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MEMOIRS 
 
 RICHARD LOYELL EDGE WORTH, 
 
 ESQ. 
 
 BEGUN BY HIMSELF, 
 
 AND CONCLUDED BY HIS DAUGHTER, 
 
 MARIA EDGEWORTH. 
 
 THIRD EDITION. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET, 
 
 SSuilutfjcv tit ©rtrtnarg to ?§cv iHajcs'ty 
 
 1844. 
 

 4^ v i ^ 
 
 UNTEB BY S. AND J. BENTLEY, WILSON, AND FIKY, 
 Hangor House, Shoe Lane. 
 
TREFACE TO THIRD EDITION, 
 
 Nearly a quarter of a century has elapsed since 
 these Memoirs first appeared in two volumes. 
 In revising the book for a new edition, the two 
 volumes have been compressed into one. The part 
 written by my father I have left untouched, having 
 been assured by many readers, and by those on 
 whose judgment I ought most to rely, that it is 
 interesting. 
 
 The volume which I added has been nearly re- 
 written, in order to bring it into due proportion, 
 giving only what is necessary to complete the view 
 of my father's life and character in as few words as 
 I possibly could. I hope this part may not be found 
 long and heavy, that it may not defeat my object, and 
 prevent these Memoirs from being read with satisfac- 
 tion and profit by the rising generation. 
 
 And now, in my 77th year — this being probably 
 the last time that I shall venture to address the 
 public — I take leave of my kind readers with feelings 
 of the most sincere respect and gratitude. 
 
 Maria Edgeworth. 
 
 London, 
 April 1844. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I write my life, not because it contains extraordinary 
 adventures, any uncommon series of good or bad 
 fortune, any instances of superior talents, or heroic 
 virtues ; but, because from habits acquired in educating 
 a large family, I can develope with some certainty 
 the circumstances which have formed my character, 
 and influenced my conduct. 
 
 My beloved daughter, Maria, at my earnest re- 
 quest, has promised to revise, complete, and publish 
 her father's life. 
 
 Were she to perceive any extenuation on the one 
 hand, or exaggeration on the other, it would wound 
 her feelings ; she would be obliged to alter, or omit, 
 what she did not approve, and her affection for her 
 friend and parent would be diminished: — can the 
 public have a better surety than this, for the accuracy 
 of these memoirs ? 
 
 In relating the life of any man who has never lived 
 in absolute obscurity, some of the history of others 
 must be interspersed. To steer between the extremes 
 of too much or too little, of what is not strictly the 
 history of the writer, is difficult. Some of my 
 readers may think that I say too much of my friends ; 
 and some may blame me for having omitted many 
 particulars, relative to distinguished characters, which 
 might have amused the public. The candid critic 
 
 B 
 
2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 will be aware of these difficulties, and will be most 
 likely to absolve me. 
 
 A slight narrative of my own feelings and actions 
 may instruct and entertain those, who are curious in 
 discriminating human character ; and it may farther 
 be of use, to shew that education continues from the 
 cradle to the grave, or, to speak more accurately, 
 from infancy to dotage ; — Public and private events 
 bias our conduct at every period of life ; and I believe, 
 because I feel, that the memory, and every faculty of 
 what are called the heart and understanding, may not 
 only be preserved, but may be improved, by care and 
 attention, even between sixty and seventy, as well as 
 between forty and fifty years of age. 
 
 I now take leave of the world, w T hich has been 
 most indulgent to me, as a man, and as an author, 
 and I take leave of the world with this declaration, — 
 that, to speak the truth without harshness, is, in my 
 opinion, the most certain way to succeed in every 
 honourable pursuit. 
 
 Whoever chuses to follow what is not honourable, 
 must adopt more suitable advice. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 [1583. 
 My family came into Ireland in the reign of Queen 
 Elizabeth, about the year 1583 ; they had been 
 established, as I have been told, at Edgeworth, now 
 called Edgeware, in Middlesex. 
 
 Edward Edgeworth, who was bishop of Down and 
 Connor in Ireland in the year 1593, dying without 
 issue, left his fortune to his brother, Francis, who was 
 Clerk of the Hanaper, in 1619- This gentleman, 
 from whom I am lineally descended, married an Irish 
 lady, Jane Tuite, a daughter of Sir Edmond Tuite, 
 Knight, of Sonna, in the county of Westmeath. She 
 was very beautiful, and of an ancient family. It 
 happened, that being once obliged to give place at 
 church to some lady whom she thought her inferior, 
 she pressed her husband to take out a Baronet's 
 patent which had been prepared for him. At this 
 time these patents were, as he expressed it, "more 
 onerous than honourable ;" and he refused to comply 
 with his wife's request. The lady, waxing wroth, 
 declared she would never go again to church — the 
 gentleman ungallantly replied, that she might stay or 
 go wherever she pleased. In consequence of this 
 permission, which she took in the largest sense, she 
 attached herself to Queen Henrietta Maria, with 
 whom she continued in France, during the remainder 
 of the Queen's life. Upon her husband's refusing 
 the Baronet's patent, she obtained it for her brother, 
 
 B 2 
 
4 MEMOIRS OF [1641. 
 
 Sir Edmond Tuite. She returned to Ireland after- 
 wards, at Queen Henrietta Maria's death ; but she 
 disregarded her husband's family and her own, and 
 laid out a very large fortune, in founding a religious 
 house in Dublin. 
 
 Her son, Captain John Edge worth, married the 
 daughter of Sir Hugh Cullum, of Derbyshire. He 
 brought her to Ireland, to his Castle of Cranallagh, 
 in the county of Longford. He had by her one son. 
 Before the Irish rebellion broke out, in 1641, Captain 
 Edgeworth, not aware of the immediate danger, left 
 his wife and infant in the Castle of Cranallagh, while 
 he was summoned to a distance by some military 
 duty. During his absence, the rebels rose, attacked 
 the castle, set fire to it at night, and dragged the 
 lady out, literally naked. She escaped from their 
 hands, and hid herself under a furze bush, till they 
 had dispered. By what means she saved herself from 
 the fury of the rebels, I never heard ; she made her 
 way to Dublin, thence to England, and to her father's 
 house in Derbyshire. After the rebels had forced 
 this lady out of the castle, and had set fire to it, they 
 plundered it completely ; but they were persuaded to 
 extinguish the fire from reverence for the picture of 
 Jane Edgeworth. Her portrait was painted on the 
 wainscoat, with a cross hanging from her neck, and a 
 rosary in her hands. Being a catholic, and having 
 founded a religious house, she was considered as a 
 saint. The only son of Captain Edgeworth was then 
 an infant, lying in his cradle. One of the rebels 
 seized the child by the leg, and was in the act of 
 swinging him round to dash his brains out against the 
 corner of the castle wall, when an Irish servant of the 
 lowest order, stopped his hand, claiming the right of 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 5 
 
 killing the little licretick himself, and swearing that a 
 sudden death would be too good for him ; that he 
 would plunge him up to the throat in a bog-hole, and 
 leave him for the crows to pick his eyes out. Snatch- 
 ing the child from his comrade, he ran off with it to 
 a neighbouring bog, and thrust it into the mud ; but, 
 when the rebels had retired, this man, who had only 
 pretended to join them, went back to the bog for the 
 boy, preserved his life, and, contriving to hide him in a 
 pannier under eggs and chickens, carried him actually 
 through the midst of the rebel camp, safely to Dub- 
 lin. This faithful servant's name was Bryan Ferral. 
 His last descendant died within my memory, after 
 having lived, and been supported always, under my 
 father's protection. My father heard this story from 
 Lady Edgeworth, his grandmother, and also from a 
 man of 10/ years of age, one Bryan Simpson, who 
 was present when the attack was made on Cranallagh 
 Castle, and by whom the facts were circumstantially 
 detailed. 
 
 Mrs. Edgeworth, the daughter of Sir Hugh Cul- 
 lum, lived but a few years after her return to her 
 father's house in Derbyshire. Her husband, Captain 
 John Edgeworth, had followed her to England. Some 
 time after he was left a widower, he determined to 
 return to reside in Ireland. On his way thither, he 
 stopped a day at Chester, it being Christmas day. 
 He went to the Cathedral, and there he was struck 
 with the sight of a lady, who had a full blown rose in 
 her bosom. This lady was Mrs. Bridgman, widow of 
 Mr. Edward Bridgman, brother to Sir Orlando Bridg- 
 man, the Lord Keeper. As she was coming out of 
 church, the rose fell at Captain Edgeworth's feet. 
 The lady was handsome — so was the captain : he took 
 
6 MEMOIRS OF [164— 
 
 up the rose, and presented it with so much grace 
 to Mrs. Bridgman, that, in consequence they became 
 acquainted, and were soon after married. They came 
 over to Ireland. Captain Edge worth had a son, as I 
 have mentioned, by his former wife, and the widow 
 Bridgman had a daughter, by her former husband. 
 The daughter was heiress to her father's property. 
 These young people fell in love with each other. 
 The mother w T as averse to the match. To avoid the 
 law against running away with an heiress, the lovers 
 settled, that the young lady should take her lover to 
 church behind her on horseback. Their marriage 
 was effected. Their first son, Francis, was born 
 before the joint ages of his father and mother 
 amounted to thirty-one years. 
 
 After the death of Captain Edge worth and his 
 wife, which happened before this young couple had 
 arrived at years of discretion, John Edgeworth took 
 possession of a considerable estate in Ireland, and of 
 an estate in England, in Lancashire, which came to 
 him in right of his wife ; he had also ten thousand 
 pounds in money, as her fortune. But they were 
 extravagant, and quite ignorant of the management 
 of money. Upon an excursion to England, they 
 mortgaged their estate in Lancashire, and carried the 
 money to London, in a stocking, which they kept on 
 the top of their bed. To this stocking, both wife 
 and husband had free access, and of course its con- 
 tents soon began to be very low. The young man 
 was handsome, and very fond of dress. At one time, 
 when he had run out all his cash, he actually sold the 
 ground plot of a house in Dublin, to purchase a high- 
 crowned hat and feathers, which was then the mode. 
 He lived in high company in London, and at court. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 7 
 
 Upon some occasion, King Charles the Second in- 
 sisted upon knighting him. His lady was presented 
 at court, where she was so much taken notice of by 
 the gallant Monarch, that she thought it proper to 
 intimate to her husband, that she did not wish to go 
 there a second time, nor did she ever after appear at 
 court, though in the bloom of youth and beauty. 
 She returned to Ireland. This was an instance of 
 prudence, as well as of strength of mind, which could 
 hardly have been expected from the improvident tem- 
 per she had shewn at first setting out in life. In this 
 lady's character there was an extraordinary mixture 
 of strength and weakness. She was courageous 
 beyond the habits of her sex in real danger, and yet 
 afraid of imaginary beings. According to the super- 
 stition of the times, she believed in fairies. Opposite 
 to her husband's Castle of Lissard, in Ireland, and 
 within view of the windows, there is a mount, which 
 was reputed to be the resort of fairies ; and when Lady 
 Edgeworth resided alone at Lissard, the common 
 people of the neighbourhood, either for amusement, 
 or with the intention of frightening her away, sent 
 children by night to this mount, who by their strange 
 noises, by singing, and the lights they shewed from 
 time to time, terrified her exceedingly. But she did 
 not quit the place. The mount was called Fairy- 
 Mount, since abbreviated into Fir mount.* 
 
 Of the courage and presence of mind of this Lady 
 
 * Firmount. From which in after times the Abbe Edgeworth, 
 to whose branch of the family this part of the estate descended, 
 called himself M. de Firmont. 
 
 The Abbe was Lady Edgeworth's grandson. Her iifth son, 
 Essex Edgeworth, was the Abbe's father. 
 
8 MEMOIRS of 
 
 Edgeworth, who was so much afriaid of fairies, I will 
 now give an instance. While she was living at Lis- 
 sard, she was, on some sudden alarm, obliged to go 
 at night to a garret at the top of the house, for some 
 gunpowder, which was kept there in a barrel. She 
 was followed up stairs by an ignorant servant girl, 
 who carried a bit of candle without a candlestick, 
 between her fingers. When Lady Edgeworth had 
 token what gunpowder she wanted, had locked the 
 door, and was half-way down stairs again, she ob- 
 served, that the girl had not her candle, and asked 
 what she had done with it ; the girl recollected and 
 answered, that she had left it " stuck in the barrel of 
 black salt" Lady Edgeworth bid her stand still, and 
 instantly returned by herself to the room where the 
 gunpowder was ; found the candle as the girl had 
 described — put her hand carefully underneath it — 
 carried it safely out ; and when she got to the bottom 
 of the stairs, dropped on her knees, and thanked God 
 for their deliverance. This lady, with all her courage 
 and virtue, had a violent temper, which brought on 
 family quarrels between her and her husband, and her 
 many sons : so that the very early marriage, which I 
 have mentioned, turned out unhappily. She recurred 
 continually to the large fortune which she had brought 
 her husband, and complained of being treated with 
 neglect. As he grew older, Sir John became more 
 prudent as to money matters. He pushed his fortune 
 at court, and having considerable talents both as a 
 courtier and a soldier, he obtained various places of 
 trust and profit, and at last divided a large landed 
 property among eight sons, leaving also a handsome 
 jointure for his widow. The jointure lay upon the 
 
1689.] R. L. EDGEWOUTII, ESQ. ■ Q 
 
 part of his estate that went to his eldest son, Colonel 
 Francis Edgeworth, who consequently was not rich. 
 Lady Edgeworth lived till she was ninety. 
 
 Francis Edgeworth, her eldest son, was my grand- 
 father. He was a lo}-al man and a zealous protestant, 
 so much so, that he was called Protestant Frank. 
 In his youth, he raised a regiment for King William, 
 which, when he had completed, he gave up to his 
 father, Sir John, who required it from him. A memo- 
 randum of an intended grant from the crown, of three 
 thousand pounds, on account of the expense of raising 
 this regiment, and as an acknowledgment for the 
 service, still remains (unpaid) among our family 
 papers. My grandfather became colonel of the regi- 
 ment after his father's death. He was a man of great 
 wit and gaiety, fond of his profession, quite a soldier, 
 and totally regardless of money. He married succes- 
 sively several wives. One of whom, an English lady, 
 was a widow Bradstone. Again, as in a former 
 instance, which I have mentioned, the widow had a 
 daughter, and a beautiful daughter, by her first hus- 
 band. This daughter, Miss Bradstone, my father's 
 half sister, married Thomas Pakenham, father to the 
 first, and great grandfather to the present Lord Long- 
 ford. Thus we became connected with the Pakenham 
 family. Colonel Francis Edgeworth, besides being 
 straitened in his circumstances, by having for many 
 years a large jointure to pay to his mother, was 
 involved in difficulties by his own taste for play. A 
 taste, which, from indulgence, became an irresistible 
 passion. One night, after having lost all the money 
 he could command, he staked his wife's diamond ear- 
 rings, and went into an adjoining room, where she 
 was sitting in company, to ask her to lend them to 
 
10 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 him. She took them from her ears, and gave them 
 to him, saying, that she knew for what purpose he 
 wanted them, and that he was welcome to them. 
 They were played for. My grandfather won upon 
 this last stake, and gained back all he had lost that 
 night. In the warmth of his gratitude to his wife, he, 
 at her desire, took an oath, that he would never more 
 play at any game with cards or dice. Some time 
 afterwards, he was found in a hay-yard with a friend, 
 drawing straws out of the hayrick, and betting upon 
 which should be the longest ! — As might be expected, 
 he lived in alternate extravagance and distress ; some- 
 times with a coach and four, and sometimes in very 
 want of half a crown. 
 
 These anecdotes were told to my father by Lady 
 Edgeworth, that widow of Sir John, who lived till 
 ninety, and who related to him many curious anec- 
 dotes of the five reigns during which she flourished. 
 From her traditions, and from letters and papers, now 
 in my possession, my father compiled some manu- 
 script memoirs, from which I was tempted here to 
 make further extracts, illustrative of the manners of 
 the times. Thinking, however, that they would take 
 up more room than could properly be spared in this 
 narrative, I omit all which do not immediately relate 
 to my own family. 
 
 Colonel Francis Edgeworth left his affairs in such 
 disorder at his death, that his son, my father, who 
 was then an orphan of but eight years old, must have 
 lost his whole property, had not Mr. Pakenham, his 
 guardian, taken care of him and of it. Mr. Paken- 
 ham, though related to my father only by the half 
 blood, was as kind to him, as it was possible for the 
 most affectionate parent to be. Perceiving that my 
 
1732.] R. L. EDGEWOBTH, ESQ. 11 
 
 father was of an uncommonly steady disposition, 
 Mr. Pakenham advised him to go to the Temple, at 
 eighteen, instead of going to college. This prudent 
 counsel my father followed, and by application to 
 business, and by making himself master of his own 
 affairs, he recovered a considerable part of his estate, 
 which had been unjustly detained from him by some 
 of his own family. He told me a singular detection 
 of fraud in one of the suits, in which he was engaged : 
 a deed was produced against him, which was wit- 
 nessed by a very old man, who was brought into 
 court. His venerable aspect prepossessed the court 
 strongly in favour of his veracity : he said that he 
 was an antient servant of the Edgeworth family, and 
 had been accustomed to transcribe papers for the 
 gentleman who had executed the deed. He began, 
 by declaring, that he had foreseen from the particulr. v 
 circumstances of the deed, which went to disinherit 
 the heir of the family, that the transaction might 
 hereafter be brought into dispute ; he had, therefore, 
 he said, privately put a sixpence under the seal of 
 the deed, which would appear if the seal were broken. 
 The seal was broken in open court, and the sixpence 
 was found to be dated five years subsequent to the 
 date of the deed ! — The deed being thus proved to 
 be a forgery, my father gained his suit. 
 
 In a few years, my father found himself in easy 
 circumstances ; and in 1 732 he married Jane Lovell, 
 daughter of Samuel Lovell, a Welsh judge, who was 
 son of Sir Salathiel Lovell, that recorder of London, 
 who, at the trial of the seven bishops, in the reign of 
 James II., proved himself to be a good man, though 
 he was but an indifferent lawyer. He lived to the 
 age of ninety-four, and had so much lost his memory, 
 
12 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 as to be called the obliviscor of London. Of him 
 I have heard my father relate an anecdote, which has 
 been told of others : — a young lawyer pleading before 
 him was so rude as to say, " Sir, you have for- 
 gotten the law;" — He replied, " Young man, I have 
 forgotten more law, than you will ever remember." 
 
 My grandfather, the Welsh judge, travelling over 
 the sands near Beaumorris, as he was going circuit, 
 was overtaken by the night, and by the tide : his 
 coach was set fast in a quick-sand ; the water soon 
 rose into the coach, and his register, and some other 
 attendants, crept out of the windows and mounted on 
 the roof, and on the coach-box. The judge let the 
 water rise to his very lips, and with becoming gravity 
 replied, to all the earnest entreaties of his attendants, 
 " I will follow your counsel, if you can quote any 
 precedent for a judge's mounting a coach-box." 
 
11. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 1 3 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 [1744. 
 After my father's marriage with Miss Lovell, he 
 retired from the profession of the law, and became a 
 country gentleman. He had eight children ; four of 
 whom died during their childhood. My elder brother 
 Thomas, my elder sister Mary, and Margaret, a sister 
 younger than myself, survived. I was born in 
 Pierrepoint street, Bath, in the year 1744. By some 
 mismanagement my poor mother, at my birth, lost 
 the use of her right side, a misfortune that was the 
 more severely felt by her, as she had been a remark- 
 ably active person. From a sprightly young woman, 
 who danced and rode uncommonly well, she in one 
 hour became a cripple for life. 
 
 My mother then taught me to read herself. I lent 
 my little soul to the business, and I read fluently 
 before I was six years old. The first books that 
 were put into my hands were the Old Testament and 
 iEsop's Fables. iEsop's Fables were scarcely intel- 
 ligible to me : the frogs and their kings, — the fox and 
 the bunch of grapes, confused my understanding ; 
 and the satyr and the traveller appeared to be abso- 
 lute nonsense. I understood the lion and the mouse, 
 and was charmed with the generous conduct of the 
 one, and with the gratitude of the other. When I 
 began to read the Old Testament, the creation made 
 a great impression upon my mind : I personified the 
 
14 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Deity, as is usual with ignorance. A particular part 
 of my father's garden was paradise : my imagination 
 represented Adam as walking in this garden ; and 
 the whole history became a drama in my mind. I 
 pitied Adam, was angry with Eve, and I most cor- 
 dially hated the devil. What was meant by Adam^s 
 bruising the serpent's head, I could not comprehend, 
 and I frequently asked for explanations. The history 
 of Joseph and his brethren I perfectly understood ; it 
 seized fast hold of my imagination, and of my feel- 
 ings. I admired and loved Joseph with enthusiasm ; 
 and I believe, that the impression, which this history 
 made upon my mind, continued for many years to 
 have an influence upon my conduct. 
 
 My only play-fellow in my early childhood was 
 my younger sister Margaret ; my elder sister was 
 four years older than I was. The early attachment 
 which was formed between my sister Margaret (now 
 Mrs. John Ruxton) and me, has been one of the 
 most constant sources of pleasure that I have ever 
 possessed. There was and is a great resemblance in 
 our tempers, and characters, and tastes. I know how 
 highly I praise myself in saying this, but it must be 
 true, or we could not through so many different 
 scenes of life have preserved as perfect a friendship 
 and affection for each other, as ever existed between 
 brother and sister. 
 
 My mother took various means early to give me 
 honourable feelings and good principles ; and by 
 these she endeavoured to correct, and to teach me to 
 govern, the violence of my natural temper. She was 
 lame, and not able to subdue me by force : if I ran 
 away from her when she was going to punish me, she 
 could not follow and catch me ; but she obtained 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 15 
 
 such power over my mind, that she induced me to 
 come to her to be punished whenever she required it. 
 I resigned myself, and without a struggle submitted 
 to the chastisement she thought proper to inflict. 
 The consequence of this submission was my acquir- 
 ing, if I may say so, the esteem as well as the affection 
 of my mother. But she was not blind to my faults : 
 she saw the danger of my passionate temper. It was 
 a difficult task to correct it ; though perfectly sub- 
 missive to her, I was with others rebellious and out- 
 rageous in my anger. My mother heard continual 
 complaints of me ; yet she wisely forbore to lecture 
 or punish me for every trifling misdemeanour; she 
 seized proper occasions to make a strong impression 
 upon my mind. 
 
 One day, my elder brother Tom, who was almost 
 a man when I was a little child, came into the 
 nursery where I was playing, and where the maids 
 were ironing. Upon some slight provocation or con- 
 tradiction from him, I flew into a violent passion ; 
 and, snatching up one of the box-irons, which the 
 maid had just laid down, I flung it across the table 
 at my brother. He stooped instantly; and, thank 
 God ! it missed him. There was a red hot heater in 
 it, of which I knew nothing till I saw it thrown out, 
 and till I heard the scream from the maids. They 
 seized me, and dragged me down stairs to my mother. 
 Knowing that she was extremely fond of my brother, 
 and that she was of a warm indignant temper, they 
 expected that signal vengeance would burst upon me. 
 They all spoke at once. When my mother heard 
 what I had done, I saw she was struck with horror, 
 but she said not one word in anger to me. She 
 ordered every body out of the room except myself, 
 
16 MEM OIKS OF 
 
 and then drawing me near her, she spoke to me in a 
 mild voice, but in a most serious manner. First, she 
 explained to me the nature of the crime, which I had 
 rim the hazard of committing ; she told me, she was 
 sure that I had no intention seriously to hurt my 
 brother, and did not know, that if the iron had hit 
 my brother, it must have killed him. While I felt 
 this first shock, and whilst the horror of murder was 
 upon me, my mother seized the moment, to conjure 
 me to try in future to command my passions. I re- 
 member her telling me, that I had an uncle by the 
 mother's side who had such a violent temper, that in 
 a fit of passion one of his eyes actually started out of 
 its socket. " You," said my mother to me, " have 
 naturally a violent temper : if you grow up to be a 
 man without learning to govern it, it will be impos- 
 sible for you then to command yourself; and there 
 is no knowing what crime you may in a fit of passion 
 commit, and how miserable you may in consequence 
 of it become. You are but a very young child, yet 
 I think you can understand me. Instead of speaking 
 to you as I do at this moment, I might punish you 
 severely ; but I think it better to treat you like a 
 reasonable creature. My wish is to teach you to 
 command your temper : nobody can do that for you 
 so well as you can do it for yourself." 
 
 As nearly as I can recollect, these were my mother's 
 words ; I am certain this was the sense of what she 
 then said to me. The impression made by the 
 earnest solemnity w T ith which she spoke, never, 
 during the whole course of my life, was effaced from 
 my mind. From that moment I determined to 
 govern my temper. The determinations and the 
 good resolutions of a boy of between five and six years 
 
R. L. BDGEWORTH, ESQ. 17 
 
 old, are not much to be depended upon, and I do not 
 mean to boast, that mine were thenceforward uniformly 
 kept ; but I am conscious that my mother's warning 
 frequently recurred to me, when I felt the passion of 
 anger rising within me ; and that both whilst I was 
 a child, and after I became a man, these her words 
 of early advice had most powerful and salutary 
 influence in restraining my temper. 
 
 Of the further rudiments of my education I recol- 
 lect only that I was taught arithmetic, and made 
 expert in counting at the card table, when my father 
 and mother used to play cribbage. The attention to 
 teach me numbers was bestowed particularly, because 
 my father, not being infected with that foolish pride 
 which renders parents averse to the idea of putting 
 a son into business or commerce, destined me for a 
 merchant. My elder brother, [however, dying when 
 I was but six years old, I became an only son. 
 The views of my education changed, and my life 
 was now to be preserved by an increased degree of 
 care and precaution. I cannot say that my dear 
 mother, though she was a woman of superior abilities, 
 made much use of lier judgment with respect to the 
 management of my health, or to the education of my 
 body. Her fondness for my elder brother was soon 
 transferred to me ; and to prevent whatever might 
 endanger my health, continually occupied her 
 thoughts. At this time the humoral pathology was 
 the creed of physicians, and of those well-meaning- 
 ladies, who watch over the constitutions of their 
 children, and endeavour, by continual preventives, 
 to avert every approach of disease. I was naturally 
 strong and active ; but I was now obliged to take 
 a course of physic twice a year, every Spring and 
 
 c 
 
18 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Autumn, with nine days' potions of small beer and 
 rhubarb, to fortify my stomach, and to kill imaginary 
 worms. I was not suffered to feel the slightest incle- 
 mency of the weather ; I was muffled up whenever I 
 was permitted to ride a mile or two on horseback before 
 the coachman ; my feet never brushed the dew, 
 nor was my head ever exposed to the wind or sun. 
 Fortunately, my mother's knowledge of the human 
 mind far exceeded her skill in medicine. 
 
 She inspired me with a love of truth, a dislike of 
 low company, and an admiration of whatever was 
 generous. Fortunately for me, the few visitors who 
 frequented our house, seemed to join with her in 
 a wish to instil generous sentiments. One lady in 
 particular, who, as I observed, was treated by my 
 mother with much respect, made a salutary impres- 
 sion upon me. She gave me Gay's Fables with 
 prints, with which I was much delighted ; and 
 desired me to get by heart the fable of the Lion 
 and the Cub. She explained to me the design of 
 this fable, which was within the compass of my 
 understanding. It gave me early the notion that 
 I ought to dislike low company, and to despise the 
 applause of the vulgar. Some traits in the history 
 of Cyrus, which was read to me, seized my imagina- 
 tion, and, next to Joseph in the Old Testament, 
 Cyrus became the favorite of my childhood. My 
 sister and I used to amuse ourselves with playing 
 Cyrus at the court of his grandfather Astyages. 
 At the great Persian feasts I was, like young Cyrus, 
 to set an example of temperance, to eat nothing but 
 water-cresses, to drink nothing but water, and to 
 reprove the cup-bearer for making the king my 
 grandfather drunk. To this day I remember the 
 
R.L.EDCiEWORTH, ESQ. 19 
 
 taste of those water-cresses ; and for those who love 
 to trace the characters of men in the sports of 
 children, I may mention, that my character for 
 sobriety, if not for water -drinking, has continued 
 through life. 
 
 At seven years old, I became very devout. I had 
 read some of the New Testament, and some account 
 of the sufferings of martyrs ; these inflamed my 
 imagination so much, that I remember weeping 
 bitterly before I was eight years old, because I lived 
 at a time when I had no opportunity of being a 
 martyr. I however dared to think for myself — My 
 father was about this time enclosing a garden ; part 
 of the wall in its progress afforded means for climb- 
 ing to the top of it, which I soon effected. My 
 father reprimanded me severely, and as no fruit was 
 at that time ripe, he could not readily conceive what 
 motive I could have for taking so much trouble, and 
 running so great a risk. I told him truly, that I had 
 no motive but the pleasure of climbing. I added, 
 that if the garden were full of ripe peaches, it would 
 be a much greater temptation ; and that unless he 
 should be certain that nobody would climb over the 
 wall, he ought not to have peaches in the garden. 
 After having talked to me for some time, he disco- 
 vered that I had reasoned thus : if my father knows 
 beforehand, that the temptation of peaches will 
 necessarily induce me to climb over the garden wall ; 
 and that, if I do, it is more than probable that I shall 
 break my neck, I shall not be guilty of any crime, 
 but my father will be the cause of my breaking my 
 neck. This I applied to Adam, without at the time 
 being able to perceive the great difference between 
 things human and divine. My father, feeling that 
 
 c 1 
 
20 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 he was not prepared to give me a satisfactory answer 
 to this difficulty, judiciously declined the contest, 
 and desired me not to meddle with what was above 
 my comprehension. I mention this, because all 
 parents who encourage their children to speak freely, 
 often hear from them puzzling questions and observa- 
 tions ; and I wish to point out, that on such occasions 
 children should not be discouraged, but, on the 
 contrary, according to the advice of Rousseau, parents 
 should fairly and truly confess their ignorance. 
 
 So strong were my religious feelings at this time 
 of my life, that I strenuously believed, that if I had 
 sufficient faith, I could remove mountains ; and 
 accordingly I prayed for the objects of my childish 
 wishes with the utmost fervency, and with the 
 strongest persuasion that my prayers would be heard. 
 How long the fervor of this sort of devotion lasted 
 I do not remember; but I suppose that going to 
 school insensibly allayed it. 
 
 Before I was ready for school, other circumstances 
 occurred which had considerable influence on my 
 future character. The first was my mother's reading 
 to me some passages from Shakespeare's plays, mark- 
 ing the characters of Coriolanus and of Julius Caesar, 
 which she admired. The contempt which Coriolanus 
 expresses for the opinion and applause of the vulgar, 
 for " the voices of the greasy-headed multitude," 
 suited well with that disdain for low company, with 
 which I had been first inspired by the fable of the 
 Lion and the Cub. It is probable that I understood 
 the speeches of Coriolanus but imperfectly ; yet I 
 know, that I sympathised with my mother's admira- 
 tion, my young spirit was touched by his noble 
 character, by his generosity, and, above all, by his 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 21 
 
 filial piety, and his gratitude to his mother. My 
 mother took every occasion to strengthen the im- 
 pression this character made on my mind. She was 
 herself of a generous and grateful disposition, and 
 any instance of gratitude called forth her warm ap- 
 probation. She considered gratitude as the strongest 
 mark of a generous character : she thought, that to 
 give or to forgive is generous ; but that to remember 
 and to return favors is more difficult than to confer 
 them. In conferring benefits the will is free, the 
 mind acts from warm spontaneous exertion, a sense 
 of superiority accompanies the action ; but the feeling 
 of gratitude implies a sense of obligation, and perhaps 
 of inferiority. There are but few who have been 
 habituated to think that to pay a debt is more agree- 
 able than to bestow a favor. But in the same degree 
 that a full and warm return for benefits is uncommon, 
 we are pleased with ourselves for fulfilling this duty ; 
 and in fact, whoever has been often grateful, must 
 have experienced as much self-satisfaction as the 
 most liberal man upon earth can feel in sharing his 
 fortune, or in bestowing his exertions to promote the 
 interests of others. 
 
 I have mentioned, that my mother, even while I 
 was but a child of eight years old, was in the habit 
 of treating me like a reasonable being. She began 
 to point out to me the good or bad qualities of the 
 persons whom we accidentally saw, or with whom we 
 were connected. About this time, one of our rela- 
 tions, a remarkably handsome youth of eighteen or 
 nineteen, came one day to dine with us ; my father 
 was from home, and I had an opportunity of seeing 
 the maimers of this young man. He was quite unin- 
 formed ; my mother told me, that he had received no 
 
22 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 education, that he was a hard drinker, and that not- 
 withstanding his handsome appearance, he would be 
 good for nothing. Her prediction was soon verified. 
 He married a woman of inferior station, when he was 
 scarcely twenty. His wife's numerous grown-up 
 family, father, brothers, and cousins, were taken into 
 his house. They appeared, wherever any public 
 meeting gave them an opportunity, in a handsome 
 coach with four beautiful grey horses ; the men were 
 dressed in laced clothes after the fashion of those 
 days, and his wife's relations lived luxuriously at his 
 house for two or three years. In that period of time 
 they dissipated the fee-simple of twelve hundred 
 pounds a year, which, fifty years ago, was equal at 
 least to three thousand of our present money. The 
 quantity of claret which these parasites swallowed 
 was so extraordinary, that when the accounts of this 
 foolish youth came before the chancellor, his lordship 
 disallowed a great part of the wine-merchant's bill ; 
 adding, that had the gentleman's coach-horses drunk 
 claret, so much as had been charged could not have 
 been consumed. This wine-merchant, however, ob- 
 tained a considerable portion of the poor young man's 
 estate, in liquidation of the outstanding debt. The 
 host had for some time partaken of the good cheer in 
 his own house ; but disease, loss of appetite, and 
 want of relish for jovial companions, soon confined 
 him to his own apartment, which happened to be over 
 the dining parlour, where he heard the noisy merri- 
 ment below. In this solitary situation, a basin of 
 bread and milk was one day brought to him, in which 
 he observed an unusual quantity of hard black crusts 
 of bread. He objected to them, and upon inquiry 
 was told, that they were the refuse crusts that had 
 
R.L.EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 23 
 
 been cut off a loaf, of which a pudding had been 
 made for dinner. This instance of neglect and 
 ingratitude stung him to the quick; he threw the 
 basin from him, and exclaimed, " / deserve it" To 
 be denied a crumb of bread in his own house, where 
 his wife's whole family were at that instant rioting at 
 his expense, " quite conquered him." He never held 
 his head up afterwards, but in a few months died, 
 leaving a large family totally unprovided with fortune, 
 to the guidance of a mother, who kept them destitute 
 of any sort of instruction. These circumstances, 
 and especially the anecdote of the basin of bread and 
 milk, made too deep an impression on my mind, tend- 
 ing to inspire me with too great scepticism as to the 
 gratitude of mankind. This opinion has, however, 
 been in some degree effaced by experience ; and I am 
 now persuaded, that more ingratitude arises from the 
 injudicious conduct of benefactors, than from the 
 want of proper feeling in those whom they have 
 obliged. 
 
 When the affairs of my relation were, at his death, 
 the subject of conversation, my mother observed to 
 me, that the cause of all the misfortunes that befel 
 him was an easiness of temper, that led him to yield 
 to every 'creature who attempted to persuade him. 
 She desired me to remember, that young men are led 
 into a thousand inconveniences from a false shame, 
 that prevents them from refusing to do as others do ; 
 that the character for good nature, which it is so 
 common to admire and to imitate, is not always 
 obtained by real acts of generosity, or by real feelings 
 of good-mil, but by mere undistinguishing easiness 
 of temper — that people of this temper, well aware of 
 their own weakness, join with apparent eagerness in 
 
24 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 every proposal which shews spirit. She observed, 
 that where the cry of numbers hurries us on, we may 
 shew good fellowship, and even sympathy ; but we 
 do not deserve to be applauded for spirit. Real spirit 
 is shown in resisting importunity and examples, and 
 in daring to do what we think right, independently 
 of the opinion of others. 
 
 But to return to the history of my childhood. — 
 When I was about seven years old, a circumstance 
 happened, which had considerable effect in forming 
 the principal taste of my life, though at first view it 
 seemed to concern me but little. A gentleman and 
 his wife, on their w T ay to Dublin, were delayed by the 
 sickness of the lady at a wretched inn at Edgeworth 
 Town. My mother not only sent what w T as proper, 
 but invited the distressed travellers to her house, and 
 took such effectual care of the sick lady, that in a 
 few days she recovered, and pursued her journey. 
 When my mother w r ent some time afterwards to Dub- 
 lin, she took me with her. Mr. Deane, the husband 
 of the sick lady, came to see my mother ; and, as he 
 got out of his coach, I observed, that he had brought 
 with him a nice mahogany table ; and some uncom- 
 mon pieces of machinery, which excited my curiosity 
 not a little. These were the parts of an electrical 
 machine, that Mr. Deane had made, and which he 
 presented to my mother, in hopes that it might be of 
 service in alleviating the effects of the palsy, with 
 which she was affected. The benevolent countenance, 
 melodious voice, and grateful conduct of this gentle- 
 man, made a great impression on my young mind. 
 I was permitted, after much entreaty, to be present 
 whilst the experiment was going on. At this time 
 electricity was but little known in Ireland, and its 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 25 
 
 fame as a cure for palsy had been considerably mag- 
 nified. It, as usual, excited some sensation in the 
 paralytic limb on the first trials. One of the experi- 
 ments on my mother failed of producing a shock, and 
 Mr. Deane seemed at a loss to account for it. I had 
 observed that the wire, which was used to conduct 
 the electric fluid, had, as it hung in a curve from the 
 instrument to my mother's arm, touched the hinge of 
 a table which was in the way, and I had the courage 
 to mention this circumstance, which was the real cause 
 of failure. Mr. Deane was so well pleased with my 
 observation, that he took me up in his arms, kissed 
 me, and invited me to come the next morning to see 
 his study and his workshop. I was sent there at the 
 hour appointed, and the good-natured philosopher 
 condescended to answer a number of questions, which 
 my eager curiosity suggested. The apartment and 
 its contents are now present to my memory, though 
 it is near sixty years since I was there. Mr. Deane 
 was then making an orrery, which he afterwards be- 
 queathed to the University of Dublin. This orrery 
 instantly caught my attention, but as its uses could 
 not be explained to me, he very wisely turned my 
 attention to another object, and shewed me the engine 
 for cutting teeth in clock-wheels. He was then 
 finishing some large wheels for his orrery, and he 
 explained the parts and the uses of the engine so 
 clearly, that I soon understood them. He then 
 showed me a large globe, with which I was much 
 pleased. I had been used to examine the map of the 
 world upon a great screen at home ; but though I 
 had seen a map, I had not seen a globe, and I recol- 
 lect, that when I found Italy, Sicily, and Ireland, 
 upon the globe, I was delighted with the new idea 
 
26 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 which I received of the relative situation of places on 
 the earth. Mr. Deane shewed me the use of several 
 tools, which are employed by the makers of mathe- 
 matical instruments ; he shewed me a syphon, and 
 the parts of a clock ; he melted some metal for me in 
 a crucible ; he explained to me the bellows, and con- 
 struction of an organ. He bestowed praise upon my 
 attention, and upon what he was pleased to call my 
 intelligence ; so that from the pleasure I received, 
 and the impression made upon my mind that morn- 
 ing, I became irrecoverably a mechanic. These are 
 circumstances in themselves so trifling, that I should 
 not think of relating them, were it not to shew in one 
 instance, at least, the truth of what I have elsewhere 
 asserted, that what is usually called in children a 
 genius for any particular art or science is nothing 
 more than the effect of some circumstance, that 
 makes an early impression, either from a strong asso- 
 ciation of pleasure or pain : such circumstances are 
 most commonly accidental ; but sometimes they are 
 purposely thrown in the way, to produce a particular 
 propensity in youth. 
 
R.L.EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 27 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 [1752. 
 One of the great eras in a boy's life now approached ; 
 — an introduction to the rudiments of ancient learn- 
 ing. — A clergyman of the neighbouring village was 
 engaged to teach me the Latin grammar. This gen- 
 tleman was the Reverend Patrick Hughes, who had 
 the honour of leading Goldsmith and some other 
 conspicuous literary characters over the threshold of 
 learning. He put into my hands, without any pre- 
 vious inauguration, that universal book of knowledge, 
 Lilly's Grammar. Never can I forget the amaze- 
 ment, or rather the stupor, which overwhelmed my 
 mind, when I read, and attempted to learn by heart, 
 the first definition in this learned manual. By pure 
 dint of reiteration, I got my lessons with tolerable 
 success ; but I am satisfied, that my pedagogue 
 augured ill of the young squire. I, however, like 
 other boys, drudged on through thick and thin. I 
 got through Tristis (sad) without any misfortune ; 
 but the first and only punishment I ever suffered in 
 the cause of classical literature was occasioned by 
 Felix (happy), and I well recollect the cause of my 
 failure and disgrace. While I learned my lesson by 
 rote, I had the trick of standing upon one leg, buck- 
 ling and unbuckling my shoe. When I came to 
 repeat my lesson, my master insisted upon my stand- 
 ing still and on both legs. My memory was directly 
 
28 MEMOIRS OF [1752. 
 
 at a fault. My associations were broken, and I could 
 not go on, through hie licec et hoc felioc, without taking 
 up my forbidden foot. A good whipping, as it is 
 called, cured me of the trick, and of what appeared to 
 be obstinacy or stupidity. After a few months' pre- 
 paratory discipline, I was taken to school at Warwick, 
 and placed under the care of Dr. Lydiat, on the 26th 
 of August, 1752, a day memorable to me. A new 
 world now opened to my view. I was about eight 
 years old ; I had been bred up with much tenderness, 
 and had never before lived with any companions but 
 my sisters. The noise, and bustle, and roughness of 
 my school-fellows, at first confounded me ; I had 
 been sufficiently tainted with Irish accent, and Irish 
 idiom, to be the object of much open ridicule, and 
 much secret contempt. I beat one boy, who was 
 taller than myself, for mocking me ; and in a short 
 time I acquired the English provincial accent of my 
 companions so effectually, as to give no fair pretence 
 for tormenting me on this subject ; but I still retained 
 the name of Little Irish, which would have continued 
 to be my nick-name, but for a slight circumstance, of 
 which I made happy advantage. The races at War- 
 wick inflamed my companions with the love for racing. 
 A famous match, I believe, in the year 1752, between 
 Little-witch and Little-driver, occupied the attention 
 of all the grown and growing children of the neighbour- 
 hood. One of the captains of the school, my worthy 
 friend Frank Mundy, of Markeaton, in Derbyshire, 
 matched me to run against a boy, my superior in age, and 
 famous for agility. Fortunately, this boy was for the 
 occasion named Little-witch ; I declared, that I would 
 not run, unless the name of " Little-driver" was given 
 to me. I won the race, and the name of Little-driver 
 
R.L.EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 29 
 
 necessarily superseded that of Little Irish. Nick- 
 names are disagreeable appendages, and care should 
 be taken to prevent or shake them off. I have known 
 a young man of eminence kept for a long time below 
 his level amongst his companions, from his having 
 succeeded to a nickname that his elder brother had 
 acquired, from some circumstance in his conduct, 
 which was in no manner whatever connected with the 
 younger brother's character, or with the real estima- 
 tion in which he was held by his schoolfellows. At 
 Warwick I learned not only the first rudiments of 
 grammar, but also the rudiments of that knowledge, 
 which leads us to observe the difference of tempers 
 and characters in our fellow creatures. The marking 
 how widely they differ, and by what minute varieties 
 they are distinguished, continues to the end of life, an 
 inexhaustable subject of discrimination ! 
 
 I had been accustomed to the affection of all my 
 family at home, and was totally unacquainted with 
 that love of power and of tyranny, which seems almost 
 innate in certain minds. A full grown boy, just ready 
 for college, made it his favourite amusement to harass 
 the minds, and torment the bodies, of his younger 
 school-fellows. A little boy, with remarkably long 
 flaxen hair, and myself, were the chosen objects of 
 his cruelty ; he used to knot our hair together, and 
 drag us up and down the school-room stairs, for his 
 diversion. One evening, when Dr. Lydiat, and all 
 the boys, excepting my tormentor and myself, had 
 gone to church, he caught me, and confining me with 
 iron grasp between his knees, he pulled a small black 
 box from his pocket, which, with a terrific voice and 
 countenance, he informed me was filled with dead men's 
 fat ; with the fat of a man who had lately been 
 
30 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 hanged ; this he invited me to eat, and upon my 
 refusing to do so with manifest signs of horror and 
 disgust, he crammed my mouth with it till I was 
 nearly suffocated. — The box contained, it is true, 
 nothing but spermaceti, but to me it was dreadful 
 as poison. A few days afterwards, when the tart 
 woman came, he again seized me, and again at- 
 tempted to cram my mouth with the contents of his 
 accursed box, instead of permitting me to regale my- 
 self with damson tart. Roused to desperate resist- 
 ance, I struck him in the face with my utmost 
 strength ; he, of course, knocked me down so deci- 
 dedly, as to make it doubtful whether I should ever 
 get up again/ Another schoolfellow of mine was 
 present, Christopher Wren, grandson of the great Sir 
 Christopher. Though far inferior in strength and 
 size to my tormentor, Wren could not restrain his 
 indignation from venting itself in terms, that imme- 
 diately produced a blow. A battle ensued, which 
 would, as the spectators said, have terminated in 
 favour of my champion, if it had continued ; but I 
 had run into the room where Dr. Lydiat was, an 
 action of no common daring, and informed him of the 
 combat. Wren met with the applause which was due 
 to his humanity and courage, not only from his mas- 
 ter, but from his schoolfellows. From me he won my 
 warmest affection, which never ceased while he lived, 
 and which, in the sixty-fifth year of my life, continues 
 so strongly impressed on my memory, that I feel a 
 prepossession in favour of every person of his name — 
 a prepossession which has never disappointed me, 
 whenever I have become acquainted with any of the 
 descendants of our immortal architect. That one of 
 the most amiable virtues of human nature was pos- 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 31 
 
 sessed by his son, is proved by the publication of 
 Parentalia, in which the history of the author's father 
 and of his works, is given with internal evidence of 
 truth, with the highest reverence for his ancestor, and 
 yet without a single circumstance of exaggeration. 
 Every reader, who has at any period of his life re- 
 ceived protection from injustice and oppression, will 
 sympathise with my feelings of gratitude. 
 
 My father and his family were at Bath when my 
 first Christmas holidays approached. Travelling in 
 England was at that time very different from what 
 it is at present ; to send to Warwick for me, and to 
 convey me back again was inconvenient. I therefore, 
 must have remained at school, had not Mrs. Dewes*, 
 sister to Mrs. Delany, taken compassion upon me. 
 Mrs. Dewes lived at Welsbourne, within four miles 
 of Warwick, where her four sons were at school 
 with me. The youngest was my class fellow, and 
 upon a visit, which Mrs. Dewes paid to Dr. Lydiat, 
 she saw me, and wrote to my mother at Bath, to obtain 
 her consent to my passing the holidays at Wels- 
 bourne. Fortunately, some former connexion which 
 had subsisted between my mother and Mrs. Delany, 
 smoothed all difficulties ; I w T as permitted to accept 
 the invitation, and I was received by Mrs. Dewes 
 with the utmost kindness and cordiality. Old 
 English hospitality never appeared to me to be exer- 
 cised with more propriety than at Welsbourne. The 
 tenants of Mr. Dewes were invited to a Christmas 
 dinner of excellent cheer, and their wives and 
 daughters passed the evening in mirth and unre- 
 proved pleasure. The fiddle and a good supper sent 
 
 * This lady's name is mentioned with enlogium in Mrs. Bar- 
 bauld's preface to Richardson's works. 
 
32: MEMOIRS OF 
 
 all the young people happy to their homes ; and 
 Mrs. Dewes's cheerful and instructive conversation 
 spread universal satisfaction among the elder part 
 of the company. This scene is still present to my 
 recollection. Three Miss Shendalls, tall, handsome 
 girls from Stratford, were inmates for some days 
 at Welsbourne. They were obviously superior to 
 the generality of the visitors ; their conversation 
 with Mrs. Dewes was generally upon what they 
 were reading ; and as they sat round a table every 
 evening intent upon their books, my young friends 
 and I, from imitation, employed ourselves in perusing 
 certain little volumes, which were then printed by 
 Newberry, for children, or we deciphered anagrams, 
 which Mrs. Dewes and her friends gave us for our 
 amusement. To this occupation we were much 
 encouraged by the attention which the elder part 
 of the company gave to the subject, when a difficult 
 combination of letters fell in their way. Upon such 
 slight circumstances as these the first taste for 
 different pursuits in life are formed, and to a number 
 of concurring circumstances of this sort I owed an 
 early taste for reading, which continued with but 
 little interruption during the whole course of my 
 life. 
 
 After my return to school, my progress in Latin 
 was prevented by the hooping cough ; cut off from 
 all occupation and amusement, my time passed 
 heavily, and I should have been in a miserable 
 situation, had I not been treated with the utmost 
 kindness and tenderness by Dr. Lydiat and by his 
 sister, who managed his house. My father soon 
 came from Bath, and took me away with him. 
 I parted from my young friends of the Dewes family 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. X,\ 
 
 with regret ; and I did my best to express my 
 gratitude to Dr. Lydiat and to his sister, Mrs. Gore. 
 
 Our journey lay in some places out of the high 
 road, and across corn fields. Our vehicle was a 
 two wheeled carriage, something like a French chaise 
 de paste, and as we travelled slowly, I had time for 
 observation. I recollect, however, only one thing 
 that caught my attention : when we came on the 
 high road to Cirencester, I saw a man carrying a 
 machine live or six feet in diameter, of an oval 
 form, and composed of slender ribs of steel. I 
 begged my father to inquire what it was. We were 
 told, that it was the skeleton of a lady's hoop. 
 It was furnished with hinges, which permitted it to 
 fold together in a small compass, so that more 
 than two persons might sit on one seat of a 
 coach, a feat not easily performed when ladies were 
 encompassed with whalebone hoops of six feet ex- 
 tent. My curiosity was excited by the first sight 
 of this machine, probably more than another child's 
 might have been, because previous agreeable associ- 
 ations had given me some taste for mechanics, which 
 was still a little further increased by the pleasure 
 I took in examining this glittering contrivance. 
 Thus even the most trivial incidents in childhood 
 act reciprocally as cause and effect in forming our 
 taste. 
 
 What passed from the time when I left Warwick, 
 till my father's return to Ireland, I do not distinctly 
 remember ; it therefore passed most probably with- 
 out any event, that had much effect upon my temper 
 or understanding. I recollect only that my mother's 
 health had declined after her return from Bath. 
 
 D 
 
34 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Every thing that art could suggest was tried for 
 her recovery. 
 
 About the year 1 754, Lord Trimblestone, a Roman 
 catholic nobleman, who had resided many years abroad, 
 had become famous for his skill in medicine, and for 
 his benevolent attention to persons of all ranks who ap- 
 plied to him. Success increased his popularity. With 
 his permission, my father and mother went to Trimble- 
 stone to consult him. They took up their lodgings in 
 the neighbourhood of Trim, near his seat, and were 
 most cordially and hospitably received. My mother's 
 complaints his lordship did not hope to cure ; but he 
 ordered such palliation as the art of medicine affords. 
 I remember in particular, that the uva ursi, which 
 has been lately resorted to in nephritic complaints, 
 was prescribed for her, and with great difficulty ob- 
 tained. My mother was pleased with the manners, 
 and appearance, and mode of life at Trimblestone, 
 and when she returned home, though she had re- 
 ceived, and had indeed expected, but little advantage 
 from Lord Trimblestone's prescriptions, she often 
 related with pleasure, circumstances that passed while 
 she was at his house. At the time which I speak of, 
 most families in Ireland dined at three or four o'clock, 
 but Lord Trimblestone never dined till seven or eight 
 in the evening. This arrangement gave an air of 
 mystery to his Lordship's domestic economy, which 
 added perhaps to the influence of his real skill over 
 the minds of his patients. My mother was much 
 struck with the beauty and grace of Lady Trimble- 
 stone. She had, I believe, passed the meridian of 
 life : but the glare of a profusion of light ; the fine 
 brilliant pendants in her ears ; the unchanged colour 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 35 
 
 of her beautiful hair, which fell exuberantly in ringlets 
 upon her neck, — contrary to the fashion of that day, 
 which required that a lady's hair should be powdered 
 and rolled over a cylinder of black silk stuffed with 
 wool, so as to draw the hair almost out by the roots 
 from the forehead ; — and above all, an air of ease and 
 dignity which she had acquired in France ; made her, 
 at least to the eyes of my mother, a most charming 
 and interesting person. Lord Trimblestone com- 
 manded attention from his high character in the 
 world for medical knowledge and for philanthropy. 
 They soon set their stranger guests at ease, and both 
 of them amused their auditors with accounts of re- 
 markable patients, diseases, and cures, which they 
 had witnessed. One in particular I will relate. 
 
 A very delicate lady of fashion, w T ho had, till her 
 beauty began to decay, been flattered egregiously by 
 one sex, and vehemently envied by the other, began 
 to feel, as years approached, that she was shrinking 
 into nobody. Disappointment produces ennui, and 
 ennui disease ; a train of nervous symptoms succeeded 
 each other with alarming rapidity, and after the advice 
 and the consultations of all the physicians in Ireland, 
 and the correspondence of the most eminent in Eng- 
 land, this poor lady had recourse in the last resort to 
 Lord Trimblestone. He declined interfering, he 
 hesitated ; but at last, after much intercession, he 
 consented to hear the lady's complaints, and to endea- 
 vour to effect her cure : this concession was made 
 upon a positive stipulation, that the patient should 
 remain three weeks in his house, without any atten- 
 dants but those of his own family, and that her friends 
 should give her up entirely to his management. — 
 The case was desperate, and any terms must be sub- 
 
 D 2 
 
36 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 mitted to, where there was a prospect of relief. The 
 lady went to Trimblestone, was received with the 
 greatest attention and politeness. Instead of a grave 
 and forbidding physician, her host, she found, was a 
 man of most agreeable manners. Lady Trimblestone 
 did every thing in her power to entertain her guest, 
 and for two or three days the demon of ennui was 
 banished. At length the lady's vapours returned ; 
 every thing appeared changed. Melancholy brought 
 on a return of alarming nervous complaints — convul- 
 sions of the limbs — perversion of the understanding 
 - — a horror of society; in short, all the complaints 
 that are to be met with in an advertisement, enume- 
 rating the miseries of a nervous patient. In the 
 midst of one of her most violent fits, four mutes, 
 dressed in white, entered her apartment ; slowly 
 approaching, they took her without violence in their 
 arms, and without giving her time to recollect her- 
 self, conveyed her into a distant chamber hung with 
 black, and lighted with green tapers. From the ceil- 
 ing, which was of a considerable height, a swing was 
 suspended, in which she was placed by the mutes, so 
 as to be seated at some distance from the ground. 
 One of the mutes set the swing in motion ; and as it 
 approached one end of the room, she was opposed by 
 a grim menacing figure armed with a huge rod of 
 birch. When she looked behind her, she saw a 
 similar figure at the other end of the room, armed in 
 the same manner. The terror, notwithstanding the 
 strange circumstances which surrounded her, was not 
 of that sort which threatens life ; but every instant 
 there was an immediate hazard of bodily pain. After 
 some time, the mutes appeared again, with great com- 
 posure took the lady out of the swing, and conducted 
 
R.L.EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 37 
 
 her to her apartment. When she had reposed some 
 time, a servant came to inform her, that tea was 
 ready. Fear of what might be the consequences of a 
 refusal prevented her from declining to appear. No 
 notice was taken of what had happened, and the 
 evening and the next day passed without any attack 
 of her disorder. On the third day the vapours re- 
 turned — the mutes reappeared — the menacing flagel- 
 lants again affrighted her, and again she enjoyed a 
 remission of her complaints. By degrees the fits of 
 her disorder became less frequent, the ministration of 
 her tormentors less necessary, and in time, the habits 
 of hypochondriacism were so often interrupted, and 
 such a new series of ideas was introduced into her 
 mind, that she recovered perfect health, and preserved 
 to the end of her life sincere gratitude for her adven- 
 turous physician. 
 
 After my father had consulted Lord Trimblestone, 
 he took me to Drogheda school, of which Doctor 
 Norris was the master, and which was then the best 
 in Ireland. For a few weeks I was there as ridiculous 
 for my English accent, as I had been at Warwick for 
 my Irish brogue. I soon, however, learnt to imitate 
 my companions sufficiently to avoid their ridicule ; 
 but I never lost the English pronunciation, to which 
 I was always accustomed at my father's house. 
 When I say that I never lost the English pronuncia- 
 tion, I mean that I never lost it so that I could not 
 readily resume it at pleasure. After I had at any 
 time resided in England for three months, I returned 
 to the English habits of my early years. Travelling 
 in stage coaches, where people attend much to the 
 idiom of their fellow travellers, I never was taken for 
 an Irishman, though, from some organic peculiarity, 
 
38 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 I believe, in my articulation, or nonarticulation of the 
 letter r, I have frequently been thought to be a native 
 of Cumberland, and sometimes I have been mistaken 
 for a German. 
 
 Parents should be very careful about the habits, 
 which their children acquire of pronunciation and 
 idiom ; these are scarcely ever to be eradicated in 
 after-life. 
 
 The class, in which I was placed at Drogheda 
 school, happened to be composed of the dullest boys 
 under the care of Doctor Norris. — One or two trivial 
 schoolboy anecdotes will be pardoned, as they shew 
 the good humour, and the talents for governing a 
 school, which my excellent master possessed. 
 
 We were forbidden to go into a certain street, 
 which was near our play-ground ; but this order was 
 as it were by common consent forgotten, or set at 
 nought by most of the boys, upon the following 
 occasion. 
 
 An old foreign refugee, a confectioner of the name 
 of Pilioli, had lived in this lane, and was well known 
 to the boys, to whom he used to sell tarts : — he was 
 a merry jesting fellow, and a great favourite with us. 
 Pilioli died suddenly ; his funeral was to pass through 
 the forbidden lane, and most of the boys ran out 
 thither to see it. 
 
 When we came into school after dinner, Doctor 
 Norris entered with such a frown upon his brow, as 
 quelled the stoutest heart among the culprits. I was 
 not of the number. We stood up to say our lessons ; 
 our class was in Cordery, and this day's lesson began 
 with " Filioli" — which, fortunately, the boy who 
 was to begin could not construe. Another and 
 another were equally embarrassed : — at last, when it 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTU, ESQ. 39 
 
 came to my turn, and when the Doctor sternly reite- 
 rated, " Filioli" I looked at him with propitiatory 
 humility, and in a supplicating tone exclaimed, 
 " Pilioli" The Doctor smiled, and pardoned the 
 delinquents. 
 
 After I had once reached the head of my class, I 
 kept my place, and then found, that, after I had said 
 my lessons, I had a great deal of weary time on my 
 hands, while the other boys were getting through 
 theirs. It was forbidden to read any thing but our 
 lessons in school-hours. I grew so much tired of 
 having nothing to do, that I constructed a kind of 
 fortress behind a high reading-desk, in which I for 
 some time enjoyed without detection or animadver- 
 sion the pleasure of amusing myself with English 
 books. I recollect that the book I was reading was 
 Pope's Iliad, which interested me much, when one 
 day, Doctor Norris espied my head behind the read- 
 ing desk, and I heard him ask, " What is all that ?" 
 The boys answered, " It is only Edgeworth's Cobby- 
 house, Sir, as he calls it." 
 
 " Edgeworth's whatT — There was no jesting with 
 the Doctor upon any infringement of the laws. 
 
 " Don't you know, Sir, that it is not permitted to 
 read any English books in school-hours ?" 
 
 I pleaded, that I had said my lesson a considerable 
 time, and that I had nothing to do. 
 
 " Why not get your lesson for to-morrow, Sir ?" 
 
 " I have it, Sir." 
 
 " Well, Sir, for the next day ?" 
 
 " I have it, Sir. — I have my lessons, Sir, for the 
 whole week." 
 
 " Stand up this moment then, and say them, 
 
40 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Sir, under penalty, that if you miss a word you shall 
 be flogged." 
 
 I stood up, and said my lessons for a week, without 
 missing a word. Doctor Norris gave a nod of bene- 
 volent approbation, and decreed, that I should 
 thenceforward have permission to read in school- 
 hours, in my Cobby-house, whatever English books 
 I chose. 
 
 I have all my life felt gratitude to Dr. Norris for 
 the judicious kindness with which he treated me 
 during the whole time I was at his school : he en- 
 couraged me by his approbation, and thus softened 
 the hardship of drudging on with class-fellows, who 
 happened to be dunces. I must except two of my 
 school-fellows, who were remarkably clever boys, and 
 good scholars, the two sons of Chief Baron Foster ; 
 John, the eldest, who became afterwards the justly 
 celebrated Speaker of the Irish House of Commons ; 
 and William, who became successively Bishop of Kil- 
 more, and Bishop of Clogher. The friendship formed 
 with them at school has lasted through our lives. 
 
 Much more than by my scholarship I was distin- 
 guished among my companions by my activity in 
 jumping, vaulting, and in every kind of bodily 
 exercise. During vacations from Drogheda school, 
 I was invited to Collon, by Chief Baron Foster, with 
 whose sons I hunted desperately. The eldest, 
 Mr. John Foster, was the best rider that I have ever 
 known. Upon a little horse, that had, I believe from 
 his former possessor, acquired the cognomen of Beg- 
 garman, I contrived to keep close to the heels of 
 Foster's excellent hunter, often to the admiration of 
 a numerous company of sportsmen. 
 
R.L.EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 41 
 
 My father was not fond of hounds or of hunting, 
 so that I had no opportunity of pursuing this royal 
 amusement when at home : I therefore followed 
 shooting, and became so gloriously expert, that I was 
 able to kill eighty per cent, at snipe shooting. 
 
 "When I was about fourteen years old, upon some 
 trifling occasion, I thought myself ill treated at 
 Drogheda, and I prevailed upon my father to remove 
 me to a school in his neighbourhood, at Longford. 
 The name of my new master was Hynes. He was a 
 man of mild manners, a good scholar, and well 
 acquainted with English literature. He attended to 
 me carefully, and I applied with diligence, so that in 
 the course of less than two years I was prepared to 
 enter the University of Dublin. 
 
 But, before I went to the University, my attention 
 was suddenly turned from my studies by my eldest 
 sister's marriage. She married Francis Fox, Esq., of 
 Fox Hall, in the county of Longford, a gentleman of 
 good family and good fortune, whose estate being 
 within a few miles of Edgeworth-Town, the families 
 had frequent intercourse. Balls, carousings, and 
 festivities of all kinds, followed my sister's marriage. 
 In these I joined with transports of delight, beyond 
 even what might have been expected from a boy of 
 my great vivacity of temper, and personal activity. 
 Every morning I was following the hounds with my 
 new brother-in-law, and the foremost in every des- 
 perate exploit of the chase. Every night I was the 
 most incessant, unwearied dancer at the ball. How 
 human nature, even the nature of a schoolboy, went 
 through all that I did at this time, I know not. For 
 three nights successively I was never in bed: nor 
 was I content with all the huntings and dancings 
 
42 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 which I have described ; but at every interval, when 
 others allowed themselves some repose, or acknow- 
 ledged themselves exhausted by fatigue, I was still 
 working off my superabundant spirit of animation, and 
 amazing my companions by some extraordinary dis- 
 play of activity. Of several of these I have in my 
 later years been reminded by some of my surviving 
 contemporaries, who have assured me, that they were 
 eye-witnesses of feats of boyish agility, which I have 
 not only totally forgotten, but can now scarcely 
 believe. 
 
 Other circumstances, which happened about the 
 same time, are more clear in my recollection. My 
 favourite partner among the young ladies at these 
 wedding dances was the daughter of the curate from 
 whom I learned my Accidence. 
 
 One night after the dancing had ceased, the young 
 people retired to what was then called a raking pot 
 of tea. A description of this Hibernian amusement 
 I have given in another place. It is here sufficient 
 to say, that it is a potation of strong tea, taken at an 
 early hour in the morning, to refresh the spirits of 
 those who have sat up all night. We were all very 
 young and gay, and it was proposed by one of my 
 companions, who had put a white cloak round his 
 shoulders to represent a surplice, that he should 
 marry me to the lady with whom I had danced. 
 
 The key of the door served for a ring, and a few 
 words of the ceremony, with much laughter and 
 playfulness, were gabbled over. My father heard of 
 this mock-marriage, and it excited great alarm in his 
 mind. He was induced by his paternal fears to treat 
 the matter too seriously, and he instigated a suit of 
 jactitation of marriage in the ecclesiastical court, to 
 
1759.] R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 43 
 
 annul these imaginary nuptials. The truth was 
 apparent to every body who knew us. No suspicion 
 even was entertained of the young lady's having any 
 design on my heart, or of my having obtained any 
 influence in hers. All the publicity that was given 
 to this childish affair was fortunately of no disadvan- 
 tage to her, and she was afterwards suitably married 
 in her own neighbourhood. 
 
 About this period, much of my spare time was 
 spent at Pakenham Hall, the seat of Lord Longford, 
 the grandfather of the present Earl. He was my 
 father's nephew, and a man of superior abilities and 
 politeness. His lady had also considerable talents, wit, 
 humour, and a taste for literature, uncommon for women 
 in her day. She saw into my character, or rather, 
 she saw what it might be made. Field sports then 
 appeared to be my ruling passion : instead of thwart- 
 ing my love for them, she let me shoot till I was 
 tired ; but she gave me the key of the library, where, 
 as she expected, I soon passed whole days devouring 
 its contents. This and other concurring circum- 
 stances extinguished my passion for field sports 
 before I was eighteen. It never afterwards revived. 
 
 At a great entertainment which was given at 
 Pakenham Hall, when I was about fourteen, besides 
 music and dancing, there was held a Faro bank, at 
 which the principal gentry played with much eager- 
 ness at no very low rate. Lord Longford called me 
 aside, and, putting five guineas into my hand, desired 
 me to try my fortune. In the course of the evening 
 I won, what appeared to me, a large sum, nearly a 
 hundred guineas. The next evening he asked, 
 whether I would again risk my winning ; I readily 
 complied, and when I was reduced to a single guinea, 
 
44 MEMOIRS OF [1761. 
 
 he offered to lend me whatever I wanted ; but I 
 declined this offer, rose from the table, and continued 
 to look on during the rest of the evening. The next 
 day Lord Longford told me, that he had induced me 
 to play, to obtain an insight into my character. " I 
 observed," said he, " that you were never too eager, 
 or too indifferent ; that you were not elated when 
 you won, and that you kept your temper when a rapid 
 run of ill-luck reduced you to poverty ; I therefore 
 congratulate you upon your being in all probability 
 exempt from the vice of gaming." 
 
 Whether the prophecy, as it frequently happens, 
 became the cause of its own accomplishment, I cannot 
 determine ; but it is certain, that in my subsequent 
 life I never felt an inclination for cards, dice, or 
 lotteries, even when the stake was inconsiderable. 
 By this turn of mind I saved a great deal of time, 
 that is commonly thrown away in weak compliance 
 with the habits of others ; nor did I give offence to 
 those of my companions who liked play, because they 
 could easily supply my place from the swarm of idlers, 
 who crowd every fashionable assembly. 
 
 Immediately after my farcical marriage, and more 
 farcical divorce, I entered Trinity College, Dublin, 
 26th April, 1761. My tutor was the Rev. Patrick 
 Palmer, a gentlemanlike and worthy man ; but it was 
 not the fashion in those days to plague fellow- 
 commoners with lectures. My class-fellows, except 
 William Foster my competitor, gave me so little 
 motive for emulation, that I did not trouble myself 
 much with study. In competition with him I was 
 obliged to exert myself strenuously. After a hard 
 fought examination, he obtained from me the pre- 
 mium, which he generously acknowledged to be my 
 
1761.] K. L. EDGE WORTH, ESQ. 45 
 
 right. At the next public examination, I was auda- 
 ciously and shamefully careless, I went into the hall 
 to translate six books of Homer, of the greatest part 
 of which I had never read one word. A stupid young 
 man succeeded against me, though I certainly an- 
 swered better than he did ; but the examiner, the 
 celebrated Dr. Duigenan, suspecting from my manner, 
 that I had not taken much previous pains, plainly 
 asked me, how often I had read these books of Homer. 
 I told him " never." " Then Sir," said he, " though 
 you have answered better than your antagonist, I 
 will not give you the premium, which is intended as 
 a reward for diligence, and not as an encouragement 
 for idleness and presumption." 
 
 I wish to pass over my residence at Dublin Col- 
 lege. I was not seventeen. I was supposed to have 
 some talents, which, among my associates, was a 
 sufficient apology for my total neglect of study ; and 
 I passed my time in dissipation of every kind. It 
 was, however, but for six months, the only time in 
 my life that I ever spent in such a disgraceful man- 
 ner. Young as I was, I became thoroughly disgusted. 
 I was sensible of the dangers which I had incurred, 
 and capable of rejoicing at my escape. The vigour 
 of my constitution endured the want of rest and sleep, 
 and the strength of my head enabled me to resist the 
 effects of those copious potations, which were in 
 fashion among my companions. My want of taste 
 for the joys of intoxication prevented me from con- 
 tinuing the habit, when it was no longer the fashion ; 
 so that I have passed some time at two universities, 
 and have been concerned in conducting four or five 
 contested elections, without ever having been intox- 
 icated in my life. 
 
46 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 [1761. 
 My father prudently removed me from Dublin to 
 Oxford. I entered Corpus Christi as gentleman- 
 commoner on the 10th of October 176 1. My father 
 preferred Oxford to Cambridge, because he had an 
 old friend who resided near Oxford ; a gentleman 
 who had been bred for the bar, had been with him at 
 the Temple, and upon whose assistance he could 
 depend in the conduct of my studies. This friend 
 was Mr. Elers. To my father's letter, asking his 
 permission to introduce me to his house, Mr. Elers 
 replied, that he should be very glad to be of any 
 service to the son of his old friend ; but that, con- 
 sidering the disposition of which I had been described, 
 he thought it right to represent, that he had " several 
 daughters grown and growing up, who, as the world 
 said, were pretty girls ; but to whom he could not 
 give fortunes, that could make them suitable matches 
 for Mr. Edge worth's son." 
 
