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 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN
 
 BOOKS BY A. M. BROADLEY 
 
 DR. JOHNSON AND MRS. THRALE 
 
 With 24 Illustrations from rare Originals. Demy 8vo. 
 NAPOLEON IN CARICATURE: 1795-1821 
 With 24 Illustrations in Colour and upwards of 200 in 
 Black and White. 2 vols. Demy 8vo. 
 
 With J. HOLLAND ROSE 
 
 DUMOURIEZ AND THE DEFENCE OF 
 
 ENGLAND AGAINST NAPOLEON 
 With numerous Portraits, Maps and Facsimiles. Demy 8vo. 
 
 With H. F. B. WHEELER 
 
 NAPOLEON AND THE INVASION OF 
 ENGLAND 
 
 With 114 Illustrations, including 8 in Colour. 2 vols. 
 Demy 8vo. 
 
 THE WAR IN WEXFORD 
 
 With numerous Reproductions of Contemporary Portraits 
 and Engravings, Demy 8vo. 
 
 BOOKS BY LEWIS MELVILLE 
 
 PHILIP DUKE OF WHARTON 
 
 With numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo, 
 
 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WILLIAM 
 COBBETT IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA 
 With numerous Illustrations. 2 vols. Demy 8vo. 
 
 WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY 
 With numerous Illustrations. 2 vols. Demy 8vo, 
 
 JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD, LONDON

 
 THE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 LADY CRAVEN 
 
 The Original Memoirs of Elizabeth Baroness Craven 
 afterwards Margravine of Anspach and Bayreuth 
 and Princess Berkeley of the Holy Roman 
 Empire (1750- 1828) Edited with Notes 
 and a Biographical afid Historical Introduction 
 containing fnuch unpublished matter by 
 
 A. M. BROADLEY Gf LEWIS MELVILLE 
 WITH 48 ILLUSTRATIONS IN TWO VOLS. VOL.1 
 
 Ch^ - 
 
 -<. 
 
 LONDON : JOHN LANE THE BODLEY HEAD 
 NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY 
 TORONTO : BELL & COCKBURN MCMXIV 
 
 e^
 
 WUaiAM BRENDOW AND SON, LTD., PRINTBBS, FLYMOUTH
 
 TO 
 
 ALFRED AND SOPHIE BREWIS 
 
 OF East Ellesmere, Newcastle-upon-Tyne 
 
 THESE VOLUMES ARE 
 
 INSCRIBED 
 June \%th, 191 3
 
 EDITORS' NOTE 
 
 WHEN Elizabeth, Margravine of Branden- 
 burgh, Anspach, and Bayreuth, and Princess 
 Berkeley of the Holy Roman Empire, pub- 
 lished her Atitohiographical Memoirs in 
 1826, she was in her seventy-sixth year. The appearance 
 of the book, abounding as it does in personal and often 
 pungent reminiscences, unquestionably aroused consider- 
 able interest both in England and on the Continent, for 
 the versatile writer during the last decade of the eight- 
 eenth and the first two decades of the nineteenth cen- 
 turies, disregarding the social veto of her kinswoman 
 Queen Charlotte, had contrived to make her Court at 
 Brandenburgh House in Hammersmith and Benham 
 Valence, Newbury, sometimes called Benham Place and 
 Benham Park, a social imperium in imperio. In this task she 
 had achieved a great measure of success, for the enter- 
 tainments over which she presided, first as the wife of the 
 Margrave of Anspach and then as his widow, were 
 probably infinitely more amusing than those given at 
 the Queen's House, Windsor, Kew, Frogmore or Wey- 
 mouth. If Good Queen Charlotte set her face sternly 
 against the amiable and tolerant hostess who had married 
 the great -nephew of her predecessor and the great- 
 grandson of George I, she obtained the friendship and 
 patronage of the heir to the throne and his royal
 
 X THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 brothers, and a great many fashionable and distinguished 
 people, following their example, flocked to the Hammer- 
 smith fetes for which Bartolozzi, Wigstead, and other 
 distinguished artists designed the cards of invitation and 
 programmes. 
 
 The personal charms of the graceful and gifted mistress of 
 Brandenburgh House have been successfully perpetuated 
 by the skill of Gainsborough, Beach, Romney, Reynolds, 
 Angelica Kauffmann, Madame La Vigee Lebrun, and 
 other painters of the artistic period to which she 
 belongs, as well as by the chisel of Houdon, whose 
 bust of her was exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1803. 
 It is not at all surprising that a French translation of 
 the Memoirs, now re-edited, was immediately called for, 
 and that German historians have since discovered in 
 them a fruitful source of information. 
 
 That the Margravine of Anspach can be charged with 
 more than one " terminological inexactitude " it is im- 
 possible to deny. She was writing rather for the sake 
 of her reputation with posterity than for the amusement 
 of her contemporaries, the greater part of whom had 
 vanished when her final literary effort was given to the 
 world. Possibly her age accounts for the errors which 
 the Editors here and there have endeavoured to correct. 
 While adhering as much as possible to the original text, 
 they have deleted certain portions of the work which are 
 either redundant or were obviously borrowed from now 
 obsolete histories. In the Introduction they have en- 
 deavoured to reconstitute the life-story of an exceptionally 
 attractive lady, who flourished in an age which could 
 boast of such remarkable women as Georgiana, Duchess 
 of Devonshire, Frances Anne Crewe, Albinia, Countess of
 
 F.I.IZABETH, I.ADY CRAVEN, WIFE OF WILLIAM, SIXTH LORD CRAVEN, 
 NEE LADY EI.IZABEIH BERKELEY, AFTERWARDS MARGRAVINE OF 
 ANSPACH AND PRINCESS BERKELEY 
 From the portrait at Combe Abbey, attributeii to Thomas Beach
 
 EDITORS' NOTE xi 
 
 Buckinghamshire, EHzabeth Montagu, Hester Lynch 
 Piozzi, Hannah More, Mary and Agnes Berry, and many 
 others. Streatham Park was closed, and the hospitaUties 
 of the " Chateau Portman " were on the wane, when the 
 splendours of Brandenburgh House burst upon the 
 astonished and gratified metropolis. In elucidation of 
 allusions to persons and places mentioned in the text 
 the Editors have endeavoured to supply, without unduly 
 interfering with the course of the narrative, such notes as 
 they deem essential. 
 
 They desire to express their grateful acknowledgment 
 for the valuable assistance rendered them by Lady Helen 
 Forbes, herself a lineal descendant of the Margravine of 
 Anspach ; Mr. Walter Money, f.s.a., of Shaw Dene, 
 Donnington, Newbury ; Mr. Horace Bleackley, the bio- 
 grapher of John Wilkes and the " Beautiful Gunnings " ; 
 Lady Sutton, the mother of the present owner of Ben- 
 ham ; Sir J, Wrench Towse, Clerk to the Fishmongers' 
 Company, of which the Margrave of Anspach was a 
 Freeman; Mr. William Leeds, H.M.'s, Secretary of Lega- 
 tion at Lisbon ; Dr. J. Holland Rose ; Mr. B. P. Lascelles, 
 Librarian of the Vaughan Library at Harrow ; Mrs. Con- 
 stance Hutton, Signor Salvatore di Giacomo of Naples ; 
 the Commendatore Roberto de Sanna, the present owner 
 of the Villa Craven, and Mr. G. J. A. Churchill, His 
 Britannic Majesty's Consul at Naples ; the Rev. R. Bruce 
 Dickson, Vicar of Speen ; Mr. T. A. Cook, Editor of 
 The Field; Mr. W. S. Dixon, of Fairlight, Luton; Sir 
 WilHam Bull, m.p. ; Mr. Samuel Martin, Chief Librarian 
 of the Hammersmith Free Library ; Mr. E. T. Morgan, 
 of Bristol ; Mrs. Chmenson, the biogi*apher of Elizabeth 
 Montagu ; T. H. B. Vade-Walpole ; and Mr. Tom Floyd,
 
 xii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 of the Hermitage, near Newbury ; Dr. Hammond, 
 Librarian at Freemasons' Hall ; and Miss Lucy Rosalie 
 Henderson, of St. Leonards, the owner of the exception- 
 ally interesting letter from the Margravine of Anspach 
 to Mr. Francis James Jackson, British Minister at 
 Berlin. Messrs. William Blackwood and Sons have kindly 
 permitted the insertion of a letter written about Lady 
 Craven by Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe. For the pedigree 
 of the Berkeley and Craven families the Editors are 
 indebted to Lady Helen Forbes, and Mrs. Edith E. 
 Cuthell, the author of Wilhelmina, Margravine of 
 Baireuth, has very kindly supplied them with a pedi- 
 gree showing the close connection between Elizabeth, 
 Lady Craven's second husband and the royal families of 
 England and Prussia. 
 
 The Editors also desire to express their gratitude to 
 Mr. John Lane, who has made a special study of the 
 iconography of the eighteenth century, for his assist- 
 ance and advice in selecting the illustrations, and 
 especially for the list of the known portraits of the 
 Margravine of Anspach and her husband by the great 
 artists who were their contemporaries. 
 
 Some of the occasional verses written by the Mar- 
 gravine of Anspach at various periods of her life, and 
 principally gathered from her unpublished MSS., are 
 printed as Appendices at the end of the second volume. 
 
 A. M. B. 
 
 L. M. 
 
 August 5, 191 3
 
 
 THE MARGRAVINE OF ANSPACH 
 From an engrn^ung by H. Meyer after Reynolds
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 EARLY LIFE 
 (175O-I783) 
 
 ELIZABETH, the youngest daughter of Augustus, 
 fourth Earl of Berkeley, by his wife, Elizabeth, 
 daughter of Henry Drax, of Charborough, co. 
 Dorset, was born on December 17, 1750. ^ 
 Of her earliest years there is no information forthcoming 
 with which to supplement the statement in the Memoirs, 
 so, without more ado, it may be mentioned that on May 
 30, 1767, being then in her seventeenth year, she married 
 William Craven, who two years later became sixth Baron 
 Craven. 2 In her narrative the Lady Craven says that 
 
 1 The other children of the fourth Earl of Berkeley (1716-1755), 
 who lived to maturity, were : — 
 
 Frederick Augustus, afterwards fifth Earl (1745-1810) ; Admiral 
 Sir George Cranfield (1753-1818) ; and Georgiana Augusta (died 
 1820), who married (i) George, fifth Earl of Granard, and (ii) the Rev. 
 Samuel Little, d.d. See Pedigree A. 
 
 2 There were seven children of this marriage : — 
 
 William, afterwards seventh Baron Craven, born September i, 
 1770, created 1801 first Earl of Craven ; married Louisa, a celebrated 
 actress, daughter of John Brunton, of Norwich ; died July 30, 1825 ; 
 and was succeeded by his eldest son. 
 
 Henry Augustus Berkeley, major-general, born December 21, 
 1776 ; married 1829 Marie Clarisse Thebhault ; died 1S36. 
 
 Keppel Richard, born June i, 1779 ; died June 24, 1S51. 
 
 Elizabeth, married 1792 John Edward Madocks, of Glanywern ; 
 died January 3, 1799. 
 
 Maria Margaret, married 1792 William Philip, second Earl of 
 Sefton ; died March 9, 1851. 
 
 Georgiana, died 1839. 
 
 Arabella, married 1793 General the Hon. Frederick St. John ; 
 died June 9, i8ig. See Pedigree B.
 
 xiv THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 her first husband was fond and stupid, that she was 
 beautiful and clever, that eventually Craven took unto 
 himself a mistress, and that after thirteen years of 
 married life he had her informed that he would no longer 
 live with her, that she should have an income of fifteen 
 hundred pounds, but must go her own way, which way, 
 however, must not be his. Some part of the lady's account 
 is accurate. She yearned to be regarded as a hel esprit, and 
 indited verses to her friends. One of her earliest efforts 
 was written when she was twenty-one, as a reply to 
 " The False Alarm : A Fable," addressed to her by the 
 Rev. Charles Jenner.^ 
 
 Lady Craven, as was befitting a poetess, had a passion 
 for romance, but unfortunately she did not confine her 
 feelings to her verses. She was, indeed, singularly in- 
 discreet in her conduct, and her reputation suffered 
 greatly, nor, it is to be feared, without cause. " We talk 
 much of Lady Craven," Mrs. Boscawen wrote to Mrs. 
 Delany, May 7, 1773 ; " and have a variety of stories 
 which I shall not employ my pen to string for you, 
 car dies ne sont point rangees, ni si nettes que des perles."^ 
 An examination of the gutter-press of the day furnishes 
 us with details of a liaison, which even a paper so re- 
 spectable as the Morning Chronicle deigned to notice. 
 The other delinquent was the Due de Guines, the French 
 Ambassador at the Court of St. James's.^ The Morning 
 Chronicle of May 19, 1773, mentions that his Excellency 
 
 ^ Both pieces have been printed in The New Foundling Hospital for 
 Wit (ed. 1784, Vol. I). Her poem was reprinted in The Monthly Mirror, 
 March, 1 80 1. See Appendix A. 
 
 * Life and Correspondence of Mrs. Delany, IV, 502. 
 
 * (Adrien Louis de Bonnieres, Count, afterwards Duke de Guines, 
 diplomatist, was born at Lille, April 14, 1735, and died at Paris, De- 
 cember 21, 1806. He was appointed Ambassador to the Court of 
 Berlin in 1768, and transferred to that of London in 1770, where he
 
 WILLIAM, 6th lord CRAVF.N ANI> HUSKAND OK El.lZABKTH, 
 
 AFIERWARDS MARGRAVINE OF ANSPACH 
 
 Frotn the portrait at Combe Abbey, attributed to Thomas Bench

 
 INTRODUCTION xv 
 
 and the Countess had been discovered in a disagreeable 
 situation at a masquerade ; but a more circumstantial 
 account appeared in the Town and Country Magazine in a 
 letter dated May i6, signed " A Bye-Stander " : — 
 
 As the most extraordinary event, out of the circle of 
 politics, that has happened this month, is the detection of 
 Lady C in a criminal intercourse with a foreign am- 
 bassador, who resides in Westminster, your readers will 
 certainly expect some account of this uncommon affair, 
 through the channel of your Magazine. 
 
 Before his Lordship's late tour in Italy, whither he 
 went for the recovery of his health, and where her Lady- 
 ship accompanied him, he had very strong suspicions of 
 her infidelity ; however, as she gave him no cause to 
 complain during his absence abroad, he stifled all re- 
 sentment, and gave her Ladyship no reason to suspect 
 his jealousy. But upon his return home, he found her 
 frequently at different routs and parties always seated 
 next to the F.A., who was almost constantly in conversa- 
 tion with her. Still he concealed his suspicions, till his 
 excellency took her out for his partner, at one of his late 
 quadrilles, and danced with her Ladyship the whole 
 evening. 
 
 This made his Lordship call to mind, that she returned 
 one night very late in a hackney chair, seemed in great 
 confusion, and her cloaths huddled on in a hurry. He 
 found means to trace the chairmen, and bribed them to 
 confess, that they came from a certain famous house of 
 carnal recreation in Covent Garden. 
 
 His lordship's suspicions were now confirmed, as 
 another hackney chair was called at the same time, and 
 ordered to George-Street ; but no detection was yet made. 
 
 remained until 1776. He was created Duke after his recall. Tlie Due 
 de Guines was a strong sympathiser with the cause of the Americans 
 in their conflict with themother-country.
 
 xvi THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 When a party was proposed to his lordship for the late 
 masquerade, he declined going, complaining of a violent 
 pain in his head. Her Ladyship dressed at home, and 
 went to the ball. His lordship soon after followed her 
 with two friends, who kept a constant eye upon her and 
 the ambassador. They perceived her ladyship and his 
 excellency retire into a private room, and the door was 
 instantly fastened. His lordship being made acquainted 
 with this retreat, presently forced open the door, and 
 found her ladyship sitting upon the ambassador's knee, 
 in such a state, as clearly proved that a few minutes 
 would have brought on an amorous conflict. 
 
 His lordship sent his wife directly into the country, 
 and, it is said, challenged the ambassador, who declined 
 accepting of it on account of his public character ; but 
 promised to give his lordship the satisfaction of a gentle- 
 man, when he shall have received his letters of recall. 
 This discovery, it is assured, has wrought so painfully 
 upon her ladyship's mind, as to turn her brain. It is 
 certain that her relations have severely upbraided her 
 upon the occasion, and the more as she had no plea of 
 ill treatment from her noble husband ; he having married 
 her with a very small fortune, tho' he possesses a very 
 ample one, and has always behaved to her with the 
 most conjugal affection. ^ 
 
 The scandal was widespread. " La fatuite de M. le 
 comte de Guines, et I'imprudence de la jeune femme, 
 amenement necessairement une esclandre," wrote the 
 Due de Lauzun. " M. de Guines voulait persuader a 
 Lady Craven de se faire separer do son mari, et de 
 s'enchainer a son char."^ When Lady Craven married 
 again, the Bon Ton Magazine for August, 1791, in a sketch 
 
 ^ Town and Country Magazine, May, 1773, V, 246. 
 * Mimoires du Due de Lauzun (ed. 1858), 114.
 
 THE COUNT (afterwards THE DUKE) ])E GUINES, 
 
 FRENCH AMBASSADOR AT THE COURT OF ST. JAMES'S 
 
 After a inezz-ytint published by the artist. Lion in London i~74
 
 INTRODUCTION xvii 
 
 of the lady's life, entitled " The Amorous Margravine 
 and the Titled Wanderer," revived the incident : — 
 
 Among the illustrious visitants who attended the 
 hospitalities of B[enham] in Berkshire, was the French 
 Count dc Guines, Ambassador from his most Christian 
 Majesty to the British Court. With a person rather 
 elegant, a magnificence of dress, and an establishment 
 more splendid than any of his predecessors, the Count de 
 Guines became an object of much notoriety and praise ; 
 and, though beyond the meridian of life, of much female 
 attention also. Our heroine soon found in her own 
 bosom the reality of a flame which the insinuating 
 Frenchman pretended to be consuming his ; . . . a 
 faithful domestic discovered the criminal intercourse 
 ... an immediate separation took place : but so great 
 was Lord C [raven] 's tender affection that he found life a 
 burden wdthout the society of his beauteous though in- 
 constant mate ; and upon a solemn promise of future 
 circumspection, took her, with all her faults, once more 
 to his bed and bosom. 
 
 Of the many remaining references to her infidelity 
 only that contained in Charles Pigott's The Jockey 
 Club'^ shall be given. " She was young, ga}^ and hand- 
 some, when she married the late L — d C — v-n, 
 but he was too rustic and boarish in his manner for so 
 
 fine a lady, and she discovered that the Due de G nes, 
 
 A-b-ss-d-r from F ce to the C 1 of L-d-n, 
 
 was far preferable to a plain downright British husband. 
 ... So she was frail, and what is worse, she was 
 detected. His L — ds — p had a vast fund of good 
 nature ; he therefore pardoned the first offence." 
 
 ^ The extracts printed in this Introduction are from the tkiid 
 edition, 1792, Part III, 159-162. 
 
 VOL. I.— 3
 
 xviii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 The infidelity that the husband pardoned, the world did 
 not feel called upon to resent. Lady Craven was still 
 received in society, though many no doubt looked 
 askance at her. Johnson visited " the beautiful, gay, 
 and fascinating Lady Craven," as he described her ; and 
 Horace Walpole, too, was among those who greeted her 
 with smiles, and when she in 1775 came to Strawberry 
 Hill, struck off on his Press the following lines : — 
 
 Genius, howe'er sublime, pathetic, free, 
 Trusts to the press for immortality. 
 To types would Craven her sweet lays prefer. 
 The press would owe immortal fame to her. 
 While she, too careless of so fair a face. 
 Would breathe eternal youth on every grace. 
 Ages unborn computing with surprise, 
 From her own wit the brightness of her eyes.^ 
 
 In reply to this perfervid compliment. Lady Craven 
 could do no less than present the amateur printer with 
 some verses, 2 addressed directly to him :— 
 
 Thus spoke the bard — while Craven, whom he sung. 
 In sad confusion bow'd her blushing head ; 
 
 Her downcast eyes bespoke the poet wrong. 
 And fear'd a satire in each word he said. 
 
 Conscious that oft she felt the Muse's pow'r, 
 But conscious too, she felt it oft in vain ; 
 
 Her heart to study ne'er had spar'd an hour. 
 That heart e'er bleeding at another's pain. 
 
 Untaught and unconfin'd by learned rules, 
 Say, would you bid her trust her simple lays 
 
 To the rude eye of sense, or scorn of fools. 
 To envy, poison of her youthful days. 
 
 1 Monthly Mirror, April, 1801 ; XI, 221. 
 * Ibid., May, 1801 ; XI, 294.
 
 INTRODUCTION xix 
 
 Already has the face you deem so fair, 
 
 Unconscious, sown in many a female breast, 
 
 The bitter seed of envy's cank'ring care. 
 
 That bane of friendship — foe to woman's rest. — 
 
 Then spare, in pity, to some future day. 
 
 That praise, which all my sex would fain receive. 
 
 And let my life obscurely glide away, 
 Nor for one woman, many others grieve. 
 
 So shall my careless hours, from envy free. 
 Be yet employed in silence with each Muse, 
 
 But yield to you that immortality. 
 
 Which I with grateful caution must refuse. 
 
 The verses were not printed, but they were talked of, 
 and the Countess of Ossory asked for a sight of them. " I 
 certainly did not send you, Madam, Lady Craven's 
 verses, nor intend it, though they are extremely pretty," 
 Walpole wrote from Strawberry Hill, August 3, 1775. 
 " She did not give me leave, and without it you know I 
 would not. Nay, I don't think I should even with her 
 permission, for she makes an Apollo of me, and, if the 
 eight other Muses called me so too, I would not accept 
 the title without any pretensions. "^ Lady Craven and 
 Walpole were now on very friendly terms, and his letters 
 are one of the sources from which information can be 
 gleaned about her during the next few years. In the true 
 spirit of the time they capped verses ; and it may have 
 been this exercise that induced the lady to try more 
 ambitious literary flights. She translated in 1778 Pont de 
 Vile's comedy. La Somnamhide, and this, entitled The 
 Sleep-Walker, received the signal honour of being printed 
 
 * Letters (ed. Cunningham), VI, 233.
 
 XX THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 in August at the Strawberry Hill Press. ^ " I shall be in 
 town in a few days, and will send you the heads of 
 Painters, which I left there," Walpole wrote to the Rev. 
 William Cole, August 22, 1778 ; " and along with them 
 for yourself a translation of a French play, that I have 
 just printed there. It is not for your reading, but as one 
 of the Strawberry editions, and one of the rarest ; for I 
 have printed but seventy-five copies. It was to oblige 
 Lady Craven, the translatress."^ 
 
 Lady Craven pursued her literary career, and her next 
 production was Modern Anecdotes of the Family of 
 Kinkvervankotsdarsprakengotchderns, which appeared in 
 1779, with a dedication to Walpole, who told Cole that it 
 " is careless and incorrect, but there are very pretty 
 things in it. "3 He wrote of this book at greater length to 
 Lady Ossory. " I send your Ladyship, as you order, 
 Lady Craven's novel, which is, being very short, full of 
 one long name, but not of long names," so runs a passage 
 in his letter of February 2, 1780. " It is scarce a story, 
 and I am told, is a translation ; but it is very prettily 
 
 ^ See Baker's Biographia Dyamatica, vol. iii., p. 287. According to 
 Baker it was never published, although printed, and only acted for a 
 charitable purpose at Newbury. To The Sleep-Walker, Horace Wal- 
 pole prefixed the lines : — 
 
 " Translation does to genius not belong; 
 But its own modesty repairs the wrong 
 And while it waves th' invention it could boast. 
 It gains a virtue for a talent lost." 
 
 2 Ibid., VII. 112. 
 
 * Letters (ed. Cunningham), VII, 339. 
 
 " It must have been a high entertainment to the Margravine's youth- 
 ful and playful mind to have heard the several explanations that were 
 given to this novel. Some people said it was written to turn family 
 pride into ridicule ; others, to deride German nobility. Some declared 
 they traced malice in every line ; while others, whose minds were more 
 delicately turned, like the sensitive plant, shrunk from the double en- 
 tendres that, in our opinion, pervaded the whole. But the fact is, this 
 production was not the offspring of the Margravine's fertility ; it was 
 literally a German anecdote, which she augmented considerably, and 
 adorned by many little whimsical ideas." — Monthly Mirror, XII, 9.
 
 HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORI) 
 Front an engi-ainng by Win. Daniel after G. Dunce
 
 INTRODUCTION xxi 
 
 told, and has, I will swear, several original expressions, 
 that are characteristic, and must be her own. There is 
 no mystery or secret about it, except that it was one to me 
 for four-and-twenty hours, being sent to me anonymously, 
 and I was all that time before I guessed the author. The 
 reason of my not naming it, Madam, you will find in my 
 character, which abhors anything that looks like vanity. "^ 
 After the composition (or translation) of the Modern 
 Anecdotes, Lady Craven wrote her first play. The Minia- 
 ture Picture, which was performed by some of her friends 
 at Benham and afterwards at the town-hall of Newbury 
 for the benefit of the poor of the town. After some per- 
 suasion, the author consented to its production at Drury 
 Lane, where, according to the Monthly Mirror, it was 
 " acted for some nights to crowded and brilliant audi- 
 ences, and received with great applause. "^ 
 
 HORACE WALPOLE TO THE REV. WILLIAM MASON 
 
 Strawberry Hill, May 28, 1780. 
 There has been such an uncommon event that I must 
 give you an account of it, as it relates to the Republic of 
 poetry, of which you are President, and to the Aristocracy 
 of Noble Authors, to whom I am Gentleman Usher. Lady 
 Craven's Comedy, called The Miniature Picture, which she 
 acted herself with a genteel set at her own house in the 
 country, has been played at Drury Lane. The chief 
 singularity was that she went to it herself the second 
 night, in form ; sat in the middle of the front row of the 
 stage-box, much dressed, with a profusion of white 
 bugles and plumes to receive the public homage due to 
 
 ^ Letters (ed. Cunningham), VII, 324. 
 
 ^ Sheridan wrote an excellent prologue for The Miniature Picture. 
 See Biographia Dramatica, by D. E. Baker, Vol. Ill, p. 43. According 
 to Baker it was produced late in the season of 1781 and acted only 
 three or four nights.
 
 xxH THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 her sex and loveliness. The Duchess of Richmond, Lady 
 Harcourt, Lady Edgecumbe, Lady Aylesbury, Mrs. 
 Darner, Lord Craven, General Conway, Colonel O'Hara, 
 Mr. Lennox and I were with her. It was amazing to see 
 so young a woman entirely possess herself ; but there is 
 such an integrity and frankness in her consciousness of 
 her own beauty and talents, that she speaks of them with 
 a naivete as if she had no property in them, but only wore 
 them as gifts of the Gods. Lord Craven, on the contrary, 
 was quite agitated by his fondness for her and with im- 
 patience at the bad performance of the actors, which was 
 wretched indeed, yet the address of the plot, which is 
 the chief merit of the piece, and some lively pencilling, 
 carried it off very well, though Parsons murdered the 
 Scotch Lord, and Mrs. Robinson (who is supposed to be 
 the favourite of the Prince of Wales) thought on nothing 
 but her own charms or him.i There is a very good though 
 endless Prologue written by Sheridan and spoken in per- 
 fection by King, which was encored (an entire novelty) 
 the first night ; and an Epilogue that I liked still better, 
 and which was full as well delivered by Mrs. Abingdon, 
 written by Mr. Jekyll. 
 
 The audience, though very civil, missed a fair oppor- 
 tunity of being gallant ; for in one of those -logues, I 
 forget which, the noble authoress was mentioned, and 
 they did not applaud as they ought to have done ex- 
 ceedingly when she condescended to avow her pretty child, 
 and was there looking so very pretty. I could not help 
 thinking to myself how many deaths Lady Harcourt would 
 
 ^ Robinson, Maiy, nie Darby [i 758-1800], commonly known as 
 " Perdita." In 1774 she married secretly Thomas Robinson. She 
 appeared at Drury Lane under the auspices of David Garrick in 1776, 
 and two years later attracted the attention of the Prince of Wales. 
 The Rambler's Magazine of 1780 contains frequent allusions to their 
 liaison, then at its height. Tlie entire manuscript of Mrs. Robinson's 
 Memoirs, chiefly written on the backs of letters, is in Mr. Broadley's 
 possession. Mrs. Robinson was also the mistress of Lord Maiden, 
 Charles James Fox, and Sir Banastre Tarleton.
 
 THRAl lA I Ml;-. .11 \ , I ON) 
 From an engrd-iin.^ 'y I'-.ir I'ttrCosxvay 
 
 I
 
 INTRODUCTION xxiii 
 
 have suffered rather than encountered such an exhibition ; 
 yet Lady Craven's tranquilhty had nothing displeasing — 
 it was only the ease that conscious pre-eminence bestows 
 on Sovereigns, whether their empire consists in power or 
 beauty. It was the ascendant of Millamont and Lady 
 Betty Modish and Indamore ; and it was tempered by her 
 infinite good nature, which made her make excuses for the 
 actors instead of being provoked at them. I have brought 
 hither her portrait and placed it in the favourite Blue 
 Room.i 
 
 The portrait referred to was that by Romney, upon 
 which Walpole wrote the following lines : — 
 
 Full many an Artist has on canvas fix'd 
 
 All charms that Nature's pencil ever mix'd. 
 
 The witchery of her eyes, the grace that tips 
 
 The inexpressible douceur of her lips : 
 
 Romney alone in this fair image caught 
 
 Each charm's expression, and each feature's thought ; 
 
 And shows how in their sweet assembly sit 
 
 Taste, spirit, softness, sentiment, and wit.* 
 
 Lady Craven was indefatigable. She poured forth, 
 or as a contemporary put it, " dealt out largely," her 
 sonnets, rebuses, charades, epilogues, and songs, and, 
 besides, not a few plays. A short piece of her composition. 
 The Silver Tankard,^ was presented by Colman at the 
 
 ^ Letters (ed. Cunningham), VII, 368-9. ^ Ibid., IX, 75. 
 
 ' The Silver Tankard, or The Point at Portsmouth was a Musical Farce. 
 Baker (Biographia Dramatica, Vol. Ill, p. 274) says it was never 
 printed, which is an error. It was produced at the Little Theatre in 
 the Haymarket, July 18, 1781. According to Baker, "With great 
 difficulty, and some management, this piece was heard throughout on 
 the first night. The natural tenderness with which an English audience 
 will always treat the work of a lady, could alone have preserved such 
 an insipid trifle from immediate condemnation. It was acted six 
 times." The songs in it were published by Cadell in the year of its 
 production
 
 xxiv THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 Haymarket Theatre, and it was on seeing the announce- 
 ment of this that Anthony Storer wrote to Lord Carhsle, 
 July i8, 1781 : " Lady Craven's afterpiece comes out 
 to-night. If it is not a better piece than her Ladyship, 
 the Lord have mercy on it."^ A fortnight earher the 
 same correspondent had written : " Lady Craven gave a 
 tea-drinking last night at a sort of thatched house she has 
 built upon the banks of the Thames. I did not imagine 
 that anything could be so ugly as the banks of the Thames, 
 but she has realised w'hat I never could have imagined. 
 She has made her house look as if it was built in an ait, 
 having surrounded it entirely with willows, and so with a 
 willow in her hand, she waves her love to come again. "^ 
 Of yet another production there is mention in a letter 
 from Walpole to Mason, April 14, 1782 : " Last night 
 before I came out of town, I was at a kind of pastoral 
 opera written by Lady Craven, and acted prettily by her 
 own and other children ; you will scold me again for not 
 telling you the title, but in truth I forgot to ask it. There 
 was imagination in it, but not enough to carry off five 
 acts. "3 This was probably The Arcadian Pastoral, that 
 and The Statue Feast both having been played for the 
 first time in this year. 
 
 The remark of Anthony Storer, already quoted, re- 
 flecting upon the character of Lady Craven, though per- 
 haps ill-natured, was not without warrant. Though her 
 liaison with the Due de Guines was long since a thing 
 of the past, it is to be feared that that lover had more 
 than one successor, and her infidelity could no longer be 
 overlooked even by the most indulgent husband. " When 
 
 ^ Carlisle MSS., 509. * Ibid. 
 
 ^ Letters (ed. Cunningham), VIII, 210.
 
 INTRODUCTION xxv 
 
 Lord Craven perceived . . . that she was become a 
 democrate in love, and had shewn marks of complaisance 
 to the canaille, he was surly and indignant, and advised 
 her to take herself off. . . . The Peer settled ;^I500 a year 
 upon his spouse."^ Thus Charles Pigott, who places all 
 the blame on the wife, and has nothing to say as to 
 whether the Earl was true to his marriage vows. But, 
 indeed, that an eighteenth-century nobleman should be 
 faithful to his wife was so little expected that it was the 
 breach which would pass unnoticed ; the observance 
 would surely have been commented upon. 
 
 * The Jockey Club (3rd ed., 1792), Part III, 160.
 
 II 
 
 EN VOYAGE 
 (1783-I786) 
 
 LADY CRAVEN, being turned away by her 
 husband, and her reputation in England being 
 J such as to close society to her, decided to go 
 abroad. With her youngest son, Richard 
 Keppel Craven, then four years old, she went to France, 
 and settled herself in a house at Versailles, Of her sojourn 
 there, particulars are given in the Memoirs, and here it is 
 only necessary to mention that among her visitors the 
 Margrave of Anspach^ was one of the most frequent. 
 Scandal was rife about the pair, but this the Countess 
 allayed, at least to some extent, by declaring that she 
 had known his Serene Highness all her life. It were 
 shame to doubt a lady's word, and so it shall merely be 
 remarked that the only recorded visits to England by the 
 Margrave, who was a nephew of George II's Queen, took 
 place in 1763,2 and that there is no record of Lady 
 Craven having been abroad. It is difficult, therefore, to 
 account for the intimacy, which, however, there is no 
 reason to believe was other than an innocent attachment. 
 
 1 Christian Frederick Charles Alexander, Margrave of Brandenburg, 
 Anspach, and Bayreuth, Duke of Prussia, and Comte de Sayn. He 
 was a nephew of Frederick the Great, being the son of his Majesty's 
 sister, Wilhelmina, Duchess of Bayreuth. 
 
 2 Walpole : Letters (ed. Cunningham). IV, 86.
 
 INTRODUCTION xxvii 
 
 Pigott says that " in the course of her peregrinations, 
 she formed a kind of brotherly attachment with his wise and 
 
 serene H n - ss the M — g e of A — p- ch,"i 
 
 and the Bon Ton Magazine for August, 1791, suppHes 
 the following information : "In travelling through 
 Germany one became acquainted with the Margrave of 
 A[nspach], a man of an easy and unambitious nature ; 
 and one who, though possessed of absolute and sovereign 
 power, was all his life a very slave to the dominion of 
 beauty. With this effeminate prince, who is the hero of 
 our present narrative, the frail Lady C [raven] lived in 
 chaste sisterly intercourse, until she commenced her 
 curious, if not her amorous pilgrimage to Constanti- 
 nople." It was to the Margrave that Lady Craven, on 
 her travels, wrote the letters that were afterwards 
 published by her in book-form. ^ The first letter, which 
 is dated Paris, June 15, 1785, certainly supports the 
 contention that the friendship was platonic. " The 
 honour you do me, in wishing to hear from me," she 
 wrote, " deserves, in return a greater entertainment than 
 my letters can afford ; and if it was not for the precious 
 
 ^ The Jockey Club (3rd ed.), 1792, Part III, 161. 
 
 * The title-pages of the two editions arc as follows : — 
 
 A / Journey / through / the Crimea / to / Constantinople. / In / a 
 series of Letters / from the Right Honourable / Elizabeth Lady Craven, 
 / to His Serene Highness / the Margrave of Brandebourg, / Anspach, 
 and Bareith. / Written in the year IMDCCLXXXVI^ / Dublin : / 
 Printed for Chamberlaine, R. Moncrieffe, / W. Colles, G. Burnett, 
 W. Wilson, L. White, / P. Byrne, P. Wogan, H. Colbert, J. Moore. / 
 J. Jones, and B. Dornin. / M.DCC.LXXX'lX. 
 
 8vo.. pp. 7-415- 
 
 Letters / from / The Right Honourable Lady Craven, / to / His 
 Serene Highness / The Margrave of Anspach, / during her Travels 
 through France, Germany, & Russia in/ 1785 and 17S6. /Second 
 Edition, / including a variety of letters not before published. / London : 
 /Printed by A. J. Valp3\ / Took's-Court, Chancery-Lane; /sold by 
 H. Colburn, Conduit-Street, / 1S14. 
 
 4to, pp. viii.-3i(>.
 
 xxviii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 name of sister, which you order me to take, I should 
 perhaps be a long time before I could venture to write to 
 you ; but when you command me to look upon you as 
 my brother, the idea coincides so perfectly with the 
 esteem and friendship I feel for you, that I obey with 
 pleasure." 
 
 Lady Craven was, then, innocent enough, we will 
 assume, in her relations with the Margrave, but she 
 was not, according to more than one account, sans 
 reproche in another direction. " Our discarded B -r-n-ss 
 being now at liberty, went beyond seas in search of 
 liberty," Charles Pigott had written ; " and there she 
 took up as a companion de Voyage the celebrated and 
 veracious H[enr]y V[erno]n.i They visited divers and 
 distant parts of the world. Their adventures were 
 wonderful. They breakfasted with the Empress of 
 Russia, they dined with the Grand Signor, and supped 
 with the Great Mogul. "2 A more reliable authority for 
 her Ladyship's misconduct is Horace Walpole. " I did 
 send you a line last week in the cover of a letter to Lady 
 Craven, which I knew would sufficiently tell your quick- 
 ness how much I shall be obliged to you for any attentions 
 to her," he wrote on October 30, 1785, to Sir Horace 
 Mann, the British Minister at Florence. " I thought 
 her at Paris, and was surprised to hear of her 
 at Florence. She has, I fear, been infmitamente in- 
 discreet ; but what is that to you or me ? She is very 
 
 * Mr. Henry Vernon was a great-nephew of the well-known Admiral 
 Vernon, and a son of Mr. Henry and Lady Harriet Vernon, daughter 
 of Thomas, first Earl of Strafford of the second creation. She was a 
 sister of the I^ady Grosvenor, whose liaison with the Duke of Cumber- 
 land led to the cause celebre which gave so much annoyance to 
 George III and Queen Charlotte. 
 
 2 The Jockey Club (3rd ed.), 1792, Part HI, 160.
 
 INTRODUCTION xxix 
 
 pretty, has parts, and is good-natured to the greatest 
 degree ; has not a grain of mahce or mischief (almost 
 always the associates, in women, of tender hearts), 
 and never has been an enemy but to herself."' Lady 
 Craven, with her companion, went by way of Orleans, 
 Tours, Lyons, Avignon, Marseilles, Hyeres, Genoa, 
 Pisa, Florence, and Bologna, to Venice, where she 
 arrived in the middle of November, and stayed for about 
 a month. There she made the acquaintance of Sir 
 Robert Murray Keith, ^ the British Minister, with whom 
 she began to correspond. 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO (?) DR. BUDD, CHATHAM PLACE, 
 LONDON 
 
 Florence, Wednesday, ^th Oct. 1785. 
 
 Sir, — Before I got your letter of the fourth of Sep. I had 
 been much shock'd at seeing my worthy friend's death in 
 the newspapers at Sir Horace Mann's, our Minister's. I 
 wrote to Mrs Page immediately. 
 
 It is very true, that Mr Page most deservedly possesd 
 my confidence, indeed he was the only person in Berk- 
 shire who knew fully the reasons why I was prevailed 
 upon to quit children dearer to me than life and a place 
 I was told to look upon as my own and which I formed 
 myself. As you are one of his Executors, I presume 
 you know he had sent me just now, or was on the point 
 of sending me forty pounds he owd me for two prizes 
 in the Lottery out of three tickets he bought last year, 
 and which he was paid for. If that money is not deposited 
 in Drummond's hands, I desire it may not be. Mr P. 
 
 ^ Letters (ed. Cunningham), IX, 27. 
 
 * Sir Robert Murray Keith [i 730-1 795], Lieutenant-General and 
 Diplomatist. British Minister in Saxony, 1 769-1 771. While envo)' at 
 Copenhagen, he rescued the Queen Sophia Matilda, George Ill's sister, 
 from the fury of the mob. British Ambassador at Vienna 1 772-1 792.
 
 XXX THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 had likewise a Bond upon a Turnpike of mine, the interest 
 of which, since I have been out of England, he had by my 
 orders distributed to the poor on the first day of Sept. 
 my eldest son's birthday ; but as I have never had from 
 Lord Craven nor my son the least hint that my attention 
 was felt, I will have that money, with the forty pounds 
 (if not sent to me) and the twenty pounds my dear and 
 worthy friend has left me put out to interest. I feel, sir, 
 I have not the same right to trouble Mr Page's Executors 
 with my Business that I had with him, (the right which 
 mutual esteem and friendship causd,). Therefore I beg 
 you will have the goodness together with the other two 
 trustees, to look out the papers and money relative to me, 
 and I will empower some one to take all trouble off your 
 hands ; unless indeed, it should be young Mr Page's plea- 
 sure and pride, as it was his father's, to keep these small 
 concerns of mine in his hands, for I would have you and 
 him believe that it is only because I wish to spare you 
 trouble that I would arrange these matters ; and not 
 from the least mistrust that my orders should not be 
 executed ; haveing every reason to believe that all my 
 neighbours had the kindest and most obliging dis- 
 positions towards me and mine — and I hope it is believd 
 mine were not less so for them. 
 
 I shall wait for your answer and young Mr Page's 
 sentiments upon this head, before I take any steps about 
 Business. 
 
 There is another affair likewise which Mr Page was 
 intrusted with ; the selling or letting my cottage at 
 Fulham.i I suspect he has laid out money for repairs 
 which he has not acquainted me with and that I am in 
 his debt — I would be fully informd on this subject. If 
 my lord had kept his promises to me in suffering my girls 
 to write constantly ; or had he answerd my letters 
 (for by Lord Berkeley's desire I wrote to him,) much 
 
 ^ Craven Cottage, on the banks of the Thames.
 
 INTRODUCTION xxxi 
 
 trouble would be constantly spared my friends ; for there 
 are a thousand occurencies which make it necessary for 
 business to pass by messages between my lord and me — 
 but I am grievd to the heart to inform you, Sir, or any 
 person who may have business of ours to transmit, 
 that not only my lord has broken all his most sacred 
 promises of seeing that my Children should correspond 
 with me — but that his aversion for me is so much 
 increased, instead of being diminish'd by time, that the 
 very last time our worthy friend had occasion to speak 
 to him relative to me, he broke out into language and 
 behaviour as by Mr Page's letter was little short of 
 madness. I think it necessary to give you this informa- 
 tion, least you should venture to ask my lord's opinion 
 relative to any business of mine. I beg you will reiterate 
 to Mrs Page my assurances of regard for Frederick, and 
 if he pursues the track his father had pointed out for him, 
 I probably may be of some use to him ; his father's 
 memory alone would ensure to him any services of mine, 
 and I hope he inherits all his father's integrity, and some 
 of his attachment for me. I should be much obligd 
 to you if you will inform me of evry circumstance relative 
 to the young man, should his youth and diffidence prevent 
 him from writing to me, which I hope it will not. 
 
 Let me know too if you reside cheifly at Newbury or in 
 London. 
 
 If Mr Page kept my letters, I beg they may be seal'd 
 up till you can deliver them into my hands, or in case of 
 my death — be burn'd all together. 
 
 As my lord has quarrel'd with almost evry branch of my 
 numerous family, in order to prevent my gaining any 
 intelligence about my dear children ; you will observe a 
 strict secrecy and silence relative to this my letter to you. 
 I understand my old governess has a second time given 
 up the care of my children — I should be very glad to 
 know whom they have with them at present in her place
 
 xxxii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 — and by whose recommendation she was plac'd about 
 them — I look upon it as the greatest favour done me, 
 evry possible detail that can be given me about my 
 children. I watch'd over them for fourteen years, with 
 an assiduity, perhaps uncommon at my time of life. It is 
 not at all necessary that my lord or any of his creatures 
 should know that I even wish to be informd about them. 
 
 I believe you are the father of a large family yourself — 
 and as such I must believe you can form some little Idea 
 of my feelings at being debarr'd ev'ry possible means of 
 knowing if even my children are in health or not — and the 
 certainty I have of their minds being weaned as much as 
 possible from ev'ry Idea of Love and respect towards me ; 
 this subject is too painfull to me . . . 
 
 I would wish from time to time to hear from ]\Irs 
 Shepperd and Mr Parry, trustees to my dear Keppel's 
 legacy. 
 
 Be assured ev'ry friendly act towards my Children is 
 written in my heart. . . . You will be so good as to direct to 
 me at Sir Horace Mann's at Florence, Italy. I believe a 
 Postage must be paid in putting a letter in — that ; to- 
 gether with any Expence I may put you to ; I beg you 
 will keep an account of. I remain 
 
 Sir 
 
 Your oblig'd friend, 
 
 Eliza. Craven. 
 
 Sir, it is impossible for me to close my letter, which I 
 have shed many tears over, without begging again you 
 will give me from time to time ev'ry information you can 
 about my children. 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO SIR ROBERT MURRAY KEITH 
 
 Cracow, December 2yth, 1785. 
 
 I found no Letters for me here, Dear Sir Robert ; but if 
 I should have been beforehand with the Post, I have
 
 SIR ROBICKI MfRKAY KKITll. K.B. 
 From an eiigra-.iing hy J . E. Mansfield after Craff 
 
 I
 
 I
 
 INTRODUCTION xxxiii 
 
 order'd them to be sent after me, as I stay but one day 
 here, being in haste to reach the Princess Czartoryski ; 
 who is an old friend of Mine, and at her Country house, 
 half way from hence to Warsaw. 
 
 The Man who undertook my face had made it so unlike 
 that I left it unfinished but I beg you will believe that I 
 mean to give you a likeness when I return, and if your 
 way of thinking and mine are the same upon this subject, 
 you would not have been pleas'd to have had a face that 
 would not have call'd mine to your remembrance, where I 
 desire to be, as I am, and not as I am not. 
 
 Mr. Vernon desires to be remembered to you, and, as 
 Soldiers do not make fine Speeches to one another, I beg 
 you will put his thanks for all your Civilities in any form 
 you like best, and accept them from him, with mine. I 
 assure you I shall wish for the time that will bring me to 
 Vienna, that I may assure you in person how much pleased 
 I was with my short stay there. I beg to be remembered 
 to the Ladies whose Civilities I shall never forget, and 
 tell the Prince Kaunitz I am penetred et comhle — and 
 that I hope when I return he will find out I am not quite 
 unworthy of all his kindness to me. I am very well and 
 beg you will beleive this Journey is not so very formidable 
 as it is represented. 1 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO DR. BUDD 
 
 Petersburgh, 1st of February, Old Stile 
 
 (1786 ?) 
 
 I have reed, your letter. Sir, dated the 15th of Novr. it 
 followd me from Florence ; w^hen there, finding my 
 brother Lord Berkeley had given up the thoughts of 
 passing the winter in Italy, as I flatter'd myself he 
 would ; I immediately set out thro' Venice to Vienna, 
 Warsaw and this Court, — which I shall quit as soon as I 
 
 ' British Museum, Add. MSS. 55535, f. 327. Now first published. 
 VOL. l.—c
 
 xxxiv THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 have seen ev'ry thing in it worth seeing — and return by 
 Sweden and Denmark and Berhn ; at this last place you 
 may direct your answer to the care of Lord Dalrymple, our 
 Minister there. I hope to be there in May. Notwithstand- 
 ing the fatigue and inconvenience of the Journey I have 
 taken, I am extremely glad to have seen the northern 
 Courts ; finding in ev'ry one a distinction paid to and a 
 partiality for our nation, which still makes me hope the 
 real virtues of our Island are not so totally absorbed by 
 foreign Luxuries and Vices as to be totally forgotten. 
 
 As to my Cottage — I have desir'd it may neither be let 
 or sold — and I beg you will make what use you please 
 of it — keeping it warm'd and air'd — for I may want it at a 
 fortnight's warning — I suppose then it is the late Mr Page 
 that has paid the repairs of the Cottage and whomsoever 
 it may be, I must reimburse ; therefore. Sir, you must 
 keep the Legacy, the Bond on the Turnpike, which I do 
 not understand the nature of ; I know I reed, interest 
 for it but exactly what, I cannot tell ; however you must 
 settle for me (paying what I owe) as well as you can ; and 
 what ready money is wanting, I will order my Brother 
 to pay you. I would have a great many Vines planted at 
 the Cottage — as there is one which produced the very 
 best grapes I ever eat in any country, owing to the 
 shelter'd situation — and all of the same sort — I beg there 
 may be no alteration in the disposition of the planting 
 &c — only the willows cut away properly- — as your resi- 
 dence is in London, this cottage will be a very agreable 
 circumstance to you — and I insist on your makeing 
 use of it. There was a Pianoforte and a thousand little 
 comfortable things in it — I must have ev'ry thing replacd 
 and as you have the writings, you may insist on ev'ry thing 
 being put to right. Any thing belonging to Mr Page is 
 dear to me, and I repeat it, I look upon Frederic as one 
 of my own sons. I think he had uncommon talents and I 
 hope and believe his heart will equal in goodness his
 
 INTRODUCTION xxxv 
 
 head ; and that I shall be justified evry way, in en- 
 deavouring as well as I am able, to promote his success 
 in the world. 
 
 I have been thinking about my son Keppel's Legacy ; 
 I am of opinion that it would be adviseable to procure 
 an Annuity for him with £3000 commencing when he 
 arrives to the age of 21 years — I know my good friend 
 the late Lord Warwick did that for his younger sons, by 
 which they are now at their ease, which otherwise they 
 would not have been. I beg. Sir, you will inquire of the 
 Duke of Bedford's steward, if the late D. was not the 
 person who granted these annuities — and if such are 
 continued — you know it must be good security. 
 
 My sweet Boy is 7 years old next April on the 14th ; I 
 hear from Paris, beside the Masters I left him with, he has 
 chose to learn upon the Violin ; if he succeeds in music as 
 in other things, he will be a very extraordinary creature. 
 It is the most painfull subject in the world to me, that of 
 my children ; but I must repeat again to you ; that it is 
 above two years since I have heard from my eldest son 
 who used to write constantly. What can have induced 
 Mr [Forbes] ? to forget me so intirely, I cannot conceive ; 
 but I beg you will tell Frederic Page, that the only thing 
 he can do to please or oblige me is to put my Children in 
 mind of their Duty and love to me. 
 
 People may ask, why haveing the Liberty of seeing 
 them, I chuse to remain out of England where I cannot 
 see them ; my reason is that I never will see them but as I 
 ought, that is when and where I please — nor run the risk 
 of being represented to them in odious colours — and see 
 likewise the education and principles I had begun, warpd 
 if not destroy 'd. 
 
 This subject is too painfull ; and I quit it. 
 
 Tell Frederic I send mj^ love to him ; if he WTites to 
 me to reach me in May he must direct to Berlin — if at 
 the latter end of the summer to Sr. Robt. Keith at
 
 xxxvi THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 Vienna — for I have promis'd to pass some time at the 
 Prince of Augsberg's, in the neighbourhood of Vienna, to 
 shoot — unless some event was to recall me I have no 
 thoughts of returning towards England till Keppel is 
 eight years old. By some strange Idea of Lord Craven's, 
 I find my youngest Brother is hardly on speaking terms 
 with him — doubly painfull to me is this circumstance, 
 as his wife, being my Cousin, was the properest person to 
 see my Daughters often. This is another reason why I 
 wish Frederic to put my children in mind of me — as Ld. 
 C's intentions seem to be to keep at a distance any con- 
 nection or alliance that I may be dear to. 
 
 Adieu Sir, pray give my compliments to Mr Francis 
 Page and tell him my direction. At the same time assure- 
 ing all the family of my good wishes. I remain. 
 Your oblig'd humble servant 
 
 E. Craven. 
 
 The old stile is not changd here, you are now at the 
 nth of Feby. 
 
 P.S. Mr Lee, the great Botanist at Hammersmith, 
 had best be consulted in planting the grapes. I wish to be 
 inform'd of the interest of the Turnpike (?) as not given 
 the last first of Septr. I think it was ten pounds or 
 guineas. The interest of that Bond, the £20 you have, 
 and what Ld. B. has in his hands, will pay the repairs. 
 
 Mr Lee lives at Hammersmith, Lee and Kennedy is 
 wrote over their garden. Give my comps. to Lee— he 
 knows me very well and is the best person to consult. 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO SIR ROBERT MURRAY KEITH 
 
 St. Petersburg, February 5, 1786 [O.S.]. 
 
 I am extremely Obliged to you. Dear Sir Robert, for all 
 your attentions ; and Mr. Vernon assureing one that my 
 thanks deliverd to you by myself would be more accept- 
 able than if he wrote — I, like Harlequin, am the Porteur 
 

 
 INTRODUCTION xxxvii 
 
 of my own message. I hear of your Splendid Ball and 
 Supper on the Queen's Birth Day. Our minister here is 
 not quite so Loyal ; The Climate seems to discompose 
 him much, and must, I think, ev'ry one but a Russian, 
 who smiles and goes out in all weather. 
 
 I staid but a very little time at Warsaw. That dis- 
 agreeable Business between the Czartoryskis and the 
 King, gave me an uneasy sensation, as both parties 
 seemed to vie with each other who should most caress 
 me. I bore the long and tedious Journey well, and here 
 the Empress has been so gracious to insist on my being 
 presented at the Hermitage, and not on a public court 
 day, I was accordingly there last Thursda}^ and saw an 
 Opera where Marchesi and Todi faisaient de leur mieux 
 pour Enchanter tout le monde. I hope you do not hate a 
 Pun. 
 
 I go again to night, when there is a French Play. The 
 great Grand-Duchess was brought to Bed last night. 
 This Town is very beautifull, but I do not laugh a little 
 when I find myself flying along with a set of Horses 
 guided by 2 Postillions riding on the right hand horses, 
 and a Coachman dress'd in a sheep's-skin. Mr. de Segur, 
 the French Minister, gave me a fine Ball last Tuesday. 
 There are many Balls here too ; but there are no aimiable 
 German Ladies looking very handsome and talking good 
 English. I shall assuredly be in the neighbourhood of 
 Vienna by the latter end of the summer, and if you have 
 any letters or Commands to give me by the latter end of 
 ]\Iay, pray direct at Berlin ; but after that and the 
 beginning of June keep my letters till you hear from me. 
 I beg you will accept Mr. Vernon's Comp*^ and re- 
 member me to the Prince Kaunitz, and all the Ladies 
 who are good enough to think of me. You may tell Lord 
 Ancram my Sister Berkeley lies in again in May, so he will 
 have no lack of cousins, nor I of Nephews of that name.^ 
 
 1 Add. MSS. 35536, f. 78. Now first published.
 
 xxxviii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 In spite of the fact that Lady Craven was so indiscreet 
 as to travel with " cousin Vernon," she was, as her letters 
 show, graciously received at the Russian court ; but her 
 action was more harshly judged at home. 
 
 HORACE WALPOLE TO SIR HORACE MANN 
 
 March i6, 1786. 
 Lord and Lady Spencer are arrived — and now I 
 suppose the adventures of a certain Lady and her cousin 
 Verno7i, which I have kept profoundly secret, will be 
 public. I have lately received a letter from the Lady 
 from Petersburg : luckily, she gave me no direction to 
 her, no more than from Venice ; so, if necessary, I shall 
 plead that I did not know whether I must direct next to 
 Grand Cairo, or Constantinople. Petersburg I think a 
 very congenial asylum ; the Sovereign has already 
 fostered the Ducal Countess of Bristol ^ — for in the family 
 of Hervey double dignities couple with facility. Formerly 
 our outlaws used to concentrate at Boulogne ; thc}^ are 
 now spread over the face of the earth, Mr. Vernon's 
 cousin tells me she has been also at Warsaw ; that she 
 showed the King a letter of mine, who put it in his pocket, 
 translated it into French (though returning the original), 
 and would send it to his sister the Princess Czartoryski 
 at Vienna : — so, I may see it in an Utrecht Gazette ! 
 I know not what it contained ; however, I comfort my- 
 self that I have never dealt with my heroine but in 
 compliments or good advice : but this comes of corre- 
 sponding with strolling Roxanas.^ 
 
 From St. Petersburg the travellers went to Moscow 
 (which was reached on February 27, 1786), and thence, 
 
 ^ Elizabeth Chudleigh [1720-1788], Countess of Bristol and Duchess 
 of Kingston. In 1777, after the famous trial for bigamy, she visited 
 the Czarina Catherine, and for a time contemplated taking up her 
 abode at Constantinople. 
 
 * Letters (ed. Cunningham), IX, 44.
 
 THE DUllIKSS OF KI^(;.^IO^ I\ IHK DRESS WHIi II -ill \\.',,l 
 ON HER INTRODUCTION TO THE EMI'RESS CATHERINE Ol RUSSIA
 
 INTRODUCTION xxxix 
 
 by way of Cherson and Sebastopol, to Constantinople, 
 where they arrived on April 20, and stayed for a few 
 weeks. 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO SIR ROBERT MURRAY KEITH 
 
 Constantinople, April 30, 1786. 
 
 I am arrived here very safely and agreably (after 
 seeing the Crimea, or rather the Tauride) in a small Ship 
 of the Empresses, and I find my best route to Vienna is 
 by Land. I shall not take up your time at present, by 
 giveing you an account of what I have seen. I will only 
 content myself with assureing you that I shall be very 
 happy to see you, and all those who were kind enough to 
 express a desire of my return. I come to Vienna merely 
 for that purpose, for I mean to stay the few months I can 
 spare, in the country in the neighbourhood of Vienna. 
 
 The Ladies, who were so civil to me, will see that I 
 fullfill their Ideas of an English promise. I am perfectly 
 well, and never saw a Climate I like so well as that of the 
 Tauride ; Nature seems there to court the hand of 
 Industry, a Goddess whose charms the Tartars have no 
 Idea of ; they content themselves with what they find, 
 and, except a little wheat for their own use, all kind of 
 Culture is neglected. 
 
 I desire you will particularly remember me to the 
 Prince Kaunitz, and I wish to find him perfectly well. 
 Mr. Vernon presents his Compliments to you, and we 
 both hope to find you as well and as glad to see us, as we 
 shall be to see 3'ou. I am lodg'd at the French Ambassa- 
 dor's here. He is extremely sensible and entertaining ; 
 he has been so good as to promise me two Editions of his 
 works. He has the best artists of every kind in his house ; 
 and a Printing Press, without which, I believe, he would 
 die of the Ennui which the Turkish manners and the 
 Grecian dresses inspire him with. The latter, I must
 
 xl THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 confess seems calculated to set off to the best advantage 
 everything that is hideous, and destroy evrything that 
 is beautifull. 
 
