Pen-portraits of literary women : $b by themselves and others, Volume 1 (of 2)

Authors, English -- Biography; Women authors, English -- Biography

Nothing ever destroyed her faith in those she loved. If I had not
known all about him (from my own folks of another generation who had
known him well), I should have thought her father had been a patriot
and a martyr. She spoke of him as if there had never been such a
father--which in a sense was true. He had spent his wife’s fortune, and
then another, and then the £10,000 [sic] which “little Mary” herself
had got for him by hitting on the lucky number in a lottery, and was
rapidly getting through her own modest earnings in the same free-handed
manner, when good fortune removed him; but she always deemed it an
irreparable loss. “I used to contrive to keep our house in order,” she
would say, speaking of her literary gains, “and a little pony-carriage,
and my dear, dear father.” To my mind he seemed like a Mr. Turveydrop,
but he had really been a most accomplished and agreeable person, though
with nothing sublime about him except his selfishness.

[Sidenote: Prejudices.]

She had the same exaggerated notions of the virtues and talents of
her friends (including myself); nay, her sympathies even extended
to _their_ friends, whom she did not know. Of course she had her
prejudices by way of complement; and when she spoke of those who
did not please her, her tongue played about their reputations like
sheet-lightning--for there was much more flash than fork in it.

JAMES PAYN: ‘Some Literary Recollections.’

       *       *       *       *       *

[Sidenote: A country lady.]

She was a “country lady,” and if she caught any author growing a
snowdrop and crocus at the wrong time of the year, he never recovered
a place in her memory. On a certain occasion she had been speaking of
the rabbit-shooting at Bear Wood; and afterwards happening to propose
a visit there, I inadvertently remarked that I should be very happy
to accompany her, but that of late years I had taken to gymnastic
exercises, and quite given up all field-sports--besides, “I didn’t
care for rabbit-shooting.” It was the wrong season!--and the look and
exclamation that followed showed me that I had lost something of my
position in her mind forever.

RICHARD HENGIST HORNE: ‘Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning to R. H.
Horne.’

       *       *       *       *       *

[Sidenote: Tranquil old age.]

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

General

Pen-portraits of literary women : $b by themselves and others, Volume 1 (of 2)

Authors, English -- Biography; Women authors, English -- Biography

Nothing ever destroyed her faith in those she loved. If I had not
known all about him (from my own folks of another generation who had
known him well), I should have thought her father had been a patriot
and a martyr. She spoke of him as if there had never been such a
father--which in a sense was true. He had spent his wife’s fortune, and
then another, and then the £10,000 [sic] which “little Mary” herself
had got for him by hitting on the lucky number in a lottery, and was
rapidly getting through her own modest earnings in the same free-handed
manner, when good fortune removed him; but she always deemed it an
irreparable loss. “I used to contrive to keep our house in order,” she
would say, speaking of her literary gains, “and a little pony-carriage,
and my dear, dear father.” To my mind he seemed like a Mr. Turveydrop,
but he had really been a most accomplished and agreeable person, though
with nothing sublime about him except his selfishness.

[Sidenote: Prejudices.]

She had the same exaggerated notions of the virtues and talents of
her friends (including myself); nay, her sympathies even extended
to _their_ friends, whom she did not know. Of course she had her
prejudices by way of complement; and when she spoke of those who
did not please her, her tongue played about their reputations like
sheet-lightning--for there was much more flash than fork in it.

JAMES PAYN: ‘Some Literary Recollections.’

       *       *       *       *       *

[Sidenote: A country lady.]

She was a “country lady,” and if she caught any author growing a
snowdrop and crocus at the wrong time of the year, he never recovered
a place in her memory. On a certain occasion she had been speaking of
the rabbit-shooting at Bear Wood; and afterwards happening to propose
a visit there, I inadvertently remarked that I should be very happy
to accompany her, but that of late years I had taken to gymnastic
exercises, and quite given up all field-sports--besides, “I didn’t
care for rabbit-shooting.” It was the wrong season!--and the look and
exclamation that followed showed me that I had lost something of my
position in her mind forever.

RICHARD HENGIST HORNE: ‘Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning to R. H.
Horne.’

       *       *       *       *       *

[Sidenote: Tranquil old age.]

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Pen-portraits of literary women : $b by themselves and others, Volume 1 (of 2)

Pen-portraits of literary women : $b by themselves and others, Volume 1 (of 2)

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