 This letter did not deter my father from his 
 purpose, but probably decided him to put me under 
 the care of such a discreet and honourable friend. 
 My mother was going to Bath at this time for her 
 health, and as soon as he had settled her and his 
 family there, he took me with him to Black Bourton, 
 within fourteen miles of Oxford. Black Bourton, 
 anciently one of the seats of the Hungerford family, 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 47 
 
 had by marriage become the property of my father's 
 friend, Mr. Elers, whose residence it was at this time. 
 As the Elers family became afterwards nearly con- 
 nected with me, I think it necessary to my history, 
 to give some account of theirs ; particularly as there 
 is something uncommon in the rise and fall of their 
 fortunes. 
 
 Paul Elers, Esq., was descended from a German 
 family of some opulence. How or why the family 
 of Elerses came into England I know not : but I 
 know, that some of them were favourites of the 
 Elector of Mentz, of whom they had several pic- 
 tures ; I remember one in particular, that had been 
 dismantled of some diamonds, which, from their 
 setting, were probably of great value. The family, 
 declining in England, went over to Ireland, where 
 they engaged in business, and were so successful as 
 to breed up their daughters handsomely, and to 
 maintain their son at the Temple. This son, Paul 
 Elers, was my father's friend. Mr. Elers had applied 
 with such diligence to his studies, that he soon came 
 into reputable business at the English bar. While at 
 the Temple, he not only formed a friendship with my 
 father, but with several other gentlemen of good 
 conduct and creditable connexions. Among others 
 he was intimate with Mr. Grosvenor, a man of high 
 birth and impaired fortunes. Mr. Grosvenor had 
 played deeply, but it was in the best company ; and 
 in this society he was singled out by Mr. Hungerford, 
 who had an only daughter reputed to be heiress to 
 a great estate. Mr. Hungerford was pleased with 
 Mr. Grosvenor's manners, and expressed a wish, 
 that he should become his son-in-law, at the same 
 time honourably telling him, that there were some 
 
48 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 difficulties in making out a title to the estate. A 
 lawyer of abilities, and fit to be trusted with family 
 secrets, was consequently to be employed, to look 
 over the family papers, and to draw such deeds and 
 settlements as were necessary. Paul Elers w r as a man 
 of much legal ability and knowledge, of a sober 
 temper, and of a character to be relied on. To him 
 Mr. Grosvenor applied, and partly from friendship, 
 and partly from the prospect of a handsome remune- 
 ration, he prevailed on Mr. Elers to accompany him 
 to Black Bourton. Here Mr. Elers found a family 
 anxious to know the real situation of their affairs, and 
 to dispose of an only daughter, w r ho had never seen 
 the gentleman whom her friends had chosen for her 
 husband. Some legal formalities were necessary to 
 secure the estate to Mr. Grosvenor, who was to pos- 
 sess the whole of it, as the fortune of Miss Hunger- 
 ford. This lady had not much beauty, grace, or 
 dignity ; she was a plump, good natured, unfashioned 
 girl, with little knowledge of any sort, and with no 
 accomplishments. Mr. Grosvenor w T as not smitten 
 with his intended bride. A fortnight wore away in 
 turning over parchments, making out rent rolls, and 
 preparing the terrestrial possessions to be had and held 
 along with his angel. Mr. Grosvenor grew melan- 
 choly, and one fair morning expressed his disatisfac- 
 tion to Mr. Elers. " The girl is a sad incumbrance on 
 the estate," said he. His friend was of a different 
 opinion, and spoke of Miss Hungerford in terms that 
 astonished Mr. Grosvenor. " A thought," said Gros- 
 venor, " has just struck me ; suppose you were to 
 take the whole bargain off my hands ?" " Most 
 willingly," replied Elers, " if it were possible ; but I 
 fear that neither Mr. Hungerford nor his lady would 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 4Q 
 
 ever hear of such a proposal." Mr. Grosvenor saw 
 no impossibility. He openly and honourably told his 
 mind to the father and mother. The father liked 
 Mr. Elers, the mother was not so well disposed 
 towards him, but yielded to her husband's arguments ; 
 while the young lady, like Virgil's Lavinia, submitted 
 with blushes, and with becoming filial duty, to the 
 wishes of her parents. Mr. Grosvenor returned with 
 a light heart to London, delighted at his escape ; and 
 at having made the fortune of his friend, for such was 
 in all appearance the case. Young Elers had nothing 
 but his profession. He married the heiress, and by 
 his legal skill he was safely secured in the possession 
 of her fortune, an estate of eight hundred pounds a 
 year, highly improveable, well wooded, and within 
 a ring fence. To a young man without fortune or 
 connexion, such a match as this promised the means of 
 living in ease if not in affluence ; for such an estate, 
 seventy or eighty years ago, was equal to two 
 thousand a year in these days. 
 
 But Mr. Elers, by his marriage and new connex- 
 ions, was at once taken out of the line of life for 
 which he had been educated, and to which he was 
 suited by his talents and early habits. By his 
 application and good conduct, both as a man and 
 as a lawyer, he was coming fast into business, and 
 he had before his marriage a fair prospect of rising 
 to the foremost ranks of his profession. He now 
 became a country gentleman, without connexions, 
 except those of his wife, and without name or in- 
 fluence. He gave up his profession to please his 
 father-in-law, to whom he felt gratitude that did 
 him honor ; but besides he had considerable ex- 
 pectancies from Mr. Hungerford, and was bound 
 
 E 
 
50 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 to him by prudence as well as gratitude. That in- 
 dustry which had carried Mr. Elers through the 
 irksome study of his profession, entirely failed him 
 in his new situation. He knew nothing of country 
 business ; he had no taste for field sports, or for 
 the conversation of the neighbouring squires. He 
 had not acquired the habit of committing his thoughts 
 to writing, which prevented him from making any 
 practical use as an author of the stores which he 
 had laid up in his capacious memory. In short he 
 had no object in view, to excite his ambition. 
 Having no interest in the common routine of a 
 country life, he had little to do, and that little he 
 neglected. The family into which he married was 
 proud, and when an heir to the family was born, 
 no expense was spared to celebrate the important 
 event ; and as Mrs. Elers had in perfection one 
 essential quality of a wife, before her husband could 
 look about him, she had celebrated two or three 
 such festivals. The lady, had she been ever so 
 well versed in family economy, could not, during 
 such an incessant production of children, have been 
 of much service in managing the family. Beside 
 the servants necessary in a gentleman's family, there 
 were four or five nurses to be maintained, humored, 
 and kept from breaking the peace. Now Mrs. Elers 
 did not possess any one talent necessary for govern- 
 ing a family, except good humour; and this quality 
 in her arose in some degree from weakness, and 
 from hatred of trouble. A very old steward of the 
 Hungerford family managed all the business of the 
 estate ; a great part of which business consisted in 
 choosing, felling, and cutting up wood for fuel. 
 This poor little man, eighty years of age, used to 
 
K. L. EDGEW011T1I, ESQ. 51 
 
 be seen in the depth of winter, upon a little grey 
 horse with shaggy hair and a long flaxen mane and 
 tail, riding about the grounds, and seeming to 
 conduct a number of labourers, who did precisely 
 what they pleased. The value of the timber cut 
 down for tiring was more than equal to the price 
 of coals sufficient for the house, and the expense of 
 making it up for use was still greater. Every part 
 of the domestic expenditure was carried on in this 
 manner, so that in a few years after the death of 
 his father-in-law, Mr. Elers found himself in distress, 
 without having been guilty of the slightest extra- 
 vagance. About twelve years after his marriage, 
 he made an effort to increase his income by chamber- 
 practice, as a lawyer in the country. In a short 
 time business poured in upon him beyond his most 
 sanguine expectations ; and he had again a fan- 
 prospect of acquiring some provision for his family. 
 At this time the famous Oxford election took 
 place, and Mr. Elers was looked to by the Marl- 
 borough interest, as a proper person to conduct the 
 legal proceedings on that memorable occasion. 
 Mr. Charles Jenkinson was at the same time em- 
 ployed by the same party, and they were con- 
 sidered as candidates of equal pretensions in point 
 of abilities for the favor of those whom they 
 supported. What Mr. Jenkinson's connexions in 
 that country might be, I know not ; but Mr. Elers 
 lived among people, who happened to be opposed 
 to the interest which he now supported. His 
 legal acuteness, and to speak impartially, his 
 readiness to go all lengths, made him extremely 
 obnoxious to those, who had been formerly his best 
 friends and most lucrative clients. How far his com- 
 
 E 2 
 
52 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 plaisance led him I could never distinctly ascertain ; 
 but I have heard from both parties that he was 
 a useful and a zealous partizan. After the contest 
 was over, Mr. Elers returned home ; and as he was 
 too indolent to pay continual court at Blenheim, or 
 at the houses of his other great friends, he soon lost 
 the interest, which he had made among them. 
 Mr. Jenkinson, on the contrary, never quitted the 
 hold which he had gained, and having constant 
 intercourse with men in power, and being a person 
 of family and address, he advanced steadily in the 
 career of ambition to the height of ministerial emi- 
 nence. 
 
 From the time of the Oxford election, the efforts 
 that Mr. Elers made to advance himself consisted in 
 desultory visits to the houses of the great, and in 
 writing political letters. His letters, though saga- 
 cious and pertinent, yet, from his living at a distance 
 from the capital, generally came too late to be of any 
 service. His business as a lawyer forsook him, he 
 had become unpopular, his family rapidly increased, 
 the old steward doated, Mr. Elers left every thing to 
 his wife, and Mrs. Elers left every thing to her ser- 
 vants. Things were in this situation at Black- 
 Bourton, when I was introduced to the family by my 
 father. He had personally known little of Mr. Elers, 
 since their first friendship was formed at the Temple ; 
 but judging from his letters, my father considered him 
 as the same man of active mind and talents, and with 
 the same habits of business, which he had then ap- 
 peared to possess. It was, therefore, naturally a 
 great object with him, to place me on my first going 
 to Oxford under the care of a person whom he so 
 much esteemed, and of whose abilities he had such a 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 53 
 
 high opinion. The family at Black-Bourton at this 
 time consisted of Mrs. Elers, her mother Mrs. Hun- 
 gerford, and four grown up young ladies, besides 
 several children. The eldest son, an officer, was 
 absent. The young ladies, though far from being 
 beauties, were handsome ; and though destitute of 
 accomplishments, they were notwithstanding agree- 
 able, from an air of youth and simplicity, and from 
 unaffected good nature and gaiety. The person who 
 struck me most at my introduction to this family 
 group was Mrs. Hungerford. She was near eighty, 
 tall and majestic, with eyes that still retained un- 
 common lustre. She was not able to rise from her 
 chair without the assistance of one of her grand- 
 daughters ; but when she had risen, and stood leaning 
 on her tortoise-shell cane, she received my father, as 
 the friend of the family, with so much politeness, and 
 with so much grace, as to eclipse all the young 
 people by whom she was surrounded. Mrs. Hunger- 
 ford was a Blake, connected with the Norfolk family. 
 She had formerly been the wife of Sir Alexander 
 Kenned}^, whom Mr. Hungerford killed in a duel in 
 Blenheim Park. Why she dropped her title in mar- 
 rying Mr. Hungerford I know not, nor can I tell how 
 he persuaded the beautiful widow to marry him after 
 he had killed her husband. Mr. Hungerford brought 
 her into the retirement of Black-Bourton, the ancient 
 seat of his family, an excellent but antiquated house, 
 with casement windows, divided by stone frame-work, 
 the principal rooms wainscoted with oak, of which 
 the antiquity might be guessed from the varnish it 
 had acquired from time. In the large hall were hung 
 spears, and hunting tackle, and armour, and trophies 
 of war and of the chase, and a portrait, not of 
 
54 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 exquisite painting, of the gallant Sir Edward Hunger- 
 ford. This portrait had been removed hither from 
 Farley Castle, the principal seat of the family. In 
 the history of Mrs. Hungerford there was something 
 mysterious, which was not, as I perceived, known to 
 the younger part of the family. I made no enquiries 
 from Mr. Elers, but I observed, that she was for a 
 certain time in the day invisible. She had an apart- 
 ment to herself above stairs, containing three or four 
 rooms ; when she was below stairs, we used to make 
 a short way from one side of the house to the other, 
 through her rooms, which occupied nearly one side of 
 a quadrangle, of which the house consisted. One 
 day, forgetting that she was in her room, and her 
 door by accident not having been locked, I suddenly 
 entered : I saw her kneeling before a crucifix, which 
 was placed upon her toilette ; her beautiful eyes 
 streaming with tears, and cast up to Heaven with 
 the most fervent devotion ; her silver locks flowing 
 down her shoulders ; the remains of exquisite beauty, 
 grace, and dignity, in her whole figure. I had not, 
 till I saw her at these her private devotions, known 
 that she was a catholic ; nor had I, till I saw her 
 tears of contrition, any reason to suppose that she 
 thought herself a penitent. The scene struck me, 
 young as I was, and more gay than young — her 
 tears seemed to comfort, not to depress her — and for 
 the first time since my childhood I was convinced, 
 that the consolations of religion are fully equal to its 
 terrors. She was so much in earnest, that she did 
 not perceive me ; and I fortunately had time to 
 withdraw without having disturbed her devotions. 
 
 But to pursue my own history : I received an un- 
 limited invitation to Black-Bourton, and soon became 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 55 
 
 one of the family. I laughed, and talked, and sang 
 with the ladies, and read Cicero and Longinus with 
 their father, who, notwithstanding my youth, and my 
 propensity to female society, filled many of my hours 
 with agreeable conversation. Having entered Corpus 
 Christi College, Oxford, I applied assiduously not 
 only to my studies, under my excellent tutor 
 Mr. Russell*, but also to the perusal of the best 
 English writers, both in prose and verse. Scarcely a 
 day passed without my having added to my stock of 
 knowledge some new fact or idea ; and I remember 
 with satisfaction, the pleasure I then felt, from the 
 consciousness of intellectual improvement. 
 
 I had the good fortune to make acquaintance with 
 the young men, the most distinguished at Corpus 
 Christi for application, abilities, and good conduct. 
 When I mention Sir James M'Donaldf, and those 
 with whom he lived, as my companions, I need add 
 nothing more. 
 
 My acquaintance with Sir James commenced at 
 the fencing school of Paniotti, a native of one of 
 the Greek islands, a fine old Grecian, full of senti- 
 ments of honour and courage, and of a most inde- 
 pendent spirit. 
 
 Mr. L., a young gentleman of a noble family and 
 of abilities, but of overbearing maimers, was our 
 fellow pupil under Paniotti. At the same school we 
 met a young man of small fortune, and in a subor- 
 dinate situation at Maudlin. He fenced in a regular 
 way, and much better than Mr. L., who, in revenge, 
 
 * Father of the gentleman who is now at the head of the 
 Charter House. 
 
 f See Lettres de Madame du Deffand, and Tweddell's Remains. 
 
56 .MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ■would sometimes take a stiff foil that our master 
 used for parrying, and pretending to fence, would 
 thrust it with great violence against his antagonist. 
 The young man submitted for some time to this foul 
 play, but at last he appealed to Paniotti, and to such 
 of his pupils as were present. Paniotti, though he 
 had expectancies from the patronage of the father of 
 his nobly born pupil, yet without hesitation condemned 
 his conduct. 
 
 One day, in defiance of L.'s bullying pride, I pro- 
 posed to fence with him, armed as he was with this 
 unbending foil, on condition that he should not 
 thrust at my face ; but at the very first opportunity 
 he drove the foil into my mouth. I went to the 
 door, broke off the buttons of two foils, turned the 
 key in the lock, and offered one of these extem- 
 poraneous swords to my antagonist, who very 
 prudently declined the invitation. 
 
 This person afterwards shewed through life an 
 unprincipled and cowardly disposition. The young 
 man, who had at first borne with him with so much 
 temper, distinguished himself in afterlife in the army. 
 I mention the circumstance in which I was concerned, 
 because I believe it contributed to my being well 
 received at first among my fellow students at Oxford. 
 I remember with gratitude, that I was liked by them, 
 and I recollect with pleasure the delightful and profit- 
 able hours I passed at that University during three 
 years of my life. 
 
 Doctor Randolph was at that time president of 
 Corpus Christi College. With great learning and 
 many excellent qualities, he had some singularities, 
 which produced nothing more injurious from his 
 friends than a smile. He had the habit of muttering 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 57 
 
 upon the most trivial occasions, " Mors omnibus com- 
 munis." One day his horse stumbled upon Maudlin 
 bridge, and the resigned president let his bridle go, 
 and drawing up the waistband of his breeches as he 
 sat bolt upright, he exclaimed before a crowded 
 audience, "Mors omnibus communis /" The same 
 simplicity of character appeared in various instances, 
 and it was mixed with a mildness of temper, that 
 made him generally beloved by the young students. 
 The worthy Doctor was indulgent to us all, but to 
 me in particular upon one occasion, where I fear that 
 I tried his temper more than I ought to have done. 
 The gentlemen-commoners were not obliged to attend 
 early chapel on any days but Sunday and Thursday ; 
 I had been too frequently absent, and the president 
 was determined to rebuke me before my companions. 
 " Sir," said he to me as we came out of chapel one 
 Sunday, " You never attend Thursday prayers." 
 "I do sometimes, Sir," I replied. " I did not see 
 you here last Thursday. And, Sir," cried the pre- 
 sident, rising into anger, " I will have nobody in my 
 college," (ejaculating a certain customary guttural 
 noise, something between a cough and the sound of a 
 postman's horn,) " Sir, I will have nobody in my 
 college that does not attend chapel. I did not see 
 3'ou at chapel last Thursday." " Mr. President," said 
 I, with a most profound reverence, " it was impos- 
 sible that you should see nie, for you were not there 
 yourself." 
 
 Instead of being more exasperated by my answer, 
 the anger of the good old man fell immediately. 
 He recollected and instantly acknowledged, that he 
 had not been in chapel on that day. It was the only 
 Thursday on which he had been absent for three 
 
58 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 years. Turning to me with great suavity, he invited 
 me to drink tea that evening with him and his 
 daughter. This indulgent president's good humor 
 made more salutary impression on the young men he 
 governed, than has been ever effected by the morose 
 manners of any unrelenting disciplinarian. 
 
 During the assizes at Oxford, the gownsmen are or 
 were permitted to seat themselves in the courts. In 
 most country courts there is a considerable share of 
 noise and confusion ; but at Oxford the din and 
 interruption were beyond any thing I have ever 
 witnessed ; the young men were not in the least 
 solicitous to preserve decorum, and the judges were 
 unwilling to be severe upon the students. A man 
 was tried for some felony, the judge had charged the 
 jury, and called on the foreman, who seemed to be a 
 decent farmer, for a verdict. While the judge turned 
 his head aside to speak to somebody, the foreman of 
 the jury, who had not heard the evidence or the 
 judge's charge, asked me, who was behind him, and 
 whom he had observed to be attentive to the trial, 
 what verdict he should give. Struck with the injus- 
 tice and illegality of this procedure, I stood up and 
 addressed the judges Wills and Smith. " My 
 Lords," said I. — " Sit down, Sir," said the judge. 
 — " My Lord, I request to be heard for one 
 moment." — The judge grew angry. — " Sir, your 
 gown shall not protect you, I must punish you 
 if you persist." — By this time the eyes of the whole 
 court were turned upon me ; but feeling that I was 
 in the right I persevered. " My Lord, I must lay 
 a circumstance before you which has just hap- 
 pened." The judge still imagining that I had some 
 complaint to make relative to myself, ordered the 
 
R. L. EDGEWOKTH, ESQ. 59 
 
 sheriff to remove me. — " My Lord, you will commit 
 me if you think proper, but in the mean time I must 
 declare, that the foreman of this jury is going to de- 
 liver an illegal verdict, for he has not heard the 
 evidence, and he has asked me what verdict he ought 
 to give." 
 
 The judge from the bench made me an apology for 
 his hastiness, and added a few words of strong appro- 
 bation. This was of use to me, by tending to increase 
 my self-possession in public, and my desire to take an 
 active part in favour of justice. 
 
 During vacations, I went to Bath. There I was in 
 imminent danger of being made a coxcomb, by the 
 notice that was taken of me for my dancing. Fortu- 
 nately, my success in that important art was so com- 
 plete, as to wear out, before I was twenty, all 
 ambition or vanity upon the subject. I was so much 
 praised for this trifling accomplishment, so much 
 invited as a good dancer, and taken so little notice of 
 for any thing else, that, disgusted and ashamed of 
 nrvself, I soon began to avoid exhibiting my saltatory 
 talents, and I seldom danced except when it was 
 necessary to make up a set, or to gain an opportunity 
 of conversing with some lady who was agreeable 
 to me. 
 
 Bath was at this time filled with the best company. 
 I had now an opportunity of seeing something of 
 what is called the world, and of making some obser- 
 vations on characters and manners. 
 
 I remember that I was particularly struck with the 
 appearance of the then Duke of Devonshire. He had 
 retired from the court in disgust, and the chagrin 
 visible in his countenance made me early perceive, 
 that the smiles or frowns of princes have more power 
 
60 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 over the happiness of some human beings, than those 
 who are at a distance from sovereigns can conceive. 
 I saw at the same time ambition on a smaller scale 
 gratified, yet exposed to a certain degree of ridicule ; 
 I saw Beau Nash, the subject of a well known epi- 
 gram, the popular monarch of Bath, whose willing 
 subjects paid him the most implicit and cheerful 
 obedience. Nearly at the same time I saw the wit, 
 who had reigned despotically for above half a century 
 over the world of fashion. I saw the remains of the 
 celebrated Lord Chesterfield. I looked in vain for 
 that fire, which we expect to see in the eye of a man 
 of wit and genius. He was obviously unhappy, and 
 a melancholy spectacle. The wise and good Lord 
 Littleton was at Bath during this season. Lord 
 Huntingdon, who was just returned from his Spanish 
 embassy, also came there to meet, as it was supposed, 
 the Duke de Nivernois, who made his appearance 
 for a few days in the rooms. The Due de Nivernois' 
 very small hat, with a most splendid diamond button, 
 attracted the beaus and belles more than his Excel- 
 lency's person, which was low, slight, and not remark- 
 able for beauty. Among other witticisms of the 
 day, it was said, that the size of his hat was dimin- 
 ished by the loss of the Canada fur trade — a loss to 
 the French, which occurred about this period. 
 
 Among all these men of rank and celebrity, Quin, 
 the actor, was not the personage least distinguished 
 in the pump room at Bath ; and at the tavern, " the 
 Three Tuns" he was " without a rival and without a 
 judge." Another gentleman, famous in another species 
 of epicurism, made no inconsiderable figure among 
 the fair sex; — Mr. Medlicott, of gallant memory. 
 He was my first cousin, and of course I was acquainted 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 6l 
 
 with him. My father, notwithstanding he was a 
 grave man, and of strict morality and piety, felt some 
 fondness for his profligate nephew ; but he had the 
 prudence to put me on my guard against the danger 
 of his society. In fact, the dissolute conduct, and 
 more dissolute conversation of my cousin, served 
 rather to disgust than to allure me. Upon the whole 
 this season at Bath was of use to me, both as to 
 morals and manners. It formed my manners by 
 familiarizing me with the best that were then in 
 fashion ; and it wore away in good company that 
 bashfulness, which is frequently converted, by living 
 in other society, into determined awkwardness or im- 
 pudence. My father, believing that it would be 
 necessary for my happiness to marry early, prudently 
 introduced me during this season at Bath to families, 
 where there were daughters such as he thought would 
 be suitable matches for me. I became acquainted 
 with several agreeable young ladies, with whom as 
 their partner in the ball-room I had opportunities of 
 of conversing. I soon perceived, that those who 
 made the best figure in a ball-room were not always 
 qualified to please in conversation ; I saw, that beauty 
 and grace were sometimes accompanied by a frivolous 
 character, by disgusting envy, or despicable vanity. 
 All this I had read of in poetry and prose ; but there 
 is a wide difference, especially among young people, 
 between what is read or related, and what is actually 
 seen. Books and advice make much more impression 
 in proportion as we grow older. We find by degrees, 
 that those who lived before us have recorded as the 
 result of their experience the very things that we 
 observe to be true. We do not, therefore, continue 
 as we advance in life, to wait for the conviction of 
 
62 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 our own individual experience ; but we endeavour to 
 profit by the example and remarks of others. My 
 observations, however, on female manners and charac- 
 ter, and my good father's prudence, did not act time 
 enough to prevent my precipitation. 
 
 Before I went to Bath, one of the young ladies at 
 Black-Bourton had attracted my attention ; I had 
 paid my court to her, and I felt myself insensibly 
 entangled so completely, that I could not find any 
 honourable means of extrication. I have not to 
 reproach myself with any deceit, or suppression of 
 the truth. On my return to Black-Bourton, I did not 
 conceal the altered state of my mind, but having 
 engaged the affections of the young lady, I married 
 while I was yet a youth at college. I resolved to 
 meet the disagreeable consequences of such a step 
 with fortitude, and without being dispirited by the 
 loss of the society to which I had been accustomed. 
 I determined to submit to the displeasure of my father 
 with respectful firmness. My mother, though her 
 hopes of me had always been higher than those of my 
 father, yet softened his anger, by suppressing her own 
 feelings of disappointment ; and my kind sister, who 
 was a favourite with my father, used all her influence 
 in my favour. By her tears and supplications she 
 obtained his forgiveness. As I was under age I had 
 married in Scotland; but a few months afterwards, 
 my father had me re-married by licence with his 
 consent. I had a son before I was twenty; and I 
 soon afterwards took my wife to Edge worth- Town, 
 to pass a year with my father and mother. Alas ! 
 that excellent mother lived only a few days after 
 our arrival. She saw my wife, but could form no 
 judgment of her character. My mother, therefore, 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 63 
 
 exerted herself no more than just to shew her kind- 
 ness. 
 
 On the morning of the day on which my mother 
 died, she called me to her bedside, and told me with 
 a sort of pleasure, that she felt she should die before 
 night. She expressed the following sentiment — " If 
 there is a state of just retribution in another world I 
 must be happy, for I have suffered during the greatest 
 part of my life, and I know that I did not deserve it 
 by my thoughts or actions." 
 
 She then communicated to me with great tender- 
 ness such remarks upon my character, as she had 
 formed by long and attentive observation. It was 
 then she said to me those words, which I have 
 recorded* as the advice of an excellent and wise 
 mother, given with her dying breath. — " My son, 
 learn how to say no." — She warned me further of an 
 error, into which from the vivacity of my temper I 
 was most likely to fall — " Your inventive faculty," 
 said she, " will lead you eagerly into new plans ; and 
 you may be dazzled by some new scheme, before you 
 have finished, or fairly tried what you have begun. — 
 Resolve to finish, never procrastinate." 
 
 These were the last connected sentences that she 
 uttered. The advice made a due and lasting impres- 
 sion upon my mind : after a long life, I cannot now 
 look back upon any part of my conduct, in which I 
 neglected this salutary monition. It is a favourite 
 opinion of many, and it was in particular a favourite 
 opinion of my friend Mr. Day, that people never 
 profit by advice ; my experience has taught me to 
 believe otherwise. I have frequently profited by the 
 
 * Preface to Vivian. 
 
64 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 counsel of my friends, and have frequently known, 
 that others have profited by that which I have had 
 opportunities of giving. 
 
 I must be permitted to say a few words more of a 
 mother, to whom I owe so much. 
 
 I believe I have mentioned, that, a few hours after 
 my birth, she by some mismanagement lost the use 
 of one arm, and almost of her left side. She was 
 afterwards afflicted with the stone, so that she lived 
 in a continual state of bodily pain ; and in a word, 
 her health was most deplorable. Yet under all these 
 afflictions she was cheerful, and had the full use of 
 her excellent understanding. Literature was not the 
 fashion of the times when she was young. My 
 grandmother, as I have been informed, was singularly 
 averse to all learning in a lady, beyond reading the 
 Bible, and being able to cast up a week's household 
 account. By what accident my mother acquired an 
 early and a decided taste for knowledge of all sorts, 
 I never heard ; but her application and perseverance 
 were probably stimulated by the preventive measures, 
 that my grandmother took to hinder her from wasting 
 time upon books. My mother told me, that she 
 frequently excused herself from going to public places 
 and private parties, that she might obtain an oppor- 
 tunity of reading some favorite author. Partly from 
 good sense in her choice, and partly from her good 
 fortune in meeting with their works, the best authors 
 were her favorites. And at time when Stella and 
 Mrs. Delany were looked up to as persons of a 
 different class from the ladies, who were commonly 
 to be met with in the best circles in Ireland, my 
 mother had stored her mind with more literature, 
 than she ever allowed to appear in common conver- 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 65 
 
 sation. The fruits of this early application amply 
 repaid her for the pains which she had taken to 
 cultivate her mind. When she was incapacitated by 
 disease from any other enjoyment, she was enabled to 
 lull the sense of pain by the charms of literature, and 
 by the course of her own thoughts. I remember, 
 though I was but a child when I heard them, various 
 conversations between her and my father upon points 
 of history, and about opinions upon religious subjects, 
 in which it appeared to me, that my mother generally 
 had the advantage : this I collected sometimes from 
 comparing such of their arguments as I could in some 
 measure comprehend ; and at other times, when third 
 persons competent to decide were present, I per- 
 ceived that they usually inclined to the side which 
 my mother adopted. Beside fortitude under real 
 sufferings, exemplary piety, an excellent understand- 
 ing, and much decision of character, she had the most 
 generous disposition that I ever met with ; not only 
 that common generosity, which parts with money, or 
 money's worth, freely, and almost without the right 
 hand knowing what the left hand doth ; but she had 
 also an entire absence of selfish consideration. Her 
 own wishes or opinions were never pursued merely 
 because they were her own ; the ease and comfort of 
 every body about her were necessary for her well- 
 being. Every distress, as far as her fortune, or her 
 knowledge, or her wit or eloquence could reach, was 
 alleviated or removed ; and, above all, she could 
 forgive, and sometimes even forget injuries. In her 
 own family, domestic order, decent economy, and 
 plenty were combined ; and to the education of her 
 children her whole mind was bent from every ordinary 
 
66 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 occupation. She had read every thing that had been 
 written on the subject of education, and preferred 
 with sound judgment the opinions of Locke. To 
 these, with modifications suggested by her own good 
 sense, she steadily adhered ; and to the influence of 
 her instructions and authority I owe the happiness 
 of my life. 
 
R L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 67 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 As it was necessary that I should levy a fine of a 
 small estate, that had been left to me by an uncle, 
 my father kept me in Ireland for a year after my 
 marriage. During that time I read some law, and 
 more science. To amuse myself, I made, with in- 
 different tools, and with the assistance of an indif- 
 ferent turner, a wooden orrery, that represented the 
 motions of the sun, moon, and earth. I was then 
 destitute of books to assist me, but I calculated the 
 wheel-work accurately, and invented a movement, to 
 represent the obliquity of the moon's orbit, and its 
 change, which I afterwards found to be the same as 
 what is usually employed in this sort of machinery. 
 I never passed twelve months with less pleasure or 
 improvement: no person of my family had any 
 taste for the scientific employments in which I was 
 occupied, and my young wife in particular had but 
 little sympathy with my tastes. I felt the incon- 
 venience of an early and hasty marriage ; and though 
 I heartily repented my folly, I determined to bear 
 with firmness and temper the evil, which I had brought 
 upon myself. Perhaps pride had some share in my 
 resolution. 
 
 In the autumn of 1765 I returned to England, and 
 stopped for a few days at Chester, where my wife's 
 aunt resided. By accident I was invited to see the 
 
 r 2 
 
68 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Microcosm, a mechanical exhibition, which was then 
 frequented by every body at Chester. Beside some 
 frivolous moving pictures, the machine represented 
 various motions of the heavenly bodies with neatness 
 and precision. The movements of the figures, both 
 of men and animals, in the pictures, were highly inge- 
 nious. I returned so frequently to examine them, 
 that the person who shewed the exhibition was in- 
 duced to let me see the internal structure of the whole 
 machinery. In the course of conversation, he men- 
 tioned the names of some ingenious gentlemen, whom 
 he had met with at different places where he had ex- 
 hibited, and among the rest he spoke of Dr. Darwin, 
 whom he had met at Lichfield. He described to me 
 a carriage, which the Doctor had invented. It was 
 so constructed as to turn in a small compass, without 
 danger of oversetting, and without the incumbrance 
 of a crane-necked perch. I determined to try my 
 skill in coach-making, and to endeavour to obtain 
 similar advantages in a carnage of my own construc- 
 tion. As I had no particular object to engage my 
 attention, I had great pleasure in looking forward to 
 this scheme, as a source of employment and amuse- 
 ment. Had I been present at this time of my life in 
 the House of Commons during an animated debate, 
 the subject of which had been level to my capacity, 
 and to the actual state of my knowledge, it is more 
 than probable, that I should have turned my thoughts 
 and my ambition to parliamentary instead of to scien- 
 tific pursuits. 
 
 One evening, whilst I was at Chester, as I was 
 walking with my wife on the walls, I saw at a dis- 
 tance an officer, with whom I had been formerly 
 acquainted when at college in Dublin. I knew him 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 6Q 
 
 to be one of those dangerous people, who, when they 
 are drunk, "run a muck" at all they meet, without 
 distinguishing friend or foe. I perceived that he was 
 intoxicated, and I observed that he lifted up the 
 bonnet of every lady he met, to examine her face. 
 To avoid the quarrel, which must have necessarily 
 ensued if he had taken this liberty with my wife, and 
 finding that I was too near him to retreat, I instantly 
 led her up to him, and introduced her as the bride of 
 his old friend. This not only averted the disagree- 
 able consequences, which would have probably ensued 
 had we met in another manner, but it also prevented 
 him from insulting any body else whilst we continued 
 together. The most unoffending persons are liable 
 sometimes to the dangers of affronts from the folly 
 and intemperance of others ; and it is much wiser to 
 run the risk of offending such persons, by fairly meet- 
 ing them, than to wait for the attack of their ca- 
 pricious humour. I lately (in 1807) happened to see 
 this gentleman again, and adverted to the circun> 
 stance. Age had subdued the petulance of his 
 character, but had not effaced the remembrance of 
 his. youthful follies. He acknowledged, that my pru- 
 dence had made a strong and salutary impression upon 
 him at the time, and had probably been of use to him 
 in preventing similar eccentric sallies. 
 
 From Chester, I went to Black-Bourton, where I 
 found the family in great distress. Mr. Elers w T as by 
 the malice of an enemy confined for debt. The 
 decline of the fortunes of this family was not occa- 
 sioned by any extravagance, but brought on by that 
 indolence of character in the head of the house*, 
 which I had remarked in my first acquaintance with 
 him. This was afterwards much increased, and added 
 
70 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 to it was the habit of castle-building. He was con- 
 tinually forming projects of future aggrandizement, 
 upon the civil hopes which were given to him by 
 letters from courtiers ; hopes, which he magnified 
 into positive promises. In reward for his services at 
 the famous Oxford Election, nothing was done for 
 him, except that an ensign's commission was presented 
 to his eldest son. Yet, though experience did not 
 justify his hopes from the great, still he hoped on 
 from day to day. I have seen him sit hour after hour 
 in his arm-chair by the fireside, picking cinders from 
 the hearth, and throwing them into the grate : or with 
 his elbows on his knees he would hang over the 
 embers of a wood fire, and from time to time, as any 
 bright idea struck him, he would utter a short cough 
 or ejaculation, sounding like Hein ! Heing ! A 
 sign of secret self-satisfaction in the schemes he was 
 planning. 
 
 But while day after day, and year after year, he 
 went on in this manner, building splendid castles in 
 the air, his ancient and magnificent habitation was 
 falling piecemeal to ruins, and his children, for want 
 of ordinary instruction, were growing up in absolute 
 ignorance. Some of the children learned to write 
 from an itinerant writing master, who fortunately was 
 pleased with the simplicity and goodness of his 
 pupils, so that he had taken pains sufficient to teach 
 them to write and spell tolerably well, and to add 
 pounds, shillings, and pence with facility ; beyond 
 this they had learned nothing. Of the meaning of 
 many common words in their own language they had 
 no discriminating notion, farther than that such an 
 adjective meant to express good or bad, approbation 
 or disapprobation. Yet, while he thus neglected his 
 
R,L. EDGE WORTH, ESQ. 71 
 
 own children, Mr. Elers was assiduous in assisting 
 my studies, not only by conversation and advice, but 
 by laborious extracts from books. During his con- 
 finement I used frequently to visit him, and to 
 endeavour by my conversation and attentions, to 
 soften the rigour of his situation. I seldom returned 
 without several sheets of extracts, which between the 
 intervals of my visits he had made for my instruction 
 from the books he was reading. These extracts he 
 enriched with his own judicious remarks. Half this 
 trouble bestowed upon his young children would have 
 given them an education far superior to any they 
 could obtain from the temporary lessons of an itine- 
 rant master. I relate these facts, not from any want 
 of gratitude to my excellent friend and kind father- 
 in-law, but to point out an error that is too common, 
 the bestowing on some as a gift what is due to others 
 as a debt. 
 
 His taste for literature was to Mr. Elers himself 
 a great support even in his most adverse circum- 
 stances. In my frequent visits to him at this time, 
 I always found him resigned and cheerful, enjoying 
 his constant resource in books, and applying him- 
 self to modern learning in his old age, with the same 
 assiduity as he had in his youth applied to classical 
 studies. 
 
 Mean time Mrs. Elers was left to manage as well 
 as she could at Black-Bourton, and to take care of 
 a number of helpless children, some of whom were 
 but seven or eight years old. I stayed among them 
 for some months, endeavouring to give to the 
 youngest the first rudiments of education, and trying 
 to conduct the affairs of the family in the best 
 manner in my power. It was at last necessary that 
 
72 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 I should leave them, and think of my own estab- 
 lishment. 
 
 Before I quit Oxfordshire, I may, though uncon- 
 nected with my own affairs, mention a remarkable 
 circumstance, that happened in the family of a 
 gentleman in that neighbourhood. Mr. Lenthall 
 (descended from the speaker Lenthall) lived at 
 Burford, within a few miles of Black-Bourton. This 
 gentleman, who was a very good master, had a very 
 good butler. One morning the butler came to his 
 master with a letter in his hand, and rubbing his 
 forehead in that indescribable maimer, which is an 
 introduction to something which the person does not 
 well know how to communicate, he told Mr. Lenthall, 
 that he was very sorry to be obliged to quit his 
 service. — " Why, what is the matter, John ? has 
 any body offended you ? I thought you were as 
 happy as any man could be in your situation ? " — 
 " Yes, please your honor, that's not the thing, but 
 I have just got a prize in the lottery of 3,000/., and 
 I have all my life had a wish to live for one twelve- 
 month like a man of two of three thousand a year ; 
 and all I ask of your honor is, that, when I have 
 spent the money, you will take me back again into 
 your service." — " That is a promise," said Mr. Len- 
 thall, "which I believe I may safely make, as there 
 is very little probability of your wishing to return 
 to be a butler, after having lived as a gentleman." 
 
 Mr. Lenthall was however mistaken. John spent 
 nearly the amount of his ticket in less than a year. 
 He had previously bought himself a small annuity 
 to provide for his old age ; when he had spent all 
 the rest of his money, he actually returned to the 
 service of Mr. Lenthall, and I saw him standing at 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 73 
 
 the sideboard at the time when I was in that 
 country. 
 
 When I quitted Black-Bonrton, I removed to a 
 house, which I had taken upon the common at Hare 
 Hatch, between Reading and Maidenhead, in Berk- 
 shire. I had still several terms to keep, before I 
 could be called to the bar, and in the mean time 
 it was necessary for me to live upon a small allow- 
 ance from my father. My establishment at Hare 
 Hatch was on a very moderate footing. I kept a 
 phaeton with a pair of poneys ; a man who took care 
 of them, and of the garden ; one man and two maid 
 servants. By the good economy of my wife we lived 
 comfortably. She superintended the care of the 
 garden, which, under her management, was always 
 productive. I had no farm, or any occupation out of 
 doors. The neighbouring houses on the common 
 were inhabited by wealthy but unostentatious people, 
 who were in general contented to visit each other 
 at tea time in the evening, where a game at cards 
 and conversation entertained us till ten o'clock, when 
 we retired to our respective homes. When I look 
 back to this period of my life, I cannot help observ- 
 ing the change of tastes, which has taken place 
 in my mind since that time. I then played at cards 
 three or four times a week ; my amusements have 
 long since been very different : thirty, I may say al- 
 most forty, years of my life have since passed without 
 a pack of cards having been opened in my house. 
 
 While I resided at Hare Hatch, I was in want of 
 amusement, and had no cultivated society. My 
 workshop, and frequent visits to smiths and coach- 
 makers, and workmen of various sorts, at Reading, 
 occupied the greatest part of the day. My reading 
 
74 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 was chiefly scientific. It was not till some time 
 afterwards, that I applied myself to general literature ; 
 nor till many years afterwards did I suppose, that 
 I should ever become an author. When I went to 
 London to keep term at the Temple, I became 
 acquainted with my brother-in-law, Captain Elers, 
 who lived much with three elderly ladies, Mrs. Blakes, 
 in Great Russel Street, Bloomsbury. He soon grew 
 attached to me, and, indeed, I found him to be one 
 of the best creatures that ever existed. With him 
 I went frequently to the Mrs. Blakes, who were 
 nearly related to the Elers' family. Here I met with 
 people of rank, and particularly with such as deserve 
 the highest rank in society, those who were intent 
 upon doing good. They were many of them indeed 
 neither young nor fashionable ; but they were polite 
 and well-informed, eager to show attention to the 
 old ladies whom they visited, and to entertain them 
 by relating what was passing in the world. The 
 Mrs. Blakes seldom went out themselves. 
 
 At this time, the celebrated Comus exhibited a 
 variety of scientific deceptions in London. I soon 
 discovered many of his secrets. As it was the 
 fashion to go to see him, his tricks became the 
 general subject of conversation ; and I was able to en- 
 tertain a number of Mrs. Blakes' friends, who were top 
 old or too indolent to go to his exhibition. Among 
 the ladies who visited the Mrs. Blakes was a Miss 
 Dalston, the famous " Fanny, blooming fair," whom 
 Lord Chesterfield has celebrated. She was related 
 both to my wife and to Sir Francis Delaval by the 
 Blakes. One evening, when she was of the company 
 assembled at Mrs. Blakes', after I had been amusing 
 them with some of Comus's feats, she told us, that 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 75 
 
 her relation, Sir Francis Delaval, had also discovered 
 these secrets, and that he believed himself to be the 
 only man in England who possessed them. " I shall, 
 however," said she, " inform him, that I have another 
 cousin as wise as he is." 
 
 This slight circumstance first introduced me to the 
 acquaintance of Sir Francis Delaval. I beg the reader 
 distinctly to understand, that my acquaintance with 
 Sir Francis commenced but two or three years before 
 his death. He invited me to his house, where, in six 
 weeks, I saw more of what is called the world, than 
 I should probably have seen elsewhere in as many 
 years. I was about two and twenty. Much of what 
 passed before my eyes was not at first perfectly dis- 
 tinct ; but I observed, and by degrees, various cir- 
 cumstances that seemed to me extraordinary, and 
 sometimes unaccountable, arranged themselves so as 
 to become scenes as it were of a real comedy — Comedy, 
 I may say, as to the representation before my eyes, 
 but such as had frequently tragic consequences. 
 
 At first our joint exhibition of wonders occupied 
 my attention. After arranging our contrivances in 
 the house in Downing Street, where Sir Francis lived, 
 by preconcerted confederacy, we had it in our power 
 to execute surprising feats. Company of all sorts 
 crowded our exhibitions. Sir Francis was known to 
 every body ; but I, as a stranger, was not suspected 
 of being combined with the archfiend in deceiving 
 the spectators. Feats, physically impossible without 
 such assistance, were performed by seeming magic, 
 and many were seriously alarmed by the prodigies 
 which they witnessed. The ingenuity of some of 
 the contrivances, that were employed in our decep- 
 tions, attracted the notice not only of those who 
 
76 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 sought mere amusement, but of men of letters and 
 science, who came to our exhibitions. This circum- 
 stance was highly grateful to Sir Francis, and advan- 
 tageous to me. I, by these means, became acquainted 
 with many men of eminence, to whom I could not at 
 that period of my life have otherwise obtained familiar 
 access. Among the number were Dr. Knight, of the 
 British Museum ; Dr. Watson ; Mr. Wilson ; Mr. Es- 
 pinasse, the electrician ; Foote, the author and actor, 
 a man, who, beside his well known humour, possessed 
 a considerable fund of real feeling ; Macklin ; and all 
 the famous actors of the day. They resorted to a 
 constant table, which was open to men of genius and 
 merit, in every department of literature and science. 
 I cannot say, that his guests were always " unelbowed 
 by a player ;" but I can truly assert, that none but 
 those who were an honor to the stage, and who were 
 admitted into the best company at other houses, were 
 received at Sir Francis Delaval's. Macklin was our 
 frequent visitor, as he was consulted as to every 
 thing that was necessary for the getting up of a play, 
 in which the late Duke of York was to be the prin- 
 cipal actor. On this occasion I was requested by 
 Sir Francis to fit up a theatre in Petty France, near 
 the gate of the Park, and no trouble and expense were 
 spared, to render it suitable to the reception of a royal 
 performer. " The Fair Penitent" was the chosen 
 piece, and the parts were cast in the following manner, 
 
 Sciolto - - - Mr. J. Delaval. 
 
 Horatio - Sir F. Delaval. 
 
 Altamont - - - Sir J. Wrottesly. 
 
 Lothario - The Duke of York. 
 
 Calista ... Lady Stanhope. 
 
 Lavinia - - - Lady Mexborough. 
 
K. h. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 77 
 
 The play was, as to some parts, extremely well 
 performed. Calista was admirably acted by Lady 
 Stanhope, and Horatio by Sir Francis. Sciolto was 
 very well, and Lothario was as warm, as hasty, and 
 as much in love, as the fair Calista could possibly 
 wish. After the piece, Sir Francis and his friends 
 from the real theatres retired to sup, and to criticise, 
 at the King's Arms, Covent Garden. It was singular 
 that Sir Francis, who was the projector of the scheme, 
 preferred supping with his critical friends to par- 
 taking of an entertainment with the Duke of York, 
 and a splendid company. I accompanied Sir Francis 
 Delaval, and we passed a most agreeable evening. 
 The company were, in fact, all performing amusing 
 parts, though they were off the stage. After we had 
 supped, Macklin called for a nightcap, and threw 
 off his wig. This, it was whispered to me, was a 
 signal of his intention to be entertaining. Plays, play- 
 wrights, enunciation, action, every thing belonging to 
 eloquence of every species, was discussed. Angelo, 
 the graceful fencing master, and Bensley, the actor, 
 were of the party ; Angelo was consulted by Bensley, 
 on what he ought to do with his hands while he was 
 speaking. Angelo told him, that it was impossible 
 to prescribe what he should always do with them ; 
 but that it was easy to tell him what should not be 
 done — "he should not put them into his breeches' 
 pockets " — a custom to which poor Bensley was much 
 addicted. 
 
 Pronunciation was discussed ; the faults in our 
 language in this particular were copiously enumerated. 
 " For instance," said Macklin, "Pare me a pair of 
 pears." You may take three words out of this sen- 
 tence of the same sound, but of different meaning, 
 
78 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and I defy any man to pronounce them in such a 
 manner as to discriminate the sounds, or to mark to 
 any ear by his pronunciation, the difference between 
 the verb, to pare, the noun of number, a pair, and the 
 fruit, pear. The pompous Bensley undertook that 
 Powel, who was remarkable for a good ear, should do 
 this. Bensley, who mouthed prodigiously whilst he 
 spoke, was put behind a curtain, that the motion of 
 his lips might not assist Powel in judging what 
 meaning he intended to express by each of the words 
 as he pronounced them. One of the company was 
 placed behind the curtain, and to him Bensley was 
 previously to communicate, whether he proposed to 
 pronounce the word denoting the action, the noun of 
 number, or the fruit. Bensley failed so often, and so 
 ridiculously, that he became quite angry, and charged 
 Powel with wilful misapprehension. To defend him- 
 self Powel proposed that Holland should try his 
 skill ; but Holland had no better success. During 
 these trials, I concerted by signs with Sir Francis a 
 method of pointing out my meaning, and I offered to 
 try my skill. The audience with difficulty restrained 
 their contempt ; but I took my place behind the cur- 
 tain, and they were soon compelled to acknowledge, 
 that I had a more distinct pronunciation, or that Sir 
 Francis had more accurate hearing, than the rest of 
 the company. Out of twenty experiments, I never 
 failed more than two or three times, and in these I 
 failed on purpose to prevent suspicion. I had made 
 my confederate understand, that when I turned my 
 right foot outward, as it appeared from beneath the 
 curtain, I meant to say pare, to cut ; when I turned 
 it inward, pair, a couple ; and when it was straight 
 forward, pear, the fruit. We kept our own counsel, 
 
R. L.EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 79 
 
 and won unmerited applause. Amidst such trifling 
 as this much sound criticism was mixed, which im- 
 proved my literary taste, and a number of entertain- 
 ing anecdotes were related, which informed my 
 inexperienced mind with knowledge of the world. 
 
 In his youth, Sir Francis Delaval had a great love 
 of frolic, and now, when he became intimate with me, 
 he related to me some of the adventures of his early 
 life, a few of which I may here mention. 
 
 Once, when he stood for the Borough of Andover, 
 an opposition took place, and the corporation was so 
 closely divided, that it was nearly a drawn battle 
 between him and his competitor. One sturdy fellow 
 among the voters held out against all applications : 
 he declared, that he would vote for neither of the 
 contending candidates. Sir Francis paid him a visit, 
 and with much address endeavoured to discover some 
 means of softening him. Sir Francis knew, that the 
 man was unassailable by plain bribery ; he therefore 
 tried to tempt his ambition, his love of pleasure, his 
 curiosity, in short, every passion that he thought 
 could actuate this obstinate voter. Sir Francis found, 
 that all the public spectacles of London were fami- 
 liar to this man, who had often gone to town, on 
 purpose to see various exhibitions. This seemed to 
 have been his favourite relaxation. After many 
 attempts, Sir Francis at last discovered, that this odd 
 mortal had never seen a fire-eater, and that he did not 
 believe the wonderful stories he had heard of fire- 
 eaters ; nor could it, he said, be imagined, that any 
 man could vomit smoke, and flame, and fire from his 
 mouth like a volcano. Sir Francis proposed to carry 
 him immediately to town, and to show him the most 
 accomplished eater of fire that had ever appeared. 
 
80 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 The wary citizen of Andover suspected some trick, 
 and could by no means be prevailed upon to go up to 
 town. Our staunch candidate, never at a loss for 
 resource, despatched instantly a trusty servant to 
 London, requesting Angelo to come to his assistance. 
 Among his various accomplishments, Angelo pos- 
 sessed the art of fire-eating in the utmost perfection ; 
 and though no pecuniary consideration could have 
 induced him to make a display of his talents in such 
 an art, yet to oblige Sir Francis, to whom all his 
 friends were enthusiastically devoted, Angelo com- 
 plied. A few hours after he received the request, 
 he thundered into Andover in a chaise and four, 
 express, to eat fire for Sir Francis Delaval's friend ! 
 When the obdurate voter saw this gentleman come 
 down, and with such expedition, on purpose to enter- 
 tain him, he began to yield. But when Angelo filled 
 his mouth with torrents of flame, that burst from his 
 lips and nostrils, and seemed to issue even from his 
 eyes ; when these flames changed to various colours, 
 and seemed continually to increase in volume and 
 intensity ; our voter was quite melted : he implored 
 Angelo to run no farther hazard ; he confessed, that 
 he did not think the devil himself could cast out such 
 torrents of fire and flame, and that he believed Sir 
 Francis had his Satanic Majesty for his friend, other- 
 wise Sir Francis never could have prevailed upon 
 him to break the vow which he had made not to vote 
 for him. 
 
 For this time Sir Francis succeeded in his election ; 
 but on the next occasion he found his interest still 
 lower than before in Andover. When he commenced 
 his canvas, he went to the house of the mayor of 
 Andover, who had hitherto been his friend, and with 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 81 
 
 whom he usually lodged. The mayor's lady had 
 also been ou his side formerly, but Sir Francis now 
 perceived by her averted glances, that he had lost 
 her favor. As he paid her some compliments while 
 she made tea, the lady scornfully replied, that " his 
 compliments to her tea were no more genuine than 
 his tea-canisters." Now it seems that on the former 
 occasion a promise had been made to her of a hand- 
 some tea-chest with silver canisters, in place of which 
 she had received only plated canisters. Sir Francis was 
 struck dumb by this discovery. When he recovered 
 himself, he protested in the most energetic manner, 
 that this trick had been put upon him, as well as 
 upon her, by the person whom he had emplojed to 
 purchase the tea-chest. He offered to produce his 
 order to his agent, he pleaded his own character as 
 a gentleman, and his known habits, not only of gene- 
 rosity, but of profusion. All would not do, the 
 enraged mayoress treated his apologies with disdain, 
 and his professions as counterfeit coin. What was to 
 be done ? With the mayor's vote he lost other voices. 
 The corporation openly declared, that unless some 
 person of wealth, and consequence, and honor, ap- 
 peared from London, and proposed himself candidate, 
 they would elect a gentleman in the neighbourhood, 
 who had never canvassed the borough, rather than 
 let Sir Francis come in. Next morning an express 
 arrived early in Andover, with an eloquent and truly- 
 polite letter from Sir Robert Ladbroke, who was then 
 father of the city, declaring his intention to stand 
 candidate for the free and independent borough of 
 Andover, intimating that his gouty state of health 
 required care, and begging the mayor, with whom he 
 had some acquaintance, to secure for him a well-aired 
 
 G 
 
82 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 lodging. Mrs. Mayoress, in high exultation, had a 
 bed prepared for the infirm Sir Robert in her best 
 bed-chamber; supper was ready at an early hour, 
 but no Sir Robert appeared. At length a courier 
 arrived with a letter, excusing his presence that night, 
 but promising that Sir Robert would breakfast next 
 morning with the mayor. In the mean time the 
 neighbouring gentleman, who had been thought of 
 as rival candidate to Sir Francis Delaval, not finding 
 himself applied to, and seeing no likelihood of success, 
 had prudently left home to avoid being laughed at. 
 The morning came, the breakfast passed, and the 
 hour of election approached. An express was sent 
 to hurry Sir Robert. The express was detained on 
 the road, and when the writ was to be read, and the 
 books opened, the old member, Sir Francis Delaval 
 appeared unopposed on the hustings ; his few friends 
 gave their votes, and in default of the expected Sir 
 Robert, who was never forth-coming, Sir Francis was 
 duly elected. 
 
 Here ended Sir Francis Delaval's electioneering 
 successes at Andover. His attorney's bill was yet 
 to be discharged. It had been running on for many 
 years, and though large sums had been paid on 
 account, a prodigious balance still remained to be 
 adjusted. The affair came before the King's Bench. 
 Among a variety of exorbitant and monstrous charges 
 there appeared the following article. 
 
 " To being thrown out of the window at the George 
 Inn, Andover — to my leg being thereby broken — to 
 surgeon's bill, and loss of time and business — all in the 
 service of Sir F. B. Delaval. — Five hundred Pounds." 
 
 When this curious item came to be explained, it 
 appeared, that the attorney had, by way of promoting 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 83 
 
 Sir Francis's interest in the borough, sent cards of 
 invitation to the officers of a regiment in the town, 
 in the name of the mayor and corporation, inviting 
 them to dine and drink His Majesty's health on his 
 birth-day. He, at the same time, wrote a similar 
 invitation to the mayor and corporation, in the name 
 of the officers of the regiment. The two companies 
 met, complimented each other, eat a good dinner, 
 drank a hearty bottle of wine to His Majesty's health, 
 and prepared to break up. The commanding officer 
 of the regiment, being the politest man in company, 
 made a handsome speech to Mr. Mayor, thanking 
 him for his hospitable invitation and entertainment. 
 " No, colonel," replied the mayor, " it is to yon that 
 thanks are due by me and by my brother aldermen 
 for your generous treat to us." The colonel replied 
 with as much warmth as good breeding would allow : 
 the mayor retorted with downright anger, swearing 
 that he would not be choused by the bravest colonel 
 in His Majesty's service. — " Mr. Mayor," said the 
 colonel, " there is no necessity for displaying any 
 vulgar passion on this occasion. Permit me to shew 
 you, that I have here your obliging card of invitation." 
 — " Nay, Mr. Colonel, here is no opportunity for 
 bantering, there is your card." 
 
 Upon examining the cards, it was observed, that, 
 notwithstanding an attempt to disguise it, both cards 
 were written in the same hand by some person who 
 had designed to make fools of them all. Every eye 
 of the corporation turned spontaneously upon the 
 attorney, who, of course, attended all public meetings. 
 His impudence suddenly gave way, he faltered, and 
 betrayed himself so fully by his confusion, that the 
 colonel in a fit of summary justice, threw him out of 
 
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84 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the window. For this, Sir Francis Delaval was 
 charged five hundred pounds. — Whether he paid the 
 money or not, I forget. 
 
 Some years before I was acquainted with him, Sir 
 Francis, with Foote for his coadjutor, had astonished 
 the town as a conjuror, and had obtained from num- 
 bers vast belief in his necromantic powers. This 
 confidence he gained, chiefly by relating to those who 
 consulted him the past events of their lives ; thence 
 he easily persuaded them, that he could foretell what 
 would happen to them in future ; and this persuasion 
 frequently led to the accomplishment of his prophe- 
 cies. Foote chose for the scene of their necromancy 
 a large and dark room in an obscure court, I believe 
 in Leicester Fields. The entrance to this room was 
 through a very long, narrow, winding passage, lighted 
 up by a few dim lamps. The conjuror was seated 
 upon a kind of ottoman in the middle of the room, 
 with a huge drum before him, which contained his 
 familiar spirit. He was dressed in the eastern fashion, 
 with an enormous turban, and a long white beard. 
 His assistant held a white wand in his hand, and with 
 a small stick struck the drum from time to time, from 
 which there issued a deep and melancholy sound. 
 His dragoman answered the questions that were 
 asked of him by his visitants, while the conjuror pre- 
 served the most dignified silence, only making signs, 
 which his interpreter translated into words. When a 
 question was asked, the visitant was kept at a distance 
 from the drum, from which the oracle seemed to pro- 
 ceed. The former habits, and extensive acquaintance 
 of Sir F. Delaval, and of his associates, who, in fact, 
 were all the men of gallantry of his day, furnished 
 him with innumerable anecdotes of secret intrigues, 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 85 
 
 which were some of them known only to themselves 
 and their paramours. Foote had acquired a consider- 
 able knowledge of the gallantries of the city ; and 
 the curiosity which had been awakened and gratified 
 at the west end of the town by the disclosure of cer- 
 tain ridiculous adventures in the city, gave to the 
 conjuror his first celebrity. It was said, that he had 
 revealed secrets that had been buried for years in 
 obscurity. Ladies as well as gentlemen among the 
 fools of quality were soon found, to imitate the dames 
 of the city in idle and pernicious curiosity ; and under 
 the sanction of fashion, the delusion spread rapidly 
 through all ranks. Various attempts were made to 
 deceive the conjuror under false names, and by a sub- 
 stitution of persons ; but he in general succeeded in 
 detecting these, and his fame stood at one time so 
 high, as to induce persons of the first consideration to 
 consult him secretVv. His method of obtaining sud- 
 den influence over the incredulous was by telling them 
 some small defached circumstances, which had hap- 
 pened to them a short time before, and which they 
 thought could scarcely be known to any body but 
 themselves. This he effected by means of an agent, 
 whom he employed at the door as a porter. This 
 man was acquainted with all the intriguing footmen 
 in London, "and whilst he detained the servants of his 
 master's visitants as they entered, he obtained from 
 them various information, which was communicated 
 by his fellow servants through a pipe* to the drum of 
 the conjuror. It was said, that in the course of a few 
 weeks, while this delusion lasted, more matches were 
 made, and more intrigues were brought to a con- 
 clusion, by Sir Francis Delaval and his associates, 
 than all the meddling old ladies in London could 
 
86 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 have effected or even suspected in as many months. 
 Among the marriages was that of Lady Nassau Paulet 
 with Sir Francis himself. This was the great object 
 of the whole contrivance. As soon as it was accom- 
 plished, the conjurer prudently decamped, before an 
 inquiry too minute could be made into his super- 
 natural powers. Lady Nassau Paulet had a very 
 large fortune, I believe eighty thousand pounds, of 
 all which Sir Francis Delaval became possessed by 
 this marriage. Her ladyship died soon afterwards, 
 and her fortune did not long continue to console her 
 husband for her loss. The whole of the eighty thou- 
 sand pounds he contrived soon to dissipate. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 87 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Whatever knowledge of the world Sir Francis 
 Delaval and Foote had acquired, I collected at an 
 easy rate from their conversation. The love of 
 adventure was not quite extinguished in Sir Francis, 
 when I first knew him. It was some time after the 
 death of Lady Nassau Paulet, and Sir Francis w r as 
 looking out for another wife, and another fortune. 
 
 Lady Jacob, the widow of a Sir something Jacob, 
 w T as then an object of pursuit to the fortune-hunting 
 men of fashion, and Sir Francis was of the number. 
 His rivals were mere empty coxcombs. During 
 several tiresome evenings, that I walked the round of 
 Ranelagh in their company, I never heard from them 
 a single sentiment or expression worth repeating. 
 Grimace, and a waterdog shake of the head, supplied 
 the place of conversation. The widow had some 
 cleverness, though it had not been much cultivated 
 by education ; and I plainly saw her disgust at the 
 nonsense which she endured. I remember that one 
 of her honourable lovers, after a composing prelude of 
 fashionable fatuity, with a solemn air and complacent 
 smile requested his mistress's opinion upon the 
 propriety of having the candles snuffed. 
 
 The lady saw Sir Francis Delaval's superiority to 
 his competitors in abilities and address, but his cha- 
 racter for gallantly could not be unnoticed by the 
 wary widow. She laughed at his rivals for attempting 
 
88 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 to vie with him, but at the same time she told him 
 that, though he was far superior to any of them in 
 talents and accomplishments, yet she must be sure of 
 his reformation, before she could venture to make 
 him her master. That he must undergo a moral 
 probation. This was a species of trial not much to 
 the taste of Sir Francis, he therefore abandoned the 
 field to his insipid rivals. 
 
 The widow, after examining maturely the preten- 
 sions of these various suitors, wisely dismissed them 
 all, and married a young Irish captain, whose claims 
 to her favor fairly rested on his sword and his figure. 
 
 Sir Francis Delaval was soon afterwards engaged 
 with other objects. He had a universal acquaintance 
 with all the gay and all the gambling world. Lord 
 March, afterwards Duke of Queensberry, Jennison 
 Shaftoe, Lord Eglintoun, Mr. Thynne, Lord Effing- 
 ham, Colonel Brereton, and numbers whose names 
 have long since been forgotten, consulted Sir Francis 
 in their schemes at Newmarket ; his ingenuity and 
 never failing resources made his acquaintance highly 
 valuable to such gentlemen of the turf club, as made 
 bets out of the common line of gambling. A coach- 
 maker's journeyman had been taken notice of by Lord 
 March, for his being able to run with a wheel upon 
 the pavement with uncommon speed, which his lord- 
 ship had ascertained at leisure with his stop-watch. 
 A waiter in Betty's fruit shop, in St. James's Street, 
 was also famous for running. His speed Lord March 
 minuted, and upon some opportunity he spoke of the 
 coachmaker's running, as if he believed that the 
 wheel assisted instead of retarding his speed. This 
 brought on discussion, and Lord March offered to lay 
 a large wager, that the coachmaker's journeyman 
 
R.L.EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 89 
 
 should run with the wheel of his lordship's carriage, 
 which was at the door, faster than the waiter who was 
 in the room. The bet was taken up to a considerable 
 amount, and the time and place determined. Lord 
 March well knew, that large bets would depend on 
 each side among the frequenters of the turf ; and 
 that each of the competitors would be engaged to try 
 their speed, that those who backed them might know 
 what they had to depend upon. He, therefore, had 
 the waiter carefully watched, and had his speed 
 ascertained ; he also had experiments tried by the 
 journeyman coachmaker. By these means he thought 
 himself almost certain of success, and he and his 
 friends took up as many bets as they could before the 
 day appointed for the race. The gentlemen on the 
 other side had not been inattentive ; and having 
 observed that the coachmaker always ran with one 
 particular wheel, which was considerably higher than 
 that with which Lord March had betted he should 
 run ; and being well-assured by coachmakers, whom 
 they consulted, that a man could not roll a small 
 wheel nearly so fast as a large one ; they reckoned 
 upon this circumstance as decisive in their favor, 
 because the hind wheel of Lord March's carriage 
 happened to be uncommonly small. By some means 
 their hopes in this advantage was discovered, but not 
 till the very day before the match was to be deter- 
 mined. Lord March immediately tried the rate of 
 his racer with the wheel with which he was actually 
 to run, and found such an evident difference from 
 that upon which he had depended, as to leave him 
 very little chance of success. He mentioned his 
 distress to Sir Francis Dclaval, who instantly sug- 
 gested a remedy. He applied immediately to friends 
 
90 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 whom he had in the board of works, for a number of 
 planks sufficient to cover a pathway on the course, 
 where the men were to run. By the help of numbers, 
 with the aid of moonlight, he laid these planks upon 
 blocks of a height sufficient to raise the nave of his 
 low wheel to the height of that with which the coach- 
 maker had been accustomed to run. The jockey 
 club allowed the expedient, and Lord March won his 
 wager. 
 
 Bets of this sort were in fashion in those days, and 
 one proposal of what was difficult and uncommon led 
 to another. A famous match was at that time pend- 
 ing at Newmarket between two horses, that were in 
 every respect as nearly equal as possible. Lord 
 March, one evening at Ranelagh, expressed his 
 regret to Sir Francis Delaval, that he was not able to 
 attend Newmarket at the next meeting. " I am 
 obliged," said he, " to stay in London ; I shall, how- 
 ever, be at the Turf Coffee- House ; I shall station 
 fleet horses on the road, to bring me the earliest 
 intelligence of the event of the race, and I shall 
 manage my bets accordingly." 
 
 I asked at what time in the evening he expected 
 to know who was winner. — He said about nine in 
 the evening. I asserted, that I should be able to 
 name the winning horse at four o'clock in the after- 
 noon. Lord March heard my assertion with so much 
 incredulity, as to urge me to defend myself; and at 
 length I offered to lay five hundred pounds, that I 
 would in London name the winning horse at New- 
 market, at five o'clock in the evening of the day when 
 the great match in question was to be run. Sir 
 Francis having looked at me for encouragement, 
 offered to lay five hundred pounds on my side ; Lord 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. ■ 91 
 
 Eglintoim did the same ; Shaftoe and somebody else 
 took up their bets ; and the next day we were to 
 meet at the Turf Coffee- House, to put our bets in 
 writing. After Ave went home, I explained to Sir 
 Francis Delaval the means that I proposed to use. 
 I had early been acquainted with Wilkins's " Secret 
 and swift Messenger :" I had also read in Hooke's 
 "Works of a scheme of this sort, and I had determined 
 to employ a telegraph nearly resembling that which 
 I have since published.* The machinery I knew 
 could be prepared in a few days. 
 
 Sir Francis immediately perceived the feasibility of 
 my scheme, and indeed its certainty of success. It 
 was summer tune, and by employing a sufficient 
 number of persons, we could place our machines so 
 near as to be almost out of the power of the weather. 
 When we all met at the Turf Coffee-House, I offered 
 to double my bet, so did Sir Francis. The gentle- 
 men on the opposite side were willing to accept my 
 offer ; but before I would conclude my wager, I 
 thought it fair to state to Lord March, that I did 
 not depend upon the fleetness or strength of horses 
 to carry the desired intelligence, but upon other 
 means, which I had, of being informed in London 
 which horse had actually won at Newmarket, between 
 the time when the race should be concluded and five 
 o'clock in the evening. My opponents thanked me 
 for my candor, reconsidered the matter, and declined 
 the bet. My friends blamed me extremely for giving 
 up such an advantageous speculation. None of them, 
 except Sir Francis, knew the means which I had in- 
 tended to employ, and he kept them a profound 
 
 * In the Memoirs of the Royal Irish Academy, and in Nichol- 
 son's Journal for October 1798, quarto, vol. ii. p. 320. 
 
92 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 secret* with a view to use them afterwards for his 
 own purposes. With that energy which characterised 
 every thing in which he engaged, he immediately 
 erected, under my directions, an apparatus between 
 his house and part of Piccadilly ; an apparatus which 
 was never suspected to be telegraphic. I also set up 
 a night telegraph between a house which Sir F. 
 Dclaval occupied at Hampstead, and one to which I 
 had access in Great Russel Street, Bloomsbury. 
 This nocturnal telegraph answered well, but was too 
 expensive for common use. 
 
 Upon my return home to Hare Hatch, I tried 
 many experiments on different modes of telegraphic 
 communication. My object was to combine secrecy 
 with expedition. For this purpose I intended to 
 employ windmills, which might be erected for com- 
 mon economical uses, and which might at the same 
 time afford easy means of communication from place 
 to place upon extraordinary occasions. There is a 
 windmill at Nettlebed, which can be distinctly seen 
 with a good glass from Assy Hill, between Maiden- 
 head and Henley, the highest ground in England, 
 south of the Trent. With the assistance of Mr. Per- 
 rot, of Hare Hatch, I ascertained the practicability of 
 my scheme between these places, which are nearly 
 sixteen miles asunder. 
 
