The Letter-Bag of Lady Elizabeth Spencer-Stanhope — Volume 1
History
The Letter-Bag of Lady Elizabeth Spencer-Stanhope — Volume 1
Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 19th century; Spencer-Stanhope, Elizabeth Wilhelmina Coke, Lady, 1795-1873
When Shakerley was married, rooms were prepared for them at the Duke
D'Avaray's, which had not been opened for three years, but no
"_Faire parts_" or "_Visites de noces_," and her friends say she will
have a difficult part to act, as her being received will depend upon
her future conduct. They are gone to Arras, where the Duke has the
command, and will I suppose be in London in May.
Lady Hunloke and various other people are inquiring for houses here.
Mrs Evelyn carried off her daughter in a hurry, as all the men were
after her.
It appears, however, that later the delinquents were honoured by some
"_faire parts_" being sent out to their friends by their nearer relatives.
Folded up with these old letters are two announcements, each printed on a
large sheet of paper, one surmounted by a Cupid holding a blazing torch
and supporting a large M.:--
Mr and Mme. SHAKERLEY out l'honneur de vous faire part du mariage de
M. SHAKERLEY, leur fils, avec Mlle. D'AVARAY.
The other (on which a Cupid has just lit two hearts flaming on one altar)
runs thus:--
Mr le Duc et Mme. la DUCHESSE D'AVARAY, M. le MARQUIS et Mme. la
MARQUISE D'AVARAY ont l'honneur de vous faire part du Mariage de Mlle.
D'AVARAY, leur petite fille et fille, avec M. SHAKERLEY.
Sad to relate, this romance had an untimely ending. Gronow states:--
"It was the only case I remember of a young French lady running away from
her father's house, and the sensation created by such an extraordinary
occurrence was very great. The marriage, as runaway marriages usually are,
was a very unhappy one; and the quarrels of the ill-matched couple were so
violent that the police had to interfere. Unfortunately, the fair lady
having once eloped, thought she might try the same experiment a second
time, and one cold winter's night she decamped from a ball at the Austrian
Ambassador's with a black-haired Spanish Don, the Marquis d'Errara."
* * * * *
After this unprecedented Parisian excitement, the news from England which
filtered through the post to the family in exile must have appeared
lacking in interest. On March 25th, 1819, John Stanhope mentioned a little
incident which has since become history. "Yesterday, I went to Almack's,"
he relates, "a tolerably full ball. Many people were shut out, as at
twelve Lady Castlereagh ordered the doors to be closed. In the number were
her Lord and Master, and the Duke of Wellington." From Brighton came news
of another old friend, Mr Macdonald, who was under a course of treatment
from "Mr Mahomet, the Oriental Vaporist, "during which he sent them a
description of his surroundings, which might be written to-day.
16 NEW STEINE, BRIGHTON, _August 7th, 1819._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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