 The Capitan Pacha here has a tame Lion instead of a 
 Spaniel constantly at his side, and one day he suffer'd 
 him to follow him to the Divan, upon which the Turkish 
 Cabinet took to their heels, through Passages or down 
 staircases as chance directed in their hurry, and the 
 Mufti had his neck nearly broken in his flight. The 
 Capitan and his Lion were left together to settle the 
 Politics of that Day which went on with more tedious- 
 ness than usual — et cest beaucoup dire. 
 
 The secretary here said very pleasantly he wonder'd 
 not I was feted in the Tauride and had the Army and 
 government at my orders, for since Iphigenia, I am the 
 first Lady heard of in that Country.^ 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO SIR ROBERT MURRAY KEITH 
 
 Hermanstadt, July 22, 1786. 
 
 I am at last safely arrivd in a Christian Country, 
 Dear Sir Robert, which I am not a little glad of. I 
 found the Emperor here ; whose Civilities I am extremely 
 proud and sensible of ; but by his desire, my arrival at 
 Vienna will be retarded a few days, as he has made out 
 a route for me which I take to see his Creates and 
 Sclavonians. I am extremely well lodg'd here at Mr. 
 Pureker's — but set out tomorrow. I have not time to 
 give you a particular detail of my Journey, I can only 
 say the kindness and Civilities I have met with from 
 evry one can only be Equall'd by yours to me. I came 
 from Constantinople to Varna by Sea, from thence thro' 
 Bulgaria and Valachia to Buccorest, where the Prince 
 gave me two messages to deliver to the Emperor and 
 Prince Kaunitz, [and] a great Supper and a fine young 
 
 * Add. MSS. 35534, f. III. Now first published.
 
 INTRODUCTION xH 
 
 Arabian horse for myself. Pray give my best respects to 
 Prince Kaunitz and tell him the Prince of Valachia has 
 made me his Ambassador to him. You will both laugh 
 exceedingly when you know the difference he makes 
 between the Emperor^ and him. I long and dread at the 
 same time to arrive at Vienna ; for I am very uneasy 
 about my Sister Berkeley's health, who was to lie in in 
 March. I put myself out of the Possibility of receiving 
 letters since I left Petersburg, so that my Packet will be 
 very interesting and terrible to me. I beg, my good Sir 
 Robert, you will be kind enough to write me a line 
 directed to Kormend, which I pass thro to come to 
 Vienna — and to desire Mr. Freis, the Banker, to write 
 likewise to let me know if it is at the Bceuf Blanc I am 
 to be lodg'd. Mr. Vernon sends you his Respects. I 
 suppose you know his mother is dead — Lady Harriet 
 Vernon. I have not time to say more. I must go and 
 dine with the Governor, who has some very fine Pictures 
 — two or 3 which would well suit any Royal Collec- 
 tion. ^ 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO SIR ROBERT MURRAY KEITH 
 
 Gravenchi, August 23, 1786. 
 
 I take the Liberty of incloseing some letters for the 
 Post ; knowing how good you are about them. 
 
 I am in a good Appartment in a large old Castle where 
 you will find a very sincere welcome from me if you come 
 — to any one but myself it might appear melancholy, as 
 it is moated and I have nothing but la Chasse et ma 
 Plume to amuse me, but as I am extremely fond of the 
 frost, and have a great deal of Employment for the 
 latter, I cannot say I find the days too long. 
 
 I do not beleive either the Chasseurs or Dogs the 
 
 ' Emperor Joseph II. 
 
 * Add. MSS. 35537, f. 31. Now first published.
 
 xHi THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 Prince has left me are accustomed to our manner of 
 shooting, notwithstanding which I and my good friend 
 with me have killed seven Brace and a half of Part- 
 ridge, 2 and a half of quails, and 3 Brace and a half of 
 Hares. 
 
 I beg you will say a thousand things for me to the 
 Granards, and that I beg Lady Anne will let me know 
 when Lady G[ranard] is brought to bed, and how she 
 does. If Lord Granard should come here to see me, I 
 hope he will let me know a day or 2 beforehand, and you 
 too, my good Sir Robert ; for my Cook is a young Man 
 sans Ute.^ 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO SIR ROBERT MURRAY KEITH 
 
 Gravenchi, September 11, 1786. 
 
 As I cannot delay my visit to the Margrave of Anspach, 
 I set out in 2 days, and I beg if any letters should come, 
 that you will direct them for the present at Anspach. 
 I rely upon you for the business of my horse to Prince 
 Kaunitz, and I beg, my good Sir Robert, you will receive 
 mine and Mr. Vernon's best thanks for your Civility 
 to us — and be assured we wish you all health and 
 happiness ; and be assured you may Command us upon 
 all occasions. I will write to you from Anspach giveing 
 you my direction. ^ 
 
 Lady Craven arrived at Vienna, and after a brief 
 sojourn in that city, went to Anspach for a while, whence 
 late in September she departed for England, taking with 
 her, she told the Margrave, " the proud satisfaction of 
 having pleased the Margravine." " Your courtiers have 
 assured me," she added, " I am the only person they 
 
 1 Add. MSS. 35537. f. 82. Now first published. 
 
 2 Add. MSS. 35537. f- ii4-
 
 INTRODUCTION xliii 
 
 ever saw her like, that she told them the sound of my 
 voice did her good. I promised her to return, but told 
 her I knew not exactly when."^ Probably the only 
 satisfaction the Margravine found, was that Lady 
 Craven had not definitely fixed the date of her return. 
 
 ^ Lady Craven s Letters (2nd ed.), 266.
 
 Ill 
 
 AT ANSPACH AND TRIERSDORF ^ 
 
 (1786-I791) 
 
 ti\DY CRAVEN sailed from The Hague for 
 England on October i, 1786. What exactly 
 J was the object of this visit is not clear, but 
 certainly it caused much excitement among 
 her relations and much interest in society. However, 
 her family rallied round her, reluctantly, perhaps, but 
 none the less stoutly. She stayed with her mother, now 
 Lady Nugent, in London, and with her brother George 
 in Sussex. 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO THE MARGRAVE OF ANSPACH 
 
 October 4, 1786. 
 
 I have embraced my children and found my eldest son 
 recovering very fast. I did not deign to say one word to 
 the tutor for his breach of duty, in not seeing that I 
 should be written to every fortnight, as Lord Craven had 
 promised ; but after I had dra\\Ti from my eldest son all 
 I wanted to know, I wrote to Lord Craven to inform him 
 that as he had forfeited my good opinion for ever, by 
 having broken the solemn promise he made me, that my 
 children should write constantly to me ; it was my firm 
 and unalterable intention to break that one promise I 
 
 ^ This name is sometimes given as Triesdorf, at others as Triersdorf . 
 
 xliv
 
 INTRODUCTION xlv 
 
 made him of retmTiing Keppel when he was eight years 
 old to England ; that I was invited by you and the 
 Margravine to reside at Anspach, which invitation I had 
 accepted, and with delight, as I was to be treated as 
 your sister ; and that if he attempted to do anything to 
 force my pupil from me, I should return to England, go 
 immediately to my house at Benham or in Charles Street, 
 and throw myself upon the law of my country, to have 
 redress for all I have suffered and do suffer as a mother.* 
 
 Lady Craven was certainly a devoted mother, as may 
 be seen from her love of her youngest son, but exactly 
 what redress, taking her conduct into account, she 
 could have obtained from the courts, it is not easy to 
 see. Her husband, however, was content to accept her 
 terms, being himself entirely engaged with a Mrs. Byne 
 or Byrne, with whom he lived for the rest of his life. 
 Matters being so arranged. Lady Craven started for 
 Anspach, staying en route at Paris. 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO SIR ROBERT MURRAY KEITH 
 
 Paris, Novemher 26, 1786. 
 
 I am shocked to think you should have had my horse 
 so long upon your hands. In a few days you will receive 
 a note from me, by a groom, who is to come on purpose 
 to fetch away the Horse ; and between you and I ; I 
 am very glad Prince Kaunitz did not find him fit for 
 his uses. 
 
 Pray give my best Compts, to Lady Granard and Lady 
 Anne K. and tell the first that Henry Forbes, whom she 
 inquired so kindly after, is gone a second time to Halifax, 
 and that my sister Berkeley is in good health. I could 
 scarcely get away from Her and my Brother, but my 
 
 ^ Lady Craven's Letters (2nd ed.), 269.
 
 xlvi THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 impatience to see Keppel was so great, that I hurried here 
 as fast as I could. 
 
 Any expenses you may have been at about my horse 
 and other matters, I beg you will let me know, and I will 
 remit the money immediately to Messrs. Fries & Co. for 
 you. I am very uneasy about a large trunk with many 
 Effects of mine and Mr. Vernon's which ought to have 
 been arriv'd at my mother's long ago. If it was not on 
 the road, I should have countermanded the direction. 
 Mr. Vernon is in Ireland, but his direction is always to 
 Lord Berwick's, Portman Square, London — mine at 
 present is chez le Chevalier Lambert, Banquier, a Paris. 
 
 Will you have the goodness to make one of your 
 People ask Mr. Fries's head-clerk, if he knows any thing 
 about the Trunk being Forwarded ? Underneath I send 
 you a Copy of the note which the groom will bring you — 
 to take the Horse. ^ 
 
 HORACE WALPOLE TO LADY CRAVEN 
 
 Berkeley Square, November 27, 1785. 
 
 To my extreme surprise, Madam, when I knew not in 
 what quarter of the known or unknown world you were 
 resident or existent, my maid in Berkeley Square sent me 
 to Strawberry Hill a note from your Ladyship, offering to 
 call on me for a moment, — for a whirlwind, I suppose, 
 was waiting at your door to carry you to Japan ; and, 
 as balloons have not yet settled any post-offices in the 
 air, you could not, at least did not, give me any direction 
 where to address you, though you did kindly reproach 
 me with my silence. I must enter into a little justifica- 
 tion before I proceed. I heard from you from Venice, 
 then from Poland, and then, having whisked through 
 Tartary, from Petersburg ; but still with no directions, 
 
 ^ Add. MSS. 25537, f. 249. Now first published. There is another 
 letter (Add. MSS. 35537, f. 248) to Sir Robert on the subject of the 
 horse ahnost similar in terms, but not mentioning the trunk.
 
 INTRODUCTION xlvii 
 
 I said to myself, " I will write to Grand Cairo, which, 
 probably will be her next stage." Nor was I totally in the 
 wrong, for there came a letter from Constantinople, with 
 a design mentioned of going to the Greek Islands, and 
 orders to write to you at Vienna ; but with no banker or 
 other address specified. 
 
 For a great while I had even stronger reasons than 
 these for silence. For several months I was disabled by 
 the gout from holding a pen ; and you must know. 
 Madam, that one can't write when one cannot write. 
 Then, how write to la Fiancee du Roi de Garbe. You had 
 been in the tent of the Cham of Tartary, and in the harem 
 of the Captain Pacha, and, during your nagivation of the 
 iEgian, were possibly fallen into the terrible power of a 
 corsair. How could I suppose that so many despotic 
 infidels could part with your charms ? I never expected 
 you again on Christian ground. I did not doubt your 
 having a talisman to make people in love with you ; but 
 anti-talismans are quite a new specific. 
 
 Well, while I was in this quandary, I received a 
 delightful drawing of the Castle of Otranto ; but still 
 provokingly without any address. However, my grati- 
 tude for so very agreeable and obliging a present could 
 not rest till I found you out. I wrote to the Duchess of 
 Richmond, to beg she would ask your brother Captain 
 Berkeley for a direction to you ; and he has this very day 
 been so good as to send me one, and I do not lose a 
 moment in making use of it. I give your Ladyship a 
 million thanks for the drawing, which was really a very 
 valuable gift to me. I did not even know that there was 
 a Castle of Otranto. When the story was finished, I 
 looked into the map of the kingdom of Naples for a well- 
 sounding name, and that of Otranto was very sonorous. 
 Nay, but the drawing is so satisfactory, that there are 
 two small windows, one over another, and looking into 
 the country, that suit exactly to the small chambers from
 
 xlviii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 one of which Matilda heard the young peasant singing 
 beneath her. Judge how welcome this must be to the 
 author ; and thence judge, Madam, how much you must 
 have obliged him. 
 
 When you take another flight towards the bounds of 
 the western ocean, remember to leave a direction. One 
 cannot always shoot flying. Lord Chesterfield directed 
 a letter to the late Lord Pembroke, who was always 
 swimming, " To the Earl of Pembroke in the Thames, 
 over against Whitehall." That was sure of finding him 
 with a certain number of fathom ; but your Ladyship's 
 longitude varies so rapidly, that one must be a good 
 bowler indeed, to take one's ground so judiciously that 
 by casting wide of the mark one may come in near to the 
 jack.i 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO (?) 
 HOTEL DE L'EMPEREUR, RUE TOURNON, PARIS, 
 
 22nd Deer., 1786. 
 
 My Lord, — Trusting to the high opinion I entertain of 
 your discretion, and regard for a person who has the 
 highest of your honour, I venture to write to you upon a 
 subject which I confess I have very much at heart, being 
 certain you never will forfeit the confidence I place in you ; 
 and that you will burn this letter after you have read it, 
 and make the use you can, or are pleas'd to do of what it 
 contains. 
 
 I have had a long acquaintance esteem and respect 
 for the Margrave of Anspach — as the subject of our con- 
 versations has often turn'd upon my country, I think I 
 have perceiv'd that his not going there lately is a matter 
 of displeasure to him, and the cause is his not having 
 the Blue Ribbon, he is doubly related to the King, and I 
 know that some years ago that matter was in agitation. 
 
 1 Letters (ed. Cunningham), IX, 75-6.
 
 INTRODUCTION xlix 
 
 Why it did not come to pass I cannot guess, but as he is 
 much better entitled to that decoration than all the foreign 
 Princes who have receiv'd it since — I cannot out of my 
 love for England and attachment to him, refrain address- 
 ing myself to you. If, my Lord, you can in any manner 
 bring this circumstance about I acknowledge I shall have 
 the greatest satisfaction — as I think my hint is as servic- 
 able to the King as it would be agreable to the M., for I 
 know of no relation or ally of our Court that has as 
 great attachment to his Majesty or so great a Partiality for 
 our nation. I beg you will not answer my letter by Post, 
 as my letters are open'd at the office here, but when by a 
 private hand you can send me one, I shall take it as a 
 particular favour indeed. Forgive me, thus trespassing 
 on your time, but receive this letter as a proof of my 
 very high opinion of your prudence and honour. Be 
 assur'd. My Lord, that nothing but a consciousness of 
 doing what I think right, has induced me to write it ; 
 tho' at the same time I own if I thought this letter would 
 produce the Event I wish, it would be to me the highest 
 pleasure upon Earth, for there is a modesty which accom- 
 panies the many virtues which the Margrave possesses 
 which may prevent his wish (which I only guess'd at) 
 being known. 
 
 And that I, unknown to him should bring about any 
 Event which could give him a moments satisfaction, 
 would be a very particular one to me. Nobody can ever 
 know or imagine that I have thought upon this subject, 
 and I beg it may remain a secret for ever between you and 
 I, be my attempt crown'd with success or not. I have 
 the honor to remain with esteem 
 
 Your servant and friend, 
 
 Eliza. Craven. 
 
 VOL. l.~d
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 lady craven to the marquis of carmarthen 
 
 Hotel de L'Empereur, Paris, 
 December 25, 1786. 
 
 I have sent your Lordship a very grave letter by Mr. 
 Tate, a worthy and amiable Man. The contents of it I 
 hope will remain eternally buried between you and me ; 
 and if 3^ou can serve me in it : I shall never be thankfull 
 Enough. 
 
 If I am Black Ball'd at Parnassus, I shall have courted 
 the Muses on their own territories to little Purpose indeed. 
 I feel I am now out of favour with the God of Light : for I 
 have not a ray of his divinity, not even a small Spark 
 at the end of my Pen to make it trace a few Lines to 
 you in return for yours, for which I thank you very much ; 
 and wish your indisposition may be of a no more serious 
 nature than the new piece of Scandal you threaten me 
 with, tho' it does nor surprise me. I certainly did go 
 into the Temple of Jupiter and of Minerva at Athens — 
 who knows but Apollo might have met me there ? If he 
 did, I assure you he was accompanied by the nine muses, 
 and surely there were Ladies enough to watch one mortal. 
 Well ! if they have said any thing amiss of my doings 
 there, I shall summon them to the Court of Conscience, 
 and they will confess (nay, IMortals will soon see) what I 
 did there was by their commands, aided and assisted b}' 
 them ; and lest your curiosity should lead your Ideas 
 astray upon this Subject : know ; My good Lord, that I 
 did Compose while in Greece, something for M. de 
 Choiseul's Printing Press at Pera. You would be very 
 much surprised now if I was to tell you that I am like a 
 Cow, because, haveing a shocking cough, I mean to live 
 upon ]\Iilk. Yet I think you deserve this : for I am as 
 like a Cow as you are to a Calf — and depend on't whenever 
 you Bray, I shall Bellow.
 
 INTRODUCTION li 
 
 So hopeing a day may come when we may Bray and 
 Bellow a Duo together, I remain in praise, 
 Your much oblig'd friend and servant, 
 
 Eliza. Craven.^ 
 
 horace walpole to lady craven 
 
 Berkeley Square, Ja7i. 2, 1787. 
 
 Your Ladyship tells me that you have kept a journal 
 of your travels : you know not when your friends at 
 Paris will give you time to put it an net ; that is, I con- 
 clude and hope, prepare it for the press. ^ I do not 
 wonder that those friends, whether talismanic or others, 
 are so assiduous, if you indulge them : but unless they 
 are of the former description, they are unpardonable, if 
 they know what they interrupt ; and deserve much more 
 that you should wish they had fallen into a ditch, than 
 the poor gentlemen who sigh more to see you in sheets of 
 holland than of paper. To me the mischief is enormous. 
 How proud I should be to register a noble authoress 
 of my own country, who has travelled over more regions 
 and farther than any female in print ! Your Ladyship 
 has visited these islands and shores whence formerly 
 issued those travelling sagas and legislators who sought 
 and imported wisdom, laws, and religion into Greece ; 
 
 " J Add. MSS. 27915. ff. 16, 17. 
 
 - When the volume was issued, Walpole wrote to Lady Ossory, 
 February 6, 1789 : " Lad}' Craven's Travels I received from Robson 
 two hours ago. Uodsley brought the ]\IS. to me before I came to town, 
 but I positively refused to open it, though he told me my name was 
 mentioned in it several times ; but I was conscious how grievous it 
 would be to her family and poor daughters, and therefore persisted in 
 having nothing to do with it. I own I have now impatiently cut the 
 leaves in search of my own name, and am delighted on finding it there 
 but thrice, and only by the initial letter. When I have the honour of 
 seeing your Ladyship, I can tell you man}' collateral circumstances ; 
 but I will not put them on paper. I fear she may come to wish, or 
 should, that she had not been born with a propensity to writing. "^ — - 
 Letters (ed. Cunningham), IX, 165.
 
 Hi THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 and though we are all so perfect as to want none of those 
 commodities, the fame of those philosophers is certainly 
 diminished when a fair lady has gone as far in quest of 
 knowledge. You have gone in an age when travels are 
 brought to a juster standard, by narrations being limited 
 to truth. 
 
 Formerly, the performers of the longest voyages de- 
 stroyed half the merit of their expeditions by relating, 
 not what they had, but had not seen ; a sort of com- 
 munication that they might have imparted without 
 stirring a foot from home. Such exaggerations drew dis- 
 credit on travels, till people would not believe that there 
 existed in other countries anything very different from 
 what they saw in their own ; and because no Patagonians, 
 or gentry seven or eight feet high, were really discovered, 
 they would not believe that there were Laplanders or 
 pigmies of three or four. Incredulity went so far, that 
 at last it was doubted whether China so much as existed ; 
 and our countryman Sir John Mandeville got an ill name, 
 because, though he gave an account of it, he had not 
 brought back its right name : at least, if I do not mistake, 
 this was the case ; but it is long since I read anything 
 about the matter, and I am willing to begin my travels 
 again under your Ladyship's auspices. 
 
 I am sorry to hear, ]\Iadam that by your accoinit Lad}^ 
 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. However, genuine accounts 
 of the interior of seraglios would be precious ; and I was 
 in hopes would become the greater novelties, as I flattered 
 myself that your friends the Empress of Russia and the
 
 INTRODUCTION liii 
 
 Emperor were determined to level Ottoman tyranny. 
 His Imperial Majesty, who has demolished the prison 
 bars of so many nunneries, would perform a still more 
 Christian act in setting free so many useless sultanas ; 
 and her Czarish Majesty, I trust, would be as great a 
 benefactress to our sex by abolishing the barbarous 
 practice that reduces us to be of none. Your Ladyship's 
 indefatigable peregrinations should have such great 
 objects in view, when you have the ear of sovereigns. 
 
 Peter the Hermit conjured up the first crusades against 
 the infidels by running about from monarch to monarch. 
 Lady Craven should be as zealous and as renowned ; and 
 every fair Circassian would acknowledge, that one 
 English lady had repaid their country for the secret which 
 another had given to Europe from their practice. ^ 
 
 At Anspach, where she arrived in March, 1787, Lady 
 Craven found installed as the Margrave's chere amic 
 the famous French actress Claire Josephine Hippolyte 
 Legris de la Tude, who appeared professionally as Mdlle. 
 Clair on. Her the Margrave had met in Paris in 1770, 
 and had invited to Anspach, an invitation she soon after 
 accepted. 2 The struggle for supremacy between the 
 women may well be imagined, and it ended, of course, 
 in the retirement of the actress. What chance, indeed, 
 had a mistress of many years' standing, and who was in 
 
 ^ Letters (ed. Cunningham), IX, S6-7. 
 
 - The Margrave of Anspach, Uke other German potentates of this 
 period, had a strange partiality for dwarfs, and an amusing account of 
 a visit to Triersdorff at the beginning of 17S2 will be found in the lirst 
 edition of the autobiographical memoirs of tlie Polish dwarf. Count 
 Joseph Boruwiaski, who died in England more than half a century 
 later. In the memoirs he pubUshcd in London six years after his stay 
 at Triersdorff, he burns incense plentifully to Clairon, but all this 
 praise is omitted in subsequent editions which appeared during the 
 reign of Elizabeth Craven at Brandcnburgh House and Benham. In 
 any case, the Margrave treated the tiny gentilhomme Polonais as a 
 welcome and even distinguished guest.
 
 liv THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 her fifty-fifth year to boot, against a new charmer of 
 seven and thirty summers ? Lady Craven drove her rival 
 from the field, and during the next four years ruled both 
 sovereign and people, from the royal villa at Triersdorf. 
 The actress retired, and as a parting blow addressed the 
 following letter to the Margrave : — 
 
 Votre passion effrenee pour une femme que mal- 
 heureusement vous seul ne connaissez pas, le bouleverse- 
 ment de vos plans et de ma destinee, votre insouciance 
 sur I'opinion publique, la licence de vos nouvelles moeurs, 
 votre manque de respect pour votre age et votre dignite, 
 m'ont obligee a ne plus voir en vous qu'une ame vicieuse 
 qui cessait de se contraindre, ou qu'une tete egaree qu'il 
 fallait plaindre et contenir. L'habitude de vous cherir, de 
 croire a vos vertus, m'a fait rejeter tout ce qui vous 
 degradait. En consequence, j'ai tout supporte ; votre 
 inhumanite, vos outrages, votre ingratitude, n'ont pu me 
 faire changer le plan de conduite que je m'etait propose. 
 Par mon silence sur tout ce qui regardait votre maitresse, 
 j'ai, du moins, arrete le comble que vous vouliez mettre 
 a vos torts, en quittant publiquement notre maison ; 
 autant que je I'ai pu, j'ai cache sous un front toujours 
 calme et quelquefois riant, les douleurs dechirantes de 
 mon ame et de mon corps. J'ai permis de croire que je 
 ne vous desapprouvais pas, et que je vous regardais 
 toujours comme mon meilleur ami. Mais le temps de 
 feindre est fini. Vous etes arrive dans vos etats ; quoi 
 que vous veuillex faire desormais, je ne crains plus qu'on 
 m'en rende ni coupable, ni comptable, et vous-meme 
 conviendrez sans doute qu'il est bien temps que je 
 rejette vos fausses protestations d'amitie. 
 
 Le voile est tombe, monseigneur ; je sais a present que 
 je ne fus jamais que la malheureuse victime de votre 
 egoisme et de vos diverse fantaisies ; si vous aviez ete
 
 \
 
 INTRODUCTION Iv 
 
 veritablement mon ami, vous ne m'auriez pas econduite 
 de vos etats pour madame de Ca . . . madame Ku . . . 
 etc. etc. ; vous n'auriez pas sacrifie mes lettres, dont 
 chaque mot peignait ma tendresse et vos devoirs ; vous 
 m'auriez continue la confiance que je n'ai point cesse de 
 meriter ; vous n'auriez point abuse des prerogatives de 
 votre sexe, de votre rang, pour m'opprimer et m'avilir ; 
 vous auriez (quel que puisse etre votre nouvel amour) 
 respecte les sentimens et la conduite que vous me con- 
 naissez depuis dix-sept ans ; vous auriez eu pitie de mon 
 age et de mes infirmites ; vous m'auriez tenu compte de 
 mon desinteressement, et de I'utilite de mes avis : con- 
 vaincu, par I'experience, de ma condescendance a vos 
 gouts, vos fanaisies, vos passions, vous ne vous seriez pas 
 separe d'une femme qui n'avait d'autres pretentions, 
 d'autres sentimens que ceux de la plus tendre des meres 
 et de la plus solide des amies. Je ne puis concevoir 
 comment vous n'avez pas rougi vous-meme de ne plus 
 vous montrer a mes yeux que comme un forcene, se 
 delectant a m'assassiner a coups d'epingle. Juste ciel ! 
 etes-vous I'homme dont j'ai tant prone les vertus ? 
 
 Je conviensue pendant qles cinq dernieres semaines de 
 votre sejour a Paris, vous vous etes montre beaucoup 
 moins malhonnete : vos avez pris la peine de vous con- 
 traindre ; vous m'avez quelquefois forcee de croire 
 que mon estime et mon amitie importaient encore a 
 votre bonheur ; mais mon retour dans le monde et le 
 bruit que vous y faisiez ont detruit ce moment d'illusion. 
 Je sais (non sans etonnement) tout ce que vous avez fait 
 depuis sept a huit ans : votre savante et profoden 
 dissimulation m'est a present connue ; je vois que je 
 n'ai plus rien a pretendre, et que nos liens doivent se 
 rompre sans retour. Vous vous en applaudissez sans 
 doute ? et moi, malheureuse ! je ne m'en consolerai 
 jamais. Mon ame aussi tendre qu'invariable portera 
 dans le tombeau les sentimens que je vous ai voues :
 
 Ivi THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 je vous plains, vous pardonne, et vous souhaite autant de 
 bonheur et de gloire que j'eprouve de regrets et de 
 douleurs. 
 
 C'est avec infiniment de peine que je remets a vos 
 pieds le bien que je tenais de vous, Je ne me dissimule 
 point que cette demarche blesse votre dignity (et je suis 
 loin, helas ! do vouloir vous faire un outrage) ; mais vos 
 procedes m'en ont fait un devoir. Rappelez-vous que 
 je n'ai jamais rien voulu pour moi, que je n'ai desire 
 d'aj outer a ma fortune que pour aj outer a vos jouissances ; 
 que vous n'etes pas mon souverain ; et que pour obtenir 
 le titre de mon bienfaiteur, vous deviez garder a jamais 
 celui de mon ami. Je ne suis rien, monseigneur ; j'en 
 suis toujours convenue sans honte et sans regret ; mais 
 mon ame est quelque chose ; et jusqu'a mon dernier 
 soupir, je vous obligerai du moins a I'estimer. Adieu 
 . . . adieu pour jamais. ^ 
 
 Lady Craven's opinion of Clairon was given when, 
 many years later, the actress's memoirs appeared. 
 
 THE MARGRAVINE OF ANSPACH TO CHARLES KIRKPATRICK 
 
 SHARPE 
 
 Brandenburg House, September 6, 1812. 
 
 Mdlle. Clairon was the greatest liar that ever existed. 
 There is a printed book called Memoires de Mdlle. Clairon, 
 in which there is scarcely anything but lies. Among them 
 is the conversation she pretends to have had with my 
 Margrave's first wife — a tetc-d-tete. Now I was given 
 an account by all the courtiers at Anspach de ses fails et 
 gesles, while she was there. She never was alone with the 
 Margravine. Never saw her but before all the people 
 invited to hear her declamation. She never did anything 
 but act, and I'll cite you two traits of her. Her brain 
 
 * Mimoires de Mile. Clairon (1822), 135-9.
 
 ^^r^^ 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 V^ 
 
 
 < ?. 
 
 < S 

 
 INTRODUCTION Ivii 
 
 was so completely turned by her favour with the Mar- 
 grave, that at one of the two audiences she had (she 
 was with the Margravine, only twice), somebody said, 
 " Est ce que Mademoiselle parle I'Allemand ? " " Com- 
 ment pent on parler une langue non articulec ? " This 
 before a Saxon princess, as proud of the German tongue 
 as of her pedigree. Another time, one of the chamberlains 
 told her she spoke to the Margrave with too much 
 hauteur. " Que voulez vous, mon cher Baron ? J'ai 
 tant les d'imperatrice sur le Theatre, que je me crois im- 
 peratrice meme sur ma chaise." If she had had any 
 virtues she would have been a very dangerous person, 
 for she always studied words or actions, to produce some 
 effect. But to connoisseurs, even on the stage she was 
 inferior to Mdme. Dumesnel, because the one was all art, 
 and the other all nature, as I've been told.i 
 
 Some time after Lady Craven had returned to Anspach 
 she addressed the following letter to Sir Robert Murray 
 Keith :— 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO SIR ROBERT MURRAY KEITH 
 
 Triesdorf, June 21, 1787. 
 
 I received your letter and am obliged to you for your 
 account of the Granards, but I wished to know if she had a 
 son or daughter. 
 
 I have but little time to myself here between the Mar- 
 grave and his wife. I ride out all the morning and I play 
 in the Evening, and if they leave me a moment I am busy 
 in making an English farm and garden out of a very large 
 and ugly old garden. But I beg you will assure the 
 G[ranard]s and Lennox, if he is at Vienna, of my kind 
 Love. 
 
 ^ Letters of Charles Kirkpatrick Shavpe, I, 21-2. Printed here bj* 
 kind permission of Messrs. William Blackwood and Sons, the publishers 
 of the work.
 
 Iviii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 My good Sir Robert, my Eldest Son has prevailed upon 
 his father to permit him to come into Germany, but his 
 and my wishes are in great part frustrated, for Lord 
 Craven, as I understand, comes with him, so, as I under- 
 stand Vienna is the Point they make, pray make much 
 of my Son for my Sake. His likeness to me and a mild 
 manner will interest you ; and pray introduce him to the 
 Ladies, for his father's habitual shyness is such, that I 
 dread his seeing no good Company while there. Unless 
 for sake's sake, you behave like a father to him, all the 
 thanks I can give you in future is hopeing to do the 
 honours of the fairy Bower, a green house I am makeing 
 here, if you should ever go to England this way. I am 
 order'd to Look upon this Country as my home, and I am 
 absolute mistress of ev'ry body's means and time here, 
 so that I should be very happy to fete you in my turn. 
 
 We have a literary Club here, and if you or any of your 
 acquaintances liked to belong to it you may, as we do not, 
 like the French Academy, confine ourslves to savants.^ 
 
 " When I am at Anspach I will court the Muses ; like 
 the violet shaded and defended by the majestic oak ; 
 fearless then I may blossom in the shade, "^ Lady Craven 
 had written from England to the Margrave ; and soon after 
 her arrival she was as good as her word. With the active 
 support of " the majestic oak," the Margrave, she founded 
 the literary club mentioned in her letter to Keith ; and, 
 having the royal theatre at her disposal, she wrote plays 
 and formed a company of the nobility to act in them. 
 Besides her own dramatic works, she translated into 
 French, " She would and she would not," the programme 
 of which, as performed at Anspach, has been preserved : — 
 
 1 Add. MSS. 35538, f. 234. Now first published. 
 
 2 Letters (2nd ed.), 270.
 
 
 
 v^^^^j*BCJi^J 
 
 Mni.I.E. CI.AIRON IN THE ACT OF CROWNING VOLTAIRE
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 lix 
 
 LE DEGUISEMENT 
 
 Comedie en Cinq Actes. 
 
 et en prose, 
 
 Traduite de I'Anglais 
 
 Par 
 
 MILADY CRAVEN, 
 
 de " She would and She would not," 
 
 Par 
 
 CoUey Cibber. 
 
 Personages. 
 Don Juan, Pere de Rosella, 
 
 Don Philip, Amant d'Hypo- 
 lite, 
 
 Don Louis, Neveu de Don 
 Juan, 
 
 Don Octavio, Amant de Ro- 
 sella, 
 
 Trafanti, Ancien Domestique 
 
 de Don Philip, 
 Crasso, Domestique de Don 
 
 Philip, 
 
 Hypolite, Soeur d 'Octavio, 
 
 Rosella, Aimee de Don Oc- 
 tavio, 
 Flore, Suivante d'Hypolite, 
 ViLETTi, Suivante de Rosella, 
 
 Un Aubergiste, 
 
 Acteurs. 
 
 M. AsEMENT, Secretaire de la 
 Cour. 
 
 M. DE Crousaz, Assesseur de la 
 chambre aulique. 
 
 M. DE ScHiMDiNG, Capitaine 
 des Gardes du Corps. 
 
 M. LE Baron Eichler D'Au- 
 RiTz, Lieutenant des Hous- 
 sards. 
 
 Son Excell. M. de Freuden- 
 BURG, Conseiller prive. 
 
 Son Excell. M. de Fitz- 
 gerald, Vice-Grand Mare- 
 chal de la Cour. 
 
 Milady Craven, Pairess d'An- 
 gleterre. 
 
 Mad. La Baroness Caroline 
 de Schilling. 
 
 Mad. La Comtesse de Platen. 
 
 Son Altesse Mad. La Com- 
 tesse D'Ahlefeld. 
 
 M. Le Comte de Platen. 
 
 Plusieurs Alguazils et Domestiques. 
 La Scene se passe a Madrid.^ 
 
 Further accounts of Lady Craven's sojourn at Anspach 
 will, of course, be found in the Memoirs, and it is un- 
 necessary here to give any details. In spite of her Lady- 
 
 * Monthly Mirror, XII, lo.
 
 Ix THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 ship's equivocal position at court, she was not entirely 
 neglected by some of her countrymen and women who 
 were travelling on the Continent. In a letter to Keith, 
 dated November, 1787,^ she mentions that " Lennox, 
 Seabright, and Fitzroy " have called upon her, and to all 
 she extended a hearty welcome. 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO 
 
 March, 1798. 
 
 Whoever would guess that the times as they now are, 
 in 20 years hence, must always be misled, Falsehood 
 having created both in public and private concerns so 
 much confusion, that the calm observer, without ambition 
 or party spirit, would be extremely at a loss how to write 
 a narrative of facts or causes of them. In this country 
 the greedy curiosity with which everything is welcomed 
 that comes from the government set of Political Pamphlet 
 writers proves at least that my good countrymen eagerly 
 wish to approve of the measures they are driven in to. 
 A small pamphlet which has gone through six editions 
 call'd Unite or Fall — in which the \\Titer, like all his 
 fraternity, talks of Lord Malmesbury's last mission to 
 France and of his temperate and able conduct has given 
 rise to these my reflections. When Lord M. went to 
 France, 27,000 French emigres return'd to France, 
 who were to effect a counter revolution, the beginning 
 of which was to be covered by the negociations. I saw 
 a person just come from Paris who saw 17,000 passports 
 sign'd for these emigres, who knew that nothing but a 
 second emigration could save their heads. Falsehood 
 and inconstancy walk hand in hand. M. le Comte de 
 Cobenzel during the Congress at Radstadt recently gave 
 an entertainment to the French Commissioner on the 
 anniversary of the execution of Louis XVI. Monarchs 
 
 * Add MSS. 35539, f. 260.
 
 INTRODUCTION Ixi 
 
 and people in power treat in their language very justly 
 the idea of Equality as absurd and democratic, yet every- 
 one of their actions tend as much as possible to a levelling 
 system — no other notice being taken of, or regard shewn 
 to birth, worth, or talents than to the absolute nullity 
 of all and each of them in persons — then wonder how all 
 young people are careless of fame, of serving their 
 country either by the faculties of the mind or body — 
 when there is positively nothing visible that I see (except 
 in books) that can encourage them to exert their faculties. 
 
 WILLIAM BECKFORD TO LADY CRAVEN 
 
 Madrid, 30;"^ May, 1788. 
 
 And so I have been in Spain, and have been in Love 
 over head and ears, which is still more extraordinary. 
 Perhaps you knew at Vienna the Mother of my flame, the 
 Countess de Walstein, a Sister of the Lichtensteins. 
 Don't let your imagination loose upon Spain — it is a 
 hideous parched-up Country, with only here and there a 
 tolerable spot like the Temple of Jupiter Ramshorn in the 
 deserts of Lybia. Where are you, Superior Being ? 
 when shall we meet ? When will the hour of entire 
 Confidence arrive, when the secrets of both our hearts 
 will be mutually laid open ? I long to see your glorious 
 eyes once more, and talk to 3^ou about Portugal— a 
 pleasanter region than Spain and in which I was also up 
 to the neck in adventures. V[ernon], always gay and 
 amusing and the best company in the World, is never 
 tired of doing you justice, and telling all those who have 
 ears to hear that there exists but one Lady Craven. Wliat 
 are you about ? — gathering roses perhaps or composing 
 pastorals full of grace and sprightliness. I am ten times 
 more musically given than ever, and quite wild with 
 hearing Seguidillas and Fandangos. Did you receive my 
 scrawl from Lisbon ? — if you did, you deserve to be
 
 Ixfi THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 hoodwinked for not having answered it Your 
 
 Duchess of Villa-hermosa is gone stark staring mad, 
 fancies herself a cat and hunts her Husband over Chairs 
 and under Tables, declaring before Aunts, Uncles and 
 physicians that he is a Mouse to all intents and purposes. 
 Your nibbling Torment, I fear, is but too well and lively. 
 Such creatures never die. Has he given any fresh 
 disturbance lately ? Remember I have not forgotten 
 the comfortable hours we passed at Paris, and that I am 
 all impatience to learn from you when I may look for a 
 chance of renewing them. Mother Starck never writes 
 to me. I suppose her lost in doating fondness for the 
 youthful partner of her fusty Bed. Is she not a most 
 Husbandrious Animal ? Et a son age — fi done. . . . Do 
 not let us talk, however — God knows what we may come 
 to. . . . Adieu, I am and ever shall be yours with delight 
 and admiration. 1 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO SIR ROBERT MURRAY KEITH 
 
 [Triesdorf], Jitne 28, 1788. 
 
 I am extremely obliged to you good Sir Robert, for 
 executing my Commission so well, and certainly am too 
 reasonable not to feel that you can have no time just at 
 present to answer letters of as little consequence as mine 
 are ; and therefore feel doubly obliged to you for attend- 
 ing to any thing that may be contained in them. If My 
 Eldest Son should, by chance, come to Vienna, and you 
 think it is an improper thing vis-d-vis our Cabinet, for 
 him to offer himself as Volunteer against the Turks, I 
 beg you would dissuade him from going — as I am told it 
 is his intention. 
 
 I hope you are persuaded that I should be very glad if 
 ever I can serve you ; or do any thing that can prove to 
 you the sense I have of your many civilities to me ; if 
 
 * Melville : Life and Letters of William Beckford of Fonthill, p. 176.
 
 INTRODUCTION Ixiii 
 
 you will come here and pay me a visit, I will shew you that 
 I know how to be gratefull to those who are kind to me ; 
 for I am teaching the Franconians some English Comforts ; 
 and in a little time you might when here fancy yourself at 
 one of my Country houses in England ; at least promise 
 me you will never make a Giro in the Empire this way, 
 without calling upon me who thinks it a great honour to 
 subscribe herself 
 
 Your obliged Friend and Servant, 
 
 Eliza. Craven.^ 
 
 lady craven to sir robert murray keith 
 
 Triesdorf, November i, 1788. 
 
 I have receved your letter by Mrs. Sheldon, and I 
 flatter myself you will find no other road to England but 
 through Triesdorf. I assure you. Sir, it will grieve me if 
 you do not give me the satisfaction of seeing you here. 
 By this time the Margrave's groom is arrived at Vienna, 
 and you have seen him. I will give you no commands to 
 England by but word of mouth ; in that matter I have 
 several important commissions to give you. So hopeing 
 that you accept of the honour I mean to confer upon you, 
 of makeing you my Minister plenipotentiary to England, 
 I shall not grant you my letters patent yet. 
 
 Seriously, Sir Robert, you must be sure my most 
 important business with you is to return some of your 
 Civilities to me and assure You 
 
 I am Yours sincerely, 
 
 Eliza. Craven. 
 
 P.S. The Margrave desires me to tell you you will be 
 perfectly at your Ease here, and his invitation, if you 
 knew him well enough, no good or honest Man could 
 refuse. I see by the Papers that the worthy Earl Nugent 
 
 * Add. MSS. 35540, f. 261. Now first published.
 
 Ixiv THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 is dead, aged seventeen years old ; and that my sister 
 Buckingham is not my mother's child. 
 
 You will very soon have as true an account of my 
 Journal that is comeing out in England, I suppose.^ 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO WALTER JAMES, ^ LANGLEY PARK, 
 NEWBURY 
 
 Verona, i6th JanV' 1789. 
 My dear Neighbours, 
 
 I am thus far on my way to Venice, and it is the 
 determination of my little self to be beforehand with 
 the winter next year, for I'll assure you I never 
 felt anything so shockingly severe. I now begin to 
 breathe freely. We shall be return'd to Triesdorf by 
 the middle of April. How much I wish you could find 
 [it] in your hearts to come and stay till November and 
 chuse Naples for the ensuing winter, where I shall 
 certainly be. 
 
 You know, Mr. J[ames], I have a great opinion of you 
 as an honest English gentleman, and I sincerely wish you 
 and the Margrave might so well like one another that you 
 might belong to him, for I am sure he never will be happy 
 or comfortable with only the nobility of his own country 
 about him. I have now studied them well, and I assure 
 you they are as unworthy of haveing so excellent a master 
 as he is deserving of haveing people realy attached to him. 
 They are not only unpleasant but vile, I may say ; and 
 it will seem odd to you, but upon scanning over every 
 one I left Franconia without regretting a soul. As to 
 
 1 Add. MSS. 35541, f. 131. Now first published. 
 
 - Walter James Head, son of Sir Thomas Head, Kt., sometime 
 Warden of the Mint, assumed the name of James only by Act of 
 Parhament in 177S and was created a baronet in 1791. He died in 
 1829 and was succeeded by this grandson, who was raised to the 
 peerage as Lord Northbourne in 18S4. The present Lord North- 
 bourne, who succeeded his father in 1893, is the great-grandson of 
 Lady Craven's neighbour and correspondent.
 
 INTRODUCTION Ixv 
 
 the women, their stile is something so loose and im- 
 pudent and rough at the same time, that I could as soon 
 take companions from the Strand. There was but one 
 ^\'oman I could talk to and she does not belong to Anspach, 
 that is a Comtesse D'Aldfeld, a sister of the Prince de la 
 Tour et Taxis, married to a Noble Dane ; but I should 
 be very happy, and my dear Margrave too, if he had 
 about him for his society some English people. 
 
 Liveing is extremely cheap and if you had to choose to 
 be upon an economical plan you might pass your summer 
 at Triesdorf for almost nothing, as you would have no 
 Table but our's. Now I talk to you as to my Brother, so 
 if I take any Liberties, you must excuse me. If you 
 travel, take as few servants as you can ; drive your own 
 Phaeton, and have another chaise for children or servants. 
 We have a very large stud, and if you brought some good 
 bony tolerable Bred Mares, you may sell them upon your 
 arrival. I never found in Italy, France or Germany, that 
 one travels a bit faster with Post-horses than one can 
 with one's own saddle-horses. Have one servant upon an 
 extra horse to go on to Inns [to] make a bargain for so 
 much a head for eating and lodging, and so you never can 
 be much imposed upon ; but never set your foot in an 
 Inn without making a bargain. I have travell'd so much 
 and at so little cost this way that I know all this at my 
 fingers ends. 
 
 We have come five days thro' the Tyrolean mountains, 
 beautiful, but in some places very dangerous. We are 
 eleven people, servants and all, and Keppel goes between 
 the M[argrave] and me in a post-chaise. He has 
 done nothing but sing all the way and the M[argrave] 
 hugs him to his good heart and seems pleas'd with his 
 artless manner, indeed he is a very lively temper'd 
 child. 1 
 
 ^ From the original in the collection of Mr. A. M. Broadley. Now 
 first published. 
 
 VOL. I. — e
 
 Ixvi THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO THE MARQUIS OF CARMARTHEN 
 
 Triesdorf, September 12, 1789. 
 
 I have received Your Grace's Letter, which bespeakes 
 the goodness and aimiabihty of your heart, which I have 
 long known ; and I answer it, not to settle myself upon 
 you as a Correspondend (generally a very troublesome 
 thing to one whose hours are agreably employed), but 
 to ease your Shoulders of any Burthen whatever, upon 
 the subjects I wrote to you upon. I have this very day 
 received some intelligence from Berlin which makes me 
 beleive by a Channel quite different from yours or mine, I 
 shall have the satisfaction of seeing my worthy friend the 
 Margrave decored when an opportunity offers. 
 
 You are very civil about my Talents, and I wish I had 
 liv'd in England with people whose tempers had been as 
 much pleas' d with them, as the Margrave seems Thankfull 
 to me for diffuseing a little elegant gayety in his Court. He 
 is an honest sensible Man and deserves the Love and 
 Esteem of ev'ry Body who approach[es] him. And if, 
 like his Uncle, he does not incessantly court the Muses, he 
 knows the value of those who have some intercourse with 
 them. I wish your Grace may long be prevented from re- 
 newing your connections onMount Parnassus by more Solid 
 and heartfelt employments, and be assured no Laurels be- 
 stowd by Apollo can give you half the pleasure as wreaths 
 of Myrtle given from the fair hand of your Duchess. 
 
 I wish you may both live long to enjoy a Connection 
 begun by love and Continued by Esteem. I shall set out 
 for Naples in the beginning of November, and if at any 
 Place or time you want to hear from me, or I can execute 
 any commission for you, I beg you will command me. 
 
 I shall ever be happy to hear you are well and happy, 
 Do not intirely forget that 
 
 I am always with Esteem 
 
 Your Grace's most obedient Friend 
 
 Eliza. Craven. ^ 
 
 1 Add. MSS. 27915. f. 18.
 
 INTRODUCTION Ixvii 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO SIR ROBERT MURRAY KEITH 
 
 Naples, February 5, 1790. 
 
 I beg you will deliver th'inclosd into Prince Kaunitz's 
 hands, it relates to Business of the Margrave's. 
 
 I must ask you if you got a sword-hilt I sent you, at 
 the same time I sent a mare to the Comte de Vitzay. 
 They both arrived at Vienna while you was in England. 
 Not haveing received any letter from you since, I do not 
 know what to think about it. I beg an answer to this 
 letter directed under cover to The Comtesse D'Aldfeld, 
 nee Princesse de la Tour et Taxis, d Anspach— she will 
 keep it till I get there. 
 
 I am very sorry to quit this beautiful Climate and 
 country so soon, particularly as I have received the 
 greatest Civilities from the King and Queen ;^ but as 
 Business calls the Margrave to Germany immediately, I 
 must attend him. I have always filled all my duties 
 religiously and those of friendship, you know well, must 
 likewise be attended to. Your fellow traveller in the 
 Diplomatic road has had somic furious attacks from wild 
 Boars, I mean Sir William Hamilton, who has had his 
 gun bent and broken, his stool carried off on the head of a 
 boar, but who defends himself very bravely from these 
 hoggish attempts. 
 
 I beg you will not forget me and beleive I am 
 
 yours sincerely 
 
 E. Craven. 
 
 P.S. Do you chuse to become a subscriber to our 
 Theatre de Triesdorf — one Volume has appeared — and the 
 2d is nearly published ? - 
 
 ^ Signer Salvatore di Giacomo has published a pen-picture of King 
 Ferdinand of Naples, written sometime after this visit, which he 
 attributes to Lady Craven. It is entitled Re Nasone in Profile, and it 
 was pubUshed by the Gioniale d' Italia on December 12, 1911. 
 
 ^ Add. MSS. 35542, f. 26. Now first published.
 
 Ixviii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO FRANCIS JAMES JACKSON^ 
 
 Triesdorf, May 3, 1790. 
 
 The Jeweller is to give you this. I have nothing 
 agreable to tell you. Everything that happens here 
 proves that there was a gang of Thieves that, being us'd 
 to have their hands in the pockets of the M[argrave], 
 cannot bear to leave off the custom. I guess at the 
 meaning of your Blaze. We live in a mad world, [my] 
 masters, as Shakespeare says. Pray Heaven we don't run 
 in the woods wild and turn all Nebuchadnazars. You 
 shall hear more from me soon. Don't forget me and the 
 M[argrave] who loves you. 2 
 
 LADY craven TO WALTER JAMES, NEWBURY 
 
 May 28, 1790. 
 
 I received a long letter from you yesterday wherein you 
 say you will know about Lord C [raven] 's health. If the 
 son drinks like the father, we must expect frequent ill- 
 nesses. I have a confus'd idea of Lord and Lady Ash- 
 brook from something very Low, but I cannot recoUect 
 what. I am very positively sure you would have some 
 agrement here you could not have elsewhere abroad, but 
 let me know in time that I may answer you before you 
 set out, because when you are resolv'd you must let me 
 know if you'll take a house or live at the Hotel here, and 
 a thousand other things. I am just come from a review, 
 tir'd, and it is very hot. Pray believe that no relations 
 or connections are of any use to one if Nature or chance 
 
 1 Francis James Jackson [1770-1814], at this time Secretary of 
 Legation at Berlin. Mr. Jackson acted as British Plenipotentiary at 
 Paris in 1801, at BerUn in 1802, and at Washington in 1 809-11. This 
 notes the beginning of the acquaintance between Mr. Jackson, who 
 was then only twenty, and Lady Craven. It explains the reason why 
 she so strongly appealed to him twelve years later. (See post, p. c.) 
 
 2 From the original in the collection of Mr. A. M. Broadley. Now 
 first published.
 
 .\rAKIA CAROLINA, lifKKN OF NAl'I.KS
 
 INTRODUCTION Ixix 
 
 gives one Birth or Talents beyond theirs ; envy, that 
 poisoner of all good, makes them hate and try to lower 
 you, but I believe m friends, and that without friends this 
 life would be an odious thing. ^ 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO WALTER JAMES, NEWBURY 
 
 4 June, 1790. 
 
 I have got your letter of the 21st May, which I sat down 
 to answer, and I shall wait for the deeds very impatiently, 
 because I wish to secure to my lovely child what I can. 
 In your last you told me Lord C[raven] was very ill, 
 and you would inquire about it, but I suppose it was a 
 false report, as you have said nothing about it. 3 or 4 
 days ago the M[argrave]'s wife was taken ill, and it is a 
 great doubt if she recovers or not. This is indeed a very 
 dull moment here. Mr. Bemsprunger, one of the ablest 
 financiers I ever saw, has found the routine of business in 
 such confusion here, that it is a wonderful thing to me 
 how Government went on at all, and how the ]\I[argrave] 
 contriv'd to ease his shoulders and posterity of the 
 enormous debts contract 'd by his father and the late 
 M[argrave] of Bareith. My comfort is that Mr. Bern- 
 sprunger's account at Berlin will overturn all the lies on 
 m}'' account which the disgraced Ministers tell to excuse 
 their conduct. They say it was my dislike to them that 
 turn'd them out, and not their negligence of affairs. I 
 have no time to say more. My foreign correspondance 
 and letters remain unanswer'd. 
 
 [P.S.] For God's sake take great care of the deeds being 
 proper. Claret and kept mistresses I think give me all 
 honest men as friends. 2 
 
 * From the original in the collection of Mr. A. M. Broadley. Now 
 first published. 
 
 * From the original in the possession of Mr. A. M. Broadley. Now 
 first published.
 
 Ixx THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO FRANCIS JAMES JACKSON 
 
 June i6, 1790. 
 
 Do not be surprised at my troubling you again before I 
 receive an answer to my last, but as I never can delay 
 trying at least to oblige a Person I esteem ; I must inform 
 you, like Paddy, of what you know as well as me, that 
 there is another Blue Ribband Vacant by the death of the 
 Duke of Montagu. 
 
 And I shall never cease endeavouring to put the K[ing] 
 of E[ngland] in mind that the Margrave has double and 
 triple rights to have it. Applying to the Lords and Dukes 
 in Place in England is of no use, as it is the object of all 
 their wishes separately. I beg you will talk to Mr. Ewart ^ 
 upon the Subject and tell him that it is the only thing the 
 M[argrave] wishes ; and if he can by any means procure 
 it, I shall think myself infinitely obligd to him. It would 
 be the height of idle vanity in me to suppose he could 
 trouble himself merely to oblige me ; but if he knew as I 
 do, how many obligations the Royal family of England 
 and Prussia have to the M[argrave] as an honourable 
 and good man he would exert himself in this Business, 
 particularly as (I may say) the M[argrave] till now has 
 had a very indifferent return for the attachment and 
 natural love he has to all that is English. 
 
 Pray answer me quickly and briefly on this subject, and 
 let me know if you can, if I can [(?) have] any hopes 
 about it. 2 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO WALTER JAMES, NEWBURY 
 
 20 Sep. 1790. 
 I presume you are now return'd to Langley [Park], 
 and therefore will direct this letter there. I am very 
 
 1 Joseph Ewart [1759-92], Plenipotentiary to Prussia, 1788-91. It 
 was Ewart who arranged the marriage treaty between the Duke of 
 York and the Princess Frederica of Prussia. 
 
 * Add. MSS. 35230, f. 43. Now first pubUshed.
 
 INTRODUCTION Ixxi 
 
 anxious about your health. Carrot juice taken for a 
 constancy is the finest of all rectifiers of the Blood and I 
 recommend it to you, my good friend. Your letter in 
 which you talk of a journey in a twelvemonth I have got — 
 and now for a detail. I wrote to the Ogre^ proposing to 
 put K[eppel] to Oxford in some months hence, enclos'd 
 my letter to G[eorge] Berkeley. No answer yet, and I 
 hear from other hands that my B^^ say I mean to abandon 
 my child. How wicked and cruel ! From the Gothic and 
 Pedantic manners of Germany I feel the wrong I should 
 do my child in finishing his education here. This is a 
 good place to begin a man's, but not to finish it. That 
 and K[eppel]'s wishing to see G[eorge] made me take 
 the resolution of preparing his arrival. I have done it, and 
 if I get no answer I must pursue another plan. Pray 
 write me all the news you can. I am told the Ogre is 
 declining, but I can never believe it, because with his 
 manner of living he should have been dead long ago.* 
 
 LADY CRAVEN TO FRANCIS JAMES JACKSON 
 
 November 9, 1790. 
 I suppose Bishopsnerdcr has told you the M[argrave] 
 and I shall be at Berlin in December. I shall be very glad 
 to see you charge d' Affairs, and hope to find you well. I 
 trust the B[ritish] Cabinet and his M[ajesty] of P[russia] 
 will neglect nothing that can procure the Garter for my 
 valuable and most worthy Brother [i.e. the Margrave 
 of Anspach] — and I trust much to your Esteem for him, 
 and a little friendship for me.-* 
 
 The two visits which the Margrave, accompanied by 
 Lady Craven, paid to Italy were pleasure trips : the 
 visit to Berlin, mentioned in her Ladyship's letter to 
 
 * Lord Craven. ^ (?) Brothers. 
 
 * From the original in the possession of Mr. A. M. Broadley. Now 
 first published. * Ibid.
 
 Ixxii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 Jackson, while ostensibly one of ceremony, was in reality 
 the outcome of a question of high politics. It was the 
 Margrave's desire to dispose of his principality to the King 
 of Prussia, and it was during his Serene Highness's stay 
 at Berlin that this matter was arranged. Frederick 
 William II paid a large sum of money, and Anspach was 
 his. Both parties to the bargain were satisfied, and as for 
 Lady Craven — the world gave her the credit for having 
 originated the transaction. ^ 
 
 The King and Queen of Prussia, realising the importance 
 of conciliating Lady Craven, received her graciously, 
 and the court naturally followed the royal lead. They 
 did so, however, very reluctantly, and most of the com- 
 ments made about her were far from kindly. The Grafin 
 Sophia Marie von Voss thus described her : — 
 
 Ich war beim Konig [von Preussen], wo auch die beiden 
 altesten Prinzessinnen Frederika und Wilhelmina waren 
 und der Markgraf von Anspach mit seiner geliebten Lady 
 Craven, die er dem Konig vorstellte. Sie ist verbliiht, soil 
 Verstand haben, ist aber aiisrerst dunkelhaft, kummert 
 sich um Niemand, lasst sich keinem Menschen vorstellen 
 und spricht nur mit ihren Landgrafen, der ganz ent- 
 
 ^ The arrangement thus come to between the King of Prussia and 
 the Margrave of Anspach gave rise to htigation, which began in the 
 early part of the nineteenth century and lasted until 1874, when it was 
 finally settled bj' Sir Robert Morier, who, in his Memoirs (Vol. II. 
 p. 300), speaks of Lady Craven as the mistress " of the Margrave of 
 Bayreuth at the end of the eighteenth century, who had furnished the 
 prototype for the heroine of Schiller's Kabala und Liebe." " The repre- 
 sentatives of the original claimants were Mr. and Mrs. Henry Craven," 
 he continued ; " she, the well-known authoress of L'Histoire d'une Sceur, 
 and one of the most charming women of modern days. They were an 
 old couple reduced almost to starvation, who were in justice and equity 
 owed many millions by the Bavarian Government, but who for twenty 
 years had given up all hope of ever obtaining even a particle of their 
 due." In obtaining an annuity for Mr. and Mrs. Craven, Sir Robert 
 Morier obtained valuable assistance from the Empress Augusta, a per- 
 sonal friend of Mrs. Craven, and also of Prince Hohenlohe.
 
 INTRODUCTION Ixxiii 
 
 ziickt von ihr zu sein scheint. Es ist wahrlich unglaublich, 
 dass man eine solche Person am Hofe sieht und mit ihr 
 spricht,^ 
 
 TRANSLATION 
 
 [" I was standing near the King of Prussia, with the 
 Princesses Frederica and Wilhelmina, when the Margrave 
 of Anspach presented his dear Lady Craven to His 
 Majesty. She is faded, intelligent, conceited, interests 
 herself in no one, allows no men to be presented to her, 
 and converses only with the Margrave, who seems to be 
 bewitched by her. It passes understanding that such a 
 person as Lady Craven is received at this Court."] 
 