 I have had occasion to shew my claim to the re- 
 vival of this invention in modern times, and in 
 particular to prove, that I had practised telegraphic 
 communication in the year 1 767, long before it was 
 ever attempted in France. To establish these truths, 
 I obtained from Mr. Perrot, a Berkshire gentleman, 
 who resided in the neighbourhood of Hare Hatch, 
 and who was witness to my experiments, his testimony 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 93 
 
 to the facts which I have just related. I have his 
 letter, and, before its contents were published in the 
 Memoirs of the Irish Academy for the year 1796, I 
 shewed it to Lord Charlemont, President of the Royal 
 Irish Academy. 
 
 During my residence at Hare Hatch, another wager 
 was proposed by me among our acquaintance, the 
 purport of which was, that I undertook to find a man, 
 who should, with the assistance of machinery, walk 
 faster than any other person that could be produced. 
 The machinery which I intended to employ was a 
 huge hollow wheel, made very light, within side of 
 which, in a barrel of six feet diameter, a man should 
 walk, whilst he stepped thirty inches, the circum- 
 ference of the large wheel, or rather wheels, would 
 revolve five feet on the ground ; and as the machine 
 was to roll on planks, and on a plane somewhat 
 inclined, when once the vis inertia of the machine 
 should be overcome, it would carry on the man 
 within it as fast as he could possibly walk. I had 
 provided means of regulating the motion, so that the 
 wheel should not run away with its master. I had 
 the wheel made, and when it was so nearly completed 
 as to require but a few hours' work to finish it, I went 
 to London for Lord Effingham, to whom I had pro- 
 mised, that he should be present at the first experi- 
 ment made with it. But the bulk and extraordinary 
 appearance of my machine had attracted the notice 
 of the country neighbourhood ; and taking advantage 
 of my absence, some idle curious persons went to the 
 carpenter I employed, who lived on Hare Hatch 
 common. Frpm him they obtained the great wheel, 
 which had been left by me in his care. It was not 
 finished. I had not yet furnished it with the means 
 
94 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of stopping or moderating its motion. A young lad 
 got into it, his companions launched it on a path 
 which led gently down hill towards a very steep 
 chalk-pit. This pit was at such a distance, as to be 
 out of their thoughts, when they set the wheel in 
 motion. On it ran. The lad withinside plied his 
 legs with all his might. The spectators, who at first 
 stood still to behold the operation, were soon alarmed 
 by the shouts of their companion, who perceived his 
 danger. The vehicle became quite ungovernable, the 
 velocity increased as it ran down hill. Fortunately 
 the boy contrived to jump from his rolling prison 
 before it reached the chalk-pit ; but the wheel went 
 on with such velocity, as to outstrip its pursuers, and, 
 rolling over the edge of the precipice, it was dashed 
 to pieces. 
 
 The next day, when I came to look for my machine, 
 intending to try it upon some planks, which had been 
 laid for it, I found to my no small disappointment, 
 that the object of all my labors and my hopes was 
 lying at the bottom of a chalk-pit, broken into a 
 thousand pieces. I could not at that time afford to 
 construct another wheel of this sort, and I cannot 
 therefore determine what might have been the success 
 of my scheme. 
 
 As I am on the subject of carriages, I shall mention 
 a sailing carriage, that I tried on this common. The 
 carriage was light, steady, and ran with amazing 
 velocity. One day, when I was preparing for a sail 
 in it, with my friend and school-fellow, Mr. William 
 Foster, my wheel-boat escaped from its moorings, just 
 as we were going to step on board. With the utmost 
 difficulty I overtook it, and as I saw three or four 
 stage-coaches on the road, and feared that this sailing 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 95 
 
 chariot might frighten their horses, I, at the hazard 
 of my life, got into my carriage while it was under 
 full sail, and then, at a favorable part of the road, 1 
 used the means I had of guiding it easily out of the 
 way. But the sense of the mischief which must have 
 ensued, if I had not succeeded in getting into the 
 machine at the proper place, and stopping it at the 
 right moment, was so strong, as to deter me from 
 trying any more experiments on this carriage in such 
 a dangerous place. 
 
 Such should never be attempted except on a large 
 common, at a distance from a high road. It may 
 not however be amiss to suggest, that upon a long- 
 extent of iron railway, in an open country, carriages 
 properly constructed might make profitable voyages 
 from time to time with sails instead of horses ; for 
 though a constant or regular intercourse could not be 
 thus carried on, yet goods of a certain sort, that are 
 saleable at any time, might be stored till wind and 
 weather were favorable. 
 
 When the time came for completing my terms at 
 the Temple, I went again to London, and my inti- 
 macy with Sir F. Delaval was renewed. Beside the 
 incidental schemes and amusements which I have 
 mentioned, one great object had long filled his mind. 
 The Duke of York was in love with Sir Francis 
 Delaval's sister, Lady Stanhope. Her husband, 
 Sir William Stanhope, was dying, and the great object 
 was to keep the duke's flame alive. Every body of 
 abilities about the duke, whom Sir Francis could in- 
 fluence, was engaged in supporting this project. 
 
 But the hand of death put a stop to the scheme. 
 The Duke of York, hi a tour to Italy, w r ent to some 
 ball in Rome, and, after dancing violently, caught 
 
96 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 cold in returning by night to his residence, which 
 was at a considerable distance from the place of 
 entertainment : he was seized with a fever, and died. 
 Suspicions of poison arose ; but the Prince of Monaco, 
 at whose palace he died, came over to London, and 
 dissipated this surmise. 
 
 By the death of the Duke of York, Sir Francis 
 found all his schemes of aggrandisement blasted. 
 Though a man of great strength of mind, and of 
 vivacity that seemed to be untameable, his spirits 
 and health sunk under this disappointment. His 
 friends and physician laughed at his complaints. 
 Of Herculean strength, and, till this period, of un- 
 interrupted health, they could not bring themselves 
 to believe, that a pain in his breast, of which he 
 complained, was of any serious consequence ; on 
 the contrary, they treated him as an hypochondriac, 
 whom a generous diet, amusement, and country air, 
 would soon restore. He was ordered, however, to 
 use a steam-bath, which was then in vogue at 
 Knightsbridge. I went with him there one day, the 
 last I ever saw of him ! He expressed for me a 
 great deal of kindness and esteem : and then seriously 
 told me he felt, that, notwithstanding his natural 
 strength of body and mind, and in contradiction of 
 the opinion of all the physicians, he had not long- 
 to live. He acknowledged, that his mind was 
 affected as well as his body. 
 
 " Let my example," said he, " warn you of a fatal 
 " error, into which I have fallen, and into which you 
 " might probably fall, if you did not counteract the 
 " propensities which might lead you into it. I have 
 " pursued amusement, or rather frolic, instead of 
 " turning my ingenuity and talents to useful pur- 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 97 
 
 " poses. I am sensible," continued he, " that my 
 " mind was fit for greater things, than any of which 
 " I am now, or of which I was ever supposed to be 
 " capable. I am able to speak fluently in public, 
 " and I have perceived, that my manner of speaking 
 " has always increased the force of what I have said. 
 " Upon various useful subjects I am not deficient 
 " in information ; and if I had employed half the 
 " time and half the pains in cultivating serious 
 " knowledge, which I have wasted in exerting my 
 " powers upon trifles, instead of making myself merely 
 " a conspicuous figure at public places of amuse- 
 " ment, instead of giving myself up to gallantry 
 " which disgusted and disappointed me, instead of 
 " dissipating my fortune and tarnishing my character, 
 " I should have distinguished myself in the senate 
 " or the army, I should have become a useful 
 " member of society, and an honour to my family. 
 " Remember my advice, young man ! Pursue what 
 " is useful to mankind, you will satisfy them, and, 
 " what is better, you will satisfy yourself." 
 
 Two mornings afterwards he was found dead in 
 his bed.* Thus ended Sir Francis Blake Delaval. 
 Descended from illustrious ancestors, born with every 
 personal advantage, of a countenance peculiarly pre- 
 possessing, tall, strong, athletic, and singularly active, 
 
 * His friends, perhaps to obviate any suspicion of his having 
 destroyed himself, had his body opened, and the physician, who 
 attended, informed me, that his death was probably occasioned by 
 an unnatural distension of his stomach, which seemed to have lost 
 the power of collapsing. This they attributed to his drinking 
 immoderate quantities of water and small beer. He always had a 
 large jug of beer left by his bed-side at night, which was usually 
 empty before morning. — Whether this was cause or effect still 
 remains uncertain. 
 
 H 
 
98 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 he excelled in every manly exercise, was endowed 
 with courage, and with extraordinary presence of 
 mind ; yet all in vain. His parting advice was not 
 thrown away upon me. Indeed I had heard and 
 seen sufficient to convince me that a life of pleasure 
 is not a life of happiness, and that to the broad 
 gaiety of public festivity there frequently succeeds 
 insupportable ennui in private — ennui, which often 
 drives men to the worst of vices merely for emotion 
 and occupation. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 99 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 After Sir Francis Delaval's death, I returned home, 
 and resumed my occupations and my amusements 
 in mechanics. These led me to an acquaintance 
 with Mr. Gainsborough, a Presbyterian clergyman, 
 brother to the celebrated painter of that name. He 
 lived at Henley upon Thames, within a few miles 
 of me. We became intimately acquainted, and I do 
 not think, that I have ever known a man of a more 
 inventive genius. 
 
 As many parts of the high land in the neighbour- 
 hood of Henley were ill supplied with water, every 
 contrivance, that promised to facilitate the means of 
 raising it, was eagerly adopted. This induced Mr. 
 Gainsborough to turn his thoughts to this subject. 
 His inventive faculty might have been employed 
 more advantageously ; for it must be obvious, even 
 to those who are but slightly conversant with 
 mechanics, that no possible application of the power 
 of men or animals can alter their effect in any con- 
 siderable degree, and that the application of wind 
 is too variable, and of steam commonly too compli- 
 cated, for domestic purposes. He notwithstanding 
 erected several ingenious hydraulic machines in 
 various parts of the country, which shewed a fertile 
 invention, and in all their parts a sound knowledge 
 of the principles of mechanics. In many instances 
 
 H 2 
 
100 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 he gave a large scope to his genius in obviating 
 local difficulties, and inventing tools to execute his 
 purposes in country places, where he could not 
 enjoy the resources of the capital. He was besides 
 an excellent and most accurate workman, and had 
 he early turned his thoughts to the construction of 
 timepieces for ascertaining the longitude, I make no 
 doubt, that he would have succeeded as well as any 
 man who could have been his competitor. I believe I 
 took from him hints of some small contrivances, which 
 I have since executed ; but were he alive he would 
 not complain. He was too much my friend, and 
 he was possessed of too much generosity, to suppose 
 that I was either so poor in resources, or so mean in 
 disposition, as to steal from any man. 
 
 Amongst other contrivances, I remember to have 
 seen a dial, which shewed time distinctly to one 
 minute, without the assistance of wheelwork or micro- 
 scopes. For a tide-mill of his invention he obtained 
 a premium of 50/. from the Society for the Encou- 
 ragement of Arts. 
 
 One word more in remembrance of this worthy and 
 ingenious gentleman. He planned and executed the 
 handsome road, that goes up the steep hill near 
 Henley. In cutting down this hill, he employed 
 carriages without horses, by means of a large hori- 
 zontal pulley, which enabled the full carriages, as they 
 went down the hill, to draw up the empty ones. 
 
 I formerly mentioned, that on my return from Ire- 
 land, when I staid a day at Chester, I had heard 
 from the owner of the Microcosm, that Dr. Darwin, 
 of Lichfield, had invented and constructed a carriage 
 upon a new principle. Upon the principle, that, in 
 turning round, it continued to stand on four points, 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 1 1 
 
 nearly at equal distances from each other; whereas 
 in carriages with a crane-neck, when the four wheels 
 are locked under the perch, the fore carriage is very 
 unsteady, being supported upon only three points. 
 From this hint, without having seen the Doctor's 
 carriage, I constructed a very handsome phaeton upon 
 this principle. I had it with me in London. Sir 
 Francis Delaval had taken a fancy to it, and had 
 ordered another from Monk, the person who had 
 made mine, and who upon this occasion first came 
 from the country to settle in Town. Upon its being 
 approved of by the Society for the Encouragement of 
 Arts, both on account of the manner in which the 
 fore carriage locked, and also on account of a sure 
 and simple method of disengaging horses should they 
 become unruly, I told the society, that I had taken 
 the hint of the contrivance for preventing accidents 
 to a carriage in turning, from a description that had 
 been given me of a carriage of Dr. Darwin's, of Lich- 
 field ; I wrote an account to the Doctor of the recep- 
 tion which his scheme had met with from the Society 
 of Arts, &c. The Doctor wrote me a very civil 
 answer ; and though, as I afterwards found out, he 
 took me for a coachmaker, he invited me to his 
 house. An invitation which I accepted in the ensu- 
 ing summer. 
 
 When I arrived at Lichfield, I went to inquire 
 whether the Doctor was at home. I was shewn into 
 a room, where I found Mrs. Darwin. I told her my 
 name. She said the Doctor expected me, and that 
 he intended to be at home before night. There were 
 books and prints in the room, of which I took occa- 
 sion to speak. Mrs. Darwin asked me to drink tea, 
 and I perceived that I owed to my literature the 
 
102 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 pleasure of passing the evening with this most agree- 
 able woman. We walked and conversed upon various 
 literary subjects till it was dark, when Mrs. Darwin 
 seeming to be surprised that the Doctor had not 
 come home, I offered to take my leave : but she told 
 me, that I had been expected for some days, and that 
 a bed had been prepared for me ; I heard some orders 
 given to the housemaid, who had destined a different 
 room for my reception from that which her mistress 
 had upon second thoughts appointed. I perceived 
 that the maid examined me attentively, but I could 
 not guess the reason. When supper was nearly 
 finished, a loud rapping at the door announced the 
 Doctor. There was a bustle in the hall, which made 
 Mrs. Darwin get up and go to the door. Upon her 
 exclaiming, that they were bringing in a dead man, I 
 went to the hall : I saw some persons, directed by 
 one whom I guessed to be Doctor Darwin, carrying 
 a man who appeared motionless. 
 
 " He is not dead," said Doctor Darwin. " He is 
 only dead drunk. I found him," continued the Doc- 
 tor, " nearly suffocated in a ditch ; I had him lifted 
 into my carriage, and brought hither, that we might 
 take care of him to night." 
 
 Candles came, and what was the surprise of the 
 Doctor, and of Mrs. Darwin, to find that the person 
 whom he had saved was Mrs. Darwin's brother ! who, 
 for the first time in his life, as I was assured, had 
 been intoxicated in this manner, and who would un- 
 doubtedly have perished, had it not been for Doctor 
 Darwin's humanity. 
 
 During this scene I had time to survey my new 
 friend, Doctor Darwin. He was a large man, fat, and 
 rather clumsy ; but intelligence and benevolence were 
 
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 Con 
 
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 C „■/;„,■,,-/ /y .//„. //, v ,-, 
 
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R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 103 
 
 painted in his countenance : he had a considerable 
 impediment in his speech a defect, which is in general 
 painful to others ; but the Doctor repaid his auditors 
 so well for making them wait for his wit or his know- 
 ledge, that he seldom found them impatient. 
 
 When his brother was disposed of, he came to 
 supper, and I thought that he looked at Mrs. Darwin, 
 as if he was somewhat surprised, when he heard that 
 I had passed the whole evening in her company. 
 After she withdrew, he entered into conversation with 
 me upon the carriage that I had made, and upon the 
 remarks that fell from some members of the society 
 to whom I had shewn it. I satisfied his curiosity, 
 and having told him, that my carriage was in the 
 town, and that he could see it whenever he pleased ; 
 we talked upon other mechanical subjects, and after- 
 wards on various branches of knowledge, which neces- 
 sarily produced allusions to classical literature ; by 
 these he discovered, that I had received the education 
 of a gentleman. 
 
 " Why ! I thought," said the Doctor, " that you 
 were only a coachmaker !" — " That was the reason," 
 said I, " that you looked surprised at finding me at 
 supper with Mrs. Darwin. But you see, Doctor, how 
 superior in discernment ladies are even to the most 
 learned gentlemen ; I assure you, that I had not been 
 in the room five minutes, before Mrs. Darwin asked 
 me to tea." 
 
 The next day I was introduced to some literary 
 persons, who then resided at Lichfield, and among 
 the foremost to Miss Seward. How much of my 
 future life has depended upon this visit to Lichfield ! 
 How little could I then foresee, that my having 
 examined and understood the Microcosm at Chester 
 
104 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 should lead me to a place, and into an acquaintance, 
 which would otherwise, in all human probability, 
 have never fallen within my reach ! Miss Seward was 
 at this time in the height of youth and beauty, of an 
 enthusiastic temper, a votary of the muses, and of 
 the most eloquent and brilliant conversation. Our 
 mutual acquaintance was soon made, and it continued 
 to be for many years of my life a source of never- 
 failing pleasure. It seems that Mrs. Darwin had a 
 little pique against Miss Seward, who had in fact 
 been her rival with the Doctor. These ladies lived 
 upon good terms, but there frequently occurred little 
 competitions, which amused their friends, and enli- 
 vened the uniformity that so often renders a country 
 town insipid. The evening after my arrival, Mrs. 
 Darwin invited Miss Seward, and a very large party 
 of her friends, to supper. I was placed beside Miss 
 Seward, and a number of lively sallies escaped her, 
 that set the table in good humour. I remember, for 
 we frequently remember the merest trifles which 
 happen at an interesting period of our life, that she 
 repeated some of Prior's Henry and Emma, of which 
 she was always fond, and dwelling upon Emma's ten- 
 derness, she cited the care that Emma proposed to 
 take of her lover, if he were wounded, 
 
 " To bind his wounds my finest lawns I'd tear, 
 
 Wash them with tears, and wipe them with my hair." 
 
 I acknowledged, that tearing her finest lawns, even 
 in a wild forest, would be a real sacrifice from a fine 
 lady ; and that washing wounds with salt water, 
 though a very severe remedy, was thought to be 
 salutary ; but I could not think, that wiping them 
 with hair could be either a salutary or an elegant 
 operation. I represented, that the lady, who must have 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 105 
 
 had by her own account a choice of lawns, might have 
 employed some of the coarse sort for this operation, 
 instead of having recourse to her hair. I paid Miss 
 Seward, however, some compliments on her own beau- 
 tiful tresses, and at that moment the watchful Mrs. Dar- 
 win took this opportunity of drinking Mrs. Edgewortlis 
 health. Miss Seward's surprise was manifest. But 
 the mirth this unexpected discovery made fell but 
 lightly upon its objects, for Miss Seward, with perfect 
 good humour, turned the laugh in her favor. The 
 next evening the same society reassembled at another 
 house, and for several ensuing evenings I passed my 
 time in different agreeable companies in Lichfield. 
 
 Mr. Bolton, of Birmingham, happened at this time 
 to call upon Doctor Darwin. I shewed him and a 
 few of his friends some of those deceptions of Comus, 
 which I had discovered. They were particularly 
 d propos, as at that time Mr. Bolton was making a 
 large number of magnets for exportation. He asked 
 me to his house on Snow-Hill, in Birmingham. He 
 was at this period just going to remove to the wild 
 heath, which has since been converted into a garden, 
 interspersed with cheerful villas, by his talents and 
 energy. Mr. Bolton very kindly sent a proper per- 
 son with me through the principal manufactories of 
 Birmingham. There, and at Soho, I became in a 
 few hours intimately acquainted with many parts of 
 practical mechanicks, which I could not otherwise 
 have learned in many months. 
 
 At my return to my house at Hare Hatch, in 
 Berkshire, I applied with fresh energy to mechanical 
 invention, and to the execution of various contrivances. 
 I was now however aware, that invention must be 
 grievously wasted, where there is not a competent 
 
106 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 knowledge of what has been previously done by 
 others. I therefore carefully looked over books of 
 mechanical inventions, wherever I could find them ; 
 and I many times discovered, that what had ap- 
 peared to me new, and entirely my own, had been 
 printed a hundred years ago. Even the method of 
 locking carriages in turning, invented by Dr. Darwin 
 and by me, had been employed in a sailing car- 
 riage described in the " Machines approuvees" of the 
 French Royal Academy. I entreat readers who may 
 not have any taste for subjects of this sort, to pardon 
 me for thus detailing my mechanical pursuits ; it is 
 necessary to shew the progress of my mind. 
 
 I was riding one day in a country, that was enclosed 
 by walls of an uncommon height ; and upon its being- 
 asserted, that it would be impossible for a person to 
 leap such walls, I offered for a wager to produce a 
 wooden horse, that should carry me safely over the 
 highest wall in the country. It struck me, that, if 
 a machine were made with eight legs, four only of 
 which should stand upon the ground at one time ; if 
 the remaining four were raised up into the body of 
 the machine, and if this body were divided into two 
 parts, sliding, or rather rolling on cylinders, one of 
 the parts, and the legs belonging to it, might in two 
 efforts be projected over the wall by a person in the 
 machine ; and the legs belonging to this part might 
 be let down to the ground, and then the other half 
 of the machine might have its legs drawn up, and be 
 projected over the wall, and so on alternately. This 
 idea by degrees developed itself in my mind, so as to 
 make me perceive, that as one half of the machine 
 was always a road for the other half, and that such a 
 machine never rolled upon the ground, a carriage 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 10/ 
 
 might be made, which should carry a road for itself. 
 It is already certain, that a carriage moving on an 
 iron rail-way may be drawn with a fourth part of the 
 force requisite to draw it on a common road. 
 
 After having made a number of models of my 
 machine, that should carry and lay down its own 
 road, I took out a patent to secure to myself the 
 principle ; but the term of my patent has been long 
 since expired, without my having been able to unite 
 to my satisfaction in this machine strength with suffi- 
 cient lightness, and with regular motion, so as to 
 obtain the advantages I proposed. 
 
 As an encouragement to perseverance, I assure my 
 readers, that I never lost sight of this scheme during 
 forty years ; that I have made considerably above 
 one hundred working models upon this principle, in a 
 great variety of forms ; and that, although I have 
 not yet been able to accomplish my project, I am 
 still satisfied that it is feasible. The experience, 
 which I have acquired by this industry, has overpaid 
 me for the trifling disappointments I have met with ; 
 and I have gained far more in amusement, than I 
 have lost by unsuccessful labor. Indeed the only 
 mortification that affected me was my discovering 
 many years after I had taken out my patent, that the 
 rudiments of my whole scheme were mentioned in an 
 obscure memoir of the French Academy. 
 
 About the year 1769, I made a phaeton of un- 
 common lightness, and so furnished with springs, that 
 each wheel could rise over any obstacle in its way. 
 This carriage had no perch, and had all the advan- 
 tages, which are now (in 1808) claimed by the 
 patentee for carriages without perches. In fact, how- 
 ever, a light perch is no disadvantage to a carriage, 
 
108 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 but on the contrary adds to its security. I sent this 
 carriage to the " Society of Arts, &c. ;" and at the 
 same time I sent a model of a very large umbrella 
 for covering haystacks, also of a waggon divided into 
 two parts, each having four wheels, so that the roads 
 never sustained more than half the weight of the 
 common load. By connecting these waggons, and 
 applying the horses to the foremost, the necessity of 
 having an additional driver was prevented, which 
 would be required if horses were put to each part of 
 the divided carriage. The load by these means need 
 not be piled so high as usual. 
 
 I sent also to the Society of Arts a machine for 
 cutting turnips, which consisted simply of a circular 
 trough with a chopping knife moving on a pin in the 
 centre, so that the person who worked it had nothing 
 to do but to walk round the circle, and to lift the 
 cutter up and down, as a turner works his paring 
 knife. This was put in competition with the machine 
 for cutting turnips, which is now in common use, and 
 for which the society adjudged to Mr. Edgehill the 
 premium. Very little difference was perceived in the 
 performance of our machines ; and I still employ my 
 own, because it can be made any where, of any coarse 
 timber, has but one knife, which can be easily kept 
 from rust, and readily sharpened ; in short it performs 
 nearly as much work as Mr. Edgehill's turnip-cutter, 
 and does not cost one fourth part as much. The 
 machine which I use is a trough on three legs, about 
 five feet long, a foot wide, and a segment of a circle 
 of six feet diameter. 
 
 For these models and machines the society pre- 
 sented me with their gold medal in 1769- I laid 
 before that society a machine for measuring the force 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 109 
 
 exerted by horses in drawing ploughs and waggons, 
 and in giving motion to machinery of all sorts. It 
 consisted of a swing-tree bar that contained two levers, 
 to one end of each of which the traces were attached, 
 and the other end compressed a spiral spring. There 
 was an index adapted to the swing-tree bar, on which 
 the longest end of one of the levers pointed out the 
 power, which it exerted to bend the spring. This 
 instrument I explained to the Committee of Mechanics 
 of the Society of Arts, in the year 1771. I went 
 abroad in that year, and during my absence a person 
 belonging to the society obtained credit for exhibiting 
 a similar machine. I took no notice of this transac- 
 tion, as it was of a trifling nature. I have since 
 frequently tried this instrument, and have found it 
 insufficient. It registers only the greatest exertion of 
 the draft ; it does not give the sum of the whole 
 exertion in a given time. There is a method, how- 
 ever, by which the force of draft may be ascertained ; 
 I hope to have leisure, to put it into practice, and 
 by these means to determine on the subject of wheel- 
 carriages the discordant opinions of men of science 
 and men of business, or of those who call themselves 
 jn'actical men; I also hope to decide the different 
 advantages of various ploughs, and other instruments 
 of husbandry, whether drawn by horses or moved by 
 men. This is a matter of no small importance, 
 considering the enormous expense, to which carriers 
 and farmers are put, in consequence of erroneous 
 opinions, or of new and unfounded pretensions to im- 
 provement. Were a course of experiments set on foot 
 on this subject, upon an extensive and liberal plan, 
 which should be open to the public at large, and 
 
HO MEMOIRS OF 
 
 which should be made upon full sized carts, ploughs, 
 and waggons, the common sense and ocular conviction 
 of all ranks of people would soon put disputes on 
 these points to rest. I mean so far as relates to such 
 machines as are in use at present. Whenever any 
 new invention makes its appearance, it should of 
 course be submitted to similar trials. Attempts to 
 impose upon the public would by these means be 
 rendered abortive. 
 
 I should have mentioned in its proper place, that, 
 in the year 1 /68, the Society for the Encouragement 
 of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, gave me 
 their silver medal for a perambulator, which, upon 
 trial in Coldbath fields, answered with such precision, 
 as would, from proving too much, have led to a sus- 
 picion of error, and might have discredited belief in 
 its performance altogether, had not the experiment 
 been witnessed by a large committee of the society. 
 It was entered immediately upon their journals. A 
 mile was first cautiously measured by a common 
 chain — afterwards by the perambulator, and again by 
 the same machine returning. The distance measured, 
 going and returning, did not differ so much as one 
 inch. This instrument is described in the Memoirs 
 of the Society, and in other books. I have found, 
 that upon ground, where it met with no interruption 
 from hedges and ditches, it has never failed with 
 me to measure more accurately, and with much 
 greater expedition, than the chain. 
 
 An uncommon instance of plagiarism occurred in 
 Ireland relative to this perambulator. About twenty 
 years after I had received my medal, a person pre- 
 sented my perambulator, without any change in its 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 1 ] 1 
 
 construction, as his own invention, to the Dublin 
 Society. I saw it there, and observed an inscription 
 with the name — which I forget — of the person who 
 presented it, and these lines from Horace, 
 
 " Si quid novisti rectius istis, 
 
 Candidas imperii ; si non, his lit ere niecum." 
 
 I have endeavoured to collect together whatever 
 related to mechanics during my residence at Hare 
 Hatch, without attending strictly to the order of 
 time ; for it is better to consider the course of one 
 subject uniformly, and then to go back and take up 
 another, than to interrupt the narrative by an 
 ineffectual attempt to preserve strict chronology. 
 
 I have not during the account of the foregoing 
 period of my life mentioned my children. I said that 
 I married in 1763. My eldest son was born at 
 Black-Bourton, in Oxfordshire, in 1764. After my 
 return from Ireland in 1765, when I established 
 myself at Hare Hatch, I formed a strong desire to 
 educate my son according to the system of Rousseau. 
 His Emile had made a great impression upon my 
 young mind, as it had done upon the imaginations of 
 many far my superiors in age and understanding. 
 His work had then all the power of novelty, as well 
 as all the charms of eloquence ; and when I compared 
 the many plausible ideas it contains, with the obvious 
 deficiencies and absurdities, that 1 saw in the treat- 
 ment of children in almost every family, with which 
 I was acquainted, I determined to make a fair trial of 
 Rousseau's system. My wife complied with my 
 wishes, and the body and mind of my son were to be 
 left as much as possible to the education of nature and 
 of accident. I was but twenty-three years old, when 
 I formed this resolution ; I steadily pursued it for 
 
112 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 several years, notwithstanding the opposition with 
 which I was embarrassed by my friends and relations, 
 and the ridicule by which I became immediately 
 assailed on all quarters. 
 
 I dressed my son without stockings, with his arms 
 bare, in a jacket and trowsers such as are quite common 
 at present, but which were at that time novel and 
 extraordinary. I succeeded in making him remarkably 
 hardy : I also succeeded in making him fearless of 
 danger, and, what is more difficult, capable of bearing 
 privation of every sort. He had all the virtues of a 
 child bred in the hut of a savage, and all the know- 
 ledge of tJdngs, which could well be acquired at an 
 early age by a boy bred in civilized society. I say 
 knowledge of things, for of books he had less knowledge 
 at seven or eight years old, than most children have at 
 four or five. Of mechanics he had a clearer conception, 
 and in the application of what he knew more invention, 
 than any child I had then seen. He was bold, free, 
 fearless, generous ; he had a ready and keen use of all 
 his senses, and of his judgment. But he was not dis- 
 posed to obey : his exertions generally arose from his 
 own will ; and, though he was what is commonly called 
 good-tempered and good-natured, though he generally 
 pleased by his looks, demeanour, and conversation, 
 he had too little deference for others, and he shewed 
 an invincible dislike to control. With me, he was 
 always what I wished ; with others, he was never 
 any thing but what he wished to be himself. He was, 
 by all who saw him, whether of the higher or lower 
 classes, taken notice of; and by all considered as very 
 clever. I speak of a child between seven and eight 
 years old, and to prevent interruption in my narrative, 
 I here represent the effects of his education from three 
 

/{'/////.) __/ ////, 
 
 
 lit 
 
 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 1 1 3 
 
 to eight years old, during which period I pursued 
 Rousseau's plans. 
 
 I now come to what I consider as a new era in my 
 life, the commencement of my acquaintance with 
 Mr. Day. He lived at this time with his father and 
 mother at Barehill, in Berkshire. He came from 
 Oxford during vacation, and hearing that I had been 
 of the same college with him, and a pupil of his tutor 
 Mr. Russell, he came to Hare Hatch to pay me a 
 visit. Mr. Day's exterior was not at that time pre- 
 possessing, he seldom combed his raven locks, though 
 he was remarkably fond of washing in the stream. 
 We conversed together for several hours on his first 
 visit, and thus began an acquaintance which was I 
 believe of service to us both. To the day of his 
 death, we continued to live in the most intimate and 
 unvarying friendship — a friendship founded upon 
 mutual esteem, between persons of tastes, habits, 
 pursuits, manners, and connexions totally different. 
 A love of knowledge, and a freedom from that 
 admiration of splendour, which dazzles and enslaves 
 mankind, were the only essential points in which we 
 entirely agreed. Mr. Day was grave and of a melan- 
 choly temperament ; I gay and full of " constitutional 
 joy." Mr. Day was not a man of strong passions, — 
 I was. — Mr. Day was suspicious of the female sex, 
 and averse to risking his happiness for their charms 
 or their society. — To a contrary extreme I was fond 
 of all the happiness which they can bestow. He 
 delighted, even in the company of women, to descant 
 on the evils brought upon mankind by love : he used, 
 after enumerating a long and dismal catalogue, to 
 exclaim with the satiric poet, 
 
 " These, and a thousand more, we find : 
 
 Ah ! fear the thousand yet unnani'd behind." 
 
 I 
 
114 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 I used to reply with the Anacreontic song, 
 
 " How I baffle human woes, 
 Woman, lovely woman knows." 
 
 Mr. Day could not refrain from frequently tempting 
 his fate ! — and, what was still more extraordinary, he 
 expected that, with a person neither formed by nature, 
 nor cultivated by art, to please, he should win some 
 female wiser than the rest of her sex, who should feel 
 for him the most romantic and everlasting attachment 
 — a paragon, who should forget the follies and vanities 
 of her sex for him ; who 
 
 " Should go clad like our maidens in grey, 
 And live in a cottage on love." 
 
 These hopes and feelings sprang from noble and 
 generous motives. Though armed in adamant against 
 the darts of beauty, and totally insensible to the 
 power of accomplishments, he felt, that for an object, 
 which should resemble the image in his fancy, he 
 could give up fortune, fame, life, every thing but 
 virtue. It is but justice, and not the partiality of 
 friendship, that induces me to assert, that Mr. Day 
 was the most virtuous human being whom I have 
 ever known. During three and twenty years that we 
 lived in the most perfect intimacy, I never knew him 
 swerve from the strictest morality in words or actions. 
 How far beyond the rigid line of duty, his humanity, 
 universal benevolence, and unbounded generosity car- 
 ried him in his intercourse with mankind, even the 
 unreserved friendship, in which he lived with me or 
 with any other of his friends, could never enable us 
 to estimate. In the course of this narrative many 
 instances of his liberality, and of that highmindedness, 
 which distinguished him from other men, will appear. 
 The true patriotism of Mr. Day's mind, unbiassed by 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 1 1 5 
 
 the love of popularity, or attachment to party, cannot 
 be fully appreciated even by his writings, though 
 every line he wrote breathes the purest love of his 
 country. 
 
 After our first meeting, scarcely a day passed 
 whilst I lived at Hare Hatch without our spending 
 several hours together. On literature of all sorts we 
 conversed, but metaphysics in particular became the 
 subject of our consideration. We differed frequently 
 for months, nay even for years, upon various points ; 
 but in time we generally came to the same conclusion. 
 I never was acquainted with any man, who in con- 
 versation reasoned so profoundly and so logically, or 
 who stated his arguments with so much eloquence, 
 as Mr. Day. 
 
 It was a singular trait of character in my wife, who 
 had never shewn any uneasiness at my intimacy with 
 Sir Francis Delaval, that she should take a strong- 
 dislike to Mr. Day. A more dangerous and seduc- 
 tive companion than the one, or a more moral and 
 improving companion than the other, could not be 
 foimd in England. This jealousy of my friend was a 
 subject of great uneasiness to me. My wife was 
 prudent, domestic, and affectionate ; but she was not 
 of a cheerful temper. She lamented about trifles ; 
 and the lamenting of a female, with whom we live, 
 does not render home delightful. Still I lived more 
 at home than is usual with most men of my age. I 
 did not belong to any club hi the neighbourhood ; 
 nor did I frequent any assembly, or the yearly races 
 of Reading or Maidenhead, which were Avithin seven 
 or eight miles of me. Except paying one visit to 
 Sir Francis Delaval, three or four short visits to Bir- 
 mingham and Lichfield, a visit to my father in 
 
 i 2 
 
116 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Ireland, and the days necessary for keeping terms at 
 the Temple, I never dined or slept from home ten 
 times during five or six years. 
 
 Besides my friendship with Mr. Day, I about this 
 time formed an intimacy with Mr. Keir, of Birming- 
 ham, a gentleman well known in the literary world. 
 He had served abroad, and had obtained the rank 
 of captain ; but, wisely despising the idleness of a 
 soldier's life in time of peace, he sold out of the army 
 at the peace of Fontainbleau, and turned the energy 
 of his powerful mind to science, with a view to make 
 some discovery, by which he might increase his 
 fortune, and in the pursuit of which he might find 
 interesting occupation. I became acquainted with 
 Mr. Keir, at the time when he was employed in 
 translating Macquer's Dictionary of Chemistry, a work 
 which was rendered doubly valuable by the notes of 
 the translator. Mr. Keir accepted an invitation to 
 my house, where he had leisure to pursue his studies 
 during several months. By my means he became 
 acquainted with Mr. Day ; and by means of Mr. Keir 
 I became acquainted with Dr. Small, of Birmingham, 
 a man estemed by all who knew him, and by all who 
 were admitted to his friendship beloved with no com- 
 mon enthusiasm. Dr. Small formed a link, which 
 combined Mr. Bolton, Mr. Watt, Dr. Darwin, Mr. 
 Wedgwood, Mr. Day, and myself, together — men of 
 very different characters, but all devoted to literature 
 and science. This mutual intimacy has never been 
 broken but by death ; nor have any of the number 
 failed to distinguish themselves in science or literature. 
 Some may think, that I ought with due modesty to 
 except myself. 
 
 It is not my object to write the lives of the gentle- 
 
R.L.EDGEW T ORTH, ESQ. 117 
 
 men whom I have named as my particular friends ; 
 but I cannot refrain from noticing the great variety 
 of intellect which they possessed. Mr. Keir, with 
 his knowledge of the world, and good sense : Doctor 
 Small, with his benevolence and profound sagacity : 
 Wedgwood, with his unceasing industry, experimental 
 variety, and calm investigation : Bolton, with his 
 mobility, quick perception, and bold adventure : 
 Watt, with his strong inventive faculty, undeviating 
 steadiness, and unbounded resource : Darwin, with 
 his imagination, science, and poetical excellence : and 
 Day, with his unwearied research after truth, his 
 integrity and eloquence: — formed altogether such a 
 society, as few men have had the good fortune to live 
 with ; such an assemblage of friends, as fewer still 
 have had the happiness to possess, and keep through 
 life. 
 
 At a later period I became acquainted with two 
 friends of Mr. Day's, Mr. Bicknel, and Mr. William 
 Seward, of London. Mr. Seward was prevented by 
 hypochondriacism from much exertion : he however 
 compiled " Biographical Anecdotes " with some repu- 
 tation. Mr. Bicknel was a man of uncommon abilities. 
 In conjunction with Mr. Day he wrote that beautiful 
 and popular poem, called " The Dying Negro, " 
 which was published under the name of Mr. Day ; 
 nor did I know, till after Mr. Day's death, the precise 
 share which Mr. Bicknel had in this publication. It 
 is always agreeable to learn what parts of any joint 
 literary production belong respectively to each of its 
 authors. I may therefore mention, that in the 
 " Biographical Dictionary " of Dr. Kippis may be 
 found an analysis of this poem, in which those lines 
 which were written by Mr. Bicknel are pointed out, 
 
118 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 as they were distinguished in a copy that was in the 
 possession of Mrs. Day. 
 
 Mr. Bicknel, besides being a good poet, and a 
 lawyer of the most promising abilities, was a man of 
 nice discrimination, sound judgment, and various con- 
 versation. Besides these, whom I may call my inti- 
 mate friends, I was introduced by Mr. Keir into a 
 society of literary and scientific men, who used for- 
 merly to meet once a week at Jack's Coffee House, 
 in London, and afterwards at Young Slaughters 
 Coffee House. Without any formal name, this meet- 
 ing continued for years to be frequented by men of 
 real science, and of distinguished merit. John Hun- 
 ter was our chairman. Sir Joseph Banks, Solander, 
 Sir C. Blagden, Dr. George Fordyce, Milne, Maske- 
 lyne, Captain Cook, Sir G. Shuckburgh, Lord Mul- 
 grave, Smeaton, and Ramsden, were among our 
 numbers. Many other gentlemen of talents belonged 
 to this club, but I mention those only with whom I 
 was individually acquainted. A society of literary 
 men, and a literary society, may be very different. 
 In the one, men give the result of their serious 
 researches, and detail their deliberate thoughts. In 
 the other, the first hints of discoveries, the current 
 observations, and the mutual collision of ideas, are of 
 important utility. The knowledge of each member 
 of such a society becomes in time disseminated among 
 the whole body, and a certain esprit de corps, uncon- 
 taminated with jealousy, in some degree combines 
 the talents of numbers to forward the views of a 
 single person. I have felt, ever since I belonged to 
 this society, the advantage of its conversation. I am 
 not a freemason ; I cannot, therefore, speak of the 
 initiatory trials to which a brother is subjected ; 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 119 
 
 but in the society of Slaughter's Coffee House we 
 practised every means in our power, except personal 
 insult, to try the temper and understanding of each 
 candidate for admission. Every prejudice, which his 
 profession or situation in life might have led him to 
 cherish, was attacked, exposed to argument and 
 ridicule. The argument was always ingenious, and 
 the ridicule sometimes coarse. This ordeal prevented 
 for some time the aspiration of too numerous candi- 
 dates ; but private attachments at length softened 
 the rigour of probation, the society became too 
 numerous, and too noble, and was insensibly dis- 
 solved. 
 
 A singular instance of the advantage, which arises 
 from a free communication of ideas, happened to a 
 medical gentleman, one of our members, who had 
 been called upon to give evidence in a cause of great 
 moment, and the evidence he gave was contrary to 
 the opinion of most gentlemen of his own profession. 
 On the trial of Donellan, who was convicted of having 
 poisoned Sir Theodosius Boughton with laurel-water, 
 the gentleman to whom I allude gave it as his 
 opinion, that such a quantity of this water, as would 
 kill a dog instantly, might be swallowed by a man 
 without any material inconvenience. This assertion 
 was much questioned both at the trial and afterwards. 
 At a meeting of our society, a gentleman attacked it 
 with great vehemence, and he w r ent so far as to say, 
 that the opinion was fabricated for the occasion of 
 the trial of Donellan. 
 
 A very unbecoming scene began, which was fortu- 
 nately interrupted by my calling upon two members 
 of the club to witness, that we had heard the medical 
 gentleman alluded to relate ten years before the trial, 
 
120 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 that he had swallowed as much laurel-water as would 
 have killed twenty dogs. I added, that I had seen a 
 dog killed at Dr. Smith's anatomical lectures, at 
 Oxford, by the injection of a single drop of laurel- 
 water. The assailant was quickly put down by my 
 evidence. The simple fact, that the experiment had 
 been made by my medical friend, and communicated 
 to a literary society, many years previous to Donel- 
 lan's trial, proving, that it could not have been 
 fabricated for the occasion. 
 
 I have mentioned that Ramsden, the celebrated 
 optician, was of our society. Besides his great me- 
 chanical genius, he had a species of invention not 
 quite so creditable, the invention of excuses. He 
 never kept an engagement of any sort, never finished 
 any work punctually, or ever failed to promise what 
 he always failed to perforin. 
 
 The king (George III.) had bespoke an instru- 
 ment, which he was peculiarly desirous to obtain ; he 
 had allowed Ramsden to name his own time, but, as 
 usual, the work was scarcely begun at the period 
 appointed for delivery ; however, when at last, it was 
 finished, he took it down to Kew in a postchaise, in a 
 prodigious hurry ; and, driving up to the palace gate, 
 he asked if His Majesty was at home. The pages 
 and attendants in waiting expressed their surprise at 
 such a visit : he however pertinaciously insisted upon 
 being admitted, assuring the page, that, if he told the 
 king that Ramsden was at the gate, His Majesty 
 would soon shew that he would be glad to see him. 
 He was right, he was let in, and was graciously 
 received. His Majesty, after examining the instru- 
 ment carefully, of which he was really a judge, 
 expressed his satisfaction, and turning gravely to. 
 
R. L. EDGEWOKTH, ESQ. 1 2 1 
 
 Ramsden, paid him some compliment upon his 
 punctuality. 
 
 " I have been told, Mr. Ramsden," said the King, 
 " that you are considered to be the least punctual 
 of any man in England ; you have brought home 
 this instrument on the very day that was appointed. 
 You have only mistaken the year !" 
 
 
122 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 In the spring of 1768, my friend Mr. Day accom- 
 panied me to Ireland, on a visit to my father. I 
 took my son with me, leaving my wife and an infant 
 daughter in England. We travelled in my phaeton, 
 and with my own horses, but without a servant. To 
 amuse ourselves on our journey, we agreed that 
 Mr. Day should pass for a very odd gentleman, who 
 was travelling about the world to overcome his sorrow 
 for the loss of his wife ; he was to be dotingly fond 
 of his son, who was to be a most extraordinary child. 
 We settled that I should pass for his servant and 
 factotum ; that whilst I behaved with the utmost 
 civility and attention towards my master, I should 
 behind his back represent him as a humorist and a 
 misanthropist ; and that while he appeared civil, and 
 easily pleased with common fare and ordinary atten- 
 dance, I should give myself all possible airs. We put 
 our plan in execution at Eccleshall, in Staffordshire. 
 I drove my indolent master with great eclat up to the 
 inn, which stands, or stood, in a broad street. My 
 carriage had a contrivance for letting off the horses 
 instantaneously. As soon as I came to the door, I dis- 
 engaged the horses in a moment, before the hostler, 
 for whom I vociferated with uncommon energy, could 
 obey my summons. A number of people collected 
 about us, who gazed at Mr. Day and the child, sitting 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 123 
 
 composedly in the open carriage without horses. I 
 got out, and with my hat off, lifted out little master, 
 and held my arm for my great master, who descended 
 with much deliberation. When they had been shewn 
 into a parlour, I went into the kitchen to order dinner. 
 The landlady was going up to ask what the gentle- 
 man would please to have ; but I stopped her, and 
 begged that she would save herself the trouble, as I 
 always ordered every thing. I then bespoke some 
 cold meat for my master, and a tart for the child, 
 and with an air of authority desired to see the larder, 
 that I might order dinner for myself. Mrs. Landlady, 
 as she did not live on one of the great roads near 
 London, seemed somewhat surprised at my assurance. 
 Having made my way to the larder, I ordered every 
 thing that appeared delicate or costly in the house. 
 I now went into the street, examining the carriage, 
 sending the hostler one way and Boots another. 
 
 My son, who, though very young, entered into the 
 joke, was looking out of the dining-room window; 
 and, desirous of playing some part in the drama, he 
 came down to me, climbed up into the phaeton, and 
 then jumped out into my arms from a considerable dis- 
 tance. He performed various other feats of activity, 
 and these, with his dress, attracted the notice of those 
 inhabitants of the town who had collected near the 
 inn ; they began to talk to the boy and to me with 
 eager curiosity. I diverted them exceedingly with 
 an account of Mr. Day's misanthrophy, and with his 
 various adventures by sea and land ; and thus I con- 
 trived to fix their attention till dinner-time approached. 
 My master then called for the child, and I carried 
 him in with the utmost haste, and with the most 
 obsequious manner. My master's plain fare was 
 
124 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ready, and my delicate dinner was preparing with the 
 utmost nicety in the kitchen, where I condescended 
 to direct the cook, when on a sudden I was accosted 
 by my name in a well known voice. I turned, and 
 beheld Doctor Darwin, whom I little expected to 
 meet at this distance from his home, and travelling a 
 road unusual to him. The landlady cast a reproach- 
 ful look upon me, but, notwithstanding her evident 
 surprise, wanted to persuade us, that she had not been 
 taken in from the beginning. "Ah! Doctor," said 
 she, " this gentleman wanted to pass himself upon 
 me for a servant, but I suspected him, notwithstanding 
 all his pretensions. He has ordered every thing good 
 in the house, and I hope he will share his dinner with 
 his friends, who have acknowledged him in his low 
 estate." 
 
 Mr. Whitehurst * was with Doctor Darwin, and we 
 joined company. Thus began my acquaintance with 
 one of the most simple, unassuming philosophers I 
 have ever known, and thus I had an opportunity 
 of introducing Mr. Day to Doctor Darwin. Their 
 acquaintance did not however this day commence 
 under the most favorable auspices ; for as Mr. Day 
 had no taste for mechanicks, he did not join in our 
 conversation for several hours, during which time 
 Doctor Darwin of course took him to be just such 
 a person in reality, as I had represented him to our 
 landlady. Some topic however arose before we 
 parted, on which Mr. Day displayed so much know- 
 ledge, feeling, and eloquence, as to captivate the 
 Doctor entirely. He invited Mr. Day to Lichfield, 
 an invitation which led not only to intimacy, but to a 
 very sincere friendship. 
 
 * Author of a " Thcon, of the Earth," &c. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 125 
 
 After our departure from Eceleshall, Mr. Day and 
 I proceeded without any adventures on our journey 
 to Ireland, and arrived in Dublin. This city was 
 at that time so very different from what it now is, 
 and from what London then was, that it struck 
 Mr. Day with surprise and disgust. The streets were 
 wretchedly paved, and more dirty than can be easily 
 imagined. The poor were squalid, and their tones 
 strangely discordant to an English ear. The hackney 
 coaches, their horses, and still more their drivers, 
 were so far below what were to be seen in London, 
 and were altogether so uncouth, as to increase at 
 every fresh view the astonishment of my friend. As 
 we passed through the country, the hovels in which 
 the poor were lodged, which were then far more 
 wretched than they are at present, or than they have 
 been for the last twenty years, the black tracts of 
 bog, and the unusual smell of the turf fuel, were to 
 him never-ceasing topics of reproach or lamentation. 
 Mr. Day's deep-seated prejudice in favor of savage 
 life was somewhat shaken by this view of want and 
 misery, which philosophers of a certain class in Lon- 
 don and Paris chose at that time to dignify by the 
 name of simplicity. The modes of living in the 
 houses of the gentry were much the same in Ireland 
 as in England. This surprised my friend : he ob- 
 served, that, if there was any difference, it was that 
 people of similar fortune did not restrain themselves 
 equally in both countries to the same prudent eco- 
 nomy ; but that every gentleman in Ireland, of two 
 or three thousand pounds a year, lived in a certain 
 degree of luxury and show, that would be thought 
 presumptuous in persons of the same fortune in 
 England. 
 
126 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 On our journey to my father's house, I had occasion 
 to vote at a contested election in one of the counties 
 through which we passed. Here a scene of noise, 
 riot, confusion, and drunkenness was exhibited, not 
 superior indeed as to depravity and folly, but of a 
 character or manner so different from what my friend 
 liad ever seen in his own country, that he fell into a 
 profound melancholy. No beds were to be had at 
 the inn, or stabling for my horses ; but if we and they 
 could have eaten beef and drunk claret in the streets, 
 we might have had as much, or ten times as much, 
 as we could have swallowed. The gentleman, for 
 whom I intended to vote, at length billetted me at 
 a clergyman's house near the town, where we were 
 most comfortably taken care of. The next morning 
 I went early to the hustings, that I might give my 
 vote, and proceed without delay upon my journey ; 
 I was the first person who offered himself to be polled. 
 None of the candidates knew me ; and the sheriff, to 
 whom also I was a stranger, inquired from the lawyers 
 and from those near him, who I was ; but could 
 not discover. A law had been just made to expe- 
 dite elections by prohibiting the examination of 
 voters as to their freeholds ; and the sheriff was 
 obliged at his peril to receive every vote that was 
 sanctioned by the oath of the voter. This law had 
 not yet been enforced at any election, and I was 
 determined to exercise my steadiness, by adhering 
 strictly to the letter of the Act of Parliament, 
 which I had in my pocket. I accordingly presented 
 myself to the sheriff with a tender of my vote. 
 He asked me various questions, which I thought 
 irrelevant ; but which the lawyers on all sides, for 
 there were four candidates, insisted I should answer. — 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 1 27 
 
 I refused — and, producing the act, asserted my 
 right of voting, upon making the affidavit therein 
 specified. The sheriff began to hesitate ; the lawyers 
 began to fear, that a rule might be made relative 
 to the future proceedings, which might injure their 
 importance ; and in consequence I was actually ad- 
 mitted to vote without giving any explanations. By 
 this time my friend, the father of one of the candi- 
 dates, came upon the hustings, and told the sheriff, 
 that he knew I had an estate worth some hundreds 
 a year in his county. The lawyers laughed, and I 
 laughed along with them, and retired well satisfied with 
 this essay of my firmness among numbers. 
 
 In these countries it is essential to a man of abilities, 
 to be able to think and speak in public assemblies. 
 Yet we often see, that men who can fight, and who in 
 private are rather impudent than modest, frequently 
 find, that their presence of mind forsakes them when 
 they are to speak or decide before numbers. Habit 
 sometimes renders this disposition so unconquerable, 
 that men of experience and of great talents feel 
 themselves panic struck in public assemblies, if they 
 attempt to deliver their sentiments. 
 
 Mr. Day and I proceeded to Edgeworth-Town, 
 where my father and sister resided. To my father, Mr. 
 Day appeared a very singular personage. My father 
 had not been used to think, that a man without certain 
 conventional maimers could be entitled to much con- 
 sideration ; and though he could not avoid being struck 
 by Mr. Day's conversation, and by his strong powers 
 of reasoning, yet my father conceived a violent pre- 
 judice against him, in consequence of something in his 
 manner of eating and sitting at table, which appeared 
 unsuitable to his rank in life. Mr. Day on his side 
 
128 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 smiled with philosophic indifference at these prejudices 
 in favor of politeness, and seemed to undervalue the 
 understanding of him who set such high importance 
 upon external appearance. My sister, who was not 
 less imbued than my father with a prepossession in 
 favor of good breeding, stood aloof; while my friend 
 preserved an awful distance from a woman, whom 
 he was inclined to consider as a confirmed fine lady, a 
 sort of being for which he had a feeling of some- 
 thing like horror. My sister's easy manners, and 
 agreeable conversation, in a few weeks began never- 
 theless to unbend the stubbornness of Mr. Day's 
 stoicism. She perceived his excellent sense, and 
 humane and generous disposition, and I perceived 
 that they were disposed to approach. The lady 
 however could not be reasoned out of her aristo- 
 cratic habits, which she defended with so much wit 
 and vivacity, that in company she had always the 
 advantage ; but when I was the only auditor, Mr. Day's 
 eloquence prevailed. My sister had a taste for the 
 beauties of nature, for literature, and for good conver- 
 sation ; she was far from being deficient in information 
 on those subjects which had engaged his attention, 
 and there were some points on which they had similar 
 sentiments. 
 
 Before three months were at an end, Mr. Day 
 became her avowed admirer, and my sister was pre- 
 vailed upon to acknowledge, that, if the gentleman 
 continued for a year in the same mind, and could in 
 that time make his appearance becoming a man of 
 his situation in life, she might be induced to give him 
 her hand. I was commissioned to speak to my 
 father. He could make no objection to Mr. Day's 
 morals or fortune ; but he could not repress his 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 1 29 
 
 astonishment at his daughter's descent from the aris- 
 tocratic heights, to which she had been accustomed. 
 
 My friend and I quitted Ireland in autumn, and 
 returned to Hare Hatch. I left my sister studying 
 metaphysics, which Mr. Day had recommended to 
 her ; and he, in hopes of pleasing her, went to London 
 to study the graces. I believe that about this time 
 Mr. Day entered the Temple ; but I do not distinctly 
 recollect the order of the unimportant events, which 
 passed during the year 1769. For my own part I 
 made several excursions to Lichfield and Birmingham, 
 to visit my friends Dr. Small, Mr. Keir, and Dr. Dar- 
 win. I eagerly cultivated their society, and I amused 
 myself with mechanicks, but I fear that I did not add 
 much to my stock of literature. 
 
 In one of my journeys from Hare Hatch to Bir- 
 mingham, I accidentally met with a person, whom I 
 as a mechanick had a curiosity to see. This was a 
 sailor, who had amused London with a singular exhi- 
 bition of dexterity. He was called Jack the Darter. 
 He threw his darts, which consisted of thin rods of 
 deal, of about half an inch in diameter, and of a yard 
 long, to an amazing height and distance ; for instance, 
 he threw them over what was then called the New 
 Church in the Strand. Of this feat I had heard, but 
 I entertained some doubts upon the subject ; I had 
 inquired from my friends where this man could be 
 found, but had not been able to discover him. As I 
 was driving towards Birmingham in an open carriage 
 of a singular construction, I overtook a man, who 
 walked remarkably fast, but who stopped as I passed 
 him, and eyed my equipage with uncommon curiosity. 
 There was something in his manner, that made me 
 speak to him ; and, from the sort of questions he 
 
130 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 asked about my carriage, I found that he was a clever 
 fellow. I soon learned, that he had walked over the 
 greatest part of England, and that he was perfectly 
 acquainted with London. It came into my head to 
 inquire, whether he had ever seen the exhibition, 
 about which I was so desirous to be informed. 
 
 " Lord ! Sir," said he, "I am, myself, Jack the 
 Darter." He had a roll of brown paper in his hand, 
 which he unfolded, and soon produced a bundle of 
 the light deal sticks, which he had the power of 
 darting to such a distance. He readily consented to 
 gratify my curiosity, and after he had thrown some of 
 them to a prodigious height, I asked him to throw 
 some of them horizontally. At the first trial he threw 
 one of them eighty yards with great ease. I observed, 
 that he coiled a small string round the stick, by 
 which he gave it a rotary motion, that preserved it 
 from altering its course ; and at the same time it 
 allowed the arm, which threw it, time to exercise 
 its whole force. 
 
 If any thing be simply thrown from the hand, it is 
 clear, that it can acquire no greater velocity than 
 that of the hand which throws it : but if the body 
 that is thrown, passes through a greater space than 
 the hand, whilst the hand continues to communicate 
 motion to the body to be impelled, the body will 
 acquire a velocity nearly double to that of the hand 
 which throws it. The ancients were aware of this, 
 and they wrapped a thong of leather round their 
 javelins, by which they could throw them with addi- 
 tional violence. This invention did not, I believe, 
 belong to the Greeks ; nor do I remember its being 
 mentioned by Homer or Xenophon. It was in use 
 among the Romans ; but at what time it was intro- 
 
11. L. EDGEWORTTI, ESQ. 131 
 
 duced or laid aside 1 know not. Whoever is ac- 
 quainted with the science of projectiles will perceive, 
 that this invention is well worthy of their attention. 
 
 After having satisfied my curiosity about Jack the 
 Darter, I proceeded to Birmingham. I mentioned, 
 that I travelled in a carriage of a singular construc- 
 tion. It was a one-wheeled chaise, which I had had 
 made for the purpose of going conveniently in narrow 
 roads. It was made fast by shafts to the horse's 
 sides, and was furnished with two weights or counter- 
 poises, that hung below the shafts. The seat was 
 not more than eight and twenty or thirty inches from 
 the ground, in order to bring the centre of gravity of 
 the whole as low as possible. The foot-board turned 
 upon hinges, fastened to the shafts, so that when it 
 met with any obstacle it gave way, and my legs were 
 warned to lift themselves up. In going through water 
 my legs were secured by leathers, which folded up like 
 the sides of bellows ; by this means I was pretty safe 
 from wet. On my road to Birmingham I passed through 
 Long-Compton, in Warwickshire, on a Sunday. The 
 people were returning from church, and numbers 
 stopped to gaze at me. There is or was a shallow 
 ford near the town, over which there was a very 
 narrow bridge for horse and foot passengers, but not 
 sufficiently wide for waggons or chaises. Towards 
 this bridge I drove. The people, not perceiving the 
 structure of my one-wheeled vehicle, called to me 
 with great eagerness to warn me, that the bridge was 
 too narrow for carriages. I had an excellent horse, 
 which went so fast as to give but little time for 
 examination. The louder they called, the faster I 
 drove, and when I had passed the bridge, they 
 shouted after me with surprise. I got on to Shipston 
 
 K 2 
 
132 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 upon Stour ; but, before I had dined there, I found 
 that my fame had overtaken me. My carriage was 
 put into a coach-house, so that those who came from 
 Long-Compton, not seeing it, did not recognise me ; 
 I therefore had an opportunity of hearing all the 
 exaggerations and strange conjectures, which were 
 made by those who related my passage over the 
 narrow bridge. There were posts on the bridge, to 
 prevent, as I suppose, more than one horseman from 
 passing at once. Some of the spectators asserted, 
 that my carriage had gone over these posts ; others 
 said that it had not wheels, which was indeed literally 
 true ; but they meant to say that it was without any 
 wheel. Some were sure that no carriage ever went 
 so fast ; and all agreed, that at the end of the bridge, 
 where the floods had laid the road for some way under 
 water, my carriage swam on the surface of the water. 
 This year when I went to London to keep my last 
 terms, I made a first attempt to speak in a public 
 assembly. My friend Mr. Day had about this time 
 made a speech to the Westminster electors, which 
 had been much applauded. He and our common 
 friend Mr. Bicknel were in town living together ; as 
 we were going home one night through the streets of 
 London, Mr. Bicknel expressed much surprise at 
 Mr. Day's being able to face such a multitude, as 
 that which he had encountered on the hustings ; and 
 was astonished, that he could speak with tolerable 
 facility even an harangue which had been prepared 
 at leisure. I affirmed, that a man, who had always 
 been used to express himself in good language, could 
 not be much at a loss in speaking upon any common 
 subject in public ; I said that the magick of numbers, 
 like all other magick, ceased to have power the 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 133 
 
 moment when its influence was discredited. " But 
 do you think," said Mr. Bicknel, " that you could 
 get up, without previous preparation, on any given 
 common subject, and speak before a great number of 
 people ?" I answered in the affirmative : and I said, 
 that, supposing it was a subject with which I was 
 tolerably well acquainted, I would undertake to make 
 the audience laugh at me, hiss me, and applaud me. 
 
 " You may try now," said Mr. Bicknel, " for we 
 are within fifty yards of Coachmakers' hall, where a 
 debating society is at this moment in full assembly." 
 I determined to make the trial. We found the room 
 extremely crowded, not indeed with a very brilliant 
 assembly ; but still a crowd is a crowd. The subject 
 under consideration was the influence of female man- 
 ners upon society. The moment that the speaker 
 on his legs had finished, I rose, and, catching the 
 president's eye, I began, as soon as silence permitted 
 me, to address him thus, stammering at every syllable, 
 
 « Mr. Pr Pr Pr Mr. Pre Pre 
 
 Pre Pres President," — stuttering with pro- 
 digious violence. Voices on every side expressed 
 wonder at the Iblly of a man's attempting to speak in 
 public, who must be, or ought to be, conscious, that 
 he could not speak articulately in private. After a 
 few moments of compassion, the ridicule of the spec- 
 tacle which I afforded struck the assembly with one 
 common consent, and a universal laugh shook the 
 hall. When it began to subside, I appeared to 
 recover myself by degrees, and then, in fluent language, 
 I descanted upon the follies of fashion, and upon the 
 sacrifices made to its despotick power by the fair 
 sex. I observed, that my audience was principally 
 composed of ordinary mechanicks, shoemakers and 
 
134 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 staymakers in particular. The gallery was full of 
 females, and before such an audience my second 
 undertaking was not very difficult to be accomplished. 
 I inveighed with great vehemence against the inde- 
 cency with which ladies sometimes submitted their 
 persons to the familiar touch of rude mechanicks ; I 
 described a delicate lady holding out her leg and foot 
 to a shoemaker : I marked the contrast between his 
 black hands and leathern smell, and the white silken foot 
 and perfumed odour of a modern belle : I decribed, 
 perhaps too accurately, the operations of an Italian 
 staymaker. This was at a time when stays of a peculiar 
 kind were in fashion. My audience began to murmur, 
 and as I proceeded, their feelings broke out into the 
 the strongest marks of indignation. I was hissed, 
 and nearly put down. I however kept my counte- 
 nance, and gradually receding from the tone I had 
 taken, I pronounced a panegyric upon women, on 
 their beauty, modesty, prudence, and unlimited sway 
 over our sex. The ladies in the gallery got up, 
 leaned over the railing, and shewed by their attention 
 and their smiles, that I had obtained their appro- 
 bation. The president's hammer stood suspended, 
 whilst I proceeded in this strain, till by abusing all 
 foreigners, and praising every thing that was English, 
 I obtained unbounded applause from the whole 
 audience. I never returned to this nursery of 
 eloquence : but I am satisfied, that this trial of myself 
 gave me confidence, when I had occasion many years 
 afterwards to address a public assembly. 
 
 It is useful to men to try their powers, but teach- 
 ing boys to declaim is in general hurtful ; as it gives 
 them a pedantic air, and inclines them to think, 
 that, so long as they can go on with fluency, and in 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 135 
 
 language tolerably appropriate, they are speaking 
 well. This treacherous facility prevents them from 
 perceiving, that their knowledge is superficial ; and 
 they never suspect the inevitable truth, that they 
 must be neglected, unless they have something useful 
 to communicate. 
 
 Before the winter of the year in which they parted 
 had elapsed, Mr. Day and my sister discovered, what 
 all their friends had seen from the beginning of their 
 acquaintance, that they were not suited to each other. 
 Fortunately this discovery was made, before my 
 friend had become so far attached, as to render my 
 sisters final decision a source of deep, or at least of 
 permanent regret. Mr. Day suffered indeed at the 
 time, but his heart and his pride soon recovered, and 
 he determined to put in practice a scheme, which had 
 long occupied his imagination. This was no common 
 project, but a design more romantic than any which 
 we find in novels. 
 
 Mr. Day resolved to breed up two girls, as equally 
 as possible, under his own eye ; hoping that they 
 might be companions to each other while they were 
 children, and that, before they grew up to be women, 
 he might be able to decide, which of them would be 
 most agreeable to himself for a wife. I was not with 
 my friend when he and Mr. Bicknel selected from a 
 number of orphans*, one of remarkably promising 
 appearance. It was necessary, that the girl should 
 be bound apprentice to some married man. I was 
 the person, whom Mr. Day named, and to me Sabrina 
 Sidney was apprenticed. Mr. Day called her Sabrina 
 from the River Severn, and Sidney from his favorite, 
 
 * See Mr. Keir's Life of Day. 
 
136 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Algernon Sidney. On his return to London, he pre- 
 sented to me the little ward, who had been thus 
 bound to me without my knowledge. I had such well 
 merited confidence in Mr. Day, that I felt no repug- 
 nance against his being entrusted with the care of a 
 girl, who had been thus put incidentally under my 
 protection. In a few days he went to the Foundling 
 Hospital, in London, and chose another girl, to whom 
 he gave the name of Lucretia. He placed his wards 
 in a widow's house, in some court near Chancery Lane, 
 and immediately applied himself to their education. 
 They were eleven and twelve years old, good 
 humoured and welldisposed. Mr. Day's kindness 
 soon made them willing to conduct themselves accord- 
 ing to his directions. But a lodging in London was 
 not a convenient or an agreeable scene, for such a 
 plan as he intended to pursue ; he therefore deter- 
 mined to take his pupils out of England, that he 
 might avoid the inquiries and curiosity of his acquaint- 
 ance. He accordingly removed from London, and 
 shortly afterwards he sailed to France. I do not 
 remember many of the circumstances of this journey. 
 I know only, that he resided a considerable time at 
 Avignon, where he excited much surprise by his mode 
 of life, and by his opinions. But his simplicity of 
 conduct, strict morality, uncommon generosity, and 
 excellent understanding, soon removed these impres- 
 sions : and both he and his pupils were treated with 
 kindness and civility by the principal people in 
 Avignon. 
 
 Mr. Day had as large a portion of national preju- 
 dice in favor of the people of England, and against 
 the French, as any man of sense could have ; it was 
 therefore something strange, that he should take two 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ.' 137 
 
 young girls to that country, one of whom he destined 
 to be his wife ; but, upon reflection, it appears, that 
 Mr. Day had a considerable advantage in being in 
 this situation. From their total ignorance of the 
 French language, an ignorance which he took no pains 
 to remove, his pupils were not exposed to any imper- 
 tinent interference ; and as that knowledge of the 
 world, from which he wished to preserve them, was 
 at one entrance quite shut out, he had their minds 
 entirely open to such ideas and sentiments, and such 
 only, as he desired to implant. Mr. Day had an un- 
 conquerable horror of the empire of fashion over the 
 minds of women ; simplicity, perfect innocence, and 
 attachment to himself, were at that time the only 
 qualifications which he desired in a wife. He was 
 not perhaps sufficiently aware, that ignorance is not 
 necessary to preserve innocence : for this reason he 
 was not anxious to cultivate the understandings of his 
 pupils. He taught them by slow degrees to read and 
 write ; by continually talking to them, by reasoning, 
 which appeared to me above their comprehension, and 
 by ridicule, the taste for which might afterwards be 
 turned against himself, he endeavoured to imbue them 
 with a deep hatred for dress, and luxury, and fine 
 people, and fashion, and titles. At his return to 
 England, which happened, I believe, when I was out 
 of that country, he parted with one of his pupils, find- 
 ing her invincibly stupid, or at the best not disposed to 
 follow his regimen. He gave her three or four hun- 
 dred pounds, which soon procured her a husband, 
 who was a small shopkeeper. In this situation she 
 went on contentedly, was happy, and made her hus- 
 band happy, and is, perhaps, at this moment, com- 
 fortably seated with some of her grandchildren on her 
 
138 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 knees. His other pupil, Sabrina Sidney, was, at 
 Mr. Day's return from France, a very pleasing girl of 
 thirteen. Her countenance was engaging. She had 
 fine auburn hair, that hung in natural ringlets on 
 her neck ; a beauty, which was then more striking, 
 because other people wore enormous quantities of 
 powder and pomatum. Her long eye-lashes, and eyes 
 expressive of sweetness, interested all who saw her, 
 and the uncommon melody of her voice made a favor- 
 able impression upon every person to whom she spoke. 
 I was curious to see how my friend's philosophic 
 romance would end. 
 
 Note by the Editor. 
 Two of Mr. Day's letters from Avignon, written when he was 
 scarcely twenty, may, perhaps, amuse the reader. His expressions 
 of [contempt and horror of French society must not be taken 
 literally or seriously. Mr. Day did not understand French suffi- 
 ciently at this time, to judge of foreign conversation. His exag- 
 gerated opinion of Rousseau was recanted, as will appear by one of 
 his letters after he attained to years of discretion. The following 
 are given merely as specimens of his early style, and as almost the 
 only instances of gaiety of manner, which ever appeared in his 
 correspondence. 
 
