l'huomo. propone, Dio dispone_. I hope you won't think this dab of -Italian, that slid involuntarily from my pen, an affectation like his -Gallicisms, or a rebellion against Providence, in imitation of his -lordship, who I never saw but once in my life: he then appeared in a -corner of the drawing-room, in the exact similitude of Satan when he was -soliciting the court of Heaven for leave to torment an honest man." - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -LAST YEARS (1760-1762) - -Lady Mary writes the history of her own times--Her health--Death of -Edward Wortley Montagu--His will--Lady Mary ponders the idea of -returning to England--She leaves Italy--She is held up at Rotterdam--She -reaches London--Horace Walpole visits her--Her last illness--Her -fortitude--Her death--She leaves one guinea to her son. - -One of Lady Mary's amusements towards the end of her life was writing -the history of her own time. "It has been my fortune," she said, "to -have a more exact knowledge both of the persons and facts that have made -the greatest figure in England in this age, than is common; and I take -pleasure in putting together what I know, with an impartiality that is -altogether unusual. Distance of tie and place has totally blotted from -my mind all traces of resentment or prejudice; and I speak with the same -indifference to the Court of Great Britain as I should do of that of -Augustus Caesar." Lady Mary, however, merely wrote for her own -entertainment, and burnt her manuscript almost as soon as it was -composed. It would certainly have made interesting reading; but she -never had any idea of publication. "I know mankind too well to think -they are capable of receiving the truth, much less of applauding it; or, -were it otherwise, applause to me is as insignificant as garlands on the -dead." - - -"I am exceedingly glad of your father's good health: he owes it to his -uncommon abstinence and resolution," Lady Mary wrote to her daughter, -April 11, 1759. "I wish I could boast the same. I own I have too much -indulged a sedentary humour and have been a rake in reading. You will -laugh at the expression, but I think the liberal meaning of the ugly -word rake is one that follows his pleasures in contradiction to his -reason. I thought mine so innocent I might pursue them with impunity. I -now find that I was mistaken, and that all excesses are (though not -equally) blamable. My spirits in company are false fire: I have a damp -within; from marshy grounds frequently arises an appearance of light. I -grow splenetic, and consequently ought to stop my pen, for fear of -conveying the infection." - -"My health is very precarious; may yours long continue and see the -prosperity of your family. I bless God I have lived to see you so well -established, and am ready to sing my _Nunc dimittis_ with pleasure," -Lady Mary wrote to her daughter in November, 1760; and early in the next -year she touched on the same subject in a letter to Sir James Steuart. -"I have not returned my thanks for your obliging letter so soon as both -duty and inclination prompted me but I have had so severe a cold, -accompanied with a weakness in my eyes, that I have been confined to my -stove for many days.... I am preparing for my last and longest journey, -and stand on the threshold of this dirty world, my several infirmities -like posthorses ready to hurry me away." - - -It was in January, 1761, that Edward Wortley Montagu passed away at the -age of eighty-three. He died at Wharncliffe, the family seat of the -Wortleys, where he had lived in a most miserly manner. He had only one -luxury--tokay, of which he was passionately fond. He left a great -fortune, the highest estimate of which was L1,350,000. Horace Walpole -said the estate was worth L600,000. Walpole gives some particulars of -the legacies: "To his son, on whom six hundred a-year was settled, the -reversion of which he has sold, he gives L1,000 a-year for life, but not -to descend to any children he may have by any of his many wives. To Lady -Mary, in lieu of dower, but which to be sure she will not accept, -instead of the thirds of such a fortune, L1,200 a-year; and after her to -their son for life; and then the L1,200 and L1,000 to Lady Bute and to -her second son; with L2,000 to each of her younger children; all the -rest, in present, to Lady Bute, then to her second son, taking the name -of Wortley, and in succession to all the rest of her children, which are -numerous; and after them to Lord Sandwich, to whom, in present, he -leaves about L40,000. The son, you perceive, is not so well treated by -his own father as his companion Taaffe[22] is by the French Court, where -he lives, and is received on the best footing; so near is Fort l'Eveque -to Versailles." - -[Footnote 22: Theodore Taaffe, an Irish adventurer, who, with Edward -Wortley Montagu, was imprisoned in Fort l'Eveque, at Paris, for cheating -at cards in 1751. The incident has been given in a pamphlet written by -Montagu.] - -On hearing of the death of her husband, Lady Mary bethought herself of -returning to England, from which she had been absent for more than a -score of years. She was seventy-two years old, and may well have thought -that her time, too, would soon come, and that she would like to die in -her native country. Still, it was some time before she could bring -herself to a decision to set out. She was delighted with the political -success of Lord Bute and pleased with her daughter's prosperity, but "I -am doubtful whether I will attempt to be a spectator of it," she -confided in Sir James Steuart in April. "I have so many years indulged -my natural inclinations to solitude and reading, I am unwilling to -return to crowds and bustle, which would be unavoidable in London. The -few friends I esteemed are now no more: the new set of people who fill -the stage at present are too indifferent to me even to raise my -curiosity." Also, as she said, she was beginning to feel the worst -effects of age, blindness excepted, and was grown timorous and -suspicious. - -It was no light thing for a woman of Lady Mary's age to voyage alone, -except for a servant or two, from Venice to London. Yet her indomitable -spirit came to her aid, and in the autumn of 1761 she left Italy. She -travelled by way of Augsberg and Frankfort to Rotterdam. The journey had -been far from agreeable. "I am dragging my ragged remnant of life to -England," she wrote to Sir James Steuart on November 20. "The wind and -tide are against me; how far I have strength to struggle against both I -know not; that I am arrived here is as much a miracle as any in the -golden legend; and