 It is more pleasant to turn to the account of her by 
 another German lady, also at the court of Berlin : — 
 
 Divorcee apres quatorze ans de mariage et avec sept 
 enfants, elle n'en tenait pas moins son rang dans le 
 monde a force de hardiesse, d'aplomb et d'esprit. Sans 
 etre precisement jolie, c'etait une femme piquante et 
 agreable. Ses cheveux chatains fonces etaient superbes, 
 ses yeux magnifiques, sa peau blanche et fine etait seule- 
 ment marquee de taches de rousseur et se colorait a la 
 moindre impression. C'est une personne du commerce le 
 plus doux et le plus agreable, gaie, insouciante, sans le 
 moindre pedantisme, son intimite est delicieuse. Sa 
 passion dominante est la comedie, qu'elle joue admirable- 
 ment ; elle a fmi par communiquer cette passion au mar- 
 grave, et maintenant un theatre est installe dans son 
 palais. La conversation de lady Craven etait aussi 
 amusante que ses talents. Elle racontait comma M. de 
 Voltaire. 2 
 
 1 Ketinumlsechzig Jahre am preussischen Hofe, it,\. 
 ' Menioires, II, 148. (Quoted from Ley : Die liUerarische Tiitigkeit 
 der Lady Craven, iG/ij.)
 
 Ixxiv THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 From Berlin the Margrave and Lady Craven returned 
 to Anspach, where they were greeted with the news that 
 the Margravine was dead. For three months his Serene 
 Highness remained quietly at Triesdorf , and in ]\Iay left his 
 principality never to return to it again. At the same 
 time, of course, Lady Craven left the land that had 
 afforded her a home for several years. x\fter the death 
 of the Margravine, the widower and the lady vainly hoped 
 that they might be accepted en deux in English society. 
 To London they went,i and quickly found out their 
 mistake, albeit that the Hon. Mrs. Hobart invited them 
 to a " Rural Breakfast and Promenade " at her villa near 
 Fulham, on June 28, 1791, at which were present the 
 Prince of Wales and Mrs. Fitzherbert, the Duchesses of 
 Rutland and Gordon, and the Duke of Queensberry.^ 
 
 WILLIAM BECKFORD TO SIR WILLIAM HAMILTON 
 
 FONTHILL, July 15, I79I. 
 
 I lose not a moment, my dear Sir W°i, in thanking 
 you for yJ" kind letter and in telling you that the Margrave 
 and Ly Craven are here. The Margrave all goodness, 
 meekness and resignation — my lady — all eyes, nose, fire 
 and fury, exclaiming against relations who will not allow 
 her to live as she likes, and against beastly Germans who 
 accuse her of leading their gentle Sovereign out of his 
 
 ^ It was during this brief visit to London in the summer of 1791 
 that Lady Craven obtained the admission of her son Keppel to 
 Harrow School under an assumed name. This was done in June of 
 that year. Mr. B. P. Lascelles writes, " I find that on June 12, 1791, 
 Dr. Drury admitted a boy whose name he afterwards erased, substi- 
 tuting for it the name of 'Mr. Craven.' It appears thus in the School 
 List of the Autumn of 1791. He cannot have remained long at 
 Harrow for his name is omitted in the List of 1793." The affix " Mr." 
 in the Harrow List indicates that the bearer is the son of a peer. 
 
 * European Magazine, July, 1791. See post, pp. Ixxxix, xciii. The 
 site of the villa is now covered by Hobart Place.
 
 INTRODUCTION Ixxv 
 
 senses and out of his Dominions. I shall obey yr com- 
 mands in saying civil things to them in y^ name. I 
 beheve they intend taking their departure for Lisbon in a 
 few days, where it is to be hoped no drunken husbands 
 or boring Brothers will disturb their felicity. 
 
 HORACE WALPOLE TO THE MISSES BERRY 
 
 August 23, 1791. 
 
 Well, but you, who have had a fever with fetes, hnd 
 rather hear the liistory of the soi-disantc ^MargraNine. She 
 has been in England with her foolish Prince, but not only 
 notified their marriage to the Earl [of Berkeley] her 
 brother, who did not receive it propitiously, but his 
 Highness informed his Lordship by a letter, that they 
 have an usage in his countr^^ of taking a ■wife \\\t\i the left 
 hand ; that he had espoused his Lordship's sister in that 
 manner, and intends, as soon as she shall be a \\idow, to 
 marry her with his right hand also. The Earl replied, 
 that he knew she was married to an English peer, a most 
 respectable man, and can know nothing of her marr3-ing 
 any other man ; and so they are gone to Lisbon.^ 
 
 " The ]\Iargrave of Anspach and his cherc aniie, Lady 
 C[raven] intend making a tour of Portugal, Spain, and Italy, 
 previous to their return home," so runs a paragraph in the 
 Bon Ton Magazine for August. " They have by this time 
 most probably reached Lisbon." It was while they were 
 at Lisbon that the news reached them of the death of 
 Lord Craven at Lausanne on September 26, 1791. This 
 removed all obstacles to their legal marriage, which was 
 duly solemnised on October 30 in the chapel of the British 
 Embassy. " As by the death of Lord Craven," his \\idow 
 N\T0te, " I felt myself released from all ties, and at liberty 
 
 ^ Letters (ed. Cunningham), IX, 341.
 
 Ixxvi THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 to act as I thought proper, I accepted the hand of the 
 Margrave without fear or remorse. We were married in 
 the presence of one hundred persons, and attended by all 
 the English naval officers, who were quite delighted to act 
 as witnesses."^ 
 
 Robert Walpole, the British Envoy and Minister Pleni- 
 potentiary at the Court of the unfortunate Queen Maria 
 and cousin to the " Lord of Strawberry," seems to have 
 held discreetly aloof, but the official record of the cere- 
 mony, to some extent at least, bears out the Margravine's 
 statement as to the pomp and ceremony attending their 
 union. It is as follows : — 
 
 " His Serene Highness Christian Frederick Charles 
 Alexander by the Grace of God Margrave of Branden- 
 bourg, Anspach and Bareith, Duke of Prussia and Silesia, 
 Count of Sayn, etc. etc., widower and the Right Honour- 
 able Elizabeth Craven, Baroness Craven, widow, were 
 married on the thirtieth day of October one thousand 
 seven hundred and ninety-one by me Herbert Hill. The 
 marriage was solemnized between us Alexander M. of B. 
 widower, and Elizabeth Craven, widow. In the presence 
 of Louis Chevr; de Lebzetsen, M. Dorset, William Robin- 
 son, Thos. Peyton, E. L. Lombard, Thomas Giesley, 
 Thomas Bain, E. D. Humphreys, J. H. Cardew, Chas. 
 Murray, Fredk. de Bute, Louis Charles de Claviere, 
 Montmorency Due de Luxembourg, H. Due de Cardaval, 
 Luiz Pinto de Souza, Montmorency Luxembourg, Due de 
 Chatillon, le Marquis de Galatone Pignatelli, Charles 
 Comte d'Oejnhausser, C. Comte de Rechteren, the Baron 
 de Spaen de Voorstonde, John Forbes and Charles 
 Martin." 
 
 The news, of course, soon reached England, and 
 it was commented upon humorously by Horace 
 
 * See Memoirs, vol. II, p. 42.
 
 INTRODUCTION Ixxvii 
 
 Walpole. " Oh ! I this moment recollect to tell your 
 Ladyship that Lady Craven received the news of her 
 Lord's death on a Friday, went into weeds on Saturday, 
 and into white satin and many diamonds on Sunday, 
 and in that vestal trim was married to the Margrave of 
 Anspach by my cousin's^ chaplain, though he and Mrs. 
 Walpole excused themselves from being present," he 
 wrote to Lady Ossory, November 23, 1791. " The bride 
 excused herself for having so few diamonds ; they had 
 been the late Margravine's, but she is to have many more, 
 and will soon set out for England, where they shall 
 astound the public by living in a style of magnificence 
 unusual, as they are richer than anybody in this country. 
 The Dukes of Bedford, Marlborough, and Northumber- 
 land may hide their diminished rays 1 "^ 
 
 ^ Hon. Robert Walpole [1736-1810], 4th son of Horatio, first Lord 
 Walpole of Wolterton; m., ist (1780), Diana, daughter of Walter 
 Grosset; 2nd (1785), Sopliia, daughter of Richard Stert. Admitted 
 to Lincoln's Inn, May 9, 1748. Recorder of Yarmouth, May, 1761. 
 Clerk of the Privy Council, 1764. Envoy Ext. and Min. Plan, to 
 Lisbon, October 4, 1771. Retired on pension, May, 1800. 
 
 * Letters (ed. Cunningham), IX, 362.
 
 IV 
 
 THE MARGRAVINE OF ANSPACH 
 (179I-1806) 
 
 WHEN the newly-wedded Margrave and Mar- 
 gravine of Anspach returned to England 
 from Lisbon at the end of 1791, they took 
 possession of a mansion on the banks of the 
 Thames which had played an important part in the 
 history of Fulham ever since the commencement of the 
 seventeenth century, when it was known as the Great or 
 Crabtree House and belonged to Sir Nicholas Crispe, the 
 ardent Royalist. Each succeeding owner did something to 
 improve the building which John Bowack in his Antiquities 
 of Middlesex describes as " lofty, regular and magnifi- 
 cent, "i In 1684 the Great House became the property 
 of Mrs. Hughes or Hews, the mistress of Prince Rupert, 
 who eventually sold it to Timothy Lannoy, a wealthy 
 London merchant, the widow of whose son married James 
 Murray, second Duke of Athole. From the Duchess of 
 Athole it passed in 1748 to George Bubb Dodington, 
 afterwards Lord Melcombe of Melcombe Regis, who 
 rechristened it La Trappe and spent a fortune over it, 
 modernising it throughout and adding a magnificent 
 gallery. Dodington died there in 1762, leaving La Trappe 
 
 * For a full description of Brandenburgh House, see Fulham Old and 
 New, by C. J. Feret, Vol. Ill, pp. 60-81. 
 
 Ixxviii
 
 INTRODUCTION Ixxix 
 
 to his cousin and executor Thomas Wyndham. In 
 1789 it was occupied by Mrs. Sturt, whose masquerades 
 and other entertainments astonished London almost as 
 much as those of the Margravine of Anspach did in the 
 succeeding decades. In the assessment of August, 1792, 
 La Trappe, henceforth to be known as Brandenburgh 
 House, is rated to His Serene Highness Christian Frederick 
 Charles Alexander, Margrave of Brandenburgh, Anspach, 
 and Bayreuth, who had acquired it at a cost of 
 £8500. The gallery, eighty-two feet long, thirty feet 
 high and twenty feet wide, which had been lavishly 
 decorated by " Sillybub," as Lord Melcombe was called 
 by his satirists, was immediately converted by the 
 Margravine into a ballroom, the marble pavement being 
 replaced by an elastic boarded floor. The Margrave built 
 a private chapel for his own use, the walls of which were 
 painted with scriptural subjects. Close to the house was a 
 small theatre, which clearly appears in some of the numer- 
 ous aquatints and other views of Brandenburgh House. ^ 
 
 ^ The Margravine of Anspach finally ceased to reside at Hammer- 
 smith in 1819, and during the following 5^ear Caroline of Brunswick, the 
 ill-fated consort of George IV, became its tenant. It was here she re- 
 ceived the deputations of sympathisers which Theodore Hook ridiculed 
 in the effusion beginning : — 
 
 Have you been to Brandenburgh, Heigh, Ma'am, Ho, Ma'am ? 
 
 You've been to Brandenburgh, Ho ? 
 — Oh, yes, I have been. Ma'am, 
 To visit the Queen, Ma'am. 
 
 With the rest of the gallanty show — show. 
 With the rest of the gallanty show. 
 On August 7, 1 82 1, Caroline died at Brandenburgh House. On 
 May 15, 1822, the " materials of the noble mansion, the theatre and 
 the pavilion " were sold by auction, and in the course of the ne.xt 
 twelve months the whole were demolished. The site was for a time 
 known as the Queen's Grounds. The position of the house itself is now, 
 as nearly as possible, marked by the Hammersmith Distillery. The 
 occupancy of Brandenburgh House by the Margrave and Margravine 
 of Anspach has been commemorated by a Margrave Road and Mar- 
 gravine Mansions, though these are not in the immediate neighbour- 
 hood.
 
 Ixxx THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 Brandenburgh House and its festivities soon became 
 the talk of the town. " The Margravine is the happiest 
 of women," Charles Pigott wrote, " for she is called 
 
 H n - ss, has Gentlemen of the Bedchamber, and 
 
 Maids of Honour of her own ; — is received everywhere, 
 as a virtuous and chaste wife should be ; and keeps a 
 sort of a kind of a Court, and drives through the streets 
 in a coach-and-six, to the admiration of all beholders."^ 
 The author of The fockey Club clearly did not get his 
 information at first hand. The Margravine had hoped that 
 now her position was legalised, the world would be ready to 
 forgive and forget her past transgressions. This, how- 
 ever, was exactly what the world was not prepared to do. 
 " The Margrave of Anspach certainly settled in this 
 Kingdom with his lately married lady, the ci-divant Lady 
 Craven. But how matters are to be managed in respect 
 to fashionable routs and the Court, is a mystery which 
 we cannot develope. It is not probable that the lady will 
 be introduced to her Majesty." Thus the Bon Ton 
 Magazine for December, 1791 ; and this periodical in the 
 following March proceeded to show that its surmise was 
 not unfounded : " The Margravine of Anspach," it 
 states, " is not visited by any of the leading Ladies of 
 Fashion, although she had not been wanting in sending 
 round her cards of invitation, and calling at their houses. 
 At a ball given at her house a few nights since, to which 
 there was a general invitation, only thirty people of both 
 sexes were present." The Court declined to receive her, 
 her eldest son and her daughters declined to countenance 
 her, the greater part of society gave her the cold shoulder. 
 In the issue of the same periodical for April, 1792, we 
 ^ The Jockey Club (3rd edition), 1792, Part III, p. 162.
 
 INTRODUCTION Ixxxi 
 
 are informed that " the Margravine of Anspach enjoys 
 the privilege of driving within the ride of Hyde Park, 
 where Royalty only enters. The Margravine of Anspach 's 
 very early airing in Hyde Park, after her late party, was 
 merely to prove whether the pleasures of the itight would 
 bear the reflection of the morning." George III, how- 
 ever, sternly declined to acknowledge her as the Princess 
 Berkeley, a title which, at the request of the Margrave, 
 was conferred upon her by the Emperor of Germany in 
 1793 '> wherefore she had to content herself with the 
 humbler designation of the Margravine of Anspach. 
 
 The lady was certainly mortified by these rebuffs, but 
 she was not overcome. If she could not mingle in royal 
 circles and if the best company would have nothing to 
 do with her, she was content, or at least too proud to 
 appear other than content, to receive those who would 
 associate with her. For these she gave a grand mas- 
 querade as a house warming ; and afterwards Thursday 
 evening concerts, occasional readings, and frequent 
 theatrical performances. Brandenburgh House, her 
 nephew, the Hon. Grantley F. Berkeley, has put it on 
 record, " became the resort of the gay world of both 
 sexes " ;i and the hostess apparently only drew the line 
 at Mrs. Wilmot, a notorious divorcee, who was refused 
 admittance, to the great amusement of a writer in a con- 
 temporary periodical, on account of her character !- 
 
 It was announced in the issue of Bon Ton for August 
 that the Margrave and Margravine of Anspach had gone 
 on a visit to the Earl of Fife at Duff House, Banffshire. 
 
 In the Hammersmith Library at Ravenscourt Park 
 
 * My Life and Recollections, IV, 160. 
 
 * Bon Ton Magazine, January, 1793, II, 443. 
 
 VOL. I.—/
 
 Ixxxii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 is preserved a curious collection of newspaper cuttings 
 which throw a vivid light on the social achievements of 
 the Margrave and Margravine in the late autumn of 1792, 
 but if John Williams [Anthony PasquinJ^ can be trusted 
 they began in August of that year by the latter appearing 
 at the great fete given at Wargrave in honour of the 
 birthday of the Earl of Barrymore, which was honoured 
 by the presence of the Prince of Wales and a large number 
 of fashionable persons of both sexes. " The following 
 witty, though severe composition," wTites Williams, " was 
 delivered to the company, by the fair hand of a celebrated 
 lady — tho' her face and its enslaving lineaments were 
 disguised by a vizor, her form was not rendered equivocal 
 by the assumption of character. The Reader will not be 
 amazed at the merit of the performance, when he under- 
 stands, that the common suspicion gave it to the accom- 
 plished Margravine of Anspach." The jeu d' esprit runs as 
 
 follows : — 
 
 A NEW MASQUERADE BALLAD 
 
 Come, jolly mortals, join the crowd. 
 
 Be gay, ridiculous or loud, 
 
 Be anything but dumb, 
 
 Let dominoes be banished hence, .. 
 
 For Fun and Fancy, wit and sense, I 
 
 In any Figure come. 
 
 Sweepers who know not how to sweep, 
 And Harlequins who cannot leap, 
 Old women scarcely Twenty, 
 Miss in her 'teens, near 6 feet high. 
 Law, physic and divinity. 
 And nosegay girls in plenty. 
 
 ^ The Life of the late Earl of Barrymove, including a History of the 
 Wargrave Theatricals and Original A necdotes of Eminent Persons, by 
 Anthony Pasquin, Esqre. London : H. D. Symonds, No. 20, Pater- 
 noster-Row, 1793, p. 18. 
 
 I 
 
 li
 
 THE EARL OF BARRY.MORE, AT WHOSE WARGRAVE THEATRICALS 
 
 THE MARGRAVINE OF ANSPACH RECITED A SATIRICAL PROLOGUE 
 
 IN AUGUST, 1792
 
 Il
 
 INTRODUCTION Ixxxiii 
 
 Let such as these, this festive night. 
 To form the motley group unite, 
 And each with glee endeavour 
 (And o'er them rays of fancy gleam) 
 To be the character thej'- seem, 
 And if they can — be clever. 
 
 Beauties in vain their form disguise. 
 Now to attract their lovers eyes. 
 Now wishing to be seen, 
 And while soft things the lover says. 
 The listening fair no blush betrays 
 Behind the pasteboard screen. 
 
 In search of new adventure here. 
 Some tonish husbands too appear. 
 With eager palpitation ; 
 Here contradict their usual lives. 
 And very kindl}-, with their wives, 
 May make an assignation. 
 
 Love in such tricks as these delights. 
 Thus archly plagues poor married wights. 
 Or tortures love-sick swains ; 
 His amplest field — a Masquerade. 
 Here are his various gambols play'd. 
 His pleasures and his pains. 
 
 Let serious mortals, seeming wise. 
 The humours of this night despise. 
 And jollity upbraid. 
 
 What harm one night a mask to wear ? 
 Most wear a mask throughout the year — 
 The world's a masquerade. 
 
 Could one but see the little great. 
 And e'en the rulers of the State, 
 Without a mask before them. 
 Deluded crowds no more would bow. 
 With open'd eyes, they wonder how. 
 They could so long adore them.
 
 Ixxxiv THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 At White's masked Ball let this famed set 
 
 Political chicane forget. 
 
 And leave their masks behind 'em ; 
 
 Each be himself, but lest they err. 
 
 Let me point out each character, 
 
 As Nature first assigned them. 
 
 First, then, let [Pitt] a juggler be. 
 With servile [Rose] as deputy. 
 To aid his master's cheat ; 
 Let him, as usual, then display. 
 His cap and bells in full array. 
 The engines of deceit. 
 
 Then let him on the table place 
 
 A surplus million, to your face. 
 
 To prove his wonder's done. 
 
 And whilst you look with longing eyes. 
 
 And traps all vanish from your eyes, 
 
 The fancied million's gone. 
 
 What shall we give to [Sawney's] lot 
 Since [Tommy Townshend's] name's forgot. 
 Nor Commons now confute him ? 
 He's changed his coat and broke his oaths. 
 Then let him come in Clincher's clothes, 
 " Tom Errand " sure will suit him. 
 
 Let active [Westmoreland] be here ; 
 An harlequin will suit the peer. 
 He'll caper at discretion ; 
 From Holyhead to Dublin now 
 A leap he takes, and you'll allow 
 That's leaping to perfection. 
 
 Since [Dorset's] Duke can vainly hope. 
 
 With youth and beauty still to cope. 
 
 Nor single, longer tarry, 
 
 ' Sir Peter Teazle ' be his due ; 
 
 Consider, he is fifty two, 
 
 And that's too old to marry.
 
 INTRODUCTION Ixxxv 
 
 Let [Belmore (?)] as an usher speak. 
 Quote common, hackneyed scraps of Greek, 
 To show his wond'rous learning. 
 Demosthenes he's studied o'er. 
 This dubbed him such an orator. 
 This made him so discerning. 
 
 Some have by time their natures changed. 
 
 Their former poUtics deranged, 
 
 Nor is the fact uncommon. 
 
 The name of Whig and Tory end. 
 
 Time has made Wilkes a monarch's friend. 
 
 And Camden an old woman ! 
 
 But my tired Muse can ne'er describe 
 The whole of Pitt's submissive tribe. 
 Nor will I call for aid. 
 Oh ! may they keep their proper sphere. 
 Ne'er may the servile crew appear 
 At Wargrave's masquerade. 
 
 The latest biographer^ of the ill-starred Earl of Barry- 
 more, who only lived seven months after his masquerade 
 had caused so much commotion, adopts the view taken 
 by " Pasquin." " The persons thus satirized," he says, 
 "were members of the Pitt Administration,'- and appear, 
 
 ^ The Last Earls of Barrymore, iy6g-i824, by John Robert Robin- 
 son. 1894. 
 
 * Dr. J. Holland Rose says that the political skit with which the 
 Margravine of Anspach is credited hits off very happily Pitt's 
 " Prosperity " Budget set forth on February 17, 1792 [sec Pitt, Part II, 
 p. 31]. Pitt is pictured as the juggler, and George Rose, who assisted 
 him with his financial knowledge, as the " servile deputy." It is easy 
 
 to recognise S y as Sawney or Sandy — Lord Melville; Tommy 
 
 T d is Thomas Townshend ; W -d, is the Earl of Westmoreland ; 
 
 D 1, the Duke of Dorset; and C n, Lord Camden. It is more 
 
 difficult to identify B e. It may be Lord Belmore, an Irish 
 
 peer, but he was not very prominent. The Whigs at this time never 
 tired of carping at Pitt's Budget and the milhon paid of the National 
 Debt by the Sinking Fund. The names have been supphed from Dr. 
 Holland Rose's identification.
 
 Ixxxvi THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 from an historical point of view (to have been) ably drawn. 
 The Prince of Wales's presence made the allusions more 
 appreciated (by the guests)." 
 
 Under the date of October 12, 1792, it is announced 
 that " The first piece to be performed this winter at the 
 private theatre of the Margravine of Anspach is fixed 
 on to be The Divorce." On October 31 we hear that 
 " Brandenburgh House was yesterday a scene of splendid 
 conviviality to celebrate an event highly flattering to 
 England — a Sovereign Prince entwined in the silken 
 fetters of Hymen by British beauty — and receding from 
 the fatigues and cares of Royalty, to enjoy the more 
 desirable comforts attendant on peaceful retirement. 
 The neighbourhood of Hammersmith, with many of their 
 Highnesses' tradesmen, met in commemoration of a day 
 which had been particularly fortunate to that vicinity. 
 Messrs. Bannister, Shield etc. contributed many vocal deli- 
 cacies to the entertainment of the evening, which passed 
 with all the harmony the occasion demanded. Peter 
 Pindar's Muse, assisted by the justly celebrated strains 
 of Shield, produced the following song, which was sung 
 by Mr. Wigstead,^ House-painter to their Highnesses: — 
 
 Far hence let gloomy Care retire. 
 Let Rapture only strike the lyre, 
 And swell the lark-like voice : 
 Let Anspach every praise command 
 "Who nobly left a happy land 
 To bid our realms rejoice. 
 
 Chorus — 
 Then give to Fame, whom Beauty's smile 
 And Freedom led to Britain's isle. 
 
 ^ Wigstead apparently designed, on a Bartolozzi model, the invita- 
 tion cards to some of the Brandenburgh House festivities.
 
 mm> 
 
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 A BRANDENBURGH HOUSE THEATRE TICKET 
 
 Brandmhurgh House Theatre. 
 
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 A BRANDENBURGH HOUSE 
 THEATRICAL PROGRAMME OK 1804
 
 INTRODUCTION Ixxxvii 
 
 Means were evidently found to conciliate the Editor 
 of Bon Ton, for he soon became sympathetic to the Court 
 at Hammersmith, for in September, 1792, he informs his 
 readers that " The Margravine of Anspach is enlarging 
 as well as improving her villa at Hammersmith, late Mr. 
 Sturt's, with the addition of a chapel. This villa, which 
 was bought of Mr. Martindale for 8000 guineas, will cost 
 the Margrave 'ere it is completed £12,000. It is now one 
 of the prettiest in town." Again, in October, he says : 
 " The household and establishments of the Margrave of 
 Anspach will be truly in the style of a Prince the ensuing 
 winter. Brandenburgh House at Hammersmith is to be 
 entirely new furnished and in the most costly and mag- 
 nificent manner that can be conceived. A new service of 
 gilt plate has been likewise making for some months past. 
 The house itself has been considerably enlarged. A 
 Theatre and Ball-room have been added to it. French, 
 Italian and English plays are to be acted there during 
 the ensuing winter. If these gaities do not draw plenty 
 of company to them, we know not what will." 
 
 One of the earliest and most constant habituees of 
 Brandenburgh House was the Hon. Mrs. Hobart, 
 afterwards better known as Albinia, Countess of Buck- 
 inghamshire.^ The issue of Bon Ton for January, 1793, 
 proclaims the fact that " The Margrave of Anspach has 
 a very excellent concert at Brandenburgh House every 
 Thursday evening and a supper afterwards. But it has 
 hitherto been very thinly attended. Mrs. Wilmot was 
 one evening refused on acct. of her character." 
 
 On January 2, 1793, the Margrave of Anspach wrote 
 from Brandenburgh House to a correspondent in Berlin 
 
 ^ Sec post, pp. Ixxxix, xciii, etc.
 
 Ixxxviii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 begging that a copy of the History of the Seven Years' 
 War, upon which his friend had been engaged for many 
 years, might be sent him. He concluded his request by 
 saying, " You will find an eager reader in one who 
 admires your knowledge and great intelligence, and ever 
 wishes to have an opportunity of being able to show 
 the esteem in which he holds you." It seems that 
 the husband of the pleasure-loving Margravine, after 
 relinquishing the cares of State, found time for historical 
 study, as well as for the junketings in which her soul 
 delighted. 
 
 The following extracts, in the Hammersmith Library 
 collection, under the uniform title of " Brandenburgh 
 House," certainly tend to show that the Margravine in 
 1793 was quite alive to the power of the Press, and it 
 looks as if she employed a "newsman" of her own. 
 
 January 15, 1793. — Maltori and Marinari are both 
 working on the scenery of the theatre under the superin- 
 tendence of the Rev. Mr. Ferryman. " The condescend- 
 ing affability evinced by their Highnesses to their visitors, 
 and to the surrounding neighbourhood, must endear them 
 to all ranks ; and, while such is the case, the Demons of 
 envy may toil and the arrows of calumny be levelled in 
 vain." 
 
 February 16, 1793. — The scenic splendour of the 
 Anspach theatricals, is superior to those which marked 
 the voluptuous regency of Catherine de Medicis. 
 
 February 21, 1793. Le Texier, Mrs. Hobart and the 
 Margravine are at the head of the Dramatis Personse in 
 the rehearsals of les petites pieces Fran^aises. 
 
 February 27, 1793.- — An aviary is being added to 
 Brandenburg House and the view improved. 
 
 March 11, 1793. — Maltori's Palace Scene for the
 
 INTRODUCTION Ixxxix 
 
 theatre is finished, but the first performances are delayed 
 by an attack of measles from which Mr. Keppel Craven is 
 suffering. 
 
 April 19, 1793. — The total annual income of the Mar- 
 grave is not less than £100,000. He receives an annuity 
 of £40,000 from the King of Prussia. 
 
 April 20, 1793. — The Prince of Wales, who was present 
 at the opening of the New Theatre on Thursday, April i8th, 
 said he had never seen anything more splendid or hand- 
 somely conducted. The performance opened by a prelude 
 after which a little piece was represented, entitled Fantan 
 et Colas, the characters by the Margravine, young Keppel 
 Craven, Monsieur et Madame Texier and Count d'Alet, 
 Lord High Chamberlain of the Household. The third 
 petite piece was a very humorous dialogue called Lc 
 Poulet, between Mrs. Hobart^ as an English servant maid 
 and Mons. Le Texier as a French valet. . . . The supper 
 was spread on seven tables, all of them served up alike 
 for the company, except that the Prince was served on 
 gold. After the supper, there was a Masquerade and ball, 
 which was quite unexpected by the company. The Mar- 
 gravine provided new dresses for all the company, and the 
 Ladies and Gentlemen each dressed in separate rooms. 
 The Duke of Clarence changed his dress seven times, and 
 added greatly to the hilarity of the evening. The Prince 
 was in a domino. The company consisted of about 100 
 persons, among whom we noticed the Duke of St. Albans 
 
 ^ Albinia, daughter and co-heiress of Lord Vera Bertie, born 1736. 
 She married, in May, 1757, George Hobart, who on August 3, 1793, 
 succeeded his half-brother John as third Earl of Buckinghamshire 
 and Baron Hobart of Blickling. The breakfast-parties she gave at 
 her town house, on the site of Hobart Place, are alluded to in the 
 correspondence of JNIrs. Montagu and others. She was intimately 
 associated with high-play, concerts, and amateur theatricals. She 
 is constantly alluded to in Bon Ton and similar publications. In 
 middle life she grew very corpulent, and between 1792 and 1803 Gillray 
 made her the central figure of a series of somewhat unkind caricatures, 
 one of which is immediately connected with her appearance on the 
 Brandenburgh House stage. The Countess of Buckinghamshire died 
 March 22, 1816 (see post, p. xciii).
 
 xc THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 and his daughter, Lady Jersey and the Russell family, 
 Lord Guildford's family and the Hobarts, Baron Nolcken 
 and his Lady, the Princess Castelcicala, the Duchess of 
 Pienne and Theodore, Mrs. Bouverie, Mrs. Sturt, Lord and 
 Lady Dudley, Lord Clermont, etc. The company did not 
 separate till 5 o'clock yesterday morning. 
 
 April 26, 1793. — The Margravine has now contributed 
 an English prelude to the performances at the Branden- 
 bourg House Theatre " noticing the present state of 
 political affairs here and on the Continent, and concluding 
 with a just and well-applied compliment to the Margrave, 
 who, allured by the fascinating powers of the milder 
 virtues, retires from the pomp and fatigue of a Court, 
 to repose on the verdant banks of the silver-gliding 
 stream, ever conspicuously patronized by the Yellow- 
 hair' d Deity and his sprightl}^ companions." 
 
 May 3, 1793. — Performance of May 2. The Margravine 
 sustained the role of a rustic boy, giving an exact imitation 
 of his patois. Amongst the spectators Lords Hampden, 
 W. Gordon, Rawdon and Valletort, Major North, 
 Hon^ie Mr. Conway, Lady Beauchamp, Lady Hampden, 
 Hon^le Misses Courtenay and Mrs. Musters.^ 
 
 May I, 1793. — The Margrave and Margravine of Ans- 
 pach breakfasted with the Prince of Wales at Carlton 
 House on Monday afternoon. Strawberries were amongst 
 the delicacies of the repast. 
 
 Certain complications must have arisen in the financial 
 arrangements of the mistress of Brandenburgh House 
 
 1 The Times of May 8, 1793, contains the following advertisement : — 
 READINGS, Lifle-ftreet, Leicefter Fields. 
 'T'HE Subfcribers are defired to take Notice, that 
 
 the Readings will finifh fooner this Seafon than ulual, the 
 laft Reading will be on Friday, the 17th of May. 
 
 THIS EVENING, by permiflion of their Serene Highneffes the 
 Margrave and Margravine of Anfpach, will be read the Comedy 
 adled with lb much luccels at Brandenburg Houfe, called 
 FAN FAN et COLAS.
 
 INTRODUCTION xci 
 
 towards the end of 1793, for on Wednesday, November 27, 
 ' in that year Sylvester Douglas, Lord Glenbervie, makes 
 the following entry in his journal : — ^ 
 
 " This morning I received a letter from Count Benin- 
 casa to mention to me that the Margravine of Anspach 
 (Lady Craven) wished to consult me about her affairs, 
 and begged I would appoint some morning that I would 
 call upon her. I met him afterwards in Piccadilly, and 
 found that she had been endeavouring to procure a settle- 
 ment of £600 a year for her life from the Margrave, that 
 no settlement had been made upon her previous to their 
 marriage at Lisbon, that he has no estate in this country 
 on which such a jointure could be secured, the whole 
 income of what he had bought in land not amounting to 
 above £600 or £700 a year ; that he has no ready money 
 in the Funds, as has been supposed ; that a deed has been 
 prepared in which the Duke of Bedford, Lord Moira and 
 Lord Thurlow are named Trustees, but that Lord Thurlow 
 when it came to be executed declined having any con- 
 cern in the business ; that she has since talked with the 
 Chancellor on the subject, and that she wished to con- 
 verse with me to see whether I could suggest an}^ proper 
 mode of securing this jointure, and avoiding all imputa- 
 tion of undue influence in obtaining it. I told Benincasa 
 that I wished to decline the honour intended me. That 
 I did not like to enter into the family concerns of the 
 Margrave and Margravine." 
 
 The entries in the Hammersmith Library Album for 
 1794 begin with July 21, when a fete was given in honour 
 of the principal members of the Fishmongers' Company 
 of which the Margrave was an Honorary Freeman. The 
 Margravine sustained two parts in the theatricals. The 
 
 ^ The Glenbervie Journals, edited and abridged by Walter Sichel. 
 Constable, igio.
 
 xcii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 pieces were The Yorkshire Ghost, with a prologue written 
 by Peter Pindar and an epilogue written and spoken by 
 the Margravine, " whose own character {tout a la Jordan) 
 was supported with a spirit never equalled in a private 
 and rarely excelled in a public theatre," and a French 
 play in three acts, Les Poissardes Anglaises, " founded on 
 an incident highly honourable to the feelings of our 
 Billingsgate beauties." In this the Margravine took the 
 part of " Poll," into which she introduced a song of her 
 own composition : — 
 
 I'm a Billingsgate girl — 'tis an odd sort of name. 
 
 And my eyes are as black as a coal ; 
 My frankness of heart gives me looks that are game, 
 But you'll find I'm a good little soul. 
 Who'll buy ? Who'll buy ? 
 Who'll buy of this good little soul ?^ 
 
 The two line portraits by Romney before alluded to, 
 and now reproduced by special permission of the Fish- 
 mongers' Company, were given to commemorate the fete 
 now described. 
 
 * The following entry occurs in the minutes of the Court of the 
 Fishmongers' Company for Feb. 14, 1793 : — 
 
 " His Serene Highness Christian Frederic Charles Alexander Mar- 
 grave of Brandenbourg Anspach and Barieth, Duke of Prussia and 
 Silesia Comte of Sayn Sec, &c., &c., intending to honour this Court 
 with his Company to dinner on this day a Motion was made and 
 seconded That the freedom of this Company be presented to his 
 Serene Highness the Margrave of Anspach which Motion being put 
 was carried in the Afiirmative. It is therefore ordered That the 
 Order of Court of the nth February 1790 directing the sum of Fifty 
 Guineas to be paid upon every future Admission to the Freedom of 
 this Company by redemption and also the order of Court of the 24th 
 of May last directing that Notice be given at a previous Court as 
 to proposing Persons to purchase the Freedom of this Company be in 
 this Instance suspended and This said Serene Highness attending this 
 Court was accordingly admitted to such Freedom and took the Oath 
 required to be taken by persons admitted to the Freedom of this 
 Company."
 
 INTRODUCTION xciii 
 
 The next note is two years later in point of date, but 
 there were two notable dramatic performances in June, 
 1795. On the loth of that month was played " The 
 Tamer Tanned altered from Beaumont and Fletcher, with 
 the Margravine as Maria and Mr. Keppel Craven, Colonel 
 Arabin and Mrs. Le Texier as the chief Dramatis Personce. 
 Afterwards Malone's Sleep Walker. The Margravine 
 wrote the prologue for The Tamer Tamed. On nth June 
 The Agreeable Surprise was produced with Lady Bucking- 
 hamshire as Cowslip,^ Colonel Arabin as Lingo and the 
 Margravine as Laura." 
 
 The Epilogue was the work of Miles Peter Andrews. 
 
 " The chief attraction of the evening (June 11) was 
 Lady Buckinghamshire's Cowslip in O'Keefe's Agree- 
 able Surprise, which though perhaps too full blown, 
 was, in point of acting, very correct. The Margravine, in 
 Laura, looked beautifully and sang sweetly. . . . Mr. 
 Cheshire's representation was by no means sufficiently 
 giggish." 
 
 ^ It was this performance which gave Gillray the idea for his cari- 
 cature " Cowslip at Brandenburgh House " which, only three days 
 later, was to be seen in the shop-window of Mistress Humphrey in 
 St. James's Street. It has for a sub-title the words " Enter Cowslip 
 with a bowl of cream." The Agreeable Surprise was acted at the Little 
 Theatre in the Hay market as far back as 1781, when Edwin made a 
 great hit as Lingo. The good acting of Bannister and Fawcett helped 
 to make the piece a favourite. In the Bon Ton of 1792 occurs the 
 following note : " Cowslip left her bowl of cream on the middle of 
 the stage on a late evening, and Lingo, no doubt by mere accident, 
 happening to set his foot in it, observed off-hand, ' Why, I have 
 certainly got into the milky way.' " 
 
 The following lines in the handwriting of the ]Margra\'ine of Anspach 
 are in existence : — 
 
 Tho' her Ladyship's figure. 
 
 Was some little bigger. 
 
 Than Cowslips ; yet all must allow 
 
 That her fat Ladyship, 
 
 Might have cut oti the slip. 
 
 And famouslv acted the cow.
 
 xciv THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 Two days later was published an " Impromptu on the 
 late Chilling Theatricals at Brandenburgh House." 
 
 The House was thin, and much too cool 
 
 Dramatic flowers to raise ; 
 
 For plants so sensitive as these 
 
 Requir'd the warmest praise ! 
 
 The Dame of Bucks, in Cowslip vest, 
 
 Expanded to our view ! 
 
 The Margravine a Violet sprung. 
 
 That look'd a little blue ! 
 
 Full-blooming pair of Flora's train. 
 
 Whom Art alone can claim 
 
 That you a Hot-house should not have, 
 
 Appear'd a burning shame ! Botanian. 
 
 There were more performances in July, 1795, and on 
 January 6, lygd, it was announced that in the course of 
 a fortnight the season would open with Twelfth Night " in 
 which the Margravine will play Viola and her son 
 Sebastian." Later on {January 21) a communique 
 informed the public that " young Bannister would be 
 Malvolio, Harry Angelo Sir A ndrew Aguecheek ; Mr. Grubb, 
 the Drury Lane Patentee, Sir Toby, a married daughter 
 of Palmer Maria and Captain Morris the Clown." 
 
 Many details on the subject of the Brandenburgh 
 House Theatre are to be found in Henry Angelo's 
 Reminiscences. He assures us that the Margravine, 
 " whether she represented the heroine or the soubrette," 
 invariably succeeded in capturing all hearts. He adds 
 that : " The excellent acting of the Hon. Keppel Craven, 
 aided by his youth and elegant appearance, made both 
 the French and English pieces go off with eclat. These 
 pieces were wTitten by the Margravine. Count Dallet, 
 who was chamberlain to the Margrave (an elderly man), 
 
 II
 
 ./.y. 
 
 •i-,,,K -..tUf... 
 
 
 CARICATURE PORTRAIT OF ALBI.MA, COUNTESS OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, 
 
 AS "COWSLU'," AT THE BRAXDENBURGH HOUSE THEATRICALS, 
 
 BY JAMES GII.LRAY
 
 INTRODUCTION xcv 
 
 as a French comedian, was a great acquisition. Having 
 seen Beville, the famous comic actor at Paris, he often 
 reminded me of him. The Count generally played the 
 father ; the Margravine the daughter or pert chamber- 
 maid ; Keppel Craven the lover, or the intriguing 
 lackey." 1 Among those who occasionally took part in 
 the performances were Lord Barry more, Lord Blessing- 
 ton, Lady Buckinghamshire, Lady Albinia Cholmondeley, 
 and Count Alexander de Tilly, a Royalist emigre. 
 
 Although Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe insists that the 
 Margravine " never was a tolerable actress, "^ yet she, 
 like most actor-managers and actress-manageresses, always 
 cast herself for the best part in the play, even though 
 there were others in the company who were more suited 
 to the role, and, not content with that, being unable to 
 bear a sister near the throne, was given to the habit of 
 reducing, so far as was practical, the share of the rest. 
 Sometimes she had her way in this matter, at other times 
 she had to \deld. When in 1796 the performance of 
 The Provoked Husband was in preparation, the Margra- 
 vine cast herself as Lady Brute and secured the services 
 of Mrs. Abingdon for Lady Fanciful. The comedy was 
 reduced to three acts, and while great care was taken to 
 preserve the importance of the part of Lady Brute, that 
 assigned to the actress was whittled away to next to 
 nothing. A re-arrangement of the play had hurriedly to 
 be made, for Mrs. Abingdon declined to play unless the 
 character of Lady Fanciful was restored to its original 
 value. Mrs. Abingdon fell out of favour, of course ; but 
 her disgrace was as nothing to that which was incurred 
 
 ^ Reminiscences (ed. 1830), II, 32, and (cd. 1904), I, 223-8, II, 4-6. 
 * Letters, I, 31.
 
 xcvi THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 on another occasion by Henry Angelo, who was one of 
 the amateurs in the company. The story is best told in 
 his own words. 
 
 " One of the characters (I may say a prominent one) 
 allotted to me, was in a piece called The Gmmtlet, written 
 by the Margravine, adapted and taken from Schiller's 
 Robbers, wherein I was captain of banditti, ' Wolfanga.' 
 Having introduced something contrary to her Highness's 
 intention, I got into disgrace, and was placed in rather 
 an unpleasant situation. 
 
 " Previous to my intended plan of robbing the Bishop 
 of Fulda (Joe Haddocks) of two hundred marks, I have 
 to wait in a forest for him ; I meet with a wood-cutter 
 (a prince in disguise, Keppel Craven) ; this produces an 
 encounter ; we fight, and I am killed, and ought to fall 
 immediately. This death, so very premature, was not 
 pleasing to me. As the grand voleiir, the chief of the 
 banditti, I considered myself entitled to a better exit. 
 At the rehearsal, however, I was entirely under the 
 direction of the Margravine. I did not say a word of 
 my disappointment at being obliged merely to tumble 
 down and die. When I hinted my chagrin to my brother 
 performers, they all agreed with me, and told me that I 
 ought to die game, particularly the Bishop, who, in his 
 droll, gruff manner, said — ' Poh ! don't mind her, make 
 a speech of your own.' 
 
 " ' Oh dear ! ' I replied, ' I shall be in disgrace — I know 
 not what to say.' He then meditated a few minutes, and 
 suggested a few sentences, one of which was, ' Curse on 
 my fate ; before I shall receive my just reward ' (robbing 
 the Bishop), ' and by the hand of the very man that I — 
 ah, oh ! ah ! Up with your leg, and give 'm money 
 again.' 
 
 " I was of course much pleased, having something to 
 say ; and the first night of the performance, no sooner
 
 INTRODUCTION xcvii 
 
 was I down, than, before my antagonist could speak, I 
 gave them my dying speech, and, following my instructor, 
 favoured the audience with sundry groans and struggles, 
 which, to use a newspaper puff, received unbounded 
 apflause. I was not a little pleased with the stage effect 
 I thought I had introduced ; but instead of meeting with 
 congratulations, as I expected, my good-natured friends, 
 particularly my instructor, began to laugh at me. 
 
 " ' You'll have it,' said one of them ; ' the Margravine 
 is in such a passion. How did you dare utter anything 
 she has not written ? ' Without waiting for the grand 
 soupe, I got away as soon as I was dressed, avoiding the 
 reprimands, for that night at least. 
 
 " Soon after, the same play was to be performed again, 
 when I received a note from her Highness, mentioning the 
 evening. On my arrival to dinner, which was our ac- 
 customed meeting hour, previous to the performance, I 
 had prepared myself for my reception. I took courage, 
 and having another speech ready for my defense, I pre- 
 sented myself boldly before her Highness, who severely 
 reprimanded me. She asked me, ' How I dared to speak 
 a word that was not in my part, and make her write a 
 jumble of nonsense ? ' 
 
 " ' Indeed, your Highness,' said I, ' there is always a 
 dying speech for every one on the stage that is killed, and 
 it is very hard that I should be the only one to go without ; 
 besides, I was a hero.' 
 
 " ' A fool ! — don't tell me ; while you are talking, is 
 Keppel to stand all the time, and the house to be listen- 
 ing to your stuff ? I insist upon you not uttering a single 
 word.' I apologised to her Highness, and promised to 
 obey. 
 
 " After our great directress was gone, there was a 
 general murmur among my fellow-amateurs, \\ho asked 
 me, ' Why I did not say I had a right to expect to die on 
 the Brandenburgh stage, as well as actors on the London 
 
 VOL. I.— ^
 
 xcviii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 ones.' Though they would have persuaded me to have 
 vindicated myself, nevertheless, like many gentlemen 
 who play to please themselves more than the audience, 
 I was determined to have my fun out. Having that 
 morning passed by Exeter 'Change, and recollecting the 
 noises made by the beasts, I thought I could not do 
 better than give the growl of the bear, as a sort of new 
 reading. With a new stage effect, and with one of 
 Grimaldi's expiring faces, I gave a few queer kicks, 
 suiting the word to the action. ' Oh ! ' for I was to 
 ' speak no more than is set down.' I took care, however, 
 to give them my best ' Oh ! ' which was not a bad 
 imitation of the bear himself, and from the laughs that 
 followed, I had reason to believe that my comic attempt 
 was well relished ; however, I escaped getting into a 
 third disgrace, and this was my last performance : nor am 
 I impatient to smell the lamps again. "^ 
 
 At the end of five years the newspapers seem to have 
 grown a little weary of the Margravine and her theatricals 
 — a fact very clearly indicated by the following notes 
 bristling with spiteful and significant italics : — • 
 
 December 27, 1796. — The Margravine is about to 
 renew her theatricals, but how she is to make up a warm 
 audience will exceed even her ingenuity at this season 
 to devise. 
 
 January 7, 1797. — The Theatricals at Hammersmith 
 a la Margravine are suspended, on account of the House 
 been so ill taken, nialgre all the puffing inflations which 
 have been so copiously vented to fill it ! 
 
 There were, nevertheless, several performances both 
 in 1797 and 1798, and in the following year Mrs. Abingdon 
 must have been restored to favour, for the following 
 
 ^ Angelo ; Reminiscences (ed. 1830), II, 33-4.
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 XCIX 
 
 fashionable intelligence appeared on May 31 of that 
 year :— 
 
 The Provoked Husband, reduced to three acts, was pro- 
 duced at Brandenburgh House on Wednesday last with 
 the following caste : — 
 
 Sir John Brute 
 Constance 
 Heartfree 
 Justice . 
 Razor 
 Taylor . 
 Lady Brute 
 Belinde . 
 Lady Fanciful 
 
 Sir W. James. 
 Mr. Wynn. 
 Hon^^s K. Craven. 
 Mr. Hamilton. 
 Mr. Simmons. 
 Mr. H. Angelo. 
 The Margravine. 
 Miss Berkley. 
 Mrs. Abingdon. 
 
 The performance was repeated a day or two later, 
 together with pantomime Puss in Boots. In the prologue 
 the Margravine once more refers to the fact that she was 
 the wife of a " citizen and fishmonger." 
 
 Can you prefer Dutch herrings to " John Dorey ? " — 
 
 I never did — I, who was born & bred 
 
 In London's tasteful town, and ever led 
 
 Of taste the gay fantastic reins through life. 
 
 And proud to own I'm a Fishmongers wife. 
 
 In the last July of the eighteenth century (1800) a 
 grand masquerade was given in the Brandenburgh House 
 Theatre ; but about this time other ambitions must have 
 occupied the attention of the versatile Margravine, for 
 either before or after the signing of the Peace Prelimi- 
 naries on October i, 1801, she suddenly made her appear- 
 ance in Paris, either going to or coming from Vienna, 
 In the valuable diary of the Rev. Dawson Warren, who 
 accompanied his brother-in-law, Mr. Jackson, the British 
 Minister, to Paris in November of that year, we find the 
 following entry under the date January 4, 1802 : —
 
 c THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 " Mr. Tyrwhitt was in Paris when the Margravine of 
 Anspach passed through it. She gave a great deal of 
 trouble which exposed her to some marks of rudeness 
 from Bonaparte. She asked him if she might travel 
 through the country and cross the water under the pro- 
 tection of the neutral flag. He replied : ' Pray go 
 quietly ; be satisfied that the people know nothing about 
 you or your neutral flag.' At another time she was pay- 
 ing a visit to Madame Bonaparte. The Consul entered 
 the room, spoke to two or three people, passed her by, 
 and departed abruptly."^ 
 
 It is thus clear that the Margravine of Anspach talked 
 to the First Consul of France face to face. 
 
 In July of the following year the Margravine must have 
 again visited Paris, although her presence is not men- 
 tioned either by Mary Berry or Madame DArblay, for 
 on July 29 she addressed the following letter to Mr. 
 Francis James Jackson, whose acquaintance she had 
 made during her earlier travels, ^ and who had been 
 transferred as Minister to Berlin on the termination of 
 his mission to France, which lasted from November, 1801, 
 till the end of April, 1802 : — 
 
 Paris, July 29. 
 
 As I believe this will be put into your hands by the 
 person I deliver it to I shall depend on your takeing the 
 contents of this letter as a proof of my dependance on 
 your friendship for me — ^and my esteem for you. Last 
 year when I went to Vienna M^ de Goertz and other 
 Prussian Ministers ask^ me if I did not intend to go to 
 Berlin. I could not, my dear M^ Jackson — and as an 
 English gentleman you will feel that no Lady of your 
 
 ^ The Journal of a British Chaplain in Paris during the Peace 
 Negotiations of 1 801-2. Edited by A. M. Broadley. Chapman and 
 Hall. 1913. * See ante, p. Ixviii. 
 
 _ii
 
 INTRODUCTION ci 
 
 Country, particularly after the manner in which you saw 
 me rec<i by the Royal family before I was the Margraves 
 wife could go, unless it was perfectly ascertain'd to me 
 how I was to be rec^. Despotic as the Piiissian Cabinet 
 is — it is enragd first that I have not made the M. live at 
 Berlin — 2^^ that I should dare to be created a P^ of the 
 Empire in my own right without their High-Permission. 
 The King neither asks nor reflects for himself — or he 
 should be pleas'd that his Cousins wife should receive 
 on account of her own Descendancy and her marriage 
 with him an honour which he himself ought to have 
 ask^ for her. I want I wish nothing of any Crownd 
 head but the Margrave's Peace and Quiet as long as he 
 lives — and you my Dear M^ Jackson may contribute to 
 it by makeing me be seen in the light I deserve by the 
 K— of P— . 
 
 The Margrave this last spring took the pretext of the 
 Peace to have an audience with the K. of England — and 
 he told him he felt much concern that he should have 
 brought me back into my own Country to have the 
 appearance of haveing offended all his Relations — ^that 
 as he was so much older than me, and probably should 
 die before me — ^he recommended me to His Ma^ Protec- 
 tion — ^and talked more of what I deserv'd from my Con- 
 duct to him than other rights. 
 
 / know that it is the Prussian Cabinet alone that pre- 
 vents the K. of E. behaveing as he ought — and therefore 
 it is there alone that must originate a different mode in 
 E — to my dear and respectable husband. It hurts and 
 grieves me for him — beside that you will easily feel I 
 dont like that any set in my own Country should give 
 any set a plea for being impertinent and ungracious to 
 me — which Envy Malice and iincharitahlencss would 
 continue world without end. 
 
 This has nothing to do with your Diplomatic Business 
 — truth relative to individuals has nothing in common
 
 cii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 with your line — 'tis as the Margrave's friend — and my 
 countryman, that I call on your honourable mind to 
 serve my husband — ^the truth is that the house of Bran- 
 denbourg owes me much obligation for if the M. had a 
 son — ^the Margravate would not belong to the K, 
 
 I think likewise that the state of affairs I have arrang'd 
 for the M. in E. is not a little obligation. \\Tien ever any 
 Battle is to be fought for me ; the arms I furnish are white 
 as snow. I wish you health — and doubt not you will be 
 as happy at Berlin as you can be in any German Court — 
 as you are known there. I return to E. soon. My 
 Principal affair here was to get Houdon to copy the 
 Margrave's Profile done by me — and a bust of myself 
 done by Houdon. I shall send you the first copy of the 
 M. and I beg you'll place it well and keep it as a re- 
 membrance of the Esteem I bear you. 
 Yours sincerely, 
 
 Eliz: M. Anspach— p. Berkeley. 
 
 It seems that in 1799 Benham, the Berkshire seat of 
 the Cravens, was purchased by the Margrave, and from 
 that time the mentions of his London residence become 
 a little less frequent. In the beautiful gardens at Benham 
 the Margravine set up another playhouse, of which she 
 thus writes in a letter dated from her country seat on 
 November 27, 1803 : — 
 
 " I highly approve that I should be named as little as 
 possible in any Publication whatever. — The Theatre I 
 alluded to here is within a circular manege I made for the 
 Margrave — & as it is very pretty — I thought perhaps 
 it would make a Curious drawing for your Book — 'tis not 
 the Theatre at Newbmy, 'tis in my garden behind this 
 house." 
 
 There were^theatricals at Brandenburgh House again in 
 1802, for the papers of June 14 announced that : " On
 
 INTRODUCTION ciii 
 
 the previous Fridaj'^ three pieces were acted with great 
 success in The Statue's Feast, The Two Officers and 
 Imagination. The amateur had once more the advantage 
 of the assistance of Mr. Joseph Madocks and Miss Dar- 
 ville, a dancer." About 250 persons of distinction were 
 present, amongst whom were Lord Cholmondeley, Lord 
 and Lady Yarmouth, ^ and Lord Macdonald, and several 
 foreigners of distinction. The band was led by Spagnio- 
 letti. 
 
 In the following February (1803) a paragraph appeared 
 only a whit less inimical than those of 1796 and 1797. We 
 are told in it that : — 
 
 The Margravine of Anspach has at length worked his 
 most Serene Highness, her Consort, into a kind of silent 
 consent to a new series of Brandenburg Theatricals, which 
 commence this evening. Success to the enactors and a 
 double portion of patience to those who compose the 
 auditory of this mental entertainment. 
 
 In spite of adverse criticism theatricals did form part 
 of the birthday festivities of 1803, which are thus de- 
 scribed on February 23 of that year : — 
 
 The entertainment was one of the most magnificent ever 
 given at Brandenburgh House. The service of plate 
 displayed was valued at ;^i8,ooo. The hock had once been 
 in the cellar of Frederick the Great — Angelo was unwell, 
 " but the Margravine sung charmingly, and so did the 
 Mdiies Mortellari and Mrs. IMartin (late j\Irs. Cramer)." 
 Amongst the guests were the Russian Ambassador, 
 the American Minister, Lord and Lady Percival, Lord 
 Keith, Sir Sidney Smith, Lord and Lad}'' Jersey, Prince 
 Belmonte, and many Russian officers. 
 
 ^ See posi, p. cxxv, for Lord Yarmouth, afterwards third Marquis 
 of Hereford, the prototype of Tliackcray's "Lord Steyne."
 
 civ THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 More theatricals took place in June, 1803/ June, 1804, 
 and in July, 1805, we are informed that "the Duke of 
 Sussex sat in the Margrave's box and remained with a 
 select party to partake of a splendid banquet." There 
 were no less than four performances during the season 
 which preceded Trafalgar. At the last of them the Dukes 
 of Kent and Sussex, as well as the Due d' Orleans (thirty 
 years later Louis Philippe, King of the French), were 
 amongst the guests. In 1808, after the Margrave's death, 
 the theatre was once more " restored and improved " 
 under the directions of Mr. Wigstead, As then arranged, 
 a row of boxes completely encircled the house, with that 
 of the Margravine in front. The curtain was of pink silk, 
 " with a Spread Eagle emblematical of the family arms 
 encircled with laurel and oak " in the centre. It was not, 
 
 ^ In 1802-3 Lady Buckinghamshire, Lady SaHsbury, Lord Valle- 
 tort, Lord Cholmondeley, and others were giving their countenance 
 to the performances of the " Pic-nics." Hence Gillray's caricatures, 
 " Blowing up the Picnics, or Harlequin Quixote attacking the Pup- 
 pets " [April 2, 1802], " The Picnic Orchestra " [April 23, 1802], and 
 " Dilettanti Theatricals " [February 18, 1803]. Gillray's finished 
 original drawing of " The Picnic Orchestra " is in the possession of 
 Mr. A. M. Broadley. Over the figure of the violinist tlae artist has 
 written the words " Picnic Balestra." In the handwriting of the 
 Margravine are some lines headed " An Answer to the first line of a 
 Dilletante Epilogue — What is Pic-nic ? " 
 
 What is Pic-nic, why dont you know 
 
 I'll tell you then, before you go. 
 
 Pic-nic a word of late creation 
 
 Born of ennui and ajlectation. 
 
 Look not in Johnson, or in Baily 
 
 Enquiry there would surely fail ye. 
 
 Galants a few, refin'd and gay 
 
 True genuine Illumines 
 
 Agreed ten times a year to meet 
 
 To Act, to Dance, to Chat, to Eat 
 
 Whatever else they were to do 
 
 That I must leave to them and j-ou. 
 
 Nought now was wanting but a name 
 
 To grace the Club and mark its fame; 
 
 Many were offered to their choice — 
 
 Pic-nic met the general voice.
 
 ? .s
 
 fl
 
 INTRODUCTION cv 
 
 however, reopened until May, iSio, It was announced on 
 May 17 that : — 
 
 Brandenburgh House Theatre was opened yesterday 
 for the first time since the death of the Margrave. Miss 
 Jane Cramer's performance was much admired. The 
 Persian Ambassador was in the fashionable circle, and 
 the Duke of Kent's Band attended. 
 
 And then the curtain falls on the annals of the once 
 much-talked-of Brandenburgh House Theatricals. ^ 
 
 In 1793 the Margravine seems to have indulged in a 
 mild flirtation with Count Alexander de Tilly, to whom 
 the Margrave entertained a strong dislike both as a 
 Frenchman and an emigre. She appears to have wTitten 
 some indiscreet letters to de Tilly, and the only one of 
 them which has escaped destruction can scarcely be 
 reproduced in its entirety :— 
 
 Moi mechante ! moi, pour toi, quant je ne puis I'etre 
 pour ceux que je hais ! tu plaisantes, men cher ami. A Dieu 
 ne plaise que j'aie voulu t'empecher de finir tes projets avec 
 D . . . ; mais te mettre sur tes gardes. Pour le M. (margrave), 
 il est enrage centre votre nation, mais plus centre D.M. II 
 ne repondra d'aucune maniere a ses lettres ; le silence du 
 mepris le plus profond est ce qu'il rendra. Lord Thurlow dine 
 ici dimanche. Crois que j'userai de men ascendant pour men 
 bonheur. Jamais je n'ai ete aussi necessaire au M. (Mar- 
 grave) ; son ame timide se refugie aupres de la mienne. . . . 
 