 Avignon, November, 1769. 
 Beiiold me at Avignon, full six hundred and fifty miles, three 
 quarters, and one furlong, from Barehill, N. B. by the well known 
 rules of addition and subtraction, you may by this means calculate 
 my distance from London, Reading, &c.) and yet, by heavens ! I 
 am alive ! and what is more, tolerably well ; vivit ? — imo vero etiam 
 in senatum venit ! "Were I to relate the stagecoaches I have 
 travelled in, the post-boys I have talked big to, (nay, I have gone 
 so far as to say sacre Dieu /) the inns I have lain at, the rivers I 
 have passed, with no more than a three-quarters of an inch plank 
 between me and destruction, I should make you shudder ! Happy, 
 O tcrque qualerque bcate, are you whom fate permits to lead an 
 
R. L. EDGEWOUTH, ESQ. 1 39 
 
 easy, safe, and inglorious life, far from the toils, the dangers, of us 
 Avho travel to see the wonders of the world. Thus much I thought 
 proper to observe en passant. 
 
 And yet, my friend, Providence, that impartial distributor of 
 good and evil, to every station of life allots its peculiar pleasures, 
 as well as its peculiar pains. Had I staid at home, perhaps at this 
 moment I might be in a warm comfortable room, calculating the 
 vibrations of your wooden horse's legs ; but should I, my friend, 
 should I have been what I now am, — the traveller, the polite 
 scholar, and the fine gentleman ? Should I have worn a laced 
 coat ? Should I have seen a governor, or an intendant, or who 
 knows what is yet reserved for me by destiny. 
 
 Seriously — It is seldom that we are enabled with impartiality 
 to estimate either the advantages or the disadvantages of our own 
 situation, relative to that of other nations, or other individuals. 
 Were you to believe some of our travellers, to find a sample of hell 
 you must travel in France — bad roads, carriages, provisions, beds, 
 and every other inconvenience which a man can bear and live : 
 were you to believe others, there is no misery except in England, 
 no happiness but in France. Heaven and hell separated by an 
 extent of sea scarcely seven leagues. The first you always 
 laughed at, and with reason : the second, perhaps, you may still 
 believe. To destroy your prejudices against your own country 
 and its inhabitants, and to convince you, that your own literature 
 is by much the most eligible, cannot, I think, be doing you any 
 considerable harm. Me, perhaps, you may believe, or rather 
 believe my writings, my sentiments, if you find a spirit of modera- 
 tion and candour, without bitterness and without violence. 
 
 There is indubitably among the French a greater spirit of 
 dissipation than among the English : they are accustomed to no 
 kind of employment, to no kind of attention ; their mornings are 
 spent in dress and in sauntering about, and their afternoons in 
 visits. If true happiness consists in perfect vacuity, they certainly 
 have the advantage of us. I have been introduced into all the 
 polite assemblies — I know something of their manner of life, at 
 least the outward and visible signs. In their visiting rooms you 
 see a number of beings lolling, walking, standing, yawning, talk- 
 ing of the same trifling subjects, which you would hear discussed 
 in England with the same indifference, till the happy moment 
 arrives, which sets them down to the gaming table ; I know not 
 that the French are more indifferent to the loss of their money, or 
 less agitated by the common passions which attend the gaming 
 
140 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 table than the English ; if they are, I am sure the countenance is no 
 index to the heart. I should be sorry if our Creator had made our 
 happiness depend upon the gaming table. Indeed the rest of 
 mankind would have some cause to complain as well as myself, if 
 this had been so ordained. If you go into their coffee-houses you 
 find a number of idle people playing at dice, sitting round a stove 
 doing nothing, gaping, yawning, getting up, and sitting down 
 again. There is another species of pleasure in France, which 
 consists in intrigue *************** "Were I to 
 wander like Cain over the face of the earth, there is no doubt 
 but I should prefer France, since it is so much easier for a stranger 
 to get into society here, than in England ; there is also no man- 
 ner of doubt, but that there is a more general spirit of politeness 
 among the French than among us, that is, a man runs less hazard 
 of being aifronted, or meeting with any kind of incivility or posi- 
 tive rudeness ; no wonder, for the consequence is death, or infamy, 
 both to the aggressor and the injured ; but were I to settle, I think 
 no man of common sense would hesitate a moment between the 
 two countries ; in England one enjoys all the comforts, all the 
 real advantages, all the connexions of life, let me add all the con- 
 veniences, to a much greater advantage than here. 
 
 I am settled chez M. Frederic, vis a vis la Madeleine, Avignon. 
 I hope you will write to me as soon as you can : in your letter let 
 me hear of nothing but your boy, your wooden horse, and other 
 domestic occurrences — to me they will be the most agreeable 
 subjects in nature. Every thing belonging to me goes on well, 
 give my love to Dick, and my best respects to your wife. Have 
 you got a house yet ? — have you got a patent ? — a title ? — a for- 
 tune ? — a child? — a medal? — a new chaise ? 
 
 Vale, 
 
 Thomas Day. 
 
 1769. 
 I had thought it impossible, that any thing should so far over- 
 come the aversion you entertain to letters, as to make you write 
 a whole sheet of foolscap, and, what is more, in a legible hand. 
 I began to doubt, whether you had not been guilty of plagiary, 
 and bribed some fair lady; as the booksellers paid Dryden to 
 compose so many sheets a winter. I am, however, much obliged 
 by your having made the exception in my favor. "When every 
 boarding-school Miss can consume whole reams without a single 
 
R. L. EDGE WORTH, ESQ. 141 
 
 sentiment or idea to express, it would be digraceful if two philo- 
 sophers, and, what is more, two real friends, should be unable 
 to fill a sheet of paper once in six weeks, more especially when 
 we are separated by such a tract of country. 
 
 Accept a miracle instead of wit, 
 
 A line of Homer in Greek letters writ. 
 
 That gaiety, my friend, which you remark in my letter, is 
 neither an effect of French, nor of the recovery of my health : 
 it is an effect of either a constitutional philosophy, or of habit 
 to make a jest, at least to others, of what is most disagreeable to 
 me. For be assured no one circumstance of life was ever half so 
 much so, as my residence in France. Dr. Small was little ac- 
 quainted either with me or the French, when he advised me to a 
 change of climate for the sake of engaging and amusing my mind ; 
 instead of giving myself up more to dissipation, I really assure you, 
 I never read or thought more in my whole life, than I do at 
 present. 
 
 Consider from how many subjects of English conversation the 
 French are entirely excluded. Politics, that polite source of 
 dispute with us, is with them unknown ; with agriculture, which 
 employs so much of the attention of our country gentlemen, they 
 never meddle : add to this the disadvantage of their climate, 
 which, being almost constantly serene, gives them no employment 
 in remarking its variations. Whether it is the effect of custom, 
 prejudice, or both together, I know not, but I begin to regret 
 the fogs and showers of Old England. Nothing can be more 
 ignorant than those of the French nobility whom I have seen ; 
 so far from finding any taste for any kind of science among them 
 I really have not heard enough in any company in France to 
 persuade me, that any one person who composed it could even 
 read. Upon the whole I conclude, from all I see, and from all 
 I hear, that the general taste for foreign countries, and contempt 
 for their own, so prevalent amongst the English, can proceed from 
 no other principle, than that perversion which makes women 
 prefer lap-dogs to their children, or which makes our sex prefer 
 the company of profligate to modest women, and every species of 
 vice and folly to the more easy dictates of common sense. It is 
 possible that, deceived by my own prejudices and attachments 
 to men, to places, to opinions, I may judge erroneously ; it is 
 
142 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 your business to inform yourself of the truth of facts, and 
 then to deduce your own conclusions. Attached entirely to ex- 
 teriors, enslaved by their king and by women, manliness of senti- 
 ment and strength of reason appear to be entirely unknown in 
 this country ; to dress, to dance, to sing, to " tend the Fair," are 
 the occupations of a Frenchman's life ; their prejudices, which 
 make them consider their inferiors less as men than beasts of 
 burthen, make them entirely indifferent to their wants, their 
 miseries ; a profusion in dress, in [equipage, usurps the place of 
 love and of generosity. The women, brought up in convents, or 
 formed under the care of gouvernantes and servants, when they 
 enter into the world, bring prejudice, extravagance, and coquetry 
 to their husbands : no laws, nor the force of the religion they are 
 bigoted to, can restrain them ; the feeble ties of modesty, decorum, 
 or shame, are unknown — a universal infidelity prevails ; the men 
 can feel nothing but indifference for their nominal wives ; hence 
 all the ties of nature are broken through, all the sweet connexions 
 of domestic life unknown — husband, wife, father, son, and brother, 
 are words without meaning, Vox et prceterea nihil. But the most 
 disgusting sight of all is to see that sex, whose weakness of body, 
 and imbecility of mind, can only entitle them to our compassion 
 and indulgence, assuming an unnatural dominion, and regulating 
 the customs, the manners, the lives and opinions of the other sex, 
 by their own caprices, weakness, and ignorance. 
 
 But after all, I think it will be of some advantage to me to have 
 been in France : I flatter myself, that by going into company here, 
 and a little observation, I have so well matured the instructions I 
 received first from you, that I shall have upon my return (or at 
 least know how to assume) sufficient impertinence, loquacity, vanity, 
 and fine clothes, to set up with some degree of success for the 
 character of a polite man. Apropos I have bought a fine gold 
 waistcoat for you, but I am apprehensive of its being seized when 
 I come back, therefore I should be glad if you would take the 
 trouble of inquiring, and write me word in your next letter, what 
 are the laws in that respect. 
 
 You inquire after my pupils : I am not disappointed in any one 
 respect. I am more attached to, and more convinced of the truths 
 of my principles than ever. I am very sure the company of these 
 children has preserved me from a great many melancholy hours. 
 I have made them, in respect to temper, two such girls, as, I may 
 perhaps say without vanity, you have never seen at the same 
 :ifrc They have never given me a moment's trouble throughout 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 143 
 
 the voyage, are always contented, and tliink nothing so agreeahle 
 as waiting upon me (no moderate convenience for a lazy man) : 
 perhaps it may divert you to see an original letter from Miss Sa- 
 brina Sidney, word for word dictated by herself: — " Dear 
 Mr. Edgeworth, I am glad to hear you are well, and your little 
 boy — I love Mr. Day dearly, and Lucretia — I am learning to 
 write — I do not like France so well as England — the people are 
 very brown, they dress very oddly — the climate is very good 
 here. I hope I shall have more sense against I come to England — 
 I know how to make a circle and an equilateral triangle — I know 
 the cause of night and day, winter and summer. I love Mi*. Day 
 best in the world, Mr. Bicknel next, and you next." — All this is, 
 I believe, a faithful display of her heart and head. 
 
 I can't say I find any benefit from the change of climate, I tliink 
 I am just the same, Levins Jit patientia quicquid corrigere est nefas. 
 I know of no consolations we can derive from philosophy against 
 the absolute power of disease. This simple sentiment supports me, 
 That we must all yield to necessity, and, while we live, the less we 
 employ our minds upon our own infirmities, the easier we shall 
 be. AVhen we have lost both the hope of cure and happiness, Die 
 soon, oh, Fain/s son ! I have allotted myself a kind of task in 
 life, till the performance of which, without the last necessity, I 
 will not retire to rest. After all, there is so little certainty in 
 human affairs, so small an interval between good and evil, happi- 
 ness and misery, so much, and such unexpected misery amongst 
 mankind, that no one, who considers, will suffer himself to be 
 strongly attached to life. You and I agree perfectly in our funda- 
 mental principles. Health of body and employment — moderation 
 of the passions — agreeable society and good temper, hoc satis est 
 donasse Jovem. Were all the books in the world to be destroyed, 
 except scientific books (which I except, not to affront you) the 
 second book I should wish to save, after the Bible, would be 
 Rousseau's Einilius. It is indeed a most extraordinary work — 
 the more I read, the more I admire — Rousseau alone, with a 
 perspicuity more than mortal, has been able at once to look 
 through the human heai*t, and discover the secret sources and 
 combinations of the passions. Every page is big with important 
 truth. In respect to your child, I know of only one danger, 
 which is, that you may enlarge his ideas too fast. To yield without 
 murmuring to necessity, to exert properly the faculties of nature, 
 to be unbiassed by prejudice, are the simple foundations of every 
 thing that is ^reat, good, sublime — " Excellent Rousseau !" first 
 
144 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of humankind ! Behold a system, which, preserving to man all the 
 faculties, and the excellencies, and the liberty of his natui*e, pre- 
 serves a medium between the brutality and ignorance of a savage, 
 and the corruptions of society ! Remember, it will never be too 
 late to enlighten the understanding ; but that a single error, like 
 a drop of poison, contaminates the whole. Never trouble yourself 
 about Dick's reading and writing, he will learn it, sooner or later, 
 if you let him alone ; and there is no danger, except that the 
 people of Henley may call him a dunce. 
 
 Do not be surprised at the enormous length of this letter, or 
 think I expect as much in return : when we exchange ore for 
 metal, he is not always a loser, who receives the least in weight. 
 
 Faites mes complimens a Madame votre femmc — Mademoiselle 
 votre soeur, SfC 
 
 Oh, my dear friend, you'd be quite surprised to see me now : 
 Oh Lord! I am quite another thing to what I was — I talks 
 French like any thing ; I wears a velvet coat, and a fine waistcoat, 
 all over gold, and dresses quite comme ilfaut: and trips about 
 with my hat under my arm, and " Serviteur Monsieur /" and 
 " J'ai Thonneur Madame? &c. Oh dear, it's charming upon my 
 soul! — good night — my paper's out, and I must dress for the 
 concert I pity you poor country puts, that see nothing of the 
 woi*ld, and, when I return, will try to teach you how to behave. 
 
 Thomas Dat. 
 
R.L. EDGE WORTH, ESQ. 145 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 [1769-70. 
 Before Mr. Day returned from France, and whilst 
 I was still living at Hare Hatch, I received an 
 account, that my father was dangerously ill ; I im- 
 mediately set off for Ireland, and found him in 
 Dublin, suffering under the hands of surgeons, from 
 the effects of a slight cut in one of his toes ; he 
 languished for three or four months, bore his illness 
 with resignation to the will of Providence, and died 
 with firm hope of happiness in Heaven. My father, 
 (Richard Edgeworth), was in his seventieth year 
 when he died. He had always set an example to his 
 children of perfect morality, and of unaffected piety. 
 Upright, honourable, sincere, and sweet tempered, he 
 was loved and respected by people of all ranks, with 
 whom he was connected. He was in the Irish par- 
 liament for five and twenty years, and I have reason 
 to believe, that he never gave a vote contrary to his 
 conviction ; an instance of virtue, in those days, not 
 very common. That he was in a few instances per- 
 suaded by his friends, that what was for their interest 
 was for the interest of the state, might, I believe, be 
 the case ; but no corrupt motive could be even 
 suspected, for he never had, during his whole life, 
 any pension or emolument ; nor do I know of the 
 smallest favour that he ever received for any person 
 
 i- 
 
146 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 from government, though he generally voted with 
 what was called the court. He was twice offered, 
 but he declined accepting a baronetage, to which he 
 had a claim as ancient as the time of James the First, 
 when a patent was prepared for his great grandfather, 
 Francis Edgeworth, who was then clerk of the 
 Hanaper. 
 
 My father's understanding was sound and clear, 
 and he was reputed to be a good chamber-council ; 
 but his health, or his inclination did not accord with 
 the laborious practice of his profession ; he had retired, 
 soon after his marriage, to the country, and applied 
 himself, by the care and management of his estate, 
 to provide for his family. Early difficulties had 
 accustomed him to laborious business at the desk, 
 and to uncommon accuracy. These habits continued 
 to influence him during his whole life, so much, that 
 in the course of his business he used to give and take 
 a receipt for sums even under a pound, at full legal 
 length; and, to avoid future disputes, he wrote the 
 day of the month and the year of our Lord in letters. 
 This was pure habit and not weakness of mind; it 
 is mentioned here, among many instances I have 
 adduced to point out the force of early education. 
 
 After my father's death, finding myself in posses- 
 sion of an estate which rendered it no longer necessary 
 for me to pursue my profession as a barrister, I was 
 not called to the bar, though I had completed all my 
 terms. I was not anxious to obtain wealth, nor was 
 I ambitious, therefore I had no motive to excite me 
 to pursue a laborious profession, that did not suit my 
 taste, which was for domestic life and scientific 
 pursuits. 
 
 It had been my father's hope, in educating me for 
 
11. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 147 
 
 the law, that I should distinguish myself in a profes- 
 sion, for which he had a singular veneration. Had 
 he perfectly understood my disposition, he might 
 easily have led me to pursue the course, which he 
 ardently desired. But notwithstanding his having 
 the kindest intentions, he made some mistakes in the 
 management of my mind. Seeing that I was of a 
 lively disposition, he concluded that I must be averse 
 to the study of the law, and he fancied that my love 
 for what is commonly called pleasure would neces- 
 sarily prevent me from all serious application. In 
 guarding against this, and in haste to make a lawyer 
 of me, he at my first going to Oxford, in spite of the 
 honourable warning he had received, put me under the 
 care of his friend Mr. Elers. In his house, it is true, 
 I was free from the common excitements to dissipa- 
 tion ; but I was there, in my first vacations, secluded 
 from the world, and exposed to a temptation, which 
 to my inexperienced youth, and naturally strong 
 passions, proved irresistible. Had not my father been 
 prepossessed by the idea of my volatility, and had he 
 placed me in situations where my ambition might 
 have been early excited, he would probably have suc- 
 ceeded in his views. It was at that time easy in 
 Ireland, for a young barrister of any talents, and 
 whose family had some influence in their own county, 
 to make way into the Irish parliament. Had par- 
 liamentary eminence been held up to me, I should 
 probably have studied hard, to enable myself to 
 follow public business. My father might have en- 
 couraged me by pointing out, that I was not entirely 
 deficient in the qualities necessary for a public 
 speaker : I had been always accustomed in my own 
 family to hear good language ; I had been in the 
 
 L 2 
 
148 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 habit of paying attention to my own manner of speak- 
 ing ; I had read a number of good English authors, 
 and had an ardent taste for the acquisition of know- 
 ledge, with a desire to excel, which might have 
 been directed into airy path of what is commonly 
 called ambition. 
 
 I here simply point out what means would, I be- 
 lieve, have succeeded in securing the objects for me, 
 which my father wished ; whether, if I had followed 
 public business, I should have been so happy, in 
 such easy circumstances, or possessed of the same 
 independence of character, as I am at present, it is 
 impossible to determine. But of this I am sure, and 
 I say it with gratitude to Providence, that I have 
 during a long life been in easy circumstances, inde- 
 pendent, and happy : — that I have had leisure to 
 judge of right and wrong, to cultivate whatever 
 talents I received from God, and to educate a great 
 number of children, some of whom have already 
 reflected honour upon their father. 
 
 The only advantage, which the world can gain 
 from the publication of the lives of individuals, is 
 the knowledge of the circumstances that tend to the 
 formation of character, or of those which influence 
 the happiness of life : on these, therefore, I dwell. 
 
 In consequence of my early marriage, I had for 
 many years of my youth been confined, during my 
 father's life, to a small income. Even at that time I 
 was fully sensible, that this was of advantage to my 
 character. It induced the habit of submitting to 
 privations, and of turning aside from allurements to 
 expense. My wife was a good economist. I never 
 w r as fond of money, nor was I extravagant. I had no 
 expensive tastes, and now, at sixty-five, I feel as little 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ, 149 
 
 disposed to love money, as I was at six and twenty : 
 nor am I more inclined to wish for superfluities ; 
 
 " Houses, horses, pictures, planting, 
 
 " JS'o cruel something ecr was wanting." 
 
 Hence I was enabled early to live upon a little, 
 and, as I grew older, with a moderate fortune I made 
 myself affluent by confining my wishes within bounds 
 something less extended than my income. 
 
 Since the time of which I write, the people of 
 Ireland have improved more than any other people in 
 Europe. At that period, there existed among a class 
 just above those who worked for bread a strong dis- 
 position to cunning, and an eager desire to take 
 advantage of the easiness and good nature of their 
 superiors. I experienced this soon after I came into 
 possession of my father's estate. I felt much disposed 
 to satisfy the wishes of all who asked favours from 
 me ; but I found, that demands upon my compliance 
 increased beyond the possibility of my means to 
 gratify : a few refusals gave much offence, and over- 
 balanced the kindness, which I had excited by favours 
 of far greater value ; so that a short course of expe- 
 rience fortunately taught me, that justice, and my 
 own sense of generosity should be my guides ; and 
 that yielding to the representations of those, who 
 could without any compunction frame a plausible tale, 
 would in time lead me into serious difficulties, and 
 would put it out of my power to do any thing for 
 others, who had just claims upon me. 
 
 Shortly after my father's death I was suddenly 
 informed that my sister was married to an officer, with 
 whom I thought that she had been but slightly 
 acquainted. I loved my sister with the greatest 
 affection, and I suppose my pride was wounded by 
 
150 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 her not having acquainted me with her attachment to 
 this gentleman. Whatever was the cause of the 
 emotion which I felt at hearing this unexpected news, 
 its violence was extraordinary. No circumstance or 
 misfortune of my whole life ever affected me suddenly 
 with such pain and disappointment ; I felt a kind of 
 fever instantly kindle in my brain ; objects became 
 confused before my eyes ; and, had not a burst of 
 tears relieved me, I think that some injury to my 
 health must have ensued. My eyes were never used 
 to the melting mood ; but on this occasion tears 
 relieved, settled, and satisfied my mind, in a manner 
 that was entirely new to me. I went immediately to 
 my sister, who regretted the pain she had given me, 
 and w T hose feelings at seeing me were, I believe, 
 nearly as acute as my own. 
 
 Her marriage turned out fortunate. Her husband* 
 and she, mutually attached, bred up their children 
 successfully, and have enjoyed, and I hope may long 
 enjoy, a large portion of domestic felicity ! My sister 
 and her husband accompanied me to England, to Hare 
 Hatch, where we lived during some months, without 
 the occurrence of any circumstance worth relating. 
 
 Mr. Day had now returned from his first expedi- 
 tion to France, and had taken a pleasant house at 
 Stow-Hill, close to Lichfield. Here he steadily pur- 
 sued his plan of educating his pupil, Sabrina ; and, 
 what was something singular, all the ladies of the 
 place kindly took notice of the girl, and attributed to 
 Mr. Day none but the real motives of his conduct. 
 The bishop's palace at Lichfield, where Mr. Seward, 
 a canon of the cathedral, resided, was the resort of 
 every person in that neighbourhood who had any 
 
 * John Ruxton, Esq., of Black Castle, in the county of Meath. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 1 5 1 
 
 taste for letters. Every stranger, who came well re- 
 commended to Lichfield, brought letters to the palace. 
 This popularity in the literary world was well de- 
 served, for Mr. Seward was a man of learning and 
 taste ; he was fond of conversation, in which he bore 
 a considerable part, good-natured, and indulgent to 
 the little foibles of others : he scarcely seemed to 
 notice any animadversions, that were made upon his 
 own. His simplicity, or what we understand by the 
 French word naivete, was beyond what could easily 
 be believed of a man of such talents, or of one who 
 had seen any thing of the world. Mrs. Seward was 
 a handsome woman, of agreeable manners, she was 
 generous, possessed of good sense, and capable of 
 strong affection. They had two daughters, Anna 
 and Sally. 
 
 Anna Seward is well known to the world by her 
 works. Miss Sally Seward had her mother's good 
 sense, without being endowed with her father's talents. 
 Her manners were mild, gentle, and retired : capable 
 of much genuine feeling, she was strongly attached 
 to her friends, and had the power of attaching others 
 to herself. 
 
 Under the fond and truly maternal care of Mrs. 
 Seward was bred up Miss Honora Sneyd, daughter 
 of Edward Sneyd, Esq., youngest son of Ralph 
 Sneyd, Esq., of Bishton, in Staffordshire. Mr. Sneyd 
 had become a widower early in life. He had been in 
 great affliction at the death of his wife ; and his rela- 
 tions and friends, who were numerous, had been eager 
 to take charge of his daughters. Nothing could ex- 
 ceed the kindness, and care, with which Mrs. Seward 
 executed the trust that she had undertaken. Nobody 
 could have distinguished Miss Honora Sneyd from 
 
152 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Mrs. Seward's own daughters by any thing in Mrs. 
 Seward's conduct, or in her outward deportment. 
 Miss Sally Seward, who was nearer in age than Miss 
 Seward to Honora Sneyd, became extremely attached 
 to her ; I have heard Honora often declare, that she 
 felt for this lady all the tenderness of a sister ; and 
 that her own sentiments and character were formed 
 by imitation of this early friend of her youth. Miss 
 Sally Seward died when Honora was but thirteen, 
 and she then became the more immediate pupil of 
 Miss Seward. From her she acquired an ardent love 
 of literature, and she afterwards formed for herself a 
 refined and accurate taste. She was, however, so much 
 eclipsed by that lady's more shining talents, that it was 
 not on a first acquaintance, or to careless observers, 
 that Honora Sneyd's uncommon understanding and 
 clear judgment became conspicuous. 
 
 Soon after Mr. Day had established himself at 
 Stow-Hill, he became intimate at the palace. His 
 superior abilities, lofty sentiments, and singularity of 
 manners, made him appear at Lichfield as a pheno- 
 menon ; his unbounded charity to the poor, and his 
 munificence to those of a higher class, who were in 
 distress, won the esteem of all ranks ; so that his 
 breeding up a young girl in his house, without any 
 female to take care of her, created no scandal, and 
 appeared quite natural and free from impropriety. 
 Sabrina, his ward, was received at the palace with 
 tenderness and regard. She became a link between 
 Mr. Day and Mr. Seward's family, that united them 
 very strongly. 
 
 In the year 1770, I spent some time at Christmas 
 with my friend Mr. Day, at Stow-Hill. We went 
 every day to Lichfield, and most days to the palace, 
 
K. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 1 53 
 
 where the agreeable conversation of the whole family, 
 and in particular the sprightliness and literary talents 
 of Miss Seward, engaged us to pass many agreeable 
 hours. 
 
 During this intercourse, I perceived the superiority 
 of Miss Honora Sneyd's capacity. Her memory was 
 not copiously stored with poetry ; and though no 
 way deficient, her knowledge had not been much 
 enlarged by books ; but her sentiments were on all 
 subjects so just, and were delivered with such blush- 
 ing modesty, (though not without an air of conscious 
 worth,) as to command attention from every one 
 capable of appreciating female excellence. Her 
 person was graceful, her features beautiful, and their 
 expression such as to heighten the eloquence of every 
 thing she said. I was six and twenty ; and now, for 
 the first time in my life, I saw a woman that equalled 
 the picture of perfection, which existed in my imagi- 
 nation. I had long suffered from the want of that 
 cheerfulness in a wife, without which marriage could 
 not be agreeable to a man of such a temper as mine. 
 I had borne this evil, I believe, with patience ; but 
 my not being happy at home exposed me to the 
 danger of being too happy elsewhere. 
 
 The charms and superior character of Miss Honora 
 Sneyd made an impression on my mind, such as I 
 had never felt before. Dr. Small, about this period, 
 settled in Birmingham; Mr. Keir was also in the 
 neighbourhood ; Dr. Darwin spent his vacant hours 
 among us ; and all these gentlemen were unanimous 
 in their approbation of this lady. 
 
 Mr. Day alone was blind to the superiority of her 
 character. She danced too well ; she had too much 
 an air of fashion in her dress and manners ; and her 
 
154 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 arms were not sufficiently round and white to please 
 him. However, the more I saw, the more I admired 
 her. She conversed with me with freedom ; and 
 seemed to feel, that I was the first person, who had 
 seen the full value of her character. Miss Seward 
 shone so brightly, that all objects within her sphere 
 were dimmed by her lustre. When she perceived 
 the impression, that her young friend had made upon 
 me, — an impression, which I believe she discovered, 
 long before I had discovered it myself, — she never 
 shewed any of that mean jealousy, which is common 
 among young women, when they find that one of 
 their companions, who had never before been thought 
 equal to themselves, is suddenly treated with pre-emi- 
 nence. On the contrary, she seemed gratified by the 
 praises bestowed upon her friend, and took every 
 opportunity of placing whatever was said or done by 
 Honora in the most advantageous point of view. 
 
 Whilst I was upon this visit, Mr. Andre, afterwards 
 Major Andre, who lost his life so unfortunately in 
 America, came to Lichfield. This gentleman had 
 met Miss Honora Sneyd at Buxton, or Matlock, and 
 had paid his addresses to her, without at first meeting 
 with any discouragement from Mrs. Andre, the young- 
 gentleman's mother, or, I believe, from Mr. Sneyd. 
 But when the parents on both sides came to consider 
 more coolly, they saw that a match, even where 
 each party seemed well suited to the other, should 
 not be determined upon, till a sufficient fortune for a 
 comfortable maintenance could be provided between 
 them. As Mrs. Andre and Mr. Sneyd had the good 
 sense to raise no obstacles between their children, 
 making only a kind and reasonable statement of the 
 imprudence of marrying young without a sufficient 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 155 
 
 fortune, no romantic difficulties urged them to resis- 
 tance, and they, by tacit consent, kept at a distance 
 from each other, except when accidental circum- 
 stances brought them together. The first time I saw 
 Major Andre at the palace, I did not perceive from 
 his manner, or from that of the young lady, that any 
 attachment subsisted between them. On the con- 
 trary, from the great attention which Miss Seward 
 paid to him, and from the constant admiration which 
 Mr. Andre bestowed on her, I thought, that, though 
 there was a considerable disproportion in their ages, 
 there might exist some courtship between them. 
 Miss Seward, however, undeceived me. I never met 
 Mr. Andre again ; and from all that I then saw r , or 
 have since known, I believe that Miss Honora Sneyd 
 was never much disappointed by the conclusion of 
 this attachment. Mr. Andre appeared to me pleased 
 and dazzled by the lady. She admired and esti- 
 mated highly his talents ; but he did not possess the 
 reasoning mind, which she required. Miss Seward, 
 in a note to her " Monody on the Death of Major 
 Andre" has asserted, that Mr. Andre, in despair upon 
 the marriage of Honora Sneyd, quitted his business 
 as a merchant, insinuating that he was — " Out w4th 
 it!" — jilted by that lady, — and that, in consequence 
 of this disappointment, he went into the army, and 
 quitted this country. 
 
 The fact is, that Major Andre's first commission was 
 dated March the 4th, 1771, and Miss Honora Sneyd 
 was married the 17th of July 1773 — that is, two years 
 after Mr. Andre went into the army. Despair, on hear- 
 ing of the marriage of Honora Sneyd, could not have 
 driven him to quit his profession, and his country ; he 
 having quitted both two years before that marriage. 
 
156 MEMOIftS OF 
 
 To return to the course of my narrative, from 
 which I could not help starting, to set this mis- 
 statement right — Mr. Day knew all my feelings : in 
 the progress of my acquaintance with this lady, he 
 heard me talk in no cold strains of Miss Honora 
 Sneyd's perfections. — I continually expressed surprise 
 at his not seeming to prefer her, but for some time he 
 continued to be insensible of Honora's charms. Sa- 
 brina Sydney had, perhaps, preoccupied his mind. 
 She was now too old to remain in my friend's house 
 without a protectress ; he therefore determined to 
 put her to a very reputable boarding-school at Sutton 
 Coldfield. Here it was intended, that she should 
 improve in reading, writing, and arithmetic, and in all 
 the useful species of accomplishments. To make a 
 musician or a dancer of his pupil was far from his 
 wish. During the early part of the year 1771, 
 Mr. Day's intentions with regard to Sabrina began 
 to change, for his mind turned toward Miss Honora 
 Sneyd. He learned from her friend, that this lady 
 had no engagement or attachment, that could prevent 
 his success, if he could convince her, that the views 
 of life, and the plan of happiness in marriage, which 
 he had laid down, could be made compatible with 
 those, which she had determined to pursue. Few 
 courtships ever began between such young people 
 with so little appearance of romance : both however 
 were perfectly sincere and in earnest, and for many 
 months they were asked together to every party at 
 Lichfield, and were allowed, by a kind of tacit con- 
 sent, to converse with each other, to have every 
 reasonable opportunity of becoming acquainted with 
 each other's tempers, tastes, and dispositions. 
 
 After spending some time with Mr. Day, I re- 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 157 
 
 turned home to Hare Hatch. My friend's letters 
 informed me of his feelings and opinions : I soon per- 
 ceived, that he had not only become sensible of the 
 strength of understanding possessed by the object of 
 his attention ; but that, beside the value of her mind, 
 he began to feel the power of her charms. He thought 
 his suit in such a favourable train, that he questioned 
 me about my feelings. He wrote me one of the most 
 eloquent letters that I ever read, to point out to me 
 the folly and meanness of indulging a hopeless passion 
 for any woman, let her merit be what it might ; de- 
 claring, at the same time, that he " never would marry 
 so as to divide himself from his chosen friend. " 
 " Tell me," said he, " have you sufficient strength of 
 mind, totally to subdue love, that cannot be indulged 
 compatibly with peace, or honour, or virtue ?" 
 
 I answered, that nothing but trial could make me 
 acquainted with the influence, which reason might 
 have over my feelings ; that I would go with my 
 family to Lichfield, where I should be in the company 
 of the dangerous object ; and that I would faithfully 
 acquaint him with all my thoughts and feelings. We 
 went to Lichfield, and staid there for some time with 
 Mr. Day. I saw him continually in company with 
 Honora Sneyd : I saw, that he was received with 
 approbation, and that he looked forward to marrying 
 her at no very distant period. When I saw this, I 
 can affirm with truth, that I felt pleasure, and even 
 exultation. I looked to the happiness of two people, 
 for whom I had the most perfect esteem, without the 
 intervention of a single sentiment or feeling, that 
 could make me suspect I should ever repent having 
 been instrumental to their union. I was the deposi- 
 tary of every thought, that passed in the mind of 
 
158 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Mr. Day ; and from every thing he told me, and 
 from my own observations, I was persuaded, that 
 nothing now was wanting, but a declaration on 
 his part, and compliance on the part of the lady. 
 
 Just at this period, when we were walking together 
 one summer's evening in the Close, a public walk at 
 Lichfield, which was then much frequented by the 
 young people, something was said in allusion to 
 the intended match ; and Miss Honora Sneyd in 
 reply expressed doubts as to its conclusion. I sup- 
 posed that she adverted to the state of Mr. Day's 
 mind ; and I warmly gave it as my opinion that 
 nothing was likely to prevent what I so much desired. 
 She shook her head. The next morning Mr. Day, 
 in a very solemn manner, delivered to me a packet 
 of some sheets of paper, which he said was a proposal 
 of marriage to Honora Sneyd. " It contains," said 
 he " the sum of many conversations that have passed 
 between us. I am satisfied," he continued, " that, if 
 the plan of life I have here laid down meets her 
 approbation, we shall be perfectly happy. Honora 
 Sneyd is so reasonable, so perfectly sincere, and so 
 much to be relied on, that, if once she resolves to 
 live a calm, secluded life, she will never wish to 
 return to more gay or splendid scenes. If she once 
 turn away from public admiration, she will never 
 look back again with regret." 
 
 I took the packet ; my friend requested, that I 
 would go to the palace, and deliver it myself. I 
 went — and I delivered it with real satisfaction to 
 Honora. She desired me to come the next morning 
 for an answer. Mr. Day expressed extreme anxiety 
 during the interval ; more, indeed, than I had ever 
 heard him acknowledge upon any other occasion. 
 
R.L.EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 159 
 
 In the morning I received an answer, which from 
 the manner in which it was delivered to me, seemed 
 to require a farther communication. I gave it to 
 Mr. Day, and left him to peruse it by himself. 
 When I returned, I found him actually in a fever. 
 The letter contained an excellent answer to his 
 arguments in favour of the rights of men, and a 
 clear dispassionate view of the rights of women. 
 
 Miss Honora Sneyd would not admit the unquali- 
 fied control of a husband over all her actions ; she 
 did not feel, that seclusion from society was indispens- 
 ably necessary to preserve female virtue, or to secure 
 domestic happiness. Upon terms of reasonable 
 equality, she supposed, that mutual confidence might 
 best subsist ; she said, that, as Mr. Day had deci- 
 dedly declared his determination to live in perfect 
 seclusion from what is usually called the world, it 
 was fit she should decidedly declare, that she would 
 not change her present mode of life, with which she 
 had no reason to be dissatisfied, for any dark and 
 untried system, that could be proposed to her. 
 
 Mr. Day continued really ill for some days. Dr. 
 Darwin ordered him to be bled, and administered, 
 wisely, to that part of him which was most diseased 
 — his mind. The intimacy, which subsisted among 
 the inhabitants of Lichfield, prevented any estrange- 
 ment between Mr. Day and the family at the palace ; 
 and in some weeks a new object of attention was 
 presented to the Lichfield world. Mr. Sneyd 
 (Honora's father), who had hitherto lived in London, 
 now came to establish himself at Lichfield. He 
 assembled all his daughters to reside with him, and 
 with them came his fifth daughter, Miss Elizabeth 
 Sneyd. She had lived with Mr. and Mrs. Powys 
 
160 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 (of the Abbey, Shrewsbury), the kind friends and 
 
 relations by whom she had been educated. Mrs. 
 
 Powys, wife to Henry Powys, Esq., was Mr. Sneyd's 
 
 niece. 
 
 Circumstances, in themselves entirely trivial, 
 
 become to certain persons in peculiar situations 
 
 highly interesting. In relating the events of life, 
 
 these trivial circumstances force themselves upon 
 
 the attention, and obtain, as it were, by impertinent 
 
 intrusion, a place in the narrative. To balance 
 
 this inconvenience, these very circumstances give 
 
 an air of reality, and of that perfect simplicity, 
 
 which ought to be apparent in every page of 
 
 biography. This reflection occurred, when I began 
 
 to mention the first appearance of Miss Elizabeth 
 
 Sneyd at Lichfield, which though quite uninteresting 
 
 to me at the time, was marked by the vivid interest 
 
 awakened in my mind at this period of my life. 
 
 I had introduced archery as an amusement among 
 the gentlemen in the neighbourhood ; and had pro- 
 posed a prize of a silver arrow, to be shot for at a 
 bowling-green, where our butts had been erected. 
 All the ladies, who frequented the amusements of 
 Lichfield, were assembled, and Miss Seward appeared 
 with her usual sprightliness and address, accompanied 
 by Honora. 
 
 We had musick and dancing ; some of the gentle- 
 men fenced, and vaulted, and leaped ; and the sum- 
 mer's evening was spent with as much innocent 
 cheerfulness, as any evening that 1 can remember. 
 Miss Elizabeth Sneyd and her father came among us 
 in the middle of our amusements ; just as a country 
 dance was nearly ended, Miss Honora Sneyd intro- 
 duced me to her sister, desiring me to dance with her, 
 
R . L. EDO EWORTII, ESQ. 1 6 1 
 
 to prevent her being engaged by some stranger, with 
 whom they might afterwards not chuse to form an 
 acquaintance. Miss Elizabeth Sneyd was, in the 
 opinion of half the persons who knew them, the hand- 
 somest of the two sisters ; her eyes were uncommonly 
 beautiful and expressive, she was of a clear brown, 
 and of a more healthy complexion than Honora. 
 She had acquired more literature, had more what is 
 called the manners of a person of fashion, had more 
 wit, more vivacity, and certainly more humour than 
 her sister. She had, however, less personal grace ; 
 she walked heavily, danced indifferently, had much 
 less energy of maimer and of character, and was not 
 endowed with, or had not then acquired the same 
 powers of reasoning, the same inquiring range of un- 
 derstanding, the same love of science, or, in one word, 
 the same decisive judgment as her sister. 
 
 Notwithstanding something fashionable in this 
 young lady's appearance, Mr. Day observed her "with 
 complacent attention. Her dancing but indifferently, 
 and with no symptom of delight, pleased Mr. Day's 
 fancy ; her conversation was playful, and never dis- 
 putatious, so that Mr. Day had liberty and room 
 enough, to descant at large and at length upon what- 
 ever became the subject of conversation. She was 
 struck by his eloquence, her attention was awakened 
 by the novelty of his opinions ; he appeared to her 
 young mind as the most extraordinary and romantic 
 person in the world. His educating a young girl for 
 his wife, his unbounded generosity, his scorn of wealth 
 and titles, his romantic notions of love, which led him 
 to think, that, where it was mutual and genuine, the 
 rest of the world vanished, and lovers became all in 
 all to each other, made a deep impression upon her, 
 
 M 
 
162 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and made her imagine, that, if such a man loved her 
 with truth and violence, she was capable of as strong 
 attachment, and of as disinterested sacrifices, as could 
 be made to her. Every body perceived, that Miss 
 Elizabeth Sneyd had made a greater impression in 
 three weeks upon Mr. Day, than her superior sister 
 had made in twelve months. 
 
 One restraint, which had acted long and steadily 
 upon my feelings, was now removed : my friend was 
 no longer attached to Miss Honora Sneyd. My 
 former admiration of her returned with unabated 
 ardour. The more I compared her with other women, 
 the more I was obliged to acknowledge her superiority. 
 This admiration was unknown to every body but 
 Mr. Day. He could not see more plainly than I did 
 the imprudence and folly of becoming too fond of an 
 object, which I could not hope to obtain. With all 
 the eloquence of virtue and of friendship, he repre- 
 sented to me the danger, the criminality of such an 
 attachment, I knew, that there is but one certain 
 method of escaping such dangers —flight. 
 
 I resolved to go abroad : Mr. Day determined to 
 accompany me to France, and to dedicate a large 
 portion of his time to the acquirement of those accom- 
 plishments, which he had formerly treated with 
 sovereign contempt. Miss Elizabeth Sneyd had 
 convinced him, that he could not with propriety 
 abuse and ridicule talents, in which he appeared 
 obviously deficient. She told him, that she consi- 
 dered such acquirements as frivolous, in many situ- 
 ations ridiculous ; but that she could not be satisfied 
 with the abhorrence, which upon all occasions he 
 expressed, of accomplishments, which he had not 
 been able to attain. On her part she promised not 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 163 
 
 to go to London, Bath, or any other public place of 
 amusement, till his return ; and she engaged with 
 alacrity, to prosecute an excellent course of reading, 
 which they had agreed upon before his departure. 
 
 As to myself, I took the most scrupulous pains to 
 avoid whatever might induce any of our acquaintance 
 to think, that I felt more than common esteem for 
 Miss Honora Sne} r d. I took every opportunity of 
 declaring my intention of settling in Ireland, when- 
 ever I should return from France ; and, in various 
 incidental conversations, I endeavoured to convince 
 her, that young women, who had not large fortunes, 
 should not disdain to marry, even though the roman- 
 tic notions of finding heroes, or prodigies of men 
 might not be entirely gratified. Honora listened, and 
 assented ; and I left England with perfect conviction, 
 that I had not endangered the happiness of any of 
 my friends, and that I had not devoted myself to un- 
 availing regret, or unreasonable hope. 
 
 M 2 
 
164 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Mr. Day and I quitted England, and we took with 
 us my son, who was then about seven or eight years 
 old. I engaged a gentleman to travel with us as my 
 boy's tutor, so that we might be at liberty to go 
 where we pleased, without being under anxiety for 
 our pupil. I hoped to teach the child to speak French 
 with a proper accent, and without his being obliged 
 to learn it as a dead language : and I at the same 
 time thought, that I should secure him from the dan- 
 ger of being spoiled during my absence, if I left him 
 behind me. I am not sure, that I judged rightly ; 
 but, if I now doubt, it arises perhaps from my per- 
 ceiving the inconveniences which ensued from my 
 having made this decision. I am not able to deter- 
 mine, what might have been the result of a different 
 conduct. 
 
 I must not here omit a remarkable circumstance, 
 which ought to be recorded in justice to Rousseau's 
 penetration in judging of children. In passing 
 through Paris at this time, we went to see him : he 
 took a good deal of notice of my boy ; I asked him 
 to tell me any thing that struck him in the child's 
 manners or conversation. He took my son with him 
 in his usual morning's walk, and when he came back, 
 Rousseau told me, that, as far as he could judge from 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 165 
 
 two hours observation, he thought him a boy of abili- 
 ties, which had been well cultivated ; and that in 
 particular his answers to some questions on history 
 proved, contrary to the opinion given in Emilius 
 and Sophia, that history can be advantageously learned 
 by children, if it be taught reasonably, and not merely 
 by rote. "But," said Rousseau, " I remark in your 
 son a propensity to party prejudice, which will be a 
 great blemish in his character." 
 
 I asked how he could in so short a time form so 
 decided an opinion. He told me, that, whenever my 
 son saw a handsome horse, or a handsome carriage in 
 the street, he always exclaimed, " That is an English 
 horse, or an English carriage !" And that, even down 
 to a pair of shoe buckles, every thing that appeared 
 to be good of its kind was always pronounced by him 
 to be English. " This sort of party prejudice," said 
 Rousseau, " if suffered to become a ruling motive in 
 his mind, will lead to a thousand evils : for not only 
 will his own country, his own village, or club, or even 
 a knot of his private acquaintance, be the object of 
 his exclusive admiration, but he will be governed by 
 his companions, whatever they may be, and they will 
 become the arbiters of his destiny." 
 
 In fact, the boy had the species of party spirit, 
 which Rousseau remarked, and this prophecy, as after 
 events proved, shewed his sagacity. 
 
 We remained but two days at Paris, for Mr. Day 
 had very little curiosity as to the common objects, 
 which engage the attention of travellers. My son 
 was too young, to learn any thing of real advantage 
 by visiting public monuments, or libraries, or gal- 
 leries of pictures ; and at that time I was more intent 
 upon seeing varieties of people, than the works of art ; 
 
]66 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 in this plan I was most certainly mistaken. I might 
 have acquired a very large portion of useful and 
 ornamental knowledge, had I passed a few weeks at 
 Paris. 
 
 We proceeded to Lyons, like true English travellers, 
 without stopping on the road to examine what was 
 curious, or worthy of observation. We determined 
 to pass the winter at Lyons, as it was a place where 
 excellent masters of all sorts were to be found ; and 
 here Mr. Day put himself to every species of torture, 
 ordinary and extraordinary, to compel his antigallican 
 limbs, in spite of their natural rigidity, to dance, 
 and fence, and manage the great horse. To perform 
 his promise to Miss E. Sneyd honorably, he gave 
 up seven or eight hours of the day to these exercises, 
 for which he had not the slightest taste, and for which, 
 except horsemanship, he manifested the most sovereign 
 contempt. It was astonishing to behold the energy, 
 with which he persevered in these pursuits. 1 have 
 seen him stand between two boards, which reached 
 from the ground higher than his knees : these boards 
 were adjusted with screws, so as barely to permit him 
 to bend his knees, and to rise up and sink down. 
 By these means M. Huise proposed to force Mr. Day's 
 knees outward ; but his screwing was in vain. He 
 succeeded in torturing his patient ; but original form- 
 ation, and inveterate habit, resisted all his endeavours 
 at personal improvement. I could not help pitying 
 my philosophic friend, pent up in durance vile for 
 hours together, with his feet in the stocks, a book in 
 his hand, and contempt in his heart. 
 
 In the mean time I lodged myself in excellent and 
 cheerful apartments upon the ramparts. I boarded 
 in the family of a gentleman who was at the head of 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 167 
 
 the Military Academy at Lyons, where I soon learned 
 to speak French, so as to be intelligible. I read and 
 understood it well ; and I systematically avoided any 
 attempt to write that language with critical accuracy, 
 as I believed, and still believe, that in composition or 
 eloquence " one language only can one genius fit ;" and 
 that, however the literature of various countries may 
 enrich the mind, a mixture of their vocabularies in 
 writing, or speaking, is always prejudicial. The curse 
 of Babel lights upon most of those, who speak a leash 
 of languages at once. I do not mean to say, that an 
 accurate knowledge of the written language of France, 
 German}*, and Italy, is hurtful : on the contrary, I 
 am sensible of the advantages, that may be obtained 
 by a critical knowledge of any of them, and of the 
 inexhaustible entertainment which they afford ; what 
 I object to is, such a habit of writing or speaking 
 them, as induces the mind to think partly in one 
 language, and partly in another. For instance, I 
 acquired at Lyons such a knowledge of the technical 
 vocabulary of mechanics, that I was able to express 
 myself clearly on such subjects in French, though I 
 could not explain myself on them in English ; and I 
 have at this instant by me a treatise on water-mills, 
 which I wrote in French, and which I never could 
 induce myself to translate, because it was difficult to 
 me to find appropriate terms in my own language. 
 
 M. Charpentier, who was the master of the Academy 
 at Lyons, had seen much of the world, and communi- 
 cated agreeably what he had seen. He had been con- 
 troller of the household to the embassy at Constanti- 
 nople for upwards of twenty years, and had been no 
 inattentive observer. I remember distinctly his 
 having mentioned to me many things relative to 
 
168 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Turkey, which I afterwards read in de Tott's 
 Memoirs ; and which I heard condemned in de Tott 
 as travellers' wonders. Mad rae . Charpentier was 
 young, beautiful, lively, and accomplished, of an 
 excellent disposition, and less fond of publick amuse- 
 ments than most French women. During nearly two 
 years that I was at Lyons, I never had occasion to 
 repent my having established myself in their family, 
 as I met with uniform kindness and confidence from 
 every part of it. I had letters of introduction from 
 several quarters, which made me soon acquainted 
 with the houses, where strangers were received. 
 M. de la Verpilliere was at that time Commandant 
 of Lyons ; his son was Town-Major ; hospitable, 
 gallant, dissipated, and very fond of the English. 
 
 To continue in this society, which was of course 
 considered as the court of Lyons, it was necessary to 
 play — and for play I had little taste, and much 
 salutary horror. I therefore resolved to lay aside a 
 certain sum, I think a hundred and fifty louis d ? ors, 
 to play with, and these / determined to lose. I 
 began with caution, took pains to learn the game, 
 and played with so much attention, that I was con- 
 sidered as a young man whose secret passion was 
 gaming. I was permitted to win, and, by degrees, 
 as fortune favoured me, I learned how to win, when 
 I was not permitted. The play was in general far 
 from desperate ; but whenever any body sallied 
 beyond the ordinary course, I always took him up, 
 and was so frequently successful, that I did not often 
 meet with competitors. In short, I played with so 
 much boldness, and was so much at my ease, that I had 
 all the advantages that I could possibly expect ; and 
 as winning or losing was perfectly indifferent to me, 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 1 69 
 
 I had an opportunity of observing manners and 
 character at leisure, while the minds of the company 
 were engaged or inflamed by the course of the game. 
 My destined sum did not fail, till long after my 
 having obtained by it all that I desired. When the last 
 louis d'or had left me, I quitted the field with a joyful 
 heart, and retired to live with such society as I had 
 selected from my usual associates. I continued to 
 visit these, but I never was for a moment tempted 
 again to play, while I remained at Lyons. 
 
 An occupation far more agreeable to my taste soon 
 presented itself to me. A project for enlarging the 
 city of Lyons had been formed by M. Perrache, an 
 architect of that city. A company had subscribed a 
 large sum to carry it on ; and it was considered as a 
 speculation, that promised much advantage to the 
 city, and much profit to the company. Walking one 
 morning with a gentleman, who was deeply concerned 
 in this project, I adverted to some obvious mistakes, 
 that appeared to me to have been made in the 
 progress of the work ; and as he perceived, that I 
 knew something of engineering, he invited me to 
 meet Perrache and some of the principal associates. 
 We met : Perrache listened with temper and attention 
 to what I said ; and it was proposed, that I should 
 conduct a certain part of the work for some time. 
 In this I succeeded so well, that I was pressed to 
 manage a large part of the business, which required 
 skill and boldness. I undertook it upon a singular 
 stipulation, that I should draw for a certain sum of 
 money on the treasurer of the company every Satur- 
 day, without giving any other account than a simple 
 statement under my hand, that I had laid it out to the 
 best of my ability for the benefit of the company. 
 
170 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 The object of the scheme was to turn the course 
 of the Rhone from its usual channel, which hemmed 
 in the city on the only side, toward which it could 
 be extended. Ancient historians describe Lyons, 
 Lugdunum, in the time of Claudius, as standing on 
 a confined spot of ground, resembling in shape the 
 Greek letter Delta. A description which had con- 
 tinued to be exact from that time, till the period 
 when this project was undertaken. The Saone on 
 one side, steep hills on the other, and the Rhone 
 rushing forward with great violence at the bottom of 
 these hills, and turning nearly at right angles from 
 its direct course, to meet the Saone beneath the 
 ramparts, shut in the city, and prevented the exten- 
 sion of its buildings. Now to enlarge the town, it 
 was proposed to divert the Rhone into a new channel, 
 so as to form a junction with the Saone nearly a mile 
 farther from the town than it was at that time. The 
 deserted bed of the river was to be filled with the 
 rubbish of the city, so as to obtain ground for ex- 
 tending the buildings in that quarter. After a new 
 channel had been partly cut for the river, jt was pro- 
 posed to turn the rapid course of the Rhone into this 
 new channel, with the hope, that, as the soil was 
 light and sandy, the violence of the flood, from the 
 melting of snow in the distant mountains of Savoy, 
 would excavate a bed of sufficient capacity to receive 
 the whole of the river without any farther trouble. 
 By piles and earth, an embankment had been effected, 
 that nearly shut out the Rhone from the Saone. A 
 gap of not more than twenty or thirty feet remained 
 to be closed. To expedite this work, I constructed the 
 following apparatus, instead of using the mere force of 
 hands, which had hitherto been alone employed. 
 
R. L. EDGEWOUTH, ES< I 171 
 
 To cross the Rhone, a species of ferryboat was in 
 
 use, which required no labour in the passage. It was 
 
 a large strong boat, with sides nearly parallel ; it was 
 
 held from going with the current by a rope of twenty 
 
 or thirty yards long : this rope, by means of a large 
 
 pulley, was attached to a strong cable, that was 
 
 stretched across the river, from posts fifteen or 
 
 eighteen feet high, that were elevated on each bank. 
 
 The rope that held this boat was, by these means, 
 
 kept nearly in the direction of the stream, and at 
 
 right angles to the cable, which was stretched across 
 
 the river, so that as the boat moved, this rope ran 
 
 along the cable, and did not retard its progress. To 
 
 move the boat, no force but that of the stream was 
 
 employed. The rope, by which it was held, was 
 
 hooked upon a staple, fastened near one end of one 
 
 side of the boat, that is to say, at about one third or 
 
 one fourth of the length of the boat, from the end. 
 
 When the boat was pushed off from the land, the 
 
 stream forced the boat into an oblique direction, 
 
 because of the situation of the rope. The current 
 
 was thus obliged to act upon the boat as upon an 
 
 inclined plane : so that, being prevented from moving 
 
 in the direction of the current, the boat was forced 
 
 in the only direction in which it could move, that is, 
 
 across the river. These boats were called traittes. 
 
 To transport earth and gravel into the opening which 
 
 was to be filled up, men had been employed to carry 
 
 baskets of earth on their heads into the boat, and 
 
 after the boat had crossed, to empty them into the 
 
 water. A great number of men were thus employed, 
 
 who could effect but little, as they were in each 
 
 other's way in getting into the boat, and still more so 
 
 in emptying their baskets. 
 
172 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 To remedy this inconvenience, I had two strong 
 piles erected, twelve feet above the surface of the 
 water, on the side where the earth was dug ; upon 
 these there was placed a moving platform, like a very 
 large cart with low sides, the whole turning on an 
 axletree, supported in a fork on the top of each of the 
 piles. This platform was sixteen or eighteen feet 
 square, and could contain a large quantity of gravel. 
 A gangway, or inclined scaffolding of hoards, led to 
 this cart from the ground, by which labourers with 
 baskets could ascend and fill it. A similar platform 
 was erected on the traille, or boat, into which the 
 contents of that which was filled on the shore were 
 emptied. The boat then passed the river, and the 
 load was emptied at once into the water. In the 
 meantime, the labourers filled the land platform, 
 which was ready to be emptied into the traille at the 
 moment of its return. This contrivance succeeded 
 perfectly well : not a moment was wasted, and the 
 whole contents of the platform belonging to the 
 boat could be emptied exactly where they were 
 wanted. 
 
 I also constructed, across a ravine, a bridge sup- 
 ported on slight trestles, that was sufficiently strong 
 and broad to hold a wheelbarrow, On this bridge, 
 which was inclined downwards to the place where the 
 barrows were to be emptied, by means of a cradle 
 drawn up by pullies, I mounted a number of wheel- 
 barrows, which followed each other, and, from the 
 manner in which they were guided, reached their 
 destination in regular succession. A bridge, wide 
 enough to receive the labourers, as well as their loads, 
 would have been preferable in point of expedition ; 
 but I could not procure a sufficient number of men 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 173 
 
 willing, or indeed able, to pass over a gangway fifty 
 or sixty yards long, and sixteen or seventeen and in 
 some places twenty feet from the ground. A floor of 
 four feet wide would not have been sufficient, unless 
 it were railed in ; an expense which would have been 
 too great for the purpose. This gangway was only the 
 breadth of one board ; and as it was a new and enter- 
 taining sight to see the wheel-barrows pass over it 
 without human guides, crowds of people came from 
 Lyons to look at the spectacle. To gain a few pence 
 by his boldness, one of the labourers used to commit 
 himself to the uncertain aerial path ; but unfortunately 
 one day, when Mad me * l'lntendante of Lyons appeared, 
 he, to outdo his usual outdoings, performed some 
 gambols, which overturned his wheelbarrow and 
 broke his arm. 
 
 I immediately took down this apparatus, and sub- 
 stituted a less dangerous system, which, though more 
 costly, would be free from hazard. I was satisfied, 
 that this instance of prudence gained me friends ; 
 because those who approved of it were sensible, that 
 it must cost me some struggle to give up before 
 numbers a plan, which had succeeded as to the object 
 for which it was intended, and which had novelty, 
 and perhaps some ingenuity, to recommend it. No 
 other accident happened, and the work went on 
 rapidly and prosperously. 
 
 As soon as I had engaged in this work, and found 
 that I should be likely to continue some time at 
 Lyons, I invited my wife to come over to me ; I had 
 left her with her father and sisters at Black-Bourton. 
 Accompanied by one of her sisters, she arrived at 
 Lyons, where she staid till winter ; at the commence- 
 ment of which, she being weary of French society, 
 
174 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and anxious to be in England before the time when 
 she expected to be confined, as she had a dread of 
 lying in at Lyons, or in any part of France, took an 
 opportunity of returning to England, under the care 
 of my friend, Mr. Day. He having now learnt all 
 that it was possible for riding, fencing, and dancing- 
 masters to teach him, determined to go back to 
 England, to claim, as the reward of his labours, the 
 hand of Miss Elizabeth Sneyd. 
 
 During the time when I was engaged in the con- 
 duct of the public works at Lyons, I had not leisure 
 to attend sufficiently to my son. While my friend, 
 Mr. Day, remained with me, he was so kind as to 
 pay particular attention to him ; but after Mr. Day 
 left us, my boy was under the care of a tutor, whom 
 I had brought from England. My son was then 
 almost nine years old ; he had considerable abilities, 
 uncommon strength and hardiness of body, great 
 vivacity, and was not a little disposed to think and 
 act for himself. I had begun his education upon 
 the mistaken principles of Rousseau ; and I had pur- 
 sued them with as much steadiness, and, so far as 
 they could be advantageous, with as much success as 
 I could desire. Whatever regarded the health, 
 strength, and agility of my son, had amply justified 
 the system of my master ; but I found myself en- 
 tangled in difficulties with regard to my child's mind 
 and temper. He was generous, brave, good-natured, 
 and what is commonly called good-tempered ; but he 
 was scarcely to be controlled. It was difficult to 
 urge him to any thing that did not suit his fancy, 
 and more difficult to restrain him from what he 
 wished to follow. In short, he was self-willed, from 
 a spirit of independence, which had been inculcated 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 175 
 
 by his early education, and which he cherished the 
 more from the inexperience of his own powers. 
 
 I must here acknowledge, with deep regret, not 
 only the error of a theory, which I had adopted at a 
 very early age, when older and wiser persons than 
 myself had been dazzled by the eloquence of Rous- 
 seau ; but I must also reproach myself with not 
 having, after my arrival in France, paid as much 
 attention to my boy as I had done in England, or as 
 much as was necessary to prevent the formation of 
 those habits, which could never afterwards be eradi- 
 cated. I dwell on this painful subject to warn other 
 parents against the errors, which I committed. I 
 had successfully reached a certain point in the educa- 
 tion of my pupil ; I had acquired complete ascen- 
 dancy over his mind ; he respected and loved me ; 
 but, relying upon what I had already done, I trusted 
 him to the care of another, who, with the best inten- 
 tions in the world, had no experience in the manage • 
 ment of children, or any habitual influence over his 
 particular pupil. The boy soon obtained the mastery. 
 The tutor was a man of abilities, and truly solicitous 
 to discharge his duty ; but he was of an easy temper, 
 and his mind was intent upon objects of his own. 
 He had a slight impediment in his speech, and had 
 not a favourable disposition for learning languages. 
 He had a French master, to whom he dedicated at 
 least two hours every day. My son was invited, and 
 tempted by various means, to partake of the lessons, 
 to which his tutor so assiduously attended ; but the 
 boy could never be induced to get by rote the French 
 irregular verbs, or to hear critical remarks upon the 
 uses of certain common particles, which strangers are 
 apt to confound and misapply. But in the mean 
 
176 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 time he learned to speak French fluently, and with a 
 good accent ; and before his tutor could express his 
 wants at dinner with common accuracy, or indeed 
 before he became intelligible to the people with whom 
 he lived, my son was able to read and converse with- 
 out any hesitation. The consequence might be 
 easily foreseen. The boy perceived his superiority 
 upon a subject of mutual pursuit; and the tutor, who 
 had himself failed in learning French, could never 
 afterwards persuade his pupil to learn Latin in the 
 usual dull routine ; neither could he induce him to 
 apply steadily to any species of study, that required 
 sedentary habits, or continued attention. 
 
 Even then, had I perceived, or, to speak with more 
 candour, had I vigorously counteracted these faults, 
 they might have been cured. But I had entered 
 into engagements with the company who were em- 
 ployed in turning the course of the Rhone, which 
 prevented me from applying myself to the education 
 of my son. I therefore determined to send him to 
 school, during the time that I should remain at 
 Lyons. 
 
 The Jesuits had lately been dismissed from their 
 magnificent establishment in that city, and les peres 
 de Voratoire had been introduced in their place. The 
 neatness, order, extent, and grandeur of the building, 
 the regulations of the seminary, and the deportment 
 and high character of its masters, had prepossessed 
 me much in its favour. 
 
 One point of considerable moment, however, made 
 me hesitate. There were great hazards in sending a 
 boy to a Catholic seminary, at an age when he was 
 liable to receive indelible prejudices ; and in com- 
 mitting him to the care of persons, who thought the 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 1 77 
 
 attempt at conversion a merit, and who believed it to 
 be a duty, as the only means of saving a heretic soul 
 from perdition. I went to the Father, who was then 
 at the head of the institution, and stated to him with 
 perfect openness my views and apprehensions. 
 
 The old man, in whose countenance benevolence 
 and wisdom were strongly portrayed, assured me, 
 that he would do every thing in his power to pre- 
 vent any interference in the religious principles of my 
 child ; he said, that he deplored the blindness of 
 my countrymen ; but that, as to me, he would receive 
 the charge of my son as a trust reposed in him by 
 me, which he was bound to execute according to my 
 wishes, when he agreed to accept it. He added, 
 that he knew how I was employed at Lyons, and he 
 perceived how that employment interfered with the 
 education of my son ; he was therefore willing to 
 have a share in cultivating talents, which he heard 
 highly spoken of among his friends. In short he 
 promised not to meddle with my son's religion, and 
 to inform me, if he found that any of his under- 
 masters disobeyed his orders on this subject. 
 
 About a month afterwards I paid a visit to the 
 reverend father ; he told me, that notwithstanding his 
 injunctions to the contrary, one of the under-masters 
 had endeavoured to teach my son such doctrines, 
 as he thought necessary for his salvation. " I will 
 tell you," said the father, " exactly what passed : 
 Le pere Jerome, from the time your son came, had 
 formed the pious design of converting your little 
 gentleman ; and for this purpose he had taken par- 
 ticular notice of him, and had from time to time 
 given him bonbons. One day he took your boy 
 between his knees, and began from the beginning of 
 
 N 
 
178 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 tilings to teach him what he ought to believe. ' My 
 little man,' said he, ' Did you ever hear of God ?' 
 
 " 'Yes.' 
 
 " ' You know, that, before he made the world, his 
 spirit brooded over the vast deep, which was a great 
 sea without shores, and without bottom. Then he 
 made this world out of earth.' 
 
 " ' Where did he find the earth V asked the boy. 
 
 " 'At the bottom of the sea,' replied father 
 Jerome. 
 
 " ' But,' said the boy, ' you told me just now, that 
 the sea had no bottom !' " 
 
 The Superior of the college des oratoires concluded, 
 " You may, Sir, I think, be secure, that your son, 
 when capable of making such a reply, is in no great 
 danger of becoming a catholic from the lectures of 
 such profound teachers as these." 
 
 The Superior kept his word with me, and I never 
 had reason to believe, that any farther attempts at 
 conversion were made upon my son. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 1 79 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 On every change of residence, in every place to which 
 we go, we probably find some individual more suited 
 to our taste than any other. During my residence at 
 Lyons, I felt this sort of predilection for the Marquis 
 de la Poype, a gentleman with whom I then first 
 became acquainted. He was a man of much general 
 information, well acquainted with English literature, 
 and sufficiently master of the language, to be able to 
 hold a conversation upon common subjects. His 
 maimers were peculiarly pleasing, and he was married 
 to a beautiful woman, whom he loved with an affection, 
 that was not often known to subsist between married 
 people in France, or at least in the part of France 
 which I had seen. He pressed me much to pay him 
 a visit at his chateau in Dauphiny ; and at length I 
 promised to pass with him some of the Christmas 
 holidays. An English gentleman of the name of 
 Rosenhagen went with me. 
 
 We arrived in the evening at a very antique build- 
 ing, surrounded by a moat, and with gardens laid out 
 in the style which was common in England in the 
 beginning of the last century. These were enclosed 
 by high walls, intersected by canals, and cut into 
 parterres by sandy walks. We were ushered into a 
 good drawing room, the walls of which were furnished 
 
 N 2 
 
180 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 with ancient tapestry. When dinner was served, we 
 crossed a large and lofty hall, that was hung round with 
 armour, and with the spoils of the chase ; we passed into 
 a moderate sized eating room, in which there was no 
 visible fireplace, but which was sufficiently heated 
 by invisible stoves. The want of the cheerful light 
 of a fire cast a gloom over our repast, and the howl- 
 ing of the wind did not contribute to lessen this dis- 
 mal effect. But the dinner was good, and the wine, 
 which was produced from the vineyard close to the 
 house, was excellent. Madame de la Poype, and two 
 or three of her friends, who were on a visit at her 
 house, conversed agreeably, and all feeling of winter 
 and seclusion was forgotten. 
 
 At night, when I was shewn into my chamber, 
 the footman asked if I chose to have my bed 
 warmed. I inquired whether it was well aired; he 
 assured me, with a tone of integrity, that I had 
 nothing to fear, for " that it had not been slept in 
 for half a year." The French are not afraid of damp 
 beds, but they have great dread of catching some 
 infectious disease from sleeping in any bed, in which 
 a stranger may have recently lain. 
 
 My bed-chamber at this Chateau was hung with 
 tapestry, and as the footman assured me of the 
 safety of my bed, he drew aside a piece of the 
 tapestry, which discovered a small recess in the 
 wall, that held a grabat, in which my servant was 
 invited to repose. My servant was an Englishman, 
 whose indignation nothing but want of words to 
 express it could have concealed : he deplored my 
 unhappy lot ; as for himself, he declared, with a 
 look of horror, that nothing could induce him to go 
 into such a pigeon-hole. I went to visit the accommo- 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 181 
 
 dations of my companion, Mr. Rosenhagcn ; I found 
 him in a spacious apartment, hung all round with 
 tapestry, so that there was no appearance of any 
 windows. I was far from being indifferent to the 
 comfort of a good dry bed ; but poor Mr. Rosen- 
 hagen, besides being delicate, was hypochondriac. 
 With one of the most rueful countenances I ever 
 beheld, he informed me, that he must certainly die 
 of cold ; his teeth chattered whilst he pointed to 
 the tapestry at one end of the room, which waved 
 to and fro with the wind, and looking behind it, I 
 found a large stone casement window without a single 
 pane of glass or shutters of any kind. He deter- 
 mined not to take off his clothes ; but I, gaining 
 courage from despair, undressed, went to bed, and 
 never slept better in my life, or ever wakened in 
 better health or spirits, than at ten o'clock the next 
 morning. 
 
 How Rosenhagen fared, or what happened to him 
 afterwards, I really forget. After breakfast, the 
 Marquis took us to visit the Grotto de la Baume, 
 which was at the distance of not more than two 
 leagues from his house. 
 
 We were most hospitably received at the house 
 of an old officer, who was Seigneur of the place. 
 His hall was more amply furnished with implements 
 of the chase and spoils of the field, than any which 
 I have ever seen, or ever heard described. There 
 were nets of such dimensions, and of such strength 
 as were quite new to me : bows, cross-bows, of 
 prodigious power : guns of a length and weight 
 that could not be wielded by the strength of modern 
 arms ; some with old match-locks, and with rests 
 to be stuck into the ground, and others with wheel- 
 
182 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 locks ; besides modern fire-arms of all descriptions : 
 horns of deer, and tusks of wild-boars, were placed in 
 compartments in such numbers, that every part of the 
 walls was covered either with arms or trophies. 
 
 The master of the mansion, in bulk, dress, and 
 general appearance, was suited to the style of life, 
 which might be expected from what we had seen 
 at our entrance. He was above six feet high, strong, 
 and robust, though upwards of sixty years of age ; 
 he wore a leathern jerkin, and instead of having 
 his hair powdered and tied in a long queue, according 
 to the fashion of the day, he wore his own short 
 grey locks ; his address was plain, frank, and hearty ; 
 but by no means coarse or vulgar. He was of an 
 ancient family, but of a moderate fortune. I forget 
 whether his wife was living, but she did not appear ; 
 his son assisted him in doing the honors of the 
 house. We were invited to dinner, to which we 
 were to return after our visit to the grotto. 
 
