Memoirs of Henry Hunt, Esq. — Volume 3 — John Shaqi
Memoirs of Henry Hunt, Esq. — Volume 3Hunt, Henry
History
Memoirs of Henry Hunt, Esq. — Volume 3
Hunt, Henry
Hunt, Henry, 1773-1835; Social reformers -- Great Britain -- Biography
So that the freedom of
Bristol may be gained by birth, by marriage, or by servitude. While,
however, I relate this circumstance, I do not mean to concur in the
assertion, that the women of Bristol are proverbially ugly; on the
contrary, some of them are very pretty; and I recollect that, when I was
a young man, Bristol justly boasted of having given birth to one of the
handsomest women of the age. Miss Clementina Atwood, who was a native of
Bristol, was, at the period when I knew her, universally esteemed, and
in my estimation was the most beautiful, elegant, and accomplished
female in the British dominions. I remember riding from Enford to
Bristol and back again, a distance of ninety-two miles, on the same day,
only for the chance of passing a few hours in her society; and the worst
of it was, that I was disappointed at last, as she had left Bristol for
a few days, with her friend Miss Rigg, whose mother was just deceased.
But I passed the day with her cousins, and returned home in the evening.
I now directed my attention towards the management of my farm, with
as much zeal as I had recently directed it to the concerns of the
election. My natural disposition, my taste, and my habits, all led me
to the enjoyment of domestic comforts, in a rural sphere. I was always
doatingly fond of the country, country pursuits, and a country life. The
sports of the field--hunting, shooting, &c., to me afforded the most
captivating delight. The pleasures of cultivating the soil, and
attending to the growth and progress of the crops, can only be known
to, and can only be estimated by, one who has a perfect knowledge of
agricultural pursuits. Then, the domestic felicity enjoyed in a quiet,
cheerful country house, surrounded by one's own family, and every now
and then a good neighbour and sincere friend dropping in, has always
been to me that sort of exquisite enjoyment which I could never find in
any other situation, or in any other occupation. My natural taste is so
domestic, that I should not wish, on my own account, ever to mingle in
the busy haunts of man. I could freely remain in the country, and never
enter a city or a town again. Nothing but a sense of public duty should
ever induce me to sacrifice myself by residing in a town; and if I
could once see my country free, and the people happy, and honestly
represented, the greatest blessing I could wish for, would be, to pass
uninterrupted, a tranquil old age in the country, far away from the
harassing turmoil, danger, and misery of boisterous, unprofitable
politics. But the man who would immolate the interest, the honour, the
freedom, and the happiness of his country, to gratify his own love of
ease and comfort, is unworthy the name of patriot. I can scarcely
hope to be permitted to enjoy such unmixed bliss, such delightful
tranquillity, during the remainder of that short race which I have to
run in this sublunary world; neither shall I sigh and pine after that,
which it appears fate has forbidden.
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