In the year after the publication of O’Donnel, the continent being
now open, Sir Charles and Lady Morgan went to Paris to see the country under the restored regime, and
of course to write a book about it. They took with them letters of introduction, and they
were admitted into Parisian society of every shade of politics. They saw all the most noted
men of literature and science, and the women whose beauty, fashion, or talent for intrigue,
had made them queens of society. As a picture of the feelings and passions which were
struggling and seething underneath the restored order, her work on France is vivid and
true. She paints the contradictions struggling to assert themselves—the
ill-suppressed minority—the ignorant and limited prejudices of the Bourbon party; the
oppressions, and triumphs, and disgusts, are all exhibited as in a kaleidoscope;—for
she went from Bourbon soirées, where the company were singing
“Vive le roi quand même,” to salons where the
return of “l’autre” was still
hoped for
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Poor old Madame de Genlis! In
her “grande” solitude one wonders if it were in her own “Palace of
Truth;” but no,—if we recollect aright, that palace
Madame de Genlis declared to be uninhabitable for mortals, and it
was demolished to point the moral of the tale! One is glad to catch a glimpse of the mother
of Pamela for the sake of the tales with which she
delighted our youth. Pamela, as everybody knows,
married Lord
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The name of the author of such charming works is as well known to Madame de Genlis as it ought to be; although she lives in a great solitude she will be charmed to know personally her, the sentiments of whose soul she already loves and adores. She will have the honour to let her know if her health and mode of life will permit her to pay a visit to Lady Morgan. As Madame de Genlis is living in a religious house, she cannot receive visitors in the evening. Any way, she will not be at liberty on Wednesday next, but would be very happy if Monday or Tuesday would be convenient to Lady Morgan. It seems to Madame de Genlis that Thursday is a very distant day. She entreats Lady Morgan to accept her thanks. It is Madame de Genlis who would have been the first to solicit the favour of seeing Lady Morgan, if she had known she was in Paris.
One of the most remarkable of the acquaintances made by Sir Charles and Lady
Morgan during their
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You have not written me a line since your departure. I
hope you have not forgotten me, as I admire and love you more than any one
else. I have been to see Dénon and
Madame D’Houchin; they are both your adorers,
and express the greatest affliction at your departure. The most agreeable thing
you could do for your friends would be to return as quickly as possible. The
French admire you more than any one who has appeared here since the Battle of
Waterloo in the form of an English woman. The Princess of
Beauveau has been to see me, and is very kind à mon égard as well as very
judicious in admiring and lov-
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Dénon has promised me an engraving of you. The Esmenards say he has not done you justice.
Baron Humboldt was at Madame Rumford’s the other night. I met
Mrs. Popkins at a soirée at Mrs.
Curzon’s, where was Lady
Oxford who has been twice to see me since. Fashions continue the same. Mrs. Popkins was
afraid to look at me, for reasons which you know. Every one talks of the work
which you are to publish, and great expectations are formed from it. I tell
every one, that I do not know what will be in it; but that I suppose it will be
worthy of you. They
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I meet Madame Suard every week at Madame Rochefaucauld’s. She does not condescend to take great notice of me; I suppose because she thinks I could not understand her wit, which, by the way is rather obsolete. My friend Miss Clagston is coming from Cheltenham to enliven my solitude this winter; I am so often ill, and my spirits are so much affected by the state of my health, that the presence of some one who loves me would be a great source of comfort. My dear Lady Morgan, you must write me sometimes to let me know how you and Sir Charles are, and what you are doing. I shall do myself the pleasure of writing you de temps en temps, although I was afraid of writing to Miss Sweeney; my style not being recherché enough for such a bel esprit as she is. Adieu.
My best love to Sir Charles. Madame La Rochefaucauld desires to be remembered to you. We had a ball at Mrs. Gallatin’s. I wish you had been there. I shall give you all the news.
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I have had the pleasure of receiving your agreeable
letter of the 29th of October, and have executed all your commissions except
that auprès de Madame de Genlis. I have been so unwell and
occupied with moving my lodgings and receiving my friend Miss
Clagston, that it has been quite impossible for me to visit the
penitent at the Carmelites, however, I shall certainly go to her or write her,
you may be assured. Your fairy prince, the dearest little prince in the world,
has been enchanted at your recollection of him, and charges me to tell you
everything that is true and agreeable for him. He means to go to Dublin in the
spring, and intends writing to you—bientôt en attendant ce
qui arrivera d’ici au printemps. La princesse m’a chargée
de vous remercier de ce que vous avez ecrit à son égard et de la
conserver dans votre souvenir. In fact, if I were to write all
that your admirers and friends tell me, I should never put my pen down.
Madame D’Houchin, the
Gerards, &c., desire me to talk to you of them,
and all think it quite absurd for you to leave Paris. I meet the
Beauveaus at Madame
Rumford’s every week, when there is an
assemblement of gens
d’esprit, not that I mean to call myself one of them;
however, people say
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By the way, although I sent my love to Mr.
North, I was very angry with him; he wrote me once after I saw
him at Cheltenham, to which I very goodnaturedly replied, and he never gave
himself the trouble to acknowledge the reception of my letter. Lady
Falkener, a very bad person and a great intrigante, wanted to marry an old maiden
sister to him, and fancied that he liked me better, in consequence of which she
tor-
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Dear Lady Morgan, I have been very ill and very triste, tout m’ennuie dans ce monde et je ne sais pas “pourquoi, unless it be the recollection of what I have suffered. I think the best thing for me to do is to return to my dear child in the spring; I love him so entirely, that perhaps seeing him may render my feelings less disagreeable. I hate the séjour of America, and the climate destroys the little health which has been left me; but any inconveniences are more supportable than being separated from one’s children. How much more we love our children than our husbands—the latter are sometimes so selfish and cruel, and children cannot separate their mothers from their affection.