 We were provided with guides and torches, and 
 at no great distance from the castle we entered the 
 cavern. The arch which hung over the entrance, 
 was not so large as that of Peake's hole, in Derby- 
 shire ; it was however more striking because it was 
 free from all signs of human habitation. A clear, 
 but not a broad stream, issued through the opening, 
 leaving a narrow dry path on each side of it, which 
 led one or two hundred yards into the hill that 
 covered the cavern. Here the rock dipped in such 
 a manner, as nearly to close the channel of the 
 stream ; but, by creeping near the ground, we got 
 through this narrow passage, and found ourselves 
 in another reach of the cavern, the sides of which, 
 of solid and continued rock, lay in strata, so as to 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. ' 183 
 
 form steps of twenty or thirty inches high, to a 
 height of fifteen or twenty feet. These were often 
 sloping, and always slippery, so that it was a business 
 of no common danger to scramble upwards, and a 
 subject of terror to think of coming down again. 
 
 It is seven and thirty years since I was in Dau- 
 phiny, and I now write without an exact recollection 
 of the sizes or distances of objects ; but the objects 
 themselves must have been striking, since they left 
 such a durable impression on my mind. I know 
 that there have been published accounts of the Grotto 
 de la Baume ; but I now write without reading them, 
 purposely to try how far my memory is or is not 
 exact ; and to shew how far objects, that in youth 
 forcibly struck the imagination, remain fixed in the 
 mind in advanced age. 
 
 Of the chambers into which we clambered, in this 
 cavern, I have a distinct recollection, especially of 
 the chamber of the bats ; into this we crept by a 
 low and narrow opening. It is a room not less than 
 twenty feet square, and about thirteen feet high. 
 The dung of the bats was two or three inches in 
 depth under our feet. This had all accumulated in 
 the course of a few years. Three or four years pre- 
 vious to the time when I saw it, the chamber had 
 been completely cleansed for the value of the manure. 
 The bats were suspended from the roof, one below 
 another, clustering like bees ; they were then five 
 deep, so that fifty thousand would be a moderate 
 estimate of their numbers ; and I had no reason to 
 doubt what the old baron told me, that several acres 
 of ground had been most highly manured with their 
 dung, which had been collected from different parts 
 of the cave. 
 
184 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 While we were examining this chamber, some of 
 the bats were disturbed ; they flew about with such 
 violence, as to extinguish several of our lights ; and, 
 had not our conductor prudently ordered one of our 
 attendants to hurry out of the apartment before his 
 torch was blown out, we should have been left with- 
 out any light, at the mercy of those odious animals, 
 whose stench was uncommonly noisome. We were 
 all heartily glad to escape from their buffeting, and 
 after quitting their den, and walking along a narrow 
 ledge, we entered another room larger than the cham- 
 ber of the bats ; — a grotto which struck me as the 
 most brilliant and magnificent spectacle I had ever 
 beheld. It was surrounded with exquisite sparkling- 
 incrustations, which towards the bottom of the walls, 
 spread upon the floor in such a manner as to form 
 steps. From the ceiling several large stalactites 
 depended in regular order, and in the middle of the 
 grotto there stood a circular altar of crystal finishing 
 in a tabular form slightly convex. The shape of this 
 altar, or pedestal, as perhaps it might more properly 
 be called, swelled gradually as it descended, so as to 
 form a base in the shape of a trumpet. This, if I 
 recollect rightly, stood upon a circular platform, 
 which was raised on three or four steps, all of the 
 same crystalized materials. The surface of the 
 pedestal was formed of leaves, or laminae, that fell 
 over each other like the covering of a pine-apple ; but 
 increasing in size towards the bottom, as they ap- 
 proached the trumpet-formed base. The steps were 
 horizontal, not of one continued surface, but appeared 
 like rows of large scollop shells, very shallow, about eight 
 or ten inches diameter, and encrusted in such a manner 
 as to resemble the coating of a rock melon. All this 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 185 
 
 tracing was wonderfully regular, as arc all the ope- 
 rations of nature where they are undisturbed, and 
 here there was nothing to disturb her. Not a breath 
 of air, not any motion or noise, was perceptible in the 
 chamber, but minute drops from the stalactites, which 
 hung from the ceiling. Immediately above the 
 pedestal, which I have but inadequately described, 
 there descends from the centre of the roof an immense 
 stalactite, trumpet-shaped, sixteen inches in diameter 
 at the larger end, which was attached to the ceiling, 
 and tapering in a beautiful curve nearly to a point. 
 The brilliancy of the gems, which sparkled on every 
 side of us, formed a contrast the most pleasing with 
 the stone-colored altar in the middle of the chamber. 
 
 I was so fixed in admiration of what I saw, that I 
 had not time to examine into the philosophy of the 
 phenomenon. That the water oozed through the 
 rock was apparent ; and that it flowed more copiously 
 from the centre, than from any other part, was also 
 evident ; but how the surplus water was disposed of, 
 I have no recollection. 
 
 We had taken off our coats at our entrance into 
 the cave, yet found the heat extremely oppressive. 
 Our guides insisted upon our returning as slowly as 
 possible, that we might be the better able to bear 
 the contrast of the external air, when we should leave 
 the cavern. Notwithstanding our precautions, the 
 open air, which was probably at forty-five degrees of 
 heat, appeared to us like cold water. We covered 
 ourselves as warmly as we could, and returned with 
 our host, the old officer, to dine with him at his 
 castle. 
 
 Our dinner was in its arrangement totally unlike 
 any thing I had seen in France, or any where else. 
 
186 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 It consisted of a monstrous but excellent wild boar 
 ham ; this, and a large savoury pie of different sorts 
 of game, were the principal dishes ; which, with 
 some common vegetables, amply satisfied our hunger. 
 A good dessert, and wine of the growth of the neigh- 
 bouring vineyards, crowned our repast. The blunt 
 hospitality of this rural baron was totally different 
 from that which is to be met Math in remote parts 
 of the country of England. It was more the open- 
 heartedness of a soldier, than the roughness of a 
 squire. He entertained us with the account of rural 
 sports, to w r hich we were utter strangers. 
 
 Hunting the wild boar is a dangerous sport, and 
 partakes more of a warlike exercise, than of a civil 
 amusement. The wild boar, though in general of a 
 small size in this part of the continent, is still fierce ; 
 and sometimes, though rarely, an animal of this 
 species, that has grown old and bulky, by having 
 lain hid for a length of time in the forest, is roused 
 from its lair, and opposes the dogs and hunters with 
 formidable resolution. These boars tear up the dogs, 
 as they run past them, with a sudden and oblique 
 motion of their projecting tusks ; and frequently 
 wound the hunters themselves, if they cannot elude 
 their course. It seems extraordinary, that such wild 
 animals should still be found in a country so highly 
 civilized as France. 
 
 We returned by moonlight to the Chateau de la 
 Poype well pleased with our excursion. The next 
 day we passed in very different society. We accom- 
 panied the Marquis and his lady to the residence of 
 a president of Grenoble ; the manners here were 
 different from what I had seen at the Chateau de la 
 Poype, and at the houses which I Frequented in 
 
R. L. EDGE WORTH, ESQ. 1 87 
 
 Lyons. There was something formal, yet conde- 
 scending, in the men ; and in the ladies that mixture 
 of pretension, pedantry, and affectation, which the 
 French express by the word precieuse. 
 
 A numerous company was assembled. Among 
 the guests were some mere country gentlemen. 
 These gentlemen were mostly unmarried. Their 
 rusticity was strongly marked, yet, nevertheless, I 
 could perceive, that they were admitted to the rank 
 of country lovers by some of the ladies. This gave 
 them an air of pretension that w T as disgusting, and in 
 a high degree ridiculous. 
 
 Before dinner I received a message from the mis- 
 tress of the house, who had not appeared with the 
 rest of the family, inviting me to her apartment. 
 My friend, the Marchioness de la Poype, informed 
 me, that this lady, by an unfortunate accident, had 
 been for some years deprived of the use of her limbs, 
 and that to divert her attention from her sufferings, 
 she had applied herself to literature with unremitting- 
 assiduity. From the representations of M. de la 
 Poype, she had become desirous to see an English 
 Gentleman, who could converse with her on subjects 
 suited to her taste. I was introduced by Madame de 
 la Poype. In an elegant chamber, ornamented with 
 pictures, and furnished with books, I saw a most 
 beautiful creature of seven or eight and tw T enty. 
 She was supported by cushions, on a chaise-longue, 
 and, were it not for a smile, and the motion of her 
 lips, she might have passed for a figure formed in 
 wax. I saw, though I did not hear, that she spoke ; 
 but when I seated myself, as I was desired, on a 1ow t 
 seat near her, I found that her voice, though scarcely 
 audible, was articulate and melodious. She did not 
 
188 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 move a limb ; and in her countenance there seemed 
 to be a constant suppression of the sense of pain. 
 She conversed with animation upon several subjects 
 of literature, and various branches of knowledge, like 
 one who had not, for a long time, had an opportunity 
 of communicating her thoughts to any person en- 
 gaged in pursuits similar to her own. When dinner 
 was announced, she seemed as if she thought it was 
 too early : and as I departed, she requested, with 
 much timidity, that I would give up another hour in 
 the evening. As soon after dinner as I saw the com- 
 pany securely seated at the card table, I returned to 
 the interesting invalide, with whom I passed some 
 hours most agreably. She seemed more free from pre- 
 judice and party, than almost any person I have ever 
 met with ; fond of reasoning, yet averse from dispu- 
 tation ; versed in literature, yet not ambitious to 
 display it. She understood English, and was well 
 acquainted with our best authors, many of whom she 
 appreciated and criticised with much candour and 
 sagacity. I could not help deploring the situation of 
 this superior woman. She made no complaint, though 
 it was obvious, that none of the family in which she 
 lived, had tastes, or knowledge, or sympathy, that 
 could alleviate her sufferings. 
 
 This scene made a great impression upon me ; an 
 impression that was increased by the recollection of 
 my poor mother, who had been deprived of the use of 
 her limbs at my birth. I was accustomed, in my 
 childhood, to see her cheerful, and sometimes happy ; 
 and now I saw this lady forget, or seem to forget, 
 pain and disease, while her mind was occupied with 
 literature. Thus my attention to the acquisition of 
 literature, and knowledge of every kind, as the means 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 1 89 
 
 of happiness, independently of their being a distinc- 
 tion, was increased ; and I determined on steadily 
 persevering in the cultivation of my understanding. 
 
 Upon my return to Lyons, these impressions were 
 strengthened still more by female influence ; espe- 
 cially by my becoming acquainted with Mrs. Pitt, 
 afterwards Lady Rivers. She was then far from 
 young, but she was uncommonably agreeable, though 
 so deaf, that, except in a carriage, she could hardly 
 hear what was said at the distance of a yard. I used 
 to drive out with her, evening after evening, on the 
 beautiful banks of the Saone, toward l'Isle de Barbe ; 
 and from her various and animated conversation, I 
 learned more of the interior of the great world of that 
 day, more anecdotes of distinguished persons, and 
 more knowledge of the human heart, than I could 
 have obtained from any other source within my 
 reach. 
 
 The society at Lyons was at this time emulating 
 the polish of Parisian manners, and approaching fast 
 to the dissipation and relaxation of morals, which 
 prevailed in Paris. Among the trifling anecdotes, 
 that have remained in my memory, I may mention a 
 repartee of a belle at Lyons, a Mad me Bobu. This 
 lady had given some offence to M. de la Verpilliere, 
 the major of Lyons. At a masquerade the major 
 discovered this lady in her disguise, and accosted her 
 in a sarcastic tone, with a quotation from the syllables 
 of the Primer ; — " Comment vous portez vous, Ma- 
 dame Bsi-Be-Bi-Bo-Bu?" — She answered, " Tres 
 bien ! Monsieur Ca-Ce-Ci- Co- Cu." — A sarcasm, 
 which was not applied at hazard. 
 
 A few more slight anecdotes will mark the man- 
 ners of that day at Lyons, and the good and bad 
 
190 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 qualities apparent in the different ranks of society. 
 An English gentleman, who seemed to be very 
 popular among his companions, had brought himself 
 into sudden distress by an unlucky run at play. He 
 was arrested, while he was entertaining several of his 
 countrymen at dinner. Not one of them interfered 
 in his favour ; but when he retired from the room, a 
 valet de place, who had lived with him for two years, 
 offered him a purse, containing more than the debt 
 for which he was arrested, telling him, that he had 
 earned that money by the English, and that it could 
 not be better employed, than by saving a gentleman 
 of that country from disgrace. The offer was 
 accepted, and the English gentleman soon afterwards 
 repaid the sum, with the addition of a handsome 
 present. 
 
 Another instance of generosity, shewn to an English- 
 man in distress, occurred while I was at Lyons. A 
 gentleman was arrested for numerous debts, which he 
 had incurred by living in a very extravagant manner 
 with M lle St. Clair, an actress of great celebrity and 
 some beauty. She had fascinated the gentleman so 
 completely, that he had lavished upon her all the 
 money, and had exhausted all the credit, which he 
 could command. Tradesmen to whom he was in- 
 debted, becoming acquainted with his situation, found 
 it necessary to enforce payment by securing his per- 
 son. None of the English came forward to his 
 assistance, and he was actually placed in confinement. 
 He was not, however, left long in this situation ; for 
 M lle St. Clair sold all her plate and jewels, and 
 released him. When her lover flew to her, to express 
 his gratitude, he was astonished to find a reception 
 very different from what he expected : after express- 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 1 9 1 
 
 ing in the fondest manner her affection, she declared 
 it to be her fixed determination, to live with him no 
 longer. In vain he pleaded his constancy, his entire 
 devotion to her wishes. She acknowledged all his 
 claims, but steadily refused to continue a connexion, 
 which must necessarily end in his ruin. She had 
 given such a signal proof of her disinterestedness and 
 affection, that no mercenary motive, or any caprice of 
 sentiment, could be attributed to her conduct ; she 
 therefore claimed the merit of the greatest sacrifice in 
 giving him up, to preserve him from himself. All 
 the Lyons world applauded her generosity : she was 
 caressed and invited to some of the best houses in 
 that city. I have dined with her at the house of 
 Mad me de la Verpilliere, with a large society of the 
 best company. Had I not known that she was an 
 actress, I could not have discovered her situation by 
 any thing in her manners or conversation. 
 
192 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 About this time a fatal catastrophe, that befel two 
 lovers, made a great noise at Lyons. A young- 
 painter, of considerable eminence, came there, in 
 company with a woman of uncommon beauty, who 
 was his mistress. There was something remarkably 
 attractive in both the man and the woman, and their 
 company was sought for with the utmost enthusiasm 
 by all the young men of that city. 
 
 The urbanity, liveliness, and good nature of the 
 young painter, were extolled in every company. 
 Both he and the lady sang and played well on several 
 instruments ; and, by a variety of other talents, 
 which they exercised without ostentation, they made 
 what is called in France a great sensation. Their 
 mutual fondness kept all pretenders to the lady's 
 favour quite at a distance, while it excited a lively 
 interest among their acquaintance. 
 
 There was still however something mysterious in 
 their conduct towards each other, that induced an 
 indefinite kind of suspicion. In the midst of gaiety 
 or mirth, a look or a sigh, betrayed a secret anxiety. 
 This anxiety gradually increased, notwithstanding 
 the pains which were taken to conceal it. After 
 some months, the stranger and his mistress invited all 
 their acquaintance to a handsome supper, which they 
 
R.L.EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 193 
 
 gave at taking leave of their friends, before their 
 intended departure from Lyons. When they bade 
 farewell, they showed great emotion, and hastily 
 withdrew before their friends departed. 
 
 There is, near a convent at Lyons, a place which 
 was called the tomb of the two lovers. — On this spot 
 the bodies of the strangers were found the next 
 morning. — They had shot each other with pistols, 
 the triggers of which w T ere so connected by a red 
 riband, as to go off at the same moment. At first no 
 trace of their history, or motive for their conduct 
 could be discovered ; but at length it was ascertained 
 that the man laboured under some incurable disease, 
 to which the physicians had convinced him he must 
 fall a sacrifice within a given period. His mistress 
 had determined to live no longer than her lover : they 
 had therefore converted whatever they possessed into 
 ready money, which they agreed to spend in the 
 manner most congenial to their tastes ; and as soon 
 as their funds should be exhausted, which they had 
 calculated would last to the predicted period, when 
 his disease must end his life, they had resolved to 
 destroy themselves. They had projected various 
 means of accomplishing this fatal purpose ; poison or 
 drowning had been proposed, and had been rejected, 
 because they could not be certain, that they should 
 both cease to exist at the same moment. 
 
 Whoever is acquainted with the state of society in 
 France about this time may form some idea of the 
 interest produced by this extraordinary catastrophe. 
 It was the universal subject of conversation. The 
 young and romantic applauded the heroism of the 
 lovers ; the courage and constancy of the woman 
 excited sympathy and enthusiastic applause. In 
 
 o 
 
194 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 particular, the disciples of Rousseau shed tears of 
 the tenderest compassion over their grave, while the 
 wise and good expressed abhorrence of the selfish, 
 inhuman conduct of a man, who could so far abuse 
 the confidence reposed in him by his mistress, as to 
 persuade her, or to permit her to persuade herself, 
 that true love could justify deliberate murder. That 
 the man might, from the fear of pain or poverty, be 
 hurried to suicide, does not appear out of the course 
 of common cowardice or folly ; but to destroy the 
 object of his love, merely to prevent her from living 
 after he ceased to exist, and to prevent her from 
 loving another, when he could no longer feel either 
 love or jealousy, was justly considered as the basest 
 and most depraved egoism. 
 
 The idea of constancy after the death of a beloved 
 object is cherished in society, because it is thought a 
 means of preventing inconstancy during life. The 
 woman, who looks forward without restraint to a 
 second or a third husband, may consequently, per- 
 haps, be less attentive to the declining health of him, 
 with whom she still lives ; so far the feeling of post- 
 humous fidelity may be advantageous to society : but 
 this by no means justifies the ferocious sentiment of 
 wishing to sacrifice the object of our affections, lest 
 she should confer happiness upon another. 
 
 Scarcely had the interest inspired by this romantic 
 history of the painter and his mistress subsided, when 
 a new sensation, of a different sort, was excited at 
 Lyons, by the misconduct, I am sorry to say it, of 
 some of my countrymen. While Captain Jervis* and 
 Captain Goodall of the navy, Mr. Greyf, Lord Win- 
 
 * Afterwards Lord St. Vincent. 
 
 t Afterwards Lord Grey, — the late Lord Grey. 
 
R. L.EDGEWORTH, ESQ. " 195 
 
 chelsea, Lord Fortescue, Lord Morton, and his 
 amiable family, who were then all at Lyons, did 
 honour to their country, there were others who 
 gave unfavourable specimens of the manners of Eng- 
 lishmen. Among several instances, of which I was 
 unfortunately a witness, I shall mention but one, 
 which will sufficiently mark the contempt shewed for 
 decorum, and for the persons whose civilities my 
 countrymen condescended to accept. 
 
 It was the custom at Lyons, for the principal 
 families to give a ball once a year to their daughters. 
 As young unmarried women were not usually admitted 
 in every day society, this annual ball was always con- 
 ducted with the most perfect decorum. 
 
 Mothers, who were professed coquets at other times, 
 upon this occasion maintained a matronly reserve, and 
 the utmost respect was shewn by all the young men 
 to the innocent objects of the entertainment. The 
 English, resident at Lyons, were usually invited to 
 this ball, and it was generally understood, that great 
 circumspection was necessary in their behaviour. 
 
 was then at Lyons, a roue, whose faults were more 
 hurtful to himself than to others ; generous, extrava- 
 gant, dissipated, good natured, and good humoured, 
 he spent his time, and a great deal of the Duke his 
 father's money, in what he thought pleasure. Among 
 others he went to this ball ; but he went, unlike 
 others, highly intoxicated. After he had been in the 
 ball-room a short time, he laid himself down upon 
 some chairs, and demonstrated audibly to the company, 
 that he had fallen fast asleep. This was considered 
 by the friends and brothers of the young ladies in the 
 room as an unpardonable affront to the company. 
 
 o 2 
 
igG MEMOIRS OF 
 
 The young men, many of them military, collected 
 together, to determine who should have the lead in 
 turning the offender out of the room. M. de la Ver- 
 pilliere, son of the late Commandant of Lyons, was a 
 friend to the English: he saw what was going on, and 
 he came to me in great agitation, to acquaint me with 
 the danger, into which Lord ****** had brought 
 himself. I immediately expressed great indignation, 
 walked with M. de la Verpilliere to the place where 
 his drunken Lordship lay, I pulled him roughly by 
 the collar, and when he awakened, I demanded from 
 him immediate satisfaction for the disgrace which he 
 had brought upon his countrymen, and the injury 
 which he had done them, by causing, probably , the 
 exclusion in future of Englishmen from the select 
 parties of the best companies in France. Drunk or 
 sober, his Lordship was always ready to answer such 
 a summons. By the assistance of his friends, he was 
 got out of the room : he was not in a situation to 
 fight that night, but he was in a situation to come to 
 me the next morning, to thank me most heartily for 
 my interference. M. de la Verpilliere, the best na- 
 tured man living, easily pacified the young officers, 
 who had been offended : they perceived, that no 
 affront was intended; and the manner in which I 
 interfered was considered by the French as serviceable 
 to their friends as it was to mine. 
 
 I had occasion some time afterwards to draw upon 
 the credit in society, which had been granted me by 
 my French friends in Lyons. It happened, that I 
 went with several of my countrymen to the installation 
 or appointment of the major of Lyons. The assembly 
 was held in the great saloon of the Hotel de Ville, 
 which is, or was, one of the finest rooms in Europe. 
 
R. L.EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 197 
 
 It was furnished with some excellent pictures of the 
 former kings of France ; some indifferent portraits of 
 Lewis the XVth, and of his family ; and several daubs 
 of mayors and aldermen. A speech was made, I 
 believe, by a young advocate, which he prefaced by 
 various genuflexions, and bows, and salutations to the 
 pictures : beginning with the portraits of the younger 
 part of the royal family, he addressed each of them 
 by their full titles, pompously pronounced, and with 
 appropriate compliments ; but at length, as he turned 
 toward the portrait of majesty, he suddenly started, 
 put his hands over his eyes, as if they were dazzled 
 by the effulgence of the royal countenance, and 
 bowing, or rather prostrating himself in the rostrum, 
 he again timidly looked towards the bright object 
 of his devotion, and again withdrew his presumptuous 
 gaze, till accustomed to the blaze of glory, he was 
 enabled to pay his tribute of adoration to the royal 
 image. This farce appeared to me so ludicrous, that 
 I fear the relaxation of my muscles gave offence to 
 some of the spectators ; for when I went down the 
 great stairs, by which I had ascended, I was stopped 
 in a very rude manner by one of the centinels, who 
 told me, that I could not pass that way. I civilly 
 represented to him, that I had come in by that passage, 
 that I was a stranger, and that I did not know any 
 other way out of the Hotel de Ville. 
 
 " What, do you grumble?" said the centinel : "I'll 
 teach you better !" and, seizing me by the fleshy part 
 of the inside of my arm, he grasped it with the most 
 brutal violence. I called for his serjeant ; the spec- 
 tators took my part, and the serjeant, though un- 
 willing, was forced to call his officer, who was the 
 major of what I now found was the garde bourgeoi.se 
 
198 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of the city. With the bourgeoisie I had hitherto had 
 no intercourse. The major, instead of expressing 
 any disapprobation of the soldier's conduct, said with 
 great insolence, " the flesh of vous autres anglois is 
 so much softer than that of a Frenchman, that you 
 complain of the slightest touch." 
 
 I had the prudence to constrain my anger, and only 
 to say, that he might hereafter be convinced of his 
 mistake. Lord Winchelsea, with whom I had but a 
 slight acquaintance, in the most handsome manner 
 immediately offered to go with me to the commandant 
 of Lyons, to demand redress. As the commandant, 
 M. de Bellesize, was my friend, I declined Lord 
 Winchelsea's offer; but I requested, that if I had 
 occasion to lay the affair before our ambassador, he 
 would have the goodness to assist me. I went to 
 M. de Bellesize, who expressed much concern at 
 what had happened : with great kindness he referred 
 me to the colonel of the regiment, assuring me that 
 he was a man of honour, from whom I should receive 
 full satisfaction ; and he hinted, that the commandant 
 should, in such a case, be applied to only in the last 
 resort. I found from the colonel, M. St. Eloi, the 
 reception which had been promised me ; he expressed 
 much indignation, and desired me to meet him in the 
 play-house that evening. I was careful to be there 
 before the play began, and placed myself in the most 
 conspicuous part of the house. Before the overture 
 was finished, I saw Col. St. Eloi and my man appear 
 in the opposite box ; and upon a signal to me from 
 the Colonel, I went into the lobby, where there were 
 a number of persons of the highest class in Lyons. 
 M. St. Eloi presented the officer to me, and said, that 
 he was come to ask pardon for the rudeness, with 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. I99 
 
 which he had treated me in the morning. As the 
 man advanced towards me, I perceived, that he could 
 scarcely believe that I was the person whom he had 
 offended, as I was now, according to the fashion of 
 the times, in full dress ; and in the morning he had 
 seen me in a frock. He began to speak in great 
 confusion, but I requested, that he would spare him- 
 self the trouble, as I considered the circumstance that 
 had happened as extremely advantageous to me, 
 since it had made me acquainted with M. St. Eloi. 
 — So terminated an affair, that might in the hands of 
 a haughty or precipitate officer have ended seriously. 
 While I was at Lyons, I escaped a dangerous 
 overturn, by having fortunately observed a trivial 
 circumstance, in the manner in which some timber 
 lav on the side of a road. To the south of the city 
 there is, or there was, a very narrow road on a hill, 
 on the banks of the Saone. The banks were so 
 steep and abrupt, as to form quite a precipice ; but on 
 this road my coachman, and all those acquainted 
 with the place, were in the habit of driving with per- 
 fect security. As he drove me up the hill one morn- 
 ing, I observed some poles, or balks of wood, lying 
 on the edge of the road obliquely, encroaching on it 
 but little ; indeed it was so narrow, as to admit of 
 but of little encroachment. The ends of the timber 
 hung over the edge of the precipice. My coachman, 
 proud of his skill, passed these poles dexterously as 
 we went up the hill, as they w T ere inclined from the 
 precipice in the direction of our ascent ; but as we 
 returned, it was another affair. It was downhill, 
 and the balks were inclined from the road over the 
 precipice, in the direction in which we were going. 
 I perceived that, as we ascended, the poles, which 
 
200 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 were long, bent away from the pressure of the 
 wheels ; and that of course as the coachman had 
 kept as close as possible to the bank on the opposite 
 side, the wheels must now get between some of the 
 poles, and if this happened, must, before the horses 
 could be stopped, necessarily be conducted over the 
 edge of the bank. I called to the coachman, who, 
 relying on his skill, and ignorant of the danger, 
 turned a deaf ear to me. — I bawled, and, I am afraid, 
 I swore ; but all in vain, he reiterated, " Allez ! 
 allez ! ne craignez rien ! " At last, I drew my 
 sword, and passing its glittering blade close to his 
 cheek, uttered with a tremendous voice, " Arrctez ! " 
 He pulled up at the very moment when the fore 
 wheel got between the poles. A yard further, we 
 should have been inevitably dashed to pieces. Of 
 the wdiole party, the coachman was the most 
 frightened, when he perceived how narrowly he had 
 escaped. 
 
 I must not omit a circumstance which will shew, 
 that, notwithstanding all the pains I had taken to 
 correct my naturally passionate temper, it was not 
 always as much under my command as it ought to 
 have been. I happened one morning to be present, 
 when a fencing-master had some dispute with Mr. Day, 
 I think about a pair of shoe-buckles. The man was a 
 coxcomb, and impertinent ; Mr. Day, not perfectly 
 understanding the French language, did not feel the 
 force of his opponent's expressions, but coolly re- 
 peated his own statements. The fencing-master 
 forgot himself yet more ; he retorted insolently, and 
 put his hand on his sword, for in those days fencing- 
 masters in France wore swords : I darted forward, 
 seized his sword, broke it in two, kicked him down 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 201 
 
 stairs, and threw the pieces of the sword after him. 
 For this violence, instead of being reproved by public 
 opinion in Lyons, I was applauded. The fencing- 
 master afterwards most humbly begged pardon. 
 Mr. Day made him a present of a new sword, and he 
 was satisfied. 
 
 Upon another occasion, I was riding with a lady 
 near Lyons, when a carter did not immediately make 
 way for us. I called to him — he made some answer 
 unfit to be made before a lady : I gave him a stroke 
 with my whip. I saw him feel in his pocket for his 
 knife, and instantly I knocked him down, left him in 
 the ditch, and we rode on. Upon this occasion I 
 thought my temper had not carried me too far, and 
 that I had done right, and no more than was right. 
 I was much surprised when I went into company in 
 the evening, to find that all my French friends looked 
 coolly upon me. My adventure of the morning was, 
 I guessed, in some way or other, the cause of this. I 
 inquired what was the matter, and with some difficulty 
 I was then informed, that 
 
 " I had failed towards the lady with whom I had 
 been riding, and towards myself; that I ought to 
 have left the man dead on the spot." 
 
 In consideration of my being an Englishman, and 
 ignorant of what French honour required, I was, how- 
 ever pardoned, and reinstated in public opinion. 
 
 During all the time which I spent at Lyons, my 
 attention to the works in which I was engaged never 
 remitted. A new channel for the Rhone had now 
 been cut for a considerable distance, and the river was 
 nearly intercepted, when an old boatman warned me, 
 that a tremendous flood might be expected in ten 
 days from the mountains of Savoy. I represented 
 
202 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 this to the company, and proposed to employ more 
 men, and to engage, by increased wages, those who 
 were already at work, to continue every day till it 
 was dark. I took care to have my representations 
 entered in the books of the company, but I could not 
 persuade them to a sudden increase of their expendi- 
 ture. They had laid out a very large sum of money, 
 the time for paying the stipulated percentage on their 
 subscriptions had not arrived, and they preferred a risk 
 which they did not understand, to advancing money 
 on a demand which they had not expected. 
 
 At five or six o'clock one morning I was awakened 
 by a prodigious noise on the ramparts under my win- 
 dows. I sprung out of bed, and saw numbers of people 
 rushing towards the Rhone. I foreboded the disaster ! 
 — dressed myself, and hastened to the river. 
 
 A crowd was collected on the rampart ; through 
 this crowd I had to make my way. I was known, for 
 it had been among all ranks of people a favourite 
 amusement, to go to look at the w r orks which I was 
 carrying on. At this moment, I was let to pass 
 through the opening crowd with every mark of civi- 
 lity ; and from all parts I was told with an earnestness, 
 which I can never forget, that nobody blamed me, 
 that it was publicly known that I had foretold the 
 disaster, and that it would not have happened, if my 
 advice had been followed. 
 
 When I reached the Rhone, I beheld a tremendous 
 sight ! all the work of several weeks, carried on daily 
 by nearly a hundred men, had been swept away. 
 Piles, timber, barrows, tools, and large parts of ex- 
 pensive machinery, were all carried down the torrent, 
 and thrown in broken pieces upon the banks. The 
 principal part of the machinery had been erected upon 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 203 
 
 an island opposite the rampart. Here there still re- 
 mained some valuable timber and engines, which 
 might, probably, be saved by immediate exertion. 
 The old boatman, whom I have mentioned before, was 
 at the water-side ; I asked him to row me over to the 
 island, that I might give orders how to preserve what 
 remained belonging to the company. My old friend, 
 the boatman, represented to me with great kindness 
 the imminent danger, to which I should expose myself. 
 " Sir," added he, " the best swimmer in Lyons, unless 
 he were one of the Rhone-men, could not save himself 
 if the boat overset, and you cannot swim at all." 
 
 " Very true," I replied, " but the boat will not 
 overset; and both my duty and my honour require, 
 that I should run every hazard for those, who have 
 put so much trust in me." 
 
 My old boatman took me over safely, and left me 
 on the island ; but in returning by himself, the poor 
 fellow's little boat was caught by a wave, and it 
 skimmed to the bottom like a slate or an oyster-shell, 
 that is thrown obliquely into the water. A general 
 exclamation was uttered from the shore ! but in a few 
 minutes the boatman was seen sitting upon a row of 
 piles in the middle of the river, wringing his long hair 
 with great composure. 
 
 I have mentioned this boatman repeatedly as an 
 old man, and such he was to all appearance ; his hair 
 was grey, his face wrinkled, his back bent, and all 
 his limbs and features had the appearance of those 
 of a man of sixty, yet his real age was but twenty- 
 seven years. He told me, that he was the oldest 
 boatman on the Rhone ; that his younger brothers 
 had been worn out before they were twenty-five 
 years old. Such were the effects of the hardships, to 
 
204 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 which they were subject from the nature of their 
 employment. They usually lived six or seven hours 
 a day up to their middle in water, with their heads 
 exposed to the burning sun : but their wages were 
 enormous, and supplied them copiously with brandy. 
 
 No stimulus seems to have such mighty power 
 upon the uneducated classes of mankind as spirituous 
 liquors. Fear, hope, ambition, shame, avarice, and 
 even mighty love, give place to the pleasures of 
 inebriation ! This is a subject worth the pains of 
 accurate investigation. 
 
 After my arrival at the island, I had it in my 
 power to preserve a considerable property belonging 
 to the company, which would have been either carried 
 away by the flood, or pillaged by the populace, had 
 I not interfered. At my return to my apartments, I 
 found a note from M. Bono, a banker of Lyons, 
 requesting to see me immediately. I went to his 
 house, where he was just sitting down to his frugal 
 dinner ; he asked me to take soup with him ; and, 
 when we were alone together, he said to me, 
 
 " Sir, by the misfortune which has happened to 
 day, you may possibly be put to some immediate 
 inconvenience for a supply of money ; I have a thou- 
 sand louis d'ors at your service, which you may draw 
 for at sight." 
 
 At this time I had good reason to believe, that I 
 was known at Lyons only as a traveller, who had 
 credit for a certain sum on a banker, without any in- 
 quiry having been made concerning my property, or my 
 private circumstances. This instance of M. Bono's 
 generosity and confidence made a great impression 
 on my mind: it was a practical lesson against that 
 species of national prejudice, which induces men 
 
 
R.L.EDCJEW011TH, ESQ. 205 
 
 to think, that virtue is to be found only in their own 
 country. Whoever is enslaved by prejudice, like 
 every other slave, has lost half his manly worth. 
 
 I did not accept of M. Bono's generous offer, 
 because I had no occasion for the money. My ser- 
 vices as an engineer had been entirely gratuitous, 
 and I had no connexion whatever with the monied 
 concerns of the compairy engaged in these public 
 works ; therefore the disaster which had happened 
 could not affect me in a pecuniary way. But of this 
 M. Bono was wholly ignorant ; he knew nothing of 
 the terms on which I stood with the company, and 
 I might probably, for any thing he could guess to 
 the contrary, have been by this accident reduced to 
 the utmost distress. That it happened to be other- 
 wise, neither diminishes his generosity, nor my grateful 
 sense of the obligation. 
 
 The winter now put a stop to our works on the 
 Rhone ; but a piece of land had already been gained, 
 and on this site flour-mills were to be built. On the 
 profit of these mills the company chiefly depended 
 for reimbursement of the large funds, which they had 
 laid out. During the winter, I employed myself in 
 drawing plans, and trying experiments, preparatory 
 to building flour-mills. But I was not to carry any 
 of these designs into execution. 
 
 I mentioned, that Mrs. Edgeworth had returned to 
 England to be confined. In the month of March, I 
 heard that she was brought to bed of a daughter (my 
 daughter Anna). A few days atterwards I received 
 a letter with an account of my wife's death, and I was 
 obliged immediately to return to England. 
 
 I had finished an essay on the subject of mills, and 
 as it was ready to be presented to the company, I 
 
906 MEMOIRS or 
 
 sent it to them with a letter, stating the necessity of 
 my departure. In a very handsome manner they 
 sent me a deed conferring upon me a lot of ground, 
 in the new town, which we had won from the ancient 
 conflux of the Rhone and Saone. M. Rigaud de 
 Terrebasse was my trustee : the laws of France at 
 that time preventing foreigners from enjo} 7 ing this 
 species of property. But the revolution has swept 
 away the family of Terrebasse, and the remembrance 
 of me and my services. 
 
 I pursued my journey, taking my little boy with 
 me : we travelled through Burgundy to Paris. The 
 country revived my health, which had suffered much 
 by my assiduous attendance upon the works on the 
 Rhone the preceding summer. I staid a short time 
 at Paris, where M. de Bellesize was then Prevot des 
 Marchands. He had been removed from Lyons to 
 that important post, upon account of his superior 
 merit. He shewed me great civility, and offered to 
 procure for me the ribbon of the order of St. Michael. 
 This order had been established, I believe, by Lewis 
 the Fourteenth : at first it had been bestowed only 
 on merit. It had degenerated, however, like every 
 thing else under the reigns of the mistresses of Lewis 
 the Fifteenth ; and though it still retained its credit 
 as to foreigners, I declined accepting it. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 207 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 A new gera in my life was now beginning. When 
 I arrived in London, I found a letter from my stead}- 
 friend, Mr. Day, promising that he would immediately 
 come from a remote part of England to meet me. I 
 appointed the place of our meeting at Woodstock, 
 where I could breathe the fresh air of Blenheim, 
 while I waited for his arrival. 
 
 The first words he said to me were, . 
 
 " Have you heard any thing of Honora Sneyd ?" 
 
 I assured him, that I had heard nothing, but what 
 he had told me when he was in France. * That she 
 had some disease in her eyes, and that it was feared 
 she would lose her sight ; I added, that I was re- 
 solved to offer her my hand, even if she had undergone 
 such a dreadful privation. 
 
 " My dear friend," said he, " while virtue and 
 honor forbade you to think of her, I did every thing 
 in my power to separate you ; but now that you are 
 both at liberty, I have used the utmost expedition to 
 reach you on your arrival in England, that I might 
 be the first to tell you, that Honora is in perfect 
 health and beauty ; improved in person and in 
 mind, and, though surrounded by lovers, still her 
 own mistress." 
 
208 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 At this moment I enjoyed the invaluable reward 
 of my steady adherence to the resolution, which I 
 had formed on leaving England, never to keep up 
 the slightest intercourse with her by letter, message, 
 or inquiry. — I enjoyed also the proof my friend gave 
 me of his generous affection. Mr. Day had now 
 come several hundred miles for the sole purpose of 
 telling me of the fair prospects before me ; and this 
 proof of his friendship, and of his being absolute^ 
 incapable of envy or jealousy, was shewn at a 
 moment, when he, from some trifling cause, thought 
 he had reason to complain of my having neglected 
 him. I went directly to Lichfield, to Dr. Darwin's. 
 The Doctor was absent, but his sister, an elderly 
 maiden lady, who then kept house for him, received 
 me kindly. 
 
 " You will excuse me," said the good lady, " for 
 not making tea for you this evening, as I am engaged 
 to the Miss Sneyds ; but perhaps you will accompany 
 me, as I am sure you will be welcome." 
 
 Pardon ,me, benevolent reader, if I dwell, for half 
 a page, upon a subject which can but little interest 
 any human creature except myself; we all of us 
 acknowledge, that love " has been, or ought to be, 
 our master." 
 
 It was summer. — We found the drawing-room at 
 Mr. Sneyd's filled by all my former acquaintances 
 and friends, who had, without concert among them- 
 selves, assembled as if to witness the meeting of two 
 persons, whose sentiments could scarcely be known 
 even to the parties themselves. 
 
 I have been told, that the last person whom I ad- 
 dressed or saw, when I came into the room, was 
 Honora Sneyd. This I do not remember ; but I am 
 
R. L. EDGE WORTH, ESQ. 209 
 
 perfectly sure, that, when I did see her, she appeared 
 to me most lovely, even more lovely than when we 
 parted. What her sentiments might be, it was 
 impossible to divine. 
 
 My addresses were, after some time, permitted and 
 approved ; and, with the consent of her father, 
 Miss Honora Sneyd and I were married (1773) by 
 special license, in the ladies' choir, in the Cathedral 
 at Lichfield. Mr. Seward, under whose care (which 
 had been the care of a parent) Honora had been 
 brought up, married us. The good old man shed 
 tears of joy, while he pronounced the nuptial bene- 
 diction. Mrs. Seward shewed us every possible mark 
 of tenderness and affection ; and Miss Seward, not- 
 withstanding some imaginary cause of dissatisfaction 
 which she felt about a bridesmaid, w r as, I believe, 
 really glad to see Honora united to a man, w T hom she 
 had often said she thought peculiarly suited to her 
 friend in taste and disposition. Immediately after 
 the marriage ceremony we left Lichfield, and went to 
 Ireland. 
 
 Note by the Editor. 
 
 I caunot forbear inserting Mr. Day's letter of congratulation on 
 my father's marriage : — 
 
 August. 
 
 " I am afraid, my dear friend, you have thought that my con- 
 gratulations were slow on their journey to Ireland ; and that I 
 might, long ere this, have sent you an epithalamium in heroics ; 
 but excuse my indolence, an indolence I pardon myself, because I 
 had nothing particular to say, and have been in continual motion. 
 I now send you the sincerest wishes, that you may, in this marriage, 
 continue to find every good and comfort you expect ; and this is 
 as much as friendship can wish, and more than, according to the 
 
 P 
 
210 ' MEMOIRS OF 
 
 common fate of men, will be your share. Be happy, my dear 
 friend, since you possess every thing which your own mind suggests 
 to you as a means of happiness : more you cannot have. You 
 possess an understanding improved by observation, goodness of 
 temper, and a variety of literary tastes. Whatever my friendship 
 may be able to contribute to your happiness, you know you may 
 command. I am arrived at that period of life, when, in a reflec- 
 tive mind, its sentiments are not easily changed ; and if my 
 present aversion to all engagements, which gradually involve the 
 mind in low pursuits, continue, still more it may be presumed, 
 that nothing will ever happen to destroy the strong desire I feel, 
 both from reason and nature, to discharge with propriety all the 
 duties of a man. But you must consider, that, though our affection 
 remain as strong as ever, our habitual intercourse must necessarily 
 be diminished. When you experienced vexations, you sought a 
 comforter in me, and I hope sometimes succeeded : to me you 
 entrusted your uneasiness, your hopes, your fears, your passions. 
 Young and inexperienced in the world, I was capable of being of 
 little use to you, except by fidelity and discretion. To you, when 
 my hopes were more active, and life a novelty, I entrusted all the 
 fantastic emotions of my own heart — schemes of happiness, which 
 a young man conceives with enthusiasm, pursues with ardor, and 
 sees dissipated for ever, as he advances. You heard me with 
 kindness — sometimes repressed, sometimes excited me : in general 
 advised me well, and never deceived my expectations or my con- 
 fidence. For all which accept the desire I have always had to 
 serve you for the deed, and receive my thanks — not as a vain 
 acknowledgment, but as a testimony that I am contented with the 
 past. J, 
 
 " You must perceive, that the tendency I have to stoicism, 
 joined with the change of your circumstances, and your acquisition 
 of an amiable friend in a wife, must necessarily make us of less 
 active importance to each other. You two will be settled in one 
 spot, while I am roving about the habitable earth, not in pursuit 
 of happiness, but to avoid ennui. These circumstances will neces- 
 sarily prevent, at least for some time, the continuance of our 
 intimacy upon the same terms as formerly. 
 
 " Helvetius, always systematizing, affirms, that all friendship is 
 founded upon our wants alone ; and that, as these cease, or are 
 satisfied, we gradually forget our friends; but if I may judge from 
 my own heart, as well as he from his, there is a certain, stable, 
 
K. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 211 
 
 dispassionate affection, which may subsist even in years of absence 
 — a tender remembrance of those we have loved, even had we lost 
 the hope of ever seeing them again : an attention to their happiness, 
 were we assured they could never be informed of it. It is there- 
 fore in absence, that we form the most accurate judgments of our 
 own hearts ; that we separate the local, accidental, temporary 
 affection, from that which is of a stable nature ; and this is that 
 affection, which I hope you will retain for me, and which I shall, 
 if I can speak of any future event with certainty, always be 
 sensible of for you. As I know not your present scheme of life, 
 and only know of my own, that I do not at present intend to settle 
 any where, I think it may be some time before we meet again. 
 Whenever we meet, I can receive no greater pleasure, than to 
 see you happy in your wife, your children, and, above all, in 
 yourself. 
 
 " As to myself, I can, I think, give no better picture of my own 
 mind, than what I wrote to you last winter from France : an 
 indifference to all human affairs, an aversion to restraint, and 
 engagement, and embarrassment, continue to increase in my mind ; 
 so that there is great probability I am marked out by fate for an 
 old bachelor, and an humourist, destined, perhaps to become very 
 old, because I am very indifferent about the matter, and to buy 
 hobby-horses for your grandchildren ; and, perhaps, as an old 
 frend to the family, admitted to mediate for some of the future 
 Miss Edgeworths, when they run away with a tall ensign in the 
 guards, or their dancing master ! 
 
 " When I consider your situation in life, I think it probable, 
 with proper attention to your affairs, that, though you have acted 
 precipitately, you have chosen the most eligible manner of 
 living. 
 
 " Doctor Small, with whom I now am, has shewn me part of a 
 letter that he has received from you, which gives me real pleasure ; 
 nor have I any doubt that the lady, with whom you are now 
 connected, will never give you more uneasiness, should her health 
 continue good, than she has done this first month of your connexion. 
 From her I expect to see how a sensible and affectionate woman 
 should behave to her husband, her husband's children, and her 
 own (no easy task) ; as in you I hope to find the example of a 
 husband's discretion with a lover's tenderness. With what pleasure 
 shall I, when I meet you again, contemplate that happiness, which 
 
 p 2 
 
212 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 you say you so fully possess ! such sights are sometimes necessary 
 to reconcile me to the mass of misery I see around me. 
 
 " Pray, to Mrs. Edgeworth say from me every thing, that may 
 best express the real friendship and esteem I have for her, and the 
 conviction, that, so far from being any obstacle to our future 
 friendship, she will always entertain for me such sentiments, as I 
 deserve from my behaviour to her husband. 
 
 " Adieu. 
 
 " T.D." 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 2 1 3 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 On our arrival at our home at Edge worth- Town, we 
 found that much was necessary to be done. 
 
 We had a tolerable house, built according to the 
 taste of the foregoing half century, when architecture 
 had not been much studied in Ireland. The grounds 
 and gardens were in a style correspondent to the 
 architecture ; the people were in a wretched state of 
 idleness and ignorance : so that we had sufficient 
 business to occupy the whole of our thoughts for 
 some months. My wife applied herself instantly to the 
 various occupations which surrounded her. We had 
 brought with us some English servants, who soon put 
 our domestic economy upon a comfortable footing. 
 The axe and the plough were presently at work. 
 The yew hedges, and skreens of clipped elms and 
 horn-beam, were cut down to let in the air, and the 
 view of green fields. Carpenters and masons pulled 
 down and built up. 
 
 As to the people, we perceived, that, by kindness 
 and attention to their wants and prejudices, it would 
 be in our power to meliorate the condition, and to 
 improve the disposition of the poor in our neighbour- 
 hood. Few gentry lived near us ; fortunately the 
 few, who were within our reach, were friends and 
 
214 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 relations. But we did not at this time feel the want 
 of society. 
 
 A trifling circumstance happened soon after we 
 were married which the reader will smile at my 
 recording. But " If trifles light as air are to the 
 jealous confirmations strong," they have also as 
 powerful an effect as proofs of affection. Mrs. Edge- 
 worth one day missed her wedding ring. The 
 emotion which she shewed at this slight accident, 
 an emotion so foreign to her usual habits of mind, 
 and the eagerness, and anxiety, yet the presence of 
 mind, with which she instantly pursued the best 
 means to find this ring, were proofs of attachment, 
 which I might scarcely be pardoned for mentioning 
 at this period of my life, except as they are connected 
 with a circumstance, that happened several years 
 afterwards. 
 
 The moment she perceived, that the ring was not 
 on her finger, she started up from dinner, and went 
 to the place where she had been standing during 
 most part of the morning, and where thirty or forty 
 laborers were employed levelling a piece of ground. 
 She desired them to stop, and to range themselves 
 in one line. She then, promising them a consider- 
 able reward if they found her ring, desired them to 
 walk regularly one after another, as slowly as pos- 
 sible, across the field, without separating, lest they 
 should tread the ring into the fresh ground. She 
 obliged them to sift all the newly turned earth, 
 stood by, and examined each sieve-full herself. 
 The ring was found, and Honora vowed, that she 
 never would lose it again but with her life. 
 
 During the first years of our marriage we were 
 much alone ; and as we were both fond of a country 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 215 
 
 life, and of each other, we felt too well eontented 
 in retirement. I say this, because it is a fault in 
 which young people, who have loved one another 
 with strong passion, are apt to indulge ; they are 
 inclined to seclusion, and think that two real lovers 
 are all-sufficient to each other. That we did enjoy 
 great and untired felicity is certain ; but at the same 
 time I acknowledge, that for three or four years 
 we did not improve our understandings, or enlarge 
 our views of life, as we should have done, had we 
 lived in a more extended society. In another point 
 of view, it may be observed that the retired domestic 
 manner in which we passed our time, kept dormant 
 the seeds of ambition, which might probably have 
 sprung up in my mind, if I had frequented the 
 capital, where I had many contemporaries eager in 
 the race of parliamentary distinction, to whom I felt 
 that I was not absolutely inferior. 
 
 After having resided three years in Ireland, we 
 determined to pay a visit to our friends in England. 
 We certainly found a considerable change for the 
 better, as to comfort, convenience, and conversation, 
 among our English acquaintance. So much so, that 
 we were induced to remain in England. 
 
 We took a house in Hertfordshire, at North 
 Church, near Great Berkhampstead. The house 
 was small, but uncommonly neat and cheerful. Here 
 we resolved to pass two or three years in retirement ; 
 to cultivate our tastes for literature, and to give 
 me leisure to pursue my propensity for mechanics. 
 As we were within five and twenty miles of town, 
 we had hopes, that I should be able to renew and 
 sustain my acquaintance with those men of science 
 
216 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and literature, with whom I had formerly been 
 intimate. 
 
 Mr. Day continued to keep up a strict intimacy 
 with my family ; he paid us frequent visits in our 
 retirement. He had purchased chambers in the 
 Temple, where he spent a considerable portion of 
 his time, and whence he made excursions to different 
 parts of England. 
 
 His attachment to Miss Elizabeth Sneyd had long 
 since terminated unsuccessfully. Upon his return 
 from France, that lady found, that, notwithstanding 
 all the exertions he had made, and the pains he had 
 taken to improve his manners and person, she could 
 not feel for him the sort of attachment, which was 
 necessary for her happiness and for his in marriage. 
 In short, notwithstanding his great and good quali- 
 ties, she could not give him her heart. This 
 disappointment affected him much at the moment ; 
 but time produced its usual effect. In the course 
 of four or five years his heart had been again at 
 liberty — and again engaged. His fate in marriage 
 was at last decided by his friend Dr. Small. 
 
 I have said, that Mr. Day was the man of the 
 most perfect morality, whom I have ever known. 
 Dr. Small was in this respect scarcely his inferior, 
 and he was far his superior in knowledge of the 
 world, in experience, true philosophy, and suavity of 
 manners. He had acquired over most of those who 
 were intimate with him an indescribable ascendance : 
 over the mind of Mr. Day his influence was para- 
 mount to that of any other individual, and it was 
 used solely for his friend's advantage. As marriage 
 was the grand object of Mr. Day's consideration, 
 
R.L.EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 21/ 
 
 Dr. Small was constantly interested upon this subject. 
 He never saw any woman, whose character and situ- 
 ation in life appeared suitable to Mr. Day, without 
 mentioning her to him, and endeavouring to give him 
 an opportunity of judging for himself. The Doctor 
 accidentally became acquainted with Miss Milnes, of 
 Wakefield, in Yorkshire ; and, soon after he had seen 
 her, he told me, that he believed he had at last found 
 a lady perfectly suited to Mr. Day ; a woman, who 
 was capable of appreciating his merit, and of treating 
 the small defects in his appearance and manners as 
 trifles beneath her serious consideration. 
 
 But the Doctor did not hastily communicate his 
 sentiments to his friend, for Mr. Day had by this 
 time become attached to Sabrina. She had now 
 grown up, and no longer a child, was entitled by her 
 manners and appearance to the appellation of a young 
 lady. Mr. Day took great pains to cultivate her 
 understanding, and still more to mould her mind and 
 disposition to his own views and pursuits. His letters 
 to me at this period were full of little anecdotes of 
 her progress, temper, and conduct : I had not formerly 
 thought, that she was sufficiently cultivated, or of a 
 sufficiently vigorous understanding, to be his com- 
 panion. I knew also, that whoever should become 
 the wife of Mr. Day must be content to live in per- 
 fect retirement ; to give up her tastes to his ; to 
 discuss every subject of every day's occurrence with 
 logical accuracy ; to be totally indifferent to all the 
 luxuries, and to some of the comforts of opulent life. 
 To balance these sacrifices she would find herself 
 united to a man of undeviating morality, sound sense, 
 much knowledge, and much celebrity ; a companion 
 never deficient in agreeable or instructive conversa- 
 
218 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 tion, of unbounded generosity, of great good-nature ; 
 a philanthropist in the most extensive, and the most 
 exalted sense of the word : in short, a man who 
 would put it in her power to do good to every body 
 beneath her, provided she could scorn the silly 
 fashions of those above her. Sabrina was, as to 
 many of these circumstances, well suited to Mr. Day ; 
 but she was too young and too artless, to feel the 
 extent of that importance, which my friend annexed 
 to trifling concessions or resistance to fashion, parti- 
 cularly with respect to female dress. He certainly 
 was never more loved by any woman, than he was 
 by Sabrina ; and I do not think, that he was insen- 
 sible to the preference, with which she treated him ; 
 nor do I believe, that any woman was to him ever 
 personally more agreeable. 
 
 From his letters at this time I was persuaded, that 
 he would marry her immediately ; but a very trifling- 
 circumstance changed his intention. He had left 
 Sabrina at the house of a friend, under strict injunc- 
 tions as to some peculiar fancies of his own; in 
 particular, some restrictions as to her dress. She 
 neglected, forgot, or undervalued something, which 
 was not, I believe, clearly defined. She did, or she 
 did not, wear certain long sleeves, and some hand- 
 kerchief, which had been the subject of his dislike, or 
 of his liking ; and he, considering this circumstance 
 as a criterion of her attachment, and as a proof of 
 her want of strength of mind, quitted her for ever ! 
 The circumstances of this singular transaction and 
 determination I learned from the gentleman, at whose 
 house they happened. Mr. Day, at the moment, 
 wrote me a letter explaining to me the feelings and 
 reasoning, which decided him to give up, from a 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 2 1 9 
 
 motive apparently so trifling, a scheme upon which 
 he had bestowed so much time and labour ; a scheme 
 which he had recurred to after every disappointment ; 
 and which, at last, from the surprising improvement 
 that hope had wrought in Sabrina's mind and man- 
 ners, promised him a companion, peculiarly pleasing 
 to him in her person, devoted to him by gratitude 
 and habit, and, I believe, by affection. Mr. Day's 
 reasons for breaking off his attachment proved to my 
 understanding, that, with his peculiarities, he judged 
 well for his own happiness ; but I felt, that, in the 
 same situation, I could not have acted as he had 
 done. 
 
 When Mr. Day's friends were convinced that he 
 would never again resume his connexion with Sabrina, 
 Doctor Small by decrees opened his views relative to 
 Miss Milnes. The unbounded charity and benevo- 
 lence of this lady were so well known in Yorkshire, 
 and were so much talked of, that it needed but little 
 inquiry to be certain of the facts. Several of her 
 letters had been seen, which evinced the superiority 
 of her understanding. This was so generally admitted 
 among her acquaintance, that to distinguish her from 
 another Miss Milnes, a relation of hers, celebrated for 
 beauty, who had, I believe, been called Venus, she 
 had acquired the name of Minerva. All this Doctor 
 Small reported to Mr. Day. 
 
 " But has she white and large arms?" said 
 Mr. Day. 
 
 " She has," replied Dr. Small. 
 
 " Does she wear long petticoats ?" 
 
 " Uncommonly long." 
 
 " I hope she is tall, and strong, and healthy." 
 
 " Remarkably little, and not robust. — My good 
 
220 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 friend," added Dr. Small, speaking in his leisurely 
 manner, " Can you possibly expect, that a woman of 
 charming temper, benevolent mind, and cultivated 
 understanding, with a distinguished character, with 
 views of life congenial with your own, with an agree- 
 able person and a large fortune, should be formed 
 exactly according to a picture that exists in your 
 imagination ? This lady is two or three and twenty, 
 has had twenty admirers ; some of them admirers of 
 herself, some, perhaps, of her fortune ; yet, in spite 
 of all these admirers and lovers, she is disengaged. 
 If you are not satisfied, determine at once never to 
 marry." 
 
 " My dear Doctor," replied Mr. Day, " the only 
 serious objection which I have to Miss Milnes, is her 
 large fortune. It was always my wish, to give to any 
 woman whom I married the most unequivocal proof of 
 my attachment to herself, by despising her fortune." 
 
 " Well, my friend," said the Doctor, " what pre- 
 vents you from despising the fortune, and taking the 
 lady ?" 
 
 Mr. Day soon went into Yorkshire, was charmed 
 with Miss Milnes, and began a courtship, which any 
 other man would have concluded in a few months ; 
 for the lady not only approved, but admired the noble 
 and disinterested character of her lover, and he was 
 equally pleased with her generous and romantic dis- 
 position. When I say romantic, I do not mean that 
 species of romance, which fills the pages of a novel ; 
 but that romantic forgetfulness of self, which is seldom 
 found in real life, and which had appeared in every 
 part of the conduct of Miss Milnes from her childhood. 
 With Mr. Day there were a thousand small prelimi- 
 naries to be adjusted : not content with that influence, 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 22 1 
 
 which his merit and his superior understanding must 
 necessarily obtain, there was no subject of opinion 
 or speculation, which he did not, previously to his 
 marriage, discuss with his intended bride. She was 
 not only a woman of abilities, but she was conversant 
 with literature, and particularly with poetry, which 
 she read with much energy ; besides, she was really 
 mistress of the English language, and she spoke with 
 great eloquence. Between a lady so accomplished, 
 and such a dialectician as Mr. Day, it was not likely, 
 that conversation should languish. In fact, I believe, 
 that few lovers ever conversed or corresponded more, 
 than did my friend and Miss Milnes. At length they 
 were married, and their fortunes were mutually settled 
 upon the survivor in case they had no children. 
 
 To prevent all temptation of being drawn into the 
 usual modes of life followed by people in his situation, 
 they retired to a small lodging at Hampstead, where 
 he determined to reside, till he should find a house 
 suited to his taste. 
 
 Shortly after their marriage, he brought Mrs. Day 
 to Northchurch to see us. Her person and conver- 
 sation were pleasing, and the noble and generous 
 sentiments which she expressed, and the conformity 
 of all her conduct to these sentiments, entitled her 
 to more than common admiration and respect. 
 Mrs. Edgeworth had been well accustomed to 
 Mr. Day's habits of discussion and declamation : she 
 observed that Mrs. Day's replies, replete with sense 
 and spirit, were always delivered in chosen language, 
 and with appropriate emphasis. My friend proceeded 
 towards his conclusions with unerring logic, and 
 inflexible perseverance ; but Mrs. Day's eloquence 
 won the hearers, at least for a time, to her opinions. 
 
222 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Mrs. Honora Edgeworth's conversation was in a 
 medium between both styles ; she never harangued, 
 but she spoke with ease, and yet with much precision, 
 so that in summing up the arguments on both sides, 
 she generally gave a sound judgment. 
 
 Notwithstanding the dryness of political and meta- 
 physical subjects, which were usually those upon 
 which we descanted, I was amused and instructed, 
 and I wished most heartily to prevail upon Mr. Day 
 to settle in my neighbourhood in Hertfordshire ; but 
 he had an insurmountable objection to any situation 
 near his former friends, lest, as I suppose, any opinions 
 contrary to his system of connubial happiness might 
 be supported before his wife. He remained some 
 time at Hampstead, being in no great haste to pur- 
 chase a house ; as he thought, that by living in 
 inconvenient lodgings, where he was not known, and 
 consequently not visited by any body except his 
 chosen few, he should accustom his bride to those 
 modes of life, which he conceived to be essential to 
 his happiness. 
 
 My wife and I went to see the new married couple 
 at Hampstead. It was the depth of winter ; the 
 ground was covered with snow, and to our great 
 surprise, we found Mrs. Day walking with her hus- 
 band on the heath, wrapped up in a frieze cloak, and 
 her feet well fortified with thick shoes. We had 
 always heard that Mrs. Day was particularly delicate ; 
 but now she gloried in rude health, or rather was proud 
 of having followed her husband's advice about her 
 health ; advice, which was in this respect undoubtedly 
 excellent. 
 
 I never saw any woman so entirely intent upon 
 accommodating herself to the sentiments, and wishes, 
 
R L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 223 
 
 and will of a husband. Notwithstanding this dispo- 
 sition, there still was a never-failing flow of discussion 
 between them. From the deepest political investi- 
 gation, to the most frivolous circumstance of daily 
 life, Mr. Day found something to descant upon ; and 
 Mrs. Day was nothing loth to support upon every 
 subject an opinion of her own : thus combining, in an 
 unusual manner, independence of sentiment, and the 
 most complete matrimonial obedience. In all this 
 there may be something, at which even a friend 
 might smile ; but in the whole of their conduct there 
 was nothing, which the most malignant enemy could 
 condemn. 
 
 Mr. Day afterwards bought a house, and a small 
 estate, called Stapleford-Abbot, near Abridge, in 
 Essex. The house was indifferent, and the land 
 worse ; the one he proposed to enlarge, the other to 
 improve, according to the best and latest systems of 
 agriculture. The house was of brick, with but one 
 good room, and it was but ill adapted in other respects 
 to the residence of a family. He built, at a consider- 
 able expense, convenient offices ; also a small addition 
 to the house. 
 
 When Mr. Day determined to dip his unsullied 
 hands in mortar, he bought at a stall " Wares Archi- 
 tecture ;" this he read with persevering assiduity for 
 three or four weeks, before he began his operations. 
 He had not however followed this new occupation a 
 week, before he became tired of it, as it completely 
 deranged his habits of discussion with Mrs. Day in 
 their daily walks in the fields, or prevented their 
 close application to books when in the house. Masons 
 calling for supplies of various sorts, which had not 
 been suggested in the great body of architecture, 
 
224 L MEMOIRS OF 
 
 that he had procured with so much care, annoyed the 
 young builder exceedingly. Sills, lintels, door and 
 window cases, were wanting before they had been 
 thought of; and the carpenter, to whose presence he 
 had looked forward, but at a distant period, was now 
 summoned and hastily set to work, to keep the 
 masons a going. Mr. Day was deep in a treatise, 
 written by some French agriculturist, to prove, that 
 any soil may be rendered fertile by sufficient plough- 
 ing, when the masons desired to know, where he 
 would have the window of the new room on the first 
 floor. I was present at the question, and offered to 
 assist my friend — No — he sat immoveable in his 
 chair, and gravely demanded of the mason, whether 
 the wall might not be built first, and a place for the 
 window cut out afterwards. The mason stared at 
 Mr. Day with an expression of the most unfeigned 
 surprise. " Why, Sir, to be sure, it is very possible ; 
 but, I believe, Sir, it is more common to put in the 
 window cases while the house is building, and not 
 afterwards." 
 
 Mr. Day, however, with great coolness, ordered 
 the wall to be built without any opening for windows, 
 which was done accordingly ; and the addition, 
 which was made to the house, was actually finished, 
 leaving the room, which was intended for a dress- 
 ing-room for Mrs. Day, without any window what- 
 soever. When it was sufficiently dry, the room 
 was papered, and for some time candles were 
 lighted in it whenever it was used. So it remained 
 for two or three years ; afterward Mrs. Day used 
 it as a lumber room, and at last the house was 
 sold without any window having been opened in this 
 apartment, 
 
R.L.EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 225 
 
 This strange neglect arose from two causes, from 
 Mr. Day's bodily indolence and mental activity ; he 
 did not like to get up from his chair to give orders 
 upon a subject, on which he was but little interested, 
 and he felt strongly intent upon the speculation 
 which then occupied his mind. 
 
 Some years after his marriage he bought another 
 house and estate, Anningsley, near Chertsey, in 
 Surrey ; to which he removed. He told me, that he 
 had well considered the purchase, and that he thought 
 he had acted prudently in buying one of the most 
 unprofitable farms in England, because he had a 
 large scope of ground for a small sum of money. 
 Here he tried, upon a great scale, several of those 
 doubtful processes, which he had found in foreign 
 and domestic books of agriculture, to the no small 
 injury of his fortune : and here he finally settled, at a 
 distance from us, so that we saw him only at long 
 intervals. Whenever he visited us, however, we 
 observed, that he seemed to relax from his usual 
 dialectics, and to let things and persons pass before 
 him unanalysed, and without dissection. 
 
 Having thus endeavoured to sketch Mr. Day's 
 character, I feel almost as if I had done an injury, 
 as if I had betrayed some confidence, and added 
 another to the many instances of those, who, by the 
 opportunities of friendship, had acquired the means of 
 injuring a friend. But, upon reflection, I am acquitted 
 in my own judgment from any unkindness towards 
 him or his. He had been long dead when this was 
 written ; he left behind him no children, nor any near 
 connexions ; all our common friends outlived him 
 but a short time, and when this comes before the public 
 I shall myself be no more. In relating these cir- 
 
 Q 
 
226 MEMOIRS OF [177G. 
 
 cumstances, it could not be my intention to throw 
 any ridicule upon my friend, or upon the excellent 
 qualities which he displayed in every situation, and 
 at every period of his life ; but simply to draw a 
 character which might be useful to others, to shew 
 that 7ie quid nimis (too much of one thing is good 
 for nothing) is a judicious adage — that there may 
 be too strong an adherence even to reason ; and that 
 discussion upon all the minute affairs of life, and of 
 every day occurrence, may become as inconvenient 
 and prejudicial, as the contrary extreme of careless 
 and hasty decision. 
 
 I was not disappointed in my hopes, that during 
 a residence at Northchurch I should renew my ac- 
 quaintance and habits of intimacy with some of my 
 former literary and scientific friends in London. My 
 mind was kept up to the current of speculation and 
 discovery in the world of science, and continual hints 
 for reflection and invention were suggested to me. 
 
 By some circumstance, which I cannot now remem- 
 ber, my attention was about this period turned to 
 clockwork, and I invented several pieces of mechanism 
 for measuring time. These, with the assistance of a 
 good workman in the neighbourhood, I executed 
 successfully. I then (in 1776) finished a clock* on a 
 new construction. Its accuracy was tried at the 
 observatory at Oxford, by my friend Dr. Hornsby, 
 who made me a favourable report of its performance. 
 It has been ever since, and is now (in 1809) going 
 well at my house in Ireland. 
 
 My wife had an eager desire for knowledge of all 
 sorts, and, perhaps to please me, became an excellent 
 
 * A drawing and description of this clock will hereafter be 
 published. — Note by Editor. 
 
1777.] R.L.EDGEWOETH, ESQ. 227 
 
 thcoretick mechanic. Mechanical amusements occu- 
 pied my mornings, and I dedicated my evenings to 
 the best books upon various subjects. I strenuously 
 endeavoured to improve my own understanding, and 
 to communicate whatever I knew to my wife. Indeed 
 while we read and conversed together, during the 
 long winter evenings, the clearness of her judgment 
 assisted me in every pursuit of literature in which I 
 was engaged ; as her understanding had arrived at 
 maturity, before she had acquired any strong preju- 
 dices on historical subjects, she derived uncommon 
 advantage from books. 
 
 We had frequent visitors from Town ; and as our 
 acquaintance were people of literature and science, 
 conversation with them exercised and arranged her 
 thoughts, upon whatever subject they were employed. 
 Nor did we neglect the education of our children : 
 Honora had under her care, at this time, two chil- 
 dren of her own, and three of mine by my former 
 marriage. 
 
 Unfortunately for my eldest son, I was persuaded 
 by my friends to send him away from me to school, 
 without having sufficiently prepared him for the 
 change between the Rousseau system, which had 
 been pursued at home, and the course of education 
 to which he was to be subject at a public seminary. 
 His strength, agility, good humour, and enterprise, 
 made him a great favourite with his school-fellows ; 
 he shewed abilities, and was sure to succeed when- 
 ever he applied ; but his application was not regular, 
 nor was his mind turned to scholarship. He had 
 acquired a vague notion of the happiness of a sea- 
 faring life, and I found it better to comply with his 
 wishes, than to strive against the stream. He went 
 
228 MEMOIRS OF [1778-9. 
 
 to sea, readily acquired the knowledge requisite for 
 his situation, and his hardihood and fearlessness of 
 danger appeared to fit him for a sailor's life.* 
 
 For some years we continued to pass our time 
 at Northchurch, in the manner I have described, 
 rationally, and therefore happily. 
 
 No events of any importance happened. Some 
 slight incidents, however, which occurred to me in 
 my walks through London, remain, after years have 
 elapsed, fresh in my recollection ; and yet they are 
 totally unconnected with my own interests or 
 history. 
 
 One day, in one of the crowded streets, I met a 
 poor young girl, who seemed utterly bewildered ; she 
 stopped me, to ask if I would tell her the name of 
 the street she was in. Her accent was broad Scotch, 
 and her look and air of perfect simplicity was, I per- 
 ceived, not assumed, but genuine. I gave her the 
 information she wanted, and asked her where she 
 lived, and if she was in search of any friend's house. 
 She said she did not live any where in London ; she 
 was but just arrived from Scotland, and knew nobody 
 who had any house or lodging of their own in Town, 
 but she was looking for a friend of the name of 
 Peggy ; and Peggy was a Scotch girl, who was born 
 within a mile of the place where she lived in Scotland. 
 Peggy was in service in London, and had written her 
 direction to some house in this street, but the 
 number of the house, and the names of the master or 
 
 * lie some years afterwards went to America, married Elizabeth 
 Knight, an American lady, and settled in South Carolina, near 
 George Town. He died (August 1796) leaving three sons, who, 
 with their mother, are still resident in America. — Note by the 
 Editor. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 229 
 
 mistress, had been forgotten. The poor girl was 
 determined, she said, to try every house, for she had 
 come all the way from Scotland to see Peggy, and 
 she had no other dependence ! 
 