 ^ In taking leave of the Brandenburgh House, and the Margravine 
 of Anspach as a dramatist and actress, it should be noted that she is 
 credited with the authorship of the following plays : (i) The Sonnam- 
 bule or Sleep-walker, 177^, published in i2mo; (2) T/ie Miniatitre 
 Picture, 1781, comedy, 8vo ; (3) The Silver Tankard, Musical Farce, 
 8vo ; (4) The Arcadian Pastoral, Musical Piece, 1782 (not printed) ; 
 (5) The Statue's Feast, 1782, Pantomime (not printed) ; (6) The York- 
 shire Ghost, 1792, Comedy (not printed) ; (7) Princess of Georgia, 1799, 
 Opera (not printed) ; (8) Puss in Boots, 1799, Pantomime ; (9) Nourjad, 
 1803, Dramatic Poem (not printed) ; (10) Love in a Convent. 1S05, 
 Comedy (not printed).
 
 cvi THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 II est venu une lettre le chercher pour finir racquisition de 
 Colney-Chapell. J'ai command^ la voiture ; je me suis mise 
 tres-proprement et je I'ai accompagne. Je sais le flatter ct le 
 consoler. Le peuple me salue et dit : There she is ! II est 
 enchante ! Quand je suis venue aupres du lit pour le faire 
 lever, il reflechissait au lieu de dormir. II ne parla que de la 
 noirceur de D.M. contre moi. . . . Vouloir lui oter sa femme ! 
 le brouiller avec sa femme ! II ne pent digerer cela. Et puis 
 il dit : quand tu me quitterais, pense-t-il, lui, qu'il me con- 
 solerait ? . , . Dieu m'est temoin que renoncer a te voir pour 
 quelques semaines, c'est renoncer au seul plaisir que j'aie. 
 Mais dans I'etat actuel des choses, ton depart donnerait le 
 dernier coup de main aux droits que j'ai acquis sur le M. 
 (margrave). Tous les autres ont tort, et toi tu es le seul qui 
 du moins ne I'as pas trompe. Je t'embrasse et te prie de 
 m'envoyer dans ta derniere lettre une croix dans un coin que 
 tu auras baise avec ta bouche . . ., que j'y porte mes levres. 
 . . . Adieu, mon cher et unique ami ; aime-moi bien. En te 
 soignant de corps et d'ame, tu peux me prouver si tu desires 
 de me rendre heureuse. . . . 
 
 Thurlow's friendship for the Margravine never varied, 
 and as time went on her position in society improved, 
 although George III, Queen Charlotte, and the " dear 
 Princesses " never admitted her to their presence or 
 darkened the doors of Brandenburg House. Anna Seward, 
 who died in 1809, saw her at Buxton some time in the 
 last decade of the eighteenth century, but no women ever 
 gave fewer dates than the " Swan of Lichfield," who 
 records the fact that the " fair and frail Margravinia of 
 Anspach " arrived at the already fashionable spa attended 
 only by domestics : — ■ 
 
 "The pride of virtue seemed prodigiously to alarm our 
 ladies about the manner in which it would be proper to 
 treat her ; or whether they were to receive or decline her 
 civilities should they be offered ; but the consultations
 
 INTRODUCTION cvii 
 
 proved needless, — she has Hved wholly in private. I 
 have seen her only once — it was on the stairs. On my 
 stopping to give her way, a radiant smile of conciliation 
 beamed upon her eye and lip. I sighed to think that the 
 heart, whose effulgence that engaging smile seemed to be, 
 could ever have been libertine."^ 
 
 This may possibly have occurred after the death of the 
 Margrave, but the account already given of the Brandcn- 
 burgh House Theatricals abundantly shows that a good 
 many smart ladies were willing to participate in the 
 gaieties over which the Princess Berkeley presided with 
 so much grace and such untiring energy. 
 
 Amongst her regular correspondents was Charles Kirk- 
 patrick Sharpe, who has left a description of her as she was 
 some time after her return to England. " When I was 
 first acquainted with her," he wrote, " she had the remains 
 of much beauty, which she disfigured with an immense 
 quantity of rouge and burnt cork as I think, on her 
 eyebrows. She was very graceful, and could assume, 
 when she pleased, the manners of the best times. "^ 
 Beckford, too, was one of her circle, and addressed to her 
 more than one of his quaint letters. 
 
 WILLIAM BECKFORD TO THE MARGRAVINE OF ANSPACH 
 
 FONTHILL, i^th Jan., 1797. 
 I am as hoarse as a Frog and croak dismally. This 
 wretched Climate whether on the Banks of the Thames 
 or on those of the humble River Nadder which be- 
 vapours Fonthill is equally abominable. Nothing short 
 of your Star could enliven our soaking Country or render 
 it in any degree tolerable. Commend me to K's joke 
 
 ^ E. V. Lucas : A Swan and her Friends, p. 225. 
 * Sharpe: Letters, I, 31.
 
 cviii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 about Lady Narcissa — I enjoy it prodigiously. Turbot 
 did quite right in not epistolizing me — ^I hate Letters of 
 apphcation or remuneration or any other ation. 
 
 How do you hke Evelina P I always thought some 
 of the Chorusses, the Duett, etc., equal to Sacchini's 
 finest juvenile performances ; and yet he was almost 
 besotted with liqueurs and Maccaroni pye when he com- 
 posed this Opera. Too copious a dose of the good things 
 just mentioned put him out just as he had got into the 
 Third Act. Pray, if the rot should continue in the great 
 family you know where, have you not a chance of be- 
 coming a Queen ? I doubt much whether that forehead 
 of yours does not teem with a Regal Diadem, I should 
 not at all be surprized at its breaking out. Some Constitu- 
 tions breed the small-pox without inoculation or infection 
 and others Royalty. Yours is up to everything. 
 
 Have you heard of the roastings whole and the most 
 monstrous punch-bowls and the ten thousand paunch- 
 fillers and the other coarse grandeurs at Fonthill ? Some 
 of the papers are almost choaked up with descriptions of 
 them, dull enough ; but not in the least exaggerated, 
 which is odd ; but everything was so huge they could not 
 magnify it. I wish you had seen the great Tent where 
 seven hundred persons eat themselves 3 parts dead. It 
 measured 85 by 70— Williams has an admirable Knack 
 at these sudden constructions. 
 
 The Margrave whose serene goodness pardons all my 
 nonsense will plead for me and not be offended at my 
 taking the Libert}'- of assuring you that I am, with sincere 
 
 bluntness, yr. affectionate friend, „ . , 
 
 The Arab.i 
 
 When the Margrave and Margravine took possession 
 of Benham, and settled down to the enjoyment of country 
 life in one of the finest mansions in Berkshire, the threat- 
 
 > Melville: Life and Letters of Williavi Beckjord, of Fonthill, 
 pp. 245, 246.
 
 INTRODUCTION cix 
 
 ened invasion of these shores by the Army of England 
 awoke an amount of military enthusiasm amongst all 
 classes which the nation had not known since the stirring 
 days of '45. The Margravine may in the days of her 
 youth have shown a weakness for that handsome diplo- 
 matist the Due de Guines and in later life for the Comte 
 de Tilly, but when it came to be a question of patriotism 
 her hatred of Bonaparte, who had not been too polite 
 to her when she discussed with him the question of the 
 neutral flag in 1801, and her detestation of the French 
 were as whole-hearted as that of the Margrave — an Anti- 
 Gallican from his youth upwards. In February, 1799, 
 she presented in person a handsome standard to the 
 Newbury Troop of Yeomanry, assembled for the occasion 
 together with the members of the Armed Association in 
 the picturesque market-place of that ancient town, which 
 then retained all the quaintness which Rowlandson per- 
 petuated a few years later. This interesting trophy is 
 still in possession of Mr. Walter Money, of Shaw Dene, 
 Donnington, by whose kindness it is now reproduced in 
 this work. The scene must have reminded the Mar- 
 gravine of the sights she had so often witnessed during 
 her travels in Germany and Russia. Having been 
 solemnly blessed by the Rev. Horace Salusbury Cotton, 
 curate of Newbury and presumably a kinsman of the 
 venerable " Queen of the Blue-Stockings," who was then 
 passing the last year of her long life at Sandleford Priory, 
 the standard was mounted on a lance eight or nine feet 
 high, carried by a cornet in the centre of the first rank 
 of the squadron of Yeomanry. It was presented to 
 Captain Townsend, an officer of the corps, and the colours 
 (after receiving the benediction of Mr. Cotton) were
 
 ex THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 placed by the Margravine in the hands of Captain Shep- 
 herd. After doing this she made the following speech : — 
 
 " Gentlemen, — It is with the most sincere satisfaction 
 I present the Colours to the Armed Association of New- 
 bury, because this Association is form'd in a County 
 which I have always preferr'd to ev'ry other, and com- 
 pos'd of People whom I have looked upon for many years 
 as my friends. I hope that this Association, like ev'ry 
 other in this loyal Island, will never be call'd upon but 
 to maintain and preserve the inestimable laws of this 
 kingdom, the welfare and prosperity of which must and 
 ever will be the dearest wishes of ev'ry English man and 
 woman. It is with the most lively sentiments of joy 
 and gratitude I reflect those wishes are best convey'd in 
 that motto which it is now my Pride and Duty to wear, 
 which I have the honour to unite with the arms of this 
 Borough. A motto ^ the sense of which doubtless will be 
 as indelibly engraved on your hearts as it is on mine. 
 
 " I beg, gentlemen, you will believe I shall never cease 
 forming the most hearty wishes for the prosperity of this 
 Borough and particularly for those who compose this 
 Armed Association — and likewise to credit my solemn 
 assurance that it is only in this Place and for the people 
 of Newbury, that I would have thus ventured to speak in 
 public on so public an occasion, but after so many proofs 
 as I have given of my constant attachment to my country 
 — and my partiality to this part of it, I should be wanting 
 in that duty I owe my neighbours and myself if I had not 
 taken this only opportunity I have ever had of proving 
 that my words will always coincide with my actions." 
 
 In the evening a public dinner took place at the Town 
 Hall, which the Margravine attended, occupying the seat of 
 
 ^ Sahis Publica. Salus Mea. The device displayed on the proposed 
 Courier de Brandenburgh is Dieu avec nous.
 
 INTRODUCTION cxi 
 
 honour. The enthusiasm of the guests was stimulated by 
 the singing by its composer of a song specially written for 
 the occasion : — 
 
 Before blest Union join'd the hands 
 
 Of Enghshman and Scot, 
 Invasion oft by Northern Bands 
 
 Was England's hapless lot. 
 
 Then Winchcombe, ' worthy wight of old, 
 
 Whose name our annals grace, 
 Call'd forth his Townsmen, brave and bold. 
 
 The Fathers of our Race. 
 
 Around his Standard quick they throng'd. 
 
 With martial ardour fir'd, 
 And to avenge their Country's wrongs. 
 
 With eager zeal aspir'd. 
 
 So now, should Gallia's hostile Swarm 
 
 Our happy shores assail. 
 Like them with equal zeal we'll arm, 
 
 With equal zeal prevail. 
 
 And if a Winchcombe could excite 
 
 Our gen'rous sires to arm, 
 Much more shall Anspach now invite, 
 
 Possess'd of every charm. 
 
 Her sacred banners then we'll swear 
 
 For ever to defend. 
 Protect our Country, guard our Fair, 
 
 Our Monarch, and our Friend. 
 
 ^ The reference is to John Winchcombe, the hero of the town. 
 Fuller calls him " the most considerable clothier (without fancj' or 
 fiction) England ever beheld. In the expedition to Flodden Field 
 against James, King of Scotland, he marched with one hundred 
 of his own men (as well armed and better clothed than any). He 
 feasted King Henry VHI, and his tirst Queen Katherine, at his own 
 house, extant at Newbury at this day. He built the Church of Newbury 
 from the pulpit westward, and died about the year 1520."
 
 cxii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 The Margravine continued to take a deep interest in the 
 affairs of the town^ in which she was evidently held in 
 high esteem. On May 3, 1800, she thus writes to the 
 Earl of Liverpool : — ^ 
 
 I should think myself highly culpable to my king and 
 country if I did not inform your Lordship that I am just 
 come out of Berkshire, and can assure you that the 
 farmers have plenty of Ricks of Corn besides their Barns 
 full, but wickedly keep up the Price, and make great dis- 
 contents about Oxford as from that part of the Country 
 they have their Corn from the Newbury Market now, 
 whereas before this pretended scarcity all about the 
 Country from Ox^ to Newbury the Corn was sent to the 
 Newbury Wharf — If Government cannot extend their 
 Power to oblige the Rich farmers to deal more humanely 
 and justly to the Public I own I wish foreign grain was 
 bought and given out so as to oblige them. Excuse 
 haste, my Lord, and let me know if you have rec^ this. 
 
 Some time between 1800 and 1805 Angelo found his 
 way to Benham, having had a general invitation from the 
 Margravine "to fish in her domains so famous for that 
 sport." He took with him " the son and partner of a 
 wealthy hop factor," to whom he gives the nickname of 
 " Young Dashem." It was in the month of June that 
 the fencing-master and his friend arrived at Newbury by 
 way of Salt Hill. At the inn (there were no hotels in 
 those days) they enjoyed an excellent supper — " a roast 
 fowl and one jorum after." The next morning they re- 
 paired to Benham. The Margravine was away, and her 
 husband taking his morning ride. " However," says 
 
 ^ See Appendix F, Vol. II, p. 260. 
 
 ^ Charles Jenkinson, first Earl of Liverpool [1727-1808]. President 
 of the Board of Trade and Foreign Plantations, August 23, 1786- 
 June 7, 1804. 
 
 I
 
 INTRODUCTION cxiii 
 
 Angelo, " I left my card, at the same time desiring the 
 servant to say I was gone to the river, about a quarter 
 of a mile from the house, to fish. As it was not the first 
 time, I was well acquainted where the best and largest 
 fish were — trout, pike, and perch. . . . My friend sud- 
 denly called out ' Here's a queer old farmer coming, to 
 call us away,' thinking we had got beyond where we 
 were allowed to fish ; ' Ay, and he will take away our 
 rods.' Before we could put up our tackle he approached 
 us. ' Mr. Angelo, I am glad to see you ; have you had 
 any sport ? ' Not a little to the surprise of my piscatorial 
 avii I replied, ' famous, your Highness.' Such a meeting 
 was so unexpected to the abashed citizen, who, a moment 
 before had sworn that ' he would push the old fellow into 
 the water before he would allow his rod to be taken 
 from him,' that he felt himself ' a fish out of water,' and 
 seemed at a loss how to make his obeisance." The Mar- 
 grave soon put the fishermen at their ease, for, Angelo 
 says, the Margrave had the appearance, as well as the 
 " ease and freedom," of a country gentleman, and they 
 were cordially invited to dine at Benham. " Here," says 
 Angelo, " was an excellent repas of two courses prepared 
 specially for us, with champagne, hock, etc. (the last had 
 long been the Brandenburgh small beer to me). . . . 
 Our dinner finished, we presented ourselves to the I\Iar- 
 grave, who, with his visitors, several emigre French 
 noblemen, were at cards. Some I was well known to at 
 Brandenburgh House, having seen me perform there — 
 
 ^ Henry Angelo's Picnic, edition 1839, pp. 76-84. Mr. Walter 
 Money points out that the fishing referred to by Angelo must have 
 been in the old River Kennet between Benham and Hampstead- 
 Marshall. See Money's Popular History of Newbury (pp. 173-S). The 
 trout of the Kennet have always been famous. 
 
 VOL \.—h
 
 cxiv THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 Counts Montalambert, Le Chasse, and D'Alet, the Mar- 
 grave's chamberlain. About eleven, sandwiches were 
 passed round ; bon soir followed." Next morning Master 
 Dashem and the Margrave were "Hail fellows ! well met." 
 The latter conducted his guest to the stables, and even 
 mounted beside him in his gig to try the paces of the 
 excellent trotter of which the " worthy cit " was pardon- 
 ably proud. This " princely reception " lasted a week, 
 and it absorbed the thoughts of Angelo's companion for 
 some time to come ; indeed, he could talk of nothing else 
 than the " dinners, the wines and the notice the Prince 
 took of him." 
 
 Like Philippe £galite, the Due de Lauzan, Comte de 
 Laraguais, and a great many other foreigners who came 
 over to this country during the last thirty years of the 
 eighteenth century. Christian Frederick, Margrave of 
 Anspach, occupied a prominent position in English 
 Turf Circles. As he did not spend any considerable time 
 in London before he took possession of the mansion hence- 
 forth to be known as Brandenburgh House in 1792, it 
 is probable that he acquired a fondness for English sport 
 from his second wife, who came of a well-known sporting 
 family and moved in a somewhat fast sporting set before 
 she set out on the travels which ultimately led to her 
 changing the position of an English peeress for that of a 
 Bavarian Margravine and a Princess of the Holy Roman 
 Empire. Lord Craven, who was himself an active member 
 of the Jockey Club and a well-known habitue of New- 
 market, was the owner of some good race-horses, and 
 within five or six years of her marriage we hear of Lady 
 Craven running an excellent horse Pastime by the Combe 
 Arabian who won many plates in heats, and occasionally
 
 CARICATUK1-: rOKlRAIT OF 1 HE MARGRAVE 
 PUBLISHED IN I793
 
 INTRODUCTION cxv 
 
 ran in Lord Craven's name.^ As we have already seen, 
 the two last Earls of Barrymore James Gillray's " Hell- 
 gate " and " Cripplegate," Sir John Lade and Mr. 
 " Jockey " Vernon were amongst the guests at the Bran- 
 denburgh House Theatricals, and they doubtless in- 
 fluenced the resolution of the Margrave to go in for sport. 
 A little later he had a breeding establishment at Benham, 
 almost withm sight of the present popular Newbury 
 race-course. Mr. Dixon has ransacked every available 
 source of information in search of reliable information 
 as to what the Margrave actually achieved, but in those 
 days " horses were run in anyone's name ; no assumed 
 name was registered, and there is practically no means 
 of identifying horses and their owners, save such as have 
 made a permanent mark in turf history." Mr. Dixon 
 has succeeded in discovering that the Margrave was the 
 owner of Augusta, Grey Gawkey, and the Woodpecker 
 mare. The latter was bred by Lord Egremont, and was 
 by Woodpecker, dam by Sweetbriar out of Buzzard's 
 dam, and she was very nearly allied to that famous horse 
 who was by Woodpecker. The only foal to which the 
 Margrave's name is added as the breeder is a b. c. by Sir 
 Peter Teazle, foaled in 1799, and named Young Sir Peter, 
 this being the only mention made of him in the official 
 publications. The mare apparently passed into the 
 hands of Lord Egremont again, and then General Mc- 
 Pherson, Mr. Spencer, and Lord Grosvenor appear as her 
 owners. Curiously enough she seems always to have been 
 mated to Sir Peter Teazle. In 1800 she had a brown filly, 
 
 ^ In the issue of The Field for August 12, 1912, there is an excellent 
 article on the jMargrave of Anspach as a sportsman by Mr. William 
 Scarth Dixon, to whom the Editors are indebted for many interesting 
 details in this particular connection.
 
 cxvi THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 which subsequently became the dam of Interloper, who 
 was a first-class race-horse ; her last foal being Chester, 
 who won several races for Lord Grosvenor and other 
 owners, and ran third in the Derby of 1808 to Pan and 
 Vandyke. 
 
 Grey Gawkey was bred by Sir Charles Bunbury, and 
 was by Mambrino out of Gawkey's dam. She passed 
 through several hands before she came into the Margrave's 
 stud, and for him she only bred a brown filly by Sir Peter 
 Teazle, about whom there seems to be no record. Grey 
 Gawkey bred one useful horse. Prisoner, a grey colt by 
 Guildford or His Lordship, who won some races for 
 Sir H. Lippincott. It should be added that Grey Gawkey 
 was once in the Prince of Wales's stud. Augusta, the 
 remaining mare, was by far the best, and she was a very 
 fashionably bred one, being by Eclipse out of Hardwicke's 
 dam, by Herod, her dam by Bajazet — Regulus— Lonsdale 
 Arabian, and through Bay Bolton a direct lineal de- 
 scendant of the Darley Arabian. Hardwicke, who 
 eventually came into the possession of the Prince of Wales, 
 won the Claret Stakes for his royal owner, and was only 
 three times beaten, once in a match by Rockingham, who 
 at his best was a great horse. Augusta was bred by 
 the Prince of Wales, and went into Mr. O'Kelly's stud. 
 She was a year there, and then went to a Mr. Wilson's 
 whence after another year she returned to Mr. O' Kelly. 
 After being three years with him she was sold to the 
 Margrave, who had her to the end of her career with the 
 exception of one year (1800), when she appears in the 
 Stud Book as the property of the Duke of Gloucester. 
 The first foal she bred for the Margrave was Young 
 Augusta, by Young Eclipse, about whom nothing more
 
 INTRODUCTION cxvii 
 
 is heard. Then she had a chestnut colt to an Arab of 
 which history has nothing to say. Her next foal was 
 Young EcHpse, by Young Eclipse, who appears in the 
 Stud Book as bred by the Duke of Gloucester. This was 
 a useful horse, and won a few races in the name of a Mr. 
 Goddard. In the following year she had a filly to Young 
 Eclipse, the Margrave being given as the breeder. These 
 curious changes of ownership for just one year and back 
 again make one inclined to think that there might be some 
 partnership. The Margrave was very friendly with the 
 English royal family — at any rate, with that part of it 
 which found its way on to the race-course, and it is quite 
 possible that there might have been some sort of arrange- 
 ment amongst them. Young Eclipse, too, running in the 
 name of Mr. Goddard, might have been owned by the 
 Margrave and the Duke of Gloucester as partners or by 
 one of them, but, of course, this is merely surmise, and 
 there it had better be left. 
 
 Augusta's last foal was Hector by Highover, a son of 
 Highflyer, and was foaled in 1803. He was a grey colt 
 and a very promising one to boot, and the Margrave 
 had the highest opinion of him. He was in failing health 
 at this time, and took the precaution to enter the horse in 
 another name than his own. So one reads under the 
 nominations for the Derby of 1806, " Lord Spencer 
 Chichester names the Margrave of Anspach's gr. c. by 
 Highover out of Augusta," and that is the only time I 
 can find the Margrave's name in the Calendar. Shortly 
 before he died the Margrave impressed upon his wife the 
 high opinion he had of Hector, and begged her not to part 
 with the horse in case of his death, but to keep and run 
 him in the Derby, which he thought the horse would
 
 cxviii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 be sure to win. The Margravine promised, but though 
 undoubtedly a good horse, Hector could only get third to 
 Lord Foley's Paris and Lord Egremont's Trafalgar. He 
 ran in the Margravine's name, and this is the last time 
 her name appears in the Calendar. Hector next ran in 
 the name of Lord Darlington and was beaten in the 
 attempt to give Achilles, whom he had beaten cleverly 
 in the Derby, 3 lb. over the Abingdon Mile. He won a 
 match or two for Lord Darlington, but perhaps his Derby 
 performance was his best. Some of these circumstances 
 are alluded to vaguely by the Margravine in her Memoirs, 
 which it must be remembered were written twenty years 
 after her husband's death. 
 
 When Christian Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburgh, 
 Anspach, and Bayreuth, surrendered his dominions 
 to King Frederick William II with a view of living per- 
 manently in his wife's country, he was already fifty-six. 
 Hopelessly overshadowed by the energy and brilliancy 
 of the Margravine, who was fourteen years his junior, 
 we hear little of his life in England, outside the few facts 
 which are vouchsafed us mainly through the researches 
 of Mr. Dixon concerning his fondness for horse-breeding 
 and the race-course. Both at Benham and Brandenburgh 
 House it was the Margravine who assumed the supreme 
 command— a fact which is abundantly demonstrated by 
 the correspondence concerning a disputed right of way 
 which appears to have taken place in 1798 between the 
 imperious mistress of Benham and Colonel Dundas, who 
 commanded the Berks Provisional Cavalry. The Mar- 
 gravine's answer to the Colonel's temperate letter of 
 apology is a very curious document. It runs as 
 follows : —
 
 INTRODUCTION cxix 
 
 Upon enquiry the Mar^^ finds the commanding officer is 
 Col. Dundas, who should e'en now have done himself the honor 
 of making liimself known to the Margrave, by having waited 
 on him with all the officers of the Corps to comphment so 
 good, so great a man on his arrival in Berkshire. The Mar- 
 gravine is authorised to tell Mr. Dundas this, having in the 
 whole empire of Germany as well as Russia received such and 
 more civility, tho' she was only a passenger in those coun- 
 tries, because she was a peeress of England, and now she has 
 informed him how gentlemen behave to princes and peers, 
 she informs him that she had the happiness of living at 
 Benham before M^ Dundas came into the country, and with 
 L*^ Craven, her late husband, whose determination then, as 
 well as her's is now, never to permit any one to make a 
 passage thro' Benham Hoe, or any other Benham, the j\Iar- 
 gravine being now in possession of Hampstead, Benham and 
 all her son's manorial rights, will preserve them to her son 
 inviolable, always glad to fulfil her late lord's intentions, not- 
 withstanding of doing anything she can do to oblige any 
 resident near her, when they don't forget what she is, and the 
 obligations the whole nation as well as Berkshire are under 
 to the best of princes, and most excellent of men, her present 
 husband. 
 
 This storm in a tea-cup must have blown over, or the 
 imposing military ceremonial of the following year would 
 never have taken place. ^ " The best of princes and most 
 excellent of men " did not live long to enjoy the tran- 
 quillity of a rural life, and under the date of January 5, 
 1806, the Gentleman's Magazine^ announced in pompous 
 terms the demise, " at his seat at Benham, near New- 
 bury, after an illness of only three days, his Serene 
 Highness Christian Frederick Charles Alexander, Mar- 
 grave of Brandenburgh, Anspach, and Bayreuth, Duke 
 of Prussia, Count of Sayn, etc., etc., born February 24, 
 
 ^ See ante, pp. cix-cxi, and The History of Speen, by W. Money, 
 rp. 97-101. 2 Vol. LXXVI, Part I, p. 91.
 
 cxx THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 1736." After setting forth his near relationship to " the 
 present Royal Family," the writer of the obituary goes 
 on to say that " having relinquished all his power, im- 
 portance and rank, he came and spent the rest of his life 
 in a country where he could have but a nominal title, 
 without any one civil or political privilege. His goodness 
 of heart and extreme affability endeared him to all ranks 
 of people who knew him, either as a sovereign or an 
 individual. His remains were interred in a sumptuous 
 and splendid manner, the procession being very numer- 
 ous and grand, in the church of Speen near Newbury." 
 And then comes a good word for the disconsolate widow : 
 " The Margravine, so well known and justly celebrated 
 for her theatrical performances at her elegant theatre in 
 Brandenburgh House, acquires a personal property of near 
 £150,000 sterling by the death of the Margrave. The 
 funeral procession of the dead Margrave must have at 
 once astonished and impressed the great concourse of 
 people which assembled from the whole country-side to 
 witness it, as well as the loyal Speen volunteers who 
 ' attended to keep order, and also to pay respect to the 
 late liberal patron of the corps.' After two mutes and 
 ' a board of feathers dressed with pendants,' marched 
 ' twenty-two gentlemen two and two, with silk scarves 
 and hat-bands,' followed by ' the Groom of the Chamber, 
 mounted on a horse dressed with black velvet and 
 escutcheons, carrying the Crown and Cushion.' The late 
 Margrave's private horse, 'put in mourning,' was led 
 immediately behind the gorgeous coffin covered with 
 crimson velvet, and then came coaches-and-six occupied 
 by Mr. Keppel Craven, apparently chief mourner. Lord 
 Craven and Mr. Berkeley Craven. The children of the
 
 INTRODUCTION cxxi 
 
 Margravine of Anspach by her first marriage proved 
 more forgiving than those of her contemporary Mrs. 
 Piozzi, but then the second husband of one lady was 
 of royal descent, while that of the widow of Henry 
 Thrale was a mere musician. There is not a single word 
 in the Speen registers to record the burial of the Margrave 
 of Anspach. Possibly the Margravine considered that in 
 the case of so illustrious a personage no such formality 
 was needed. Be this as it may her principal preoccupa- 
 tion for some time to come was to do honour to his 
 memory." 
 
 The splendid cenotaph ^ which she erected as a memorial 
 was for many years a landmark for travellers on the 
 Bath Road. 2 By the unfortunate use of the term 
 " mausoleum " an erroneous idea got abroad that the 
 Margrave had actually been buried there, but there can 
 be no possible doubt as to his interment at Speen Church, 
 of which there is abundant evidence. Possibly the error 
 was fostered by the caretaker, who reaped a rich harvest 
 by showing the building to the numerous passengers by 
 the stage-coaches which then thronged the great highway. 
 The whole structure was removed after the death of the 
 Margravine, and the materials sold by auction, but its 
 site can still be identified by the difference in the brick- 
 work of the wall, where the opening leading to it has 
 
 1 See Vol. II, p. 234. 
 
 - Mr. Walter Money, f.s.a., informs us that the handsome iron 
 gates leading to the cenotaph, erroneously called a mausoleum, now 
 form the entrance to the " Firs," Furze Hill, near Benham. The pillars 
 are ornamented at the top with bold battleaxe terminations, while the 
 vertical bars are ornamented with massive spear-head points. The 
 handsome armorial achievements still to be seen at the lodge entrances 
 to Benham were removed by the Margravine of Anspach from the 
 stately mansion erected by the first Lord Craven at Hampstead- 
 Maraliall after its destruction by tire.
 
 cxxii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 been filled up. The white marble monument by Canova 
 which was originally placed in the interior of the com- 
 memorative building at Benham was removed and 
 erected near the place of burial, in the north wall of the 
 Castillion aisle of Speen Church. ^ It comprises a medal- 
 lion portrait of the Margrave and a representation of 
 his widow weeping over an urn, above which is the motto 
 Salus Puhlica Salus Mea. It bore originally an epitaph 
 evidently written by the Margravine : — 
 
 " Sacred to the Memory of the best of Sovereigns and 
 men, the Margrave of Anspach, who died at Benham 
 Valence, on the 5th January, 1806, aged sixty-nine years 
 and eleven months." 
 
 Subsequent to the removal of the monument to Speen 
 this was changed to : — 
 
 " In Memory of the Margrave of Anspach, who died at 
 Benham, 5th January, 1806." 
 
 In explanation of the alteration of the inscription it 
 is stated that a former Vicar of Speen had grave doubts 
 as to the Margrave's orthodoxy. Possibly he did not know 
 that by his orders a private chapel had been added to the 
 domestic arrangements of Brandenburgh House. There 
 was, however, still worse to come, for in 1869 the monu- 
 
 ^ On the death of the Margravine in 1S28 Mr. Richard Keppel 
 Craven inherited Benham Valence, which he subsequently sold to Mr. 
 Frederick Reid Orme Villebois, by whose orders the cenotaph was de- 
 molished in the manner described. After his death it passed into the 
 possession of the late Sir Richard Francis Sutton, whose son. Sir Richard 
 Vincent Sutton, is the present owner. No trace remains to-day of the 
 theatre which we know existed at Benham in 1803, but it has long 
 been a tradition that the pale ghost of the Margrave's widow still 
 haunts the house so closely associated with her last days in England. 
 Possibly she resents the demolition of the costly cenotaph, which cost 
 her /;50oo, or the scant courtesy with which Canova's monument has 
 been treated by two of the late Vicars of Speen,
 
 
 .:^ 
 
 i# ,d?^ 
 
 CHRISTIAX CHARLES ALEXANDER KREUERIC. MARl.RAVE 
 
 or BRANUENBURGH, ANSPACH AND BAYREUTH. DUKE OK 
 
 PRUSSIA, COMTE OK SAYN, ETC. 
 
 From an engraving; by IK 7. Fry from a drawing bv T. Vivins 
 
 a/ter a bust by the Margravine of Anspacli
 
 INTRODUCTION cxxiii 
 
 ment was bodily removed and relegated to a position of 
 undignified obscurity in the basement of the tower which 
 commemorates the virtues of the Rev. H. W. Majendie, 
 who was Vicar of Speen for half a centu^3^ It is unlikely 
 that any memorial by Canova has ever been so un- 
 worthily treated, and it is hoped that the present Vicar of 
 Speen, the Rev. Robert Bruce Dickson, will have the 
 satisfaction of seeing it restored as nearly as possible to 
 its original appropriate position.
 
 V 
 
 THE MARGRAVINE OF ANSPACH A WIDOW 
 (1806-1828) 
 
 jA FTER the death of her husband the Margravine 
 /^L continued to divide her time between Berk- 
 
 / ^ shire and Hammersmith, but a series of 
 
 "^^ disputes concerning rights of way and her 
 
 inabihty to close the pubhc pathway to Marsh Benham, 
 
 which passed close to the mansion, created a prejudice 
 
 in her mind against the place and her neighbours. 
 
 We know that in 1807 she was abroad, for on July 6, 
 1807, the Morning Post announced that " The Margra- 
 vine of Anspach very unexpectedly appeared at Anspach 
 on the ist ult. to take possession of the immediate pro- 
 perty of the late Marquis as his sole heiress." Two years 
 later the energetic hand of the untiring Margravine is 
 plainly discernible in the advertisement of a proposed 
 Courier de Brandenburgh dated December 12, 1809, and 
 surmounted by the crown and eagle with the motto 
 Dieu avec nous. This curious document is reproduced as 
 an illustration. 
 
 In 1 81 1 the Margravine of Anspach issued a sort of 
 public valedictory address couched in spirited language : — 
 
 ' ' I take this method of assuring the people of Newbury and 
 all the worthy yeomanry of the county of Berks, that I only 
 
 cxxiv 
 
 i
 
 o 
 
 "^ 3
 
 INTRODUCTION cxxv 
 
 wish that I had ten times as much landed property as I have, 
 to have ten times the means and opportunities of proving my 
 attachment to it." 
 
 On July 28, 1812, the London Gazette announced the 
 appointment of Francis Charles Seymour (1777-1842), 
 then styled Earl of Yarmouth, and who, ten years later, 
 became Marquis of Hertford, to the post of Lord of the 
 Stanneries. Amongst the Margravine's MSS., and in her 
 handwriting, are the following satirical verses, which are 
 very interesting in view of the fact that the subject of 
 them was the prototype of Thackeray's " Lord Steyne." 
 It is evident that he was at this time no favourite of 
 the writer, and it looks as if the Prince Regent of 1812 
 must have forgotten his Hammersmith hostess of twenty 
 years before. 
 
 A FREE TRANSLATION FROM HORACE 
 
 1 Come, Yarmouth, my boy, never trouble your brains 
 
 About what your old croney 
 The Emperor Boney, 
 Is doing or brewing on Muscovy's plains ; 
 
 2 Nor tremble, my lad, at the state of our granaries ; 
 
 Should there come famine. 
 Still plenty to cram in. 
 You alwaj^s shall have, my dear Lord of the Stanneries ! 
 
 3 Brisk let us revel, while revel we may ; 
 
 For the gay bloom of fifty soon passes away. 
 And then people get fat, 
 And infirm, and — all that, 
 
 4 And a Wig (I confess it) so clumsily sits. 
 
 That it frightens the little Loves out of their wits
 
 cxxvi THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 5 Thy whiskers, too, Yarmouth ! alas, even they, 
 
 Tho' so rosy they burn. 
 Too quickly must turn, 
 (What a heart-breaking change for thy whiskers !) to Grey. 
 
 6 Then why, my Lord Warden ! oh ! why should you fidget 
 
 Your mind about matters you don't understand ? 
 Or why should you write yourself down for an ideot. 
 Because " you," forsooth, " have the pen in your hand." 
 Think, think how much better. 
 Than scribbling a letter 
 (Which both you and I 
 Should avoid by the by). 
 
 7 How much pleasanter 'tis to sit under the bust 
 
 Of old Charley, my friend here, and drink like a new one ; 
 
 While Charley looks sulky and frowns at me, just 
 
 As the Ghost in the Pantomime frowns on Don Juan I 
 
 8 To crown us. Lord Warden, 
 In Cumberland's garden 
 
 Grows plenty of monk's-hood, in venemous sprigs ; 
 
 While Otto of Roses 
 
 Refreshing all noses 
 
 Shall sweetly exhale from our whiskers and wigs. 
 
 9 What youth of our Household will cool our Noyau 
 In that streamlet delicious, 
 
 That down midst the dishes, 
 All full of gold fishes 
 Romantic doth flow ? 
 
 lo Or who will repair 
 
 Unto Manchester Square 
 
 And see if the gentle Marchesa^ be there ? 
 
 ^ The Prince of Wales was then much enamoured of the Marchioness 
 of Hertford, facetiously called the " Sultana " by his satirists.
 
 INTRODUCTION cxxvii 
 
 11 Go bid her haste hither 
 And let her bring with her 
 
 The newest No-Popery Pamphlet that's going — 
 
 12 Oh ! Let her come, with her dark tresses flowing, 
 All gentle and juvenile, curly and gay 
 
 In the manner of Ackermanu's Dresses for May. 
 
 It is evident, however, that twelve months later the 
 Margravine was again in Berkshire and still preoccupied 
 about her husband's memory and place of burial, for on 
 November 9, 1813, she penned at Devizes the following 
 letter addressed to Prebendary Randolph,^ now preserved 
 in the archives of the Dean and Chapter of Bristol : — 
 
 Devizes, 9 of Nov., 1813. 
 
 Sir, — Owing to the indisposition of a young lady that 
 was with me, I could not stay to express to you my 
 Satisfaction in finding that the remaines of the Pious 
 Magnificence of my ancestors is likely to be preserved, 
 and that you Sir, will feel some Satisfaction in knowing 
 that one of their Descendants will Contribute (in) to them 
 in a manner that will add to your own amusement — 
 
 This is the second time I have paced the noble Gothic 
 arches of our Cathedral to chuse a spot where my Beloved 
 and Excellent Margrave should be placed — I think I 
 
 ^ Francis Randolph, d.d., was born at Bristol in 1752, and was 
 made a Prebendary of Bristol Cathedral until his death (at Bristol) in 
 I S3 1. He held the Chapter living of Banwell in Somerset, and was 
 also Rector of St. Paul's, Covent Garden. He was very intimate with 
 the Prince Regent, and fully counted on being made a Bishop or at 
 the least a Dean, neither of which dignities was conferred on him. 
 When the Prince became George IV, Dr. Randolph preached the 
 Coronation sermon at Bristol Cathedral, and the disappointed courtier 
 took an ample revenge. Slowly and significantly (for you may re- 
 member that the Coronation was accompanied by a great banquet in 
 Westminster Hall) he gave out the text, " Belshazzar the King made 
 a great Feast," etc., drawing a parallel between the two great feasts. 
 The daring discourse earned for Dr. Randolph the name of " Old 
 Belshazzar," which he retained up to the time of his death.
 
 cxxviii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 have found it — but I have much to observe about it — 
 and I hope you will do me the Pleasure to come to 
 Brandenburg house & while you stay there — at the same 
 time that I can arrange matters about what I have most 
 at heart. 
 
 You will be gratified to see that Brandenburg house 
 can Entertain you for some days 
 
 I beg Sir, you will not think this is Compliment — I wish 
 you to come & form an acquaintance with one who can 
 have no real pleasure on Earth now but to prove herself 
 worthy of the name she wears 
 
 Elizabeth M. of B. Anspach, Princess Berkeley. 
 
 The Abbey of St. Augustine (now the Cathedral) at 
 Bristol was founded by Robert Fitzhardinge and many 
 members of the Berkeley family are buried within its 
 walls. These facts may possibly account for the Mar- 
 gravine's idea of removing the remains of " the best of 
 Sovereigns and men " from Speen Church to the more 
 stately tomb-house of the Berkeleys in the cathedral 
 which owed its existence to their piety and generosity. ^ 
 Although Newbury formed a sort of half-way house on 
 the great highway between London and Bath, and the 
 numerous coaches, which during the opening years of the 
 nineteenth century plied daily between the metropolis 
 and the " City of Fashion," passed by the very gates of 
 Benham, we find no trace of the presence of the Mar- 
 gravine of Anspach either as a patient of the Pump Room 
 or a participator in the gaieties for which Bath was still 
 
 ^ The language of the letter addressed by the Margravine to the 
 divine she erroneously styles Uean of Bristol is curiously involved and 
 obscure. Mr. E. T. Morgan, Senior Lay Clerk, to whom the Editors are 
 indebted for a knowledge of it, points out that she was by extraction a 
 Gloucestershire woman, and that in that county the word " amuse- 
 ment " is often employed as the equivalent of gratification, satisfac- 
 tion, or pleasure.
 
 INTRODUCTION cxxix 
 
 celebrated. Very possibly the feelings which Anna 
 Seward describes when writing of her encounter with the 
 Margravine at Buxton, account for the unwillingness of 
 the mistress of Benham to risk the possibility of social 
 rebuffs at Bath. The story of her life during the twenty 
 years which elapsed between the death of the Margrave 
 in 1806 and the publication of the Memoirs in 1826 is 
 briefly summed up in her pages, from w^hich dates are 
 almost wholly omitted. It is clear that the business pil- 
 grimage to Anspach took place in the summer of 1807. 
 The fateful year 18 14 witnessed many changes in the 
 history of Europe. On March 31 Paris surrendered to 
 the Alhes. A week later Napoleon signed his first 
 abdication, and accepted the conditions which involved 
 his exile to Elba, where he arrived on May 4. The day 
 before Louis XVIII, at whose suggestion the Margravine 
 asserts she wrote her Memoirs, entered Paris in triumph. 
 In the course of this year Caroline Maria of Naples, at 
 once the friend of Elizabeth Craven and Emma Hamilton, 
 died at Vienna, but the overthrow of Napoleon did not 
 at once enable her husband Ferdinand I to return to his 
 beloved lazzaroni. Joachim Murat had trimmed his 
 political sails so successfully that he and Napoleon's 
 sister still reigned when the Princess of Wales and her 
 suite arrived there in the November which followed the 
 downfall of the Empire and the restoration of the 
 Bourbons. Amongst those who accompanied the " royal 
 wanderer " were Mr. Keppel Craven and his inseparable 
 friend Sir William Gell, upon whom Byron bestowed the 
 epithets of "rapid" and " classic." They had accepted 
 for a brief period the somewhat difficult post of Chamber- 
 lains to the eccentric lady who, not infelicitously, has 
 VOL. \.—i
 
 cxxx THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 been called a " Queen of Indiscretions." Of the festivities 
 which went on in Naples during the visit of the 
 Princess, one might have hoped for some account from 
 the pen of the Margravine, but she is discreetly silent, 
 making only a brief allusion to Lady Elizabeth Forbes, a 
 daughter of the fifth Earl of Granard by Lady Georgiana 
 Berkeley, his second wife, one of the ladies in attendance 
 on the wife of the Prince Regent — an honoured guest at 
 Hammersmith, if not at Benham.^ 
 
 In a letter of 1814 the Princess of Wales writes : — 
 
 '" The Ossulstons have followed Louis XVIII. Mr. 
 Craven is gone in the same packet, commanded by Sir J. 
 Beresford. His mother sends him to the King of Prussia 
 for the pensions as Dowager Margravine to be paid, 
 and even the arrears. His stay will be six weeks, but I 
 am afraid unsuccessful with regard to the commission." 
 
 We next hear of the presence of the Margravine at 
 Ghent, where she doubtless helped to amuse her corpu- 
 lent friend Louis XVIII during the tedium of the second 
 reign of Napoleon, which came to an end with his defeat 
 at Waterloo. The intrigues of Joachim Murat ended in 
 
 ^ A full account of the visit of the Princess of Wales in 1814-1815 
 will be found in A Queen of Indiscretions, by G. P. Clerici (John Lane, 
 1907), pp. 62-77, and An Injured Queen, by Lewis Melville (Hutchinson 
 and Co., 1912), Vol. II, pp. 333-346. On February 22, 1815, the Princess 
 wrote to Mr. Hoper that she desired her letters to be addressed to the 
 care of her bankers, " as Mr. Craven and Sir W. Gell had left her." 
 en another letter written in execrable French about this time the 
 Princess says : " Monsieur Craven j'espere aussi sera loin chez sa mere 
 qui se trouve a Marseille ; enfin cette cour grecque et philosophe sont 
 dans I'interieur des vraies Tyran [sic] et des hommes fort pen fait pour 
 faire les I'honneurs d'une cour Anglaise " (Lady Charlotte Bury's 
 Diary of a Lady in Waiting. John Lane, 1908, Vol. I, p. 308). On 
 the receipt of the news that Napoleon had landed in France, the 
 Princess left Naples for Rome, where she was on March 12. A verbatim 
 report of the important evidence given by Mr. Craven at the trialfof 
 the Queen in 1820 will be found in the official Minutes, Vol. II, pp. 
 531-548.
 
 INTRODUCTION cxxxi 
 
 the tragedy of October 13, 1815, which occurred just two 
 days before his brother-in-law, whom he had so grossly 
 betrayed, arrived at St. Helena. The Treaty of Vienna 
 restored Ferdinand I to his dominions, but he returned 
 to Naples a widower. Was it possible that the Mar- 
 gravine contemplated the possibility of becoming Queen 
 of the Two Sicilies when she returned to the scene of 
 her social triumphs of 1789 ? On the subject of her 
 final return to the beautiful Italian city of which she 
 had written with so much enthusiasm she is absolutely 
 silent, but we know that il vecchio Narone was not 
 unmindful of his former friendship, and a warm wel- 
 come was accorded to the well-dowered widow of the 
 dead Margrave, who had decided to turn her back on 
 an ungrateful and unappreciative country and make 
 Naples her home. 
 
 Ferdinand IV (as he was now styled), sometime in the 
 year 1819, is credited with having presented the Mar- 
 gravine with a tract of land at Posilipo upon which she 
 built a villa bearing a very close resemblance to Branden- 
 burgh House, which, for many years, was known as the 
 Villa Craven.^ The historian Francesco Alvino^ gives a 
 full description of the classical building, embosomed in 
 trees and commanding a magnificent view of the Bay of 
 Naples. The columns were modelled on those of the 
 Temple of Paestum, and in the gardens leading down to 
 the shore was a grotto used as a bathing-house. A path 
 
 ^ " Alia Margrav a di Anspach (per prodigalita nuova infino allora 
 nella storia del Re) fece dono Ferdinando IV. di una vasta piazza dell' 
 amenissma strada di Posillipo — e colei, per farla piii privata, la cinse 
 di muri, I'adorno di giardini e di fabbrico la sua casa." — Storia del 
 Reame di Napoli, anno 1819, lib. VIII, cap. II. 
 
 * (Francesco Alvino : II Regno di Napoli e di Licolia : (La collina 
 di Posillipo) con di legni di Achille gigante — Napoli, tipografia di 
 Giuseppe Colavita, 1845. Pasfina loo-ioi.)
 
 cxxxH THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 winding amongst the trees led to the tomb of a favourite 
 dog, on which were inscribed some verses by the Mar- 
 gravine in praise of its fidehty. The porter's lodge at 
 the entrance was constructed in the shape of a small 
 temple.^ The Villa Craven, now called the Villa Marie, 
 is the property of Signor Roberto de Sanna, and retains 
 many of the features which characterised it at the time 
 when Signor Alvino described it. 
 
 It is possible that the Villa Craven was not completed 
 
 ^ Considerable light has been thrown on the final sojourn of the 
 Mara;ravine of Anspach in Italy by the researches of Signor Salvatore 
 di Giacomo, the erudite librarian of the Biblioteca Lucchesi Palli, and 
 Mrs. Constance Hutton. Signor di Giacomo has published in French 
 a pen-picture of Ferdinand IV at Naples and Caserta in 1789, written 
 by the Margravine at the time when she asserts she was constantly in 
 the company of the King and Queen. [Mostra storica Napoletana. 
 Documenti Inediti a cura di S. di Giacomo.] He has also contributed 
 to the Giornale d' Italia of December 12, 1912, an exceedingly interest- 
 ing and important article entitled Re Nasone di profilo, which contains 
 a very full description of the romantic Villa Craven with its gardens, 
 groves, and grotto. He again asserts that it was the gift of Ferdi- 
 nand IV. Signor di Giacomo is also the author of a third article on 
 the subject of the Margravine of Anspach in the Italian Review, 
 Noi e il mondo. It is to Mrs. Hutton that we owe the discovery that 
 the town house of the Margravine is now known as No. 6 bis Chiata- 
 mone. It stood formerly close to the sea, but much of the foreshore 
 having been reclaimed it is now further inland. It was here that the 
 family portraits by Reynolds were preserved for many years. Augustus 
 Craven sold the house to the Marchese d'Azzia, whose only daughter 
 married the Marchese Bonelli. Since 1828 another floor has been 
 added to the original building. 
 
 From an abstract of the title-deeds furnished by the late pro- 
 prietor, it appears that on September 4, 181 7, Elizabeth, Margravine 
 of Anspach (her other titles are also set forth), purchased the site 
 " with the view of erecting a garden and villa," and that certain vine- 
 yards, with a tank and other accessories, were acquired on March 27, 
 1819, by Richard Keppel Craven. Portions of the estate were sold by 
 Mr. Craven in 1832 and 1834. By his will, proved after his death on 
 June 26, 1851, the villa passed to Adelaide and Clotilde Capece Minu- 
 tolo, daughters of the legatee, the Marchesa della Sonoro, who had 
 predeceased Mr. Craven. The villa was sold in 1S76 to Signor Traversi, 
 during whose ownership it was known as the Villa Traversi. The next 
 owner was the diplomatist Antonio Tittoni. It was finally acquired 
 in 1907 by Signor Roberto de Sanna who has just died. It is curious 
 that in the abstract of title no mention is made of Ferdinand IV. 
 Possibly he only authorised the Margravine as a foreigner to acquire 
 land in Naples.
 
 INTRODUCTION cxxxiii 
 
 in 1 82 1, when the following curious letter was written by 
 the Margravine to the Earl of Huntingdon on his arrival 
 in Naples : — 
 
 Pallazo Rocelli,^ Strada Rocelli, Naples, 
 
 March 30, 1821. 
 
 The Margravine of Anspach, Princess Berkeley hear- 
 ing that Lord Huntingdon is arrived ; begs to claim 
 relationship with him — and wishes him to come without 
 ceremony to dine with her to-day, or let her know at 
 what o'clock he will call on her to-morrow and wishes 
 she may have an opportunity of repaying in his person 
 the civilities in kindnesses she experienced from his 
 Predecessor the late Earl. 
 
 The Earl of Huntingdon. 2 
 
 The Villa Craven, however, was evidently finished in 
 1823, when Lady Blessington visited Naples. ^ Her 
 biographer. Madden, speaks with enthusiasm of the 
 " beautifully situated villa, hanging over the bay and 
 
 ^ This mansion, in the Via dei Mile, still belongs to the family of 
 the Princes Rocelli. We know it was let in 1824 to I\Iary, Countess 
 of Coventry, who occupied the pianomobile until 1S40. It is possible 
 that three j^ears previous^ the Margravine of Anspach may have been 
 the guest of the owner, or have rented a portion of it before taking 
 possession of her new home. 
 
 * In the possession of Mr. A. M. Broadley. Hans Francis Hastings 
 [1779-1S2S] was allowed the Earldom of Huntingdon on January 19, 
 1819, in succession to his remote kinsman Francis, tenth Earl [1729- 
 17S9]. 
 
 ^ During her residence at Naples calumny continued to pursue the 
 widowed Margravine. Lady Charlotte Bury was responsible for more 
 than one unfounded rumour, of which the following is an example : — 
 
 " Captain Hesse was reported to be a natural son of the Duke of 
 York. He served as one of Wellington's aides-de-camp, but a flirtation 
 with the Princess Charlotte ruined him. He went abroad and lived at 
 Naples, until he became the lover, under the auspices of the jMar- 
 gravine of Baireuth, of the Queen, and was exiled from thence " 
 {Diary of a Lady-in-Waiting, Vol. I, p. 155). 
 
 There does not seem to be the remotest foundation for the assertion. 
 As Signor S. di Giacomo points out, the second (and presumably mor- 
 ganatic) wife of the now aged Ferdinand, Donna Lucia Partanna, 
 Duchess of Floridia, " never discussed politics or attempted intrigues."
 
 cxxxiv THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 commanding views of Nicida and part of Baia." The 
 mistress of the house had now lost all traces of the 
 beauty still reflected in the canvases of Gainsborough, 
 Romney, and Reynolds and the sculpture of Houdon. 
 In his biography of Lady Blessington, in many ways the 
 counterpart of the Margravine of Anspach, and who, 
 like her, died in a foreign country, having to a great extent 
 outlived her fame. Madden also writes after visiting the 
 Villa Craven : " The grounds were laid out with great 
 care, under the immediate direction of the Margravine," 
 he has recorded. " I have seen her, a few years before 
 her death, working in her garden, spade in hand, in very 
 coarse and singular attire, a desiccated, antiquated piece 
 of mortality, remarkable for vivacity, realising the idea 
 of a galvanised Egyptian mummy. "^ 
 
 It was at Naples that the Margravine of Anspach 
 wrote the Memoirs given to the world in 1826, when the 
 writer was in her seventy-sixth year. Possibly she 
 received some aid from her son, or his friend Sir William 
 Gell, but we know that up to the last she made good use 
 of her pen, although much that she then wrote has now 
 lost all interest. The sensation caused by the appearance 
 of the Memoirs has already been spoken of. How much 
 the Margravine might have told us of the English visitors 
 she delighted to welcome to the Villa Craven or No. 6 bis 
 Via Chiatamone ! One might have expected some 
 account of the uprising of 1820, which once more drove 
 King Ferdinand from his throne, only to be brought back 
 by the force of Austrian bayonets. Her passion for 
 horticulture seems to have outlived her literary activity, 
 for her death may be traced to her persistency in digging 
 
 ^ Madden : Lady Blessington, II, 126.
 
 INTRODUCTION cxxxv 
 
 on a wet day until she was wet through. The result was a 
 chill, succeeded by a fever, which she had not strength 
 to throw off.i She passed away in her seventy-eighth 
 year in January, 1828, and was interred in the old 
 British cemetery at Naples. 2 The entry on the oihcial 
 register is : " Elizabeth Marg: Brand: Anspach was 
 buried in the old British Cemetery Jan. 13, 1828, aged 
 yy." To the funds of this burial-ground she and her son 
 had, three years before, liberally contributed. In the 
 same tomb (still carefully looked after) Sir William Gell 
 found a last resting-place only eight years later, and her 
 son (the " pupil " of the Memoirs) in June, 1851.^ The 
 tomb, which is an exceedingly handsome one, was 
 restored in 1897 by Henry Chandos-Pole Gell, of Hopton, 
 Derbyshire, and Philip Lyttelton Gell, of Balliol College, 
 Oxford. 
 
 Elizabeth, Baroness Craven, Margravine of Anspach 
 and Bayreuth, and in her own right Princess Berkeley 
 of the Holy Roman Empire, was neither a great writer 
 nor, possibly, what the world calls a good woman, but 
 she exercised for a lengthy period power of fascination, 
 which many of her contemporaries doubtless envied. 
 Gifted with a ready wit, and wielding a fluent pen, she 
 was probably more feared than loved. Her beauty was 
 of a very high order, although it had greatly faded when 
 
 ^ Duke of Buckingham and Chandos : Private Diary, I, 244. 
 
 * The old Protestant cemetery at Naples is situated to the north 
 of the Central Railway Station, to the west of the Piazza I'Aranccia, 
 and between the Via Miraglia and the Via Martiri d'Otranto. 
 
 ' IMr. Keppel Craven also owned the Castello di Penta, near Salerno. 
 This he bequeathed to his " faithful secretary," Andrea Pasquini. The 
 town house, 6 bis Chiatamone, passed to Augustus and Pauline 
 Craven (see aw^e, p. Ixxii). They, to a great extent, form the subject 
 of the book Paolina Craven e la sua famiglia, by Teresa Raveschieri, 
 published by Cav. Antonio Morano at Naples in 1S92.
 
 cxxxvi THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 she returned to England at the mature age of forty-two 
 to preside over the cosmopohtan entertainments of 
 Brandenburgh House, and, a httle later, the county 
 gatherings at Benham. As an actress she was at least 
 equal to Albinia, Countess of Buckinghamshire, and the 
 other noble actors and actresses immortalised by Gillray 
 in the somewhat cruel caricatures already referred to. In 
 her relations to Lord Craven she was possibly more sinned 
 against than sinning, and it must not be forgotten that 
 she retained the sympathy and affection not only of 
 her favourite son, but of nearly all the other children 
 of her first marriage. She was hospitable to a fault, 
 loyal to her friends, and capable of true patriotic 
 feeling, as shown in the days of storm and stress 
 when Napoleon threatened England with invasion. 
 Having legally married the Margrave of Anspach, the 
 dream of her life was to be received at the English Court — 
 not only as the consort of the great -nephew of Caroline, 
 sometimes styled the Magnificent, but as Princess 
 Berkeley in her own right. Queen Charlotte, who, if 
 strictly virtuous, was never broad-minded, willed it 
 otherwise, but this bitter disappointment did not prevent 
 the ostracised Margravine proving herself, at an emer- 
 gency, worthy of the traditions of the race from which 
 she sprang. The Editors venture to think that her per- 
 sonal reminiscences in their present shape will throw some 
 light both on the social and political history of an excep- 
 tionally interesting, if exceptionally troublous, epoch.
 
 TOMB OF THE MARliRAVlNE OF ANSPACH, SIR W. GKLL AND THE 
 
 HONBLE. KEPPEL CRAVEN IN THE OLD BRITISH CEMETERY AT 
 
 NAPLES
 
 A LIST OF PORTRAITS OF 
 ELIZABETH BERKELEY 
 
 AFTERWARDS LADY CRAVEN AND THE 
 MARGRAVINE OF ANSPACH 
 
 1. At Berkeley Castle there is a group in oils by Ozias Humphrey, which 
 includes portraits of the following : — 
 
 Earl Berkeley. 
 Captain Berkeley. 
 Countess of Granard. 
 Lady Graves. 
 Lady Craven. 
 Lord Craven. 
 Hon. Berkeley Craven. 
 Hon. Keppel Craven. 
 
 This was reproduced in the Eiii^Ush Illustrated Magazine for January, 
 1889, in an article entitled " Glimpses of Old English Homes," page 291, 
 No. 6, Berkeley Castle. 
 
 2. EHzabeth Lady Craven, in the possession of T. Floyd, Esq., of Hermit- 
 age, Newbury. Artist unknown. 
 
 3. Elizabeth Margravine of Anspach. Attributed to Thomas Gains- 
 borough. Reproduced in The Connoisseur, March, 1912. The original 
 is in the possession of Mrs. Lacy Lacy. 
 