I have seen all the persons who interest you since the reception of your letter, except Monsieur Dénon; but Madame D’Houchin has seen what you have written, and will tell him everything. Adieu; write me sometimes, I entreat you, and believe me truly and affectionately
PS.—I hope Sir Charles does not forget me, and beg him to accept my best wishes and recollections. I am going to Madame La Rochefaucauld’s, with whom you are so great a favourite, this evening.
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After her return from Paris to Kildare Street, and while engaged in preparing her work on France, Lady Morgan kept up a brief correspondence with many of the political personages whom she had met. She sent one of her books—most likely the O’Donnel—to Lafayette, who was then living a patriarchal life amid his children and grandchildren at his chateau La Grange. He had seen so much in his time from the first American war downwards, had been a courtier in the brilliant society of the old régime, a favourite with Marie Antoinette, whom he had helped in her whim to go to the bal de l’ Opera, had been mixed up in so many great events, and he had rubbed against so many great men, that in the latter days, one would have expected him to be a master figure himself; wise both in old experience, and with the wisdom that comes after events; but he just missed being a great man. He was thoroughly honest and good, but not of a sufficiently large type to fill his space on the canvas.
Your letter of the 21st September, dear Miladi, has been
received in our colony with a sentiment which could only be surpassed by the
happiness of receiving yourself. I am equally proud and happy at your
partiality for our towers and for their inhabitants, whose distant admiration
for you has become tender and con-
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We show less philosophy than you about the misfortune for which we were already very sorry before we knew how much worse it was. It is vexing to think that the work which fulfilled so perfectly the expectations of your friends, should have been for you alone the occasion of a disappointment. The copy you had the goodness to send to me has not come to hand. I expect it with great impatience.
I see that you have much amusement in retracing the
articles of the last royal ordinance upon the physiognomies of your different
friends. The party that you have left pretty well united, finds itself cut in
two, like a polypus, and makes two distinct bodies, which make grimaces at each
other, en attendant, the moment to
eat each other up. The friends of Legitimacy, however, must not confound
themselves by making part of a body of a different nature. Your acquaintances
of the salons will be able to tell you that the ministerialists are the
constitutionalists of ’89; it is a calumny to impute to them that they
would use force. The others do not share their moderation. It is with the
impartiality of a true patriot that I ought to seek to render justice to all.
There are, nevertheless, in the new chamber, some of my friends whom I
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My daughters, my grandchildren and all the generations here desire to offer you the expression of their gratitude and attachment, which sentiments animate all the inmates of La Grange. Believe me, my dear lady, I join with them in the renewal of the tender and respectful homage with which I am
While the book on France was growing under Lady Morgan’s hands, a very sharp battle was being fought for it between author and publisher. Mr. Henry Colburn, a young man whose fortunes were still to be made, had brought out O’Donnel, and had done very well with it; that story was already in a third edition, and Lady Morgan was pressing him very ardently for a further share in the profits of her success. For France he offered her seven hundred and fifty pounds. She thought the sum too little, insisting on, at least, a thousand pounds. In the fear of losing his bargain, Colburn raised his price, as will be seen. In the next letter, from the pen of this London bibliopole, occurs the first notice of the establishment of the Literary Gazette, which was to form a new era in literature; of course the “new epoch” to him meant another vehicle for announcing his own publications.
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I am just returned from the city, and have scarcely time to save the post, and say that I really considered the offer I made you handsome, and as liberal a one as in common prudence could be made under the particular circumstances. Without seeing the contents, which certainly promised well, I naturally expected the most interesting work on the subject that has appeared; but however excellent and original, you perhaps have no idea how great a disadvantage to the sale is the number of works on the same topic that has already appeared.
I should indeed be sorry that you should be compelled to
arrange with any other bookseller, and whatever apparent
advantage there may be in publishing with any other, I am very confident, on a
proper balancing, of its being in my
favour. No one bookseller, I am certain, takes the tenth part the
pains I do in advertising, and in other respects I do
not think any one will in future, cope with me, since,
from January next, I shall have under my sole control two
journals, viz., the New Monthly, which flourishes as well as
possible in England, and my new forthcoming weekly
literary journal, which is to be sent free by the post
instantly all over the country like a newspaper, and to
foreign parts. It is to be called The Literary Gazette and Journal of the
Belles-Lettres. The publication will form a new
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To conclude at once, though at a really great risk, I will consent to undertake to pay the one thousand pounds, and on my honour if it succeed better than expected, I will consider myself accordingly your debtor, besides making up to you the other fifty pounds on O’Donnel that you may no longer regret the third edition.
That I may make arrangements accordingly, I will beg your ultimatum by return of post. I am obliged to conclude,
Colburn’s offer, as amended, was accepted, and the work went on, with some delays and hitches in its progress, the chief one of all being the illegibility of Lady Morgan’s MS., which Colburn plaintively mentions more than once. There was also great delay in sending the proofs, as it is incidentally mentioned that the post only went three times a week. Colburn spared neither pains nor expense to make the work perfect, employing a careful scholar to read Lady Morgan’s careless proofs, and to edit them.
Sir Charles Morgan contributed several chapters
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