 It seemed a hopeless case. I was so much struck 
 with her simplicity and forlorn condition, that I could 
 not leave her in this perplexity, an utter stranger as 
 she evidently was to the dangers of London. I went 
 with her, though I own without the slightest hope of 
 her succeeding in the object of her search ; knocked 
 at every door, and made inquiries at every house. 
 When we came near the end of the street, she was in 
 despair, and cried bitterly ; but as one of the last 
 doors opened and as a footman was surlily beginning 
 to answer my questions, she darted past him, ex- 
 claiming, " There's Peggy !" — She flew along the 
 passage to a servant girl, whose head had just ap- 
 peared as she was coming up stairs. I never heard 
 or saw stronger expressions of joy and affection than 
 at this meeting : and I scarcely ever, for any service 
 I have been able in the course of my life to do for 
 my fellow-creatures, received such grateful thanks as 
 I did from this poor Scotch lassy and her Peggy for 
 the little assistance I afforded her. 
 
 Another time, about this period, one evening in 
 summer, I happened to be in one of those streets that 
 lead from the Strand toward the river. It was a 
 street to which there was no outlet, and consequently 
 free from passengers. A Savoyard was grinding his 
 disregarded organ ; a dark shade fell obliquely across 
 the street, and there was a melancholy produced by 
 the surrounding circumstances, that excited my atten- 
 tion. A female beggar suddenly rose from the steps 
 of one of the doors, and began to dance ludicrously 
 
230 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 to the tunc which the Savoyard was playing. I gave 
 the man some money, and I observed, that, for such 
 an old woman, the mendicant danced with great 
 sprightliness. She looked at me stedfastly, and, 
 sighing, added, that she could once dance well. 
 She desired the Savoyard to play a minuet, the 
 steps of which she began to dance with uncommon 
 grace and dignity. I spoke to her in French, 
 in which language she replied fluently, and in 
 a good accent; her language, and a knowledge of 
 persons in high life, and of books, which she shewed 
 in the course of a few minutes' conversation, con- 
 vinced me that she must have had a liberal education, 
 and that she had been amongst the higher classes of 
 society. Upon inquiry, she told me, that she was of 
 a noble family, whose name she would not injure by 
 telling her own : that she had early disgraced herself, 
 and that, falling from bad to worse, she had sunk to 
 her present miserable condition. I asked her why 
 she did not endeavour to get into some of those 
 asylums which the humanity of the English nation 
 has provided for want and wretchedness ; she replied, 
 with a countenance of resolute despair, 
 
 " You can do nothing more for me than to give 
 me half a crown : — it will make me drunk, and pay 
 for my bed ! " 
 
 I will not detain the reader with more of my recol- 
 lections of such anecdotes, as have probably occurred 
 to most men who have walked much in the streets of 
 London. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 231 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 In the midst of the domestic happiness which we 
 enjoyed at this period, I was called away to attend a 
 lawsuit in Ireland. It was a plain and simple case ; 
 but it had been so managed by my lawyers, that it 
 became sufficiently complicated, and of course it was 
 vexatiously protracted. My wife could not, with 
 tolerable convenience, accompany me. This was the 
 first time Honora and I had been separated since 
 our marriage ; a separation extremely painful to us 
 both! 
 
 My lawsuit prospered from the moment I landed 
 in Ireland ; and in less than two months I had 
 obtained a verdict at the expense of one half the 
 value of the fee-simple of my land. I found, that 
 my estate had not been improved during my absence ; 
 and that Ireland, and its inhabitants, appeared to less 
 advantage to me, than at any other time when I had 
 been there. At this period, from various causes, the 
 rent of land had fallen, and there was less excitement 
 to industry than formerly. I thought it necessary to 
 remain at Edgeworth-Town, to improve my estate, 
 and thus to sacrifice my tastes to my duty. I had 
 always thought, that, if it were in the power of any 
 man to serve the country which gave him bread, he 
 ought to sacrifice every inferior consideration, and to 
 
232 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 reside where he could be most useful. I expressed 
 these sentiments in my letters to Honora ; she 
 approved of my plan, and she immediately took 
 measures for letting our.Jiouse at Northchurch, and 
 for coming over to join me in Ireland. 
 
 Note by the Editor. 
 
 When Mrs. Honora Edgeworth was preparing to leave England, 
 she received a letter from Mr. Day, which ought to be preserved 
 as a proof, that he, who on some occasions disdained the forms of 
 polished life, could, when prompted by generous friendship, and 
 the real tenderness of his nature, write with perfect politeness. 
 
 " MY DEAR MADAM, 
 
 " I have no message to send to Mr. Edgeworth, except my most 
 affectionate remembrance, and my best hopes, that whatever he 
 may decide upon may prove as much for his happiness, as I am 
 sure it will for his honour. I am too sensible of your mutual 
 affection, to wish you longer divided ; though I should rejoice if 
 the meeting could be in England, which would, I think, be upon 
 many accounts more eligible. However, you are best able to decide 
 for yourself. I will only detain you, to beg that, if you go, you 
 will, upon the account of all your friends, (and more than all put 
 together, of Mr. Edgeworth,) favour the delicate health which you 
 have at present. The greater part of ladies would little need this 
 caution. But it is no compliment from me to say, that you are one 
 of the few women, who, in the discharge of any duty, are rather 
 liable to attempt too much, than to venture too little. 
 
 " May you arrive safe in Ireland, and long remain the joy and 
 pride of him, whose lively affection and tenderness, joined to 
 so many other virtues, render him most deserving of so great a 
 good. 
 
 " I am, with all respect, esteem, and friendship, 
 " Dear Madam, 
 
 " Your friend and humble servant, 
 " London, " Thomas Day." 
 
 Wednesday Night." 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 233 
 
 But, alas ! in the midst of her preparation for this 
 journey, Honora's health began to fail. She always 
 attributed the beginning of her illness to a cold she 
 caught one day, when, after a walk to the post-office, 
 she sat down under a tree to rest herself, when she 
 was fatigued and too warm. She was seized with a 
 slight fever, and confined to her bed. Her letters told 
 me the exact truth. Truth is, in such circumstances, 
 better than all the arts of concealment and palliation. 
 The physician, who attended her, was not apprehen- 
 sive of any danger ; and as she had in general enjoyed 
 good health during our marriage, I flattered myself 
 he was right. However, I determined to go to her, 
 and immediately went to Dublin ; but, just as I was 
 going to embark in the packet, the wind became 
 directly adverse. 
 
 Every post brought me letters promising her speedy 
 recovery; yet the anxiety and impatience, which I 
 experienced, were beyond all bounds. I sat, hour 
 after hour, with my eyes fixed upon a weathercock, 
 watching its slightest motions. Day after day the 
 wind continued in the same point ; no vessel of any 
 sort could sail. It was moonlight, and whenever I 
 wakened, I got up to look whether the wind had 
 changed. For more than a week I was thus kept in 
 suspense. I almost thought, that I could walk upon 
 the sea. If a row-boat could have been procured, I 
 should not have hesitated to attempt a passage. I 
 had felt the violence of love before marriage, but I 
 assure my reader, that I felt it more strongly after 
 I had been married six years. And, looking back to 
 my past life, I can assert, that the greatest torment 
 my mind ever endured was at this period ; and the 
 most ardent and exquisite pleasure I ever enjoyed 
 
234 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 was on meeting my wife on the road, near Daventry. 
 I found her weak, flushed, feverish, but still the same 
 Honora; the same prudence, the same strength of 
 mind appeared in whatever she said. In a few 
 minutes we determined, as my house was let for a 
 year, to proceed to Lichfield to Mr. Sneyd's, (my 
 father in law,) till we could decide on our future 
 plans. 
 
 Here I consulted my friend, Doctor Darwin, from 
 whose manner I soon perceived, that he thought 
 Honora's illness more serious than I had in the least 
 suspected. I found, that he thought she had a ten- 
 dency to consumption, a disease from which she had 
 escaped at fifteen. He advised me not to take her to 
 Ireland, but to find some place near Lichfield, where 
 she might have his friendly assistance. Mr. Sneyd had 
 engaged himself from home during the summer, and 
 he kindly lent me his house during his absence. 
 Doctor Darwin shewed the most earnest attention to 
 his patient. At times he thought the disease, which 
 came on slowly, might be averted before it had taken 
 root in her constitution, and at others he spoke with 
 so much reserve as to alarm her most sanguine 
 friends. Her disease encreased slowly, with all those 
 vicissitudes which excite alternate hope and fear, and 
 which keep the mind in the most painful anxiety. 
 
 I had the utmost reliance on the skill and attention 
 of Doctor Darwin. His enemies, for merit must 
 excite envy, always hinted, that he was inclined to 
 try experiments upon such patients as were exposed 
 to any chronic disease. I had frequent opportunity 
 of knowing this to be false ; and, in the treatment of 
 Mrs. Edgeworth, he never, without the entire concur- 
 rence of her friends, followed any suggestion, even of 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 235 
 
 his own comprehensive and sagacious mind, that was 
 out of the usual line of practice ; on the contrary, it 
 was always in the most cautious, I may almost say 
 the most timid manner, that he proposed any thing, 
 which he thought beyond the established limits. 
 
 Every physician of eminence in England was con- 
 sulted, either in person or by letter. I took her to 
 Mr. Day's house, where, from its vicinity to London, 
 she might have access to the best advice. The mo- 
 ment Doctor Heberden saw her, I perceived by his 
 looks, that he had no hopes ; and when he gave his 
 opinion, he did not attempt to deceive me. He was a 
 man of much sagacity and experience, and his man- 
 ner of communicating to me that dreadful sentence, 
 which he was obliged to pronounce, was humane, 
 kind, and impressive. He told me, that it was too 
 frequently his lot, to see the most amiable and beau- 
 tiful, and the most highly endowed females, the most 
 exposed to this incurable malady. He advised me to 
 attend more to the ease of my beloved wife, and to 
 the palliation of symptoms, than to the pretensions of 
 any medical help that held out hopes of recovery. 
 He said, that, in conversing with us, he saw the 
 strength of our attachment, and the superiority and 
 uncommon powers of her mind ; he observed, that on 
 these I should rely for support, both for her and for 
 myself. 
 
 We passed a few days in Essex with Mr. and 
 Mrs. Day. They were very kind to Mrs. Edgeworth ; 
 but they did not see her danger in as strong a light 
 as I did. On our return to Lichfield, where we staid 
 for some time, the affection of her family, the con- 
 versation of some of her former friends, and the 
 attentions of all her acquaintance, were sources of 
 
236 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 great satisfaction to us both. After some months, 
 when Mr. Sneyd returned home, we took a small 
 house at Bighterton, near Shiffnal, in Shropshire. 
 Here we had the medical assistance of Mr. Young, a 
 humane and skilful surgeon : we had also easy access 
 to Doctor Darwin, and to Mr. Sneyd's family. 
 
 Having parted with my house at Northchurch, I 
 found myself happy in being able to procure any im- 
 mediate residence, until it should be determined 
 whether Honora should be advised to go to Clifton, 
 Devonshire, or some warmer climate. She seemed 
 willing to try Clifton, which, at that time, was in high 
 repute ; but the thought of going to any distant 
 country was extremely painful to her. 
 
 Bighterton was near Weston, the seat of Sir Henry 
 Bridgman.* Lady Bridgman and her daughters were 
 as kind to Honora as it was possible. Every thing 
 that their magnificent and hospitable mansion could 
 afford, was at all times at our command. I cannot re- 
 cord this instance of benevolence, without observing 
 that both of us, particularly my poor wife, felt interested 
 by the amiable manners and cultivated understandings 
 of this family. Nor was theirs a sudden burst of 
 kindness, prompted by compassion and sympathy — 
 it lasted — for it arose from generous hearts and sound 
 judgment, that knew how to feel, and how to appre- 
 ciate the pleasure of doing good. 
 
 Honora's disease advanced imperceptibly ; but still 
 it advanced. Her sister, Charlotte Sneyd, attended 
 her with unceasing, but with unobtrusive care. Two 
 of my children were with her, on whom their mother 
 continued to bestow the most judicious attention. 
 
 * Afterwards Lord Bradford, father to the present Earl. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 237 
 
 Her understanding, indeed, never partook of her dis- 
 ease ; it was always calm, and clear, and active. 
 
 At length, in the month of April, she drew near 
 her end. She had long known the nature of her 
 distemper, and that it was incurable ; but never for 
 one moment did pain, or fear, or vain regret for every 
 enjoyment that a human creature could possess, dis- 
 turb the firmness of her mind. She not only looked 
 upon death, as every wise and good person should 
 behold it ; but its near approach did not appal her. 
 
 Three days before she died, I was suddenly called 
 up to her room. I found her in violent convulsions. 
 Youth, beauty, grace, charms of person, and accom- 
 plishments of mind, reduced to the extreme of human 
 misery, must have wrung the most obdurate heart. 
 What must her husband feel at such a moment ? — I 
 felt her pulse, and whispered, " You are not dying." 
 She looked at me with an effort of resolution and 
 kindness, to thank me. When the fit ceased, she 
 begged of me to sit down beside her bed. I took out 
 my pencil, and determined to note whatever she said 
 and did at this awful period, an employment that 
 might enable me to bear with more fortitude the 
 scene that I was to witness. She soon fell asleep, 
 and wakened smiling. " I am smiling," said she, " at 
 my asking you to sit beside me as a sort of protection, 
 and at my being afraid to die in my sleep, when I 
 never felt afraid of dying when awake." The ensuing 
 days she talked during the intervals of dosing, about 
 the education of her children, and about every thing 
 which concerned my happiness. She recommended 
 it to me in the strongest manner to marry her sister 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 After my having sat up all the night of the 30th of 
 
238 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 April, I was suddenly called at six o'clock in the 
 morning. Her sister Charlotte was with her. The 
 moment that I opened the door, her eyes, which had 
 been fixed in death, acquired sufficient power to turn 
 themselves towards me with an expression of the 
 utmost tenderness. She was supported on pillows. 
 Her left arm hung over her sister's neck beyond the 
 bed. She smiled, and breathed her last ! 
 
 At this moment I heard something fall on the floor. 
 It was her wedding ring, which she had held on her 
 wasted ringer to the last instant — remembering, with 
 fond superstition, the vow she had made, never again 
 to lose that ring but with life. She never moved 
 again, nor did she seem to suffer any struggle. 
 
 Thus died Honora Edgeworth. The most beloved 
 as a wife, a sister, and a friend, of any person I have 
 ever known. Each of her own family, unanimously, 
 almost naturally, preferred her. My sister, Mrs. Rux- 
 ton, loved her with enthusiastic attachment. All 
 her friends adored her, if treating her with uniform 
 deference and veneration may be called adoring. 
 
 A dreadful duty still remained to be performed. 
 She had requested, that no person but her sister 
 Charlotte, myself, and her servant, should be per- 
 mitted to touch her corpse. She was obeyed. That 
 excellent sister, one of the most tender and gentle 
 creatures upon earth, obeyed ! — and through all this 
 trying duty shewed a strength of mind and perse- 
 verance, that could scarcely be expected from the 
 most resolute of another sex. 
 
 My steady friend, the steady friend of my lost 
 wife, my sister Ruxton, had set out from Ireland 
 with her husband, who had the kindness to attend 
 her. But she arrived, alas ! a day too late. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 239 
 
 I passed the night before the funeral beside her 
 coffin. The last look ! — How often I thought, that I 
 had taken the last look ! 
 
 What a variety of recollections and ideas passed 
 through my mind during this night ! There was a 
 clock in the room. I observed, that it was four 
 o'clock. I was standing on the hearth, not leaning 
 against any thing, and in that position I suddenly fell 
 fast asleep, and though I slept but five minutes it 
 seemed to me hours. The day began to dawn. I 
 opened the window shutters and the sash ; " The 
 lark sang out, the morning smiled ;" a strange sense 
 of life and renewed vigour came over all my senses. 
 
 Providence has ordained the vicissitudes of day and 
 night to act upon the human frame with unceasing 
 influence. In the ordinary course of life, this in- 
 fluence is scarcely noticed; but upon extraordinary 
 occasions we perceive its force, without being in the 
 least able to account for it. 
 
 I roused myself to bear with fortitude the inter- 
 ment of my wife. The Bridgman family obtained 
 permission to have her buried in the porch of the 
 church, at King's Weston. I followed the coffin. 
 I saw several persons in the church, whom melancholy 
 curiosity had drawn together at an early hour. 
 I heard the service. I saw the remains of what 
 I had so much loved committed to the grave ; but 
 when I heard a shovelful of earth thrown on the 
 coffin, a new sensation of grief struck me with unex- 
 pected force. I did not shed a tear, or breathe a 
 sigh ; but I felt that I must not stay. I left the 
 church, and found myself at home, I could not well 
 tell how. 
 
 My sister Ruxton, and Charlotte Sneyd, and my 
 
240 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 children recalled me to myself; and without lament- 
 ation, we talked by intervals of the views before 
 me — of my friends — my children — with a vacancy 
 of mind, that I cannot by any means account for 
 or describe. 
 
 After a few days I went to Lichfield, where I 
 remained some time. In consequence of a most 
 affectionate letter from Mr. Day, I took my two 
 youngest daughters, Anna and Honora, with me, 
 to his house in Essex. Mr. Day's conversation 
 always interested me. Sound sense and rational 
 conversation solace the mind more effectually, than 
 the most affectionate condolence or sympathy. 
 But even divine philosophy was in vain ; I listened, 
 I replied — I endeavoured to read — I felt Mr. Day's 
 kindness to my children — but nothing relieved me 
 from that listlessness which succeeds to repressed 
 sorrow. From some false notions of manly firmness, 
 I had repressed the natural expressions and conse- 
 quences of sorrow. The prodigious force, which I 
 exerted over my mind, was, as usual, succeeded by 
 languor. I merely existed, and I felt indifferent about 
 every thing, and every place ; though I imagined 
 from theory, that change of place would relieve 
 me. 
 
 I returned to Lichfield where the associations of 
 former times awakened feelings of tender sorrow, 
 which, however sad, were far preferable to that 
 inanimate state in which I had passed the preceding 
 months. 
 
 Note by the Editor. 
 
 Among my father's papers, I found in his hand-writing a 
 character of Mrs. Honora Edgcworth, ending with these Avords : 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 24 1 
 
 " The following letter, the last she ever wrote, is a sufficient 
 " proof of the tenderness and composure of her mind. — Reader ! 
 " it was written by a woman sinking from ease, youth, beauty, 
 " admiration, and love, to the grave." 
 
 " You do not indeed, my dear friend, know how difficult it 
 " may be to write one line. I believe you have no idea of the 
 " manner of my life, which is, however, much more comfortable 
 " the last ten days, than some time preceding. 
 
 " I have every blessing, and I am happy. The conversation 
 " of my beloved husband, when my breath will let me have it, 
 " is my greatest delight ; he procures me every comfort, and as 
 " he always said he thought he should, contrives for me every 
 " thing that can ease and assist my weakness. 
 
 " Like a kind angel whispers peace, 
 " And smooths the bed of death. 
 
 " This pai't is not yet come, but I doubt not his steadiness and 
 " strong affection in those hours ; as to the time of their arrival, 
 " I remain in the most perfect tranquillity and uncertainty. The 
 " spring is reckoned dangerous. If that time should decide the 
 " affair, Farewell, and let me intreat you, my dear friend, to 
 " believe, that I feel the highest respect for your virtues, and 
 " gratitude for the continued warmth of your friendship. 
 
 " Adieu, 
 
 " HONORA EDGEWORTH." 
 
 This letter was written a few days before her death. It was 
 addressed to Mrs. Mary Powys. 
 
 R 
 
242 MEMOTRS OP 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Nothing is more erroneous than the common belief 
 that a man who has lived in the greatest happiness 
 with one wife will be the most averse to take another. 
 On the contrary, the loss of happiness which he feels 
 when he loses her, necessarily urges him to endea- 
 vour to be again placed in a situation which had 
 constituted his former felicity. 
 
 I felt that Honora had judged wisely, and from 
 a thorough knowledge of my character, when she had 
 advised me to marry again, as soon as I could meet 
 with a woman, who would make a good mother to 
 my children, and an agreeable companion to me. She 
 had formed an idea that her sister Elizabeth was 
 better suited to me than any other woman ; and 
 thought that I was equally well suited to her. Of 
 all Honora's sisters I had seen the least of Elizabeth. 
 After she had declined my friend Mr. Day's ad- 
 dresses, I understood that a gentleman, of a figure 
 and manners uncommonly agreeable, was attached 
 to her ; and that she was not indifferent towards 
 him. This gentleman had gone abroad, and it had 
 been supposed that at some distant period, if he 
 returned in circumstances sufficiently affluent, their 
 marriage would be concluded. Notwithstanding this, 
 Honora had spoken to her sister upon the subject 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 243 
 
 then nearest to her heart. Miss Elizabeth Sneyd 
 expressed the strongest surprise at the suggestion. 
 Not only because I was her sister's husband, and 
 because she had another attachment, but independ- 
 ently of these circumstances, as she distinctly said, 
 I was the last man of her acquaintance, that she 
 should have thought of for a husband ; and certainly, 
 notwithstanding her beauty, abilities, and polished 
 manners, I believed that she was as little suited 
 to me. 
 
 After some time I found the Sneyd family in 
 great anxiety about her health, which was apparently 
 declining, though she had no distinct symptoms of 
 any disease. Dr. Darwin advised sea-bathing, and 
 recommended it to her to go to Scarborough. Her 
 brothers, Mr. E. and Mr. W. Sneyd, and her two 
 sisters, Mary and Charlotte, were to go with her. 
 They invited me and my children to accompany 
 them. Miss Charlotte Sneyd's attention to my 
 children, arising from her devoted affection to their 
 mother, was the greatest possible inducement to my 
 accepting this kind offer. 
 
 The journey was in some measure agreeable. 
 None of my female companions had ever seen the 
 sea ; and I think, that I was more struck with the 
 surprise, and admiration, which they expressed at 
 the sight of the ocean, than at any circumstance 
 which had occurred since the loss of my wife. My 
 two brothers-in-law were extremely kind to me : 
 the social, gentle temper of the one, and the excellent 
 understanding of the other, combined in efforts to 
 soothe and console me ; their sisters then and ever 
 shewed me the utmost friendship and attention ; so 
 
 R 2 
 
244 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 that by degrees I was restored to myself, and to a 
 sense of my situation. 
 
 Honora's advice pressed upon my mind ; my 
 thoughts fixed on Miss Elizabeth Sneyd. I learned, 
 that the engagement, which had formerly subsisted, 
 had been broken off ; and gradually we both altered 
 the opinion, that we were unsuited to each other; 
 both influenced by the judgment and wishes of 
 Honora. 
 
 It seldom happens, that people see with the eyes, 
 or judge from the opinion of their very best friends, 
 in choosing a companion for life. We were ex- 
 amples to the contrary. Unforeseen circumstances, 
 however, interposed difficulties to our union ; and 
 certain officious friends produced a great deal of un- 
 necessary vexation. The subject of this marriage 
 became public, and was made an object of party 
 disputes. 
 
 Many persons interfered, and in the Birmingham 
 and other newspapers various replies and rejoinders 
 appeared, which have sunk into oblivion. 
 
 Miss Elizabeth Sneyd's best friend, (out of her 
 own family,) was Lady Holte, a woman of much 
 knowledge of the world, and of great firmness of 
 character. With this lady she had passed much of 
 her youth ; and now she was invited to her house in 
 Cheshire, where at this period of our lives, when we 
 most wanted it, we received from her, and from her 
 daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Bracebridge, 
 generous hospitality, and steady kindness. 
 
 After we had been asked three times in the parish 
 church, we met to be married ; but on the very 
 morning appointed for our marriage the clergyman 
 
1781.] It. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 245 
 
 received a letter, which alarmed him so much, as to 
 make me think it cruel to press him to perform the 
 ceremony. Lady Holte took Miss Elizabeth Sneyd 
 to Bath : I went to London with my children, took 
 lodgings in Gray's-Inn-Lane, and had our banns 
 published three times in St. Andrew's church, Hol- 
 born. Miss Elizabeth Sneyd came from Bath, and 
 on Christmas day, 1/80, was married to me in 
 St. Andrew's church, in the presence of my first 
 wife's brother, Mr. Elers, his lady, and Mr. Day. 
 
 We went immediately to my house at Northchurch, 
 where we resided during part of the winter, till we 
 had disposed of the lease of that house, and of our 
 furniture. We then went to London, where our old 
 friends shewed us much kindness. 
 
 Sir Joseph Banks was about this time (1780-1) 
 president of the Royal Society. I was invited by 
 him to become a member of that body ; and I shortly 
 afterwards contributed to its Transactions a paper 
 on the resistance of the air to bodies of different 
 shapes ; a circumstance which had been suggested to 
 me by some experiments recorded in Robins upon 
 gunnery. I was still a member of the literary club 
 I formerly mentioned. John Hunter * was our pre- 
 sident ; Sir George Shuckburgh, Sir William Hamil- 
 ton, Captain Cook, and several other men of distin- 
 guished characters, were among us. Omai, a native 
 of Otaheite, was then in England ; and he might 
 well have passed for an European. It was an extra- 
 ordinary circumstance observable in his manners, that 
 he had, after a few months' residence in England, 
 
 * I fear there is an anachronism in the former pages about 
 John Hunter and Sir George Shuckburgh. — Perhaps the circum- 
 stances I formerly mentioned did not happen till this time. 
 
246 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 more the air and appearance of a gentleman, than it 
 would have been possible for a native of England, of 
 ordinary station, to have obtained, after he had 
 grown up to be a man.* 
 
 We passed the ensuing summer at Davenport Hall, 
 in Cheshire, near Brereton Hall, the seat of Sir Charles 
 Holte. We rented it from Mr. Davenport, to whom 
 it belonged. He had entertained Rosseau there, 
 when he was brought over from France by Hume. 
 In one of the rooms there was an excellent picture 
 of the eccentric philosopher of Geneva. I believe 
 that the print, which is prefixed to the English trans- 
 lation of his works, was taken from this picture. 
 The people in the neighbourhood of Davenport, who 
 had seen or spoken to him, thought him mad ; 
 perhaps they were not much mistaken. 
 
 Davenport Hall is a retired place, and nothing 
 could be more uniform than our life, while we resided 
 there. We walked, or read, or taught our children, 
 during the morning ; and we passed many of our 
 evenings at Sir Charles Holte's magnificent house at 
 
 Note by the Editor. 
 
 * It is remarkable, that Dr. Johnson made the same observation 
 on the manner and appearance of Omai. 
 
 " He had been in company with Omai, a native of one of the 
 South Sea islands, after he had been some time in this country, 
 lie was struck with the elegance of his behaviour, and accounted 
 for it thus : ' Sir, he had passed his time, while in England, only 
 with the best company ; so that all he had acquired of our manners 
 was genteel. As a proof of this, Sir, Lord Mulgrave and he 
 dined one day at Streatham ; they sat with their backs to the 
 light, fronting me, so that I could not see distinctly ; and there 
 was so little of the savage in Omai, that I was afraid to speak to 
 either, lest I should mistake one for the other." 
 
 Boswell's Life of Johnson. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 24/ 
 
 Brercton. This house had been built in the time 
 of Queen Elizabeth, when the style of building- 
 was in general convenient, and the rooms in good 
 proportion. 
 
 In the dining room, which was spacious and lofty, 
 the frieze was ornamented with the armorial bearings 
 of every sovereign in the world, blazoned with perfect 
 truth, and beautifully executed, with the coat of arms 
 of the families into which they had intermarried. 
 The escutcheons were of a moderate size. Altogether 
 this had not only a general good effect, but an ap- 
 pearance of utility, which was satisfactory. 
 
 From the remote situation in which we lived, 
 within reach but of few gentry, we had leisure to 
 profit by the excellent library at Brereton Hall. For 
 my own amusement also I procured a few tools, and 
 executed some pieces of machinery, that were indeed 
 more curious than important. I made a clock for 
 the steeple at Brereton ; and a chronometer of a 
 singular construction, which I intended to present 
 to the King : not from any peculiar merit, which it 
 possessed as to accuracy, though it was sufficiently 
 accurate for all common purposes ; but I thought 
 of presenting it, to add to his Majesty's collection 
 of uncommon clocks and watches, which I had 
 seen at St. James's. It went eight days, shewed 
 the hours, minutes, and seconds on a common dial 
 plate, by common hands, from one common centre ; 
 and yet it had no wheels, nor were any of its parts 
 or movements connected by what is technically called 
 tooth and pinion. 
 
 The power, by which the pendulum was kept in 
 motion, was communicated from the weight, without 
 any friction, except that of small pivots, none of 
 
248 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 which moved through a space of more than the eight 
 hundredth part of an inch in one second. I mention 
 this as a kind of mechanical paradox : not as a pursuit 
 worthy the attention of any man who can employ 
 his time in something better than difficult trifles. 
 
 My mechanical occupations attracted the attention 
 of some gentlemen in the neighbourhood, who told 
 me, that there was a clergyman, who had a small 
 living at no great distance, who was not only as fond 
 of mechanics as myself, but who was also a man of 
 much general knowledge. I requested, that my name 
 should be mentioned to him, with an offer on my 
 part to pay him a visit, if it would be agreeable. I 
 had been informed, that since some family misfortune 
 he never went from home. He returned an answer 
 expressing a wish to see me, and I set out to find his 
 residence, according to the directions I had received 
 from the curate of the parish. After riding three or 
 four miles through a well wooded country, I came 
 suddenly upon the parsonage, at which this gentleman 
 resided. The house was one of those irregular but 
 convenient dwellings, which to an air of antiquity 
 unite an appearance of neatness and comfort, of 
 which sprucer and more modern buildings are often 
 destitute. A white wicker gate opened into a small 
 green court, the grass neatly mown, and nicely kept, 
 with grapes hanging on the walls, and roses growing 
 in profusion in the hedges. 
 
 All this was pleasing, yet not uncommon. But it 
 was an uncommon sight, to behold an enormous 
 white globe, erected upon an upright axis, in the 
 middle of this enclosure, and round it several globes 
 of less dimensions, the smallest of which was not 
 larger than a pea. I readily comprehended, that 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 249 
 
 these globes were intended to represent the relative 
 sizes of the planets, their satellites, and their distances 
 from each other ; but I could not conceive how any 
 man could have thought it worth his while to execute 
 such a laborious representation, unless he were a 
 teacher of astronomy. I examined this apparatus 
 leisurely before I went further, and was satisfied of 
 its accuracy, and of the workmanlike manner in 
 which it had been performed. At length I knocked 
 at the house-door ; and, after some time, it was opened 
 by a person in black, who, notwithstanding great 
 negligence in his dress, had the appearance of a 
 gentleman. He had the remains of a fine person and 
 countenance. I told him my name, and he shewed 
 me into a parlour, which had been well furnished, but 
 it was then a little decayed, and littered with books 
 and papers. He made no apology for this disorder, 
 but entered freely into conversation on various sub- 
 jects, and upon various books : he seemed pleased, 
 and, after some time, I ventured to inquire the 
 purpose of the machinery, which I had seen before 
 his door. 
 
 His countenance immediately changed, and, speak- 
 ing with great agitation, he told me, that the globes 
 which I had noticed were the work of his son, a boy 
 of fourteen, whose talents, acquirements, and industry 
 were far beyond his years ; and who was as good as 
 he was ingenious. The father added, that as he had 
 lost this boy's mother, the youth had been for some 
 years his only solace ; that two years ago he had been 
 deprived of this promising and affectionate son, by a 
 lingering disease. He said, that he had been his 
 boy's only master ; and that, beside the learned 
 
250 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 languages, he had given him a taste for English 
 literature, and some knowledge of mathematics, and 
 of natural philosophy. These instructions had been 
 eagerly seized. Every hour, which was not dedicated 
 to books, had been usefully employed ; so that, at 
 his very early age, the boy had been able to execute 
 many philosophical and optical instruments, and to 
 give some adequate notion of the sizes of the planets. 
 For the amusement and instruction of his young 
 companions, he had, with his own hands, and with 
 indefatigable industry, constructed the globes which 
 I had seen. The large ones were made of lath and 
 plaister ; the smaller of plaister of Paris. 
 
 I endeavoured, for some time in vain, to turn the 
 father's thoughts aside from this subject, as I saw 
 that it threw him into violent agitation. He still 
 recurred to the object nearest his heart ; and con- 
 tinually adduced fresh instances of his son's abilities, 
 and of his amiable disposition. 
 
 It struck me, that his grief had injured his under- 
 standing, and I felt myself in a very painful situation ; 
 but at length the door opened, and a girl of fourteen 
 or fifteen entering with a tea-tray in her hand sud- 
 denly stopped the course of his thoughts. He 
 looked at her with such complacency, or rather with 
 such admiration, as might be expected from a person, 
 who had, for the first time, beheld a most beautiful 
 object ; and such indeed she was ! Her dress was 
 white, and was fashioned more like the dresses now 
 in use, than according to the custom of the times 
 when I saw her : she had none of those stiff and 
 cumbersome bodices, which girls of her rank then 
 usually wore. The natural shape appeared ; her 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 25 1 
 
 shoulders were partly uncovered, her bosom but 
 modestly revealed : what could be seen was not of 
 that dead white, which poets compare with driven 
 snow, but of that healthful whiteness which admits of 
 no comparison with any inanimate object in the 
 creation ; her limbs and feet were beautifully shaped, 
 her hair hung in a profusion of ringlets down her 
 neck ; the hair was of that peculiar auburn, that has 
 no appearance of yellow but what is golden, and no 
 tint approaching to red. Her features were not 
 exactly regular, her blue eyes and aquiline nose were 
 larger in proportion than her mouth ; her eye-brows 
 darker than her hair, and the contour of her face so 
 exactly between flatness and too great prominence, as 
 would have baffled the pencil to delineate. In a 
 word, such perfect beauty I had never seen before. 
 The expression of her countenance, the grace of her 
 motion, unspoiled by masters or by affectation, and 
 the sound of her harmonious voice, altogether 
 amazed me. 
 
 " And she is better than she is beautiful, and as 
 wise as she is good !" exclaimed my host, as she with- 
 drew. — " She is a scholar, and an artist, and is neither 
 proud nor vain of any of her mental or personal ac- 
 complishments." 
 
 We sat down to tea, however, without the young 
 person. She appeared once or twice as a vision. To 
 my imagination she resembled nothing that was real ; 
 and, in ancient fable, I could compare her to nothing 
 ideal but the goddess Hebe. Her youth, the inno- 
 cence and perfect modesty of her deportment, instantly 
 destroyed any supposition that she was his mistress. 
 But, if she was his daughter, why did not she preside 
 at the tea-table ? 
 
252 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 After tea he took me up stairs, into a gallery filled 
 with excellent books, not in handsome bindings, or 
 accurately arranged, but all well chosen ; and it was 
 obvious that they had been often used. Here, with- 
 out any ostentatious display, he proved to me that 
 his mind was stored with modern literature and 
 classical learning. He told me, that, during the life 
 of his son, this library was a world to him ; that his 
 situation was too humble to give him access to the 
 great, or the highly educated, and that he had no 
 temptation to mingle with the vulgar and the 
 ignorant. 
 
 After a conversation that detained me to a late 
 hour, I took my leave with a mixture of pleasure and 
 regret. To meet with such abilities and information, 
 in such perfect seclusion, excited pleasure and sur- 
 prise. To see such talents and acquirements totally 
 lost to society, and nearly useless to their possessor, 
 necessarily excited compassion and disappointment. 
 
 I scarcely ventured to make any farther inquiries 
 about this gentleman : I feared that something was 
 not right. But from what little I did hear, the fact 
 seemed to be, that the mother of his favourite son 
 had not always been his wife ; and that his pecuniary 
 difficulties arose from his being entangled in the 
 meshes of the law by a nefarious attorney, who con- 
 fined him to his house by writs, which were not 
 legally obtained. This attorney had impoverished 
 him by the most vexatious litigation, and had vowed 
 that his life should finish in a jail. 
 
 It was, perhaps, fortunate for me, that I shortly 
 afterwards left that neighbourhood. 
 
 I could not have refrained from making some 
 attempt to deliver him, which might have involved 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 253 
 
 me in much difficulty, and which in the end would 
 probably have been ineffectual. 
 
 Except this incident, scarcely any thing worth 
 mentioning happened to me at Davenport. 
 
 A short time before I left Davenport, I became 
 acquainted with * ********** 
 
 * * * * *********** 
 
 * * * * *********** 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 No fact, opinion, or sentiment in the preceding- 
 memoirs has been altered by the editor : some verbal 
 corrections, some changes, merely of arrangement, 
 have been made ; and a few passages have been 
 omitted, which could be interesting only to the family 
 of the writer. 
 
 His manuscript breaks off abruptly ; for he was 
 stopped by sudden illness : not that illness which 
 proved fatal ; he lived nearly ten years afterwards. 
 
 What he wrote of his own life, was written in the 
 years 1808 and 9, at the urgent request of one of his 
 sons, who anxiously desired that he should have con- 
 tinued, and completed his narrative. But after his 
 recovery from the illness by which it had been inter- 
 rupted, he was called upon to take a part in an 
 active public employment, and his attention was 
 afterwards engrossed by objects, which he thought 
 more useful and important. 
 
 Excepting a few passages, he never shewed, even to 
 his own family, what he had written of this account 
 of his life ; and when he was urged by them to con- 
 tinue it, he used to say, that " he would leave the 
 rest to be finished by his daughter Maria." 
 
r~^ 
 
 256 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 These words struck me always with a sense of 
 dread ; yet still I let them pass, with a vain hope 
 that the time was far distant, and that, perhaps, I 
 might, in the chances of human life, never be called 
 upon for the fulfilment of a promise, which had been 
 asked, and given, many years before, when he was in 
 perfect health, and when I was in perfect happiness. 
 In later days, when his health began to decline, he 
 from time to time wrote a few notes of circumstances, 
 which he desired should be recorded : but this was so 
 painful to me, that I could never, even at his request, 
 make any myself, or fix my thoughts upon the 
 subject. — The stroke came upon me the more heavily 
 at last. — After he was no more, I read those solemn 
 and pathetic words, in which he bequeaths the care 
 of his posthumous character " to his beloved 
 daughter," and in which he calls upon me for the 
 performance of a promise and a duty, for which I felt 
 unprepared and unequal. 
 
 In repeated attempts, I felt how little capable 
 I was of fulfilling the trust reposed in me ; but I 
 have persevered. I could not relinquish the hope 
 of doing justice to the memory of my father; of 
 the father who educated me ; to whom, under 
 Providence, I owe all of good or happiness I have 
 enjoyed in life. Few, I believe, have ever enjoyed 
 such happiness, or such advantages as I have 
 had in the instructions, society, and unbounded 
 confidence and affection, of such a father and 
 such a friend. He was, in truth, ever since I 
 could think or feel, the first object and motive of 
 my mind. 
 
 It may be thought, that with these feelings I am, 
 of all persons, the least fit to be his biographer ; and 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 257 
 
 that no time or endeavors can qualify me for the 
 undertaking. The reader will apprehend, that he 
 shall have a panegyric instead of an impartial life 
 and character ; he may fear, that he shall be wearied 
 with uninteresting details, or pained by reiterated 
 calls upon sympathy beyond what he can naturally 
 feel : but even if I were not aware, as I am, of the 
 inefficacy and the impolicy of such appeals, I should 
 still shrink from making them : though fully sensible 
 of the generous nature of the British public, yet I 
 could not so far throw myself upon its indulgence. 
 There are feelings, which, conscious of being too 
 strong for public sympathy, will shun observation, 
 and will never solicit compassion. 
 
 In continuing these memoirs, I shall endeavor to 
 follow the example, that my father has set me, of 
 simplicity, and of truth. The eventful part of his 
 life is ended ; nothing more of amusement must be 
 expected from these memoirs. But I may trust to 
 the interest which his narrative has excited, that 
 whoever has followed his history thus far will wish to 
 know more of him. They who have read his account 
 of the circumstances in his early education, which 
 formed his tastes and character, and who may have 
 observed the remarkable influence of one predominant 
 taste, in leading to the events, and to the connexions, 
 both in friendship and marriage, which decided his 
 fate in the beginning of life, will probably desire to 
 follow his course to the end. They will wish to learn 
 what his character became in middle age, and in 
 advanced years ; whether he uniformly pursued, or 
 whether he changed, the mode of life he had chosen ; 
 and whether ultimately, and upon the whole, it 
 tended to make him happy, or unhappy. Further, 
 
 s 
 
258 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 they may expect to hear, what claims he may have 
 to public attention as a man of invention, science, or 
 literature : what he attempted or accomplished for 
 the good of his fellow-creatures, either in private or 
 in public life. Those who know any thing of him as 
 a writer on education, may particularly desire to learn 
 what was the result of his opinions, and of his long 
 practice on this important subject. These things, 
 and simply these, I shall state as briefly as possible. 
 
 Till now, I have never on any occasion addressed 
 myself to the public alone, and speaking in the first 
 person. Formerly I had always a friend and father, 
 who spoke and wrote for me : one who exerted for 
 me all the powers of his strong mind, even to the 
 very last. 
 
 Far more than his protecting kindness, I regret, at 
 this moment, the want of his guiding judgment, now 
 when it is most important to me — where his fame is 
 at stake. 
 
 Maria Edgeworth. 
 
 February, 1819. 
 
E.L.EDGEWORTH, ESQ, 259 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 [1782. 
 With the manuscript of my father's memoirs, I found 
 on the next page to that where his narrative broke off, 
 in his handwriting, the following memorandum. 
 
 "In the year 1782, I returned to Ireland, with a 
 firm determination to dedicate the remainder of my 
 life to the improvement of my estate, and to the edu- 
 cation of my children ; and farther, with the sincere 
 hope of contributing to the melioration of the inha- 
 bitants of the country, from which I drew my sub- 
 sistence." 
 
 I accompanied my father to Ireland. Before this 
 time I had not, except during a few months of my 
 childhood, ever been in that country ; therefore every 
 thing there was new to me : and though I was then 
 but thirteen years old, and though such a length of 
 time has since elapsed, I have retained a clear and 
 strong recollection of our arrival at Edgeworth- 
 Town. 
 
 Things and persons are so much improved in Ire- 
 land of latter days, that only those, who can remember 
 how they were some fifty or sixty years ago, can con- 
 ceive the variety of domestic grievances, which, in 
 those times, assailed the master of a family, imme- 
 diately upon his arrival at his Irish home. Wherever 
 he turned his eyes, in or out of his house, damp, dilapi- 
 
 s 2 
 
260 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 dation, waste ! appeared. Painting, glazing, roofing, 
 fencing, finishing — all were wanting. 
 
 The back yard, and even the front lawn round the 
 windows of the house, were filled with loungers, fol- 
 lowers, and petitioners ; tenants, undertenants, drivers, 
 sub-agent and agent, were to have audience ; and they 
 all had grievances and secret informations, accusa- 
 tions reciprocating, and quarrels each under each 
 interminable. Alternately as landlord and magistrate, 
 the proprietor of an estate had to listen to perpetual 
 complaints, petty wranglings, and equivocations, in 
 which no human sagacity could discover truth, or 
 award justice. Then came widows and orphans, with 
 tales of distress, and cases of oppression, such as the 
 ear and heart of unhardened humanity could not with- 
 stand. And when some of the supplicants were satis- 
 fied, fresh expectants appeared with claims of promises 
 and hopes, beyond what any patience, time, power, 
 or fortune, could satisfy. Such and so great the 
 difficulties appeared to me, by which my father was 
 encompassed on our arrival at home, that I could not 
 conceive how he could get through them, nor could I 
 imagine how these people had ever gone on during his 
 absence. I was with him constantly, and I was 
 amused and interested and instructed by seeing how 
 he made his way through these complaints, petitions, 
 and grievances, with decision and despatch ; he, all 
 the time, in good humour with the people, and they 
 delighted with him ; though he often " rated them 
 roundly," when they stood before him perverse in liti- 
 gation, helpless in procrastination, detected in cunning, 
 or convicted of falsehood. They saw into his cha- 
 racter, almost as soon as he understood theirs. The 
 first remark which I heard whispered aside among the 
 
11. L. EDGEWOKTH, ESQ. " 26 1 
 
 people, with congratulatory looks at each other, was 
 — " His Honor, any way, is good pay." 
 
 It was said of the celebrated King of Prussia, that 
 " he scolded like a trooper, and paid like a prince." 
 Such a man would be liked in Ireland ; but there is 
 a higher description of character, which (give them 
 but time to know it) the Irish would infinitely prefer. 
 One who paid, not like a prince, but like a man of 
 sense and humanity. 
 
 My father began, where all improvements should 
 begin, at home. He was sensible, that, till his own 
 home was comfortable, he could not pursue his prin- 
 cipal objects ; he could not set any example of neat- 
 ness and order, or of propriety and proportion in his 
 mode of living. 
 
 His house at Edgeworth-Town, as he mentions 
 in the earlier part of his life, when Mrs. Honora 
 Edgeworth and he lived there, was a tolerably good, 
 old fashioned mansion ; but when he now, with seven 
 children, returned to it, and considered it with a view 
 to its being the residence of a large family, he felt 
 its many inconveniences. — It had been built in my 
 grandfather's time, in a bad situation, for the sake of 
 preserving one chimney, that had remained of the 
 former edifice. To this old chimney the new house 
 was sacrificed : to this, and to the fancy, formerly 
 fashionable, of seeing through a number of doors a 
 suite of apartments. To gratify this fancy it was 
 made a slice of a house, all front, with rooms open- 
 ing into each other, through its whole length, with- 
 out any intervention of passage. All the rooms 
 small and gloomy, with dark wainscots, heavy cor- 
 nices, little windows, corner chimneys, and a staircase 
 taking up half the house, to the destruction of the 
 
262 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 upper story. In short, a more hopeless case for an 
 architect, and for a master of a large family, could 
 scarcely occur. It was an immediate temptation to 
 go into great expense. 
 
 At that time, in Ireland, many of the gentry were 
 in remarkable extremes as to their dwelling houses. 
 Some travelled gentlemen erected superb mansions 
 disproportioned to their fortunes, and at last were 
 obliged to sell an estate to pay for a house ; or at 
 best they lived in debt, danger, and subterfuge the 
 rest of their days, nominally possessors of a palace, 
 but really in dread of a gaol. Others " mistook 
 reverse of wrong for right :" marking these misfor- 
 tunes, they determined never to build ; so lived on 
 in wretched houses out of repair, with locks of doors 
 out of order, the pulleys of windows without sash- 
 line ; in short, without what we are accustomed to 
 consider as the common comforts and decencies of 
 life. Others shunned these extremes ; but without 
 keeping the safe middle course, they struck out a 
 new half way mode of going wrong. These would 
 neither build a palace, nor live in a hovel ; but they 
 planned the palace, built offices to suit, then turned 
 stable and coach-house into their dwelling house, or 
 provisional residence for the remainder of their days, 
 leaving the rest to fate, and to their sons. 
 
 Happily for himself and his family, my father 
 avoided these errors ; and he had some merit in so 
 doing, because he had the inventive taste for building, 
 and all the habits of activity and vivacity of temper, 
 which disposed him to be impatient of slow progress 
 towards any object of his wishes. Here, however, he 
 went on by slow degrees, as prudence required, year 
 after year, as his circumstances could afford, without 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 263 
 
 in any one year exceeding his income : he made 
 additions, or alterations, till after exerting some 
 engineering skill, not without frequent predictions 
 from the lookers on, that he would pull the whole 
 house down, he succeeded hi making it such as to 
 satisfy his own moderate wishes, and a comfortable 
 residence for a large family. 
 
 It was as difficult a task to make any thing of the 
 grounds as of the house : they appeared to have been 
 originally laid out in humble imitation, on a small 
 scale, of the frontispiece to Millar's Gardener's Dic- 
 tionary, in the original Dutch taste. But- the very 
 day after his arrival, he set to work, and continued 
 perseveringly, fencing, draining, levelling, planting, 
 though he knew that all he was doing could not show 
 for years. He contented himself with the reflection, 
 that time and industry together might render the 
 whole neat and cheerful. Doomed to a place where 
 nothing sublime or beautiful could be found, he used 
 to comfort himself by considering, that it was the 
 better for his family ; he said that, if he had been 
 placed in a charming situation, he might, perhaps, 
 have felt irresistible temptations to expensive im- 
 provement. 
 
 A celebrated man has declared, that he would ask 
 no better test for judging of the imderstandings of his 
 fellow-creatures, than the houses they build, and the 
 improvements they make. It is an inadequate, but 
 not altogether an absurd test. 
 
 As to society, we had at this time but little, 
 except with Lord Granard's family, at Castle-Forbes, 
 and with the Pakenhams at Pakenham Hall, the 
 residence of Lord Longford. The connexion and 
 friendship, which had long subsisted between the 
 
264 I MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Pakenham family and ours, my father has men- 
 tioned in the early part of his narrative. Had that 
 narrative been continued by him, he would have 
 strongly marked the high regard he felt for Admiral 
 Lord Longford, the father of the present Earl, who 
 at the time of which I am now writing, just after the 
 American and French war, was living with his family 
 at home. 
 
 His mother, a woman of great wit, and, for her 
 day, of extraordinary knowledge and literature, my 
 father has mentioned with gratitude, as having inspired 
 him, when he was a boy, with an ambition to be 
 something more than a sportsman. Though now 
 considerably advanced in years, her intellectual 
 powers continued in full vigour and animation. Lady 
 Longford, the wife of his friend, was also a woman of 
 quick talents, and of ardent affections. With firm 
 principles and exalted character, she was fit to be 
 the mother of heroes. A large family was at this 
 time growing up, and educating under her care, at 
 hospitable Pakenham Hall, where various connexions 
 and friends, often drawn happily together, formed a 
 delightful domestic society. But Pakenham Hall 
 was twelve miles distant from us, in the adjoining 
 county of Westmeath. There was a vast Serbonian 
 bog between us ; with a bad road, an awkward ferry, 
 and a country so frightful, and so overrun with yellow 
 weeds, that it was aptly called by Mrs. Greville 
 " the yellow dwarf's country." 
 
 Castle-Forbes, the residence of the Earl of Granard, 
 was more within our reach than Pakenham Hall. 
 There the society was various, and very agreeable, 
 especially when Lady Granard's mother, the late 
 Lady Moira, was in the country. Lady Moira's taste 
 
)/ / / J 
 
 d ///'///// _/w/ -^sr/iaft 
 
 ( t / 
 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 265 
 
 for literature, general knowledge, and great conver- 
 sational talents, drew round her cultivated and dis- 
 tinguished persons ; but it was her noble, high spirited 
 character, which struck my father still more than 
 her acquirements or her abilities. Eager to give his 
 family opportunities of enjoying the advantages of 
 such society, he was gratified by the manner, in which 
 she first encouraged and distinguished his daughter, 
 and grateful for the friendship, with which Lady Moira 
 honored her ever afterwards. 
 
 In our more immediate neighbourhood, we at this 
 time commenced an acquaintance with a friendly and 
 cultivated family of the name of Brooke. The father, 
 an old, well-informed clergyman, was nearly related 
 to the Mr. Brooke, who wrote the celebrated novel of 
 " the Fool of Quality," and the tragedy of " Gustavus 
 Vasa." He possessed a considerable share of his 
 relation's original genius, enthusiasm, and simplicity 
 of character. With much classical learning, he had 
 an admiration for Homer, which he expressed often 
 with a vehemence, that appeared extravagant in the 
 opinion of his common auditors, but in which my 
 father most cordially sympathised. Mr. Brooke's 
 daughter was married to Mr. Eyles Irwin, the well 
 known traveller. 
 
 Considering the state of society in Ireland, at the 
 time of which I am now writing, my father may be 
 esteemed fortunate, in finding in a remote place such 
 acquaintance. In general, formal large dinners and 
 long sittings were the order of the day and night. 
 The fashion for literature had not commenced, and 
 people rather shunned than courted the acquaintance 
 of those who were suspected to have literary taste or 
 talents. But even at that time my father foresaw, 
 
266 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and foretold, the happy change, which increasing 
 intercourse with other countries, improving educa- 
 tion, and the consequent progress of the diffusion 
 of knowledge, would in a few years produce in Irish 
 society. 
 
 The advantage of the residence of proprietors upon 
 their estates in Ireland can be fully understood only 
 from the example or evidence of those who have had 
 actual experience on the subject. In this point of 
 view, accounts of the affairs of private Irish gentlemen 
 may be useful to the public. The value of the 
 experience must be measured by the accuracy of the 
 evidence, and by the extent of the opportunities for 
 acquiring information. It is not essential, that the 
 observations should have been made on a large scale 
 as to property, provided that their accuracy has been 
 verified by time. 
 
 As soon as my father returned to Edgeworth- 
 Town, he began to receive his rents without the 
 intervention of agent or sub-agent. On most Irish 
 estates there is, or there was, a sort of personage 
 commonly called a driver ; a person who drives and 
 impounds cattle for rent and arrears. Such persons 
 being often ill chosen, and of the lowest habits as 
 well as of the lowest order, misuse their authority ; 
 and frequently unfaithful to the landlord, as well 
 as harassing to the tenant, sell the interest of 
 their employer for glasses of whiskey ; and finish 
 by running away with money, which they have 
 received on account, or by extortion from tenants. 
 These drivers are, alas ! from time to time too 
 necessary in collecting Irish rents. — My father, 
 rendered this petty tyrant's authority as brief as 
 possible. He forbad him to call upon any tenants 
 
R. L. EDGEWOKTH, ESQ. 267 
 
 without express orders, or to threaten seizure of 
 cattle, or upon any pretence to receive money from 
 them on account. He desired that none of his 
 tenants would pay rent to any person but to himself, 
 or at his own house ; thus taking away subordinate 
 interference, he became individually acquainted with 
 his tenantry — saw, heard, talked to them, and ob- 
 tained full knowledge of their circumstances and 
 characters. From his own observation, and from 
 inquiry from the most intelligent farmers, he soon 
 made himself master of the value of the different 
 land on his estate. 
 
 Considerable farms fell out of lease ; and he was 
 then able to fulfil his wish of doing what was both 
 just and kind. In every case where the tenant had 
 improved the land, or even where he had been 
 industrious, though unsuccessful, his claim to pre- 
 ference over every new proposer, his tenant's right, 
 as it is called, w T as admitted. — But the mere plea 
 of " / have lived under your Honor, or your Honors 
 father or grandfather" or " / have been on your 
 Honors estate so many years'" — he disregarded. 
 Farms, originally sufficient for the comfortable main- 
 tenance of a man, his wife, and family, had, in many 
 cases, been subdivided from generation to generation ; 
 the father giving a bit of the land to each son to settle 
 him. — The hope was, that these settlements would 
 be confirmed by the landlord at the expiration of 
 the lease ; but this he would not do. The main- 
 tenance was hardly sufficient to keep them one step 
 above beggary ; and insufficient even for this, when 
 the number of their children increased. It was an 
 absolute impossibility, that the land should ever be 
 improved, if let in these miserable lots. Nor was 
 
268 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 it necessary that each son should hold land, or 
 advantageous that each should live on his " little 
 potato garden" without further exertion of mind or 
 body. 
 
 He was, I believe, one of the first landlords in 
 Ireland, who gave up all the petty, oppressive claims 
 of duty work, and all the restrictive clauses, then 
 common in Irish leases, which subject the industrious 
 and skilful to suffer for the faults of their idle or 
 vicious copartners. 
 
 He never even bound his tenants to have their corn 
 ground at any particular mill, — a common restriction 
 in an Irish lease. He omitted a variety of old feudal 
 remains of fines and penalties : but there was one 
 clause which he continued in every lease, with a 
 penalty annexed to it, called an alienation fine. — 
 A fine of so much an acre upon the tenant's reletting 
 any part of the devised land. This clause he thought 
 necessary for several reasons, both for the interest 
 of landlord and tenant. To protect the landlord 
 from the danger of having his property pass from 
 the hands of good and agreeable tenants, to those 
 who might be litigious, or insufficient ; to prevent 
 a set of middlemen from taking land at a reasonable 
 rent, and reletting it immediately to poor tenants 
 at the highest price possible to be obtained from their 
 necessities. The evils and misery resulting from 
 that system are now sufficiently understood. But 
 when they were not as clearly seen as they now are 
 my father exerted himself to withstand and oppose 
 them. He never failed to insist upon the payment 
 of the alienation fine, in every one of the few 
 instances in which any of his tenants braved 
 the clause. The fine was generally calculated so 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 269 
 
 nearly to the value of the utmost additional rent 
 that could be obtained by reletting the land, that 
 the tenant found it not for his interest to disobey. 
 
 As to the time or term of his leases, he avoided the 
 opposite error which had prevailed among Irish land- 
 lords. Some who had been non-resident, who did not 
 know the improveable nature and value of their own 
 lands, and who were in pressing want of ready money, 
 let their land far below its value, for the sake of a 
 fine paid down in ready money. Many have let for 
 ninety-nine years ; and others according to a form 
 common in Ireland, for three lives, renewable for 
 ever. These leases, in course of years, have been 
 found extremely disadvantageous to the landlord, the 
 property having risen so much in value, that the 
 original rent was absurdly disproportioned. In the 
 course of his life he saw the end of two leases for 
 ninety-nine years, granted by his predecessors, and 
 enjoyed in consequence considerable rise of property. 
 In these, and all cases where long leases had been 
 granted, he did not find that the land had been im- 
 proved by the tenants, or that they felt any gratitude, 
 for what had been originally desired and granted as a 
 favor. On the contrary, long possession had made 
 the occupier almost forget that he was a tenant ; and 
 consider his being forced to surrender the land, or 
 to renew the lease at a raised rent, at the expiration 
 of the lease, as a great hardship. The longest term 
 my father ever gave was thirty-one years, with one, 
 or sometimes two lives. He usually gave one life, 
 reserving to himself the option of adding another, the 
 son, perhaps, of the tenant, if he saw that the tenant 
 deserved it by his conduct. He never took a fine on 
 giving a lease. 
 
270 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 In course of time, old leases lapsing, and clauses 
 claiming oppressive duty-work in Ireland being no 
 longer inserted in new leases, there arose a difficulty 
 to gentlemen in getting laborers at certain times of the 
 year, when all are anxious to work for themselves : 
 for instance, at the seasons for cutting turf, setting- 
 potatoes, and getting home the harvest. 
 
 To provide against this difficulty, landlords adopted 
 a system of taking duty-work, in fact, in a new form. 
 They had cottiers (cottagers), day-laborers estab- 
 lished in cottages, on their estate, usually near their 
 own residence : many of these cabins were the poorest 
 habitations that can be imagined ; and these were 
 given rent free, that is, the rent was to be worked out 
 on whatever days, or on whatever occasions, it was 
 called for. The grazing for the cow, the patch of 
 land for flax, and the ridge or ridges of potato land 
 were also to be paid for in days' labor in the same 
 manner. The uncertainty of this tenure at will, that 
 is, at the pleasure of the landlord, with the rent in 
 labor and time, variable also at his pleasure or con- 
 venience, became rather more injurious to the tenant, 
 than the former fixed mode of sacrificing so many 
 days duty-work, even at the most hazardous seasons 
 of the year. 
 
 As far as circumstances would permit, my father 
 obviated the evils of this cottier system, evils which 
 have been so ably pointed out in Mr. Jones' late work 
 on Rent. He gave comfortable cottages at a low rent 
 to his labourers, to be held at will from year to year ; 
 but he paid them wages exactly the same as what 
 they could obtain elsewhere. They worked then as 
 free laborers ; but they found themselves obliged to 
 work, that they might pay their rent. And their 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 271 
 
 houses being better than they could obtain elsewhere, 
 they had a motive for industry and punctuality that 
 they might preserve these and other advantages. 
 Under the words other advantages are included 
 potato land, and what are termed con acres, flax 
 ground, &c. 
 
 My father's indulgence as to the time he allowed 
 his tenantry for the payment of their rent was 
 unusually great. He left always a year's rent in 
 their hands : this was half a year more time than 
 almost any other gentleman in our part of the country 
 allowed. Some landlords made their tenants pay up 
 to the day ; or, in their mode of expressing them- 
 selves, made them English-tenants. How far his 
 indulgence was advantageous or hurtful to them oV 
 to his own interests, has been questioned, and may 
 be questionable ; but, without discussing this point, 
 I simply state the fact His rents were paid half- 
 yearly, and he was always very exact in requiring, 
 that the tenants should not, in their payments, pass 
 beyond the bounds allowed, the half-yearly days — 
 the 25th of March and 29th of September. In 
 this point they knew his strictness so well, that they 
 seldom ventured to go into arrear, and never did so 
 with impunity. 
 
 If the people had found or suspected him to be 
 weak, or, as they call it, easy, there would have been 
 an end of all hope of really doing them good. They 
 would have cheated, loved, and despised a mere easy 
 landlord ; and his property would have gone to ruin, 
 without either permanently bettering their interests 
 or their morals. 
 
 In Ireland, it has been, time immemorial, common 
 with tenants who have had advantageous bargains, 
 
272 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and who have no hopes of getting their leases 
 renewed, to wear out the ground as much as possible ; 
 to break it up toward the end of the term ; or to over- 
 hold, that is, to keep possession of the land, refusing 
 to deliver it up. This obliged the landlord to a 
 tiresome law process, and subjected him to lie out of 
 his rent for at least a twelvemonth. 
 
 A tenant, who held a farm of considerable value 
 under an old lease, when his lease was out, besought 
 my father to permit him to remain on the farm for 
 another year, pleading, that he had no other place, to 
 which he could at that season, it being winter, remove 
 his large family. The permission was granted ; but 
 at the end of the year, taking advantage of this 
 favor, he refused to give up the land. Proceedings 
 at law were immediately commenced against him ; 
 and it was in this case, that the first trial in Ireland 
 was brought, on an act for recovering double rent 
 from a tenant for holding forcible possession, after 
 notice to quit. This vexatious and unjust practice 
 of tenants in holding possession against landlords 
 had been too common, and had too long been 
 favored by the party spirit of petty juries ; who, 
 being chiefly composed of tenants, had made it a 
 common cause, and a principle, if it could in any 
 way be avoided, never to give a verdict, as they said, 
 against themselves. But, in this case, the indulgent 
 character of the landlord, combined with the ability 
 of his advocate*, succeeded in moving the jury, — a 
 verdict was obtained for the landlord. The double 
 rent was paid ; and the fraudulent tenant was obliged 
 to quit the country unpitied. Real good was done 
 by this example. 
 
 * Mr. Fox, afterwards Judge Fox. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 273 
 
 There were some other points necessary to be 
 established on coming to settle in Ireland, at the time 
 of which I am writing-. 
 
 Gentlemen proprietors, often from the spirit of 
 party and of pride, or from electioneering motives, 
 or pecuniary interest, made it a practice not only 
 to skreen, but, as they call it, to protect their 
 tenants, when they got into any difficulties by 
 disobeying the laws. Smuggling and illicit dis- 
 tilling seemed to be privileged cases, where, the 
 justice and expediency of the spirit of the law being 
 doubtful, escaping from the letter of it appeared but 
 a trial of ingenuity or luck. In cases that admitted 
 of less doubt, in the frequent breach of the peace 
 from quarrels at fairs, rescuing of cattle driven for 
 rent, or in other more serious outrages, tenants still 
 looked to their landlord for protection ; and hoped, 
 even to the last, that his Honor's or his Lordship's 
 interest would get the fine taken off, the term of 
 imprisonment shortened, or the condemned criminal 
 snatched from execution. In a country, and in a 
 state of society, where habits and feelings such as 
 these prevailed, and had been long established ; and 
 where ideas of protection and favor constituted almost 
 an essential part of the idea of a good landlord, 
 it was difficult for any individual, to act directly 
 contrary to the prepossessions, habits, and interests of 
 the common people, and yet to preserve their attach- 
 ment : but this my father effected. He never would, 
 on any occasion, or for the persons he was known to 
 like best, interfere to protect, as it is called, that is, to 
 skreen, or to obtain pardon for any one of his tenants 
 or dependants, if they had really infringed the laws, 
 or had deserved punishment. 
 
2/4 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Nor did he ever even try to obtain certain little pre- 
 ferences, which those gentlemen, who have influence 
 on county grand juries, and who can satisfy their 
 consciences that jobbing is right and necessary, easily 
 managed to gain. He set an example of being scru- 
 pulous to the most exact degree as a grand juror, 
 both as to the money required for roads or for any 
 public works, and as to the manner in which it was 
 laid out. At first this diminished both his popularity 
 and his influence, especially in decreasing his power 
 of giving certain customary rewards. But this was 
 soon overbalanced by the permanent power which 
 integrity obtains. 
 
 To his character as a good landlord it was added, 
 that he was a " real gentleman? This phrase, pro- 
 nounced with well known emphasis, comprises a vast 
 deal in the opinion of the lower Irish. They seem 
 to have an instinct for the real gentleman, whom they 
 distinguish, if not at first sight, infallibly at first hear- 
 ing. They observe, that the real gentleman bears 
 himself kindly, is always the most civil in speech, and 
 ever seems the most tender of the poor. This good 
 seeming, they found, was something more than seeming 
 in my father. They soon began to rely upon his jus- 
 tice as a magistrate. This is a point, where, their 
 interest being nearly concerned, they are wonderfully 
 quick and clearsighted; they soon discovered, that 
 Mr. Edgeworth leaned neither to Protestant nor 
 Catholic, to Presbyterian nor Methodist ; that he was 
 not the favourer nor partial protector of his own or 
 any other man's followers. They found, that the law 
 of the land was not in his hands an instrument of 
 oppression, or pretence for partiality. They dis- 
 cerned, that he did even justice ; neither inclining to 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 275 
 
 the people, for the sake of popularity ; nor to the 
 aristocracy, for the sake of power. This was a thing 
 so unusual, that they could at first hardly believe 
 that it was really what they saw. Electioneering 
 motives, and the secret action of personal friendship 
 and aversion, were of course suspected. But, the 
 plain facts forced their way, " Go before Mr. Edge- 
 worth, and you will surely get justice," was the saying 
 of the neighbourhood. Besides relying on his justice, 
 they felt with all the warmth of their warm hearts 
 his eagerness to exert himself in the cause of the 
 injured or oppressed. The Irish are more attached 
 by what touches their hearts, than by what concerns 
 their interests ; and those who find the way to their 
 hearts have the best chance, — I might say those 
 only have any chance, of so far getting at their 
 heads, as to make them understand their true inte- 
 rests, or to cure them of any of their faults or bad 
 habits. 
 
 At this time there was deplorably lax morality in 
 Ireland as to oaths ; and the irreverend manner in 
 which they were by some magistrates administered 
 increased the evil. When one of these justices of 
 the peace asked whether the complainant would swear 
 to the truth of what he had been saying, he put 
 the question in a bullying tone, and the answer 
 usually was, " To be sure I will, please your Honour. 
 
 — I won't be making a liar of myself. — I'll swear 
 then to the truth of all I've been telling your Honour. 
 
 — Why would not I ?" 
 
 And, when the book was put into their hands, 
 some of the modes of evasion practised were too 
 burlesque to be here recorded ; and, if detected, it 
 
 T 2 
 
276 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 was considered only a laughing matter. But my 
 father never laughed upon such occasions ; he took 
 the most serious pains to impress upon the minds of 
 these poor people the peril to which, by perjury, they 
 exposed themselves in this world and in the next. 
 
 I have often been witness of the care with which 
 he explained the nature, and enforced the observance 
 of that great bond of civil society, which rests on 
 religion. The solemnity of the manner in which he 
 administered an oath can never leave my memory ; 
 and I have seen the salutary effect produced on the 
 minds of those of the lower Irish, who are supposed to 
 be least susceptible of moral or religious impressions. 
 But it was not on the terrors of religion my father 
 most dwelt. No man could be more sensible than 
 he was of the consolatory, fortifying influence of the 
 Christian religion, in sustaining the mind in adversity, 
 poverty, and age. No man knew better its power to 
 carry hope and peace in the hour of death to the peni- 
 tent criminal. When, from party bigotry, it has 
 happened that a priest has been denied admittance to 
 the condemned criminal, my father has gone to the 
 county gaol, to soothe the sufferer's mind, and to re- 
 ceive that confession, on which, to the poor Roman 
 Catholic's belief, his salvation depended. 
 
 Whatever their peculiar tenets might be, none of 
 his fellow-creatures in any rank of life, or in any con- 
 nexion or relationship to him, of servant, tenant, 
 dependant, friend, were ever by him disturbed in 
 their faith ; nor did he ever weaken in any heart 
 that which he considered as the greatest blessing 
 that a human creature can enjoy, — a firm religious 
 faith and hope. No man could be more tolerant 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 27/ 
 
 than he was, in judging of the religious opinions 
 of all classes and sects ; provided he had reason 
 to think them sincere, he shewed them the utmost 
 respect ; and by such conduct he did more good 
 to the cause of religion, of virtue, and civil peace 
 in Ireland, than could have been effected by the 
 most rigid disciplinarian, or by the most furious 
 zealot. 
 
278 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 When my father landed at Dublin in 1782, the 
 Irish Volunteers were in full force. The story of 
 their rise and progress, though it is familiar to every 
 Irishman, may not be universally known. A few 
 words will tell all that is necessary for our purpose. 
 