 4. Lady Craven Crayon drawing, by Hugh Douglas Hamilton. Exhibited 
 Society of Artists, 1775. 
 
 5. Elizabeth Lady Craven, by Thomas Be.ich. Exhibited Society of 
 Artists, 1776, as portrait of a Lady with a harp. 
 
 6. The Margravine of Anspach, by Ozias Humphrey. Vol. I of Foster's 
 Miniattires. Facing page 72, plate 49. 
 
 7. Her Serene Highness the Margravine of Anspach and Child, by Sir 
 Joshua Reynolds, to whom she sat in March, 1 781. This picture was 
 engraved by H. Meyer. The original unfinished painting is now in the 
 possession of Lord Leconfield. Exhibited R. A. , 1781.
 
 cxxxviii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 8. Elizabeth, Countess of Craven, by Romney, 1778. Formerly in the 
 collection of Horace Walpole, at Strawberry Hill ; now in the National 
 Gallery. This was reproduced in The Magazine of Art, page 192, 
 1S99. 
 
 9. The Margravine of Anspach, the original of which is in the Fishmongers 
 Hall. Painted 1793 > ^ copy or replica of this was published in The 
 Connoisseur, October, 1904, together with the Margrave. An eni;;raving 
 of this by Ridley was published in The Monthly Mirror, March, iSol, as 
 being after Reynolds. 
 
 10. Lady Craven, by Sir Joshua Reynolds ; sold at Greenwoods, April 16, 
 1796, for eleven guineas, to Downman. 
 
 11. The Margravine of Anspach, by George Place. Exhibited Iv. A., 1797- 
 
 12. The Margravine of Anspach. A miniature engraved by Ridley, 1801. 
 
 13. From The Town and Country Magazine. The Literary Traveller (The 
 Margravine), The German Correspondent (The Margrave). 
 
 14. Lord Sefton has a portrait of the Margravine. 
 
 15. The Dowager Lady Craven also has a miniature of Lady Craven, which 
 I have not been able to see, nor have I any description of it. 
 
 16. There are two caricatures of the Margravine, neither of which I have 
 been able to trace, but I shall be greatly obliged if any correspondent can 
 supply me with copies or descriptions of them. 
 
 JOHN LANE. 
 The Bodley Head, 
 
 Vigo Street, W.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 VOLUME I 
 
 PACE 
 
 Editors' Note ix-xii 
 
 Introduction ........ xiii-cxxxvi 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 My birth and family connexions — -A governess selected for me — 
 Her character and disinterestedness — Lord Nugent, my 
 mother's second husband — Lady Berkeley's conduct to me — 
 We make our first excursion to Paris — Duke of Richmond 
 Ambassador there — We keep open house — My brother, the 
 Earl of Berkeley, joins us from Turin — Lord Bottetourt — 
 Lord Forbes — Strange occurrence at a Bal Masque — Our 
 return to England — Lord Forbes proposes to my sister. Lady 
 Georgiana, who is presented at Court, and concludes the day 
 by running away with him ...... 1-20 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 The sensations produced by this event on our family and guar- 
 dians, Lord Boston and Lord Vere— Music Meeting at Glou- 
 cester — i\Ir. Howard, Marquis de Fitz-James — I am presented 
 at Court — Lord Wenman — Mr., afterwards Lord Craven — 
 His proposal of marriage, and settlements — My marriage — 
 Presented to my husband by the Duke of Richmond — Birth of 
 two daughters — Mr. Craven succeeds to the title — His conduct 
 and character — Earl of Warwick — Countess of Denbigh — 
 Rev. Mr. Jenner — My reception at Coventry — Duke and 
 Duchess of Marlborough — Illness occasioned by the hurry 
 of the christening of my son Keppel — Lady Albemarle his 
 godmother — Admiral Keppel godfather — My life preserved 
 by the celebrated Jenner . . . . . 21-41 
 
 cxxxix
 
 cxl CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 PAGE 
 
 A change in Lord Craven's conduct discovered : represented to 
 me by Lord Macartney — My remonstrances — Lord Craven 
 goes over to the Continent — He declares to me his resolution 
 to separate from me — My conduct and remarks on that occa- 
 sion — Mr. Johnson, Lord Craven's brother-in-law, sent to 
 advise — Lord Craven's departure, and the cessation of all 
 future intercourse — Lord Berkeley advises me to consult my 
 friends — I apply to Lords Thurlow and Loughborough — 
 Leave England for France — Duke and Duchess d'Harcourt — 
 I quit France for Italy ...... 42-79 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 I leave Italy for Vienna — My reception there by the Emperor — 
 Prince Kaunitz — I quit Vienna, and proceed to Cracow — I 
 reach Warsaw, and am presented to the King of Poland — 
 Princess Czartoriska — Princess de Radzivil — From Warsaw I 
 set out for St. Petersburg — My arrival there — I am presented 
 to the Empress Catherine — Princess Dashkoff — The Grand 
 Duchess — Prince Potemkin — Prince Repnin and Prince Kour- 
 akin — Moscow — Arrival at Constantinople — M. de Choiseul 
 — The Sultan — Sir Richard Worsley — Leave Constantinople 
 for Athens, and return to London .... 80-106 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 My arrival in England — Lady Berkeley approves my plan of 
 passing some time at Anspach with the Margrave and Mar- 
 gravine — I write to Lord Craven — My arrival at Anspach — 
 History of the Margrave and Margravine — Court of Anspach 
 
 107-125 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 Mademoiselle Clairon — Her conduct to the Margrave during her 
 residence at Anspach — Her letters to him — Singular story re- 
 lating to her 126-141
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Elizabeth Lady Craven . . . . Frontisj>iece 
 
 From a picture in the possession of T. Floyd, Esq., of Hermitage, facini; page 
 Newbury. 
 
 Elizabeth Lady Craven, wife of William, sixth Lord 
 Craven, nee Lady Elizabeth Berkeley, afterwards 
 Margravine of Anspach and Princess Berkeley . x 
 
 From the portrait at Combe Abbey, attributed to Thomas Beach. 
 
 The Margravine of Anspach . ... xii 
 
 From an engraving by H. Meyor after Reynolds. 
 
 William, sixth Lord Craven and Husband of Elizabeth, 
 
 afterwards Margravine of Anspach . . . xiv 
 
 From the portrait at Combe Abbey, attributed to Thomas Beach. 
 
 The Count (afterwards the Duke) De Guines, French 
 
 Ambassador at the Court of St. James's . . . xvi 
 
 After a me2zotint published by the artist P. Lion in London, 1774. 
 
 Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford , . . . xx 
 
 From an engraving by Wm. Daniel after G. Dance. 
 
 Thralia (Mrs. Abington) . . ... xxii 
 
 From an engraving by Bartolozzi after Cosway. 
 
 Sir Robert Murray Keith, k.b. . ... xxxii 
 
 From an engraving by J. E. Mansfield after Graff. 
 
 The Duchess of Kingston in the dress she wore on her 
 Introduction to the Empress Catherine of Russia 
 
 Anspach . , . . ... 
 
 From an eighteenth-century engraving. 
 
 Lady Craven and the Margrave of Anspach . 
 
 From the vis-a-vis portraits in The Toiun and Country Mag^azine, 
 March 2, 1789 
 
 Mdlle. Clairon in the act of crowning Voltaire . 
 
 Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples . ... 
 
 The Earl of Barrymore, at whose Wargrave Theatricals 
 the Margravine of Anspach recited a Satirical 
 Prologue in August, 1792 . ... 
 
 A Brandenburgh House Theatre Ticket and Theatrical 
 Programme of 1804 . . ... 
 
 cxli 
 
 xxxvm 
 liv 
 
 Ivi 
 
 Iviii 
 Iwiii 
 
 Ixxxii 
 Ixxxvi
 
 cxlii THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 FACING rAGE 
 
 Caricature Portrait of Albinia, Countess of Buckingham- 
 shire, AS "COWSLII'" AT THE BRANDENBURGH HOUSE 
 
 Theatricals . . . ... xciv 
 
 By James Gillray. 
 
 Dilettanti Theatricals . . ... civ 
 
 From a caricature by Gillray, published by H. Humphrey, Feb. i6, 1803. 
 
 Standard Presented to the Newbury Troop ok the Royal 
 Berkshire Imperial Yeomanry by the Margravine of 
 Anspach in 1799 , . . ... ex 
 
 Caricature Portrait of the Margrave of Anspach, 
 
 Published in 1793 . . ... cxiv 
 
 Christian Charles Alexander Frederic, Margrave of 
 Brandenburgh, Anspach and Bayreuth, Duke of 
 Prussia, Comte of Sayn, etc. . ... cxxii 
 
 From an engraving by W. T. Fry, from a drawing by T. Unwins, after 
 a bust by the Margravine of Anspach. 
 
 "Courier de Brandenburgh." A Newspaper for Private 
 Circulation^ which the Margravine of Anspach 
 proposed to issue at Benham Valence, Dec, 1809 . cxxiv 
 
 Town House of the Margravine of Anspach, 6 bis, Via 
 
 Chiatamone, Naples, 1819-1828 . ... cxxxiv 
 
 Tomb of the Margravine of Anspach, Sir W. Cell and 
 the Honble. Keppel Craven in the Old British 
 Cemetery at Naples . . ... cxxxvi 
 
 The Margrave of Anspach . . ... 26 
 
 From a painting by George Romney (1793) in the Fishmongers' Hall. 
 
 Caroline, Duchess of Marlborough . ... 38 
 
 From an engraving by R. Purcell after Reynolds. 
 
 William, sixth Baron Craven, 1737-1791 . . . 50 
 
 From a caricature in The Tozvn and Country Magazine, Sept., 1780. 
 
 General Dalrymple . . . ... 52 
 
 From caricatures drawn by George Prince of Wales in 1797. 
 
 John Frederick Sackville, Duke of Dorset . . . 60 
 
 From an engraving by T. Hardy after Reynolds. 
 
 Stanislaus Augustus, King of Poland . . . 86 
 
 From an eighteenth-century engraving. 
 
 Catherine II, Empress of Russia . ... 96 
 
 Drawn and engraved by Aug. St. Aubin. 
 
 The Last Margrave of Anspach as a Boy . . . 108 
 
 From an engraving by J. C. Sperling after Lichtensteger Norib. 
 
 Karl Wilhelm Friedrich, k.g.. Margrave of Anspach, 
 
 D. 1757. Father of the Husband ok Lady Craven . no 
 
 From the contemporary engraving in the collection of A. M. Broadley.
 
 ORIGINAL DEDICATION 
 
 TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS 
 THE DUKE OF YORK^ 
 
 Sir, 
 
 From the many instances I have seen of the kind- 
 ness you have bestowed, and do bestow, on all 
 those who request kindness or protection from you, 
 I am induced to address your Royal Highness as 
 the only person to whom I could, with propriety, 
 dedicate the following pages ; and may you find, in 
 perusing them, that your excellent father was not 
 quite mistaken when he used, at his levees, to tell 
 his lords that he would ask Lady Craven about 
 such things as were told him in various contrary 
 ways, '*for," said he, "she always tells the truth." 
 
 Believe in that truth, Sir, when I assure you that 
 it is with the sincerest attachment and respect I 
 subscribe myself your Royal Highness's grateful, 
 affectionate and devoted 
 
 Elizabeth, M.B.A.B. 
 
 Princess Berkeley. 
 
 ^ The Duke of York was a frequent guest at Brandenburgh House. 
 He died 5 January, 1827, less than a year after the publication of the 
 Memoirs. 
 
 cxliii
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL 
 : LADY CRAVEN : 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 My Birth and Family Connexions — A Governess selected for me — 
 Her Character and Disinterestedness — Lord Nugent, my Mother's 
 second Husband — Lady Berkeley's Conduct to me — We make our 
 first Excursion to Paris — Duke of Richmond Ambassador there — 
 We keep open house — My Brother, the Earl of Berkeley, joins us 
 from Turin — Lord Bottetourt — Lord Forbes — Strange Occurrence 
 at a Bal Masqu6 — Our return to England — Lord Forbes proposes 
 to my Sister Lady Georgiana, who is presented at Court, and 
 concludes the day by running away with him. 
 
 I AM the youngest daughter of Augustus fourth 
 Earl of Berkeley, K.T., by his Countess Eliza- 
 beth, daughter of Henry Drax, of Charborough 
 in the county of Dorset, Esq. and was born in 
 December in the year 1750. His Lordship had eight 
 children, three of whom died infants.^ After the death 
 of the Earl, the Countess married Earl Nugent.* Lord 
 Berkeley died when the subject of the present Memoirs 
 was only five years old. His disposition was gentle, 
 generous, and affectionate ; and from the goodness 
 
 * For a list of the children who lived to maturity, see anle, Intro- 
 duction, p. xiii. 
 
 * Lord Berkeley died in 1755. On January 2, 1757, his widow 
 became the third wife of Robert, after Earl, Nugent (1702-1788). 
 Lady Nugent survived until June 29, 1792. 
 
 VOL, I.— B
 
 2 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 of his heart he was universally regretted. The second 
 son having died when only eleven months old, Lady 
 Berkeley became pregnant again, and produced at 
 one birth three children, females, who were born at 
 Berkeley Castle, but who lived only a few hours after 
 being christened. The next female born was Georgiana 
 Augusta, afterwards married to the Earl of Granard.^ 
 Two years after this event Lady Berkeley became again 
 pregnant ; and as she and all her family had persuaded 
 themselves that the child was to be a boy, the god- 
 fathers and godmother were actually bespoken : the 
 latter was the amiable and gentle Countess of Suffolk, 2 
 a widow, whose second husband was George Berkeley, 
 a brother of the late Earl's father. It was proposed 
 that this child should be named George. 
 
 At this period a circumstance occurred which seemed 
 to be the forerunner of all the remarkable events of my 
 life ; for whenever misfortunes happened to me, they, 
 in a most singular manner, were productive of beneficial 
 consequences. 
 
 Lady Berkeley was taken in labour in the month of 
 December, although she did not calculate that she 
 should produce a second boy till the February following. 
 Her alarm and disappointment may be conceived when 
 the child appeared, a most miserable object, scarcely 
 breathing, and scarcely alive, at the end of seven months.^ 
 
 ' George Forbes, fifth Earl of Granard, known as Lord Forbes until 
 he succeeded to the title. 
 
 2 Henrietta (1681-1767), eldest daughter of Sir Henry Hobart, 
 Bart., of Blicking, Norfolk, married (i) Charles Howard, third son of 
 Henry, fifth Earl of Suffolk. She was sometime mistress of George II. 
 Howard succeeded to the Earldom 1731. After his death she married 
 (ii) the Hon. George Berkeley (1735). 
 
 * Lady Elizabeth Berkeley, the writer of these Memoirs, was born 
 in 1750.
 
 BIRTH AND FAMILY CONNEXIONS 3 
 
 Being wrapped up in a piece of flannel, and without 
 much attention laid down in the great elbow-chair 
 which was placed at her ladyship's bedside, with neither 
 clothes nor wet-nurse prepared, I was left in despair for 
 a while to my fate. At that time certain etiquettes and 
 attentions were observed, which are now neglected and 
 omitted ; and the first person who came to Lady Berke- 
 ley, a few hours after she was delivered, was her aunt, 
 the Countess of Albemarle. ^ Coming up to the bed-side, 
 and after the usual remarks on such an occasion, per- 
 ceiving the chair by the bed-side, and imagining that 
 which occupied it to be only a piece of flannel, her Lady- 
 ship was on the very point of seating herself upon it, 
 when she was prevented, by the screams of the attendant, 
 from putting an end to the existence of the forlorn babe. 
 As Lady Albemarle supposed the infant to be in the bed 
 with the Countess, she was surprised at the narrow escape ; 
 and her curiosity being more roused from this circum- 
 stance, she directed her attention to the object of it, 
 and requested that it should be brought to the window, 
 in order that she might judge of the probability of its 
 existence. Lady Berkeley exclaimed peevishly, " It is a 
 miserable thing, and cannot live." The infant's face being 
 uncovered, the helpless little being opened its eyes, as 
 if to hail the light of day ; and as they appeared very 
 bright. Lady Albemarle conceived that a child who 
 possessed that power had a good chance to live. She, 
 therefore, immediately sent into the neighbouring streets 
 to find out a wet-nurse ; nor did she retire till she had seen 
 the child enjoy its borrowed nourishment from a healthy 
 
 * Anne Lennox, daughter of Charles, first Duke of Richmond, 
 married William Anne Keppel, second Earl of Albemarle (i 702-1 754)
 
 4 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 woman who was procured. Had it not been that an 
 accident had so nearly happened, this circumstance 
 would have been omitted ; and, from despair of the 
 mother, I most probably should not have survived. This 
 scene took place at the house of the Earl of Berkeley in 
 Spring Gardens. 
 
 Lady Albemarle was sister to the Duke of Richmond, 
 and Lord Berkeley's mother was the other sister. The 
 Countess of Suffolk, although extremely amiable, does 
 not appear to have been a favourite with Lord Orford,^ 
 who seems in his letters to have taken a dislike to her, 
 although I was ever regarded by him with esteem, not- 
 withstanding that I had made her a pattern for my 
 manners. This, probably, arose from the reluctance which 
 I always shewed to display my natural love for the 
 Muses ; yet the press at Strawberry Hill has produced 
 some of my poetry. Lord Orford was extremely witty, 
 in his writings, on the subject of the three children which 
 the Countess of Berkeley produced at one birth — an 
 event which certainly was not a theme for a man of learn- 
 ing and of taste. 
 
 The next visitor of Lady Berkeley was the Countess of 
 Suffolk, who told her that she would be godmother to the 
 child, and promised that if she had another its name should 
 be called George. Admiral Berkeley was christened 
 George after Lady Suffolk's husband, but she never took 
 any notice of him, and at her death left me five hundred 
 pounds. 
 
 A dishke, both unjust and premature, in my mother 
 for me, excited in the breast of Lady Suffolk, even at that 
 
 * Horace Walpole (171 7-1 797), letter- writer, succeeded his nephew 
 as fourth Earl of Orford, 1791. 
 
 I
 
 LADY BERKELEY 5 
 
 period, the lively interest which she preserved for me 
 to the latest moments of her existence. 
 
 Two years after this the Countess had a boy ; and the 
 following year the Earl died of a lingering complaint 
 fixed in his chest by the imprudent use of a quack medicine 
 which he took against the gout, to which disorder he 
 and all his family were martyrs. On his death-bed the 
 sole object of his thoughts appeared to be the welfare of 
 his two daughters. 
 
 The Countess of Berkeley was lively and handsome ; 
 she was lady of the bedchamber to the Princess of Wales ; 
 she had no love for children. It was probably on this 
 account that Lord Berkeley sent for a person, a 
 native of Switzerland, who was the wife of a German 
 tutor of my uncle on the mother's side. They were both 
 placed in a house at one end of the Earl's park at Cran- 
 ford, where they lived on a small yearly income of their 
 own. Lord Berkeley requested her to take charge of 
 Lady Georgiana and myself, and never to leave us till 
 we were married ; and his repetitions of this request 
 were made in so impressive a manner, that the kind- 
 hearted woman fainted away from her too great sensi- 
 bility, and most solemnly promised she would punctually 
 execute his injunctions, which she did in so disinterested 
 and dignified a manner as reflected on her character the 
 highest praise. She never received the slightest emolu- 
 ment for her care of us children, nor interfered in any 
 thing but what concerned our morals and manners. I 
 could never speak of her memory without considerable 
 emotion, and my feelings were always alive at the re- 
 collection of her virtues and kindness. I well imagined 
 that few women were ever born like her.
 
 6 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 But to leave her perfections, and return to the miseries 
 of the httle infant : I was so very diminutive, so weak, 
 and so deHcate, that nothing but the utmost care and 
 attention of so worthy a woman could have reared me. 
 Lady Georgiana, who was only two years older, used 
 frequently to carry me about in her arms. To give 
 strength, cold baths were ordered, which produced an 
 ague, from which I with difficulty recovered. 
 
 A passion for reading soon discovered itself, so that 
 little exercise was taken, and a reluctance generally 
 shewn on all occasions where sedentary employment 
 was not engaged. This, however, turned out to an ad- 
 vantage, for whenever lively music was heard I would 
 leave every thing to dance. I was taught so young and 
 so early, that although I had not the recollection at what 
 period I commenced to learn, I have frequently since been 
 told that I was taught upon a table, because the dancing- 
 master could not stoop to place my arms and feet upon 
 the ground ; and by the time I was ten years old, I made 
 the fortunes of my dancing-master and my milliners, by 
 the interest I took in them, and the credit they gained 
 from their attention to my manner and my figure. 
 
 Lady Berkeley, as has been before observed, married 
 Mr. Nugent, afterwards created Lord Nugent, by whom 
 she had two daughters : he was much older than her 
 Ladyship, and had been the enfant cheri of two wives 
 older than himself. Lady Berkeley being indulged by 
 the late Earl, and both their tempers being extremely 
 impatient, they disagreed so much, that they separated 
 after they had been married two years. Lord Nugent, 
 however, conceived such a partiality for me, that he was 
 my constant friend, and never neglected me during his life.
 
 EARLY IMPRESSIONS 7 
 
 Among the many reflections that occurred to a mind 
 of such a thinking turn as that of mine, none afforded me 
 greater pleasure than the recollection that the great 
 approbation which I ensured, was owing to the excellent 
 advice prescribed to me by my governess ; for my natural 
 disposition was one of the most difficult to manage — 
 extremely meek, yet very lively ; extremely humble, 
 yet when roused, it produced a sensation of pride which 
 for ever sealed my lips, and ears, to those who offended 
 me. Generous feelings constantly were awakened on 
 every occasion, and a liberal way of thinking accom- 
 panied all the actions of my life. 
 
 As I began to attain my tenth year I grew tall ; and 
 though several opportunities might have presented 
 themselves of shewing me that my appearance was by 
 no means of an ordinary kind, yet from my mother's 
 admiration of my sister's beauty, and her indifference to 
 the younger one, not to say dislike, I was persuaded to 
 think myself by no means of a prepossessing form or 
 countenance ; but, on the contrary, was induced to 
 imagine myself rather disagreeable. There was not the 
 slightest similarity between my sister and myself ; as 
 the former had light hair, while I had auburn 
 
 The impressions which I received from my mother's 
 conduct produced that look of modesty and timidity, 
 which, contrasted with my natural vivacity and love for 
 all that was gay and cheerful, fascinated every one in 
 so powerful a degree. 
 
 It is a matter of regret to me, that there is no picture 
 of me which has done me justice, nor is even like me. 
 The figure, in all the whole lengths, is spoiled ; and even 
 Madame Le Brun, who painted a three-quarters' length
 
 8 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 of me, has made an arm and hand out of all proportion 
 to the chest and shoulders. The picture of me by Rom- 
 ney,^ which was at Brandenburgh House, and is now, 
 with that of my two sons Berkeley and Keppel, removed 
 to Benham, has by no means given a just idea of either 
 my face or figure ; the former is too severe, and the 
 latter much too large. He deserves, however, great 
 praise for that in which my two sons are painted, the 
 eldest leaning on the youngest 's shoulder, when about 
 the ages of seventeen or eighteen, and in which both the 
 likenesses and figures are well preserved. These two 
 elegant young men were models for an artist ; but I 
 shall not dwell upon them now, as I shall have to speak 
 of them hereafter. 
 
 At the age of thirteen years, the Countess of Berkeley 
 obtained permission of the Princess of Wales to pass six 
 months at Paris. Lady Georgiana and myself accom- 
 panied her ; and at that period only she began to take 
 an amusement in her youngest daughter. Previous to 
 that time she saw but little of me. The governess 
 regulated every thing by the clock ; and as soon as the 
 young people were awake we were accustomed to kneel 
 down, having arisen from the bed, and to say a morning 
 prayer. The maid-servant was then introduced, and I 
 was instructed how to make a bed, as the governess 
 paid attention even to the smallest minutiae. I was then 
 left to myself to dress in the best manner I could. After 
 the ablutions and the toilette were finished, every thing 
 was explained to me, and advice given as to cleanliness 
 and order. When these duties were gone through, which 
 
 ^ The portrait of the Margravine of Anspach, as well as that of her 
 husband, now in Fishmongers' Hall, and reproduced by permission of 
 the Fishmongers' Company, is by Romney (see ante, Introduction, 
 pp. xxvii, xciii).
 
 EARLY DAYS 9 
 
 I did as hastily as I could, I left my apartment, leaving 
 my sister to the admiration of her own person, and to 
 the ideas which the reflection of her looking-glass pro- 
 duced in her youthful mind. 
 
 In the early part of the morning I repeated to my 
 governess a translation of some short phrase she had 
 given me the night before, of French into English ; and 
 another of English into French. I then partook of a 
 breakfast, which was of milk-porridge ; and if I was un- 
 well, of water-gruel ; never being permitted to take tea, 
 coffee, or butter, as she considered them prejudicial to 
 the health of young persons like myself. After break- 
 fast I was allowed to take exercise in the garden, if the 
 w^eather permitted ; and if it rained, I was suffered to 
 sweep the room, and arrange the furniture, and then again 
 pursue my studies. A walk before dinner was always 
 allowed ; and that dinner consisted only of a pudding or 
 broth, and one kind of meat, dressed in the plainest 
 manner. It was to this diet that I attribute the excellent 
 health I have always enjoyed ; having never experienced 
 bile, nor any disagreeable sensations of the stomach, but 
 merely what might arise from hunger. 
 
 When the family were in London, I was sent for by 
 my godmother. Lady Suffolk, and my great aunt. Lady 
 Betty Germaine,^ to pass the whole day with them every 
 w^eek ; and it was the custom of my female relations to 
 beg also that I might come to them. 
 
 My docile temper made learning easy to me ; and the 
 best methods of instruction were always sought and 
 practised. With a natural inclination and taste for all 
 
 ^ Lady Betty Germaine (i 680-1 769), daughter of Charles, second 
 Earl of Berkeley, and second wife of Sir John Germaine.
 
 lo THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 fine works, I danced, sung, and embroidered ; and being 
 obliged to read aloud, I acquired the habit of speaking 
 clearly and articulately. My disinclination to plain 
 work, and all subjects that required plodding, prevented 
 me from acquiring arithmetic ; and those things which 
 did not engage the imagination, or delight the eye, were 
 abandoned and neglected. 
 
 The severity of my mother was attended with personal 
 chastisement for my etourderies ; but the kind governess, 
 when she had the entire charge of me, laid aside these 
 harsh measures, imagining very naturally, that I should 
 either become a fool or a fury, from the strange mixture 
 of vivacity and meekness with which I was composed. 
 
 If my occupations and the clearness of my ideas pro- 
 duced delight in all who knew me, and became the cause 
 of the comfort of both my husbands, and the primitive 
 source of my common sense ; I also considered that to 
 these circumstances, the method in which I was nursed 
 contributed in a great measure to produce these original 
 causes. It is customary in England for nurses to toss 
 infants in the air, and to shake their tender frames, 
 before they are able to bear it ; and this is called good 
 nursing, and keeping the children alive. 
 
 One day, when the late Pere Elisee, surgeon to the 
 King of France, was talking to me, he said, " Dieu, 
 conime vos idees sont claires et nettes f " — " Because," I 
 replied, " I was too weak to be tossed about when an 
 infant, and knocked upon nurses' knees." — " Vous 
 croyez plaisanter, Madame," he said, " mais sache que le 
 nombre des enfans qui sont nialadcs en Angleterre, ou qui 
 meurent de water on the brain, doivent cela a I'infame 
 couiume que les A?iglaises out de remuer et de sauter les
 
 EARLY DAYS li 
 
 enfans, avant que la tetc peut etrc soutcnue perpendiculaire- 
 ment par Ics fibres du col." 
 
 If this account of the early and infantine years of 
 myself may be considered as too prolix, it is done with a 
 view that it may be useful to the English, who, even in 
 my time, have greatly altered their mode of dressing, 
 rearing, and educating children. Thus, although I was 
 always complimented with phrases of being quite superior, 
 and otherwise gifted by nature, to the generality of my 
 sex, I always attributed such accomplishments or gifts 
 to the effect of my education. Instead of skipping over a 
 rope, I was taught to pay and receive visits with children, 
 and to suppose myself a lady who received company ; 
 and my sister and myself had a set of young ladies who 
 visited us in London. 
 
 I was never permitted to see a play till twelve years old, 
 when I took a most decided passion for acting, which after- 
 wards proved one of the Margrave's^ greatest pleasures. 
 
 During a whole summer at Berkeley Castle, I was 
 instructed in another kind of knowledge, namely, that 
 of housewifery. Once in the week I went into the kitchen, 
 and into the laundry, and to the different cheese-farms, 
 by which I gained the means of learning the different 
 ways of making confectionery and every thing of that 
 kind. My governess told me, that the reason why she 
 made me attend to those humble lessons was, that when 
 servants were found fault with, their general reply was, 
 " If your Ladyship will tell me how, I will do better. I 
 do as well as I can." 
 
 On the subject of religion I began to be very inquisitive ; 
 
 * Christian Frederick Charles Alexander, Margrave of Anspach, 
 Lady Elizabeth Craven's second husband.
 
 12 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 the questions which I put to my governess were such as 
 perplexed me. We always attended divine service twice 
 every Sunday at the church at Berkeley, and morning 
 prayers every Wednesday and Friday, and on Thursday 
 private service in the chapel of the Castle. The service 
 I soon knew by heart ; but I read the Prayer-book, 
 and there seemed to me to be contradictions which I 
 could not reconcile. I tormented my governess, her 
 husband, the rector, and my brother's tutor, for ex- 
 planations ; and she had the good sense, instead of en- 
 deavouring to be as clear on the subject as the clearness 
 of her thoughts required, to tell me I was not old enough 
 to reflect reasonably on so awful a subject ; that the 
 Almighty saw and read my most inmost thoughts, and 
 would reward and punish as I deserved ; and that it was 
 arrogance in me to ask those questions. After this I 
 ceased to tease my friends. 
 
 My brother. Lord Berkeley, was sent, at sixteen, from 
 Eton to the academy at Turin ; and it was to meet him, 
 and pass the winter with him, four years afterwards, that 
 I went to Paris. 
 
 Accompanied by my mother, my sister, an English 
 maid, and a courier, I proceeded from Dover in a gale 
 which had blown direct for Calais for five preceding days ; 
 and when we passed, which we did in two hours and ten 
 minutes, the sea ran so high, that Lady Berkeley's fears 
 terrified her extremely, and Lady Georgiana fainted 
 senseless on the deck, and the maid was carried down to 
 the cabin, too sick to be of any use. I was left alone, 
 who had never sailed before, to take care of my mother 
 and sister, — the former constantly calling out that we 
 should all be drowned.
 
 FIRST VISIT TO PARIS 13 
 
 As I thought mariners knew better than myself if 
 there was any danger, I immediately went and addressed 
 the captain ; and, with one of my best curtsies, asked 
 him if there was any danger : he told me, none. I then 
 began to feel sick, and asked him if he could give me 
 anything to stop the sickness : he desired to know if I 
 had ever drunk any brandy ; and on my replying, " Oh, 
 no ! " he gave me some, which soon allayed the complaint. 
 I then nursed my sister, and endeavoured to soothe my 
 mother's fears. Soon after, we arrived in safety in France, 
 the novelty of which scene amused me beyond measure, 
 as my speaking French amused and amazed the French. 
 
 It is easy to imagine that a young mind should be 
 highly gratified with the scenes of Paris. I was greatly 
 pleased, though I went out but little ; and my sister, 
 who was almost old enough, and quite handsome enough, 
 to attract the attentions of all the young Englishmen 
 that swarmed about us, received those gratifications 
 with great indifference. The Duke of Richmond^ being 
 ambassador, Lady Berkeley's house was the general 
 rendezvous, and she received them all as on a public 
 day, every Tuesday. While Lady Georgiana appeared 
 quite indifferent, and I regular in my conduct, notwith- 
 standing the flattery and homage which I received, our 
 manners excited considerable surprise to men who were 
 accustomed to meet with welcome assurances of their 
 devotions. But this well-regulated manner may be 
 entirely ascribed to the mode in which we had been 
 brought up ; for the young nobility in England, of our 
 age, were accustomed to visit us during our holidays, 
 
 ^ Charles Lennox, third Duke of Richmond (i 735-1 806), Ambassador 
 at Paris from August, 1765, until May, 1766.
 
 14 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 when we had children's balls and other amusements, 
 which prepared our minds for general society. 
 
 Lords Egremont,! Tyrconnel,^ Cholmondeley,^ and 
 his cousin Brand, Lord Carlisle/ and many others, were 
 the constant visitors of the family, while boys It is 
 very natural to suppose how intimately acquainted we 
 must have been. Those boys whose conduct were too 
 boisterous, were sent to Coventry by the girls. This 
 youthful society was of essential service to all parties, 
 as it prepared our minds, and in some degree formed our 
 manners, for the great theatre of the world, and taught 
 us to receive those attentions we were entitled to, with 
 a calmness which others who have been more secluded 
 cannot easily attain. Such an education also took from 
 the young females that foolish delight, and over-strained 
 civility, with which young English ladies treat men 
 when they are what is called brought out into society, 
 seemingly, indeed, only to be disposed of. 
 
 Lady Georgiana and myself were as opposite in our 
 dispositions as we were in our persons, — the former being 
 very indolent, and naturally obstinate, while, on the 
 other hand, I was very active and obedient. Lady 
 Georgiana had blue eyes, with handsome eye-brows and 
 eye-lashes ; but her whiteness, which was that of ala- 
 baster, never changed. Sorrow, ill-health, the sun, 
 wind — never had any effect on her skin. My auburn eyes 
 and hair were admired : this last was one of my greatest 
 beauties, as it was soft as silk, and at Paris was so long 
 
 * George^O'Brien Wyndham, third Earl of Egremont (1751-1837). 
 
 * George Carpenter, Earl of Tyrconnel in Ireland, married Lady 
 Frances Manners July 9, 1772, but they were divorced in 1777. 
 
 ^ George, fourth Earl of Cholmondeley (i 749-1 827). 
 
 * Frederick Howard, fifth Earl of Carlisle (i 748-1 825).
 
 LORD BOTTETOURT 15 
 
 that it reached below my knees ; and my skin, which 
 was also white, was suffused with colour, and when 
 exposed to the sun, covered with freckles. 
 
 It might have been imagined, that the difference of 
 treatment which I received from my mother might 
 have caused a mutual disagreement ; but, on the con- 
 trary, my sister doated on me, and I was grateful. We 
 never had a quarrel : Would to heaven, (have I often 
 said,) that my sister had ever had the same confidence 
 and trust in me, that I had placed in her at that time ! 
 
 When Lord Berkeley arrived from Turin, he did not 
 recollect his youngest sister. His surprise and delight 
 overwhelmed him. " Is that the miserable thing I left ? " 
 he exclaimed. His joy at finding me what I was may be 
 easily conceived. 
 
 Lord Berkeley loved music ; he played the violoncello, 
 and I had learned thorough bass only. He soon, with his 
 companions Captain Fraser and Mr. Young, brother 
 to the admiral, who lived in the house with them, and 
 was clerk of the peace for the county of Gloucester, 
 became a man of wit and learning, and was as partial to 
 me as my godfather had been. 
 
 This godfather was Narbonne Berkeley, brother to 
 the Duchess of Beaufort, afterwards created Lord 
 Bottetourt ; he died governor of Virginia. He was a 
 man of so generous a disposition, that with all the King's 
 partiality to him as lord of the bedchamber, and his other 
 advantages, he ruined himself by his unbounded gener- 
 osity, although he neither played nor drank ; but he 
 gave away all he had. He frequently has given me, 
 when a child, two guineas at a time to buy playthings 
 with, and one wax doll every year : but finding out that
 
 i6 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 I gave his guineas to the poor about Berkeley, he told 
 me I must make out a list, and he would give. When 
 I was ten years old, he had a doll made and dressed like 
 a lady in a court dress, having previously given a de- 
 scription of the young lady to the maker ; and when it 
 arrived at Berkeley Castle, Lady Berkeley took the doll 
 away, it was so delicately and beautifully made, and 
 placed it on a pedestal on the chimney-piece. But 
 the most ridiculous part of it was, that he had made the 
 head to be placed averted, as it were ashamed ; a trick 
 which I had, and which made Lord Nugent call me by 
 the nickname of his little Swan ; as he pretended swans, 
 pursued, while swimming on the water, turned their 
 heads and throats precisely in the way that I did. Lord 
 Bottetourt had taken care to have the dreadful blushes 
 on the cheeks which I had ; and which tormented me 
 frequently till I cried, when stared at, which some people 
 were accustomed to do. 
 
 The French who visited at the house, particularly the 
 Princess Guimenee, our next-door neighbour, were 
 surprised to hear an English child talk French ; and 
 although nothing could excite vanity in me, I thought 
 my friends were excessively kind, but attributed my 
 being sought after to the cold and inaccessible manners 
 of my sister. Lady Georgiana had learned nothing well, 
 from her natural indolence ; and the French she seemed 
 particularly to disdain, imagining that she disliked 
 every thing French. Her admiration was chiefly be- 
 stowed upon herself. From the contrast between the 
 two sisters, I soon became endeared to the whole house, 
 and all the servants called me La Petite, as a term of 
 affection, although I was rather tall of my age.
 
 LORD FORBES 17 
 
 At Paris I learned to paint and embroider on silk, 
 and the tambour, which was just imported from Turkey. 
 I had also a dancing-master, and, as in England, my 
 masters were delighted with me ; for, although lively to 
 a great degree, the instant I was to learn any thing a 
 deep silence and an application to my pursuits seized 
 me, and I generally concluded all my lessons with a 
 nervous head-ache, arising from my too great attention. 
 
 Among the English who frequented my mother's 
 house. Lord Forbes was one ; and on every Tuesday 
 he played at loo with Lady Berkeley, never addressing 
 himself to either Lady Georgiana or myself. There was a 
 lottery-ticket table for the young people, at which Lady 
 Georgiana presided. Towards the end of the winter, 
 Lady Georgiana told me that she liked to look on at the 
 loo-table, and left me to manage the lottery-ticket table, 
 and the noisy young set who plaj^ed. 
 
 Some time after this, one night when my mother was 
 asleep. Lady Georgiana came to my bed-side, having 
 stolen silently from her own, and whispered, " My 
 Bessy, I am in love." 
 
 I was silent for some time, struck with the sudden 
 manner and peculiar way of this disclosure, while Lady 
 Georgiana continued in her whisper to tell me that she 
 loved Lord Forbes. If my astonishment could be in- 
 creased, it was at that name ; for he was very ugly, and 
 the person who had presented him to our mother was a 
 very grave Englishman. Lord Forbes had a very foolish 
 sort of low Irish humour, which, though it might occa- 
 sionally excite laughter, was extremely disgusting. 
 When I recovered myself sufficiently to speak, I said, 
 " I hope you will tell our mother." She answered, " Not 
 
 VOL. I. — c
 
 i8 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 yet ; my mother means to take us to the bal masque to- 
 morrow night, and then you will know more." 
 
 Lady Berkeley sat in a box at the ball, and permitted 
 Lady Georgiana and me to take a walk with some other 
 young ladies. Each of us had a cavalier, who were to 
 take care of and bring us back soon ; but Lord Forbes 
 insisted on walking between us. While proceeding along 
 we were joined by a tall man in a black domino, who 
 took the advantage of a crowd which impeded us, and 
 who dropped on his knees before me, and said, " Lady 
 Elizabeth, I die if you do not hear me ! " 
 
 He then said that to see me, and to love and to be 
 miserable, were one and the same thing. My surprise 
 and terror cannot be described ; but Lord Forbes held 
 me, and he and my sister laughed. I now began to 
 imagine that this was masquerade wit ; but my astonish- 
 ment increased, when the mask continued his language 
 and pulled off his mask ; when I beheld the handsome 
 
 Mr. , universally allowed to be so by every one, and 
 
 perhaps one of the handsomest men to be seen in any 
 country. 
 
 Not one word escaped my lips till Lord Forbes said, 
 " I have been his confidant a long time ; " and he shook 
 my arm, but in vain, for the language of love was only 
 terror to me ; and on finding I could not speak, he said, 
 " Ten thousand pardons I ask ; permit me to speak 
 to Lady Berkeley." To which Lord Forbes answered, 
 " Oh, yes ; it is a dumb chicken, but I will roast her for 
 
 this;" and Mr. walked away. I hurried back to 
 
 my mother, and calmed my terrors by saying to myself, 
 Poor man, he is certainly mad ! 
 
 A few days afterwards Lord Forbes proposed himself
 
 RETURN TO ENGLAND 19 
 
 to Lady Berkeley as a pretendant to Lady Georgiana's 
 hand. On this occasion Lord Berkeley and the Duke 
 of Richmond were consulted ; and the reply Lord Forbes 
 received was, that no answer could be given till the 
 guardians were consulted, and that he must wait till 
 their return to England. Any man but himself would 
 have desisted from his addresses, as he might easily have 
 perceived that he was not approved ; but to him this 
 was, what he called, fun. 
 
 Lady Georgiana's inclinations were increased by the 
 fear of losing a man's attentions, to whom, as she told 
 me, she had spoken first, piqued at his never having 
 taken notice of her. 
 
 Mr. then came to Lady Berkeley, and most 
 
 seriously offered to settle his whole fortune out of his 
 power, and every thing the Lady might have, if inherit- 
 ances came to her, on condition that she would allow 
 him the permission of paying his addresses to her. Lady 
 Berkeley told me afterwards that his grave and manly 
 earnestness and beauty made her listen without laughing ; 
 but this event was a matter of much amusement to the 
 
 family, who refused all the offers Mr. • made, and 
 
 turned me into ridicule, till my terrified and miserable 
 looks put an end to their pastime. 
 
 Lady Berkeley returned to England with Lady Geor- 
 giana and me in the spring ; but Lord Berkeley did not 
 come till the beginning of June, when we were to go to 
 Berkeley Castle, to make a fete for his coming of age. 
 Lord Forbes soon followed ; but before they quitted 
 Paris, Lady Georgiana terrified me almost into an ill- 
 ness, by confiding to me her intention of running away 
 with Lord Forbes. I cried, knelt down to her ; but find-
 
 20 
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 ing all entreaties fruitless, I calmly told her, that if she 
 did not promise me to give up the horrid scheme, I 
 would inform my mother ; and pledged myself never 
 again, as long as I lived, to speak to Lord Forbes. 
 
 The strange contrast between my gentleness and 
 firmness, when forced into remonstrance, had the effect 
 on Lady Georgiana that it has often produced on others : 
 she gave up the idea then, and promised me to wait in 
 England for the answer of the guardians to Lord Forbes, 
 before she took any new resolution. 
 
 In the month of April, Lord Boston and Lord Vere,^ 
 the guardians, positively refused to give their consent 
 to the match. Lord Forbes was a widower, and had a 
 son by his first wife. Miss Bayley, aunt to the present 
 Marquis of Anglesea.^ Lady Georgiana cried, and told 
 Lady Berkeley she would never marry any other man ; 
 but Lady Berkeley informed her she would present her 
 next week at Court ; " And then," she added, " so many 
 men will be in love with you, that you will not think 
 any more of him." She was presented ; and, to conclude 
 the day, went off in the evening with Lord Forbes. This 
 took place in April, 1766. 
 
 ^ The guardians of his children appointed by Augustus, fourth Earl 
 of Berkeley. 
 
 - Field Marshal Henry William, p.c, g.c.b., g.c.h., second Earl of 
 Uxbridge: cr. Marquis of Anglesey 1813 (d. 1854).
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 The sensations produced by this event on our family and guardians, 
 Lord Boston and Lord Vera — Music Meeting at Gloucester — Mr. 
 Howard, Marquis de Fitz-James — I am presented at Court — Lord 
 Wenman — Mr., afterwards Lord Craven — His proposal of marriage, 
 and settlements — My marriage — Presented to my husband by the 
 Duke of Richmond — Birth of two daughters — Mr. Craven succeeds 
 to the title — His conduct and character — Earl of Warwick — 
 Countess of Denbigh — Rev. Mr. Jenner — My reception at Coventry 
 — Duke and Duchess of Marlborough— Illness occasioned by the 
 hurry of the christening of my son Keppel — Lady Albemarle his 
 godmother — Admiral Keppel godfather — My life preserved by the 
 celebrated Jenner. 
 
 LORD BOSTON and Lord Vere, with the Duke 
 of Richmond and Lady Berkeley, were highly 
 J incensed at the conduct pursued by Lady 
 Georgiana. They overwhelmed me with ques- 
 tions about that of which I was entirely ignorant ; 
 and, in the midst of such a melancholy scene as their 
 concern and Lady Berkeley's incredible sorrow created, 
 Lord Boston exclaimed, " Surely I am the most un- 
 fortunate person existing ! I never had but two wards, 
 Miss Bayleyi and Lady Georgiana, and one man runs 
 away with both." This ridiculous and simple exclama- 
 tion could not fail even then to excite a smile. 
 
 I was compelled that night to sleep in the same bed 
 with Lady Berkeley, and from that time ever after in 
 
 * The first wife of George, fifth Earl of Granard, was Dorothy, 
 second daughter of Sir Nicholas Borley {not Bayley), Bart., of the Isle 
 of Anglesea. 
 
 21
 
 22 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 the same room, till I was married. That night, instead of 
 speaking to me, my mother spoke to herself, and repeated 
 in different phrases the same thing, that she had lost 
 her only child — her favourite. 
 
 Not being able to support this state of torment, after 
 three hours' duration I gently slided out of the bed, and 
 went and sat down as a petrified statue in a chair. When 
 my mother missed me, looking out of the bed, she saw 
 her daughter ; and on her asking why I was there, I 
 replied firmly but gently, that it was that I might not 
 hear her — forget that I was her child. The Countess 
 was really ashamed. 
 
 In the summer after the grand fete at Berkeley, there 
 was a Music-meeting at Gloucester,^ to which I went 
 with Lady Berkeley. An unexpected summons came 
 to me, to request that I would leave the pew where 
 I was, and hold one of the plates for the money collected 
 for the poor, at one of the doors of the Cathedral. This 
 requisition was made by desire of the Bishop of Gloucester, 
 and to this door all the gentlemen of the three counties 
 rushed to get a sight at the young novelty. As I naturally 
 must have felt abashed at such a situation, where I was 
 so very conspicuous, the consequence was, that I averted 
 my face when I curtsied for the guineas that were given, 
 and they all fell sliding from the plate, to the entire dis- 
 may of the two beadles who attended. So great was 
 my confusion at this unlucky circumstance, that on my 
 
 ^ It was at the Gloucester Festival of 1766 that Dr. Arne's oratorio 
 of Judith was produced. Another item in the programme was the 
 pastoral of Daphnis and Amaryllis, " written by the learned James 
 Harris, Esq'." The principal vocalists were Miss Brent, Norris, Corfe, 
 Price, Matthews, and Master Parry. The Messiah was performed in 
 the P>oothall. The Festival of the Ihree Choirs in the present year 
 (191 3) takes place at Gloucester.
 
 THE MARQUIS DE FITZ-JAMES 23 
 
 return to the Bishop's palace, where I was staying, I 
 was obhged to retire to my bed-room, where I remained, 
 to cry and sob at my misfortune. It was only Lord 
 Berkeley who could rouse me, by telling me peremptorily 
 that I must go to the ball ; where I was again mortified, 
 because he scolded me for refusing to dance with an 
 odious Baronet, whom he liked, and I hated because 
 he had ventured to tell me that he was in love with me ; 
 and as there were others who talked love to me, I dis- 
 liked them all. 
 
 I, however, made an exception to one, and only one, 
 who sighed and tormented me, and that was Mr. Howard ; 
 and I imagined the reason why I did not dislike him was, 
 that his father would not permit him to propose to me, 
 because I was a Protestant. 
 
 Since age and experience have explained to me the 
 sensations of the human heart, I was convinced that I 
 had been in love without knowing it, and that was with 
 the Marquis de Fitz- James, ^ who came to England to 
 pass six months, fell violently in love with Lady Isabella 
 Stanhope,- met with the most flattering encouragement, 
 and, when he obtained his father the Duke's consent to 
 marry her, she refused him, and he came every day to 
 tell sa petite cousine, for so he called me, all his sorrows ; 
 and he used to cry and repeat over bis sad story to me 
 every day. WTiat I then thought was pity, I have been 
 since convinced was love. At fourteen years of age, how 
 pure, how innocent is love ! At that period I never 
 suspected that I had imbibed that fatal passion, nor for 
 
 ^ Due de Fitz-James, grandson of the Duke of Berwick. 
 
 * Lady Isabella Stanhope {d. 1819), second daughter of William, 
 second Earl of Harrington. She married in 17O8 Charles William, first 
 Earl of Sefton.
 
 24 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 many years after ; for it was a soft, melancholy reflection 
 on his misery which made all my suitors appear odious 
 to me, from the violence with which they spoke of their 
 love. 
 
 On their return to London in the month of October, 
 1766, Lady Berkeley informed me that it was her inten- 
 tion to present me at Court ; on which I dropped on my 
 knees, and implored her not to do so, but in vain. In 
 November I was presented ; and from that time till 
 April, had I been vain, I ought to have been happy, for 
 I was received by the world, cherished by my relations, 
 and courted by the men, in a manner which might have 
 turned the head of any young creature ; but this I 
 attributed partly to the great goodness of some, and to 
 the great folly of others ; so that all the caresses and 
 homage I received made me more diffident and humble 
 than ever, and it was just that look which no one else 
 had, that made me to be endeared by every one. 
 
 Lord Berkeley, who thought my timidity to be the 
 effect of cowardice, made me ride, shoot, and row a 
 boat — things which my beloved governess thought 
 horrors ; but I considered myself indebted to my brother 
 for his fancy, and it caused me to understand myself. 
 I found I was afraid of getting into danger, but calmly 
 courageous when placed in such a situation. 
 
 At all times my disposition was such, that I was all 
 obedience, unless desired to do a thing which the morality 
 of my governess had taught me was wrong ; and then 
 all the powers on earth could not have forced me into a 
 measure which my conscience condemned. 
 
 The Duke of Cumberland, the King's brother, was 
 very partial to me, and his partiality in time extended to
 
 AN AGREEMENT 25 
 
 love.^ The King and Queen were highly pleased with 
 me, and always shewed me marked attention. The 
 Princess of Wales complimented Lady Berkeley on the 
 effect which her daughter produced in the world, and the 
 sensations which she excited ; in short, I had but one 
 great grievance in the midst of all these pleasures, and 
 balls, which were endless ; and that was, my mother's 
 eternal reproaches, on account of my not encouraging 
 the particular addresses of any man. One day she re- 
 marked, " I fancy you are very proud : " at which I 
 started. " Can you think me proud ? " I said. " Yes," 
 was her reply, " I think you imagine no man great or 
 good enough for you." Struck with astonishment at 
 such a remark, next morning, after having passed a 
 sleepless night, I wrote a note to my mother's youngest 
 brother, to come to speak to me when my mother was 
 out. He came, and I saluted him. " Uncle," I said, 
 " I create you an ambassador ; " and then fairly told him, 
 that it was my dread least my mother should compel 
 me to marry a person whom I did not like, and that he 
 should make a treaty between us ; which was this : 
 that on condition my mother would cease for ever to 
 tease me to marry a man I might dislike, I would marry 
 any one my mother chose whom I myself might not 
 dislike. " Is this a fair treaty ? " I inquired. He an- 
 swered that it was ; and the treaty was concluded 
 between us, without my speaking to my mother on the 
 subject. I now felt that I enjoyed securely perfect 
 liberty, and danced and sung, and wrote poetry, and 
 laughed with my young friends with my accustomed 
 hilarity, without restraint or fear ; comme le Chevalier 
 
 ^ Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, 1 745-1 790.
 
 26 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 Bayard, sans peur et sans reproche. But, helas ! this 
 peaceful state was not of long duration. 
 
 One of our most frequent visitors at Paris had been 
 Lord Wenman : he was one of the gravest young men 
 of our acquaintance ; nor did I suspect the high opinion 
 which he had of me, and which was thoroughly developed 
 to his friend Mr. Craven ; ^ when the latter, who had seen 
 me at a new play at Covent Garden, the first night of its 
 being acted, had told him that he had fallen most violently 
 in love with me, and desired him to present him to my 
 mother. This Lord Wenman positively refused to do, 
 for the period of five months, telling him at the same time 
 that he was not worthy of the delicacy of my manners and 
 education. 
 
 Subsequently, at a great dinner of Newmarket men at 
 Hockeril, when the party was breaking up and all their 
 carriages at the door, one of them proposed to fill a 
 bumper-toast to a lady, which he said was the last time 
 such a thing could be done, as that lady was on the 
 point of being married ; and he named me. When Lord 
 Wenman got into the carriage with his friend, he said to 
 him, " I hope now. Craven, you will give up the foolish 
 fancy you have had." — " On the contrary," Craven 
 replied, " I will at least have the satisfaction of being 
 refused by her own lips." 
 
 Next day Lord Wenman came to Lady Berkeley, and 
 informed her that his friend Mr. Craven was violently 
 bent on obtaining the hand of her daughter. 
 
 It is hardly possible to conceive my indignation at 
 the idea of any man's daring to propose for me without 
 
 ^ William Craven, afterward sixth Baron Craven (1738-1791), 
 married Lady Elizabeth Berkeley, the writer of these Memoirs, May 30, 
 
 1707.
 
 THE MARGRAVE OF ANSPACH 
 From a painting by George Romnty (17Q3) in the Fishvion^crs Hall
 
 \ 
 
 I 

 
 MY FUTURE HUSBAND 27 
 
 first asking my permission. Lady Forbes was at the 
 time in the room, when Lady Berkeley gave me the in- 
 formation ; and, as she told me afterwards, she never 
 laughed so much at her mother's astonishment, when I 
 calmly but resolutely said, " He must never know I was 
 told this ; and pray, what is his name ? " Lady Berke- 
 ley had forgotten the name ; but some days after, the 
 state of the Craven family being explained, I figured to 
 myself that Mr. Craven's three old uncles were most 
 anxious he should marry, and had fixed upon Lady 
 Elizabeth Berkeley as the person most proper for his 
 choice, on account of her health and age. I was, however, 
 soon after, sadly disappointed, for Mr. Craven waited 
 upon Lady Berkeley and explained every thing. 
 
 Lady Berkeley told him that her daughter would be 
 excessively shocked if she knew that he wished to marry 
 without a previous acquaintance with the lady, and a 
 meeting must be contrived as if by chance. Lady 
 Berkeley and her daughter. Lady Forbes, planned a 
 dinner at Richmond ; to which Mr. Craven was brought 
 by his friend Lord Wenman. As I conceived that he 
 had never seen me, I muffled myself under my hat, 
 which at that time was very large, which with my hand- 
 kerchief and cloak concealed my face ; and I was amusing 
 my gay mind with the idea of seeing him mistake my 
 sister for the young unmarried person, and begin to pay 
 her his devoirs. But my hopes soon vanished when he 
 was announced ; for he looked round the room, and 
 walked up to me immediately. This threw me into a 
 state of confusion which all his honest confessions could 
 hardly remove. My guardians, and the Duke of Rich- 
 mond and my brother, had no objections to make, to the
 
 28 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 proposal. Mr. Craven was the third in the entail of the 
 estates belonging to his uncle Lord Craven ; but all 
 the property was so firmly settled, that Lord Craven could 
 only make a settlement of eight hundred pounds a-year ; 
 and it was his uncle Admiral Craven who gave out of 
 his private fortune an addition which made it fifteen 
 hundred. But while this matter continued in agitation, 
 I nearly lost my suitor. Mr, Craven, who was the second 
 son's brother, impatient at any delay, immediately 
 proposed to run away with me. Having on this point 
 received a decided negative, as I told him positively I 
 would never consent to such a measure, he declared then 
 that I never loved him. To this I replied, that I never 
 knew what love was. If I were to judge of the effects, 
 said I, which I had seen in him and other men, I must 
 acknowledge that I felt for him that regard and gratitude 
 which his honest and warm heart deserved. He said that 
 he would go and live abroad till the death of his uncle 
 Lord Craven, for he should certainly die if he continued 
 in the same country with me, without being my husband. 
 He insisted earnestly that I would give him a promise of 
 marriage, which he would likewise give to me, signed 
 with his own blood ; with which I refused to comply. 
 " If I were to agree to such an arrangement," I said, 
 " if you should see any one whom you might prefer to 
 me, or even like as well, or if I should fall in love, there 
 might be four people made miserable ; and I did not wish 
 to marry till I was twenty or twenty-one years of age ; 
 and that I had always said so both to my mother, my 
 brother, and my guardians, and that I repeated it to 
 him. 
 
 Every sentiment that gratitude could dictate, and no
 
 MARRIAGE SETTLEMENTS 29 
 
 dislike to him, made me fix this resolution, which, I 
 said, nothing should induce me to break. Mr. Craven 
 was much grieved, and Lady Berkeley, when he was 
 gone, asked me what I had said to him ; which, when I 
 told her, she greatly approved. 
 
 Through the urgency of friends and the intercessions 
 of relatives, combined with the perseverance of Mr. 
 Craven, I permitted the settlements to be made ; and 
 Admiral Craven added to the jointure twenty thousand 
 pounds for younger children. Lord Craven made an 
 offer of a house in Berkshire or Leicestershire to live in ; 
 and when Mr. Craven informed me of it, and gave me 
 the choice of which county, I asked him in which of the 
 two counties the family interest lay. As he said it was 
 in Berkshire, I replied, that as it was only a temporary 
 residence, that ought to be the place. When matters of 
 serious moment were ever placed before me, my natural 
 genius led me to reflection ; and although in trifles, 
 at that time, I appeared the most gay and thoughtless 
 person in the world, from the extreme playfulness of my 
 disposition, yet, perhaps, this extraordinary contrast 
 was not only the most amusing, but the most useful thing 
 possible, to those with whom I lived. Gay wit rarely 
 detracts from our moral conduct, whilst pedantry and 
 ostentation repel. 
 
 As Lady Berkeley was prevented from attending in 
 public for some weeks, occasioned by two family mourn- 
 ings, before I was promised to Mr. Craven, and as no one 
 would excuse me from going to the balls, I attended 
 them with my cousin Lady Tavistock, or her guardian's 
 wife, Lady Boston, who were both as much delighted 
 with my dancing as if I were their own daughter.
 
 30 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 At one of these balls I saw my father-in-law, and told 
 him I had named my two bridemaids for the wedding ; 
 and those were my young sisters. He asked me what I 
 meant, " as," he said, " you must know that I have 
 sworn that Mary should never see her mother, or ever 
 enter into her house." I replied, that I never believed 
 one word that a man said in ill-humour ; and that if he 
 did not permit my dear Mary to be one of the bride- 
 maids, I would never speak to him again, or suffer Mary 
 ever to enter into any house of mine. " Are you in 
 earnest ? " he said. — " Yes, upon my honour," I answered : 
 when, after staring at me some time, he took my hand, 
 and said, " My dear little Swan, have it all your own way ! " 
 This afforded me greater pleasure, in having obtained 
 such a satisfaction for my mother, than in having pre- 
 vailed on my brother and mother to forgive and receive 
 my sister, Lady Forbes, and her husband ; which they 
 had declared positively they never would do, till, worn 
 out by my entreaties and tears, they yielded. 
 
