The journal of Elizabeth Lady Holland (1791-1811) Volume 1 (of 2)Holland, Elizabeth Vassall Fox, Lady
History
The journal of Elizabeth Lady Holland (1791-1811) Volume 1 (of 2)
Holland, Elizabeth Vassall Fox, Lady
Holland, Elizabeth Vassall Fox, Lady, 1770-1845 -- Diaries
Just before the departure of Lord M. from Lisle,[165] the Trevors, my
old friends, or rather intimate acquaintances, came through France. He
is in a sort of way driven from his post of Minister at Turin, as that
Court exhibited a curious jumble of bigotry and Jacobinism, which must
make a residence there awkward to a punctilious courtier like Trevor.
It was rather whimsical that the morning she visited me was the precise
one chosen by Mr. Fox to come from St. Anne’s, so the first object that
presented itself to her view upon entering the gallery was her old
admirer. Save a little blushing and stammering the old lovers conducted
themselves very ably. The malicious say _nous autres femmes_ get
out of a scrape of that sort with great ease; this instance confirmed
the calumny, as she possessed the greatest portion of the _sang
froid_ of the two.
Mrs. Trevor’s life has been singularly passed, and the latter part
judiciously, circumstanced as she was. She was the daughter of a rich
canon, and was married partly for her beauty and a little for her
wealth. Soon after her marriage she conceived a most insurmountable
disgust towards her husband. She was admired by Mr. F., and, flattered
by his preference, allowed great scandal. She detained him one night at
Ranelagh, whilst the House was assembled and waiting for him to speak
upon a motion he had made: this gave an _éclat_ which perhaps she
did not dislike. But the moment came that was to separate her from
the fashion of London. Trevor’s foreign missions drew her upon the
Continent, where she has remained mostly for these last eighteen years.
The first thing she did was to live apart from him, and keep up a love
correspondence with him; hence to the world they appeared enamoured
of one another. She is a little mad, and parsimony is her chief turn.
She is good-natured, and a little clever. Trevor has no judgment and
slender talents. His foibles are very harmless, and his whole life has
been insipidly good. His _ridicules_ are a love of dress coats,
_volantes_, and always speaking French. _Au reste_, he is
very like other people, only better.
[Sidenote: LADY HAMPDEN]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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