 The volunteers first appeared in Ireland long before 
 this time (in 1778), at a period of the American 
 War, when England, obliged to employ her armies 
 elsewhere, had not troops sufficient for the defence 
 of Ireland, which was then threatened with invasion, 
 and exposed to domestic insurrection. Her principal 
 nobility and gentry embodied themselves volunteers 
 for the defence of the country, and the first corps 
 was under the command of the Duke of Leinster. 
 In time they increased to a body of about fifty 
 thousand men, under the command of captains, 
 colonels, and a general of their own chusing. The 
 Earl of Charlemont was their general. Their exis- 
 tence and their proceedings were neither owned nor 
 disavowed by the legislature, till one of the Lord 
 Lieutenants of Ireland, at a moment of danger, when 
 the north was threatened with invasion, and no other 
 troops were to be had, applied to Lord Charlemont 
 for the assistance of the volunteers. Continuing for 
 
K. L. EDGEWOllTH, ESQ. 2/9 
 
 several years under perfect order, and good discipline, 
 they rendered their country respectable in the eyes 
 of England, as well as of foreigners, and more than 
 suggested the possibility of her independence. Irish 
 patriots felt the advantages, that might be made of 
 their position, and they used their power with pru- 
 dence and energy. The friends of Ireland, both in 
 the Irish and English parliament, obtained for her 
 great benefits ; some for her commerce, more for her 
 constitution and liberty. Between the years 1778 
 and 1/83 many laws obnoxious to Ireland were re- 
 pealed; in particular, one penal statue against the 
 Catholics, which we can now perhaps scarcely believe 
 to have existed in our own times. It was a statute, 
 of which the penalties had sometimes lain dormant, 
 but had, at others, been called into action for the 
 purposes of private treachery, or public persecution. 
 
 A statute of King William the Third, entitled, " An 
 act to prevent the growth of popery," ordained no less 
 than forfeiture of inheritance against those Catholics, 
 who had been educated abroad ; at the pleasure of 
 any informer, it confiscated their estates to the next 
 protestant heir : that statute further deprived papists 
 of the power of obtaining any legal property by 
 purchase ; and, simply for officiating in the service 
 of his religion, any Catholic priest was liable to be 
 imprisoned for life. Some of these penalties had 
 fallen into disuse ; but, as Mr. Dunning observed to 
 the English House of Commons, " many respectable 
 Catholics still lived in fear of them, and some actually 
 paid contributions to persons, who, on the strength of 
 this act, threatened them with prosecutions." Lord 
 Shelbume stated, in the House of Lords, " that even 
 the most odious part of this statute had been recently 
 
280 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 acted upon in the case of one Molony, an Irish priest, 
 who had been informed against, apprehended, con- 
 victed, and committed to prison, by means of the 
 lowest and most despicable of mankind — a common 
 informing-constable. — The privy council used efforts 
 in behalf of the prisoner ; but, in consequence of the 
 written law, the King himself could not give a pardon, 
 and the prisoner must have died in jail, if Lord 
 Shelburne and his colleagues had not released him at 
 their own risk." 
 
 In moving for the repeal of this law, Sir George 
 Saville declared, " that one of his principal views was 
 to vindicate the honor, and assert the purity of the 
 Christian religion." The motion for its repeal passed 
 the English House of Commons without a single 
 negative, and in the House of Lords it was opposed 
 but by the solitary voice of one bishop. Thus, Lord 
 Nugent, Sir George Saville, Mr. Burke, Mr. Dunning, 
 in the English House of Commons, and Lord Rock- 
 ingham and Lord Shelburne, in the House of Lords, 
 by the combined force of patriotism, integrity, law, 
 reason, and political ability, obtained this first step 
 towards the improvement of the condition of the 
 Catholics in Ireland. The Irish patriots, encouraged 
 by success, and by their powerful position, turned to 
 other objects, raised their tone, and called loudly for 
 general emancipation from the legislative and com- 
 mercial restrictions of England. In 1781, the cele- 
 brated convention of delegates, from one hundred and 
 forty-three corps of volunteers, assembled at Dungan- 
 non. Their resolutions were adopted also by the 
 volunteers of the South ; and at length Mr. Grattan 
 moved an address to the throne, asserting the legis- 
 lative independence of Ireland. The address passed ; 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 28 1 
 
 the repeal of a certain act, empowering England to 
 legislate for Ireland, followed ; and the legislative in- 
 dependence of this country was acknowledged. This 
 kingdom was then in a transport of joy, and the 
 patriots and volunteers were at the height of their 
 popularity. 
 
 My father landed in Dublin at the moment when 
 the nation voted a parliamentary grant of fifty thou- 
 sand pounds, as a testimony of their sense of the 
 services of their great and successful orator and 
 patriot Mr. Grattan. My father was in the gallery 
 of the Irish House of Commons, when that vote 
 passed, and he saw and sympathised with the public 
 enthusiasm. In the midst of this enthusiasm, and 
 while the volunteer patriots, in the general exaltation 
 of their spirits, anticipated a variety of future unde- 
 fined advantages to Ireland, his hopes fixed on those 
 which in his view were the most important objects. 
 A few days after he came to Dublin, he published an 
 address to the associated volunteer corps of the 
 comity of Longford, from which I give the following 
 extracts : 
 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " I congratulate you upon the success of your manly and prudent 
 conduct : from a state of dependence and danger you are become 
 secure and free ; no foreign enemy can alarm you, no jealous rival 
 refuse you the rights of Freemen. 
 
 "But, at this moment of universal joy and exultation, let me 
 recall to your remembrance, that without an effectual Reformation 
 of the Irish House of Commons, no solid advantage can be obtained 
 from our present success. A venal Parliament may, by degrees, 
 yield every thing but the name of Freedom ; and the slow but cer- 
 tain influence of corruption, may, in a few years, reduce you to the 
 same subjection, which you have so nobly shaken off by the well 
 timed exertions of national courage, and unexampled prudence. 
 
 "Every volunteer at this instant feels, and exults in his own con- 
 
282 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 sequence : did lie feel this ardour for liberty, this independence of 
 rank and wealth, before he became a volunteer ? Does he expect, 
 that, when the corps he belongs to disbands, or forms part of a 
 militia, he will hold the same share of the national power, which 
 he does at present ? No, the instant he lays down his arms, and 
 that instant must arrive, his consequence and all his rights as a 
 man and citizen fall into the hands of a few, who influence the 
 boroughs which return the majority of the Parliament. Here, my 
 friends, is the object, upon which the real and permanent happiness 
 of your country depends : increase the number of representatives 
 for your counties, shorten the period of their delegation, balance 
 the parliamentary weight of your boroughs, and every avenue of 
 your freedom will be guarded. From a Parliament dependent 
 only on its constituents every measure of public utility and internal 
 prosperity will necessarily arise, and every freeman in Ireland will 
 possess his just share in the legislation of his country. It is not 
 for me to point out the means or measure of this important refor- 
 mation ; the wisdom of all the associated corps of Ireland must be 
 combined to determine them. But, as a friend to my country, I 
 think it my duty, at this crisis of your fortune, to urge the only 
 measure, which I believe to be effectual for your future happiness 
 and dignity. The liberality of the volunteer resolutions respecting 
 religious toleration, and the late act in favour of the Roman 
 Catholics of this country, tend to a union of interests, that pro- 
 mises the most favourable consequences. "What can promote this 
 approach of sentiments more strongly than increasing the import- 
 ance of the rights of freeholders ? — Their importance will not 
 merely be doubled, by doubling the number of county members — 
 it will increase in a proportion greater than I will venture to deter- 
 mine. No little interest between landlord and tenant will then 
 subjugate the latter to a blind dependence on the owner of his 
 farm ; a yeomanry will, by degrees, arise, which will diffuse liberty 
 and industry through every class of the inhabitants of Ireland. 
 
 " The aristocratic, by far the most powerful part of this king- 
 dom, would at any other time smile at an attempt upon its influence. 
 Trust me, my friends, that aristocracy must restore to you your 
 rights, if you demand them ; and the time will come, when even the 
 families, which now possess the most extensive interest in boroughs, 
 will bless the hour that turns their ambition from a sordid scramble 
 for titles and places, to the solid happiness of serving an indus- 
 trious and prosperous people. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 283 
 
 " For myself, I have no interest to serve, no private pique to 
 gratify ; nor have I any view in offering you my advice, hut what 
 every Irishman would he proud to avow — the liherty and glory of* 
 my country. 
 
 " I hope the importance of this subject will induce you to 
 assemble and deliberate upon its expediency, though it is not 
 offered to your consideration by a person of more consequence 
 than 
 
 " Your obedient and faithful servant, 
 
 "Richard Lovell Edgewortii." 
 
 The first copy of this address was, as I remember, 
 lying on my father's table, in Dublin, when Mr. Wil- 
 liam Foster, (afterwards bishop of Clogher,) his old 
 school-fellow and friend, came to see him. On look- 
 ing over it, he smiled, and with his look of good 
 humoured, raillery, took up a pen, and wrote the word 
 free before the signature, in the manner in which 
 members of Parliament franked letters. He inferred 
 from the popular topics and tone of the address, that 
 the writer was preparing to become a candidate for 
 the county of Longford. But his friend was mistaken, 
 neither popularity, nor a seat in parliament, was my 
 father's object; he meant only that, which persons 
 who have seen much of the political world can 
 scarcely believe, that a man past thirty, and a man of 
 talents, can intend by a political address, simply the 
 good of his country. The expectation, that he would 
 declare himself a candidate, was raised almost to a 
 certainty, when he appeared at a county meeting, 
 called for the purpose of naming candidates. 
 
 At this meeting he proposed, and with some diffi- 
 culty carried resolutions, and a petition for parlia- 
 mentary reform. These were the first resolutions, 
 and this was the first petition on that subject in Ire- 
 land. Other counties eagerly followed this example ; 
 
284 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and in the course of a few months there were county 
 meetings, and meetings of volunteer corps all over 
 Ireland ; delegates from the volunteers were appointed 
 to provincial assemblies, whence a fresh selection was 
 to be made for a grand national convention in Dublin. 
 My father, of course, was a delegate to the Leinster 
 provincial meeting; but during the time that had 
 elapsed between the first moving of this business at 
 the county of Longford meeting in June, and the pro- 
 vincial assemblies in September, the aspect of public 
 affairs with regard to Ireland, and the position of the 
 volunteers, had considerably changed. Peace was 
 made with America, and with France. England had 
 troops now at her disposal, and the volunteers ceased 
 to be necessary for the defence of this country. 
 Government no longer regarded them with a pro- 
 pitiating or respectful, but rather with a jealous yet 
 scornful eye, and were now prepared to resist their 
 further interference, and to watch their proceedings 
 to find reasons for their dissolution. 
 
 Attempts had already been made during the sum- 
 mer of 1782 to substitute what were called fencible 
 regiments instead of the volunteer corps : the appoint- 
 ment of officers and their pay had been held out as a 
 temptation by government, which some of the volun- 
 teers, it was whispered, would not be able to resist ; 
 but the measure was altogether so unpopular and so 
 odious to the patriots, and to the great body of the 
 volunteers, that those who had been inclined to 
 desert the popular cause, were anxious to keep their 
 own secret. The scheme of fencible regiments was 
 abandoned. The disposition of government, however, 
 was manifest, and gave sufficient warning to the 
 volunteer patriots to be on their guard, both for their 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 285 
 
 own sake, and for the good of the cause in which they 
 Were engaged. The reasonable and well-informed 
 among them were sensible, that they had perhaps 
 already snatched a grace beyond the reach of the 
 constitution ; nor did the applause, by which these 
 happy efforts of patriotism had been crowned, prevent 
 them from perceiving, that it must now be their care 
 to defy criticism by a more strict conformity to con- 
 stitutional rules. 
 
 That such was my father's opinion, declared before 
 the event justified the judgment, appears from the fol- 
 lowing passage in a letter to his most intimate friend, 
 written a few days previous to the Leinster provincial 
 assembly, where the question was to be discussed, 
 whether the delegates for the future convention were 
 in fact to be military from volunteer corps, or deputies 
 from counties, constitutionally meeting to address and 
 petition the parliament and the throne. 
 
 " I hear that the meeting on Thursday is to be very 
 numerous. I am afraid I shall become unpopular, 
 and be much attacked for endeavoring to persuade 
 this assembly, not to chuse delegates for the national 
 convention, but to let the counties chuse for 
 themselves. But I think it my duty, to speak my 
 opinion ; and I know, that the mode of proceeding 
 they propose would afterwards be an objection in 
 parliament." 
 
 The scheme of sending delegates from volunteer 
 corps was persisted in ; but the meeting was more 
 temperate in other points than he had expected : their 
 proceedings, after much debate, ended in a judicious 
 resolution, that a reform should be sought through the 
 intervention of parliament. 
 
286 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 At length the convention, consisting of one hundred 
 and sixty delegates from the volunteer corps, met at 
 the Royal Exchange in Dublin, November the 9th, 
 1783. — Parliament was then sitting. An armed con- 
 vention assembled in the capital, and sitting at the 
 same time with the houses of Lords and Commons, 
 and deliberating on a legislative question, was a new 
 and unprecedented spectacle. It was feared, from 
 the general fermentation of men's minds, and from 
 the particular enthusiasm of some of the delegates, 
 that the convention might be hurried into acts of 
 fatal imprudence. 
 
 In this convention, as in all public assemblies, there 
 was a violent and a moderate party. Lord Charle- 
 mont, the president of the assembly, was at the head 
 of the moderate men. He was not convinced of the 
 strict legality of the meeting, but he thought a 
 reform in parliament so important and desirable an 
 object, that he deemed it the wisdom of a true 
 patriot to sacrifice, for the probability or chance of 
 obtaining this great advantage, mere legal punctilio, 
 and to hazard all, but, what he was too wise and 
 good to endanger, the peace of the country. Lord 
 Charlemont accepted the office of president, specially 
 with the hope, that he and his friends might be able 
 to influence the convention in favor of proceedings 
 at once temperate and firm. The very sincerity of 
 his desire to attain a reform, rendered him clearsighted 
 as to the means to be pursued. 
 
 Another of the leaders in this convention was the 
 Bishop of Deny (Lord Bristol). He wishing well to 
 Ireland, but of afar less judicious character than Lord 
 Charlemont, was at the head of the opposite party 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 28/ 
 
 Both were my father's private friends, and, both 
 honored him with their confidence. Lord Charlemont, 
 foreseeing the danger of disagreement between the 
 parliament and convention, if at this time any com- 
 munication were opened between them, earnestly 
 deprecated the attempt. It was his w T ish, that the 
 convention, after declaring their opinion in favor of a 
 parliamentary reform, should adjourn without adopting 
 a specific plan ; and that they should refer it to future 
 meetings of each county, to send to parliament, in 
 the regular constitutional manner, their petitions and 
 addresses. But Mr. Flood, wishing to distinguish 
 himself as the champion of reform, and to carry the 
 measure at once by a bold stroke, proposed that he 
 at the head of some other members of the Irish par- 
 liament, who were also in convention as volunteer 
 delegates, should go immediately deputed to the 
 House of Commons then sitting in Dublin, there to 
 make a motion on the question of parliamentary 
 reform, introducing his own specific plan. His 
 eloquence prevailed and the deputation was sent. 
 The appearance of Mr. Flood, and of the delegates 
 by whom he was accompanied, in their volunteer 
 uniforms, in the Irish House of Commons, excited 
 an extraordinary sensation. Those who were pre- 
 sent, and who have given an account of the scene 
 that ensued, describe it as violent and tumultuous 
 in the extreme. On both sides the passions were 
 worked up to a dangerous height. The debate lasted 
 all night. " The tempest, for, towards morning, 
 debate there was none, at last ceased." The question 
 was put, and Mr. Flood's motion for reform in parlia- 
 ment was negatived by a very large majority. The 
 
288 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 House of Commons then entered into resolutions 
 declaratory of their fixed determination to maintain 
 their just rights and privileges, against any encroach- 
 ments whatever : — adding that it ivas at that time 
 indispensably necessary to make such a declaration. 
 Further, an address was moved, intended to be made 
 the joint address of Lords and Commons to the throne, 
 expressing their satisfaction with his Majesty's govern- 
 ment, and their resolution to support that government, 
 and the constitution, with their lives and fortunes. 
 The address was carried up to the Lords, and imme- 
 diately agreed to. This was done with the celerity 
 of passion on all sides. 
 
 Meantime the armed convention continued sitting 
 the whole night, waiting for the return of their dele- 
 gates from the House of Commons, and impatient to 
 learn the fate of Mr. Flood's motion. One step more, 
 and irreparable, fatal imprudence might have been 
 committed. Lord Charlemont, the president of the 
 convention, felt the danger ; and it required all the 
 influence of his character, all the assistance of the 
 friends of moderation, to prevail upon the assembly 
 to dissolve, without waiting longer to hear the report 
 from their delegates in the House of Commons. The 
 convention had, in fact, nothing more to do, or 
 nothing that they could attempt, without peril ; but 
 it was difficult to persuade the assembly to dissolve 
 the meeting, and to return quietly to their respective 
 counties and homes. This point, however, was for- 
 tunately accomplished, and early in the morning the 
 meeting terminated. 
 
 I have heard my father say, that he ever afterwards 
 rejoiced in the share he had in preserving one of the 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 289 
 
 chiefs of this volunteer convention from a desperate 
 resolution, and in bringing the assembly to a 
 temperate termination.* 
 
 After the termination of the convention, the hopes 
 of those who desired a Parliamentary Reform were 
 not abandoned ; these revived at times with fresh 
 energy, during the years 1784 and 1785. Soon after 
 the peace there was a change of ministry. Mr. Pitt, 
 
 * The following pages were written by my father (in 1817) in 
 the last year of his life. They add some details to the history 
 of this transaction, and give his last review of the affair. 
 
 " I have been often urged by my family, to write an account 
 of the political part of my life ; but in fact it was during but a 
 short period that I was ever engaged in politics. Twice only 
 during my long life have I taken any active part in those great 
 objects, which elicit the talents, and agitate the passions of man- 
 kind. The two great subjects of national discussion, Avhich arose 
 during my residence in Ireland, that called upon me to take a 
 part in the politics of that country, were the attempt to obtain a 
 parliamentary reform in 1783, and the question of a legislative 
 union between Great Britain and Ireland in 1798. 
 
 " The history of the conventions, which were assembled for 
 the purpose of obtaining a parliamentary reform, have been very 
 imperfectly detailed in publications of no great merit, which 
 appeared about that time when the business was an object of 
 much party interest. In Lord Charlemont's life, written by 
 Mr. Hardy, such circumstances as relate more immediately to 
 Lord Charlemont are inserted ; but Mr. Hardy had not the means 
 of intimate or of impartial information. He was a man of retired 
 habits ; he was not a member of the convention ; and he was 
 particularly connected with friends, who were strongly interested 
 in the continuance of that system, which gave patronage to the 
 possessors of such boroughs as he represented in parliament. 
 Lord Charlemont honoux-ed me with something more than common 
 intimacy. He had appointed me to be one of his aides-de-camp, 
 when he acted as commander in chief of the volunteer army of 
 Ireland : besides, he honored me with his private confidence, so 
 that I had the means of knowing his objects and his wishes, 
 
 U 
 
290 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 who, in his early days, while in opposition, had been 
 one of the great advocates in England for Parlia- 
 mentary Reform, became minister ; and it was 
 confidently expected by the Irish patriots, that he 
 
 when he presided over the convention in Ireland in the year 
 1782. 
 
 " I was also well acquainted with the late Lord Bristol, Bishop 
 of Deny, another of the leading men in that assembly. It hap- 
 pened, that I had known his Lordship on the continent, before 
 the time of which I am now speaking. To know precisely the 
 views of this extraordinary person was beyond my reach, and 
 indeed I believe that they were not accurately known even to him- 
 self. Popularity with his own party, and in his own neighbourhood, 
 and the eager desire to shew his power to perplex and to obstruct 
 the party which he opposed, were among the motives that actu- 
 ated his conduct : with these inferior considerations there was 
 certainly a desire to improve the defective representation of the 
 people. It is not my intention to discuss the practicability or 
 prudence of the measures then proposed ; I wish to do no more, 
 than to leave to my family some account of my own conduct when 
 I was a member of the convention, and also of the changes, which 
 time, new facts, and further experience, have effected upon my 
 opinions as to the great political problem of a reform in parlia- 
 ment — a problem which has exercised and divided the opinions 
 of the wisest and the best men in the empire. From a cursory 
 view of the statements, which were made to the convention of 
 the parliamentary representation in Ireland in the year 1782, it 
 appeared, and it was universally believed, that there was an 
 enormous monopoly of power, enjoyed by a small number of indi- 
 viduals, in the management of public affairs, and in the disposal 
 of preferments. This, and the great influence in the appropriation 
 of the public money, could not fail to raise indignation in the 
 minds of those, who felt themselves excluded from a participation 
 in the advantages, which were thus exclusively consigned to a few, 
 whose talents and virtues were not always superior to those of the 
 generality of their fellow-citizens. This had excited a strong, 
 and something like a republican desire, to reduce the members of 
 the oligarchy of Ireland to a level with themselves ; and the 
 
R. L. EDGEWOUTII, ESQ. 291 
 
 would favour their efforts. Fresh meetings, con- 
 gresses, and conventions, were held, at various times 
 and places. During the Duke of Rutland's vice- 
 regency much was expected. But the result of the 
 
 ministers of the crown in England were not sorry to find some 
 inroads made upon tliat confederacy, which had long, and in no 
 small degree, constrained the authority of the Castle. Perhaps 
 no assembly in any country ever contained more of the proprietors 
 of the soil of the country, or of men of rank, influence, inform- 
 ation, and real patriotism, than were collected upon this extra- 
 ordinary occasion. 
 
 " The 10th of November, 1783, the volunteer convention assem- 
 bled at the Rotunda in Dublin ; and I venture to affirm, that there 
 never was any assembly in the British empire more in earnest 
 in the business on which they were convened, or less influenced 
 by courtly interference or cabal. But the object Avas in itself 
 unattainable. 
 
 " The idea of admitting the Roman Catholics to the right of 
 voting for representatives was not urged even by the most liberal 
 and most enlightened members of the convention ; and the number, 
 and wealth, and knowledge of Protestant voters in Ireland, could 
 not decently be considered as sufficient, to elect an adequate and 
 fair representation of the people. 
 
 " With respect to the question of parliamentary reform, it can 
 scarcely be doubted, that some change in the borough system 
 appeared desirable to men of the coolest judgment, and of the 
 soundest principles; but I am ready to confess, that my own 
 opinions then went farther than I can now (in 1817) approve. 
 The idea of universal suffrage and of annual parliaments never 
 was entertained by any reasonable person of that convention ; but 
 some of the best wishers to the constitution were led farther 
 away from the influence of aristocracy than was prudent. The 
 proceedings of the convention are in print, and the speeches of 
 its members, though very ill reported, give some idea of the 
 sentiments and views of the different parties, of which it was 
 composed. 
 
 " I shall, however, mention a circumstance, which has not, I 
 believe, been generally known. One of the last days of the con- 
 vention, the Bishop of Derry (Lord Bristol) invited the most 
 
 v 2 
 
292 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 whole was, that nothing was done. At one time 
 the Lord Lieutenant said, he would transmit, as he 
 was requested, certain Dungannon addresses ; but 
 that he could not do so without marking his dis- 
 
 active of the members to a dinner. Before the bottle had made 
 any considerable impression upon the company, it was proposed, 
 that a motion should be made in the convention, for carrying up 
 its petition to the door of the House of Commons, by the whole 
 convention in their uniforms ! 
 
 " I was the first person who opposed this proposition ; and 
 fortunately for the country, all present became convinced of its 
 rashness and illegality. I assert, positively, that / teas the person, 
 tvho ventured, in a distinct manner, first to oppose this proposition. 
 I was well satisfied at the time, and I am now certain, that this 
 was a plan, which the Bishop of Derry was eager to promote ; 
 and that the company then selected, and the dinner then given, 
 were prepared for the express purpose of collecting a party, that 
 would forward the measure in the convention. This dinner was 
 given at the house of the nephew of the Bishop of Derry, Mr. George 
 Robert Fitzgerald, of famous memory. It is a circumstance worth 
 remarking, that Mr. Grattan and his lady dined with us, but retired 
 very soon after dinner : this was managed by the Bishop, to give 
 an importance to the meeting ; for, had Mr. Grattan remained to 
 hear the plan that was proposed, he would have reprobated the 
 scheme with contempt and indignation. 
 
 " Some time after this circumstance took place, I heard more 
 than one gentleman, who was of that company, claim the merit of 
 having prevented the convention from going in arms to the 
 House of Commons ; and, what is extraordinary, I do believe, that 
 each of these gentlemen was under some degree of self-delusion. 
 I have now, however, before me a letter from the Bishop of Derry, 
 written soon after the dissolution of the convention, reproaching 
 me for having counteracted his wishes, and having rendered his 
 plan abortive. 
 
 " Upon the whole, the rise, progress, and dissolution, of this 
 extraordinary assembly, and of the volunteer army of Ireland, is 
 a most singular political phenomenon, and will remain a lasting 
 memorial of the good sense and loyalty of the gentlemen of Ireland. 
 
 " To cut off the rotten Irish boroughs and to substitute members 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 2Q3 
 
 approbation of the unjust reflections thrown by them 
 on his Majesty's parliament. At another time, the 
 sheriffs of Dublin were fined by government, for 
 calling or permitting a new meeting of volunteer 
 delegates, for the purpose of pursuing this object of 
 reform. Mr. Flood was repeatedly foiled in his 
 attempts to bring forward the measure in Parliament. 
 While there was any reasonable expectation of suc- 
 cess, or while the object was pursued by any reason- 
 able means, my father, convinced as he then was of 
 its being a measure advantageous to his country, 
 pursued it with uniform consistency, and zeal. At 
 length the hopes of the reformists died away, and the 
 attention of the volunteers and patriots turned to 
 other objects. 
 
 From this time till he went into the Irish parlia- 
 ment, many years afterwards, my father took no 
 further part in public affairs. And now, quitting 
 a subject to which I am unused and unequal, I return, 
 with pleasure, from politics to domestic life. 
 
 chosen from rich and populous places in their stead, was a measure 
 so consonant to common sense and common justice, as to require 
 for its support neither oratory nor numbers. To remove an 
 obvious cause of reproach, inconsistency, and criminality, from 
 the legislature, and thus to uphold its dignity and justice, in the 
 eyes of the people — was, in itself, an object well worthy the 
 interference of true patriots ; and would, if it had been adopted by 
 the government of the country, have added force and real influence 
 to the administration, without disturbing the economy of the 
 constitution, or weakening the just power of the aristocracy." 
 
294 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 [from 1782-1789- 
 Next to biography written by the person himself, 
 his private letters afford the best means of obtaining 
 an insight into his character. But some readers, and 
 those whose good opinion is most valuable, those 
 of the most honourable minds, will recoil at the idea 
 of publishing letters. — They need not here apprehend 
 any breach of private confidence.— No one could 
 have a greater horror than my father felt at the 
 publication of private letters, such as have appeared 
 in too many instances, unworthy of the characters 
 of the illustrious dead, painful to the living, injurious 
 to surviving families, and fit merely to gratify idle, 
 or, worse than idle, malignant curiosity. With re- 
 spect to the affairs of others, and to any confidence 
 ever reposed in him, my father was too honourably 
 exact to leave to chance, or to transfer to the dis- 
 cretion of any other person, that which had been 
 exclusively entrusted to his own. 
 
 Two years before his death, he burned some thou- 
 sands of letters, many of them most entertaining, 
 and from persons of literary celebrity. He permitted 
 Mrs. Edge worth to snatch some of the late Dr. Dar- 
 win's from the flames ; and she proved to him, upon 
 looking these over, that no possible harm could 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 295 
 
 happen from their being preserved ; but he persisted 
 in burning the rest. He said, he felt that he should 
 not have time to look over all his friends' letters, 
 and that his mind could not feel at ease, unless those 
 which he had not examined were destroyed. Many 
 years previous to this time, Mr. Day had given 
 him permission to make whatever use he thought 
 proper of his letters ; and some had been looked over 
 for publication, when my father had thoughts of 
 writing Mr. Day's life. Not one other letter — not a 
 line in any letter, is here given to the public, by me, 
 without permission from those surviving friends and 
 near relations, who are the proper guardians of the 
 fame of the dead. 
 
 With regard to his own letters, I should observe, 
 that these are not published from copies : he kept 
 copies only of letters of business. His letters 
 to Mr. Day and Dr. Darwin were returned to us 
 after their deaths : some of his to the late Mrs. Edge- 
 worth were also entrusted to me ; and from these 
 I have selected a few, which have not any pretension 
 to literary value, but which may show what were his 
 habits of domestic life, and his occupations, during a 
 long series of years. 
 
 During the years 1786 and 1787, he reclaimed 
 considerable tracts of bog, and, with success and profit, 
 improved a mountain farm. In carrying limestone 
 for this improvement he made the first trial of wooden 
 moveable railways, and small carriages with east-iron 
 wheels, supported on friction rollers ; I find by the 
 following passages in Iris letters he proposed, as early 
 as the year 1786, to employ these moveable railways 
 in public works in Ireland. 
 
296 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 TO MRS. EDGEWORTH. 
 
 " Dublin, Feb. 1786. 
 
 " I gain ground over the incredulity of the good folks of this 
 great capital, and they now begin to think it possible, to carry 
 goods by a cheaper conveyance than an Irish car. 
 
 " I make no doubt, if I apply for a clause in an act of parlia- 
 ment, to permit me to lay railways, that I shall succeed. On all 
 hands I am told, that my proposals are the fairest and most disin- 
 terested, that have been made by any man, or any set of men, in 
 Ireland ; and, indeed, I think they are. 
 
 " I attribute, my dear Bessy, your anxiety lest I should engage 
 too ardently in this business to that true friendship and affection, 
 which you invariably shew me upon every occasion of consequence ; 
 and 1 can only reply, that one word from you can at any time 
 abate my application, or, if necessary, stop me in the midst of my 
 career. " R. L. E." 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 " Dublin, 25th Feb. 1786. 
 
 " A priori I decided, that it would be impossible, that I should 
 be able to write to you to night ; but experience always teaches 
 me, that I do find time to write, if it be but one line, to my dearest 
 and kindest friend. 
 
 " I have seen gentlemen of all sorts, upon my business, since 
 I came to town, and have been much surprised at the extreme 
 ignorance, which some of them have shewn, upon subjects where 
 they are immediately concerned. 
 
 " No specific demand for coals is yet determined, but I 
 think in a few days I shall be able to ascertain what may be 
 done. 
 
 " I saw the Speaker* this evening at the House, and men- 
 tioned my idea of applying for a clause in the Navigation Act, 
 to permit me to lay railways upon the banks of unfinished 
 canals. 
 
 " He was particularly kind, and immediately mentioned it to 
 several members with approbation ; taking the opportunity to 
 relate the success of the experiment on this subject, which I tried 
 at his own house last summer. 
 
 " R. L. E." 
 
 * Right Honorable John Foster. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 297 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 " Dublin, March 30, 1786. 
 
 " Amongst the numerous proofs that you have given, and 
 continue to give me, my dearest Bessy, of your confidence and 
 affection, none strike me with more satisfaction, than the ease 
 and spirit with which you write to me. A ray of health gleamed 
 through your last, that gave me infinite pleasure ; and the content 
 and modei'ation, which you continue to express, gave me the 
 most solid security for lasting happiness. I am fully persuaded, 
 as much so as you can be, that more wealth might add care, but 
 could scarcely make an addition of real enjoyment to our present 
 situation. 
 
 " I believe, also, that I know how to estimate the transient 
 breath of fame. But I never thought it wise, to repress what 
 little enthusiasm might remain, after what I have seen of life. 
 I know, that without it I must necessarily cease to act ; and 
 laborious employment, tending by degrees to some object of 
 our wish, I firmly believe to be amongst the chief pleasures of 
 existence. 
 
 " I doubt whether I ever wrote to you so much without a 
 word of business. I will tell you, therefore, in three words — 
 that I have finished and shewn a machine to the Speaker, that 
 carries near four tons, and is moved by one man, and that I 
 am taking out a patent. I have a prospect of a short, easy project 
 in the county of Kildare, to try my plan upon, that will do me 
 no great hurt if it fails. But I propose myself more happiness 
 in returning home on Friday, than any project can bestow on 
 your affectionate R. L. E." 
 
 TO DR. DARWIN. 
 " MY DEAR ERIEND AND DOCTOR, 
 
 " I set out to-morrow, to conclude the preliminaries of a 
 bargain with the undertakers of a great iron-work, which is 
 going to be established in this neighbourhood, for the carriage 
 of all their ore, coals, &c. The quantity above 20,000 tons — 
 the distance less than a mile. For this purpose, I lay railways, 
 and use certain carriages of my own construction upon friction- 
 wheels, &c, upon the principle of having a number of small 
 carriages linked together, instead of using large machines and 
 expensive railways. By this contrivance, I am enabled to 
 
298 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 have slight moveable railways easily laid, and easily repaired, 
 &c. &c. 
 
 " I have already applied these machines to the conveyance of 
 lime-stone gravel, for improving ground, and have found them, 
 from two years experience, (time enough to try their durability 
 and wear and tear) highly profitable. When I have concluded 
 my preliminaries, I will tell you the terms. Another more useful 
 scheme that I have in view is, to carry marl two miles with this 
 machinery, to improve 600 acres of coarse land, which has just, 
 by the extinction of leases, fallen into my own hands. Such 
 parts of it as have been limed pay 15*. per acre ; unimproved, 
 3*. I hope to marl 200 acres next summer, at the expense 
 of 10*. each ; that is to say, if you will set my health up 
 
 again." 
 
 ***** 
 
 Fortunately before he engaged with the company, 
 for whom he had prepared to lay his railways, he 
 discovered, that they had then little to carry, and 
 nothing to pay. By the use he made of this machi- 
 nery on his own estate, he was recompensed for his 
 trouble ; and the success of his experiments in these 
 first trials convinced him, that they would lead to 
 future extensive benefit to the public. 
 
 About this time, one day when my father was 
 standing upon a scaffold, giving directions to some 
 masons, he was seized with a giddiness in his head, 
 so sudden and violent, that he fell from the scaffold 
 into an area beneath, many feet deep. The workmen 
 thought that he was killed. Two of them, carrying 
 him between them, brought him into the house. In 
 a few moments, he relieved us from terror, by speak- 
 ing in a cheerful tone and playful manner. He told 
 us of a French marquis, who fell from a balcony, at 
 Versailles, and who, as it was court politeness, that 
 nothing unfortunate should ever be mentioned in the 
 king's presence, replied to his majesty's inquiry, if he 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 299 
 
 was hurt by his fall, " Tout au contraire, Sire." To 
 all our inquiries, whether he was hurt, my father 
 replied, " Tout au contraire, mes amies." He assured 
 us, that he thought the shock had been of use to his 
 nerves, — that it would teach him to mind better what 
 he was about, and to take better care of himself. 
 
 His cheerfulness quieted our fears for the time ; 
 but Dr. Darwin predicted, that the disease would 
 terminate in jaundice. Meantime, though under the 
 increasing pressure of a disorder, which is said to 
 dispose the patient to be peculiarly inactive and 
 desponding, he continued his usual employments, and 
 even his amusements. We were just then preparing 
 to act a little play ; he was fitting up a theatre for 
 us, and contriving a new manner in which the side 
 scenes should turn on pivots, instead of sliding in the 
 common method. But he was taken so ill, that he 
 was forced to stop, and the next morning, the jaun- 
 dice, in dreadful yellow, appeared. Dr. Darwin, who 
 was of course immediately consulted, had a strong 
 belief that almost all the distempers of the higher 
 classes of people arise from drinking, in some form or 
 other, too much vinous spirit. To this he attributed 
 the aristocratic disease of gout, the jaundice, and 
 all bilious or liver complaints ; in short, all the 
 family of pain. This opinion he supported in his 
 writings with the force of his eloquence and reason ; 
 and still more in conversation, by all those powers of 
 wit, satire, and peculiar humour, which never appeared 
 fully to the public in his works, but which gained 
 him strong ascendancy in private society. During 
 his life-time, he almost banished wine from the tables 
 of the rich of his acquaintance ; and persuaded most 
 of the gentry in his own and the neighbouring coun- 
 
300 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ties, to become water-drinkers. Partly in jest and 
 partly in earnest, he expressed his suspicions, and 
 carried his inferences on this subject, to a preposterous 
 excess. When he heard that my father was bilious, 
 he suspected, that this must be the consequence of 
 his having, since his residence in Ireland, and in com- 
 pliance with the fashion of the country, indulged too 
 freely in drinking. His letter, I remember, contained 
 a humorous philippic against " vinous potation" and 
 concluded with — " Farewell, my dear friend. God 
 keep you from whiskey — if he can." 
 
 To any one who knew my father, this must seem a 
 laughable suspicion, for he was famous, or in those days, 
 I may say, infamous, in Ireland, for his temperance. 
 
 TO DR. DARWIN. 
 
 " Edgeworth-Toicn, Oct. 23, 1786. 
 
 " "We were all highly entertained and delighted with your letter. 
 Mrs. E., because it relieved her from some apprehension ; Miss E. 
 because it was witty ; and I, my dear Doctor, because it was wise. 
 I cannot, however, help asking why the entire class of middling 
 people in this country, who drink intemperately of whiskey -punch, 
 are exempt from the gout, gravel, and stone. They are not often 
 dropsical, and, for the most part, they live to an old age. Parti- 
 cular circumstances make me acquainted with tins class of people, 
 and, from many years experience, I assert, that they are, in the 
 proportion of twenty to one, exempt from these diseases ; and that 
 there is not one, out of twenty, who does not drink strong vinous 
 spirit. Many of them regularly take a glass, every morning, of 
 spirits as strong as the best rum. 
 
 " All the lower class drink as much whiskey as they can get, 
 and are, notwithstanding, strong and healthy! 
 
 " The gentlemen who drink wine, and eat luxuriously, are, on 
 the contrary, afflicted with all the demons of disease, and flock to 
 Bath and Spa, like regular birds of passage, every autumn. 
 
 " I have had three returns of my complaint ***** I have 
 been surprised to find, that passing several sleepless nights in pain 
 lias not affected me on the succeeding days nearly so much, as want 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 301 
 
 of rest has done when I have been in better health. I shall, as 
 soon as I am stronger, come down from three (rarely four) to one 
 or two glasses of wine ; indeed, when I am well, I seldom exceed 
 two, for I love not that which you call vinous potation. I am as 
 notorious for sobriety here, as you are in England. 
 
 " I wish I had obeyed your orders, and written on larger paper : 
 for I want to tell you of the amazing profit obtained by the im- 
 provement of land in Ireland. Your procuring me an account of 
 the best method of floating meadows shall be repaid by an accurate 
 account of its success in this country. I suspect, that it depends 
 chiefly upon the soil through which the water passes : the im- 
 provement of the land adjoining to peat-mosses, or, as we call 
 them, turf-bogs, is the most profitable I have ever attempted. 
 I think, where the ground is chosen with judgment, it brings in 
 three years cent, per cent. 
 
 " A ditch canal would not do as well as my railways, for the 
 manure must be carried sometimes up hill. A fire-balloon I had 
 thought of but upon calculation you will find, that it would not 
 succeed. I congratulate you upon my friend, Dr. Robert* Darwin, 
 being settled. I make no doubt of his abilities. A friend of 
 mine, Mr. William Brooke, (now Dr. Brooke of Dublin) is gone to 
 Edinburgh, where one word from you will serve him. His good 
 sense and good conduct I will answer for. 
 
 " R. L. E." 
 
 FROM MR. DAY. 
 
 " 1787. 
 ********** After all I must confess, that my expe- 
 rience for some years past has made me look with great concern 
 upon the perishable nature of human friendships. With by much 
 the greater part of mankind the name means absolutely nothing ; 
 a traffic of interest or vanity; a league of knaves and fools — of 
 sharpers and bubbles ; a party of pleasure made in the morning, 
 and broken off, with disgust at night ; an agreement to travel in a 
 post-chaise dissolved at the first inn by a squabble about the 
 reckoning ; a theatrical exhibition, where the two heroes strut 
 about, and mouth their parts, and then retire to undress and abuse 
 each other in the green-room. But the worst is, that even men 
 of more ingenuous minds and liberal characters are not entirely 
 
 * Now Dr. Darwin, of Shrewsbury. 
 
302 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 exempt from these general laws. If neither interest nor any- 
 other passion intervenes, still there will be different points of view, 
 from which they consider the same object ; and dissimilar percep- 
 tions can scarcely be reduced to any common measure. Even 
 men of this description are subject to their passions, though of a 
 nobler nature ; and these passions are perpetually busy to alter the 
 colours and magnitude of every object which they consider. 
 
 " For this defect of human nature I absolutely know no remedy. 
 All that my reason furnishes me with upon the subject is, to 
 contract the circle of my own wants and cares, and to trouble 
 others as little as possible for any thing but strict justice ; and 
 even this is a commodity not to be easily had. In respect to those 
 who honour me with their friendship, I study to make myself 
 worthy of it, by such a kind of conduct as will never render their 
 connexions with me a subject of disgrace or repentance. 
 
 " Whatever may be my precise opinions, I am generally ready, 
 upon the most disinterested principles to do for them, at least as 
 much as they can pretend to have experienced from others. If, 
 after all, I am misunderstood, or misunderstand my own cha- 
 racter, I am, I fear, too old to mend ; because the fault must be in 
 my original and simple perception of things, which cannot be 
 rectified ; and nothing remains for me, excepting to shrug my 
 shoulders, with Brydone's poor Italians, and to cry ' Pazienza.' 
 " I am, with the greatest sincerity, 
 
 " Your affectionate friend, 
 
 " T. Day." 
 
 The rhetorical style of this, and of Mr. Day's letters 
 in general, may, perhaps, give the idea of their being- 
 composed with care. On the contrary, he wrote 
 them as fast as his pen could move : his usual manner 
 in speaking resembled these letters. As the common 
 people expressed it, Mr. Day always talked like a 
 book — and I do believe he always thought in the 
 same full-dress style. This was the result of the 
 systematic care he had early taken, to make him- 
 self master of his native language, and to cultivate 
 eloquence. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 303 
 
 FROM MR. DAY. 
 
 " MY DEAR FRIEND, 1788. 
 
 " I must confess, that you are very right in saying, that I am 
 always armed, and ready to repel aggression. I am conscious, 
 that there is some truth in the charge, and the daily observations 
 I make in the world do not tend to abate the disposition. 
 
 " I never expected any thing very romantic from my fellow- 
 creatures, and have long confined myself to the lowest returns of 
 good behaviour, or the commonest attentions of civility. Yet 
 daily experience shews, that even this is too much to be expected 
 from those, who make the greatest professions, and have most 
 experienced your friendship. So wonderfully do events turn up, 
 that I really am surprised that I am not become quite misan- 
 thropical, and alienated from the species. But this is certainly 
 not the case, as I never was better humoured in my life, or 
 more inclined to serve them, within certain moderate bounds. 
 
 " Much of this certainly arises from our forming our con- 
 nexions rather from accident than judgment ; and taking the 
 next, rather than the most approved, as a subject for our social 
 affections. 
 
 " I never was much inclined to believe in the agency of the 
 Devil, nor do I now attribute so much to the malignity as to the 
 folly of mankind. 
 
 " The general characteristic of our species is certainly levity 
 and inconsistency. When they make the greatest quantity of 
 professions, they frequently do not know themselves, that they 
 neither feel, nor will perform one thousandth part of what they 
 promise ; and when they appear to act with the greatest degree of 
 ingratitude, they are generally only treating you as they do their 
 most essential interests : — Seeing men in this point of view, it is 
 certainly very easy to forgive them, but not very easy to attribute 
 much consistency, or dignity to their conduct. 
 
 " As to yourself, you very well know, I have always considered 
 your conduct in the most disinterested light, and your attentions to 
 me, as solely founded upon personal esteem and benevolence ; there- 
 fore any of these reflections cannot, either directly or indirectly, 
 carry with them any sarcastical inuendo. As to the characters of 
 my particular friends, I cannot admit, or believe, that I have ever 
 been much deceived. ****** 
 
 " But men, as they advance in life, pursue dissimilar studies, 
 
304 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and contract incongruous habits, which render them less fit for 
 each other's society. Thus, a gradual strangeness takes place 
 without one party being more blameable than another. Since our 
 gratitude must depend not upon our judgment but our habitual 
 intimacy, — upon habitual feelings of pain or pleasure; and it is 
 as impossible to like a certain set of manners, as it is to like a cer- 
 tain set of features — when they are habitually displeasing. 
 
 " In this case, I think nothing more natural and rational, than 
 for people to pursue their own plans and amusements at a dis- 
 tance, and to slip their necks out of the collar, when they do not 
 relish the weight. ******** I own, that my observations 
 have made me depend much more upon my own judgment than I 
 used to do ; because, weak and fallible as I must confess this to 
 be, I am not sure of meeting with more impartiality elsewhere. 
 I may, indeed, be totally wrong in all my judgments, but this 
 opinion would prevent my acting at all. Nor could I have any 
 better reason for believing implicitly in the judgment of another, 
 than in my own. 
 
 " I cannot help digressing here, to propose a curious argument, 
 derived from this principle, against the church of Rome — which 
 I do not remember to have seen. He that asserts the infallibility 
 of another, must also assert his own ; otherwise he may be deceived 
 in the judgment he makes of that infallibility, as well as in any 
 other judgment. But if he allow, that all his own judgments are 
 fallible, and may be erroneous, then his particular opinion of the 
 infallibility may be erroneous too, unless he can shew a particular 
 reason for the exception. In this manner it may be shewn, that 
 the real confidence every man has in his own judgment is much 
 the same, since it must always precede his having a confidence in 
 any one else. 
 
 " Like Montaigne, I have almost written my essay without 
 coming to the subject of it. ******** 
 
 " Sincerely and affectionately yours, 
 
 " T. Day." 
 
 The subject, to which he alludes, relates to private 
 affairs, and therefore the conclusion of this letter is 
 omitted. The general opinion he gave was, that 
 generosity in pecuniary matters is more frequently 
 injurious than beneficial, both to those who practise 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 305 
 
 it, and to those who are its object. He had, by 
 this time, brought himself to think, that assisting 
 or promising to assist friends, who have been im- 
 prudent, only encourages extravagance or careless- 
 ness, and excites unreasonable expectations. Struck 
 with the great change which appeared in Mr. Day's 
 sentiments, compared with those of his youth, my 
 father wrote to him as follows : 
 
 TO MR. DAY. 
 " MT DEAR FRIEND, 1788. 
 
 * * * " You say, with great truth, that it is much wiser to 
 withhold our promises, and to do whatever good we can from the 
 impulse of occurrences, rather than from the obligation of a con- 
 tract. ******** As to the general question of what one 
 should do for one's friends in any given situation, every thing 
 relative to supererogatory duties must depend upon the feelings of 
 the person who thinks himself called upon, and not upon the 
 judgment of indifferent spectators. These feelings must vary 
 infinitely, as well from the degree of intimacy, as from the former 
 experience of each individual. I neither wish to lessen you, nor 
 to pay myself a compliment, in supposing, that we may be naturally 
 equally disposed to generosity ; but during the course of our lives, 
 our manner of exerting this quality has been different. You had 
 early in life the command of money ; and, from your very child- 
 hood, you were certain of having a considerable fortune to dispose 
 of, when you should come of age. Your schoolfellows were not in 
 the same situation, and you found premature occasions for bestow- 
 ing favors amongst persons, not your equals either in fortune or 
 benevolence. This continued through a large portion of your life. 
 The wants of some, and the ingratitude of others, disgusted you, 
 and taught you at last to be more circumspect in future. I suppose 
 you have given away, at least, ten times as much as I have done ; 
 and I believe, that you have met with twenty times more ingrati- 
 tude. Our experience, therefore, leads us necessarily to different 
 conclusions. I think, that perhaps twice out of thrice I shall be 
 ill treated. You think, that you will be ill used nine times out 
 of ten. 
 
 " Another circumstance leads me to more confidence than you 
 
306 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 are disposed to. I have generally found means to execute what- 
 ever I have engaged to do ; and I am, therefore, more inclined to 
 form engagements, than, I believe, on cool reflection, prudence 
 would permit. I have also habituated my vanity to be more 
 pleased with executing an engagement, than with doing an extem- 
 pore favor. I feel my enthusiasm increase from the moment I 
 begin what 1 have once engaged to execute. I can trace the cause 
 of this feeling to my mother's precepts. She early warned me of 
 the violence of my temper, and of my passions ; and, with true 
 prudence, excited my ambition to a steady performance of whatever 
 I might begin. 
 
 "You apologize for a desultory letter: "What must I do? — 
 though you are certainly the ablest critic, and by far the best 
 writer of my acquaintance, I never could bring myself to think of 
 the manner in which I write to you. My opinions always produce 
 themselves before you, without any exertion of my own. A certain 
 sense of equality and independence has always prevented me from 
 yielding to your judgment on one hand, or opposing it, with 
 obstinacy, on the other. 
 
 " Adieu. — Yours, 
 
 « R. L. E." 
 
 FROM MR. DAY, 
 
 Anningsley, 1789. 
 
 ###****« Relative to the subject of farming, I should 
 almost look upon your desire for information as a boast of supe- 
 riority : for I think you must be sufficiently acquainted with the 
 principle of it in England, to know, that gentlemen are much more 
 likely to lose, than to gain 40 per cent. — I will however give you 
 the detail you desire, with all the precision possible. 
 
 In the first place then, I am out of pocket every year about 
 300/. by the farm I keep. The soil I have taken in hand, I am 
 convinced, is one of the most completely barren in England. The 
 estate is certainly improved in value by what I have done ; but 
 were it to be let, I do not imagine that it would pay 2 per cent, for 
 all that I have laid out, probably not above one. You may 
 perhaps wonder, I should persevere in such a losing trade ; and, to 
 avoid future explanation, I will give it you now. I am particularly 
 pleased with the study of agriculture ; and the constant business, 
 which so large a farm creates, gives me the most agreeable interest 
 in the world. — It gives me a continual object in going out : and the 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 307 
 
 necessary trouble of governing so many men, and providing for so 
 many animals, keeps my mind from stagnating in solitude. By 
 these means I am enabled to live happily, with a perfect inde- 
 pendence of my fellow ci'eatures ; for the succession of employ- 
 ments is such, that my whole life is taken up, without fatigue, or 
 ennui. 
 
 " Were I to give up farming, I should have less care, but I should 
 also become more sedentary ; and the very absence of that care, 
 which now never rises to any thing like uneasiness, would expose 
 me infinitely more to hypochondriacism, which I am now totally 
 free from. I have besides another very material reason, which is, 
 that it enables me to employ the poor; and the result of all my 
 speculations about humanity is, that the only way of benefiting 
 mankind is to give them employment, and make them earn 
 their money. Besides this, I have even a very substantial 
 motive of interest : I do not want to practise the obliquity of 
 great accumulations, but I now think, that every wise man will 
 rather improve his circumstances, as it is almost impossible not 
 either to improve or to diminish. I take care to live within 
 my income, and while I spend large sums in employing the poor, 
 they are not entirely lost. I am continually improving the cpiality 
 of my lands, and the conveniences of my estate. Buildings, 
 planting, every kind of improvement, I chuse to pay for out of my 
 income. I consider the pleasure of every thing to lie in the pur- 
 suit ; and therefore, while I am contented with the conveniences I 
 enjoy, it is a matter of indifference whether I am five or twenty 
 years in completing my intended plans. This scheme also is con- 
 nected with my own particular temper ; for doing nothing with 
 relation to the opinion of others, and every thing from a thorough 
 knowledge of my own tastes and feelings, I do nothing that does 
 not permanently please me. 
 
 " There is also another very ample source of future profit, in the 
 very large plantations I am continually making, and which in no 
 very long space of time will probably more than double the value 
 of my estates. Nor are these improvements confined to the spot 
 where I live ; I have purchased about 500 acres of indifferent land 
 in the neighbourhood, the greater part of which I am covering with 
 plantations. Most of the farmers, indeed all, are by particular 
 circumstances extremely dependent upon me. I have lost some- 
 thing by the acquisition of this dependence, for you may easily 
 conjecture, that the price of it has been uncommon forbearance in 
 respect to their rents. But I do not know, that I have lost more 
 
308 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 than I should have clone by turning them out of their farms. 
 Some of them are honest, industrious men, who pay their rents 
 well, but are near the expiration of their leases. These I continue 
 upon their farm without any addition to their rent — with the 
 condition only of letting me yearly plant a small quantity of their 
 farms. By these means, I have not a farm, whose value will not in 
 time be doubled or trebled. I have purchased all these within the 
 last six years, and have taken care to make purchases, where I could 
 have a large extent of land for little money ; by all these precau- 
 tions the general value of my property is increasing yearly. Were 
 they to be sold, all these plantations would much enhance their 
 value ; and should they not change hands, it will be many years 
 before my first plantation will require thinning ; and from that 
 era there will be a certain produce, increasing yearly in value, till 
 in time it would amount, I should suppose, to more than the income 
 of my present fortune. * * * And now having given you all the 
 information you require, I beg leave to rest my wearied pen, and 
 to subscribe myself 
 
 " Affectionately yours, 
 
 " T. Day." 
 
 FROM MR. E. TO MR. DAY. 
 
 In answer to his complaining of the ingratitude of some inferior 
 person, to whom he had shewn kindness. 
 
 ******" You have certainly seen repeatedly, that persons 
 of low habits are never thankful for improvement, comfort, or 
 convenience ; but are caught and chained to you by finery, and 
 an introduction into higher life, and greater airs and graces than 
 they had been used to. 
 
 " Young people cannot, whilst they are young — and fools cannot, 
 even when old, estimate life with any tolerable accuracy. Their 
 common error is, to attend more to what they hear, than what they 
 feel. And, as they hear almost every body talk with rapture of 
 rank, public diversions, dress, and equipage, they place their hopes 
 of happiness on these objects ; and become, at length, so accus- 
 tomed to pursue them, that, long after they are undeceived as to 
 their real value, they continue the chase, without the slightest 
 appetite for its object. 
 
 " We have had, my dear friend, very different fortunes in life. 
 You began with more sanguine hopes of friendship. Not having 
 lived with any person older than yourself, whose abilities you 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 309 
 
 relied upon, you did not hear with the same ears the continual 
 admonitions, that the old dispense upon the frailty of friendship. 
 I have had very few friends ; and those I chose amongst my equals 
 in fortune : I remember well, in a lane, near Hare-Hatch, my 
 foretelling, that our attachment was likely to continue, because it 
 was probable, that we should never be in very different stations of 
 life, and, therefore, that we should not be separated by interest 
 or fashion. All this family send their best wishes to you and to 
 Mrs. Day. 
 
 " I am, your sincere Friend, 
 
 " Richard Lovkll Eoge worth." 
 
 A very short time after the preceding letter was 
 sent, my father received one with the usual post- 
 mark of Mr. Day's letters ; but the direction was 
 written in a stranger's hand, with " to be sent imme- 
 duitehf" on the cover. 
 
 The change in my fathers countenance, when he 
 opened it, I never can forget. 
 
 It brought the dreadful intelligence, that Mr. Day 
 had been killed by a fall from his horse. This ex- 
 cellent man w T as, at last, a victim to his own bene- 
 volence. Having observed, that horses suffer much 
 in the breaking, from the brutality of common 
 horse-breakers, he had endeavoured, by gentle means, 
 to train a horse for himself; but it was not well 
 broken. It took fright at some one winnowing corn 
 near the road, plunged, and threw him. He had 
 a concussion on the brain ; never spoke after his fall ; 
 and in less than a quarter of an hour expired ! 
 
 This account was received from one of Mrs. Day's 
 nephews, who concluded his letter with these 
 words : — 
 
 " You, Sir, and Mr. Keir, are the persons whom Mr. Day has 
 selected from his friends, to be his executors, as possessing the 
 greatest probity and superiority of understanding. Mrs. Phillips 
 
310 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 (Mi*. Day's mother) and my aunt (Mrs. Day) have commissioned 
 me to write to you, begging you will come over with all 
 possible expedition, after the receipt of this letter ; they not being 
 able to settle any of his affairs, till they have the pleasure of 
 
 seeing you." 
 
 To this my father replied, — 
 
 " Sir, Oct. 8, 1789. 
 
 " My wife lay in last night, but nothing shall delay me from 
 the melancholy duty to which I have been appointed by my 
 friend. 
 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 " R. L. Edgeworth." 
 
 He set out instantly, but before he sailed for 
 England he enquired at the post-office in Dublin, if 
 there were any English letters for him. There was 
 a second letter from Mrs. Day's nephew, apologising 
 for the precipitancy of his first — hoping my father 
 had not taken a useless journey — telling him, that 
 he was not Mr. Day's executor, and informing him, 
 that the first letter had been written merely from 
 Mrs. Day's having taken it for granted, that her 
 husband had executed a new will, of which he had 
 spoken to her, and in which she thought that he 
 had appointed Mr. Edgeworth and Mr. Keir his 
 executors ; but that, on search being made, no such 
 paper was to be found; — that the will executed in 
 the year 1780 was the only testament which ap- 
 peared ; this was lying open in his bureau ; and by 
 which he left every thing to Mrs. Day, with the 
 exception of a few legacies, appointing her sole 
 executrix. This letter to my father concluded with, 
 — " Mr. Day has not once mentioned your name, 
 Sir, in the will." To which my father replied : 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 31 1 
 
 " SlK, 
 
 " I have this moment received your letter. If I did not think I 
 possessed a place in Mr. Day's heart, I should be mortified ; but I 
 feel no disappointment in not being mentioned in his will. 
 
 " I have an excellent picture of Mr. Day by Wright ; if 
 Mrs. Day should wish for it, it is at her service : she may be sure 
 no other person shall have it, but one of my own children. Give 
 her this message, with my best respects. I have called my new 
 born son Thomas Day, and I hope his name may excite liim to 
 imitate the virtues of my excellent friend. 
 
 " I am, &c. 
 " Richard Lovell Edgewortii." 
 
 It was fortunate, that my father did not sail the 
 day he had intended, for the vessel in which he was 
 to have taken his passage to Parkgate, was lost. 
 
 An amazing defalcation appeared in Mr. Day's pro- 
 perty. It proved nearly twenty thousand pounds less, 
 than he had stated it to my father a few years previous 
 to his death. At the time of the American war he 
 had apprehended, that there would have been a 
 national bankruptcy ; and under this dread he had 
 sold out of the stocks, and had consulted my father 
 as to the best mechanical means of concealing money. 
 A very considerable sum had been buried under the 
 floor of the study in his mother's house at Barehill. 
 This, to her knowledge, Mr. Day afterwards took up, 
 and placed again in the public funds at the return of 
 peace. 
 
 Considering the great deficiency that appeared in 
 the property, my father suggested, that some of his 
 money might be still concealed, and offered to go over 
 to England, to assist in a search ; but the offer was 
 declined ; he was assured, that the most diligent 
 search had been made, and that nothing had been 
 found. It ought to be here stated, for the honor of 
 
312 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Mr. Day's memory, that, notwithstanding any ex- 
 pressions in his last letter, seemingly tending more to 
 misanthropy than beneficence, he had always con- 
 tinued to act in the most bountiful manner. He had 
 given away by hundreds and thousands, to an amount 
 which one of his intimate friends told Mrs. Day, 
 " that even she, with all her knowledge of his bene- 
 volence, could scarcely imagine." Whatever might 
 have been the defalcations in his fortune, and what- 
 ever its amount at his death, there was no doubt of 
 his having intended to have made a different and 
 new disposition of his property. 
 
 Mrs. Day wrote to my father, inquiring if he knew 
 of any legacy intended for himself. It had happened, 
 that Mr. Day had before his marriage promised to 
 leave to his friend his library, which was very exten- 
 sive ; but my father would accept from Mrs. Day 
 only some mathematical instruments, which to her 
 were useless, and to him valuable, from old recollec- 
 tions of former times. The library he neither claimed 
 nor would accept, because he thought, that it should 
 now belong to Mrs. Day, to whom, both from her 
 literary tastes, and from her affection for her husband, 
 it must be peculiarly dear. It is worth while to men- 
 tion this circumstance, in order to give the words, in 
 which Mrs. Day expressed her sense of this attention 
 to her feelings, and her strong and tender affection 
 for her husband. 
 
 " MY DEAIt MR. EDGEWOKTH, 
 
 * •***.**«! w ill ingenuously own, that of all the bequests 
 Mr. Day could have made, the leaving his whole library from me 
 would have mortified me the most, indeed more than if he had dis- 
 posed of all his other property, and left me only that. My ideas 
 of him are so much associated with his books, that to part with 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 313 
 
 them would be, as it were, breaking some of tlie last ties, which 
 still connect me with so beloved an object. The being in the 
 midst of books he has been accustomed to read, and Avhich contain 
 his marks and notes, will still give him a sort of existence with me. 
 Unintelligible as such fond chimeras may appear to many people, 
 I am persuaded they are not so to you." * * * * 
 
 Generous people understand each other. Mrs. Day, 
 of a noble disposition herself, always distinguished in 
 my father the same generosity of disposition. She 
 had, she said, ever considered him as " the most 
 purely disinterested and proudly independent of Mr. 
 Day's friends." She therefore consulted him in all 
 her affairs after she became a widow, and he had the 
 satisfaction of seeing, that she kept every promise 
 which her husband had made, and, as far as she was 
 able, fulfilled even the expectations that he had 
 raised. 
 
 Anxious to pay honor due to the memory of his 
 friend, my father, soon after Mr. Day's death, deter- 
 mined to write his life. At that time he was more 
 in the habit of speaking than of writing. It was his 
 custom to throw out, in conversation, his first 
 thoughts upon any subject on which he was intent. 
 I wrote them down either in my own words, or in 
 his. The beginning of his life of Mr. Day was 
 spoken to me one morning when we were out riding ; 
 and the moment I came in, I wrote down the follow- 
 ing words, which, I can affirm, were as nearly as 
 possible as they came from my father's lips. 
 
 " In the first emotions of gi*ief and affection, which we feel 
 for the loss of a friend, it is natural to imagine, that, could we 
 represent to others the image, which exists in our own mind, we 
 should necessarily command their sympathy in our sorrow for 
 the dead. 
 
 " We fondly persuade ourselves, that the private virtues and 
 
314 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 talents of our lost friend would excite general enthusiasm ; that 
 his temper, character, and even his personal peculiarities, must 
 become interesting ; and that every circumstance of his life is 
 worthy to be recorded. 
 
 " Under the influence of such feelings, many persons are in- 
 duced to become biographers. But private lives, like family 
 pictures, are valuable only to a few individuals, and, like these, 
 are gradually consigned to oblivion. To preserve a portrait 
 to posterity, it must either be the likeness of some celebrated 
 individual, or it must represent a face, which, independently 
 of peculiar associations, corresponds with the universal idea of 
 beauty. So the pen of the biographer should portray only 
 those, who by their public have interested us in their private 
 characters ; or who, in a superior degree, have possessed the 
 virtues and mental endowments, which claim the general love and 
 admiration of mankind. 
 
 " Immediately after the death of the late Thomas Day, when 
 I first thought of writing his life, perhaps I might have been 
 under the influence of the partial feelings I have described. But 
 the coolest reflections of my understanding have determined me, 
 to pursue the first impulse of my heart. 
 
 " Mr. Day was indeed distinguished for the noblest private 
 virtues, but more especially as a philosopher and politician ; as 
 a public character he claims the honor of public eulogium. 
 
 " Perhaps it will be thought, that, as his intimate friend, I 
 should not trust myself with such a task ; but I dare to rely 
 upon my own impartiality ; certain that I shall feel proud to 
 produce the faithful likeness of such a man, without any tempt- 
 ation to correct nature, either from tenderness or presumption." 
 
 When my father had nearly completed this life 
 of Mr. Day, hearing that another friend, Mr. Keir, 
 was engaged in a similar undertaking, he gave up 
 his own intentions, and sent to him whatever materials 
 he thought would be of use to him. 
 
 TO MR. KEIR. 
 
 " my dear sir, Edgetcorth Town, 1790. 
 
 " I send you the papers which you desii'e. It is proper to 
 mention, that 1 had Mrs. Day's approbation of my undertaking. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 315 
 
 conveyed in the most obliging manner. But I lay down my pen, 
 fully convinced, that with the same materials you will do much 
 higher honor to your friend's memory. 
 
 " The anecdotes which I send you are very few ; but they are 
 all I could select to suit your plan, as we differ so materially in 
 our ideas of private biography. You believing, that nothing but 
 what concerns the public should be published ; I thinking, that 
 to entertain mankind is no inefficacious method of instructing 
 them. When Mason was reproached by somebody for publishing 
 the private letters of Gray, he answered, ' Would you always have 
 my friends appear in full dress ? ' I might quote Plutarch as well 
 as Mason in support of my opinion ; but I am sure you must 
 perceive, my dear sir, that I am not willing to enter into any 
 literary competition with you, well knowing my inferiority. 
 
 "R.L.E." 
 
 At the time I could not help regretting, that my 
 father's life of his friend, warm from his heart, was 
 suppressed. But all was for the best. I find that 
 most of the interesting and characteristic circum- 
 stances of Mr. Day's life are preserved in my father's 
 own memoirs ; and there the characters of the two 
 friends, so different in tastes, yet so agreeing in 
 principle ; so opposite in all appearance, yet so 
 attached in reality ; mutually illustrate and do honour 
 to each other. Mr. Day's letters in later life further 
 tend to portray his character to the last days of his 
 existence, and they do honour to his private virtues. 
 To his public conduct and to his writings Mr. Keir 
 has done ample justice. 
 
 It is remarkable that Mr. Day's fame with posterity 
 will probably rest solely upon those works, which 
 he considered as most perishable. He valued in pre- 
 ference to his other writings, certain political tracts ; 
 but these, though finely written, full of manly spirit 
 and classic eloquence, have passed away, and are 
 heard of no more. While his " History of Sandford 
 
316 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and Merton," and even the tiny story of " Little 
 Jack," are still popular. Wherever children are to 
 be found, these will continue interesting and useful 
 from generation to generation. For the same reason, 
 because true to nature and to general feeling, his poem 
 of " The Dying Negro" will last as long as manly 
 and benevolent hearts exist in England. 
 
 My father has, in the first part of these memoirs, 
 given many instances of his friend Mr. Day's peculiar 
 character. The most remarkable of these relate to 
 his romantic plan of educating a young girl to be 
 his wife. Whoever has been interested for Sabrina 
 Sidney, as she was named, will be glad to knoAv 
 what became of her after Mr. Day's marriage. 
 
 She went to reside with a lady in the country, and 
 had lived retired for some years, till she was addressed 
 by a gentleman, who had known her from childhood. 
 The reader may recollect its being mentioned, that, 
 when Mr. Day first selected her from a number of 
 other children, his friend, Mr. John Bicknel, was pre- 
 sent; and, in fact, was the person who decided his 
 choice in favour of Sabrina. As she grew up, how- 
 ever, Mr. Bicknel thought so little of her, that he 
 often expressed to my father his surprise, that " his 
 friend Day could be so smitten with Sabrina- — he 
 could not, for his part, see any thing extraordinary 
 about the girl, one way or other." When my father 
 praised her voice and manner, Mr. Bicknel only 
 shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 Time went on, till Mr. Day's passion for Sabrina, 
 as it has been seen, was sacrificed to philosophy, or 
 she became the victim to some jealous misunder- 
 standing. Mr. Bicknel then pitied her, but rejoiced 
 in his friend's more suitable marriage with Miss Milnes. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 3 1 J 
 
 Of Sabrina Mr. Bicknel saw nothing more for many 
 years afterwards. He lived in London, partly engaged 
 by pleasure, and partly pursuing his profession of the 
 law. That he was a man of shining talents, his share in 
 the " Dying Negro" is alone sufficient to prove — he had 
 not only poetic taste, but great wit and acuteness. His 
 competitors at the bar, many of whom are now exalted 
 in their profession, were at their first setting out 
 esteemed much inferior to him in abilities. But he had 
 some of the too usual faults of a man of genius ; he de- 
 tested the drudgery of business. He is said to have 
 kept briefs an unconscionable time in his pocket, or on 
 his table, unnoticed. Attorneys complained, but still 
 he consoled himself with wit, literature, and pleasure, 
 till health as well as attorneys began to fail. Then 
 he thought more seriously ; and, considering that it 
 would be a comfort to secure a companion for middle 
 life, and a friend, perhaps a nurse, for his declining 
 years, he determined to marry. Suddenly he recol- 
 lected Sabrina ; inquired if she were living, if she were 
 married or unmarried, and asked how she had con- 
 ducted herself during the long interval since they had 
 met. He found that she was unmarried, living with 
 a lady in the country, and that she had uniformly 
 behaved so as to deserve the respect, and to conciliate 
 the regard of all who knew her. Mr. Bicknel went 
 down immediately to the part of the country where 
 she resided. — Saw her, and saw her with very different 
 eyes from those, with which he had looked upon her 
 formerly — fell desperately in love — proposed, and was 
 conditionally accepted. Conditionally, for Mr. Day, 
 her friend and benefactor, was to be consulted. She 
 declared, that she would not marry any man without 
 
318 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 his consent. My father, whom she considered also 
 as a guardian, was consulted : he was surprised, when 
 he first heard of this intended marriage ; and when he 
 perceived by the tone of the letters, that Mr. Bicknel 
 was so desperately in love with a lady, whom he had, 
 for so many years seen with indifference. His office 
 of guardian had long since ceased ; the parties were 
 at years of discretion ; and, as their friend, he saw no 
 objection to the match, except that Mr. Bicknel's 
 health might fail, and that his application might not 
 be sufficient to secure, by his profession, a mainte- 
 nance for a family. This objection appeared much 
 more alarming to Mr. Day, than to my father, who 
 always looked to the hopeful side of human affairs ; 
 and who believed that no motive could be stronger 
 or more likely to make a man exert himself, than the 
 desire of providing for a woman he loved. 
 