 Without dwelling long on the wedding, suffice it to say 
 that my governess shut herself up in her room, and would 
 see no one. All the house was sobbing, except Lady 
 Berkeley. I stood at the ceremony between the Duke 
 of Richmond and Lord Berkeley, who, it was intended, 
 was to have given me away ; but, petrified with grief at 
 the thoughts of losing me, the Duke was obliged to take 
 my hand and present it to Mr. Craven. 
 
 The next winter, and the following one, were passed 
 at Ashdown Park, where I had two daughters in two 
 years. Mr. Craven's attachment to me seemed to increase 
 daily : my manners were such a novelty to him, that he 
 has often told me he was as much alarmed at the delicacy
 
 MR. CRAVEN SUCCEEDS TO THE TITLE 31 
 
 of my mind, as at that of my person. His uncles, his 
 mother, and his unmarried sister, were excessively fond 
 of me ; and he was one of the kindest and most generous 
 sons to his mother. This affection endeared him to me. 
 
 At the birth of my second daughter. Lord Craven died. 
 My husband, who now inherited the title and estate, 
 seemed to have no other delight than in procuring for 
 me all the luxuries and enjoyments within his power, and 
 it was an eternal dispute (how amiable a dispute !) be- 
 tween us ; he always offering presents, and I refusing 
 whenever I could. 
 
 I asked him one day, after we had been married about 
 a year, why he was so much afraid least any thing should 
 hurt me. He told me, that it was because my mother 
 had mentioned something respecting me about a fort- 
 night before we were married. When he came to inform 
 Lady Berkeley that his uncle, Admiral Craven, had come 
 to put an end to all difficulties, she burst into tears, and 
 said, " I do not know you, Mr. Craven, but Elizabeth is 
 such a meek-tempered child, that you would break her 
 heart if your manners were rough." It must be remem- 
 bered that I was married at the early age of little more 
 than sixteen. 
 
 When Lord Craven informed me of this, my surprise 
 kept me silent a long time, (for surprise invariably threw 
 me into reflection,) for I had never discovered that my 
 mother thought me amiable. To the gracious gifts which 
 Providence had bestowed upon me, to my application to 
 do good, and to excel in what I was taught, I was obliged 
 to acknowledge to my governess and relations my great 
 obligations. My mother's thoughts appeared to be fixed 
 on the handsome face of my sister ; and this mortifica-
 
 32 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 tion rendered me more humble and more happy, while, 
 at the same time, this partiality prevented my sister from 
 thinking any improvement to be necessary. 
 
 Lord Craven was left by his uncles, at Oxford, till he 
 was one-and-thirty, with an allowance of eighty pounds 
 a year, to live as he could, or as he pleased. His heart 
 was naturally good ; he had received what was called a 
 polished education, though, perhaps, he had not culti- 
 vated his mind to the extent that the opportunities which 
 he had might have afforded. His life was one continued 
 ramble : to hunt in Leicestershire — to drive the Oxford 
 stage-coach — to see a new play in London — to visit Lord 
 Craven at Coombe Abbey, ^ or Admiral Craven at Ben- 
 ham, ^ were his continual occupations. He had a dislike 
 to remain longer than three weeks at a time at any place : 
 which when I had observed, he kissed my hand, and re- 
 plied, " Till I lived with you, my love, I never stayed 
 three days in one place." 
 
 His uncles, it appears, wished him earnestly to marry 
 ten years before he did ; which, he protested, he never 
 would, till he saw that woman he should like enough to 
 make his wife. 
 
 It is much to be lamented, that a man destined to be 
 a rich peer of England should have neglected the talents 
 with which nature had gifted him, and had not taken 
 pains to form his mind or manners to that elevated 
 situation. He was possessed of sound judgment and a 
 clear understanding, but had neither taste for music nor 
 the fine arts. He disliked reading any thing but news- 
 papers ; and yet he never had a dispute with his wife. 
 
 ^ still the seat of the Earls of Craven. 
 
 * Now the property of Sir Richard Sutton, Bart
 
 MY HUSBAND'S CHARACTER 33 
 
 He hated trouble, and constantly applied to me when he 
 was puzzled or perplexed ; and I was too happy to weigh 
 and consider a subject with him, and to teach him, if 
 possible, to do so himself. 
 
 I was, undoubtedly, a great resource to him ; and in 
 my talents he found the greatest use, for he had no 
 patience — a virtue which I had been well taught. If a 
 servant offended him, he turned him away that instant. 
 This was fortunate for me ; for the servants, knowing I 
 would not have done so, and that the forgiveness of a 
 first fault might prevent the occurrence of another, 
 thought that my entreaties for mercy might prevail ; and 
 therefore my mercy was implored. 
 
 The tie which bound me in eternal gratitude to him, 
 was, that on coming to his title he went to my governess, 
 and told her, that till then, their house was not large 
 enough for her to reside in comfortably ; but that now, 
 as he had ample room, and as his wife loved her, and 
 preferred her society to that of all others, as her happi- 
 ness was his study, he entreated her to come and reside 
 with them. 
 
 It is impossible to say whether the governess or the 
 pupil was most gratified at this pleasing intelligence ; but 
 I threw myself into the arms of my friend, and was lost 
 in tears, overpowered by my feelings. 
 
 Lord Craven was at the same time generous and extra- 
 vagant, and chose to settle all his accounts once a year. 
 As I had been taught that once a week was the safest 
 method, and having no allowance of what is called pin- 
 money, conceiving that his bills would be at the mercy 
 of those who made them, or might alter them, I told my 
 husband that I did not approve that his steward should 
 
 VOL. I.— D
 
 34 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 pay for my dress ; and that any allowance he chose to 
 make me, should secure him and his agents from ever 
 seeing a bill of mine. He gave me 400/. a year, out of 
 which I contrived to establish a school at Newbury for 
 destitute orphan girls. 
 
 The Earl of Warwick, ^ who had known me as a child, 
 and had watched the progress of my journey through 
 life, was delighted to have me as his neighbour ; and his 
 son, Lord Greville,^ having married Miss Peachey, who 
 was exactly of my age, and a most unaffected and amiable 
 woman, rendered Warwick Castle, and Coombe Abbey, 
 scenes of friendship and good manners, which are rarely 
 to be met with. Alas ! like all the things which gratified 
 the warm and steady affections of the heart, I was des- 
 tined to lose this amiable young friend. She died of a 
 fever three weeks after she was brought to bed of a 
 son. 
 
 The Countess of Denbigh^ was a near neighbour, of 
 whom I stood greatly in awe. I had been informed that 
 Lady Denbigh was a perfect Greek and Latin scholar, 
 and despised the society of the unlearned. Her face and 
 manners were forbidding. I had seen her on her first 
 visit to her Lord's uncle, and I then discovered that 
 either she would not speak at all, or spoke with great 
 hauteur to those whom she disliked ; and she disliked 
 Lord Craven's wife, and Lord Craven himself, and her 
 
 1 Francis, first Earl of Warwick, k.t. (1719-1773), married Eliza- 
 beth, eldest daughter of Lord Archibald Hamilton. 
 
 * George Greville (1746-18 16) succeeded as (second) Earl of War- 
 wick on the death of his father in 1773. He married, April i, 1771, 
 Georgiana, only daughter of Sir James Peachey, Bart., first Lord 
 Selsey. 
 
 3 Mary {d. 1782), third daughter of Sir John Bruce Cotton, Bart., 
 of Connington, co. Huntingdon, married, April 12, 1757, Basil, sixth 
 Earl of Denbigh (1719-1783). 
 
 I
 
 REV. MR. JENNER 35 
 
 own husband, and scarcely deigned to say " Yes " or 
 " No " to either of them. 
 
 My extreme youth and modesty, however, gained her 
 heart, and my blushes and court manners reconciled her 
 coldness. When I came to live at Coombe Abbey, great 
 was my surprise to find that the learned Lady Denbigh 
 offered to come and stay a few days with me, during the 
 absence of my husband Lord Craven ! That surprise was 
 greatly increased when I discovered in Lady Denbigh a 
 perfect musician, a good-humoured and entertaining 
 person, liking every species of wit, and charmed with 
 talents wherever she found them. I felt myself much 
 honoured, and more flattered, by her giving me her com- 
 pany when she could. 
 
 It was to Lady Denbigh that I owed the acquaintance 
 of the Rev. Mr. Jenner, Rector of Clay brook, ^ a man in 
 whom was united the first talents, cheerful wit, and the 
 steadiest virtues both of heart and mind. Never did any 
 human being that I have seen, before or since, make 
 such an impression on my recollection ; nor did any 
 human being ever rise to such a height in my opinion 
 and estimation ! Alas ! he died the victim of his atten- 
 tions to his wife, who lingered two years under a con- 
 sumption. 
 
 Charles Jenner, to whose memory I afterwards placed 
 a monument, with an epitaph of my own writing, in the 
 church-yard of Claybrook, where he was buried, was a 
 perfect musician, and played equally well, both on the 
 violin, the violoncello, and the flute ; but his wife un- 
 fortunately had no ear for music, and when she began to 
 lose her health, he sent out of his house the instruments of 
 
 * See Appendix A, Vol. II, pp. 245-248.
 
 36 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 every kind, fearful least he should torment her. The 
 physicians informed me that he fell a martyr to his close 
 attendance on his sick partner. His works are printed. 
 He twice obtained the medal for his compositions in 
 music. Never was a man gifted with so many talents, so 
 humble and unaffected as Jenner was, nor any one more 
 pleasant in society : he was never seen to oppress by the 
 superiority of his powers, nor had he the apparent vanity 
 of a desire to shine. ^ 
 
 The Earl and Countess of Aylesford' likewise took me 
 under their protection. Lady Aylesford had thirteen 
 children, some of them growing up. She wished me to 
 come to her whenever Lord Craven absented himself, but 
 I disliked leaving my children for a day. 
 
 The people of the city of Coventry also took a great 
 prepossession in my favour. In most of the visits that 
 
 1 To the Memory of the Rev. CHARLES JENNER. 
 
 Here, in the Earth's cold bosom. 
 
 Lies entombed 
 
 A Man 
 
 Whose sense by every virtue graced, 
 
 Made each harmonious Muse obey hke lyre. 
 
 Nor shall the erasing hand of powerful Time 
 
 Obliterate his name, dear to each tuneful breast. 
 
 And dearer still to soft Humanity ; 
 
 For oft the sympathetic tear would start 
 
 Unbidden from his eye ; 
 Another's woe he read, and felt it as his own. 
 Reader, 
 It is not flattery or pride 
 That raised to his remains this modest stone ; 
 Nor yet did partial fondness trace these humble lines ; 
 But weeping Friendship, taught by Truth alone. 
 To give, if possible, in future days, 
 A faint idea to the race to come 
 That here reposeth all the mortal part 
 Of one 
 Who only lived to make his friends 
 And all the world regret he e'er should die. 
 * Heneage Finch, third Earl of Aylesford (1715-1777), married, 
 1750, Charlotte, daughter of Charles, sixth Duke of Somerset. She 
 survived until 1805,
 
 MY RECEPTION AT COVENTRY 37 
 
 I paid, I was obliged to pass through the city of Coventry ; 
 and the people used to run by the sides of the coach, and 
 say, " God bless your sweet face ! " and offer cakes, &c. 
 At the end of a riot of three days in the town, owing to 
 a contested election, the Mayor of Coventry and four 
 aldermen came to Lord Craven, to entreat that I might 
 go into the city with blue ribbons, as the yellow and 
 green had thrown it into confusion : I was much averse 
 to this proposition, but Lord Craven insisted, and I 
 accordingly went in a low chaise, which generally was 
 used only in the Park. On my arrival at Coventry, I 
 was treated with the greatest respect by the people ; so 
 much was I beloved. Lord Craven next day named a 
 friend of his, through the Mayor. 
 
 On my return to England, many years after, as wife 
 of the Margrave of Anspach, I was not a Httle surprised 
 to receive an offer from Coventry to name a member in 
 Parliament. My second son, Berkeley Craven, was then 
 only fifteen years old, and my son Keppel Craven only 
 thirteen ; and as I had then no son old enough to repre- 
 sent that city in Parliament, I answered that I was 
 precluded from availing myself of their obliging offer, 
 but for which I was as much obliged as if I had 
 accepted it. 
 
 A county, likewise, did me the honour to request me 
 to recommend a member ; but far from availing myself 
 of such extreme attention, I declined to interfere, as I 
 ever had done in politics ; added to which, as wife of 
 the Margrave, I had as much upon my mind almost as 
 mental efforts could support ; concealing on the one 
 hand, from his delicate feelings, the shafts of envy and
 
 38 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 malice which were directed against me, and with the 
 other endeavouring to strew paths of flowers — a task by 
 no means easy to be accomphshed. 
 
 In London, the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough^ 
 shewed their partiality to me, and Mr. Walpole, after- 
 wards Lord Orford, Dr. Johnson, Garrick, and his friend 
 Colman, were among my numerous admirers ; and Sir 
 Joshua Reynolds did not conceal his high opinion of me. 
 Charles Fox almost quarrelled with me, because I was 
 unwilling to interfere with politics — a thing which I 
 always said I detested, and considered as being out of 
 the province of a woman. 
 
 Blenheim was on the road between Benham and 
 Coombe Abbey, and I was constantly in the habit of 
 calling there, and on one occasion stayed there ten days. 
 I there learned from some of the intimates of the Duchess, 
 what it was that induced her to give me such a prefer- 
 ence as she appeared to do. It was the perfect convic- 
 tion that her Grace had, that I had not the slightest 
 desire to attempt to please or govern ; as she was par- 
 ticularly apprehensive that any one but herself should 
 have any influence on the Duke. It was here again that 
 my negative virtue came to my assistance. 
 
 One day, a little child of the Duchess's, only two years 
 old, threw herself screaming on the carpet on my entrance, 
 and terrified the Duchess. I threw myself instantly on 
 the carpet and imitated the child's cries ; which soon 
 pacified the child, and the Duchess was diverted beyond 
 measure. 
 
 This kind of conduct, and these manners, made Lord 
 
 ^ George, fourth Duke of Marlborough, k.g. (1739-1817), married, 
 1762, Caroline, only daughter of John, fourth Duke of Bedford.
 
 CAROLINE, DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH 
 From an cngraznng by R. Purccll after ReynoMs
 
 A SERIOUS ILLNESS 39 
 
 Craven extremely fond of me, and he was highly gratified 
 in finding me so universal a favourite. If the homage of 
 the world was some satisfaction, the generosity and con- 
 fidence of my husband was another source of the greatest 
 pleasure. 
 
 But I had heavy deductions to make from my portion 
 of happiness and content. My mother. Lady Berkeley, 
 and Lord Craven, were constantly disagreeing, and car- 
 ried their quarrels to a considerable height : I was the 
 general subject of these disputes. Lady Berkeley pre- 
 tended that Lord Craven spoiled me, as she called it ; 
 and it appeared to excite her envy, when he told her, 
 that nothing was great or good enough for my mind and 
 person. 
 
 But the subject of the greatest uneasiness to me, was 
 the idea that Lord Craven might dissipate his fine for- 
 tune, as he had it all in his own power, being the third 
 in the entail ; and when I represented to my husband 
 the danger of living beyond his income, he offered to give 
 me half his estates, and let me be the manager of the 
 whole, allowing him a yearly stipend to throw away as 
 he pleased. 
 
 Could I have seen or imagined that Lord Craven was 
 as wilful and regardless of consequences as he really was, 
 strange as such an arrangement may appear, I would 
 willingly have consented to it ; although I constantly 
 refused to participate in any such plan. 
 
 The hurry which the christening of my youngest son 
 occasioned, was the cause of an illness, which I experi- 
 enced, so as to produce a sort of fit in the night, which 
 rendered me totally speechless for some hours ; and I 
 was repeatedly attacked in this way, till the merciless 
 
 '
 
 40 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 physicians sent me to Bristol to die, as the opinion of 
 six of them sanctioned. 
 
 Lady Albemarle was godmother to this child, who 
 was named Richard Keppel Craven, after Lady Craven's 
 cousin Admiral Keppel :^ this occurred just after the 
 trial which he insisted on having ; the result of which 
 was a general illumination throughout London, for three 
 successive nights. The gallant admiral stood godfather 
 in person to the infant. Lady Albemarle, my great aunt, 
 and her son General Keppel,* dined with Lord Craven ; 
 and from half-past seven, till half-past eleven, the porter 
 could never close the street-door, from the numerous 
 visits of the nobility on the occasion, who were anxious 
 to pay their respects to me ; yet not for me alone, as 
 they were desirous of shewing their respect to the Admiral, 
 whose trial, like the American war, had roused every 
 honest heart. 
 
 Bristol was only nineteen miles from Berkeley Castle. 
 Jenner, since so famed, and whose illustrious services ^ 
 to mankind ought to be immortalized, was at that time 
 there, and came to pay his last respects to one, as he 
 imagined, at the point of death, and for whom he had 
 the sincerest regard. He had the courage to inform Lord 
 Craven that my case was totally mistaken, and that it 
 was owing to such a mistake that all the singular dis- 
 orders which I had, had followed. He declared that 
 the physicians had given me bark when they ought to 
 
 ^ Augustus Keppel, first Viscount Keppel (1725-1786), admiral; 
 court- rnartialled for conduct in the operations off Brest, 1779, but the 
 charge was dismissed as " malicious and ill-founded." 
 
 * George Keppel, third Earl of Albemarle (1724-1772), general. 
 
 ^ Edward Jenner (1749-1823), the famous discoverer of vaccina- 
 tion. Jenner first practised at Berkeley, Gloucestershire.
 
 DR. JENNER 41 
 
 have administered opening medicines ; that the com- 
 phcation of complaints which had come upon me, arose 
 from the milk having fixed about the regions of the 
 stomach and lungs. He ordered me to be sent to Ben- 
 ham, where he came himself and attended me, till by his 
 proper management I was in a fair way of recovery.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 A change in Lord Craven's conduct discovered : represented to me by- 
 Lord Macartney — My remonstrances — Lord Craven goes over to 
 the Continent — He declares to me his resolution to separate from 
 me — My conduct and remarks on that occasion— Mr. Johnson, 
 Lord Craven's brother-in-law, sent to advise — Lord Craven's de- 
 parture, and the cessation of all future intercourse — Lord Berkeley 
 advises me to consult my friends — I apply to Lords Thurlow and 
 Loughborough — Leave England for France — Duke and Duchess 
 d'Harcourt — I quit France for Italy. 
 
 THAT winter I was much surprised to find 
 that often, when Lord Craven told me he was 
 going to hunt in Hampshire or Wiltshire, he 
 had been in neither places ; but in London, 
 and not residing in our own house. I of course began to 
 grow very uneasy ; and soon discovered that he had 
 formed another attachment to a person whom he had 
 found at the Crown Inn, by chance, at Reading ; left 
 there for debt by a gay colonel, whose mistress she was ; 
 till, tired by her extravagance, he had left her and her 
 charms in pledge to pay her reckoning. 
 
 Consideration for an excellent family prevents her 
 being named here ; but originally she had run away 
 with a worthy man, and married him. She soon left 
 him for a gay captain, who, disgusted with her profuse- 
 ness, deserted her, and she came upon the town. Her 
 many admirers soon forsook her, when Lord Craven 
 unfortunately became acquainted with her. He took 
 
 42
 
 A CHANGE IN LORD CRAVEN 43 
 
 excursions with her, and she drank at table with him, 
 and then gained an ascendancy over him — a melancholy 
 proof that they who never read nor reflect are always at 
 the mercy of those who will flatter the whim of the 
 moment. 
 
 This connexion necessarily prevented me from seeing 
 much of my husband, and he appeared not -so happy or 
 amused at the sight of his children as usual : all doubts 
 were, however, removed, had there been any ; when one 
 day Lord Macartney^ came to me and entreated me to 
 prevent Lord Craven from travelling in one of my coaches, 
 with a woman who called herself Lady Craven, and con- 
 ducted herself at inns in such a manner as to reflect 
 upon and tarnish my character : " And," added Lord 
 Macartney, " if Lord Berkeley knows this he will cer- 
 tainly call Lord Craven out . ' ' Lord Macartney had passed 
 through Dunchurch, where Lord Craven and the lady 
 had slept. 
 
 When Lord Craven arrived in London, in Charles 
 Street, after he had seen me and the children, I sent 
 them out of the room, and told him that I had a favour 
 to ask of him, which was, that he would not permit his 
 mistress to call herself Lady Craven. He looked much 
 confused, rose from where he was sitting, and walked 
 about the room some time. He then asked how long 
 it was, that I had known that he had a mistress ? To this 
 I replied, " Above a twelvemonth." He then took some 
 more walks across the room ; when, suddenly stopping 
 and clasping his hands together, he threw his eyes up 
 to heaven and exclaimed, " By G , you are the best- 
 
 * George Macartney, first Earl Macartney (i 737-1 806) ; Governor 
 of Madras, 1780-6 ; Ambassador Extraordinary to China, 1792.
 
 44 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 tempered creature in the world ; for I have never sus- 
 pected that you knew this ! " I then told him that he 
 must remember the spotless 3^oung creature he had 
 married, and who had borne him seven children ; and 
 that there was one thing I must insist on, which was, 
 that if he continued to live with that woman, I would 
 order a bed in the next room to his ; for her conduct was 
 such that my health might suffer. He said that she was 
 a very good sort of woman, and asked, rather peremp- 
 torily, who had informed me otherwise ? I then told 
 him fairly, that I had obtained an interview with the 
 lady's husband, who had acquainted me exactly with 
 the character of the person with whom he had formed a 
 connexion, and that the looseness of her conduct was 
 such, that it was only to be equalled by her extravagance ; 
 and that he had concluded all his account of her by pity- 
 ing my unfortunate situation. 
 
 Lord Craven began to feel indignant, and his appear- 
 ance indicated resentment ; but I continued to entreat 
 him to consider his children, and seriously to reflect on 
 the fatal consequences of his conduct. 
 
 In all probability, when he left me, he returned to the 
 lady, and informed her of all that had passed, as she 
 soon after took him over to the Continent, intending, 
 most likely, to keep him out of the way of his wife, by 
 quitting England. His stay there, however, was but of 
 short duration, as he could speak no other language but 
 English ; and his patience being exhausted, he returned 
 at the end of a six weeks' excursion. 
 
 I could never persuade his Lordship, that, although 
 he had made a will entailing his property on his three 
 sons, he might spend it all before he died. At the time
 
 LORD CRAVEN AND HIS WIFE 45 
 
 that my second son, Berkeley Craven, was born. Lord 
 Craven made his will ; at which time Lord Berkeley 
 declared that he should never marry : and, as his brother 
 was surrounded by dangers in his profession as a naval 
 officer, he was determined that Lady Granard's children 
 should never inherit one farthing of the Berkeley property. 
 My second son was his Lordship's heir ; and it was on 
 that declaration that Lord Craven made his will, making 
 my jointure £3000 a-year, and giving me Benham and 
 the house in Charles Street for my life, which subse- 
 quently he took away from me : and Lord Berkeley, 
 notwithstanding his resolution, married. 
 
 When Keppel Craven was about three years old, just 
 before the Christmas holidays, which Lord Craven always 
 spent with his wife, children, and friends, at one of his 
 beautiful seats, his Lordship one day sent for me into 
 his dressing-room, and, with much embarrassment, said, 
 " I am going to London ; I shall not pass the Christmas 
 here ; and when I go, I shall never see your face again." 
 I named to him the people I expected to come, and re- 
 presented to him how extraordinary it would appear to 
 some of them if he were absent ; but he said that he 
 was determined never to see me more. To this I answered, 
 " That is, to part with me ? " He replied, " Yes." I 
 then proceeded as far as the door, and, turning round, 
 said, with the greatest calmness I could collect, " The 
 parting of a husband and wife, who have lived together 
 for thirteen years, and have had seven children, and the 
 fortunes of those children at the merc^^ of a father 
 misled, is a thing of too great consequence to those 
 children, for me not to take the best advice upon such an 
 event ; " and I retired to my own sitting-room.
 
 46 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 I had not long been there before Lord Craven's brother- 
 in-law, Mr. Johnson, came in, and, in an ojfficious manner, 
 said, " Lady Craven, my Lord has desired me to talk to 
 you on the subject you have just been made acquainted 
 
 with ; and I would advise . ' ' I here instantly 
 
 interrupted him, and observed, " That subject is the 
 most improper one for you to interfere with, and I shall 
 be happy to converse with you on any other ; but, as 
 a father of a family yourself, you may advise Lord Craven: 
 but with you I shall not, on this point, speak one syllable." 
 He looked abashed, made a bow, and retired. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was a mild and good man, but entirely 
 governed by his wife. Lord Craven's second sister, who 
 had been married first to a Mr. Taylor, who died, and she 
 then married Mr. Johnson. This circumstance so en- 
 raged Lord Craven, (as Johnson was a younger brother, 
 and had nothing but a lieutenant's pay to live on,) 
 that Lord Craven declared he would never see — never 
 speak to her. His mother's entreaties, and the thoughts 
 of the children's starving, had no effect upon him ; and 
 nothing altered his resolutions but my repeated and 
 earnest prayers to him for a reconciliation. This act of 
 kindness Mrs. Johnson returned by another of the most 
 worthless ingratitude ; for she was the only intimate of 
 Lord Craven's who did not deprecate his new mode of 
 life, and when she saw him hesitating between his esteem 
 for me, and the wish of parting with his woman, which 
 sometimes his mistress's conduct suggested, Mrs. Johnson 
 advised him to leave his wife. She thought, if Lord 
 Craven separated from his wife, that he would want 
 somebody to do the honours of his table ; and she paid 
 her court to her brother, by every species of the basest
 
 LORD CRAVEN'S DEPARTURE 47 
 
 flattery, in hopes ultimately of obtaining an ascendancy 
 over him, in ridding herself of an obstacle to her desires. 
 
 Her visits had been less frequent than usual, and she 
 continually sent poor Johnson to see how things went on. 
 She was a sensible woman, and very entertaining, but 
 generally engrossed all the conversation to herself. 
 Neither words nor deeds were spared to bring about the 
 scheme which she had projected. 
 
 My suspicions were roused at her conduct ; but how 
 were those suspicions verified, when one day Lady 
 Berkeley, taking up a letter which enclosed another, 
 (in fact, there were two under that cover,) and thinking, 
 by the handwriting, that it was for herself, she read a 
 part ! Her curiosity was raised by what she saw. It 
 was from Mrs. Johnson to her husband ; in which, 
 among other things, she said, " I suppose the old devil is 
 
 at B ; I dare say the young one will be just like her 
 
 soon." I could not refrain from laughing, I had seen 
 many ridiculous things happen, from Lord Craven's 
 custom of permitting every one in the house to have 
 their letters enclosed to him ; but Lady Berkeley's 
 surprise would have excited the ridicule of any one, for 
 she knew but little of Mrs. Johnson. I have since heard 
 that Mrs. Johnson's disappointment was not to be con- 
 cealed, after I went to the Continent ; and she failed in 
 that hope which made her forget all her obligations to 
 me, and my conduct to Lord Craven's mother and 
 sisters, whom I always treated as my own. 
 
 My Lord set off next day for London, and, as he pre- 
 dicted, I never saw him again. I made the best excuses 
 in my power to my children and company for his absence 
 at Christmas, and I went to town, as usual, in January.
 
 48 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 I had previously written to my brother, Lord Berkeley, 
 describing the strange situation in which I was placed ; 
 and he waited on my husband, and told him I had in- 
 formed him of what had passed, and wished to know 
 what measures were to be adopted. Lord Berkeley 
 declined giving me his advice till he had known from 
 Lord Craven himself his resolution of parting with me, 
 and also the motives of such conduct ; and although he 
 could not suppose that it arose from any justifiable grounds 
 on my part, yet he should consider it his duty to examine 
 into the business. He then asked me if Lord Craven had 
 any complaint to make against me, and I answered. 
 None : I had never done any thing which could give him 
 cause of uneasiness, nor could he have reason to find 
 fault with any part of my conduct. After this, Lord 
 Berkeley turned his back and walked out of the room. 
 
 Upon my arrival in London, I was informed by Lord 
 Berkeley, that the best step to be adopted was to consult 
 some eminent lawyer. 
 
 Lord Thurlow,^ who had been Lord Chancellor, and 
 to whom I was perfectly well known, had always shewn 
 me the greatest partiality. His visits to me were fre- 
 quent, and his conversation to me always very agreeable. 
 I turned my thoughts towards his Lordship, as a proper 
 person to whom I might apply. 
 
 Lord Loughborough, 2 at this time, (whose kindness 
 I had also equally experienced,) being Lord Chancellor, 
 reminded me of the French proverb, " Qu'il ne faut 
 
 ^ Edward Thurlow, first Baron Thurlow (1731-1806) ; Lord Chan- 
 cellor from 1778 — except during the Coalition Ministry of 1783 — until 
 1792. 
 
 ■ Alexander Wedderburn (1733-1805) ; created Baron Lough- 
 borough, 1780; Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, 1780-93; Lord 
 Chancellor, 1 793-1 801 ; created Earl of Rosslyn upon his retirement.
 
 CONSULTS HER FRIENDS 49 
 
 pas s addresser aux Saints quand on pent s'addresser d 
 Dieu." I thereupon determined to send for Lord Lough- 
 borough, who flew into the most violent passion with 
 Lord Craven, and exclaimed that he must certainly be 
 mad ! His advice was, that I should prosecute Lord 
 Craven for his conduct with that woman ; that his 
 words to my brother exculpated me from all blame ; 
 that the law could part us, and allow me a provision of 
 four or five thousand a-year, and the society of my 
 daughters. 
 
 Lord Loughborough's indignation cannot easily be 
 conceived. After he left me, I said within myself — 
 Prosecute my husband ! the father of my children — a 
 man fallen from a precipice, or infected by a scarlet 
 fever ! for I looked upon his being governed by such a 
 woman as a sickness or a misfortune, — a calamity un- 
 accountable, — as she excelled neither in mind nor person, 
 and had only a good set of teeth to recommend her. 
 
 After ruminating a considerable time on this subject, 
 I sent for Lord Thurlow. Never shall I forget that dark 
 brow, that stern countenance, when I informed him of 
 what I had to say ! His astonishment kept him silent : 
 he appeared then extremely concerned ; but his silence 
 lasted so long, that I thought it proper to say something 
 to put an end to it. 
 
 " My Lord," I said, " I am told, that if I prosecute 
 Lord Craven I shall find redress." " Redress ! " he said 
 instantly ; "for what ? The man does an injury to 
 himself : but tell me, is it true that Lord Craven has all 
 his large fortune to himself, and at his own disposal ? " 
 I replied that he had. His Lordship then, in the most 
 impressive manner, asked me if I should ever forgive 
 
 VOL. I. — E
 
 50 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 myself, if I did not make every effort to preserve that] 
 fortune for my seven children, as I had none to give' 
 them myself ; and that, as Lord Craven had placed him- 
 self entirely in my power by the folly he was guilty of, 
 he must give me at least my marriage-settlement. That 
 the best thing I could do, according to his ideas, was, 
 that I should go where I pleased, and take any children 
 I might think proper : " But," added he, " leave your 
 daughters with your Lord ; without which obstacle, 
 that woman will go and live in all your fine places, 
 enjoy all the elegancies you have created for the Craven 
 family, and gain the entire and unlimited ascendancy! 
 over Lord Craven's mind." 
 
 I shall never forget Lord Thurlow's manner of telling 
 me this — nor how near I saw tears starting from those ^ 
 eyes which were supposed never to have wept. 
 
 I now told Lady Berkeley and my brother that my 
 resolutions were fixed. I should go to France, and take 
 my child with me who most wanted my care. 
 
 At that time, my eldest son and Berkeley Craven were i 
 at Eton, lodging with their tutor, Mr. Foster, who, like 
 most pedants, was remiss in his instilments of these 
 moral and religious principles which were to guide them 
 through the paths of life, where fixed principles only can! 
 steer mankind through those errors, by which even the 
 most amiable qualities may be misled. I recollect the 
 Italian proverb, as well applicable to this subject : Mai 
 va la barca senza reme. My son Berkeley Craven, not- 
 withstanding these disadvantages, has displayed allj 
 those fine manly feelings which dignify the Englishman ; 
 and my third son, Keppel, is an ornament to mankind. 
 
 Lord Berkeley obtained a promise from Lord Craven
 
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 HER FEELINGS 51 
 
 that my daughters should write to me every fortnight ; 
 and that, whenever I returned to England, as I should 
 not like to go to any of his houses, I should send for my 
 children when and where I pleased. 
 
 Lord Craven having promised every thing, I set out 
 on my journey. 
 
 My mother's surprise at my extreme tranquillity I 
 shall never forget. " You do not even name Benham ! " 
 she said. I then consulted my feelings, and found my 
 governess was quite right, when, one day, I was telling 
 her that I neither knew the sensations of envy nor 
 hatred — we were talking French — and she said, " Vous ne 
 hai'ssez pas, mats vous faites pis, vous mepHsez ; " and 
 then, and then only, I felt really that it was contempt 
 which shut out my heart at that moment from every 
 regret, and that my mind was too lofty to descend to 
 things personal to myself, where the fate of many was 
 concerned. 
 
 What could I hope for the children of a man, who for 
 thirteen years had been declaring to the world, that no 
 one, as a friend or companion, could be equal to me, 
 besides my charms as a woman and my conduct as a 
 mother ? That man left all those perfections, as he called 
 them, for a woman with whom no one could live who 
 had known her, and who had been rejected by every one 
 but my husband. What, after this, could I expect for 
 my children ? 
 
 General Dalrymple,^ uncle to the late Earl of Stair, 
 belonged to a club of which Lord Craven was a member ; 
 and in the autumn of that Christmas which Lord Craven's 
 mistress had insisted on his not passing with his family, 
 
 ^ General Sir Hew Whitefoord Dalrymple (i 750-1 S30).
 
 52 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 they were left together tete-ct-tete after the club dinner 
 was ended. Lord Craven had taken too much wine, 
 and he suddenly asked the General what was his opinion 
 of me. General Dalrymple answered, that he only knew 
 me personally, and bowed to me when he saw me ; but 
 that if he was to form any judgment of me, by what he 
 had heard, and from what Lord Craven himself had said 
 of me, he should imagine that I was a most lovely person. 
 Lord Craven told him that I was so ; but that he was 
 determined to leave me, and that without giving me a 
 shilling : and added, at the same time, that he had 
 bribed every servant in the house to watch me ; that, 
 beautiful and lovely as I was, I most likely should have 
 a lover in the winter ; and that, though he would never 
 divorce me, he then could turn me off as he pleased. 
 
 General Dalrymple desired him to recollect that I 
 was the Earl of Berkeley's sister ; that no one had desired 
 him to think of me : and asked him, whether he had no 
 regard to the rank and youth of his wife, and to his own 
 professions about her excellencies. When the General 
 found all he said avail nothing, he discontinued speak- 
 ing, and took an opportunity to let me know all the 
 conversation. 
 
 I must confess, that contempt — cool-rooted contempt 
 — was all I felt for Lord Craven's folly ; still determined 
 to serve him, in order that I might serve my children. 
 
 When I took my lovely child Keppel away with me, 
 my brother. Lord Berkeley, who, I found by his conduct 
 afterwards, had his plan for making Lord Craven and 
 myself live together again, told me that I must promise 
 my husband to return the boy to his father when he was 
 eight years old. To this I consented, on the condition
 
 z 5 
 
 "^ra 
 
 ^!^ip
 
 QUEEN CAROLINE 53 
 
 that my children left with Lord Craven should write 
 constantly to me. 
 
 I immediately set out for Paris, (1783), where the old 
 Duchess of Berwick^ was, who had known me, when I, 
 at thirteen years old, was there. She became quite en- 
 raged when she heard of Lord Craven's conduct, nor was 
 she more pleased at that of my brother. Lord Craven 
 or his mistress, or both, filled the newspapers with the 
 most unfounded falsehoods respecting me ; and she very 
 properly said, that my brother should not only con- 
 tradict those reports, but that he should punish the 
 printers, and, if possible, the authors of them ; and she 
 appeared to be quite angry at my indifference about them. 
 
 At the time of my separation from Lord Craven, it 
 was suggested to me that I ought to have communicated 
 to the Queen all the circumstances of that unfortunate 
 business ; but I had reasons which prevented me from 
 taking such a step. In the first place, I did not consider 
 that the Peers and Peeresses of England were treated at 
 Court in the manner which they were accustomed to, 
 in the days of Queen Caroline, consort of George the 
 Second. The late King's brothers themselves were not 
 permitted to dine with their Majesties. The Duke of 
 Cumberland, the youngest, was not old enough, cer- 
 tainly ; but the Dukes of York and Gloucester were not 
 allowed that privilege, although the Queen's brothers, 
 when they came to England, were admitted to their 
 table, daily. 
 
 ^ The Duchess of Berwick was a sister of the Duke of Aloa. Both 
 the Duke and the Duchess, who were more generally known as the 
 Duke and Duchess of Liria, visited Horace Walpole in 1764. He says 
 that the Duke resembled a cook, but that his wife was a "rational 
 civil being, not at all handsome, but cosy and genteel." See Journals 
 and Correspondence of Mary Berry, Vol. II, p. 29.
 
 54 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 The Countess of Suffolk, my godmother, often spoke 
 to me in commendation of the rules prescribed by Queen 
 Caroline : there was no Peeress or Peeress's daughter, 
 who was ill-treated by either father or husband, who did 
 not seek redress and protection at her hands. When I 
 quitted England, my mind was so dejected on account of 
 my daughters, that I never gave a thought concerning 
 myself ; and even if I had, I should never have incurred 
 the risk of a refusal from the Queen of England : I was a 
 Plantagenet, and my proud spirit could not stoop to an 
 explanation. 
 
 I will relate an anecdote, soon after I was married, 
 which caused much conversation. — Her Majesty ex- 
 pressed a desire to see a certain painting done by Lady 
 Bolingbroke. As a Peeress of the realm, her Ladyship 
 thought it proper to attend herself with the picture ; 
 and, although a lady of the bedchamber, but not in wait- 
 ing, she sent a page to say that she was solicitous to 
 present the picture in person. Lord Bute, who was 
 present with their Majesties at the time, came out and 
 said, in a peremptory manner, that Lady Bolingbroke 
 must deliver it to the lady in waiting. 
 
 When I was presented to Her Majesty by my mother, 
 before my marriage, the Queen appeared to be highly 
 pleased with a beautiful fan which I held in my hand, 
 and requested to see it. As I understood the court 
 etiquette, I gave it to the lady in waiting, in order that 
 she might present it to her Majesty, who seemed greatly 
 pleased at my behaviour, at the same time giving me her 
 fan to hold, which was beautifully studded with dia- 
 monds. 
 
 Queen Caroline, wife of George the Second^^ always
 
 QUEEN CAROLINE 55 
 
 retained the surname of Queen Caroline the Good, and 
 well deserved so distinguished an appellation ; for she 
 not only listened with sympathy to the sorrows of her 
 own sex, but always comforted them during their afflic- 
 tion. Her Majesty did not even wait for a complaint, 
 when she could repair a grievance. Lady Caroline 
 Stanhope, who afterwards married the Earl of Harring- 
 ton,^ had been one day closetted with the Queen. When 
 the audience was over, Lady Caroline was descending the 
 stairs of the palace of St. James's as the Duke of Cum- 
 berland was going up. Pretending to bow at the feet of 
 her Ladyship, he suddenly seized a part of her dress in 
 such a manner as to produce from the hand of the in- 
 dignant fair a violent slap on the face. In a rage at the 
 treatment he had experienced, he hastened to the apart- 
 ment of the Queen, and represented to her what had 
 happened : Her Majesty immediately sent for Lady 
 Caroline ; upon whose return, instead of reprimanding, 
 she graciously thanked her for punishing one, however 
 high his rank, who could lose sight of his dignity in 
 want of respect for a female. 
 
 At the time that this illustrious personage was the wife 
 of George the Second as only hereditary Prince of Han- 
 over, my godmother was warmly attached to her. Long 
 afterwards, when her own husband became Earl of Suffolk, 
 she was a lady of the bedchamber. In this post of 
 honour she continued till her widowhood ; indeed, until 
 she married my great-uncle George Berkeley, which 
 induced her to retire from court. The Earl and Countess 
 had not lived together for years, and the Queen's protec- 
 
 1 William Stanhope, .second Earl of Harrington (1719-1779) ; mar- 
 ried in 1746 Caroline, eldest daughter of Charles, second Duke of 
 Grafton.
 
 56 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 tion alone preserved her from his ill-treatment. In 
 proportion as the dislike of Lord Suffolk for his wife in- 
 creased, and his calumnies diffused, that persecuted 
 lady was noticed and caressed. 
 
 In the spring of that winter I went over to England 
 to see my daughters, and to inquire into the cause of 
 their writing to me so seldom. I was assured by them, 
 that their father had forbidden them to write at all, 
 and I contented myself with assuring them that he had 
 promised to permit them to write to me every fortnight, 
 and that he had broken the engagement which he had 
 entered into. 
 
 Left to chance, and that just Providence which I 
 always firmly relied on then, as I do now, to protect 
 me, and to teach me to bear with fortitude and patience 
 any new grief that I might have to encounter, I confess 
 it, the contempt which I felt for my husband's conduct 
 rose, like oil on the surface of water, uppermost in my 
 mind, and steeled my heart while it sealed my lips. 
 
 My youngest brother, then a captain in the navy, told 
 me that he would return with me to France, if I would 
 go into Normandy, which province he wished to see. I 
 consented to this, and we hired a vessel at Southampton, 
 when we arrived there, in order to go over to Cherbourg ; 
 but the night previous to the morning that we were to 
 sail, an express came from Lord Berkeley to his brother, 
 to stand for the county of Gloucester, as one of the 
 members was dead. This disappointment grieved me 
 exceedingly, and I sailed, with my child and a very 
 beautiful horse, for Cherbourg. ^ From thence I went to 
 
 1 General Dumouriez, at this time Military Commandant of Cher- 
 bourg, was busily engaged in fortifying the place and drawing up plans 
 for the invasion of the Isle of Wight. He had frequent difficulties 
 with the Duke of Harcourt, who was his immediate chief and a man of 
 considerable capacity,
 
 THE DUG D'HARCOURT 57 
 
 Caen, and from thence to Harcourt, where I stayed some 
 days with the Duke and Duchess. They treated me with 
 great kindness, and, I may say, respect. 
 
 There were about thirty visitors in the chateau, and 
 the time passed very agreeably. The Duke was an un- 
 commonly sensible man, extremely pleasant, and highly 
 accomplished : he was Governor of Normandy, and had 
 been in England, at Lord Harcourt's in Oxfordshire. ^ 
 Pleased with the English plan of laying out their gardens, 
 he had, with great taste, laid out his own at Harcourt in 
 Normandy. There was a theatre, also, in the chateau, 
 for which he wrote some very pleasing petite pieces. 
 
 I never was acquainted with any French person with 
 whom I was more delighted than with the Duke d' 
 Harcourt. He possessed all the gaiete of the French, 
 without their levity ; and had all the understanding of 
 an Englishman, without his austerity. The founder of 
 this family was a Monsieur Riquet, who planned the 
 Canal de Languedoc, the finest of the kind ever seen : 
 it connects France with the ocean and the Mediter- 
 ranean. Lewis the Fourteenth ennobled Riquet, and his 
 descendant was lately ambassador from Lewis the 
 Eighteenth to the Court of Vienna. With his nephew, 
 the Marquis de Sommery, I have been acquainted from 
 his infancy ; and was lately with Monsieur de Blacas, 
 the French ambassador to Rome, 
 
 From Harcourt I proceeded to St, Germain-en-laye, 
 where I took the Pavilion de la Joucherre. Here I had 
 several friends. This chateau was two leagues from 
 Paris. When in the interior of the Abbaye Royale, 
 
 ^ Simon, first Earl Harcourt (1727-1777). His son George Simon, 
 who succeeded him, hvcd until 1S09. ^_._
 
 58 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 the abbess, the Princesse de Beauveau, allowed me an 
 apartment in the interior of the convent, because I did 
 not wish to go to an hotel garni, in Paris, when business 
 called me there. 
 
 It was here that I became acquainted with the Cara- 
 man family, all of whom were most interesting, and the 
 females of it an ornament to society. When people 
 on business wanted to speak to me, they spoke through 
 the grate of the abbess's parlour. 
 
 On my first arrival at Paris, Madame Elizabeth's 
 milliner was recommended to me. She was a lady of 
 noble birth ; her brother was a bishop. Her family 
 had pressed her to take the veil, on account of her want 
 of beauty ; but she was a sensible, determined woman, 
 and she told her brother she would change her name and 
 provide for herself, having before thrown herself on the 
 goodness of Madame Elizabeth, whose protection she 
 sought. Having hired a house in an unfashionable part 
 of Paris, she procured a comfortable living by the work 
 of her hands. 
 
 This woman was employed by the Queen of France and 
 Madame Elizabeth ^ to watch my conduct, which for 
 some months appeared to me very extraordinary ; for 
 she frequently stayed some hours with my child while 
 I was visiting, or at the Abbaye Royale of St. Antoine, 
 and seemed more engaged with my child than in wishing 
 to sell me milhnery. I was so fond of my beloved boy, 
 that for some time I was blind to her intrigues ; till one 
 
 day she asked me if it was the Prince de S who came 
 
 so often to see me. I blushed with anger and surprise : 
 she thought me angry only ; and then informed me that 
 
 1 Marie Antoinette and. her sister-in-law, the Princess Elizabeth.
 
 MADAME DE POLIGNAC 59 
 
 not only the police, but that she herself, gave an account 
 to the Queen of my whole conduct ; but said, " Vous 
 etes si aimahle que je me fie d vous ! " and then told me 
 that the Queen and Madame Elizabeth, knowing my 
 partiality for France, wished me to take a house at 
 Versailles — that my situation in life made me the only 
 person they could have, as an unsuspected friend, to 
 come to, and to forget, in the charms of my society, the 
 forms and falsehoods of courtiers. 
 
 I was still more surprised to find, that the Queen had 
 not made Madame de Polignac invite me to her Friday 
 evening parties. ^ Her Majesty had made her an allowance 
 for the purpose of inviting foreigners to her house, and 
 there the Queen went without pomp, to form acquaint- 
 ance, particularly with the English, to whom unfortu- 
 nately she shewed too much predilection. 
 
 1 told this milliner that I never had permitted the 
 
 Prince de S to be presented to me, because he had a 
 
 very bad character ; and that it was the Margrave of 
 Anspach who so frequently visited me : that he had 
 known me from my childhood, and had conceived for 
 me the same partiality that all who had known me 
 from my infancy retained for me. 
 
 Some time after, the Duke of Dorset 2 asked me, why 
 Madame de Polignac tormented him with so many 
 questions about me. I asked him what questions. He 
 replied, " Such as these : Est-elle aussi jolie ? A-t-clle 
 autant d' esprit que le monde dit ? " — " And what did 3'ou 
 
 ^ The Duchess de Polignac was the mother of Jules de Polignac 
 {b. 1782), the Prime Minister of Charles X, who was mainl}' responsible 
 for the Revolution of 1830. Madame de Polignac was a very intimate 
 friend of Marie Antoinette. 
 
 2 John Frederick, third Duke (1745-1799) ; Ambassador at Paris, 
 1783-1789.
 
 6o 
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 answer ? " said I to the Duke. — " I told her," said he, 
 " that we had twenty women at Court more handsome 
 than you ; mats, pour les graces et l' esprit, pas une." 
 
 I then clearly perceived that the Queen had raised 
 uneasiness in the mind of Madame de Polignac by her 
 inquiries about me ; and supposed, that if the Duke 
 had told her that I was very handsome, but a fool, she 
 was to have invited and have turned me to her purposes. 
 
 To add to the Queen's gaucheries about me, one day, 
 when, with some English and my child, I was in the 
 Gallery at Versailles, to see the Royal Family pass into 
 the chapel, the Queen saw the child, and clasping her 
 hands said, " Dieu ! le joli enfant ! " and sent a captain 
 of the guards to inquire who the child belonged to. I 
 answered, that it was Lord Craven's youngest son. 
 Most other women but myself would have answered, 
 " C'est mon enfant ; " but the captain surveying me, said, 
 " A qui, Madame, ai-je I'honneur de parley ? " and I 
 replied^ " A sa mere." The child, flattered by this, en- 
 treated me to stay and see the Queen pass again. Upon 
 her Majesty's return, she and Madame Elizabeth stopped 
 and curtsied repeatedly to me, and said, " Restez avec 
 nous, Madame I " while Madame Ehzabeth, with a 
 voice as sweet as her angelic countenance, repeated this 
 phrase. 
 
 The people in the Gallery immediately made every 
 inquiry to learn who I was : and, indeed, the manner 
 in which the Queen and Madame Elizabeth curtsied 
 to me, bespoke something extraordinary ; for had I 
 been a sovereign in disguise, more regard and respect 
 could not have been shown. I hurried away as fast as 
 I could, filled with many reflections.
 
 JOHN FREDERICK SACKVILLE, DUKE OF DORSET 
 From an engravinj^ by T. Hardy after Reynolds
 
 HER CHARACTER FOR VERACITY 6i 
 
 My mother at this time earnestly recommended me 
 to go to Brunswick, assuring me that the Duke^ would 
 be very glad to see me. Why she had this wish I did not 
 know at the time ; but I afterwards discovered, that 
 the Duchess of Brunswick was anxious that one of her 
 daughters should become a princess of Great Britain ; 
 for which reason she was civil in the extreme to the people 
 of our nation. As I had an utter aversion to all kinds of 
 matrimonial speculations, and that I might have nothing 
 hereafter that my conscience might upbraid me with, 
 I positively declined the remotest interference, either 
 by word or action, which might deprive a female of her 
 liberty. Having never in my life been the means of per- 
 suasion with any lady to accept a partner for life, I took 
 particular care not to have an opportunity of reproaching 
 myself, by becoming a confidante or confederate in such 
 an undertaking. 
 
 I had, during my appearance in the world, since I had 
 been settled in life, thoroughly established my character 
 for veracity ; and this character had been strongly 
 impressed on the mind of our Sovereign. His Majesty 
 used to say to Lord Denbigh or Lord Warwick, when 
 various reports were spread about persons or events in 
 the distant countries, " What does Lady Craven say of 
 it ? " The Dukes of York and Gloucester, his brothers, 
 and the Princess of Wales, who all questioned me about 
 things, when I came to London, knew when matters were 
 wrong ; because, when I could not speak favourably, 
 I would not speak at all. In the most ordinary and 
 common matters, I am sorry to observe that the generality 
 of people think detraction is both pleasing and amusing to 
 
 ^ Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick {d. 1806).
 
 62 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 the ears of those whose rank gives them a right to ask 
 questions ; but I always thought the reverse, and I am 
 confident that the Duchess of Brunswick imagined that 
 I should write favourably of her family to England, if 
 I was treated with kindness by her. 
 
 I thought at first that the Duchess mistook me for 
 my eldest sister, to whom she had stood godmother in 
 person ; but a nobleman subsequently informed me that 
 it was her intention to have promoted an union between 
 the Prince of Wales and her daughter :^ and it seems 
 now as if the issue of her wishes had been a fated presenti- 
 ment to me of all that has happened in consequence of 
 the completion of her object. 
 
 Lord Berkeley had ever given but one reason for his 
 refusing to marry, to all those who pressed him on the 
 subject : he said he would never marry till he could 
 find a woman like me in temper and in talents. Un- 
 fortunately the woman he did marry was unlike me in 
 every respect. His resolutions, like those of most other 
 men, were made only to be broken. 
 
 To return to the Queen of France. Dining one day at 
 the table of a Frenchman of distinction, the conversation, 
 as was usual, turned chiefly on abuse of the Queen. I 
 had hitherto sat silent, when a lady addressed me : 
 " Miladi, vous ne dites rien." I made no reply ; but 
 after a pause, I said, " Je dirai bientot." I afterwards 
 observed to the ladies, when we had withdrawn to take 
 coffee, that there were three topics on which I never 
 discoursed, unless tete-d-tete with a friend, — love, royalty, 
 and religion : and since it was the custom in France 
 for the servants in livery to wait till the company had 
 
 * Afterwards Caroline, Princess of Wales.
 
 THE QUEEN OF FRANCE 63 
 
 retired from the table, the practice of making her Majesty 
 the constant theme of censure would teach their foot- 
 men, when left to themselves, to take the same liberties 
 with their own characters. I conceived that a sovereign 
 and the nobility were reciprocally bound to defend and 
 support each other ; and if they observed any thing 
 which was wrong, they had better make their communica- 
 tions to the Queen herself. 
 
 Detraction never reached Madame Elizabeth. It was 
 universally agreed that she was a model of perfection ; 
 and how could she be so attached to her Majesty, if she 
 was faulty as they represented her ? But her soul was 
 pure and celestial : besides her graces and attractions, 
 she was adorned with generosity and goodness : she was 
 a good daughter, a good sister, and a good friend. 
 
 It is an injustice to the Queen, to imagine that a 
 relaxed system was introduced at Court by her Majesty. 
 At the period when she first arrived in France, Madame 
 du Barry was installed as society for the King and the 
 noblesse. Blame was thrown upon the Queen for that 
 which existed before her arrival : but Marie Antoinette 
 abhorred flatterers, and selected for her friends chiefly 
 those females whose virtues excelled. Courtezans might 
 have been ungrateful to her, but her friends were truly 
 sincere amidst all her adversity. The Princess de Lam- 
 balle, who quitted France, returned to share the dangers 
 of her Queen, and she paid the forfeit of her fidelity with 
 her life. That very Madame de Polignac, who was 
 banished for the Queen, bore with her in her exile, sen- 
 timents of the dangers that surrounded her friend, while 
 she could not partake of them : she died at length, falling 
 under the weight of the grief which she suffered in de- 
 ploring her loss.
 
 64 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 The devotion of the Duke de Pohgnac to the whole 
 Royal Family was not greater than that of his Duchess. 
 Madame la Marquise d'Ossun, lady of the bedchamber 
 to the Queen, and her last favourite, perished on the 
 scaffold. The Duchess de Fitzjames, with whom I was 
 particularly acquainted, the Princess de Chimois.^ the 
 Princess of Tarentum, and the Duchess de Maille, with 
 many others, escaped by a mere miracle. 
 
 In the dreadful winter which preceded that in which 
 I was at Paris, the Queen gave proofs of her goodness 
 and beneficence : she caused to be distributed from her 
 private purse five hundred Louis to the poor. In pre- 
 senting this sum to the lieutenant of police, she said to 
 him, " Hasten to dispose of this money to the unhappy ; 
 never did I part with a sum which was so gratifying to 
 my feelings ! " At this period she was honoured with 
 the good opinion of the people, who did justice to her 
 humanity. They raised a pyramid of snow to her honour 
 at the extremity of the street of Coq St. Honore, with 
 these verses inscribed upon it, — 
 
 Reine, dont la bont6 surpasse les appas, 
 Pres du Roi bienfaisant occupe ici ta place ; 
 Si ce monument fr^le est de neige et de glace, 
 Nos coeurs ponr toi ne le sont pas. 
 
 The solicitude of Marie Antoinette was directed with- 
 out distinction to the miserable. Paris and Versailles 
 were not the only cities where her benefits were felt. 
 Her enemies pretended that she bore in her heart a 
 preference for the interests of her brother, the Emperor 
 Joseph II, to the welfare of the French nation. The 
 
 ^ Probably de Chimay.
 
 THE QUEEN OF FRANCE 65 
 
 alliance which the ministry of the Duke de ChoiseuP had 
 contracted between the courts of Austria and France 
 might have ensured the tranquillity of Europe for a con- 
 siderable length of time ; but the French character was 
 an enemy to repose, and tranquillity could not suit a 
 nation whose impetuosity would admit of no equal. 
 
 One day, as the Queen was amusing herself in the 
 Bois de Boulogne, she met the old Marshal Biron,^ 
 colonel of the regiment of French guards, who was just 
 recovered from a long illness, and was taking gentle 
 exercise on horseback, in order to prepare himself for a 
 review before the King some days after, at the head of his 
 regiment. The Queen addressed him, and told him that 
 she should be glad to see him at the review. The old 
 warrior, who did not recognize her Majesty, from the veil 
 which covered her, replied, with that affability which al- 
 ways distinguished him with the ladies, that he would 
 take care to place her there in such a situation that she 
 should have a perfect view of all that was going on ; and 
 requested to know her name, that he might take it down, 
 to recommend her to the officer of the police who that 
 day was to preside. Judge of the surprise of the venerable 
 Marshal, when he learned from the mouth of the lady, 
 that it was his sovereign to whom he had offered the 
 assurance of his protection ! 
 
 The Duke of Orleans, ^ who was at the head of the faction 
 which subsequently overthrew the unfortunate Queen, 
 
 ^ Etienne Franfois, Due de Choiseul (1719-1785), French Minister 
 of Foreign Affairs, 1761. He was exiled in 1770, but was recalled on 
 the accession of Louis XVI. 
 
 * Louis Antoine de Gontaut Biron (i 700-1 7S8) served with dis- 
 tinction in Italy, Bohemia, and Flanders. He was Marshal of Flanders 
 and Governor of Languedoc. 
 
 ' Louis Philippe Joseph, Due d'Orleans (i 747-1 793), who took the 
 name " EgaUt6." 
 
 VOL. I.— F
 
 66 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 was a man who had received from nature the most 
 happy dispositions, and a form of beauty rarely to be 
 met with. In his early life having given himself up to 
 dissipation, and being lost both to manners and reputa- 
 tion, he bade defiance to the opinions of the world : 
 his palace was the scene of every species of voluptuous- 
 ness and intemperance. Married to the virtuous and 
 incomparable daughter of the Duke de Penthievre,^ he 
 quitted her chaste society for the pollutions of orgies 
 which would not be credited, were they not witnessed 
 by too many. His physiognomy soon underwent a 
 change, and suffered the impressions of his excesses. 
 
 He seduced into the same views his brother-in-law, 
 the young Prince de Lamballe, who one day was to inherit 
 the name and the immense fortune of the Duke de Pen- 
 thievre. This young prince had just contracted a marriage 
 with a princess of the house of Savoy, under the most 
 happy auspices, when a malady tore him in the flower of 
 his age from the arms of his amiable wife. As this pre- 
 mature death assured the Duke of Orleans of immense 
 wealth, it was a difficult matter to persuade the public 
 that he had not at least provoked it by his counsels and 
 his example. 
 
 From the immorality which he displayed, the Queen 
 refused to admit him into her circles of Trianon or 
 Versailles ; and from this rejection he became her decided 
 enemy, and aided in the aspersions that were thrown out 
 against her. This exclusion by her Majesty ought to 
 have been a proof to the contrary of those indirect 
 insinuations which were thrown out against her. 
 