if I had foreseen half the difficulties I have met -with I should not certainly have had courage to undertake it.... I am -nailed down here by a severe illness of my poor Marianne, who has not -been able to endure the frights and fatigues that we have passed." - -When, about three weeks later, Marianne had sufficiently recovered to -move on, Lady Mary was held up by a hard, impenetrable frost. The delay -irked her, and she became somewhat depressed, and said that she was -dubious, in her precarious state of health, whether she would arrive at -her destination. At the beginning of the new year, she did actually make -a start, and got half way to Helvoet, and was obliged to turn back by -the mountains of sea that obstructed the passage. "I have had so many -disappointments I can scarce entertain the flattering thought of -arriving in London," the poor lady complained; but she found comfort in -that "It is uncommon at my age to have no distemper, and to retain all -my senses in their first degree of perfection." Later in the month she -arrived in London. - -Horace Walpole, who heard everything, had, of course, heard that Lady -Mary was returned to England, and in a letter of October 8, 1761, -announced her return, adding with a brutality unusual even in him: "I -have not seen her yet, though they have not made her perform quarantine -for her own dirt." However, as he discovered shortly after, it was Lady -Mary Wrottisley, and not Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who had arrived. - -Of course, when Lady Mary had come to London, Walpole was one of the -first to go and see her. "I went last night to visit her," he wrote to -Sir Horace Mann on January 29. "I give you my honour, and you who know -her, would credit me without it, the following is a faithful description. -I found her in a miserable little chamber of a ready-furnished house, -with two tallow candles, and a bureau covered with pots and pans. On -her head, in full of all accounts, she had an old black-laced hood, -wrapped entirely round, so as to conceal all hair or want of hair. No -handkerchief, but up to her chin a kind of horse-man's riding-coat, -calling itself a _pet-en-l'air,_ made of a dark green (green I -think it had been) brocade, with coloured and silver flowers, and lined -with furs; boddice laced, a foul dimity petticoat sprig'd, velvet -muffeteens on her arms, grey stockings and slippers. Her face less -changed in twenty years than I could have imagined; I told her so, and -she was not so tolerable twenty years ago that she needed to have taken -it for flattery, but she did, and literally gave me a box on the ear. -She is very lively, all her senses perfect, her languages as imperfect -as ever, her avarice greater. She entertained me at first with nothing -but the dearness of provisions at Helvoet. With nothing but an Italian, -a French, and a Prussian, all men-servants, and something she calls an -_old_ secretary, but whose age till he appears will be doubtful; -she receives all the world who go to homage her as Queen-mother, and -crams them into this kennel. The Duchess of Hamilton, who came in just -after me, was so astonished and diverted, that she could not speak to -her for laughing. She says that she left all her clothes at Venice. I -really pity Lady Bute; what will the progress be of such a commencement?" - -Lady Mary rented a house in Great George Street, Hanover Square, whither -her daughter and grandchildren came often. Occasionally she went about, -and from time to time would grace an assembly with her presence. Horace -Walpole saw her at some gathering, dressed in yellow velvet and sables, -with a decent laced head and a black hood, almost like a veil, over her -face. His prognostication that she would by her interference and demands -for "jobs" make life hideous for Lord and Lady Bute proved to be -unfounded, and he had the grace to say, "She is much more discreet than -I expected, and meddles with nothing"; but he could not refrain from -saying that "she is woefully tedious in her narrations." - -Lady Mary was suffering from cancer, which she concealed from her family -and acquaintances until about the beginning of July (1762). Then it -burst, and there was no hope of her life being much prolonged. On July 2 -she wrote her last letter to Lady Frances Steuart, saying, "I have been -ill a long time, and am now so bad I am little capable of writing, but I -would not pass in your opinion as either stupid or ungrateful. My heart -is always warm in your service, and I am always told your affairs shall -be taken care of." If she was a bad woman to cross, at least even on her -deathbed she tried to do service to her friends. Death had no terrors -for her; she said she had lived long enough; and she died, as she had -lived, with great fortitude. - -Lady Mary passed away on August 21, 1762, at the age of seventy-three. -Her remains were interred in the graveyard of Grosvenor Chapel, where -also lie Ambrose Phillips, David Mallett, Lord Chesterfield, William -Whitehead, John Wilkes, and Elizabeth Carter. - -All that Lady Mary possessed, except some trifling legacies, she left to -Lady Bute. Her fortune is believed to have been inconsiderable, except -for some valuable jewels. Walpole had one last gibe: "With her usual -maternal tenderness and usual generosity, she has left her son one -guinea." The gibe was unworthy, because Walpole knew quite well the -career of that son, who, anyhow, was sufficiently provided for. It may -be that it was the pricking of Walpole's conscience for this last -outburst that made him later administer a stern rebuke to Lady Craven. -"I am sorry to hear, Madam, that by your account Lady Mary Wortley was -not so accurate and faithful as modern travellers. The invaluable art of -inoculation, which she brought from Constantinople, so dear to all -admirers of beauty, and to which we owe, perhaps the preservation of -yours, stamps her an universal benefactress; and as you rival her in -poetic talents I had rather you would employ them to celebrate her for -her nostrum, than detect her for romancing." - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Lady Mary Wortley Montague, by Lewis Melville - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGUE *** - -***** This file should be named 10590.txt or 10590.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/5/9/10590/ - -Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Charles Aldarondo, (no name) and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team. - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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