 ^ Louise Marie Adelaide de Bourbon, born in 1753. She married 
 "Egalite" in 1768, and survived him for more than a quarter of a 
 century, dying in 1821. 
 
 1
 
 MADAME GENLIS ey 
 
 Many other circumstances contributed to nourish this 
 animosity. The Duke of Orleans had conceived the 
 project of an union between one of his sons and the 
 daughter of the French King. This scheme met with the 
 direct opposition of Marie Antoinette, and tended to 
 inflame those passions which were never after to subside. 
 
 The Duke of Orleans had frequently been over to 
 England ; and not only had returned to France with the 
 fashions and follies of our nation— our horses, our jockeys, 
 our games and our racings ; but he had also adopted 
 most of our false notions of politics, which he had in- 
 dustriously circulated at home. 
 
 I ought here to do justice to the talents of Madame 
 Genlis,! to whose first impressions of education the Duke 
 and the other Princes were highly indebted. In the early 
 part of their lives they imbibed from her the first rudi- 
 ments of their taste ; and though they subsequently 
 deviated from her instructions, when left to themselves, 
 it could be no disparagement to her exertions. 
 
 The favour which Madame de Polignac enjoyed with 
 the King and Queen excited the jealousy of many of the 
 noble families of France. She had a daughter, for 
 whom the Queen proposed as a husband the Count de 
 Grammont, and in favour of this marriage he was per- 
 mitted by his Sovereign to take the title of Duke de 
 Guiche, and he was made captain of the guards. He 
 proved himself worthy of his master's favours, by his 
 fidelity and attachment. The sublime devotion of the 
 two sons of Madame de Polignac, in the flower of their 
 age, and under the most critical circumstances of the 
 
 ^ Stephanie Felicite Ducrest de Saint-Aubin, Comtesse de Genlis 
 (i 746-1 830), the author of many works.
 
 68 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 Revolution, was shown by their conduct to the object 
 of their affections. 
 
 The world will recollect the emigration of Count 
 Armand and Count Jules de Polignac, who, when they 
 could no longer serve their mistress, shed their blood for 
 her descendants. 
 
 The Princesse de Rohan Guimenee,i to whom I was 
 tenderly attached, having quitted her charge as gouver- 
 nante to the children of France, the care of them was 
 entrusted to Madame de Polignac. The delicate health of 
 the Dauphin rendered the task the more difficult. Three 
 years after her appointment, the birth of a second prince, 
 and after that, of a princess, added to her fatigues. 
 
 The Princesse de Guimenee had experienced a reverse 
 of fortune which no longer permitted her to remain in 
 France. Her Majesty had ever been extremely attached 
 to this princess, who performed her duties with fidelity 
 and exactness. Although this separation was unvoidable, 
 as it arose from the distressed state of M, de Guimenee's 
 finances, which the Princess could neither foresee nor 
 prevent, yet she received from the Queen every testimony 
 of affection and tenderness. The Countess de Marsan, 
 nee Rohan, on this occasion, shewed a greatness of soul 
 rarely to be met with. She was formerly the governess 
 of Louis the Sixteenth and the other princes : on hearing 
 of the distresses of her nephew, she abandoned a great 
 portion of her immense fortune to the creditors, and 
 retired into a convent. 
 
 The Prince de Guimenee died in 1802, exercising a 
 mechanical profession in a village in Switzerland, as he 
 
 ^ This name should be Gu6men6. The Princess de Guemene was 
 governess to the Children of France, and is frequently mentioned in 
 the Memoirs of the Countess de Boigne.
 
 MARIA THERESA 69 
 
 would not be longer a charge to his family. His two sons 
 signalized themselves in the bravest manner during the 
 war, in the Austrian service. 
 
 When Maria Theresa was pregnant with Marie An- 
 toinette, she one day put this question to one of her 
 confidential attendants : — " Shall I give to the world a 
 son or a daughter ? " — " A prince," was the reply. 
 " Well," said the Empress, " I will lay a wager of two 
 ducats that I shall produce a daughter." The courtier 
 was obliged to accept the wager. At the expiration of 
 the time, her Majesty having brought forth a princess, 
 he found that he had lost, and sought the means of 
 discharging his debt. The celebrated Abbe INIetastasio,^ 
 who was with him, observing him to be in a reverie on 
 the occasion, demanded of him the cause. " Judge of 
 my embarrassment," he said ; "I have wagered with the 
 Empress that she would give us a prince, and she has 
 disappointed us by giving us a princess ! "• — " Well ! " 
 said the Abbe ; " you have lost, and you must pay." — 
 " Pay ! " replied the courtier ; " but how shall I dare to 
 offer two ducats to the Empress ? " — " If that be all," 
 said Metastasio, " I will extricate you from your em- 
 barrassment : " he then took from his pocket a pencil, 
 and wrote the four following lines : — 
 
 Ho perduto ; I'augusta figlia 
 
 A pagar m'ha condannato ; 
 Ma s'e vero ch'a voi simiglia, 
 
 Tutto il mondo ha guadagnato. 
 
 " Put these ducats into an envelope," added the Abbe, 
 " and present them to the Empress boldly." His advice 
 
 ^ Pietro Metastasio (1698-1782), author of twenty-eight grand 
 operas and many dramas and poems. The ecclesiastical title given 
 him by Lady Craven is probably an error.
 
 70 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 was followed ; and the Empress smiled at the ingenious 
 manner in which the debt was acquitted. 
 
 The Queen of France, at the birth of the Duchess 
 d'Angouleme,^ had also earnestly desired that the infant 
 about to be born should be a male. Her views were 
 disappointed ; this made no alteration, however, in the 
 iTiind or temper of the Queen. But this child had nearly 
 cost her her life :— The accouchement was long and 
 laborious, and attended with the greatest danger. The 
 Abbe de Vermont had a brother, very skilful in the 
 practice of midwifery, and who was held in high estima- 
 tion among the members of the colleges of surgery and 
 medicine at Paris. The Abbe presented him to the Queen, 
 who accepted his services ; and he justified the choice by 
 his devotion and perseverance. In the dangerous situation 
 in which the Queen was placed, he proposed to bleed her 
 Majesty in the foot. This proposition appeared, to the 
 physicians and surgeons present, to be the most formidable 
 operation ; De Vermont persisted notwithstanding. 
 They told him that he would be responsible to all France 
 for his attempt : he braved the menace, bled the Queen, 
 and restored her to life. 
 
 After my amiable sister-in-law and her husband had 
 left me, I found much pleasure in my rural amusements 
 at my pavilion. I had cows and a fine dairy : the dairy 
 was situated on the side of the court opposite the entrance- 
 gate. One day, while I was standing there, I perceived 
 a Capuchin Friar approaching, who, looking round, 
 soon observed me, and advancing, addressed me, saying : 
 " Lady Craven, I presume ? " On my answering that I 
 
 '^ Marie Therese Charlotte {b. December ig, 1788). Married her 
 cousin, the Due d'Angouleme, June 10, 1799.
 
 RURAL AMUSEMENTS 71 
 
 was Lady Craven, he put his hand into his bosom, and 
 shewing me a letter, " This I have brought," he said, 
 " from your friend the Duchess de Villahermosa. She 
 has confided it to me, and I have brought it from Madrid, 
 walking all the way, in order to deliver it into your 
 own hands." I begged him to refresh himself, and in- 
 quired how he could guess that I was Lady Craven ? He 
 replied, " From the description which the Duchess gave 
 me of your person, and still more so from your employ- 
 ment." In the course of our conversation, I asked him 
 why the wines in general were better in the Abbayes 
 than in other places. He then told me the process, 
 which was, that, after the juice of the grape was pressed 
 out, it was closed up hermetically, instead of being 
 allowed to ferment in the open vat. 
 
 To prevent, during the fermentation, the spirit from 
 evaporating, much care is necessary ; and the noise 
 during the operation is terrible. The spirit is forced to 
 return into the liquor while the wine is working, and it 
 must be watched closely. To make one barrel of wine, 
 it is proper to have three barrels, and those not slightly 
 hooped with wood, but strongly hooped with iron. These 
 barrels are to be filled up one third, and to be stopped 
 quite close. Thus, during the fermentation, the spirit 
 is concentrated ; and when this has ceased, the contents 
 of the three barrels are deposited in one. " Nous sommcs 
 riches," he said, " et par consequent nous pouvons fairc 
 du vin etou-ffe." The good man was much pleased to find 
 me answer the description given to him by the Duchess, 
 and that he had seen " une fres-grande dame qui ne dedaig- 
 nait pas les details du menage." 
 
 The father of the Duchess was the Comte de Fuentes,
 
 72 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 ambassador at the Court of France from Spain. The 
 Marquis de Krora, her brother, was a very estimable 
 man. I regularly kept up a correspondence with the 
 Duchess, although she has not been in England for 
 many years. 
 
 During my residence in France, it was a great amuse- 
 ment to the higher ranks to enjoy themselves, in private, 
 at their country-houses. All had these places of retire- 
 ment, except Madame Elizabeth, who did not wish to 
 acquire one. One day that she came to Montreuil by 
 accident, to the country-house of the Princess de Gui- 
 menee, the King, who was there, said to her, " You are 
 quite at home ! " The object of his Majesty was, in fact, 
 to purchase this place to give to her. She afterwards 
 passed there some of the most pleasant hours of her life, 
 among country fetes, amidst her own beneficence and the 
 sweet harmony which she inspired in others. In order to 
 form a dairy, she had procured from Switzerland four 
 beautiful cows, (as I had afterwards at Naples, from 
 Devonshire,) and she had a young milk-maid, from the 
 Valais, to take care of them. She was called Marie. 
 Pretty, active, but always melancholy, her new place 
 could not make her forget her mountains, and more 
 particularly Jacques, to whom she had promised marriage. 
 
 She confided her troubles to Madame Thevenot, who 
 immediately composed the words and the music of that 
 pretty song which begins, " Pattvre Jacques, quand 
 j'etois pres de toi," &c. Marie learnt it ; and one day, 
 as Madame Elizabeth was passing, sung it. Struck with 
 the flexibility of the voice which the young creature 
 possessed, the Princess interested herself in her fate ; 
 and, finding that the song contained the history of herself.
 
 MARIE ANTOINETTE 73 
 
 and displayed her own situation, she caused Jacques to 
 be procured from Switzerland, and united them together. 
 
 While I was in France, the Queen ordered twelve cot- 
 tages to be built at Trianon, in which she placed twelve 
 poor families, and charged herself with their entire 
 support, — another contradiction to the base calumnies 
 which were uttered against her. 
 
 The young Duke d'Angouleme,^ who at this period 
 was not more than nine years old, was one day occupied 
 in reading in his apartment, when M, de Suffrein^ was 
 announced to him. " Sir," said the young prince, " I 
 was reading the lives of illustrious men, and I lay aside 
 my book with pleasure, to be gratified with the sight of 
 one of them." 
 
 One day, in the course of her promenades, the Queen 
 met with an old woman, very infirm, seated at the foot of 
 a tree, surrounded with many little children. This 
 picture, which presented to her Majesty the two extremes 
 of life, moved the gentle heart of Marie Antoinette : she 
 approached the old woman, and, with her peculiar 
 mildness, inquired and learnt that they were all of one 
 family, but that the intermediate generation had dis- 
 appeared ; that the poor little creatures had lost their 
 father and mother, and had no other protection but 
 that which was afforded them by this good old grand- 
 mother, who was groaning under the weight of years and 
 indigence. The Queen immediately caused assistance 
 to be rendered to them ; and, with eyes melting at the 
 scene, turning towards the youngest of them, said, 
 
 ^ Louis Antoine, son of Charles Philippe, Comte d'Artois (6. August 6, 
 
 1775)- 
 
 ^ This name probably indicates Admiral de Suffren, who took part 
 in many naval actions against tb.e English imdcr Hughes and Rodney.
 
 74 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 " I take particular charge of this one, and will have it 
 reared under my own peculiar care." From that time 
 the happy child was kept in the apartment of its royal 
 benefactress : she played with it, and loaded it with 
 caresses. I mention this anecdote, as it was related to 
 me by an eye-witness of the scene, which took place 
 before the Queen had become a mother. 
 
 She was certainly indebted to her mother, the great 
 Maria Theresa, for the excellent instructions which she 
 had received in her early youth, and from the brilliant 
 example which was set before her. That august personage 
 had divided her time as Empress and instructress : she 
 watched over the education of her children with all the 
 attention of a mother ; and her lessons, without doubt, 
 augmented that predilection which Marie Antoinette 
 displayed for France at an early period. Questioning her 
 daughter once, over what country she would wish to 
 reign, if she were ever called to govern, Marie Antoinette 
 replied without hesitation, " Over the French ; for they 
 had Henry IV and Louis XIV, to whom one gave the 
 idea of a good king, and the other that of a great one." 
 
 This summer I had the pleasure of receiving my 
 brother and his wife, now Lady Emily Berkeley, and her 
 mother Lady Louisa Lennox. They were proceeding to 
 the south of France, for the benefit of the health of my 
 sister-in-law, who had been much affected by the anxiety 
 consequent on the protraction of her marriage, as she 
 preferred her cousin, my brother, to all the great and 
 rich who sought her hand. I had endeavoured, two years 
 before, to make my eldest brother, but in vain, settle 
 the difficulties which had arisen ; he would not interest 
 himself about them. What were my feelings when I
 
 LEAVES FRANCE FOR ITALY 75 
 
 lost this beloved brother, whose life was a pattern of 
 domestic happiness scarcely to be equalled ! 
 
 In the autumn of that summer, Lord Berkeley wrote 
 me word that he had had a slight attack of the gout, and 
 that if I would meet him at Florence, about the beginning 
 of November, he would pass the winter with me in 
 Italy. 
 
 Although I admired France, and was highly gratified 
 with French society, I had other reasons, besides the 
 proud satisfaction I felt at the certainty of my brother's 
 affection being still retained, to leave France : I, how- 
 ever, soon after received an excuse from Lord Berkeley, 
 that he was unable to attend me ; and I placed my son 
 Keppel,^ whom I was fearful of spoiling by remaining 
 with me, under the care of a Mr. Gadoll, who had 
 a few pupils. My brother's excuse was fortunate in 
 every respect, and I immediately set out for Italy, after 
 having had a picture taken of my son by an artist of the 
 Queen of France. 
 
 I passed through L^^ons, Avignon, and Marseilles, to 
 Hieres : the atmosphere of the latter place is remarkably 
 clear, and preferable either to Nice or Montpelicr. From 
 hence I proceeded to Genoa, and then to Pisa, where I 
 took a commodious house by the week. The baths of 
 Pisa were built by the Roman emperors, and are kept in 
 good repair : they are highly esteemed for paralytic 
 disorders, gout, and scrofulous complaints. Lucca is 
 contiguous to Pisa, and, as the Grand Duke and Duchess 
 were at the latter place, I received much pleasure during 
 my residence there. I cannot pass over the Leaning 
 
 ^ Keppel Craven was afterwards sent to Harrow. The circum- 
 stances under which he was placed there are fully explained in the 
 Introduction (see ante, p. Ixxiv).
 
 ^6 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 Tower, which proves that fancy is often mistaken for 
 taste. The variety of the orders of architecture give it 
 an appearance of patchwork. The idea that this tower 
 was built leaning always struck me as perfectly ridiculous, 
 for the first row of pillars is more than half buried in 
 the earth. 
 
 As I rode on horseback on a side-saddle, I excited the 
 astonishment of every body : the peasants, in par- 
 ticular, who passed me on the right side, used to exclaim, 
 "Ah! povera — una Gamba ! " 
 
 On my road to Florence I met with a ridiculous occur- 
 rence. — I was proceeding on horseback, having sent 
 forward my coach and some of my servants, when I 
 passed a gentleman in an English phaeton, whose curiosity 
 was excited by the horse and side-saddle. From going 
 very slowly, he came after me very rapidly ; and, being 
 informed of it by my servant, I had just time to turn my 
 horse into a gateway. The gentleman could not stop his 
 horses immediately ; but, as he was determined on seeing 
 me, he stopped as soon as he could. As I considered his 
 behaviour extremely impertinent, I was resolved he 
 should not see me, and therefore I desired those who 
 accompanied me to follow, and I passed by the left side 
 of his phaeton as fast as possible, with my hat over my 
 eyes. As my horse was an excellent one, I kept him on 
 till my pursuer gave up the chase ; and when out of his 
 sight, I turned into a farm-yard, where I concealed my- 
 self till I saw him pass again, and literally gained my 
 carriage before he got up to me to gratify his curiosity. 
 
 The brilhancy of the moon, which I observed when 
 going to Florence, reminded me of what M. de Carricioli 
 said, — " Que la lunc de Naples valait hien le soleil d'
 
 IN ITALY 77 
 
 Angleterre." I was most highly gratified at seeing the 
 beautiful Venus de' Medici : it corresponded with the 
 ideas I had formed of it ; but the Niobe family far 
 exceeded any thing I ever imagined. I was pleased with 
 the Apollo, but thought it had not altogether the com- 
 manding look of the God of Day. 
 
 Here I met with Sir Horace Mann,^ Lord Cowper,^ 
 the Comte d' Albany,^ the Prince Corsini, and the minister 
 of Lucca, Comte Santini, who all gave entertainments 
 in the highest style, particularly dinners to all foreigners 
 of distinction ; although the Florentine nobility never 
 invite any one to dine or sup at their palaces. When 
 they give an entertainment, it is to any, even to those 
 who have the least pretensions to rank, and therefore 
 might be called a general assembly. 
 
 All the handsome Florentine women bear a great 
 resemblance to the English : they are very good humoured, 
 and have great natural politeness to strangers. A 
 ridiculous question was put to me here by a Frenchman 
 of distinction, who asked me if Sir Joshua Reynolds 
 did not build St. Paul's Cathedral. I regretted much 
 to find that the Titian Venus, and the child by Titian 
 in the Strozzi Palace, are both much injured by time. 
 
 1 was much surprised one morning, when my servant 
 informed me that my brother Lord Berkeley^ would 
 arrive in a few days, as he had reached Venice, he said, 
 and shewed me a letter from him to prove his assertion. 
 
 * Sir Horace Mann, Bart. (1701-1786) ; British Minister at Florence, 
 1 740-1 786 ; the friend and correspondent of Horace Walpole. 
 
 2 George Nassau Cowper, third Earl Cowper (i 738-1 7S9). 
 
 3 Charles Edward, the Young Pretender (i 720-1 788), known in 
 Italy, where he resided, as Comte d'Albany. 
 
 * Frederick Augustus, fifth Earl of Berkeley. Succeeded his father 
 in 1755, and died in 1810. His marriage with Mary Cole occasioned 
 the famous Peerage Case.
 
 7^ THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 As I conceived if he had written, he would have sent 
 his letter to me, I was not likely to believe the intelli- 
 gence. 
 
 I found my health greatly improved since I quitted 
 the environs of Paris, which induced me to suppose 
 that the climate of that part of France did not agree 
 with me : I had lost a pain in my chest, and those symp- 
 toms of pulmonary affections, which, after my severe 
 illness, were much to be apprehended. The frequent 
 change of air which I experienced strengthed my system. 
 
 On my arrival at Venice, when passing by the great 
 canal, I called to mind the words of the Abbe Coyer, 
 who says, that " Rome est hdtie par les hommes, mats 
 Venise par les dieux." Having formed my own ideas of 
 it from the different pictures I had seen, I expected to 
 have found a cheerful city, but was greatly disappointed. 
 The innumerable gondolas floating on the water like so 
 many cofftns, and the dismal appearance of the outside 
 of the houses, (the fine palaces having most of their 
 windows closed half-way by dirty shutters not painted,) 
 did not form so lively a scene as is generally described. 
 
 Here I met my friend, the Comte Justiniani, who was 
 delighted to see me again : he accompanied me to see 
 the Arsenal, the Doge's Palace, and the Church in the 
 Piazza San Marco, which are both of the Gothic order. 
 
 I was much amused by hearing in a Court of Justice 
 the celebrated advocate Stephano. I was not deceived in 
 my expectations of deriving some entertainment from 
 the grimaces which I expected to see. His manner of 
 pleading was that of scolding ; and he held his two 
 thumbs upright, which he moved rapidly to and from 
 his breast, with the most ridiculous action imaginable.
 
 A RIDICULOUS CIRCUMSTANCE 79 
 
 I found it difficult to refrain from laughter ; nor could 
 I conceive how the Judges could keep their countenances. 
 A ridiculous circumstance happened here to two English 
 travellers, neither of whom could speak the language. 
 They were in great haste to arrive at Venice from Vienna ; 
 and having left one morning a large town where they 
 had slept the preceding night, after having travelled 
 two days post they found themselves driven into the same 
 place they had quitted forty-eight hours before.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 I leave Italy for Vienna — My reception there by the Emperor— Prince 
 Kaunitz — I quit Vienna, and proceed to Cracow — I reach Warsaw, 
 and am presented to the King of Poland — Princess Czartoriska — 
 Princess de Radzivil — From Warsaw I set out for St. Petersburg 
 — My arrival there — I am presented to the Empress Catherine — 
 Princess Dashkoff — The Grand Duchess — Prince Potemkin — Prince 
 Repnin and Prince Kourakin — Moscow — Arrival at Constantinople 
 — M. de Choiseul — The Sultan — Sir Richard Worsley — Leave Con- 
 stantinople for Athens, and return to London. 
 
 FROM Venice I went to Vienna, where I was 
 received at Court in the most flattering manner. 
 I was attended there by Madame Granieri, the 
 wife of the Sardinian minister. The variety of 
 the officers' dresses in the antechamber of the Emperor 
 particularly struck me : the Polish and Hungarian 
 uniforms are very beautiful. 
 
 The Emperor^ gave a private audience to ladies who 
 were presented. Madame Granieri and myself were the 
 only persons who went into his apartment together : we 
 met the Princess Esterhazy coming out. The Emperor 
 received us with the greatest attention. His Majesty 
 was close to the door, and, after politely bowing, he made 
 us sit upon a sofa, while he stood himself the whole time. 
 We remained there three-quarters of an hour. When 
 his Majesty is particularly engaged, and wishes to ter- 
 minate the interview, he civilly says he will detain you 
 
 1 Joseph II (1765-1790). 
 80
 
 LEAVES VIENNA 8i 
 
 no longer. He then goes towards the door, which he 
 opens himself ; you rise and quit the apartment, and 
 thus ends the presentation. I prefer this method to a 
 public drawing-room, where you are obliged to answer 
 publicly every question that may be put to you. 
 
 It was unfortunate for me that the Emperor quitted 
 Vienna two days after I had seen him ; but he ordered 
 Prince Kaunitz,i his first minister, to prepare me one of 
 his houses to reside in, and wished me to pass the whole 
 of the winter in Vienna, which I had no thoughts of 
 doing, and to go in the spring to the Court of Anspach, 
 to be presented to the Margravine by the Margrave. 
 Had I remained much longer at Vienna, I should not have 
 got away during the whole winter, as the hard weather 
 was beginning to set in. When Prince Kaunitz delivered 
 the Emperor's message to me, and added to it, " The 
 Emperor says, he never saw any woman with the modest 
 and dignified deportment of Lady Craven," I imme- 
 diately replied, that it was not in my power to stay ; 
 and I set off in ten days to perform the extraordinary 
 journe}' to St. Petersburg, where the Empress of Russia, 
 and by her orders all who commanded under her authority, 
 treated me with the most unexampled attention. 
 
 The Emperor had no wife, and the opinion which he 
 had formed of me, and which was repeated over all 
 Germany, terrified me ; and, fearful lest injurious re- 
 ports should be spread of me, which was what I could 
 not bear, — at the risk of being thought ungrateful to the 
 Emperor, I fled like a frightened bird from a net. The 
 
 ^ Wenceslas Anton, Prince of Kaunitz (1711-1794), one of the 
 most famous Austrian statesmen; called by the Vatican "the Heretic 
 Minister," and more generally known as " the Coachman of Europe." 
 
 VOL. 1.— G
 
 82 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 Emperor, instead of being angry, wrote to Mons. D'Her- 
 bert, his envoy at Constantinople, when he knew from 
 his minister at St. Petersburg that I was gone there, to 
 take care of me, and to obtain from the Porte every thing 
 I might desire. M. D'Herbert shewed me the letter, and 
 obeyed his master most strictly, while M. de Choiseul, 
 the French minister, seemed only to vie with him who 
 should most excel in attentions. 
 
 Prince Kaunitz was a very extraordinary character : 
 he was a great statesman, and a good patriot : he pos- 
 sessed sincerity and frankness, which are ever the attend- 
 ants of a great mind. The nation's welfare was his de- 
 light. He asked me my opinion of Vienna. I told him, 
 I had but little time to make observations, but that it 
 appeared to me that even the Vendeuses de pommes out 
 I'air aise. A smile of pleasure illumined his countenance, 
 which must have proceeded from the goodness of his 
 heart. He with much condescension informed me of 
 several particulars highly interesting, and from his con- 
 versations I gained great information. 
 
 I frequently dined with him ; and nothing flattered me 
 more than to see a man of his age and experience forget 
 for a time the distance which was between us. 
 
 The Emperor was a prince who mixed with his subjects 
 with an ease and affability that are very uncommon in 
 persons of his rank. He loved the conversation of in- 
 genious men, and appeared solicitous to cultivate know- 
 ledge. He abolished the use of torture in his hereditary 
 dominions, and removed many of the grievances under 
 which the peasants and common people laboured. He 
 was a great friend to religious toleration ; and regulated 
 the exorbitant fees of the lawyers. He visited Rome and
 
 AT VIENNA 83 
 
 the principal Courts of Italy incognito, and with few 
 attendants, and had a personal interview with the King 
 of Prussia. This, however, did not prevent hostilities 
 between the two powers, on account of the succession 
 to Bavaria. During the contest the Emperor displayed 
 considerable military skill. 
 
 At Prince Galitzin'si every Sunday night, and at Prince 
 Par's every Monday, w'e had elegant suppers. The 
 former was Russian minister, and did great honour to 
 his Court by his sense and politeness. 
 
 As the Germans are by nature good musicians, the 
 English here had an opportunity of passing their time in 
 the most agreeable manner, and in a circle of beautiful 
 and accomplished women of the first rank. Sir Robert 
 Keith^ assured me that he had presented upwards of 
 four hundred of our nobility and gentry here from 
 England. 
 
 It is ridiculous to hear the questions that are asked by 
 the guards at the frontier towns : What is your name and 
 quality ? Are you married or single ? Do you travel 
 for pleasure or business ? — It reminds me of a story re- 
 lated to me by the Russian minister at Venice, of a 
 traveller, who being asked his name, replied, Boo-hoo- 
 hoo-hoo ! " Pray, Sir," says the guard, " how do you 
 write it?" "That," replied the stranger, "is your 
 concern : I have given you my name." — It is impossible 
 to answer such absurd questions with gravity. 
 
 There was an order at every frontier-town in Germany, 
 
 ^ Prince Dmitri Galitzin, son of Prince Micliael Galitzin, the con- 
 stant companion of the Czar Peter. A distinguished diplomatist 
 and Russian Ambassador in Vienna during the reign of the Emperor 
 Joseph II. 
 
 - See Introduction, pp. .xxxvi, xxxix.
 
 84 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 not to permit strangers who travel without post-horses 
 to leave the town before staying in it two hours. I was 
 not aware of this order, and the post-master did not 
 make me acquainted with it. I was much surprised at 
 the delay, although he did not absolutely refuse me 
 horses and another traineau, or sledge. His reply to me 
 at all times, on my urging him to hasten, was "Pazienza ! " 
 Some time after, an officer came up, who, staring at me, 
 said : "Parlez-vous Francois, Madaine ? " — "Mon Dieu ! 
 oui / " I replied. I found from him that the post-master's 
 stupidity arose from his not being able to talk Italian 
 well, and French not at all : he therefore conceived that 
 I was very impatient, and paid me no attention ; but 
 when the officer had called me "Miladi," he bustled about, 
 and with his people procured me every thing. He had 
 mistaken me for a young peasant, as I had, tired of the 
 crawling pace we had been travelling, hired a traineau of 
 a countryman, and proceeded on before my carriage. 
 When he discovered that I was a female, I had a traineau 
 immediately, with six horses for my coach. 
 
 From Vienna I now proceeded towards Cracow, 
 through a fine open country, varied with woods and gentle 
 hills. Although I had letters of introduction to several 
 ladies here, I did not take advantage of them. Prince 
 Galitzin, at Vienna, had recommended me to use my 
 own carriage, but I placed it on the sledge, and even 
 then found it difficult to get along, from the badness and 
 narrowness of the roads. At length I was obliged to 
 take it off, and then it sometimes hung upon the fir-trees, 
 which we were obliged to pass. I was one night de- 
 tained two hours ; one of the wheels being so entangled 
 with a fir-tree, that six men could not disengage it ; and
 
 AT WARSAW 85 
 
 peasants were obliged to be sent for, to cut down the 
 tree, before I could proceed. 
 
 On my arrival at Warsaw, I found my apartments well 
 aired and prepared for me. The Comte de Stackelberg 
 had bespoken them, by order of Prince Galitzin. The 
 Russian minister. Count de S , waited on me imme- 
 diately. He was very sensible, and had wit. 
 
 On the evening of the day after I arrived, I was by 
 him presented to the King.^ who received us in his 
 study. The Grand Marshal's wife, who was the King's 
 niece, accompanied me. That amiable sovereign spoke 
 excellent French, and very good English. He was the 
 second person that I have seen, whom I could have 
 wished not to have been a sovereign ; for it was im- 
 possible that the many disagreeable persons and circum- 
 stances which surround royalty, should not deprive it of 
 the society of those who are valuable. 
 
 His Majesty informed me that he had not been in 
 England for thirty years ; and inquired if Mr. Walpole 
 were alive. " Not only living, Sire," I replied, " but in 
 good spirits ; and I have in my pocket a letter from 
 him." He said, " If there is nothing in my request im- 
 proper, I should like to be favoured with a sight of it." 
 Mr. Walpole's style. His Majesty observed, must be un- 
 common. I then gave him the letter, which having read, 
 he put into his pocket, and told me that he should trans- 
 late it into French to his sister, the Princess of Cracovia, 
 who did not understand the English language ; and asked 
 me to dine with him two days after, when he would read 
 me his translation,— and which, indeed, surprised me. 
 
 1 Stanislaus II, succeeded to the throne in 1764, deposed 1795, and 
 died a State prisoner at St. Petersburg, 1798,
 
 86 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 He must have been an elegant writer in any language 
 which he understood, but I did not like to solicit a copy. 
 
 The King in his face was very like the Duke of Marl- 
 borough : there was an elegance in his language, with a 
 softness of tone in his voice, which was highly pleasing 
 to the ear. At His Majesty's dinner, there were only 
 fourteen persons present, and we were as pleasant and 
 cheerful as if we had been in private society. 
 
 It is impossible to see the King of Poland, and not to 
 regret that he was a king where the monarchy rests on 
 absurdity — an elected sovereign from among a numerous 
 and proud nobility, every individual of whom thinks he 
 has a better right to sit on the throne than the one 
 elected. From such a basis springs every thing which 
 can make mankind unhappy ; their lives are passed, their 
 minds employed, only in caballing or regretting. 
 
 This amiable and accomplished prince lost his friends 
 and pleasures when he became King of Poland. 
 
 There appeared to be no subject on which the King 
 could not conve/se with taste and sense : the constitution 
 of England, the manners of the French, modern authors, 
 theatres, and gardens, were topics with which he was 
 well acquainted. He did not affect to display a conver- 
 sation of pedantry, like some of our English with whom 
 I have been associated, who glory in dazzling our under- 
 standings with learned quotations. The only thing the 
 King appeared to be ignorant of, was the high fashion 
 of our cookery. As if to pay a compliment to me, the 
 fish and meat at table were covered with melted butter, 
 a thing only to be met with in England. I was informed 
 by his chamberlain, that every thing was ordered to be 
 dressed perfectly d, I'Anglaise. I did not tell his Majesty
 
 STANISLAUS AUGUSTUS, KING OF POLAND 
 From an eighteenth century engraziing
 
 PRINCESS CZARTORISKA 87 
 
 that I never partook of melted butter, nor that a good 
 table in England was always prepared by a French cook ; 
 and it excited a smile when I saw all that melted butter, 
 which, like the fogs in our country, was only fit to be 
 swept away, when it concealed and spoiled every thing 
 that was good. 
 
 My old acquaintance, the Princess Czartoriska,i was in 
 the country, as she was of an opposite party and did not 
 come to Court ; but, with my usual frankness, I told 
 the King that I intended to visit her, and we had some 
 conversation respecting her. 
 
 I visited here in great style, making use of the Count 
 de Stackelberg's coach and six, accompanied by two 
 equerries at the coach-side on horseback. The Princess 
 de Radzivil was here : I was truly fascinated with her, 
 and had I been a man I should have been devoted to her. 
 If I could have laid aside maternal duties, and those of 
 friendship, I could have remained here perfectly happy. 
 
 I found here a French maid whom I had recommended 
 to the Princess Czartoriska : nine years' service had 
 obtained for her a hundred pounds a-year, with a farm 
 of sixty acres of land, for the remainder of her life, by 
 which means she was one of the happiest creatures exist- 
 ing. To the credit of the Polish nobility, there are few 
 servants who, having proved their attachment for eight 
 or ten years, are not dismissed with a pension for life. 
 
 I have seen several dwarfs, ^ who, with the equerries, 
 
 ' Miss Berry, in 1839, speaks of "the famous Czartoriska who died 
 three years ago at the age of ninety-four." She gives many interest- 
 ing details of her life at her chateau in Pultovie (see Berry Journals, 
 Vol. Ill, p. 462). 
 
 ^ The tomb of Bebe, the famous dwarf of King Stanislaus II, may 
 still be seen in the Church of the Minimes at Luneville. He also 
 accorded a gracious reception to Boruwlaski, another Polish dwarf, 
 who died half a century later at Durham (see Introduction, p. liii).
 
 88 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 stand in the drawing-rooms of great houses, and must 
 necessarily hear all the conversation that passes. In any 
 other country it might be dangerous, but here servants 
 and dependants are the property of their masters ; and 
 in general their fidelity is equal to their subjection. 
 
 The King has a manner of saying things flattering and 
 obliging peculiar to himself. He tells me that every thing 
 produced in England is more perfect than the produce of 
 any other country. His Majesty's partiality to England 
 would have prejudiced me in favour of my own country, 
 were it possible that I could have loved it better than 
 I did. 
 
 I passed two days in the most agreeable manner with 
 the Princess Czartoriska, at a country-house of her sister- 
 in-law, the Princess Lubomirska. I did not remain long 
 at Warsaw after my visit to the Princess, although I re- 
 ceived every civility from His Majesty. 
 
 The Princess Czartoriska had, some years before, 
 passed a summer and winter in London ; and I was so 
 much attached to her, and so delighted with her society, 
 that I contrived to dine alone with her at my house in 
 Charles Street, as frequently as I could ; and we have 
 passed many hours together tete-cL-tUe. She was one of 
 the few women whose talents and manners suited me : 
 her talents were very superior, and her manners without 
 affectation. She was a perfect musician, and a fine 
 painter ; danced inimitably ; had knowledge without 
 pedantry, and never displayed her learning with osten- 
 tation. 
 
 I was much younger than she, and I had a very great 
 respect for her sentiments, for, like m37self, she was grave 
 and gay by turns ; and, when serious conversation em-
 
 PRINCESS CZARTORISKA 89 
 
 ployed our time, she would confide to me anecdotes of 
 her early days, which she certainly did not intend should 
 serve as a guard to the tenderness of heart and the un- 
 suspecting mind which she discovered in me. 
 
 Of course, when I saw her, she was looking older than 
 when we were together in England. She received some 
 visits while I was with her, and I found it was the custom 
 for both men and women to kiss the hand of a princess 
 who receives them. 
 
 She inquired of me if I had been at Berlin ; and when 
 I answered in the negative, she said she wished me joy : 
 " For what would he have done to you," she said, " since 
 he so much embarrassed me ? " — " And pray," said I, 
 " who is he who could venture to do any thing to em- 
 barrass you ? " — "Le Grand Frederic," was her reply. 
 She then informed me that his Majesty had her invited 
 to dinner by the Queen ; and every body being assembled 
 before he came, when he arrived, he made one bow, at 
 the door, to the circle, and then walked up to her, took 
 her by the hand, and led her up to a window ; where he 
 ^ stood to examine her countenance, with a look so scru- 
 tinizing, with eyes so piercing, that she was embarrassed 
 in the highest degree ; particular!}' as he never spoke till 
 he had examined all he wished to look at ; and when 
 this was done, he said, " I had a great desire to see you, 
 I have heard so much of you ; " and began an account 
 of what that was, in language so civil, but with a raillerie 
 la plus fine, que c'etait fresquc unc persiflage. " When he 
 had done," she added, " I did not know whether I was 
 to feel humbled or elevated, or whether it was a good or 
 bad impression he had received of me, or whether it was 
 satire or compliment he meant to convey."
 
 90 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 "Quel homme ! nc le voyez jamais, chere Miladi ; vous 
 rougissez pour rien ; il vous fer ait pleurer." I felt inter- 
 nally that I should like to see him ; and that, as the 
 adopted sister of the Margrave, under that protection, I 
 should not fear even the Great Frederic. 
 
 The moments we passed together fled rapidly away ; 
 and though it is delightful to enjoy the society of persons 
 of superior endowments, how sad it is to part with them ! 
 and part with the reflection, that we may never meet 
 again. In this case, too, how improbable that we ever 
 should ! 
 
 Warsaw lies on the Vistula, and is almost in the centre 
 of Poland. There are many magnificent buildings, be- 
 sides the palaces, and churches, and convents. The 
 streets are very ill paved, and the greatest part of the 
 houses, particularly the suburbs, very mean hovels of 
 wood. It is much to be regretted that the nobility in 
 general shew but little taste for learning or the fine arts. 
 The different universities have not been celebrated for 
 their productions. Copernicus, the great restorer of the 
 true astronomical system, was probably their greatest 
 man. 
 
 The dresses of the Poles are rather singular ; and, were 
 it not for our partiality to short dresses, we must acknow- 
 ledge that of the Poles to be both majestic and pictur- 
 esque. Our Charles II thought of introducing the Polish 
 dresses into his Court ; and, after his restoration, wore 
 them for two years. 
 
 The Polish ladies are very vigilant over the conduct 
 of their daughters, and intrigues are not so easily carried 
 on here as in England ; and in some districts (which is 
 perfectly ridiculous !) they are forced to wear little bells.
 
 ARRIVAL AT ST. PETERSBURG 91 
 
 both before and behind, in order to proclaim where they 
 are and what they are doing. 
 
 I left Warsaw for my journey, M. de Stackelberg having 
 sent me a supply of liqueurs, and I proceeded to St. 
 Petersburg. 
 
 On my arrival at this city I was presented to the 
 Empress Catherine,^ who graciously sent me word, that 
 she would receive me at the Hermitage previously to the 
 day which had been fixed for my reception at Court. 
 Nothing could be more dignified than the Empress upon 
 her entrance into the drawing-room : her countenance 
 v'as expressive of good humour, and her politeness and 
 attention to me very great. One of her first inquiries 
 was, if I were not a Scotchwoman : this question arose 
 from some one having informed her that I was not 
 English. 
 
 At this Hermitage the Empress had her evening con- 
 certs and her Court, with alternately a French play or 
 an Italian opera. Why this building, which she has 
 added to the palace, is called the Hermitage, I cannot 
 conceive. It consists of a long suite of rooms, filled with 
 the finest pictures. Her Majesty has purchased from 
 many of the best collections ; and, among the rest, she 
 had the choice of the Houghton collection from Lord 
 Orford,- which reflects disgrace upon our country for 
 having permitted them to be lost to us for ever. When I 
 was there, these pictures were not well arranged ; but no 
 doubt their royal possessor intended to dispose them 
 better, 
 
 1 Catherine II, often spoken of as the Great Consort of Peter III. 
 She assumed supreme power in 1762, and died in 1796. 
 
 2 George Walpole, third Earl of Orford, succeeded his father in 
 1751 {d. December 5, 1791).
 
 92 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 The Empress and her favourite, the Princess Dashkoff,^ 
 were the only persons who wore the Russian dress. They 
 were very handsome dresses, and highly becoming. 
 
 1 was presented to the Grand Duchess ^ the same 
 evening that I was presented to the Empress. Prince 
 Potemkin^ Was of every party ; but his reserved man- 
 ners, and restraint before ladies, prevented our having 
 much of his conversation. He invited me to dine with 
 him at an immense palace which he was then building. 
 I sat by his side during dinner, but never heard the sound 
 of his voice, except when he asked me what I would eat 
 or drink ; I was therefore unable to judge of his intel- 
 lectual powers, or of that genius which raised him to the 
 dignities and fortune which he enjoyed. He was gener- 
 ally allowed to be a man of talents. 
 
 With Prince Repnin and his nephew. Prince Kourakin, 
 whom I had well known when in England, I resumed 
 my acquaintance : I had not seen them before for thir- 
 teen years. As the Grand Duchess was brought to bed 
 five days after my arrival, I had not an opportunity of 
 seeing her, except on the first night of my presentation. 
 Her affability to strangers was very great ; and that 
 evening, after the representation, she sent for me. On 
 my return, a ridiculous thing happened. — Although no 
 less than three carriages were waiting for me, I could 
 not get one of them for more than an hour : this was 
 owing to the great distance of the Grand Duchess's apart- 
 ments from the theatre ; and the gentleman who attended { 
 
 ^ See Memoirs of the Princess Daschkaw, by Mrs. Bradford (1840). 
 
 2 Marie Feodorovna, wife of Paul I. See Paid the First of Russia, 
 the Son of Catherine the Great, by K. Waliszewski (1913). 
 
 * Commanded the Russian expedition against Turkey. See Memoirs 
 of the Comte de Damas (1913)
 
 THE GRAND DUCHESS 93 
 
 me saying he should wait for me at the Hermitage, I went 
 three different times through the whole palace, and while 
 I was at one door, two of the carriages were at the other. 
 Prince Kourakin, who had conducted me back from the 
 Grand Duchess, and who was engaged to sup with the 
 Grand Duke, was much embarrassed ; for the doors which 
 admitted the company were shut, and I was obliged to 
 sit in the guard-room till the Prince's servants could find 
 one of the carriages belonging to me or my party. 
 
 The Prince went in to sup, and the Grand Duchess 
 hearing of this circumstance, sent me a very fine pelisse, 
 which I told the Prince I did not want, but which he 
 insisted on my putting on ; and in a few minutes I had 
 a carriage. The most ridiculous thing was, that the 
 Saxon minister's wife, whom I had accompanied to 
 Court, thought that I was gone home in my own carriage, 
 whilst my friends, on the other hand, who were in my 
 carriage, imagined that I had returned with her ; and 
 after parading the outside of the palace from door to 
 door, as I had done within, they gave me up and set off 
 without me. My servants took it for granted that I was 
 gone to sup at the palace, where they naturally imagined 
 me to be invited. 
 
 The Grand Duchess was tall and fair. The Duchess 
 of Wirtemberg, who was daughter to the Duchess of 
 Brunswick, was very pretty, and extremely like our 
 Royal Family. ^ I received great attentions from her : 
 she had a fine family of healthy children. 
 
 ^ The first wife of Frederick William Charles, Duke (afterwards 
 Elector and King) of Wiirtemberg (1754-1816). She was the niece of 
 George III. After her death he married, 18 May, 1797, Charlotte, 
 Princess Royal of England. The first Duchess of Wiirtemberg was the 
 mother of three children — Prince Frederick William, his successor 
 {b. 1781), Princess Frederica {b. 1783), and Prince Paul (6. 1785).
 
 94 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 The Empress was at the expense of many entertain- 
 ments. At M. D'Osterman's, there was a ball every 
 Sunday night ; at the Dowager Princess Galitzin's, a 
 supper every Sunday night ; besides which, Count 
 D'Osterman, who was Vice-Chancellor, had a table for 
 sixty foreigners every Wednesday : all these were paid 
 for by the Empress, whose royal mind suggested the 
 magnificent idea of providing houses for the reception of 
 foreigners of distinction. 
 
 Many of the Russian princes have a public day when 
 they expect persons, with whom they leave a card, to 
 dine with them. 
 
 The Empress did all in her power to promote the 
 sciences and the fine arts ; but the coldness of the climate 
 prevents foreigners from being desirous of settling there. 
 There are buildings and museums for the reception of 
 rarities. 
 
 The French ambassador was a man of wit : I was 
 much delighted with his conversation, as I was with that 
 of the Comte Serge de Romanzow. Mr. Fitzherbert ^ and 
 Mr. Ellis^ also added to our societies. M. de Segur^ and 
 the Duke de Serra Capriola, the Neapolitan minister, 
 gave us some magnificent entertainments. Prince 
 
 ^ Alleyne Fitzherbert (i 753-1 839), created Lord St. Helens in 
 1 80 1. He was Envoy Extraordinary at the Court of Russia, 1783- 
 1787. 
 
 * Probably George Ellis (1753-1813), avithor, traveller, and diplo- 
 matist. He was a "favourite" at Versailles, and in 1789 he was 
 attached to Sir James Harris's embassy to the Hague, where he col- 
 lected materials for a history of the Dutch revolution which he pub- 
 lished in 1789. He was one of the founders of the A^iti- Jacobin in 
 connection with Canning. Later in Ufa he became a friend of Sir 
 Walter Scott. 
 
 3 Louis Philippe Comte de S^gur (i 753-1 830), writer and diplo- 
 matist. Accredited to the Court of St. Petersburg, 1784, on his return 
 from taking part in the American War of Independence. A great 
 favourite with the Empress Catherine II.
 
 PRINCE POTEMKIN 95 
 
 Mousken Pousken, who spoke very good English, told 
 me that his partiality for my country was so great, that 
 he could form no greater idea of human happiness than 
 that of returning to England as a private individual. 
 
 The Princess Dashkoff' s son was supposed to be gain- 
 ing the favour of the Empress, and by that means raised 
 the jealousy of Prince Potemkin.^ Being considerably 
 elevated with wine, he went to a ball at Court, and em- 
 braced his partner, which is a very customary thing there 
 with the nobility who are engaged to marry a lady ; but 
 I this circumstance was then the cause of great offence, 
 and he was in consequence banished for it, next day, to 
 his regiment at Riga. 
 
 The nobility appeared to vie with each other in every 
 foreign luxury. Their palaces are magnificent. At 
 Prince Potemkin's I heard some very extraordinary music 
 performed by men and boys, each blowing a straight 
 horn adapted to his size. Sixty-five of these musicians 
 produce a very harmonious melody, something like an 
 immense organ. The music, the room, the cold — all was 
 gigantic. In one of this Prince's palaces there is a room 
 300 feet in length ; and on the side opposite to the 
 windows there are two rows of stone pillars, whose height 
 and breadth are proportioned to the size of this immense 
 room, which is an oblong. In the centre, on the side of 
 the windows, is formed a semicircle, which bow forms 
 another large space, independent, though in the room. 
 This space was laid out by his English gardener into a 
 shrubbery, with borders of flowers : hyacinths and nar- 
 
 ^ The celebrated lover of the Empress Catherine (1736-1791). 
 Many interesting particulars about him will be found in the Diary of 
 the first Earl of Malmesbury, which was edited by his grandson, the 
 third Earl, in 1849.
 
 96 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 cissuses, myrtles, orange-trees, &c., were also in plenty. 
 Immense stoves, concealed by the pillars, were heated 
 for the purpose of warming this hall. 
 
 The large houses are decorated with the most sump- 
 tuous furniture. But in passing through a drawing-room 
 where the floor is of the finest inlaid wood, you next 
 enter, probably, a staircase made of the coarsest mate- 
 rials, and covered with dirt. 
 
 There were many ladies at this place for whom I have 
 the greatest esteem, who possess many talents, and who 
 form a delightful society. Italian and English music, 
 with the pedal harp, are perfectly understood by them : 
 the English poets are also read, I have frequently thought 
 that I could trace Grecian features among the females of 
 this country ; and the acute wit of the Greeks in the 
 men,- -that pliability of genius which induces them to 
 speak so many languages well, and to adopt the arts and 
 inventions of other more cultivated countries. 
 
 The Empress's countenance had a fine expression of 
 this kind, and we have had no good likenesses of her in 
 this country ; for her nose was aquiline, whereas it is 
 always represented as being rather turned up ; at least 
 in all the portraits I have seen of her : her forehead was 
 open, and her mouth well made : her chin was some- 
 what long, though not so as to have a disagreeable effect. 
 She was of middle stature, well proportioned, and, as she 
 carried her head very erect, she appeared to be taller 
 than she really was. 
 
 When I went to take my leave of the Empress, which 
 I did on the morning previous to the performance of the 
 opera, her Majesty told me that my intention of going 
 was already known to her, but that, as we wish always
 
 CATHERINE II, EMPRESS OK RUSSIA 
 Draivn ami engraved by Aiig. St. Aitbin
 
 ROMANCE OF A DIAMOND 97 
 
 to defer disagreeable things as long as possible, she in- 
 sisted that I should not take leave till after the spectacle. 
 These words she pronounced with the most gracious 
 smile, and inquired of me at the same time, if I was 
 satisfied with the amusements and treatment I had re- 
 ceived. I told her Majesty that I must be both stupid 
 and ungrateful, not to regret infinitely that I could make 
 no longer stay, to shew how sensible I was of the hospi- 
 tality and magnificence which I had experienced. 
 
 I had an account of the celebrated large diamond which 
 is set in the imperial sceptre of Russia, from a nobleman, 
 who indulged me with a sight of it ; and as it is a stone 
 of such inestimable value and magnitude, I requested 
 him to give me a written history of it. It originally was 
 in the possession of Nadir Shah, in whose throne were 
 two large Indian diamonds, one of which was called the 
 Sun of the Sea, and the other had the appellation of the 
 Moon of the Mountain. Nadir Shah was assassinated ; 
 and at that time many precious ornaments belonging to 
 the crown were plundered, and afterwards secretly dis- 
 posed of by the soldiers who partook of the booty. 
 
 A man named Shafrass, commonly known at Astracan 
 under the title of the Man of Millions, then resided at 
 Balsora, with his two brothers. One day a chief of the 
 Auganians applied to him, and proposed to sell to him 
 privately, for a very moderate sum, the above diamond, 
 which was most probably that called the Moon of the 
 Mountain, together with a very large emerald, a ruby of 
 very considerable size, and other precious stones of less 
 value. 
 
 Shafrass was astonished at the proposal, and under 
 the pretence that he had not a sum sufficient for the 
 
 VOL. I.— H
 
 98 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 purchase of these jewels, demanded time to consult with 
 his brothers on the subject ; but the person who had 
 them for sale, possibly from motives of suspicion, did not 
 make his appearance again. 
 
 Shafrass immediately, with the approbation of his 
 brothers, went in search of the stranger with the jewels, 
 but he had quitted Balsora. The Armenian, however, 
 met him in Bagdad by accident, and concluded the bar- 
 gain by paying him 50,000 piastres for all the jewels in 
 his possession. Shafrass, being conscious that it was 
 necessary to observe the most profound secrecy respect- 
 ing his purchase, resolved with his brothers, on account 
 of their commercial connexions, to remain at Balsora. 
 
 After a period of twelve years had elapsed, the eldest 
 brother, with the consent of the others, set off with the 
 largest of the diamonds, which he had concealed till that 
 time. He directed his journey through Cham and Con- 
 stantinople, and afterwards through Hungary and 
 Silesia, to Amsterdam, where he publicly offered his 
 jewels for sale. 
 
 The English Government were amongst the highest 
 bidders. The Court of Russia sent for the diamond, with 
 a proposal to reimburse all reasonable expenses, if the 
 price could not be agreed upon. When the diamond 
 arrived, the Russian minister. Count Panin, ^ made the 
 following offer to Shafrass, whose negotiator, M. Lasaref, 
 was then jeweller to the Count. 
 
 A patent of hereditary nobility was to be granted, 
 with an annual pension of 6000 roubles during his life, 
 and 500,000 roubles in cash, one-fifth part of which was 
 
 1 Nikita Ivanovitch Count Panin (1718-1783), tutor to Grand 
 Duke Paul, and a supporter of Catherine in the plot against her 
 husband, Peter III. 
 
 I
 
 ARRIVE AT MOSCOW 99 
 
 to be paid on demand, and the remainder in the space 
 of ten years, by regular instalments. 
 
 Shafrass also demanded the honour of nobility for his 
 brothers, and various other advantages and immunities ; 
 and persisted so obstinately in his demand, that the 
 diamond was returned. He was now in great perplexity : 
 he had involved himself in expenses, was obliged to pay 
 interest for large sums which he had borrowed, and there 
 appeared no prospect of selling the jewel to advantage. 
 He was left in this perplexity by his negotiators, that 
 they might profit by his management. 
 
 In order to elude his creditors, he was obliged to 
 abscond to Astracan. At length the negotiation with 
 Russia was renewed by Count Gregory Orloff , ^ (who was 
 afterwards created a Peer of the Empire,) and the diamond 
 was purchased for 450,000 roubles, ready money, and a 
 grant of Russian nobility. Of that sum, it is said, 170,000 
 roubles fell to the share of the negotiators, for commis- 
 sion, interest, and similar expenses. Shafrass settled at 
 Astracan, and his riches, which by inheritance devolved 
 to his daughters, have, by the extravagance of his sons- 
 in-law, been in a great measure dissipated. 
 
 Having left my coach at Petersburg, I proceeded to 
 Moscow with my suite, in the carriages of the country, 
 called kihitkas. I was twice overturned ; and I believe 
 that the postilions are accustomed to such accidents, for 
 they quietly get off their horses, set up the carriage again, 
 and never inquire if the traveller is hurt. 
 
 I arrived at Moscow without any other particular acci- 
 dent ; and as I had resolved not to remain at this city, 
 
 * Gregory Prince Orloff {d. 1783), Catherine's first lover and principal 
 accomplice in the plot of 1762. He died insane.
 
 100 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 I proceeded on to Pultawa,i famous for the battle which 
 proved a severe check to the wild spirit of Charles XIL 
 At Soumi I was indebted to Mr. Lanskoy and a brother 
 of Prince Kourakin, who were both quartered there, for 
 a lodging, as they obliged a Jew to give me up a new 
 house which he was on the point of inhabiting. Mr. 
 Lanskoy had something of that beauty and sweetness of 
 countenance which his cousin possessed who died. She 
 had been the favourite of the Empress, and was very 
 beautiful. 
 
 At Pultawa there was no gentleman's house, and I 
 stopped at that of my banker. At Chrementchouk, the 
 General who commanded received me with great polite- 
 ness. An Englishwoman who was married to a Russian, 
 and was amongst the company at dinner, looking earnestly 
 at me, said, " Are you an English lady ? " Upon my 
 smiling and answering that I was, she flung her arms 
 around my neck and nearly overwhelmed me with kisses. 
 " Forgive me," said she : "I too was born in England, 
 and have never had the happiness of seeing a country- 
 woman since I left it. I am married, have children here, 
 and shall probably never see England again." 
 
 At Cherson I remonstrated in vain against the sentinels 
 who were placed before my doors, and the guard which 
 turned out as I passed the gates. I disliked all ceremony, 
 particularly such as I was not accustomed to. The 
 Emperor's Consul's wife wore a Greek dress, which I did 
 not think very becoming. Captain Mordwinoff prepared 
 a frigate to convey me to Constantinople ; and the 
 Comte de Wynovitch, who commanded at Sevastople, 
 
 1 At Pultawa Charles XII of Sweden was defeated by Peter the 
 Great, July 8, 1709.
 
 AT CONSTANTINOPLE loi 
 
 had directions to accommodate me in the best manner 
 possible. 
 
 On my arrival at Constantinople, my surprise was 
 great at the kind reception I met with. M. de Bulakow 
 had hardly opened my letters, and read my name, when 
 M. de Choiseul's^ people came and claimed me : he had 
 been prepared for three weeks before my reaching this 
 place, by M. de Segur, at St. Petersburg ; and from the 
 character which I heard of him, I was not displeased that 
 he had claimed me as his droit. 
 
 I was received at the Palais de France. M. de Choiseul 
 had been ill for six months, and confined to his room. 
 M. de Choiseul is a fine scholar, and a very polite man ; 
 and has none of that odious kind of attention which 
 Frenchmen display, when they think to say fine things 
 to, or admire ladies, upon the slightest acquaintance. 
 He possessed the dignity of the vieille coiir, with the ease 
 of modern manners. Had I been the Empress of Russia, 
 he could not have treated me with greater respect ; nor, 
 had I been his sister, with more regard. 
 
 His house had the appearance of a fine French hotel, 
 built with good stone and wood, which are rare materials 
 there. From my windows I saw the Sultan^ sitting on a 
 silver sofa, while his boats, and many who were to accom- 
 pany him, were lining the banks of the garden, — a most 
 magnificent sight. We saw the Ottoman splendour very 
 distinctly with our telescope. The Sultan's beard was 
 dyed black, to give himself the appearance of youth, and 
 he might be known by that at a considerable distance : 
 
 1 Marie Gabriel Florent, Comte de Choiseul-Gouffier (175 2-1 8 17) ; 
 author of Voyage Pittoresque en Grdce. Ambassador of France to the 
 Subhme Porte before the Revolution. 
 
 - Abdul Ahmed I (1774-1788).
 
 102 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 this formed a singular contrast with his face, which was 
 extremely pale and livid. The kiosk which contained 
 him and his silver sofa was not very large, and was like 
 many others which were to be seen. 
 
 The women, who were very numerous, were like walk- 
 ing mummies. A large loose robe of dark green cloth 
 covered them from the neck to the ground ; over that 
 was a large piece of muslin, which wrapped the shoulders 
 and arms, and another which went over the head and 
 eyes. All these coverings confound the shape and air 
 so much, that any rank may be concealed under them. 
 I never saw a country where the women may enjoy so 
 much freedom and liberty as here, free from all reproach. 
 A Turkish husband who sees a pair of slippers at the door 
 of his harem, must not enter : his respect for the sex 
 prevents him from intruding when a stranger is there on 
 a visit : how easy, then, it is for men to pass and visit 
 as women ! If I had been inclined to walk about the 
 streets, I should certainly have worn the same dress ; for 
 the Turkish women never address each other by their 
 own names. 
 
 When I went out I had always the Ambassador's 
 chairs, carried by six Turks, like our English sedans, but 
 highly gilt and varnished. Two Janissaries walked before 
 with high fur caps, — the ambassadors all having Janis- 
 saries allowed them by the Porte. I was fearful every 
 moment that the Turks would fling me down, they were 
 so very awkward. 
 
 We frequently went out in the Ambassador's boats ; 
 and boats are hired at Constantinople as in London. The 
 shape of them was light and beautiful ; and the Turks
 
 AT CONSTANTINOPLE 103 
 
 row well, which might appear incompatible with their 
 idleness. 
 
 Places are all obtained at Court by intrigue. The 
 Vizier was water-carrier to Hassan Bey, the Capitan 
 Pacha, or high admiral ; and Hassan himself was only a 
 servant at Algiers. Each Sultaness has her creatures. 
 The low intrigues of the ministers cannot be imagined. 
 The Sultan had the highest opinion of the Capitan Pacha, 
 and when he left the capital intrusted it to his care ; but 
 this he never did, unless he considered it in danger. At 
 a fire four Janissaries were thrown into it for not doing 
 their duty properly, " pour encourager les autres," as 
 Voltaire observed on another occasion. The Capitan 
 Pacha had a singular attachment to a lion, which accom- 
 panied him like a dog : and one day he permitted this 
 lion to attend him to the Divan, where the ministers were 
 so frightened that they dispersed in terror, some jump- 
 ing out of the windows, while one nearly broke his neck 
 in flying down stairs ; leaving the high Admiral and his 
 companion to settle the affairs of the nation as they 
 pleased. 
 
 A rebellious Pacha may raise troops and live in de- 
 fiance of his Sovereign. One, of the name of Mahmoud, 
 who was about thirty years of age, placed himself at the 
 head of 40,000 men in Albania, and bid defiance to the 
 Porte. Whilst I was at Constantinople an instance 
 occurred, shewing that the confidence of the Sultan was 
 not a safeguard against a sudden and unexpected death. 
 — A Greek, named Petraki, who acted as a kind of banker 
 to the Court, by his frequent access to the Sultan raised 
 a jealousy on the part of the ministers, who in council
 
 104 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 one day, on various pretences, desired that his head 
 might be taken off. 
 
 The Sultan, who anxiously wished to keep it on, for 
 reasons with which the ministers were unacquainted, 
 strenuously opposed such a desire. The Capitan Pacha 
 and his friends insisted boldly that they would not stir 
 from the Council till Achmet had signed the order, which 
 he was compelled to do with tears rolling down his 
 cheeks. On these occasions, a person is always sent to 
 examine the papers of the unfortunate being who is put 
 to death, to see if he has had any dealings with the 
 Cabinet. Some of these were found, which he sealed up 
 with four large seals, and desired that they might be de- 
 livered into the hands of the Sultan, being much alarmed 
 at having seen them ; for Petraki was the private agent 
 of the Sultan, who received the money, which Petraki 
 seemed only to obtain for places which his interest pro- 
 cured ; and Petraki's accounts were so regularly kept, 
 that the money he delivered, with the dates and the 
 places, were registered. 
 
 It is not to be wondered at that Constantine chose this 
 place as the seat of his Empire. Nature has made it all 
 that is grand. Constantinople, at the entrance of the 
 Bosphorus by the sea of Marmora, is the most majestic, 
 magnificent, and lively scene, which the most luxuriant 
 imagination can devise. 
 
 Here I met with Sir Richard Worsley,^ who had a 
 person with him to take views. He shewed me a coloured 
 drawing of the Castle of Otranto, which he proposed as a 
 
 ^ Seventh baronet (i 751-1805) ; sometime British Resident at 
 Venice. Worsley travelled in the Levant, and made a collection of 
 stones and gems, of which he published an account.
 
 AT CONSTANTINOPLE 105 
 
 present to Horace Walpole. I then asked him, whether 
 he were an acquaintance of his. Upon his replying in 
 the negative, I did not hesitate to ask him for it, that I 
 might, as a friend of Mr. Walpole 's, have the pleasure of 
 giving it to him. He then entreated me to accept of 
 some Egyptian pebbles, as knife-handles ; and I, in 
 return, obtained for him the permission of going in the 
 frigate to the Crimea, which had brought me to Con- 
 stantinople. 
 
 All the ambassadors, after my arrival, gave parties and 
 balls. The Dutch Ambassador's wife was a very worthy 
 woman ; and Madame D 'Herbert, the wife of the Imperial 
 minister, was very lively, and I was frequently with her. 
 I was much pleased with the kindness I received from 
 every one, and with their readiness to answer every 
 question I put : but to one person only I never applied, 
 as I observed a stifled smile upon the countenance of 
 every person whenever he opened his lips. 
 
 There was an English m^erchant who was extremely 
 offended at my lodging in the Palais de France, and who 
 said, if Sir Robert Ainslie's^ house was not good enough 
 for me, he had a new one, which he would have emptied, 
 and I should have had it all to myself. " It is an affront," 
 he said, " to the nation, for a Princess of England to 
 lodge at the French Ambassador's ! " The Enghsh mer- 
 chants were very kind to me ; they knew, I suppose, the 
 respect I had for them. 
 
 After remaining some time at Constantinople, and see- 
 ing all the things which were objects of curiosity, and 
 
 * In the original text this name is given as Sir Richard. Sir Robert 
 Ainshe (1730-1812) was British Ambassador at Constantinople from 
 1776-92.
 
 io6 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 with which I was highly dehghted, I set out for Athens 
 with M. de Choiseul, a great part of his household, and 
 some officers, on board a frigate prepared for us. 
 
 Having examined all the wonderful remains of anti- 
 quity there, I passed through Smyrna, Terrapin, Varna, 
 Buccorest, and Hermanstadt, to Vienna. 
 
 From Vienna I proceeded to Helvoetsluys, and from 
 thence to London, which place I reached in safety after 
 an absence of nearly two years.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 My arrival in England — Lady Berkeley approves my plan of passing 
 some time at Anspach with the Margrave and Margravine — I write 
 to Lord Craven — My arrival at Anspach — History of the Margrave 
 and Margravine — Court of Anspach. 
 
 ^ FTER my long and gratifying journey to Vienna, 
 /^ Warsaw, Petersburg, Constantinople, and a 
 
 r — ^ short excursion into Greece, where, at each 
 -^ ^^ place I stopped, I was protected by sovereigns 
 and ministers, and treated with respect, and care, and 
 generosity, which will ever remain gratefully impressed 
 upon my heart, I found myself again in England, ^ for 
 the purpose of seeing my children ; and from hence went 
 to Paris, to take measures for my stay at Anspach with 
 the Margrave and Margravine. 
 
 Having received my mother's approbation of my in- 
 tention to pass some time at Anspach with the Margrave 
 and the Margravine, I prevailed upon the Margrave to 
 return thither early in the spring, although in general 
 he did not reach Franconia till the month of June. My 
 eldest son had been in a bad state of health, and I was 
 happy to find that he was recovering fast, I refrained 
 from making any remarks to the tutor, for his neglect in 
 not permitting my son to write to me as he had been 
 
 1 Autumn of 1786. Lady Craven had been abroad about three 
 years. 
 
 107
 
 io8 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 promised ; but wrote to Lord Craven to inform him, 
 that he had for ever lost my good opinion, in having 
 broken his promise that my children should write to me 
 every fortnight : and as he had not complied with his 
 engagement, I resolved to break mine, in not allowing 
 my youngest son to return to England when he was eight 
 years old. I informed Lord Craven that I was invited 
 to pass some time at Anspach, where I was to be treated 
 as the Margrave's sister ; and peremptorily told him, 
 that if he attempted any thing by force with regard to 
 my child, I should immediately go to Benham or to my 
 house in Charles Street, and throw myself upon the laws 
 of my country, to obtain redress for all my sufferings as 
 a mother. This was the only instance in which I dis- 
 obliged my Lord's commands ; and I was certain that 
 he would do nothing which could make me change my 
 resolution. 
 
 On my arrival at Anspach, the joy of the Margravine 
 at seeing me was very great, as she knew it was by my 
 desire that the Margrave had returned earlier than usual ; 
 for she loved and esteemed him as much as he deserved, 
 notwithstanding her general coldness. 
 
 As this period formed a new epoch in my life, I shall 
 begin it now with a history of that high and illustrious 
 character. 
 
 Christian-Frederick-Charles-Alexander, Margrave of 
 Brandenburg, Anspach, and Bareith,i Duke of Prussia, 
 Count of Sayn, was born at Anspach, in the month of 
 February 1736. His mother^ was an elder sister of the 
 
 1 The spelling of tliis word constantly varies. The Editors 
 have thought it best in their Introduction to follow the more modern 
 rendering — -Bayreuth. It is so given in the Almanack de Gotha. 
 
 * Frederica Louisa.
 
 THE LAST MARGRAVE OF ANSPACH AS A BOY 
 From an engraving by J . C. Sperling after Lichtensteger Korib
 
 THE MARGRAVE OF ANSPACH 109 
 
 great Frederic, King of Prussia, whose partiality to his 
 nephew (for he esteemed him more than any other rela- 
 tive) stamped on the minds of men some idea of his 
 merit. In his early youth, and in the decline of life, it 
 was that esteem of which he was accustomed to speak 
 to me ; and which seemed to gratify his feelings, and was 
 his chief pride. Soon after the Margrave's birth, his 
 father's conduct to the house of Brandenburg, and par- 
 ticularly to his wife, was grievous in the extreme. Alex- 
 ander was the second son of his father, but his elder 
 brother dying in 1737, he became the heir-apparent. 
 
 As the two Margraviates were placed in the centre of 
 Germany, it is natural to suppose that there would be 
 mutual animosities created, by those evil-disposed per- 
 sons, some of whom were willing to pay their court to 
 the Emperor, while others were solicitous to gain the 
 favour of the King of Prussia. 
 
 Incessant fermentations and constant confusion were 
 thus created, and matters of business were represented 
 as affairs of a political nature : some imagined that any 
 mischief which happened to the circles of Franconia 
 would please the Emperor, who (as well as his brother 
 Leopold^ afterwards) was as much pleased with the Mar- 
 grave's care of his country, and welfare of his subjects, 
 as old Prince Kaunitz was, who, after asking me once if 
 I knew the Margrave, said, " Then you know the best 
 sovereign in Germany." 
 
 The constant object of the Margrave's heart was the 
 consideration of his country ; and even in all his political 
 matters, he shewed his own disinterestedness by pre- 
 
 ^ Leopold II (1790-1792), brother of Joseph II (1765-1790), and 
 son of the Emperor Francis I and Maria Theresa.
 
 no THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 ferring his attentions to Austria, instead of Prussia ; to 
 which latter he was alhed by the ties of blood. 
 
 Queen Caroline, wife of George II, King of England, 
 was the only sister to the Margrave's father : she has 
 passed to posterity in my country as the good Queen 
 Caroline ; and not without reason, for she truly deserved 
 the character. The concern which her Majesty felt for 
 her infant nephew, who was a delicate child, left alone 
 to the care of a neghgent father, made her apply to the 
 King, to ask permission of her brother to direct the 
 education and care of her nephew, I have been informed 
 that the King gave orders to the Duke of Newcastle^ to 
 write to the Margrave of Anspach, and inform him of 
 Queen Caroline's desire ; and at the same time that the 
 Duke of Newcastle was allowed by his Majesty the sum 
 of yoool. per annum to be employed in the various ex- 
 penses of the young Prince's education, which the Queen 
 was to regulate. 
 
 A French lady, who first became the governess of the 
 young Margrave, was the person to whom he was much 
 indebted, as his original nature was violent, and his 
 temper impatient of control. She not only soon taught 
 him to speak French perfectly, but impressed on his 
 infant mind the first of all duties — not to do wrong. 
 English servants, attending on his person, soon taught 
 him to speak English well. 
 
 At the age of seven years, he was brought to the 
 Hague, that George II, who passed through every two 
 years on his way to Hanover, might see the child. He 
 was turned full-dressed into a large room one evening, 
 
 * Thomas Pelham Holies, first Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyme 
 (1693-1768).
 
 KARL WIIHKI.M KRIKDRU II, K..G., MARGRAVE OK AN-SPACH, I). 1/57. 
 
 FATHER OF THE HUSBAND OF LADY CKAVEN 
 
 From the contetitporaiy eitgi-avins in the Collection of A. M. Broadley
 
 THE MARGRAVE OF ANSPACH in 
 
 when the King came into it, at the opposite end to where 
 he stood, and approaching him with a candle in his 
 hand, said, " Let me see if you are hke the family." In 
 the year 1741 he was consigned to the care of different 
 masters, to whom the manner of his education was pre- 
 scribed. The care of his mind was entrusted to M. Boben- 
 hausen, a member of the Cabinet Council, and president 
 of the Ecclesiastical Senate. By those masters he was 
 well instructed in all the liberal arts and sciences suit- 
 able to a youth of his age and rank, for the better regula- 
 tion of his future life, according to the dictates of honour 
 and humanity. Bobenhausen seems to have been well 
 calculated for so arduous a task as that of being at the 
 head of preceptors. He instilled into his mind the prin- 
 ciples of duty to God and his parents, with a strict 
 observance of the laws, both human and divine : he 
 gave him a desire of instruction, and formed his demean- 
 our with affability and mildness, so that the young Prince 
 never lost sight of his views to benefit mankind or to 
 protect the arts and sciences. He bound those who were 
 connected with him by his humanity, his indulgence, 
 and the popularity of his manners. When he became a 
 sovereign, he cultivated and encouraged all the arts, and 
 was particularly partial to the Latin language. In every 
 action of his life he evinced the happy effects of his good 
 education ; but most particularly in the government of 
 his principalities, and the administration of his own 
 private affairs. His maxims were well digested ; de- 
 signed, not for ostentation, but for the regulation of life. 
 It may here be remarked, that however liberal Nature 
 may be in her gifts, though she grant profusely good 
 qualities to a man, unless a wise and diligent education
 
 112 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 direct them, and the spark of virtue be fanned by the 
 breath of wisdom into a flame, good precepts may be 
 extinguished, or do more harm than good, by causing 
 base actions. 
 
 His young mind received great stimulus to improve- 
 ment in the year 1748, when he travelled into Holland, 
 with M. Bobenhausen, and Bebra, his gentleman of the 
 bedchamber, where he remained till the year 1750. 
 
 His mother, in her letters, often declares that the 
 reason why he so loved this seat of learning was, that he 
 there acquired his desire of universal knowledge. He 
 probably imbibed it filtered through maxims infused by 
 the academicians of Erlangen, for I never could learn 
 that he resided there very long, although it was thus 
 generally supposed. 
 
 In his different journeys through Holland, he prose- 
 cuted his studies while he visited all the cities, citadels, 
 and places of the United Provinces. He quitted them 
 with his tutors, and his friend Fosterinus, and went 
 through Switzerland to Venice and Rome, and then re- 
 turned to Anspach, after having been expected by his 
 parents and subjects, who received him with the greatest 
 joy. As he had passed his time in visiting new objects, 
 he retained during the rest of his life the love of travel- 
 ling, without regard to the trouble or inconvenience 
 attending it. 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1754 his life was in great 
 danger. From not having been inoculated, he was 
 attacked by the small-pox : the fear of his death filled 
 the minds of his parents and his countrymen with terror ; 
 and his speedy recovery, with unfeigned joy. 
 
 When the Margrave had attained his fifteenth year, he
 
 THE MARGRAVE OF ANSPACH 113 
 
 was destined to be married to a Princess of Saxe Cobourg,^ 
 whose family was devoted to Austria ; and for this reason 
 the house of Brandenburg did not approve the match. 
 It was for this reason that the young Margrave was sent 
 by his father to Saxe Cobourg, to see the young Princess ; 
 thinking that he would admire her, and take her as his 
 choice : but in this he was disappointed, for the young 
 prince declared to his father that he did not like her, and 
 begged leave to decline the proposal. 
 His father tried for some time, by reasoning and per- 
 I suasions, to overcome the resolution which his son had 
 expressed ; but finding all his eloquence lost upon him, 
 he contrived to have it insinuated to him by a tool of 
 the Court, that, if he persisted in his determination, he 
 should be confined in a state prison till he should be 
 brought to comply with his father's wishes. 
 1 The young prince, accustomed to all the pleasures 
 I which a Court creates for the rising sun, and to every 
 kind of exercise in which he so much excelled — ^to frequent 
 journeys, undertaken either for his health, amusement, 
 or instruction — to the smiles of beauty which were the 
 objects of his wishes, and to that obedience which those 
 wishes enforced — in short, to every recreation which 
 gratified him, — conceived so great a repugnance to con- 
 finement, that, in order to secure momentary freedom, 
 he consented to eternal bondage. 
 
 In this instance, the strongest and most striking proof 
 of his virtues and morality will appear ; so firmly were 
 they imprinted in the mind of this good man. 
 
 The Margravine, his wife, was born with an inward 
 defect of bodily constitution ; which made her so un- 
 
 ^ See Pedigree Vol. II. 
 VOL. I. I
 
 114 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 healthy, that at thirteen years old she became subject 
 to fits. Mental or corporeal enjoyments of any kind she 
 never could have possessed ; she was in a continual state 
 of bodily pain. Naturally fair, sickness gave her the 
 appearance of a faded lily when it begins to assume a 
 yellow hue. With the best intentions, she had not the 
 power, even of countenance, to give expression to a 
 feeling. Such was the person given to the most lively, 
 the most ardent, and the most active young man ; and 
 although his own passions, the allurements of every 
 beautiful woman to please him, the many concerted 
 schemes of politicians to persuade him to a divorce after 
 his marriage, that he might marry a young and healthy 
 Princess who might produce an heir to his principalities, 
 would have been motives sufficient for the generality of 
 men ; yet nothing could seduce the Margrave from what 
 he imagined to be a duty. Reasons of every kind were 
 adopted ; some of which were plausible, nay, even 
 justifiable : the facility of divorces in the Protestant 
 countries of Germany, the duties he owed to posterity, 
 his own private interest that his sovereignty might not 
 pass from his family at his death — all these were used in 
 vain. " I am her husband," he replied to all these per- 
 suasions ; " therefore, as long as she lives, as her husband 
 I am bound to protect her." The cold and dignified 
 manner in which he spoke this negative, put an end to 
 all the hopes, and all the plots which were eternally 
 forming around him, to urge him to shake off the bonds 
 into which he had been forced. 
 
 In 1757, three years after his marriage, his father died ; 
 and in the year 1769 he inherited the Margraviate of 
 Bareith from his cousin. These two principalities were
 
 LIFE AT ANSPACH 115 
 
 at least 500 miles from Berlin, and at the death of the 
 Margrave would become the inheritance of the King of 
 Prussia — a subject which was a great source of sorrow 
 to its inhabitants ; as was the circumstance of the Mar- 
 grave's marriage with a person from whom there was not 
 the slightest probability of his having an heir. 
 
 The vile projectors of Court favour to themselves, 
 imagined that they should please the Imperial Court by 
 fomenting divisions in Franconia, in order to lower its 
 consequence by diminishing its prosperity in the Empire. 
 
 Some of the courtiers of Anspach, who were of the 
 immediate nobility, were unconcerned how affairs pro- 
 ceeded, acknowledging no other legal authority than 
 Austria ; but the friends of Prussia observed with a 
 jealous eye proceedings which might be injurious to their 
 interests, and therefore, on all occasions, took care to 
 inform the Margrave of what passed. 
 
 These circumstances, with the unshaken cold indiffer- 
 ence of the Margravine, shewn to every person in her 
 service, and even to her husband himself, created much 
 uneasiness in the mind of a man who was alive to every 
 feeling. In a woman whom nothing seemed to please, 
 to amuse, or to excite, no sensations of interest could be 
 raised ; and plans were laid down of what was to be 
 done in case of her death before the Margrave, which 
 kept the Germans in a state of constant suspense and 
 anxiety, and gave them a cast of dullness and discontent. 
 
 Our life was generally regulated by the clock. The 
 Court assembled before dinner. We dined at three. At 
 six the company retired till eight ; when cards or con- 
 versation engaged the time till supper was announced, 
 which was generally at ten.
 
 ii6 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 The Margravine, though her health did not suffer her 
 to take any exercise, and prevented her from enjoying 
 amusements, yet always dressed for dinner ; but was 
 frequently obhged to retire to her apartment, when she 
 would send me word that she could not appear any more 
 that day. 
 
 The first objects of the Margrave's private delights were 
 his magnificent studs of horses. He had himself seventy- 
 five brood mares ; and in the country separate studs, of 
 several hundred mares in each. The stallions were 
 draught horses for the Court carriages, and were regu- 
 larly sent every year for the purpose of breeding, with- 
 out expense, to those of the peasantry who were rich 
 enough to have mares. All that was required of the 
 proprietors of the mares and colts was to give the equerries 
 of the Margrave a preference of the colts to be sold, at a 
 regulated price. If these colts were not approved of, 
 which was generally the case, or if they were not hand- 
 some enough for the Margrave's stables, the proprietor 
 was at liberty to sell them when and where he pleased, 
 at his own price. As numerous persons from all parts 
 of Germany were desirous of purchasing a breed of 
 horses to be found in no other place, this arrangement 
 was an eternal source of profit to people of all classes, 
 subjects of the Margrave, who kept as many or as few 
 mares as they chose. 
 
 The Margrave's father had purchased, I know not 
 whence, a breed of cows, the most extraordinary in size 
 and beauty I ever saw. There were fifty of them ; and 
 as no person there understood the art of making cheese 
 or butter, they were deprived of these comforts. An old 
 Swiss attended these cows, and he understood nothing
 
 LIFE AT ANSPACH 117 
 
 of the kind. When he died, at the request of the Mar- 
 grave I sent over to England to obtain recipes for the 
 making of cheese of every sort ; but the plan was much 
 neglected, as the better kind of people did not approve 
 what they imagined to be an innovation. The only 
 advantage that was derived from it was, that the Mar- 
 grave had at his table good cream, and Stilton, or Berke- 
 ley hundred, made under my direction. 
 
 I never suggested any thing to the Margrave, but did 
 voluntarily every thing which I thought would cheer the 
 hours of my kind and princely adopted brother. I was 
 often seconded by his real friends, of whom there were 
 a few at Court ; and I perceived that they wished to 
 turn his ideas aside from business, which the contradic- 
 tions he received from party spirit had rendered grave 
 and anxious. 
 
 The theatre, for which amusement I had always a 
 great taste, would, I thought, if properly arranged, be a 
 source of continual relaxation for the Margrave's mind. 
 There was an old and useless manege at Anspach, which 
 could easily be converted to this object. I immediately 
 set about it ; and with the Court orchestra, the per- 
 formers of which were the best I ever heard, and the 
 young nobility I selected to act, to sing, and to dance, 
 with the assistance of the best machinist in Europe, our 
 representations became the most lively and magnificent, 
 and afforded such pleasure to the Margravine that she 
 never missed a performance. 
 
 Every Thursday I went into the theatre at ten o'clock, 
 and at two the Margrave came to take me away, to return 
 to Triesdorf to dine. I was chief manager ; and with 
 M. Azimon, who was sub-governor to the pages, and my
 
 ii8 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 troop, we always contrived to keep the most profound 
 secrecy as to what we intended to represent. The 
 chamberlains were all in league with us, and two sentinels 
 were placed at the door of entrance, to give a signal 
 when the Margrave was coming, and the actors and 
 actresses left off rehearsing, to be grouped with me near 
 the place where he entered, to receive him. Thus every 
 nevv^ piece was an agreeable surprise. 
 
 M. Mei;cier, the brother of the author of the Tableau 
 de Paris, was a man from whom I had received con- 
 siderable civilities, during my residence there. He then 
 kept the Hotel de I'Empereur, Rue Tournon, whither by 
 accident I went to take up my abode. He had a wife 
 and five children. As he had acquiesced in a proposal 
 of mine rather unreasonable, I must confess, I had formed 
 a great esteem for him.— I had told him that I would 
 only reside at his hotel on one condition, which was, that 
 he should bring me the names of the new arrivals, and 
 that he should dismiss all those whom I did not choose 
 to allow to live under his roof with me : to this, how- 
 ever, he consented. His wife, who by her merit and 
 modesty, and every domestic duty, had soon raised my 
 attention, was also an object of my regard ; and I pre- 
 sented them both to the Margrave, who always found a 
 pleasure in esteeming merit wherever he discovered it. 
 
 These persons I fixed upon as proper subjects for a 
 purpose which I had long in view. 
 
 A society for the encouragement of arts and sciences 
 of every kind was an object most desirable ; and as 
 nothing of this nature had been established, the Mar- 
 grave and myself proposed to form one. M. Mercier 
 immediately occurred to us as a very proper person to
 
 LIFE AT ANSPACH 119 
 
 take upon himself the office of secretary, and for that 
 purpose I wrote to him to come to Anspach. He com- 
 pHed with our wishes, and brought his wife with him. 
 The society was formed, and met every Thursday. It 
 proved a great source of amusement to the Margrave, 
 and became a real and satisfactory recreation ; for, how- 
 ever brilliant a man's talents may be in any Court, as 
 rank can only give access to the Sovereign, and that 
 Sovereign must be necessarily deprived of the delights 
 of conversation beyond his circle, so this establishment 
 was an invitation from the Sovereign to men of superior 
 abilities, who might mix in literary society, and have the 
 satisfaction of reading their own works, or extracts from 
 those of any persons of genius. 
 
 I have passed many happy hours at those meetings. 
 I have listened to instructive and amusing details, with- 
 out being obliged to speak myself. The astronomer, the 
 metaphysician, or improver of any arts, took care to 
 collect the best materials ; and the society never parted, 
 which it was obliged to do after a given time, but that 
 some one was too late with his Paper, which could not 
 be read at the time ; and whenever that occurred, I 
 always made a point of addressing myself to that person, 
 and of informing him that at the next meeting that 
 Paper should be read first. 
 
 The Margrave would insist that I should give some- 
 thing of my own at these meetings, and desired me 
 always to have some subject ready ; but as I always 
 contrived to be the last, I did not suffer my vanity to 
 produce my compositions. I must acknowledge that 
 the happiness which the Margrave felt at these meetings, 
 and his pleasure at the gratification of others, produced
 
 120 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 such tranquil sensations, that, I am confident, had all 
 his laudable intentions been repaid with the gratitude 
 they merited, he would never have resigned his sway 
 during his life. Heaven probably spared him the anguish 
 he must have experienced, had he been in Franconia, 
 instead of England, when the French Revolution com- 
 menced. 
 
 The next year after the formation of this Society, the 
 Margrave, who was delighted with the calm and modest 
 virtues of Mercier's wife, whose care of her children and 
 domestic economy likewise gratified him, proposed to me 
 to establish a seminary and place of refuge for children 
 of all classes, and to place her at the head. 
 
 A fine place called Davendorf, belonging to the Mar- 
 grave, was fixed upon as the spot intended for this pur- 
 pose. The house and gardens were adequate to his 
 views, and this was the fatherly gift he proposed to make 
 to his nobles and vassals. It had been left to the Mar- 
 grave by a Colonel Deimar, who owed his fortune, as 
 many others did in his service, to the parental care oi 
 his Sovereign. I told the Margrave that this estate 
 should be for ever given for this purpose ; and that if it 
 were ever converted to any other use, then it should 
 revert to the Sovereign. The Margrave was pleased to 
 say, that the manner in which I employed my time 
 proved to him, that females of every class, to whom I 
 should prescribe the mode of education, must make good 
 wives and mothers. The women had been so revolution- 
 ized in Germany, and so much equalized, that, unless I 
 had searched the establishment of St. Cyr, I could not 
 have found one to superintend, or that suited my ideas 
 of education ; and if found there, what could have
 
 LIFE AT ANSPACH 121 
 
 seduced a Catholic to remain among Protestants, and 
 exchange the luxuries of France for those of Germany ? — 
 and of Enghsh seminaries, I had seen quite enough to 
 make it impossible to suit the Margrave's ideas out of 
 any of them. 
 
 Mercier and his wife were delighted at the idea that 
 she was to be the acting machine of this source of good 
 to human nature ; and she clearly knew that both men 
 and women must be taught principle and order, before 
 they arrive at learning from books and study. 
 
 The Margrave's real friends, to whom he communi- 
 cated this design confidentially, were highly pleased with 
 it, and intreated me, as the only person who dared to 
 speak freely to the Margravine, to request her sanction 
 and support to the measure. I ventured to tell her, that, 
 whereas she gave away, by half-crowns, about 300/. 
 a-year to unworthy women, who by false pretences asked 
 her charity, if she gave but half that sum to this estab- 
 lishment which the Margrave had in view, it would be a 
 blessing to orphans in want, and a pleasure to her hus- 
 band. I did this unknown to the Margrave, and painted, 
 in all the pleasing colours my heart was capable of sug- 
 gesting, the satisfaction she would have in contributing 
 to the welfare of distressed innocence, instead of en- 
 couraging hypocrisy and falsehood. The Margravine 
 listened with apparent satisfaction ; but when I had 
 ended my proposal, she gave me a tap with her fan under 
 my cheek, and said, with a look of scorn, " You are too 
 good, to trouble your head about these people." I then 
 saw the end of all my hopes with her ; and never told the 
 Margrave what I had attempted, nor did he ever inform 
 her that he had any thoughts of such a plan.
 
 122 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 Some part of her speech to me shewed that she knew 
 some people well ; for when the intention of this estab- 
 lishment was known, not one person offered or recom- 
 mended a child, or even asked to be informed of the plan 
 or rules of it. 
 
 This strange folly so incensed the Margrave, that he 
 said the Mercier family should not stay to be looked 
 upon with jealousy by his entourage ; and Mercier, still 
 retaining the place of Secretary to the Literary Society 
 of Triesdorf , retired with his family, kindly and generously 
 treated by the Margrave, and protected ever since by me. 
 
 He died in 1823, in the month of April, at Chaillot, 
 having enjoyed the small pension allowed by the Mar- 
 grave, which I regularly paid him since the Margrave's 
 death. 
 
 What we thought ingratitude or stupidity, or both, at 
 that time, was only the effect of a credulity which tempts 
 men to believe any thing strange, in any country where 
 strangers reside. The poison of equality and democracy 
 from France, which had been extensively circulated 
 publicly, had begun to establish itself in all the Courts 
 of Germany, more or less, under various forms. Since 
 that period, the Baron de Dieskaw has told me that he 
 was informed, and literally believed, that it was my in- 
 tention to fill the Court of Anspach with English people ; 
 and, as suspicion always defeats itself, and poisons every 
 thing around it, every thing amiable which I did or said 
 was supposed to be the cover to some design. My noble" 
 refusals — repeated refusals, of gifts and favours from 
 the Emperor, the King of Prussia, ^ and the Margrave, 
 
 ^ Frederick William II, nephew of Frederick tlie Great. He reigned 
 from 1786-97.
 
 LIFE AT ANSPACH 123 
 
 were supposed to be only profound dissimulation, and 
 not a mother's heroism. Many are yet alive, who now 
 regret their fatal credulity, which was, I am convinced, 
 with the effects of it, the real cause why the Father of 
 his people left them to the care of themselves. 
 
 Triesdorf was situated three leagues from Anspach, 
 and here the Margrave generally passed the winter 
 months, preferring it to his palace at Anspach ; but I 
 persuaded him to remain this winter here, and took the 
 band of music under my protection. I likewise made an 
 English garden at Triesdorf, and joined it to the garden 
 there by a lake in the park. I never failed to dine with 
 the Margravine, and to play with her, her favourite game 
 of cribbage. I followed the stag-hounds with the Mar- 
 grave, a thing I much disliked, in order to please him. 
 
 I took every precaution in my power to spare trouble 
 and expense, as I had only one maid and a boy to wait 
 upon my son. I was desirous to prevent the possibility 
 of any person having it in his power to say, that, under 
 any pretence whatever, I had attempted to create dis- 
 satisfaction between the Margrave and the Margravine. 
 
 I wrote two petites pieces for the Court Theatre. One 
 was called "La Folie du Jour ; " the other, "Abdotd et 
 Nourjad," which I had previously written to please 
 M. Choiseul Gouffier,^ was acted by my company with 
 such success, that many people took drawings of the 
 first scene, and the sentinels and boys in the street sung 
 the favourite airs. I also translated from the English 
 into French the comedy of " She would and She would 
 not ; " and as I always gave the Margravine the choice 
 of what was to be acted, she generally chose that : and 
 
 1 See ante, p. cv.
 
 124 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 as I was obliged to curtail the dialogue, it was much 
 animated in the French. 
 
 Yet, notwithstanding all my endeavours to please, I 
 could not satisfy the suspicious temper of the Germans, 
 and all the good I wished to do was frequently opposed. 
 When I reflect on the position in which I was placed, I 
 find that it has been a negative, which has given me the 
 consideration in which I have been held, I have been, 
 like other women, flattered with the brilliancy of my 
 talents, my figure, and all those things, to which my 
 successes in the world are attributed ; but these only 
 raised malice and envy against me : the real causes are 
 negatives. I never utter a falsehood — I never detract — 
 I talk as little as I can — I never suffer sorrow or wrong 
 to approach me without a negative ; that is, without 
 endeavouring to oppose them — I get out of the way, and 
 let others alone to do as they please. 
 
 Germans are civil if you pass through their countries ; 
 but if you reside in them, they imagine you have a plan 
 — a scheme — and nothing can divest them of the idea. 
 My income, though only 1500/. a-year, made me appear 
 a rich person in Germany. I constantly refused presents 
 and grants of land, and never would permit either 
 Austrians, Prussians, or Franconians, to enter into 
 politics with me. I never permitted any one to ask me 
 to interfere with the Margrave or the Margravine, and 
 would never try to obtain a favour. But the stubborn 
 stupidity of some, far from being quieted by my conduct, 
 attributed this to the perfection of art. — My mother's 
 seal was counterfeited ; and that in so coarse and clumsy 
 a manner, that I soon detected it, and found that every 
 letter had been opened and read.
 
 LIFE AT ANSPACH 125 
 
 To the foolish questions which were asked me at 
 Court, I always made answer that I knew nothing about 
 those things. I amused myself innocently, and educated 
 my child ; and as there was not one half hour in the day 
 when every body might not have had access to me — 
 if unkindness and ingratitude to the Margrave had not 
 aided and abetted the natural propensity to suspicion 
 which infested the Germans, I should have erased all 
 these base feelings by my conduct, I invariably said, 
 that if the father of my children desired my return for 
 their sakes, my first duty was to go back to England. 
 I never informed the Margrave, not even after I became 
 his wife, that my mother's seal had been counterfeited, 
 and I trusted to that Providence which protects inno- 
 cence, to guard me.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 Mademoiselle Clairon — Her conduct to the Margrave during her resi- 
 dence at Anspach — Her letters to him — Singular story relating 
 to her. 
 
 A CCIDENT had led the Margrave to an ac- 
 /^ quaintance with Mademoiselle Clairon,^ the 
 / % celebrated French actress, who shone at Paris 
 as the first female tragedian of her time. As 
 Mademoiselle Clairon perfectly well knew how to appre- 
 ciate the value of such a man, she formed the design of 
 ingratiating herself into his favour by every means that 
 the fertility of her powers produced. Well aware of the 
 candour of this prince, of his noble and unaffected sim- 
 plicity, of the tender and constant interest which her 
 society must excite if her plans were well arranged, she 
 determined at once to effect a superiority over his heart, 
 which she knew must, from his unfortunate situation, 
 be vacant. She resolved, therefore, on visiting Anspach, 
 and on sacrificing herself, as she averred, for the happi- 
 ness of a sovereign, and for the glory of a nation. Under 
 the pretence of disinterested affection, she therefore 
 quitted Paris, to extend her sensibility over a soul which 
 she well knew was capable of the utmost refinement. 
 
 In accomplishing this purpose, she had many obstacles 
 to combat ; the most formidable of which was, perhaps, 
 
 * 1 723-1 803. See Introduction, p. liii, etc. 
 126
 
 MADEMOISELLE CLAIRON 127 
 
 the aversion that she must necessarily excite in the mind 
 of the Margravine. The Duchess of Wirtemburg, daughter 
 of the Margrave of Bareith, was also another impediment 
 in the path of her wishes. By her utmost endeavours, 
 Mademoiselle Clairon could never obtain an interview 
 with her, nor would the Duchess permit her by any 
 means to be seen. It is unnecessary to say by what in- 
 genious plans she devised the execution of her purpose : 
 suffice it to say, that she gained her point with the 
 Margrave ; and from the superiority of her talents, and 
 the assiduity of her attentions, she so far gained the 
 regard and esteem of that prince, that he always called 
 her sa Maman : and as she was willing to assume a 
 much greater authority than belonged to a mother, she 
 concealed her views under the specious appearance of 
 friendship. 
 
 By no means intimidated by any opposition which she 
 received, she at length found herself firmly fixed, and, 
 according to some accounts, began to exert that authority 
 which she had so anxiously endeavoured to obtain. She 
 ventured even so far, if it is to be credited, as to assert 
 that her arrival at Anspach was caused by the immediate 
 request of the Margravine, or at least by her consent ; 
 and was bold enough publicly to declare, that she was 
 established there at the earnest solicitations of those who 
 would most have avoided her. 
 
 After two years' residence, she assumed importance 
 sufficient to say, that she had employed her time in de- 
 stroying a cabal which threatened to overthrow the 
 ministry, in correcting abuses, in diminishing expenses, 
 and in rendering services to the country by an exact 
 and scrupulous attention to its interests. She pretended
 
 128 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 that she was the means of procuring respect for the 
 Margravine, by restoring an affection which she had for- 
 feited, and by calming the mind of her august husband, 
 who, by her endeavours, had been rendered docile and 
 content. Thus she attempted to display the purity of 
 her intentions, and of her conduct : but, as she really 
 found that the Margravine diminished instead of in- 
 creasing her feelings towards her, she ventured to ex- 
 postulate with her by every method in her power, and 
 to represent the value of her attachment. Although she 
 informed the Margravine, in her own letters, that she was 
 received by her at table, and even that she spoke of her in 
 honourable terms, yet she admitted that, from fatal experi- 
 ence, she discovered that her presence was displeasing, 
 and that in receiving her, she did so only from the fear 
 of incurring the anger of the Margrave. This change, as 
 she called it, had such an influence on her destiny, that 
 she even demanded of her the cause. 
 
 She then informed the Margravine, that, among other 
 things, the Margravine of Bareith had been very desirous 
 that the Margrave should procure a divorce, but that, 
 owing to her persuasions, she had checked in its progress 
 so formidable a measure. She had the insolence to 
 inform her that, after passing a life of twenty years with 
 the Margrave, and even permitting his infidelities, she 
 had denied that regard to a person like herself, who had 
 only their mutual interests at heart, and who would 
 never allow him either to go out or to come home, with- 
 out first paying her those respects which were due to her 
 as a wife ; and who procured for her those attentions, 
 of which she must inevitably have been deprived had it 
 not been for the indulgence of a disinterested woman ;
 
 MADEMOISELLE CLAIRON 129 
 
 " And to whom, without extreme injustice," she added, 
 " you could never have refused your kindness and in- 
 dulgence." She then recommended to her to support 
 with courage a privation dictated by prudence, and to 
 bless her intentions instead of blaming them. 
 
 During this time, Mademoiselle Clairon was living at 
 the Margrave's expense, with four French servants in 
 livery — Madame Senay her femme-de-charnhre, a valet-de- 
 chamhre, and a lacquey, besides a French cook. The 
 Margrave supplied her table with the best wines from 
 his cellar ; and, as she gave petits soupers to the Margrave 
 and his friends, her people, of course, consumed more 
 than could be properly furnished. Her expenses were 
 enormous, and all paid from the Chamber of Finances at 
 Anspach. These facts I had from the Marechaux of the 
 Court, 
 
 It was at this period of her grandeur that I made my 
 appearance at Anspach. As it was impossible for her to 
 be blind to the sincere regard which the Margrave had 
 for me, it was of course to be expected that my presence 
 would rouse her feelings, and prompt her to attempt to 
 work upon the Margrave by every means in her power. 
 
 One of her first endeavours was to impress upon the 
 mind of the Margrave an unfavourable opinion of the 
 person whom he had admitted into his confidence. She, 
 therefore, addressed him in writing. 
 
 " Your unbridled passion," she says, "for a woman 
 whom, unfortunately, you alone do not know — the over- 
 throw of your plans and my destiny— your entire dis- 
 regard for the public opinion — the licentiousness of your 
 morals — your want of respect for your own age and 
 dignity, — have obliged me to discover in you either a 
 
 VOL. I.— K
 
 130 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 vicious soul, which ceases to be restrained, or a head 
 misguided, which ought to be pitied. The habit of 
 cherishing you, of confiding in your virtues, has hitherto 
 made me reject every thing which could degrade you. 
 In consequence I have supported all ; your inhumanity, 
 your outrages, your ingratitude, have not caused a 
 change in the line of conduct I have prescribed. By my 
 silence, particularly on the subject of your mistress, and 
 by leaving my house, I have at least prevented the com- 
 pletion of my injuries ; and, as much as has been in my 
 power, I have concealed, under a countenance always 
 calm, and sometimes smiling, the griefs which have torn 
 my soul. I have permitted myself to believe that I did 
 not disapprove you, and that I regarded you as my best 
 friend. But the fallacy is at an end : you are arrived 
 in your States, and, whatever you may henceforward do, 
 I no longer fear to be accountable for your actions ; and 
 yourself will, in time, allow that you have rejected the 
 protestations of true friendship. 
 
 " The veil is fallen ; I find that I have ever been the 
 miserable victim of your egotism and your various 
 fancies : had you been my real friend, you would not 
 have dismissed me for Madame de Ca — , Madame Ku — , 
 and many others ; you would not have sacrificed my 
 letters, every word of which described my tenderness 
 and my devotion ; you would have continued to me the 
 confidence which I have not ceased to merit ; you would 
 not have abused the prerogatives of your sex and of your 
 rank, to oppress and to revile me ; you would (what- 
 ever might have been the object of your new affection) 
 have respected the sentiments and the conduct of one 
 known to you for seventeen years ; you would have 
 pitied my infirmities, you would have considered my dis- 
 interestedness, and the advantages of my advice : con- 
 vinced by experience of my condescension to your tastes, 
 your fancies, and your passions, you would not have
 
 MADEMOISELLE CLAIRON 131 
 
 withdrawn yourself from a woman who had no other 
 pretensions, no other sentiments, but those of the most 
 tender of mothers and of the most devoted of friends. 
 It is impossible for me to conceive how you have not 
 blushed to appear before my eyes as a tyrant wishing 
 to assassinate me by torments. Just Heaven ! are you 
 the man whom I have held up as the model of virtue ? 
 
 " I must confess, that, during the last five weeks of 
 your abode in Paris, you have shewn yourself less dis- 
 honourable ; you took care to restrain yourself : you 
 obliged me to think that my esteem and my friendship 
 had som.e weight in the scale of your happiness ; but 
 your return into the world, and the publicity which you 
 there excited, have destroyed that moment of illusion. 
 
 " I know, not without astonishment, all that you have 
 done for seven or eight years ; but your profound and 
 concealed dissimulation is at present known to me. I 
 see that I have now no more to pretend to, and that our 
 bonds are to be dissolved for ever. You applaud your- 
 self for such conduct, without doubt ; while I am left 
 without consolation. My soul, as tender as it is un- 
 changeable, will carry to the grave the sentiments which 
 I have dictated to you. I pity, I compassionate, I pardon 
 you, and I wish you the same portion of happiness and 
 of glory as I experience of grief and regret. 
 
 "It is with infinite pain, that I restore at your feet 
 the remembrances which I have from you. I cannot 
 dissemble, that this step may wound your dignity, 
 though it is far from my intention to wish such an out- 
 rage ; but alas ! your proceedings have compelled me 
 to this duty. Recall to mind, that I have desired nothing 
 for myself, nor thought of adding to my fortune, but to 
 increase your enjoyments. Remember you are not my 
 Sovereign ; and that, to obtain the title of my benefactor, 
 you must always preserve that of my friend. I am 
 nothing, Monseigneur : I have always admitted that
 
 132 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 without shame and without regret. But my soul is 
 ahvays something ; and to my last sigh I will compel 
 you at least to esteem me. Adieu ! — Adieu for ever ! " 
 
 This letter was written five weeks after the departure 
 of the Margrave from Paris, the exact period when I wrote 
 to the Margravine to say that I consented to remain at 
 Anspach, and the Margrave received it a short time after 
 his arrival at Anspach. 
 
 It is necessary to go back to the first sentence of 
 Mademoiselle Clairon's letter, in which she says that the 
 Margrave's unbounded passion for a woman whom he 
 alone unfortunately did not know, had been the cause 
 of her discovery of his vicious soul. This woman was 
 supposed by Clairon to be a young and poor adventurer 
 from England, who had come to seek an asylum in the 
 Margrave's territories ; and upon her first inquiries of 
 him who it was that he admired so much, and had so 
 frequently about him, he replied, that it was a person 
 whom she could never see or know, even if he were to 
 name her ; but that he loved her as his child. Piqued 
 by the firm and cold tone with which he answered her, 
 (because he generally began to smile when she questioned 
 him concerning his courses cachees,) and struck with the 
 serious air, which he could assume with ease when he 
 wished to silence a remark, she made no further observa- 
 tion ; but sent a confidential person to watch at the 
 door of the Hotel de I ' Empereur , in order to obtain a 
 sight of this English female when she should be ready 
 to leave it at the dinner-hour. As I was in full dress, 
 and probably had an appearance which might strike this 
 observer, he reported to Mademoiselle Clairon that the 
 young Englishwoman was fair and handsome. She imme- 
 diately conjectured that it must be a mistress of the
 
 MADEMOISELLE CLAIRON 133 
 
 Margrave's ; and this letter was written in the first 
 transports of her fury : nor was she undeceived until 
 some time after, when she discovered that this woman 
 was of high birth, and not, as she supposed, une chercheuse 
 d'aventures a Paris. 
 
 Mademoiselle Clairon had long been celebrated for the 
 variety of her attachments. Her intrigues were univer- 
 sally known, but her affectation of virtue was truly 
 ridiculous. Her talents were great as an actress. I re- 
 member, when I was thirteen years old, I was taken to 
 the Theatre Francois at Paris, to see the performance of 
 Semiramis. This character so much excited my laughter, 
 that my mother ordered me to be taken home to the 
 Hotel Beaufreau before the piece was finished, because 
 my noise offended the farterre. I did not know that it 
 was Mademoiselle Clairon who performed the part of 
 Semiramis ; but twenty years afterwards, when I was 
 playing the part of the Sultan in Almenorade, my foolish 
 memory recalled to mind Semiramis, and I imitated that 
 declamation, which I then recollected. There were only 
 twenty-five persons who composed the audience, all 
 friends of the Margrave, who burst out into exclamations 
 at my performance ; and after the play was over, they 
 declared that I must have seen Mademoiselle Clairon, 
 whom, they said, I had so closely imitated. I protested 
 that, to the best of my recollection, I had never seen her. 
 They insisted that it was herself, and that I must have 
 seen her repeatedly to have followed her manner so 
 exactly. Declamation on the French stage was quite in 
 fashion, and I had been so particularly struck with this 
 kind of acting, that it had lain dormant in my mind till 
 the occasion brought it forth.
 
 134 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 One evening, when Clairon was performing at Paris 
 the part of Ariadne, being extremely unwell, and fearing 
 she should not be able to get through the character, she 
 had ordered a couch to be placed on the stage, to relieve 
 her in case she should be overcome with fatigue. To- 
 wards the conclusion of the fifth act, her strength failed 
 where she expresses her despair at the flight of Phaedra 
 and Theseus, and she fell lifeless on the couch. The 
 quick perception of Mademoiselle Brilland, who played 
 the character of the confidante, suggested to her the idea 
 of occupying the scene by a jeu du theatre the most in- 
 teresting. She fell at her feet, took one of her hands, 
 which she bathed with her tears : her words, slowly 
 articulated, interrupted by sighs, gave Clairon time to 
 reanimate ; her looks, her motions, penetrated her ; and, 
 rising, she threw herself into the arms of her confidante. 
 The public, in tears, acknowledged this mutual intelli- 
 gence by the greatest applauses. An ordinary actress 
 would have caused an apology, and the piece would not 
 have been concluded. 
 
 Mademoiselle Clairon lived to the great age of ninety ;i 
 but, according to her own account, she was always the 
 martyr of her sensibility. She was constantly com- 
 plaining of her sufferings, and the great delicacy of her 
 health. She contrived, however, during the early part 
 of her life, to have three lovers at a time constantly in 
 her train, — one whom she deceived ; one whom she re- 
 ceived a la derobee ; and one who lived on sighs. I cannot 
 omit a circumstance which made a considerable noise in 
 Paris at the time, and excited great curiosity. 
 
 In her suite, among fools and voluptuaries, was 
 
 1 This is an error. Clairon died in 1803 at the age of eighty.
 
 MADEMOISELLE CLAIRON 135 
 
 M. S , son of a merchant of Bretagne, who was about 
 
 thirty years of age, of a good exterior, having received 
 an excellent education, but whose reserve and timidity 
 prevented him from explaining what his desires dictated. 
 He was, however, distinguished by Clairon among the 
 others, and allowed the honour of her friendship, accord- 
 ing to her own phrase ; whilst, by patience and assiduity, 
 he hoped and languished for a more tender sentiment. 
 
 But whilst he was thus engaged, his affairs became in- 
 volved, and a melancholy dislike towards the world 
 ensued ; and he sought, by every possible means, to 
 abstract his mistress from society, in order to possess 
 her alone himself. Such a vain hope, under such circum- 
 stances, was of course extinguished ; Clairon saw the 
 necessity of immediately destroying the only consolation 
 which rendered life desirable to him. In consequence of 
 this, he fell ill : her refusal increased his malady. At 
 this period he recovered some property ; but soon lost 
 his life, after his letters and his visits had been rejected. 
 His sole request in his dying moments was that his mis- 
 tress would indulge him once more with the pleasure of 
 seeing her. Her engagements, however, prevented her, 
 and he died in the Chaussee d'Antin, having with him 
 only a few servants, and an old woman who had attended 
 him during his long illness. 
 
 Clairon was at the time living in the Rue de Bussy, 
 near the Rue de Seine and the Abbaye St. Germains. On 
 the evening of that day, the mother of Clairon and many 
 friends were at supper with her. She had just finished a 
 song, when, as the clock struck eleven, the most piercing 
 cry succeeded. Its doleful modulation and its length 
 astonished ever}^ one present. She fainted away, and
 
 136 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 remained in that state a considerable time. Some en- 
 deavoured to joke with her when she recovered, by saying 
 that the signals of her rendezvous were rather too loud : 
 but the pallid hue of her countenance, and the tremor 
 which remained, put an end to these remarks, and proved 
 that she was ignorant of what it might be. She entreated 
 some one of the party to remain with her during the 
 night. Her friends reasoned with her on the nature of 
 this cry ; and it was agreed for some of them to watch 
 in the street, in order to ascertain, if it should be heard 
 again, what was the cause and who the author of it. 
 
 Her friends, her neighbours, and even the police, heard 
 the same cry, at the same hour, always underneath her 
 windows, and appearing always to proceed from the air. 
 She was convinced that it was made only for herself. 
 She rarely supped in town ; but when she did, it was 
 generally heard, and sometimes even in the streets, when 
 she was returning home from any party. All Paris was 
 acquainted with this history, and it was a subject of 
 general conversation. After various scenes of this kind, 
 it ceased for some months, and she imagined that she 
 had got rid of it ; but she was mistaken. 
 
 Having proposed to accompany Madame Grandval to 
 Versailles, to see a spectacle which was to be exhibited 
 there, she found a difficulty in obtaining lodgings. At 
 three o'clock in the morning, she offered that lady to 
 partake of her bed-room, which contained two beds, that 
 had been prepared for her in the Avenue of St. Cloud. 
 She accepted her proposal ; and when she got into bed, 
 Clairon prepared to enter hers. Whilst her femme-de- 
 chamhre was undressing her, she said pleasantly to her, 
 " We are now at the end of the world : it is dreadful
 
 MADEMOISELLE CLAIRON 137 
 
 weather ; the cry would find a difficulty in reaching us 
 here." It instantly pierced their ears. Madame Grandval 
 imagined that the region below had thrown out all its 
 terrors : she ran en chemise from the top to the bottom 
 of the house ; and none in the house dared to close their 
 eyes the remainder of the night. 
 
 Seven or eight days after, whilst in conversation with 
 the society which generally surrounded her, when the 
 clock had struck eleven, it was followed by the firing of a 
 gun as it were directly into her windows. Every one 
 heard the report, ever}' one saw the fire, but the window 
 received no injury ; and all concluded that some person 
 had made an attempt upon her life, that he had failed, 
 and that it would be necessary to take precautions for 
 the future. One of her friends flew to M. de Marville, 
 who was lieutenant of police, and his particular friend. 
 They came immediately, and inspected the houses oppo- 
 site to Clairon's. The street was filled with spies of all 
 kinds ; but all their vigilance was ineffectual. Her own 
 house was thoroughly examined ; and yet, notwith- 
 standing every precaution, this noise was heard for three 
 months, the light from the explosion was seen, striking 
 always at the same hour, on the same pane of glass, and 
 no one was ever able to discover whence it proceeded. 
 This fact has been marked down in the registers of the 
 police. 
 
 She now began to be accustomed to this extraordinary 
 phenomenon, when one evening, it being very hot, she 
 opened the window, and, with a gentleman then present, 
 went out upon the balcony. The clock struck eleven ; the 
 report went off, and they were both, from the shock, 
 thrown into the apartment, where they were taken up
 
 138 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 for dead. The day following, being requested by Madame 
 Dumesnil to be one of a party to a nocturnal feast, which 
 was to be given at her house at the Barriere Blanche, 
 she took a fiacre at eleven o'clock, with her femme-de- 
 chambre. It was a bright moonlight night, and they 
 arrived at the Boulevards, when her femme-de-chamhre 
 
 asked if it was not here that M. de S died. After all 
 
 the accounts that they had given her, she said it ought 
 to be (pointing with her forefinger) in one of those two 
 houses directly opposite to us. From one of them, at 
 that very instant, came the report of a gun similar to 
 that which had pursued them : it passed across their 
 coach, while the coachman, imagining they were attacked 
 by thieves, drove on as fast as he could. They arrived 
 at the place appointed, hardly possessing their senses, 
 and overwhelmed with terror. This was the last time of 
 the fire-arms. 
 
 After these explosions there succeeded a most violent 
 clapping of hands, given with a certain degree of time, 
 and then redoubled. These applauses, to which she had 
 been accustomed from the public, did not induce her at 
 first to think much of them ; but her friends did for her. 
 One evening they imagined they were watched : it was 
 eleven o'clock ; the noise was made under her apart- 
 ment. It was heard, but no one was to be seen ; it could 
 be nothing but a consequence of what had been ex- 
 perienced. To this succeeded melodious sounds ; and it 
 appeared as if a celestial voice accompanied her, which 
 it frequently did, from the Crossway of Bussy, and 
 finished at her own door. At length every thing of the 
 kind ceased, after a period of two years and a half. 
 
 The house which she occupied at Paris being too noisy,
 
 MADEMOISELLE CLAIRON 139 
 
 and desirous to be where she could repose in greater calm- 
 ness, she took a house in the Rue des Marais, which, 
 though small, had been inhabited by Racine^ for forty 
 years, with his whole family, and where he had composed 
 his immortal works, and in which he had died : it had 
 also been occupied by Lecouvreur.^ 
 
 When she had resided there some time, a servant in- 
 formed her that an elderly lady desired to see her apart- 
 ments, and what they contained. As she had always a 
 great respect for age, she immediately admitted her. An 
 emotion so powerful at the sight of this lady, as she had 
 seldom experienced, made her regard her with consider- 
 able attention ; and this was the more excited when she 
 perceived that she herself was equally the object of atten- 
 tion. Clairon requested her to be seated : a silence 
 ensued — but their eyes explained a mutual curiosity. 
 The lady knew who Clairon was, but Clairon did not 
 know her. She felt it necessary to break the silence, and 
 addressing Clairon, said that she had for a long time had 
 the most earnest desire of seeing her ; and as she never 
 went to the theatres, nor knev/ any one of her acquaint- 
 ances, nor wished to explain by writing, fearing lest a 
 letter might leave doubts upon her motives, and thereby 
 meet with a refusal, she had taken the means of a per- 
 sonal interview, for which she begged to apologize. After 
 various compliments, she said that she wished to know 
 whether the apartments which she inhabited were really 
 
 ^ Jean Racine (1639-1699). 
 
 ^ Adrienne Lecouvreur (1692-1729) went on the stage at the age of 
 fourteen. She became in turn the mi.stress of Voltaire, the Earl of 
 Peterborough, the Chevalier de Rohan, and Maurice de Saxe. Her 
 death upon insufficient grounds was ascribed to poison alleged to have 
 been administered by, or at the instigation of, the Duchesse de 
 Bouillon.
 
 140 THE BEAUTIFUL LADY CRAVEN 
 
 such as had been described to her, that she might, from 
 place to place, follow her unhappy friend in all his hopes 
 and despair. " It seems, Madame," said Clairon, " that 
 the agitation in which I appear before you, and which 
 each of your remarks increases, makes it my duty to 
 inquire who you are, and of whom you speak ; in short, 
 to know what it is you want of me : for my character 
 cannot consent that I should continue any longer to be 
 the dupe or the martyr of whoever you may be. Speak, 
 therefore, or I must leave you." 
 
 " I was, Madame," she replied, " the only particular 
 
 friend of M. de S , and the sole person by whom he 
 
 would be seen for the last year of his life. We counted 
 the days and the hours in speaking of you ; sometimes 
 painting you in the most angelic form, at others under 
 the most hideous. I continually urged him to forget you, 
 while he protested that he would love you beyond the 
 grave. Your eyes, which I see full of tears, allow me to 
 inquire, why you have rendered him so miserable ? and 
 why, with a soul of such sensibility, you have refused 
 him the consolation of speaking to or of seeing you only 
 once more ? " 
 
 " We cannot command our affections," replied Clairon : 
 
 " M. de S had merit and inestimable qualities ; but 
 
 his sombre character, and his despotic temper, made me 
 dread his society, his friendship, and his love. The 
 friendship which he inspired made me attempt to bring 
 him to sentiments more tranquil and more moderate ; 
 but I was unable to succeed, and I remained firm in my 
 resolution, persuaded that his folly proceeded less from 
 the excess of his passion, than from the violence of his 
 character. I refused to see him in his last moments.
 
 MADEMOISELLE CLAIRON 141 
 
 because the sight would have torn my bosom ; because I 
 feared to appear too barbarous in refusing what he re- 
 quired, and that I should be too unhapp})' if I granted it. 
 These, Madame, were the motives of my conduct ; and 
 I flatter myself that I shall not incur blame for what I 
 have done." 
 
 " To blame you," the lady replied, " would be an in- 
 justice : a sacrifice could only be expected from oaths, 
 from ties of blood, or from obligations ; and on this 
 latter point it is not you, I know, who stand in this 
 situation. I can assure you that his soul was penetrated 
 with what he owed to you ; but his passion consumed 
 him, and your last refusal hastened his death. He 
 counted every minute, when, at half-past ten, his servant 
 came to announce decidedly that you would not come. 
 After a few moments' silence, he took my hand, and, 
 with a force of despair which terrified me, ' The bar- 
 barian ! ' he exclaimed, ' she shall gain nothing by her 
 cruelty ; I will pursue her even after my death, as I have 
 persecuted her during my life ! ' I attempted to calm 
 him ; — but he was no more." 
 
 After Mademoiselle Clairon had found that all her en- 
 deavours to undermine me in the affections of the IMar- 
 grave were ineffectual, and that her object had been 
 totally defeated, she determined to make a merit of 
 necessity, — to arm herself, as she said, with reason, and 
 to console herself for her sufferings by calling to her mind 
 those comforts which she still possessed.
 
 I
 
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