 Mr. Bicknel and Sabrina married ; and more than 
 half my father's hopes were realized. Mr. Bicknel 
 did exert himself, and Sabrina made him an excellent 
 wife. In many of Mr. Bicknel's subsequent letters, 
 he spoke of his wife and children, with all the delight 
 of the most happy husband and father. But his 
 health failed — he lived scarcely three years after 
 his marriage, and poor Sabrina, after this short period 
 of felicity, was left unprovided for, with two infant 
 sons. Some deplored her having married, conceiving 
 that she was now more unhappy for the felicity 
 she had transiently enjoyed. But this was not 
 my father's doctrine. Two years of happiness he 
 thought a positive good secured, which ought not to 
 be a subject of regret, and should not embitter the 
 remainder of life. Indeed, the system of rejecting 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 3 1 9 
 
 present happiness, lest it should, by contrast, increase 
 the sense of future pain, would fatally diminish the 
 sum of human enjoyment ; it would bring us to the 
 absurdity of the stoic philosophy, which, as Swift 
 says, " would teach us to cut off our feet, lest we 
 should want shoes." 
 
 Mrs. Bicknel never repented of her marriage. 
 Many distinguished characters at the bar, friends of 
 her husband, after his death shewed their regard for 
 him by kindness to his widow. Mrs. Day in par- 
 ticular, feeling that Sabrina had peculiar claims to 
 her sympathy, constantly continued her assistance 
 and friendship. The health of Mrs. Day had, pre- 
 vious to her husband's death, been precarious. It 
 rapidly declined. My father fearing that it was 
 suffering, and might fatally suffer, by want of 
 exertion at her great irreparable loss, wrote to her 
 the following letter. 
 
 " MY DEAR MRS. DAY, 1 790. 
 
 " Your letters are very kind, and I assure you sincerely, that 
 your conduct towards me has given me more pleasure, than any 
 thing has given me since the loss of my friend. 
 
 " I am, however, my dear Madam, sensibly concerned at the 
 continuance of your despondence : you will remember, that hitherto 
 I have not attempted to use any argument, nor employed any per- 
 suasion, to excite the powers of your mind to exertion. I thought 
 rest and time were necessary ; but rest and time may fix habits of 
 sorrow, and weaken every excellent faculty of your soul. 
 
 " I have suffered a loss, which was to me as severe as any loss 
 could be to any person of common j udgment and affections ; and I 
 always perceived, that the idea most prevalent in my mind was, to 
 act and govern myself as she would approve, if she could secretly 
 read my soul, and see my actions. Her dying commands to me 
 all sprang from the generous wish, that I should be happy, though 
 she must cease to be the immediate source of my felicity. 
 
 " Ten years are nearly elapsed since I lost her, and her merit, 
 fondness, wisdom, attention to my children, sympathy with all 
 
320 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 my feelings ; the similarity of our tastes, the unbounded confidence 
 which subsisted mutually between us ; have never for one day been 
 absent from my grateful remembrance. She breathed her last, 
 smiling, in my arms. Her lifeless form was laid, by her sacred 
 orders, with my own hands, in the last repository of mortality. I 
 attended her to the very grave, and when I saw her covered for 
 ever from my sight, I felt the pangs which nature has made 
 inevitable. But from the moment that I was capable of reflection, 
 I endeavoured by every exertion of my soul, to regain not only 
 tranquillity, but happiness. 
 
 " The best of parents was lost to children, that promised to 
 become happy in themselves, and useful to society. The best of 
 wives was lost to a husband, capable of feeling the high value of 
 such a woman. But I knew, that, were my beloved Honora to 
 see me drowned in unavailing sorrow, incapable of the duties of 
 a father and of a man, she would feel indignation at my weak- 
 ness ; and far from accepting the tribute of my grief as a 
 sacrifice due to her exalted merit, she would think herself de- 
 graded by lamentations, that are bestowed by common characters 
 upon the commonest occasions. 
 
 " Whenever that hour comes, when I must separate from a 
 wife, who far exceeds the promises of her generous sister, and 
 from the intelligent gratitude of my children, I shall conjure 
 them, to shed no tears over my tomb, except such as burst from 
 the first passion of shocked humanity ; but to supply my place 
 in society, to carry on the designs, which I had begun with their 
 approbation — to continue that union, which Iliad formed amongst 
 them for their mutual happiness — to honor me by their actions — 
 to rejoice in remembering me — to speak of me, if I deserve it, 
 with exultation, not with sorrow — to impute my faults to defects 
 in my education : to remember, only to avoid them. To believe 
 from my assertions, perhaps also from their own observation, that 
 I had made, even late in life, improvements in my temper and 
 character ; and never to forget, that they might do the same 
 every succeeding year of their lives. This is the honor, which 
 I hope for after death. Let this be the affectionate remembrance 
 of my friends. 
 
 No more remains of this letter ; nor docs it appear 
 what effect it had upon Mrs. Day's mind. She sur- 
 vived her husband about two years. 
 
R.L.EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 321 
 
 Of her exemplary conduct as a wife, my father has 
 given his testimony ; and a single passage in one 
 of her letters, after she became a widow, sufficiently 
 proves the warmth and permanence of her attach- 
 ment to his memoirs. 
 
 I cannot quit this subject, however, without re- 
 peating, that my father, from his own experience, 
 and from all his observations, strongly advised 
 young married people not to follow or attempt the 
 plan of living secluded from society. Perhaps this 
 caution may seem superfluous in the present state of 
 manners, where people in general are more inclined 
 to be too fond of the dissipation of the world, than 
 prone to retirement ; but there are still ingenuous 
 minds of strong affections, and a romantic cast, 
 who will be struck with Mr. Day's noble character, 
 and who might consequently be misled in this par- 
 ticular by his example. 
 
322 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Not long after the death of his friend Mr. Day, my 
 father was threatened with another, and a still more 
 severe misfortune, the loss of the only daughter left 
 to him by his beloved wife Honora. From her 
 infancy she had been the object of fond hope. Of 
 high promise, both of personal beauty and intellectual 
 excellence, incessant and most successful care had 
 been taken in her education ; but in the midst of 
 these hopes, before she was fifteen, she was seized by 
 hereditary consumption. From the beginning of her 
 illness, experience of her mother's fate made her 
 father too fully aware of the nature of her disease. 
 
 A few months before her death, in one of his letters 
 to Mrs. Day, he says : 
 
 * * * « -phg \ oss f m y De st friend must be followed by the 
 loss of my most excellent daughter Honora. Her ripened beauty, 
 her cheerful serene temper, uncommon understanding — all the 
 hopes of her family, by all of whom she is admired and adored — 
 the expectations of all who have ever seen her — must now be 
 blasted. The hand of hereditary disease is upon her, which must 
 soon be inevitably followed by the hand of Death. With the same 
 fortitude which her incomparable mother possessed, she bears the 
 present, and prepares for the future." 
 
 Honora died just when she had attained her 
 fifteenth year. It was the first loss of a child my 
 father had sustained. 
 
 In sorrow the mind turns for comfort to our earliest 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 323 
 
 friends. He went to that sister, whom he mentions 
 in the first part of these memoirs as the favorite 
 companion of his childhood. Their friendship con- 
 tinued a blessing to both in every circumstance of 
 life. With her he had all that could be done for 
 his consolation by sympathy, by the strong charm 
 of similarity of temper and character, and the stronger 
 charm of association with scenes of youth and early 
 affection. But, as he said, " For real grief, there is 
 no sudden cure. All human resource is in time and 
 occupation." 
 
 FROM DR. DARWIN. 
 
 ; ' dear edgeworth, Derby, 1 790. 
 
 " I much condole with you on your late loss. I know how to 
 feel for your misfortune. The little Tale you sent me is a pro- 
 digy, written by so young a person *, with such elegance of imagin- 
 ation. 
 
 " Nil admirari may be a means to escape misery, but not to 
 procure happiness. There is not much to be had in this world — 
 we expect too much. 
 
 " I have had my loss also ! The letter of Sulpitius to Cicero is 
 fine eloquence, but comes not to the heart ; it tugs, but does not 
 draw the arrow. Pains and diseases of the mind are only cured 
 by Time. Reason but skins the wound, which is perpetually liable 
 to fester again. 
 
 " I am much obliged to you for your second hygrometer, 
 which is very ingenious. Yet I prefer the former, as being 
 simpler, easier to make, and easier to compare with some third 
 criterion, as by soaking the wood first, and then baking it, and 
 thus making two points of comparison. This also is more certain, 
 than where the friction of pullies is concerned. 
 
 Your three wards were a week with us at Easter. I mention 
 it, to add, that I think them all fine, sensible, good humored boys ; 
 and they seemed so grateful for the little notice taken of them by 
 Mrs. Darwin that she quite admires them. 
 
 * The Tale alluded to was " Rivnletta" a little fairy tale written 
 by Honora E., published in u Early Lessons." 
 
324 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " I will some time make a shelf for your animal to walk upon, 
 and lie shall have a walk for a year or two, at two inches a month ; 
 but I prefer old long-back for a race, and would wager him against 
 brazen-wheels for a cool hundred. 
 
 " I should be very happy to see you this summer, if any thing 
 here can attract such a comet from its orb, and bring any of your 
 family. " Yours truly, 
 
 " E. D." 
 
 The first, the only agreeable thing, which I re- 
 collect about this time, was the arrival of Dr. Dar- 
 win's Botanic Garden. My father's delight and 
 enthusiasm, when he read it, his feeling for poetry, 
 and for his friend, can be expressed only in his own 
 words : 
 
 TO DR. DARWIN. 
 
 " Edgeivorth-Totvn, 1790. 
 
 " It is sometimes, my dear Doctor, a very difficult task for a 
 man to know what to say, when he reads a work written by a 
 friend. His honesty and his affection are often cruelly at vari- 
 ance ; and he must either appear a vile flatterer, or an unkind 
 friend. 
 
 " This is not the difficulty I feel. I am rather in the ridiculous 
 situation of Lightfoot, in the Fairy Tales, who Avas obliged to tie 
 his legs to restrain his speed. I have felt such continued, such 
 increasing admiration in reading the " Loves of the Plants," that I 
 dare not express my enthusiasm, lest you should suspect me of 
 that tendency to exaggeration, with which you used to charge 
 me. I may, however, without wounding your delicacy, say, that 
 it has silenced for ever the complaints of poets, who lament that 
 Homer, Milton, Shakspeare, and a few classics, had left nothing 
 new to describe, and that elegant imitation of imitations was all 
 that could be expected in modern poetry. 
 
 I have seen nobody since it has been published, except my own 
 family ; and amongst my domestic critics, who are not readily 
 pleased, I hear nothing but praise and congratulation. 
 
 To have my name in a note in your work is, in my opinion, 
 to have it immortal ; and, as Mrs. E. says, 
 
 " If it's allowed to poets to divine, 
 " One half of round eternity is mine." 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 325 
 
 " I rejoice at all events, my dear Doctor, that I sent you the 
 progressive hygrometer, before I saw your book ; as you will 
 impute my sending it somewhat less to vanity, and somewhat more 
 to kindness. 
 
 " Montgolfier, Lina, and Gossypia, are perfectly new in their 
 ideas. Montgolfier is sublime : — you have not let him strike his 
 head against the stars like Horace ; but have made respectful 
 planets recede, to give him place. I would rather have your 
 praise, were I Montgolfier, or Howard, than all the inscriptions or 
 statues of inscribers and academicians. 
 
 " My daughter says, that the manner, in which you mention 
 your friends in your poem, shews as much generosity, as your 
 descriptions shew genius. 
 
 "But I will stop. 
 
 " I read the description of the Ballet of Medea to my sisters, 
 and to eight or ten of my own family. It seized such hold of my 
 imagination, that my blood thrilled back through my veins, and 
 my hair broke the cementing of the friseur, to gain the attitude of 
 horror. The ghost in Hamlet, by the by, only raised the uncon- 
 strained locks of an ill-combed Dane. To force nature through 
 the obstructions of art, is quite another thing. 
 
 " My dear Doctor, I will make this fulsome letter a little more 
 palatable by a few verbal criticisms. I know you do not disdain 
 the labor of correcting your poetry: — Maria says, that, even with 
 the help of genii, man can do nothing without some labor ; for 
 Aladdin's lamp required to be rubbed quite bright, before the 
 genius obeyed. 
 
 " I remark, that the quantity of Landau, b. 1, 1. 344, is unusual. 
 — B. 1, 1. 159, I believe the axle of a weather-cock is usually 
 fixed. If I go farther, don't say ?ie sutor — . L. 165 — I don't 
 like Moore of Moore Hall. It is associated with burlesque. I 
 object to 1. 290, the vegetable lamb, ending the line. ****** 
 
 " B you encourage me, I will give you all my ill-natured 
 remarks on the other cantoes. 
 
 " Pray, Doctor, flatter me so far as to remember, that the first 
 lines I saw of this poem excited my enthusiasm ; and that whilst 
 I sleep, or curse, over many other descriptive poems, I shout 
 applause, when I hear yours. 
 
 " Qu. Would not the following ideas suit you ? — The creation of 
 climate in hot-houses, and ice-houses — The worship of Mercury 
 to the Sun and Juno, in the thermometer and the barometer — 
 
326 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Salmoneus and Franklin — Chaos and the Fata Morgana — The 
 Spectra of castles — Swinbourne's Travels. — Have you seen 
 Mr. Keir's life of our friend? — In Mr. K.'s letters to me, about 
 Mr. Day's life, he spoke of my mentioning Sabrina as impossible. 
 I now find he has changed his opinion. What can the life of a 
 private man consist of, but of private circumstances ? 
 " The author appears best in his works. — Adieu. 
 
 " R. L. E. 
 
 " P. S. I have just read Papyra, and would I had more paper, on 
 which to praise her! You have immortalized one friend, who 
 feels his own insignificance. Pray rescue Mr. Day from oblivion. 
 He named you as one of the three friends, from whom he had met 
 with constant kindness. Forgive me this once, for not knowing 
 how much paper I should want !" 
 
 DR. DARWIN IN ANSWER. 
 
 " Derby, 1790. 
 
 " Your last letter is very flattering to me indeed. It was your 
 early approbation that contributed to encourage me to go on with 
 the poem. The first part is longer than the second, and two of 
 my critical friends think it will be more popular. 
 
 " I wish it were possible for me, to shew you the MS. for your 
 criticisms ; but I dare not trust it, especially as I have sold it. I 
 am obliged by your criticisms on the Loves of the Plants. 
 I alluded to Moore of Moore Hall, on purpose to give a little air 
 of burlesque, to shelter myself under. For the same purpose the 
 proem was Avritten: — to 'the festoon of ribbon] in the preface, I 
 think you helped me. 
 
 " Landau, Chaos, Vegetable lamb, were all felt to be objec- 
 tionable, but not easily mended. I am glad of any criticism, and if 
 I can easily mend them, I do. 
 
 " I intend to write no more verses, but to try a medico- 
 philosophical work next, called Zoonomia. 
 
 " Why don't you publish something wonderful, you who have so 
 much invention ? A century of new machines, with plates ; or a 
 • decade, would be an agreeable work, and well received, I dare 
 say. You might propose some as practicable, others as tried, &c. 
 &c. I should send you any, which have occurred to me — I think 
 such a book would be new in its way, and would procure 
 fame. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 327 
 
 " Adieu — I shall hope to see you this summer, and am, with 
 best regards to all yours, 
 
 " Your affectionate friend and servant, 
 
 E. Darwin. 
 
 " Pray think of a decade of mechanic inventions, with neat 
 drawings, by R. L. Edgeworth, Esq. F. R. S. M. R. I. A. &c. &c. to 
 the end of the alphabet." 
 
 With as much sincerity as he gave praise, my 
 father blamed and opposed whatever he thought 
 was faulty in his friend's poem. Dr. Darwin had 
 formed a false theory, that poetry is -painting to the 
 eye; this led him to confine his attention to the 
 language of description, or to the representation of 
 that, which would produce good effect in picture. 
 To this one mistaken opinion he sacrificed the last- 
 ing and extensive fame which he would have obtained 
 had he given free scope to his power of imagination 
 and description. 
 
 When my father found, that it was in vain to com- 
 bat a favourite false principle, he endeavoured to find 
 a subject, which should at once suit his friend's theory, 
 and his genius. He urged Dr. Darwin to write a 
 " Cabinet of Gems." The ancient gems would have 
 afforded a subject eminently suited to his descriptive 
 powers ; admitting all his elegance and ingenuity of 
 allusion and simile ; employing his classical learning, 
 and bringing into play the passions and imagination ; 
 with all of ancient history and tragedy, and all of 
 modern poetry, which would have afforded ample range, 
 and rich materials, for creative fancy. The Labours 
 of Hercules — Venus rising from the sea — Medusa — 
 the Barbarini Vase, &c, and many others which he 
 has introduced into his Botanic Garden, shew how 
 
328 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 admirably he would have succeeded, had he pursued 
 the suggestions of his friend, to quit for nobler objects 
 his vegetable loves. 
 
 I have heard him predict, that in futures times some 
 critic will arise, who will re-discover the " Botanic 
 Garden," and build his fame upon this discovery &c, 
 — some plunderer will enrich himself by the treasures 
 in the notes. 
 
 I regret that my father did not follow Darwin's 
 counsel, about the decade of mechanic inventions. 
 He might in such a publication have inserted a variety 
 of mechanical and agricultural experiments, and a 
 number of contrivances for domestic convenience, of 
 which he had found in his own house the practical 
 advantage. But he neglected to publish any of 
 these, and we were often vexed to see them stolen, 
 or borrowed without acknowledgment. He never 
 would reclaim them, or dispute about priority of 
 invention. 
 
 In the year 1792, the health of one of his sons 
 obliged my father to leave Ireland, and to go to Clif- 
 ton, where he and his family resided nearly two years. 
 This was the first time I had ever been with him 
 away from home. In what is called the world, he 
 was a most entertaining guide and companion. His 
 observations upon characters, as they revealed them- 
 selves by slight circumstances, were amusing and 
 just. He was a good judge of manners, and of 
 all that related to appearance, both in men and 
 Avomen. Believing, that young people, from sym- 
 pathy, imitate or catch involuntarily the habits and 
 tone of the company they keep, he thought it of 
 essential consequence, that on their entrance into the 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 32Q 
 
 world they should see the best models. " No com- 
 pany or good company," was his maxim. By good 
 he did not mQ&uJine. Airs and conceit he despised, 
 as much as he disliked vulgarity. Affectation was 
 under awe before him, from an instinctive perception 
 of his powers of ridicule. He could not endure, in 
 favour of any pretensions of birth, fortune, or fashion, 
 the stupidity of a formal circle, or the inanity of 
 common-place conversation. His impatience might, 
 at the moment, be properly concealed ; yet the force 
 with which it burst out, when the pressure was taken 
 off, gave the measure of the constraint he had endured. 
 He could not bear the system of visiting, merely to 
 increase the visiting list, or to strengthen the league 
 defensive and offensive of persons, who are to bow 
 and curtsy to each other exclusively, in public places. 
 He used to say, that the misery of half those, who 
 ruin themselves by expense beyond their incomes, 
 arises from their gregarious propensity for crowded 
 assemblies, and their foolish ambition to be taken 
 notice of in public places. 
 
 Sometimes, perhaps, he carried this principle too 
 far, and at this period of his life was too fastidious 
 in his choice of society ; or when he did go into 
 mixed company, if he happened to be suddenly struck 
 with any extravagance or meanness of fashion, he 
 would inveigh against these petty follies with too 
 much vehemence. 
 
 He forgot what he had himself once observed in 
 speaking of Mr. Day's wasting the weight and power 
 of philosophy, by employing it against trifles, that 
 " the strength of Hercules could not throw a feather 
 further than it can be thrown by an infant." 
 
330 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 It is remarkable, that Mr. Day's declamations 
 against fashionable follies had always been borne 
 with patience by his acquaintance ; for they were 
 considered as suitable to a grave, professed philo- 
 sopher, who never looked, dressed, or comported 
 himself like other people. His auditors secretly 
 consoled themselves for his contempt by the belief, 
 that he knew nothing of the world. On the con- 
 trary, with regard to my father, they were provoked 
 to find, that one who evidently did know the 
 world, and who pleased in society, should disdain their 
 company ; or should prefer living shut up with his 
 own friends and family. An inconvenience arose 
 from this, which is of more consequence than the 
 mere loss of popularity, that he was often not 
 understood by those who were really worthy of 
 his acquaintance and regard. With that truth 
 and candor, which I know he would have approved, 
 I have here mentioned what appeared to me an 
 error of system and practice during some years of 
 his life, and which afterwards led to serious incon- 
 veniences. 
 
 He did not like these two years' residence at 
 Clifton. The mode of life at a water-drinking 
 place was not suited to him ; he was deprived 
 of the means of employment and interest, which 
 he enjoyed at home, in agriculture and mecha- 
 nics, and the various business of active life. His 
 mind, however, was not idle. The following let- 
 ter, from his excellent friend Mr. Wedgwood, may 
 give an idea of the objects, with which he was 
 occupied. 
 
11. L. EDGE WORTH, ESQ. 331 
 
 FROM MR. WEDGWOOD. 
 
 " dear siu, Etruria, Oct. 24, 1792. 
 
 " I am truly sorry for the occasion of your visit to Bristol 
 Wells ***********. Matlock waters are likewise 
 much celebrated, and you may know, that our good friend Dr. Dar- 
 win thinks, that they possess much the same properties. 
 
 " I should think, that the properties of the Clifton waters 
 might be heightened by the execution of your very ingenious 
 thought of filling them with a quantity of fixed air, sufficient 
 to make them rival in that respect the waters of Pyrniont. 
 But I believe, that, if it came to be known, it would ruin, rather 
 than increase the exportation trade of this water, with the bulk 
 of consumers. I should like it much, so medicated, for my own 
 drinking, having received great benefit from aerated water ; but 
 I have nevertheless my doubts of the plan being generally ap- 
 proved, not because the water would not he mended by the 
 addition, but merely from the idea, that these things ought to 
 be taken as God sends them, without our presuming to attempt 
 an amendment of what we do not understand ; but you will be so 
 good as consider me now speaking merely as a water merchant. 
 
 " I admire your unwearied and prolific genius, ever laboring 
 for the advantage of mankind, and I answer your observations and 
 queries without delay. 
 
 " As you observe, the present coverings to our habitations are 
 liable to many objections, and well he deserves the civic crown 
 from his countrymen, who is happy enough to introduce any 
 important improvement, either in their materials or construction. 
 You wish to be informed, whether tiles may not be made with 
 safety lighter than slates, and of a color to resemble them. Per- 
 haps they could not with safety be made fighter than some of our 
 slates now are ; they would become too tender, and every little 
 crack and flaw, to which burnt clay will be liable, would go 
 through the tile, and let the water in. Some slates are light even 
 to a fault, and the roofs are often stripped by a blast of wind. 
 Such are the Welsh blue slates. Tiles could not, as you suggest, 
 be easily made to resemble the color of the beautiful Westmoreland 
 slate, by any means I am at present acquainted with : the use of 
 cobalt and a white clay seem necessary. The cobalt would not 
 give its color to any other but a white clay ; this coloring material 
 being sold at two guineas a pound, seems to prohibit its use for 
 
332 MEMOIHS OF 
 
 this purpose. Nor do I know any pleasing color, that could be 
 given to tiles ; the red of pantiles is too fiery ; our dark colored 
 tiles, falsely called blue, are too dismal : in short, I do not know 
 any thing, that would at all bear looking upon, for color, in 
 comparison with the Westmoreland slate. 
 
 " With respect to drawing the tiles out under a cylinder, upon 
 boards, as you propose, and, when sufficiently dry, planing them 
 to a proper thinness, this might no doubt be done ; but the 
 workmen could form them quite thin enough, and much more 
 expeditiously, in moulds : besides, after they were stiff enough to 
 bear planing, it seems to me, that the turning of their edges 
 would then be much more difficult, if not impossible. Stourbridge 
 clay is certainly an excellent material for making the backs of 
 grates, or any large pieces, which are to be exposed to a con- 
 siderable degree of heat. I am glad to hear they are applying it 
 to any of these salutary purposes, and I wish you success in your 
 
 comparison of it with heated iron. 
 
 ****** 
 
 " Adieu. Believe me, with the sincerest regard, 
 " Your faithful 
 
 " J. Wedgwood." 
 
 ****** 
 
 In various visits to London during the two years 
 which he spent in England, my father met with 
 persons and circumstances, which recalled previous 
 passages of his life. Of these occurrences, which he 
 always made entertaining to us in the narration, I 
 recollect and will venture to mention one ; for though 
 it is trivial, it is characteristic. 
 
 In his youth he had been remarked as a good 
 dancer ; and, as he says in his memoirs, he had 
 learned the art from the famous Aldridge. In 1 793, 
 nearly thirty years having elapsed since that time, 
 happening to be in a coffee-house in London, he 
 observed a gentleman eyeing him with much attention, 
 who at last exclaimed — "It is he! — Certainly, Sir, 
 you are Mr. Edge worth ?" 
 
 ° I am, Sir." 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 333 
 
 " Gentlemen," said the stranger, with much im- 
 portance, addressing himself to several people who 
 were near him — " Here is the best dancer in England, 
 and a man to whom I am under infinite obligations ; 
 for I owe to him the foundation of my fortune. 
 Mr. Edgeworth and I were scholars of the famous 
 Aldridge ; and once when we practised together, 
 Mr. E. excelled me so much, that I sat down upon 
 the ground, and burst out a crying ; he could actually 
 complete an entrechat of twelve distinct beats, which 
 I could not accomplish ! However, I was well con- 
 soled by him, for he invented, for Aldridge's benefit, 
 ' The tambourine dance,' which had uncommon suc- 
 cess. The dresses were Chinese. Twelve assistants 
 held small drums, furnished with bells, these were 
 struck in the air by the dancer's feet, when held as 
 high as their arms could reach. This Aldridge 
 performed, and improved upon by stretching his legs 
 asunder so as to strike two drums at the same time. 
 Those not being the days of elegant dancing, I 
 afterwards," continued the stranger, " exhibited, at 
 Paris, the tambourine dance, to so much advantage, 
 that I made fifteen hundred pounds by it." 
 
 The person, who made this singular address and 
 eulogium, was the celebrated dancer, Mr. Slingsby. 
 His testimony at least proves, that my father did not 
 overrate his powers as a dancer ; but it was not to boast 
 of a frivolous excellence, that he told this anecdote to 
 his children; it was to express his satisfaction, at 
 having, after the first effervescence of boyish spirits 
 had subsided, cultivated his understanding, turned his 
 inventive powers to useful objects, and chosen as the 
 companions of his maturer years men of the first 
 order of intellect. 
 
334 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 His friends and companions in invention now were 
 Watt, Darwin, Keir, Wedgwood ; all these he of 
 course visited while he was in England. Besides, he 
 formed new acquaintance with many, who were dis- 
 tinguished for ingenuity and science. At this time 
 I may date the commencement of his friendship with 
 the ingenious, indefatigable, and benevolent Mr. Wil- 
 liam Strutt, of Derby, with whom he was made 
 acquainted by Dr. Darwin ; the common friend of 
 genius and of goodness, which he had the happy 
 talent of discovering, attracting, and attaching. 
 
 But while my father was thus refreshing old inti- 
 macies, and enjoying new ones, in England, he lost, 
 in Ireland, the man whom, next to Mr. Day, he had 
 always considered as his best friend — the late Lord 
 Longford. The news of Lord Longford's illness had 
 never reached him, till it was accidentally mentioned 
 before him, by a gentleman who was reading a letter 
 from Ireland. Before my father could receive an 
 answer to a letter which he instantly wrote, inquiring 
 into the truth of this report, and offering to return to 
 see his friend, Lord Longford was no more. His 
 services in the British Navy, and his character as an 
 Irish senator, have been fully appreciated by the 
 public. His value in private life, and as a friend, can 
 be justly estimated only by those who have seen and 
 felt how strongly his example and opinions have, for 
 a long course of years, continued to influence his 
 family, and all who had the honor of his friendship. 
 The permanence of this influence after death is a 
 stronger proof of the sincerity of the esteem and 
 admiration felt for the character of the individual, 
 than any which can be given during his lifetime. I 
 can bear witness, that in one instance it never ceased 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 335 
 
 to operate. I know, that on every important occa- 
 sion of my father's life, where he was called upon to 
 judge or act, long after Lord Longford was no more, 
 his example and opinions seemed constantly present 
 to him ; he delighted in the recollection of instances 
 of his friend's sound judgment, honor, and generosity ; 
 these he applied in his own conduct, and held up to 
 the emulation of his children. 
 
 While we resided at Clifton, my father became 
 acquainted with the celebrated Dr. Beddoes ; and it 
 is remarkable, that this acquaintance was in conse- 
 quence of the Doctor's great admiration for the 
 character of Mr. Day. This had induced Dr. Bed- 
 does to seek the acquaintance of Mrs. Day, and of 
 her friend, Mr. Keir. When Dr. Beddoes came to 
 Clifton, with the view of settling as a physician, 
 Mr. Keir gave him a letter of introduction to my 
 father, who was, I believe, his first acquaintance 
 there. My father admired his abilities, was eager to 
 cultivate his society ; and this intimacy continuing 
 some months, he had opportunities of assisting in 
 establishing the Doctor at Clifton. 
 
 In the autumn of 1793, we heard, that disturbances 
 were beginning to break out in Ireland, and my 
 father thought it his duty to return there imme- 
 diately. Our preparations for leaving Clifton seemed 
 particularly to grieve and alarm Dr. Beddoes. During 
 the summer's acquaintance with our family, he had 
 become strongly attached to one of my sisters — 
 Anna. He had permission to follow her in the 
 spring ; and they were married at Edgeworth-Town, 
 on the 1/th of April, 1794. 
 
336 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The disturbances in Ireland, of which we had seen 
 exaggerated accounts in the English newspapers, 
 did not, at our first return home, appear formidable. 
 Though we were occasionally alarmed by reports 
 of outrages committed by heart-of-oak boys and 
 defenders in distant counties, and though in our 
 own there were some nightly marauders, yet, upon 
 the whole, our neighbourhood continued tolerably 
 quiet. Towards the end of the year 1794, a rumour 
 of a French invasion spread through the country, 
 raising the hopes of the disaffected, and creating 
 terror in all who had any thing to lose. The variety 
 of contradictory reports, the difficulty which the 
 higher classes found in ascertaining the truth, in- 
 creased the embarrassment and the danger. Means 
 of quickly receiving and communicating information 
 were essential. At this time, my father proposed 
 to the Irish government a telegraph of his invention, 
 and persevered in his efforts, to have it established 
 at his own expense, or in any way government might 
 approve. 
 
 The following letters give some view, both of the 
 state of the country, and of my father's public and 
 private pursuits, at this period. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 337 
 
 TO DR. DARWIN. 
 
 " my dear doctok, Edgeworth- Town, Sept. 7, 1 794. 
 
 " Being, like Sanelio, a retailer of proverbs, I remark, ' that it 
 never i*ains, but it pours.' Your obliging letter came the day 
 after Zoonomia, which was retarded by winds and waves. Had 
 it come sooner to my hands, you may be sure, that you would 
 have received my acknowledgements for your present. Some of 
 my great, great grand-children will, with laudable vanity, shew 
 the ex dono to their envying contemporaries, and exult in the 
 friendship of their ancestor. 
 
 " Just recovering from the alarm occasioned by a sudden 
 irruption of defenders into this neighbourhood, and from the 
 business of a county meeting, and the glory of commanding a 
 squadron of horse, and from the exertion requisite to treat with 
 proper indifference an anonymous letter sent by persons who 
 have sworn to assassinate me, I received the peaceful philo- 
 sophy of Zoonomia ; and though it has been in my hands 
 
 not many minutes, I found much to delight and instruct me. 
 
 * # # * 
 
 " We were lately in a sad state here, the sans culottes (literally 
 such) took a very effectual way of obtaining power ; they robbed 
 of arms all the houses in the country ; thus arming themselves, 
 and disarming their opponents. By waking the bodies of their 
 friends, the human corpse not only becomes familiar to the sans 
 culottes of Ireland, but is associated with pleasure in their minds, 
 by the festivity of these nocturnal orgies. An insurrection cf 
 such people, who have been much oppressed, must be infinitely 
 more horrid than any thing that has happened in France ; for no 
 hired executioners need be sought from the prisons, or the galleys. 
 And yet the people here are altogether better than in England. 
 The higher classes are far worse*; the middling classes far inferior 
 to yours, very far indeed ; but the peasants, though cruel, are 
 generally docile, and of the strongest powers, both of body and 
 mind. 
 
 " A good government may make this a great country, because 
 the raw material is good aYid simple. In England to make a 
 
 * The reader will observe, that this was written thirty years 
 ago ; what is here said refers, / know, to the political, not to the 
 moi-al character of the higher classes in Ireland. M. E. 
 
 z 
 
338 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 carte-blanche fit to receive a proper impression, you must grind 
 down all the old rags to purify them. 
 
 "Adieu, my excellent friend : your generous conduct to Dr. 
 Beddoes does not escape me. Give my best services to Mrs. Dar- 
 win, whom I admire as much as a man ought to admire the wife 
 of his friend. 
 
 " Yours, 
 
 " R. L. Edgeworth. 
 
 " P. S. What you say of Ennui in Zoonomia is an admirable 
 observation. The fondness for life itself is certainly produced 
 by the pleasurable sensations of different movements in our bodies, 
 that have no names : the sum of which counterbalance a great 
 share of pain. Atticus, by starving himself, had destroyed these 
 pleasures so far as to make him unwilling to be at the trouble of 
 living, even after his disease had left him." 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 " my dear doctor, Edgeworth-Toion Dec. 11, 1794. 
 
 " The Swiss ' mal du pays' is a periodical disease, which comes 
 on after certain intervals. I believe that eveiy body, who has any 
 heart, after a certain time longs to see, and, if they cannot visit 
 to write to their friends beyond sea. 
 
 " I have been employed for two months in experiments upon a 
 telegraph of my own invention. I tried it partially twenty-six years 
 ago. It differs from the French in distinctness and expedition, as 
 the intelligence is not conveyed alphabetically. 
 
 " I propose to government, to raise a corps of Vedettes, and to 
 station them in fifty or sixty posts, from which a constant corre- 
 spondence may be kept up with the capital. I also propose to carry 
 my visual communication across the channel to London. 
 
 " In your country I hope, that ministers have satisfied themselves, 
 that there was no design to introduce sans culottism ; and that the 
 discontent, which reasonable men expressed against the flagrant 
 abuses, and insane wars, was a feeling very different from a wish 
 to call old Chaos from the bed of night. 
 
 " Here things are very different. The lowest order of the 
 people has been long oppressed ; and horrid calamities may ensue 
 from their ignorance. 
 
 " I intended to detail my telegraphs (in the plural), but I find 
 that I have not room at present. If you think it worth Avhile, you 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 339 
 
 shall have the whole scheme before you, which I know you will 
 improve for me. Suffice it, that, by clay, at eighteen, or twenty 
 miles distance, I shew, by four pointers, isosceles triangles, twenty 
 feet high, on four imaginary circles, eight imaginary points, which 
 correspond with the figures 
 
 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. 
 So that seven thousand different combinations are formed, of four 
 figures each, which refer to a dictionary of words ; by an additional 
 contrivance, seven different vocabularies are referred to — of lists 
 of the Navy, Army, Militia, Lords, Commons, geographical and 
 technical terms, &c, besides an alphabet. So that every thing one 
 wishes may be transmitted with expedition. 
 
 " By night, white lights are used — Query, the most econo- 
 mical ? I wrote to another friend, but he is as laconic and obscure 
 as Delphos. Adieu, my dear Doctor. Anna is happy with 
 Dr. Beddoes, and the rest of my family flourish : so I hope do all 
 yours, and at their head their excellent and amiable mother. 
 
 " Yours, 
 
 " R. L. Edgeworth. 
 
 " I hope Erasmus is growing rich and powerful ; as he is not 
 married, what but riches and power can interest him ? " 
 
 FROM DR. DARWIN. 
 
 " DEAR SIR, Derby, March 15, 1795. 
 
 " I beg your pardon, for not immediately answering your last 
 favor, which was owing to the great influence the evil demon has at 
 present in all affairs on this earth. That is, I lost your letter, and 
 have in vain looked over some scores of papers, and cannot find 
 it. Secondly, having lost your letter, I daily hoped to find it 
 again — without success. 
 
 " The telegraph you described, I dare say, would answer the 
 purpose. It would be like a giant wielding his long arms, and 
 talking with his fingers : and those long arms might be covered 
 with lamps in the night. You should place four or six such 
 gigantic figures in a line, so that they should spell a whole word at 
 once; and other such figures within sight of each other, all round 
 the coast of Ireland ; and thus fortify yourselves, instead of Friar 
 Bacon's wall of brass round England — with the brazen head, which 
 spoke — ' Time is ! Time was ! Time is past !' 
 
340 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " The death of Mr. Wedgwood grieves me very much ; he is a 
 public, as well as a private loss. We all grow old but you ! When 
 I think of dying, it is always without pain or fear. 
 
 " I kept this letter three or four days, to send you a legal 
 receipt, and now I don't know how to send you one. Mr. Burns, 
 the Quaker, once let me a lease, which began with — 'Friend 
 Darwin, honest men need no lawyer, I hereby let you a lease,' 
 &c. So I send you my receipt, as follows ***** without 
 technical form. 
 
 " Adieu ; your sincere and affectionate friend, 
 
 " E. Darwin." 
 
 In August, 1 794, my father first made a trial of 
 his telegraph, between Pakenham Hall and Edge- 
 worth-Town, a distance of twelve miles ; he found it 
 succeed beyond his expectations : and in November 
 following, he made another trial of it at Collon, at 
 Mr. Foster's in the county of Louth. The telegraphs 
 were on two hills, at fifteen miles distance from each 
 other. A communication of intelligence was made, 
 and an answer received, in the space of five minutes. 
 Mr. Foster, my father's friend, and the friend of every 
 thing useful to Ireland, was well convinced of the 
 advantage and security this country would derive 
 from a system of quick and certain communication ; 
 and, being satisfied of the sufficiency of this tele- 
 graph, advised, that a memorial on the subject 
 should be drawn up for government. Accordingly, 
 under his auspices, a memorial was presented, in 
 1795, to Lord Camden, then Lord Lieutenant. His 
 Excellency glanced his eye over the paper, and said, 
 that he did not think such an establishment necessary, 
 but desired to reserve the matter for further con- 
 sideration. My father waited in Dublin for some 
 time. The suspense and doubt, in which courtiers 
 are obliged to live, is very different from that state of 
 
R. L. EDGE WORTH, ESQ. 341 
 
 philosophical doubt, which the wise recommend, and 
 to which they are willing to submit. My father's 
 patience was soon exhausted. The county in which 
 he resided was then in a disturbed state, and he was 
 eager to return to his family, who required his pro- 
 tection. Besides, to state things exactly as they 
 were, his was not the sort of temper suited to attend- 
 ance upon the great, as may appear from the following 
 note. 
 
 TO MRS. EDGEWORTH. 
 
 " mt dearest love, Dublin, 1th Jan. 1795. 
 
 " My business is taken ad referendum, in the Dutch manner. 
 It was expected, I suppose, that I should pay my court : no 
 court on earth shall detain me another day from those I love, and 
 whom I shall protect as far as my powers of mind and body will 
 permit. The news I hear from the county of Longford makes 
 even my philosophy impatient to return to you. My best love to 
 dear Charlotte Sneyd. My second best in order due. Send the 
 chaise to meet me on Friday. 
 
 « R. L. E." 
 
 The disturbances in the county of Longford were 
 quieted for a time by the military ; but again, in the 
 autumn of the ensuing year, (Sept. 1796), rumours of 
 an invasion prevailed, and spread with redoubled 
 force through Ireland, disturbing commerce, and 
 alarming all ranks of well disposed subjects. My 
 father wrote to Lord Carhampton, then commander 
 in chief, and to Mr. Pelham, (now Lord Chichester), 
 who was then secretary in Ireland, offering his ser- 
 vices. The secretary requested Mr. Edgeworth 
 would furnish him with a memorial. Aware of the 
 natural antipathy, that public men feel to the sight 
 of long memorials, this was made short enough, to 
 give it a chance of being read. 
 
342 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Presented, Oct. 6th, 1796. 
 " Mr. Edgeworth will undertake to convey intelligence from 
 Dublin to Cork, and back to Dublin, by means of fourteen or 
 fifteen different stations, at tlie rate of one hundred pounds per 
 annum for each station, as long as government shall think proper : 
 and from Dublin to any other place, at the same rate, in proportion 
 to the distance ; provided, that, when government chuses to dis- 
 continue the business, they shall pay one year's contract over and 
 above the current expense, as some compensation for the prime 
 cost of the apparatus, and the trouble of the first establishment." 
 
 In a letter of a single page accompanying this me- 
 morial, it was stated, that to establish a telegraphic 
 corps of men sufficient to convey intelligence to every 
 part of the kingdom where it should be necessary, 
 stations tenable against a mob, and against musketry, 
 might be effected, for the sum of six or seven thou- 
 sand pounds ; it was further observed, that of course, 
 there must be a considerable difference between a 
 partial and a general plan of telegraphic communi- 
 cation ; that Mr. Edgeworth was perfectly willing to 
 pursue either, or to adopt, without reserve, any better 
 plan, that government should approve. — Thanks were 
 returned, and approbation expressed. 
 
 Nothing now appeared in suspense except the mode 
 of the establishment, whether it should be civil or 
 military. Meantime Mr. Pelham spoke of the Duke 
 of York's wish, to have a reconnoitring telegraph, and 
 observed, that Mr. Edgeworth's would be exactly 
 what his Royal Highness wanted. Mr. Edgeworth in 
 a few days constructed a portable telegraph, and 
 offered it to Mr. Pelham. He accepted it, and at his 
 request my brother Lovell carried it to England, 
 and presented it to the Duke from Mr. Pelham. 
 
 During the interval of my brother's absence in 
 England, my father had no doubt, that arrangements 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 343 
 
 were making for a telegraphic establishment in Ire- 
 land. But the next time he went to the Castle, he 
 saw signs of a change in the Secretary's countenance, 
 who seemed much hurried — promised he would write 
 — wrote, and conveyed, in diplomatic form, a final 
 refusal. Mr. Pelham, indeed endeavoured to make it 
 as civil as he could, concluding his letter with these 
 words : 
 
 " The utility of a Telegraph may hereafter be considered 
 greater, but I trust, that at all events, those talents, which have 
 been directed to this pursuit, will be turned to some other object ; 
 and that the public will have the benefit of that extraordinary 
 activity and zeal, which I have witnessed on this occasion, in some 
 other institution, which, I am sure, that the ingenuity of the 
 author will not require much time to suggest. 
 
 " I have the honor to be, 
 " Dublin Castle, " With great respect, &c. 
 
 17M Nov. 1796." " T. Pelham." 
 
 Of his offer to establish a communication from the 
 coast of Cork to Dublin, at his own expense, no 
 notice was taken. " He had, as was known to 
 government, expended 500/. of his own money; as 
 much more would have erected a temporary estab- 
 lishment for a year to Cork. Thus the utility of 
 this invention might have been tried, and the most 
 prudential government upon earth could not have 
 accused itself of extravagance in being partner with 
 a private gentleman, in an experiment, which had, 
 with inferior apparatus, and at four times the expense, 
 been tried in France and England, and approved." 
 The most favorable supposition, by which we can 
 account for the conduct of the Irish government in 
 this business, is, that a superior influence in England 
 forbade them to proceed. " It must," said my father, 
 " be mortifying to a viceroy, who comes over to 
 
344 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Ireland with enlarged views, and benevolent inten- 
 tions, to discover, when he attempts to act for him- 
 self, that he is peremptorily checked ; that a circle is 
 chalked round him, beyond which he cannot move." 
 
 No personal feelings of pique or disgust prevented 
 my father from renewing his efforts to be of service 
 to his country. Two months after the rejection of 
 his telegraph, on Friday the 30th of December, 1 796, 
 the French were on the Irish coasts. Of this he 
 received intelligence late at night: immediately he 
 sent a servant express to the Secretary, with a letter, 
 offering to erect telegraphs, which he had in Dublin, 
 on any line that government should direct, and pro- 
 posing to bring his own men with him ; or to join the 
 army with his portable telegraphs, to reconnoitre. 
 His servant was sent back with a note from the Secre- 
 tary, containing compliments, and the promise of a 
 speedy answer : no further answer ever reached him. 
 Upon this emergency he could, with the assistance 
 of his friends, have established an immediate commu- 
 nication between Dublin and the coast, which would 
 not have cost the country one shilling. My father 
 shewed no mortification at the neglect with which he 
 was treated, but acknowledged, that he felt much 
 " concern in losing an opportunity of saving an enor- 
 mous expense to the public, and of alleviating the 
 anxiety and distress of thousands." A telegraph was 
 most earnestly wished for at this time by the best 
 informed people in Ireland, as well as by those, whose 
 perceptions had suddenly quickened at the view of 
 immediate danger. Great distress, bankruptcies, and 
 ruin to many families, were the consequences of this 
 attempted invasion. The troops were harassed with 
 contradictory orders and forced marches, for want of 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 345 
 
 intelligence, and from that indecision which must 
 always be the consequence of insufficient information. 
 Many days were spent in terror, and in fruitless 
 wishes for an English fleet. One fact may mark the 
 hurry and confusion of the time ; the cannon and the 
 ball sent to Bantry Bay were of different calibre. At 
 last Ireland w T as providentially saved by the change 
 of the wind, which prevented the enemy from effecting 
 a landing on her coast. 
 
 These facts are stated from my father's "Letter 
 to Lord Charlemont on the Telegraph" a political 
 pamphlet, uncommon at least for its temperate and 
 good humored tone. 
 
 In the sixth volume of the transactions of the 
 Royal Irish Academy, he published an " Essay on 
 the art of conveying swift and secret intelligence." 
 Accounts of his apparatus, and specimens of his 
 vocabulary, have been copied into various popular 
 publications, therefore it is sufficient here to refer to 
 them. The peculiar advantages of his machinery 
 consist, in the first place, in being as free from friction 
 as possible ; consequently in its being easily moved, 
 and not easily destroyed by use. In the next place, 
 on its being simple, consequently easy to make and 
 to repair. The superior advantage of his vocabulary 
 arises from its being undecipherable. This depends 
 on his employing the numerical figures instead of the 
 alphabet. With a power of almost infinite change, 
 and consequently with defiance of detection, he applies 
 the combination of numerical figures to the words of 
 any common dictionary, or to any length of phrase in 
 any given vocabulary. He was the first, who made this 
 application of figures to telegraphic communication. 
 
 Much has been urged by various modern claimants 
 
346 MEMOIR^ OF 
 
 for the honor of the invention of the telegraph. In 
 England, the claims of Dr. Hooke, and of the Mar- 
 quis of Worcester, to the original idea, are incontest- 
 able. The invention long lay dormant, till wakened 
 into active service by the French. But long before 
 the French telegraph appeared, my father had tried 
 his first telegraphic experiments. As he mentions 
 in his own narrative, he tried the use of windmill 
 sails in 1767 in Berkshire, and also a nocturnal 
 telegraph with lamps and illuminated letters, between 
 London and Hampstead ; and more than twenty years 
 afterwards, on the 24th of August, 1794, my brothers 
 had the satisfaction of sending, by my father's tele- 
 graph, four messages across the channel, and of 
 receiving immediate answers, before a vast concourse 
 of spectators. 
 
 His Essay on the Telegraph concludes with 
 the following words : — " Imitations without end 
 may be attempted ; pointers of various shapes and 
 materials may be employed ; real improvements will 
 also probably be made, and perhaps new principles 
 may be adopted. The varieties of art are infinite, 
 and none but persons of narrow understanding, who 
 feel a want of resources in their own invention, are 
 jealous of competition, or are disposed to monopolize 
 discoveries. The thing itself must sooner or later 
 prevail ; for utility convinces and governs mankind ; 
 and however inattention or timidity may for a time 
 impede its progress, I will venture to predict, that 
 it will at some future period be generally practised, 
 not only in these islands, but that it will, in time, 
 become a means of communication between the most 
 distant parts of the world, wherever arts and sciences 
 have civilized mankind." 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 347 
 
 With the same philosophic calmness my father 
 wrote to his private friends. 
 
 TO MRS. E. 
 
 " Dublin, Tuesday night, 
 
 " MY DEAJR WIFE, Nov. 14, 1796. 
 
 " After waiting long, as is usual, and indeed, from the mul- 
 tiplicity of suitors, as is necessary, I saw the secretary this 
 afternoon. 
 
 " The Admiralty in England do not chuse to extend their tele- 
 graphic fame ; and the government here does not chuse to extend 
 mine. The secretary is to write to me, but I know it is to convey 
 a negative. 
 
 " My mind keeps its own place, and my happiness depends on 
 you and yours, and not on them and theirs. 
 
 " I hope, if I do not escape from Dublin so as to reach 
 you before this letter can, to see you and my dear home on 
 Saturday. 
 
 " Yours, I think I may say ever, 
 
 " Richard Lovell Edgeworth." 
 
 TO DR. DARWIN. 
 
 " Edgeivorth- Toivn, 
 " my dear doctor, Dec. 18, 1796. 
 
 " I took up a sheet of paper above a month ago, upon which I 
 wrote half a page to you, intending to fill it with a pompous 
 account of my having established a most complete system of 
 intelligence all through the kingdom, that ever was attempted by 
 ingenuity, and accomplished by industry. But before the moon 
 had completed her lunatic gyration, I found that I had been 
 counting on the faith of Lord Lieutenants, and their satellites. 
 After having had a great deal of trouble and expense, and some 
 entertainment and improvement, I was turned off to graze. 
 Whether my independence, or disinterestedness, or some other 
 crime, was the cause, I cannot tell ; but I have dared to publish 
 the whole transaction pro bono publico, believing, that if men 
 would abstain from abuse or calumny, and publish facts under 
 their own names, it would be of use to those who govern, and to 
 those who are to be governed. I have besides, in my own appeal, 
 touched upon some general subjects of Irish politics. Mr. Johnson 
 
348 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 will send you a copy as soon as it is printed, but I do not insist 
 upon your reading it. 
 
 " In one of your letters some time ago, you advised us to read 
 Dugald Stewart, and to write upon education. Stewart we have 
 read with great profit and pleasure, and we are writing upon edu- 
 cation. Maria recurs frequently to your authority in a chapter on 
 "attention," and has, I think — pardon my paternal partiality, 
 managed your gigantic weapons with as much adroitness, as could 
 be expected from a dwarf. Your new terms in Zoonomia require 
 to be mouthed frequently to make them familiar ; and in conversa- 
 tion we sometimes forget our grammar. She would write to ask 
 you some questions, if she dared. 
 
 " I find my paper growing scant, and I had a great many things 
 to say to you. 
 
 " I am to thank you for saving the eyes of a valuable horse ; he 
 Avas young. I had bred him. 'Till I read Zoonomia, I could not 
 account for the frequent inflammation of his eyes. He and two 
 other horses were going blind. From the construction of the 
 stable, and the trimming of the inside of their ears, I suspected 
 that what you had said was applicable to them. Since I put caps 
 on the horses' ears, they have got well. 
 
 " In the ' Sea-sick Minstrel,' page 50, there is a curious physico- 
 medical anecdote. ' A young man, under the gripe of the tiger, 
 appeared to move his lips, but uttered no sound. When he got 
 free he reproached the bystanders with not having answered his 
 screams.' 
 
 " See 'Journal Etranger' for 1756, page 55, for an anecdote 
 about physicians. 
 
 " Adieu, my dear Doctor, 
 
 « R. L. E." 
 
 If we could see the really private letters written 
 by persons who had been warmly engaged in any 
 public affair, and who were disappointed, how often 
 would there appear a shameful contradiction between 
 the ostensible motives and characters of the writers ; 
 also between their professed composure and their real 
 irritability and irritation. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 349 
 
 I am proud to shew, that my father spoke the 
 same sentiments, and felt the same in private as in 
 public. 
 
 In the succeeding year my father's pursuits were 
 all interrupted by domestic calamity. Mrs. E's. 
 health, which had long been precarious, rapidly 
 declined. She died in the year 1 797- 
 
 I have heard my father say, that during the seven- 
 teen years of his marriage with this lady, he never 
 once saw her out of temper, and never received from 
 her an unkind word, or an angry look. Her solici- 
 tude and attention in the education of a large family 
 of children were unremitting, greater than her health 
 could bear, and such as even maternal affection 
 would have found difficult, perhaps impossible to 
 sustain, unless they had been supported by attach- 
 ment to a husband of superior mind. 
 
350 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 During the fifteen preceding years of which I have 
 been giving an account, the variety of my father's 
 employments never prevented him from attending to 
 his great object — the education of his children. 
 On the contrary, some of his occupations assisted 
 in affording him daily and hourly opportunities for 
 giving instruction after his manner, without formal 
 lectures or lessons. For instance, at the time when 
 he was building or carrying on experiments, or work 
 of any sort, he constantly explained to his children 
 whatever was doing or to be done ; and by questions 
 adapted to their several ages and capacities, exercised 
 their powers of observation, reasoning, and inven- 
 tion. 
 
 It often happened, that trivial circumstances, by 
 which the curiosity of the children had been excited, 
 or experiments obvious to the senses, by which they 
 had been interested, led afterwards to deeper reflec- 
 tion or to philosophical enquiries, suited to others in 
 the family of more advanced age and knowledge. 
 The animation spread through the house by connect- 
 ing children with all that is going on, and allowing 
 them to join in thought or conversation with the 
 grown-up people of the family, was highly useful, 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 35 1 
 
 and thus both sympathy and emulation excited 
 mental exertion in the most agreeable manner. 
 
 In trying experiments he always showed, that he 
 was intent upon learning the truth, not upon sup- 
 porting his opinion. By the examples he thus set us 
 of fairness, candor, and patience, he trained the under- 
 standing to follow the best rules of philosophising ; 
 and, what is of more consequence for the happiness of 
 the individual, he thus taught his pupils to apply 
 philosophy to the government of the temper. 
 
 He explained and described clearly. — He knew so 
 exactly the habits, powers, and knowledge of his pupils, 
 that he seldom failed in estimating what each could 
 comprehend or accomplish. He saw at once where 
 their difficulty lay, and knew how far to assist, how 
 far to urge the mind, and where to leave it entirely 
 to its own exertions. His patience in teaching was 
 peculiarly meritorious, I may say surprising, in a 
 man of his vivacity. He would sit quietly while 
 a child was thinking of the answer to a question, 
 without suffering it to be interrupted ; and, without 
 a leading observation or exclamation, would let 
 the pupil touch and quit the point repeatedly, 
 would wait till the steps of reasoning and invention 
 were gone through, and till the guess was converted 
 into certainty. This was sometimes trying to the 
 patience of the bye-standers, who often thought that 
 the question was too difficult ; when just at the 
 moment that the silence and suspense could be no 
 longer endured, his judgment has been justified, and 
 his forbearance rewarded, by the child's giving a per- 
 fectly satisfactory answer. 
 
 The reward of his praise was delightful, it was so 
 warmly, so fondly given. The cool bye-stander might 
 
352 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 have thought, that it would inspire vanity ; but against 
 this danger there was a preservative, there was mixed 
 with the praise, so much affectionate sympathy, so 
 much parental triumph in his children's success, that 
 affection for him was excited more than vanity for 
 themselves, — and they insensibly drew the conclusion, 
 that affection is better worth than admiration. 
 
 In the education of the heart, his warmth of 
 approbation, or his strength of indignation, had 
 powerful influence. The scorn in his countenance, 
 when he heard of any base conduct ; the pleasure 
 that lighted up his eyes, when he heard of any 
 generous action ; the eloquence of his language, and 
 vehemence of his emphasis, commanded the sympathy 
 of all who could see, hear, feel, or understand. 
 
 It sometimes happens, that a preceptor appears to 
 have great influence for a time, and then his power 
 suddenly dissolves. This is the case, wherever any 
 sort of deception has been used. My father, in the 
 whole course of the education of his children, 
 never used any artifice of any kind, and consequently 
 he always possessed that confidence, which is the 
 reward of plain dealing ; a confidence which increases 
 in the pupil's mind with age, knowledge, and ex- 
 perience. I dwell on this reflection, certainly, with 
 pride and pleasure, but independently of private 
 feelings, I trust that my assertion of the fact, may be 
 useful to the public, by adding fresh testimony, and 
 stronger conviction to the belief parents should have, 
 that their influence will be firm over the hearts of 
 their children, if they treat them with openness and 
 plain truth. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 353 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 My father was past fifty when he was left a third 
 time a widower, with a numerous family, four sons 
 and five daughters living with him, some of them 
 grown up, and some very young. Besides his 
 children, two sisters of the late Mrs. Edgeworth 
 resided with us. They had friends and connexions 
 in England, for whom they had high esteem and 
 affection ; yet they remained in Ireland after their 
 sister's death, continuing to form part of a family, 
 attached to them not only by the ties of kindred, 
 but by the strongest feelings of love and gratitude. 
 They, and all who knew my father intimately, and 
 had seen how much the felicity of his former life 
 depended upon conjugal affection, were aware that he 
 could never be happy, unless he married again. 
 
 Among the acquaintance and friends whose society 
 he cultivated at intervals, when he emerged from his 
 domestic circle, was Dr. Beaufort, whose name is well 
 known to the British public, as author of one of the 
 best maps of Ireland, with a valuable memoir of its 
 topography. He was still better known in his own 
 country, as an excellent clergyman, pious and liberal, 
 with most conciliating manners. 
 
 2 A 
 
354 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 My father first met him at Mr. Foster's (after- 
 wards Lord Oriel) at Collon, of which place Dr. 
 Beaufort was vicar, and afterwards saw him frequently 
 at Black Castle, the residence of my father's favorite 
 sister, Mrs. Ruxton. 
 
 Dr. Beaufort's literary tastes, and delightful conver- 
 sation, were peculiarly attractive to my father, who 
 soon became intimate with him, and with his amiable 
 family. The eldest daughter possessed uncommon 
 talents for drawing ; and at the request of my aunt 
 (Mrs. Ruxton), Miss Beaufort sketched designs for 
 some of my stories ; these were shewn to my 
 father, and he criticised them as freely as if they had 
 not been the work of a lady, and made for his 
 daughter. He was charmed by the temper and good 
 sense with which his criticisms were received ; and 
 in a visit which she and her family paid at Edge- 
 worth Town, had an opportunity of seeing that she 
 possessed exactly the temper, abilities, and dispo- 
 sition which would insure the happiness of his family 
 as well as his own, if he could hope to win her 
 affections. 
 
 When I first knew of this attachment, and before I 
 was well acquainted with Miss Beaufort, I own that 
 I did not wish for the marriage. I had not my father's 
 quick penetration into character. I did not at first 
 discover the superior abilities and qualities which 
 he saw ; consequently, I did not anticipate any 
 of the happy consequences from this union which 
 he foresaw. All that I thought, I told him. With 
 the most kind patience he bore with me, and instead 
 of withdrawing his affection, honored me the more 
 with his confidence. He took me with him to Collon, 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 355 
 
 threw open his whole mind to me — let me see all the 
 changes and workings of his heart. I remember his 
 once saying to me, " I believe, that no human creature 
 ever saw the heart of another more completely without 
 disguise, than you have seen mine." I can never, 
 without the strongest emotions of affection and grati- 
 tude, recollect the infinite kindness he shewed me at 
 this time, the solicitude he felt for my happiness at 
 the moment when all his own was at stake, and while 
 all his feelings were in the agony of suspense ; the 
 consequence was, that no daughter ever felt more 
 sympathy with a father, than I felt for him ; and 
 assuredly the pains he took to make me fully ac- 
 quainted with the character of the woman he loved, 
 and to make mine known to her, were not thrown away. 
 Both her inclination and judgment decided in his 
 favour. His eloquent affection conquering her 
 timidity, and inspiring her with the necessary and just 
 confidence in her own abilities, she consented to 
 undertake the great responsibility of becoming the 
 mistress of that large family, of whose happiness she 
 was now to take charge. 
 
 He announces his intended marriage to Dr. Darwin 
 in the following letter. 
 
 " MY DEAR DOCTOR, 1 798. 
 
 " I have received from England a very fine head of you : — 
 when I say a fine head, I mean only as to the execution ; for it 
 does not give an idea of any faculty of your mind, except ingenuity; 
 — there is a cloud over your brow, and a compression of the lips, 
 that hide your benevolence and good humour. And great author 
 as you are, my dear Doctor, I think you excel the generality of 
 mankind as much in generosity, as in abilities. I observe with 
 pleasure, mixed with pride, the rapid growth of your fame. We 
 wait with impatience for your new book. We have wished to col- 
 lect some facts for you ; but before I finish my letter you will see, 
 
 2 a 2 
 
356 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 that / had other game in view. I must give you my notes in 
 disorder. 
 
 " The Upas, for which you have been so much abused, may not 
 grow in Java :— but a traveller of undoubted veracity, Stedman, 
 (Voyage to Surinam, vol. ii. p. 183,) mentions qualities of the 
 marcoory tree almost as formidable, and not dissimilar. 
 
 " Frogs, and other small animals frozen, have their limbs as hrittle 
 as a tobacco pipe. The broken frozen limbs heal, when gradually 
 thawed, but if refrozen, they never coalesce. (Vid. Hearne's Hud- 
 son's Bay Discoveries, p. 397.) I suppose that the second freezing 
 breaks off the corresponding indentures of the fracture. 
 
 " Are you still bent upon agriculture ? If you are, here is a 
 note and query for you. In 1787 I rented a farm of thirty acres, 
 at a rack rent of half a guinea per acre. I improved it, was never 
 any one time one hundred pounds out of pocket ; and in five 
 years had seventeen pounds clear profit to balance of accounts. I 
 let it on a long lease, at one guinea and a half per acre, to a rich 
 tenant. — Query : how was it improved ? A most exact account 
 was kept of profit and loss. 
 
 " I propose to heat hot-houses by pipes laid through dung-hills, 
 and communicating with the open air at one end, and opening into 
 the house at the other. Such pipes, in common stable-dung, con- 
 tinue to give out air at a regular heat of 95° Fahrenheit for many 
 days, as Lovel and I have tried in a pipe six inches diameter. I 
 saw one of your old inventions claimed by somebody in the papers, 
 the other day, — two balls chained together, and shot at once from 
 separate cannon. 
 
 " The speaking machine, which is just announced from France, 
 does not say so many words as yours did many years ago. It 
 prattles only papa and mamma. Yours spoke those words, and 
 could also say go. I placed one of your mouths in a room near 
 some people in 1770, who actually thought I had a child with me, 
 calling papa and mamma. 
 
 " And now for my piece of news, which I have kept for the last. 
 I am going to be married to a young lady of small fortune and 
 large accomplishments, — compared with my age, much youth, (not 
 quite 30), and more prudence — some beauty, more sense — uncom- 
 mon talents, more uncommon temper, — liked by my family, loved 
 by me. If I can say all this three years hence, shall not I have 
 been a fortunate, not to say a wise man ? 
 
 " R. L. E." 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 357 
 
 While my father's domestic happiness seemed pre- 
 paring so smoothly, public affairs in Ireland wore a 
 stormy aspect. This was in the year 1798. A few 
 days after the preceding letter was written, we heard, 
 that a conspiracy had been discovered in Dublin, that 
 the city was under arms, and its inhabitants in the 
 greatest terror. Dr. Beaufort and his family were 
 there. My father, who was at Edgeworth-Town, set 
 out immediately to join them. 
 
 On his way he met an intimate friend; they 
 travelled together one stage, and a singular conver- 
 sation passed. This friend, who as yet knew nothing 
 of my father s intentions, began to speak of the mar- 
 riage of some other person, and exclaimed against the 
 folly and imprudence of any man's marrying in such 
 disturbed times, " no man of honor, sense, or feeling, 
 would incumber himself with a wife at such a 
 time !" — My father urged, that this was just the 
 time when a man of honor, sense, and feeling, 
 would wish, if he loved a woman, to unite his fate 
 with hers, and to acquire the right of being her 
 protector. 
 
 The conversation dropped there. Presently they 
 talked of public affairs — of what would probably be 
 said and done in the next session of Parliament — 
 of the measure expected to be proposed of a union 
 between England and Ireland. My father, foreseeing 
 that this important national question would probably 
 come on, had just obtained a seat in Parliament.* 
 His friend, not knowing or recollecting this, began 
 to speak of the imprudence of commencing a political 
 career late in life. 
 
 * He was elected for the borough of St. John's Town, County 
 of Lonjrford. 
 
358 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " No man, you know," said he, " but a fool would 
 venture to make a first speech in Parliament, or to 
 marry, after he was fifty." 
 
 My father laughed, and surrendering all title to 
 wisdom, declared, that, though he was past fifty, he 
 was actually going in a few days, as he hoped, to be 
 married, and in a few months would probably make 
 his " first speech in Parliament." 
 
 As fast as possible my father pursued his way to 
 Dublin. He found the city as it had been described 
 to him, under arms, in dreadful expectation. The 
 timely apprehension of the heads of the conspiracy at 
 this crisis prevented a revolution, and saved the 
 capital. But the danger for the country was not 
 over — insurrections, which were to have been general 
 and simultaneous, broke out in different parts of the 
 kingdom. The confessions of a conspirator, who had 
 turned informer, and the papers seized and published, 
 proved, that there existed in the country a deep and 
 widely spread spirit of rebellion. Though discon- 
 certed by the present vigilance or good fortune of 
 government, it was hardly to be doubted, that fresh 
 attempts, in concert with foreign enemies, would be 
 made in future. From different reasons, all parties 
 thought the country in a perilous situation. 
 
 Still instead of delaying his marriage, which some 
 advised, my father urged for an immediate day. On 
 the 31st of May he was married to Miss Beaufort, 
 by her brother, the Rev. William Beaufort, at St. Anne's 
 church, in Dublin. They came down to Edgeworth- 
 Town immediately, through a part of the country that 
 was in actual insurrection. Late in the evening they 
 arrived safely at home, and my father presented his 
 bride to his expecting, anxious family, including the 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 359 
 
 sisters of the late Mrs. Edgeworth, — those excellent 
 aunts (Mrs. Mary and Charlotte Sneyd). Instead 
 of returning to their many and warmly attached 
 friends and relations in England, they preferred re- 
 maining at Edgeworth-Town. This was an auspicious 
 omen to the common people in our neighbourhood, 
 by whom they were universally beloved; — it spoke 
 well, they said, for the new lady. 
 
360 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The summer of 1798 passed without any interruption 
 of our domestic tranquillity. Though disturbances 
 in different parts of Ireland had broken out, yet now, 
 as in former trials, the County of Longford remained 
 quiet ; free at least from open insurrection, and, as far 
 as appeared, the people well disposed. They com- 
 plained, however, very frequently to my father of the 
 harassing of certain new-made justices of the peace, 
 and yeomen military, or, as the people called them, 
 scourers of the country, who, galloping about night 
 and day, would let no poor man sleep in peace. Our 
 magistracy had at that time fallen below its proper 
 level ; many of the great proprietors of this county 
 were absentees ; and for want of resident gentlemen, 
 magistrates were made of men without education, 
 experience, or hereditary respectability. During the 
 war, and in consequence of what were called the war- 
 prices, graziers, land-jobbers, and middle-men had 
 risen into comparative wealth ; and instead of turning 
 in due season, according to the natural order of things, 
 into Buckeens and Squireens, they had been metamor- 
 phosed into justices of the peace and committee men, 
 or into yeomen lieutenants and captains. In these 
 their new characters, they bustled and bravadoed ; 
 and sometimes from mere ignorance, and sometimes in 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 36 1 
 
 the certainty of party support or public indemnity, they 
 overleaped the bounds of law. Upon slight suspicion, 
 or vague information, they took up and imprisoned 
 many who were innocent ; the relations of the injured 
 appealed to him, who was known to be the friend of 
 public justice. I will not say the friend of the poor, 
 though this was the name by which I have often heard 
 my father called. But this has become a hackneyed 
 expression, degraded from its real meaning, since it 
 has been used for party purposes, or by those who 
 aim only at vulgar popularity. In consequence of 
 appeals to him, my father made inquiry at public 
 sessions or assizes into various cases of persons, who 
 had been imprisoned. Sometimes such examinations, 
 warrants, and committals, were produced, or such ex- 
 planatory letters were written to him by justices of 
 the quorum, worded in such a blundering manner, so 
 spelled, so scrawled, as to be almost illegible and 
 quite incomprehensible. All this would have been 
 ludicrous, had not the matter been too serious for 
 ridicule, where the liberties and lives of human 
 creatures were at stake. My father exerted himself 
 upon all occasions to keep the law in its due course, 
 representing, that whether the accused were innocent 
 or guilty, they were entitled to fair trial ; that, till it 
 was proved that they had forfeited the protection of 
 our constitution, no persons should be treated as 
 enemies or outlaws ; that it was bad policy to make 
 the people detest the authority, which they were bound 
 to obey, and on their obedience to which the safety of 
 all ranks depends. 
 
 Those who were conscious of making themselves ob- 
 jects of dislike tothelower class of people were naturally 
 afraid, that, if any disturbance arose, they should be 
 
362 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the first victims ; and cowardice combined with party ' 
 prejudice, to increase their violence. They disre- 
 garded my father's representations ; as far as they 
 dared, resented his interference ; and were in un- 
 feigned astonishment at his opposite course of 
 conduct. They found, that when he was to judge 
 of any action, he never inquired whether it had been 
 committed by a catholic, or a protestant ; nor would 
 he use, or permit to be used before him, either as 
 a magistrate or as landlord, any of those party names, 
 which designate and perpetuate party hatred. He 
 would not even understand, that the term an honest 
 man, pronounced with peculiar emphasis, meant, with 
 one party, exclusively a protestant. The principle of 
 " Shew me the man, and I will shew you the law," 
 he considered as the opprobrium of magistracy. He 
 believed that justice, like honesty, of which in fact 
 it is only a more enlarged description, is always the 
 best policy. He adhered therefore to the straight 
 rule of right, without entering into any of the ob- 
 liquities of expediency. The maxim, that extra- 
 ordinary times call for extraordinary measures, he 
 considered to be a principle, dangerous as it is vague ; 
 since those who fancy they obey a mysterious 
 legislative call, are often hurried on merely by the 
 suggestions of their own fears or their own passions. 
 No partial commotion should be suffered to disturb 
 even-handed justice : nothing less than a general 
 earthquake of the state should wrench the balance 
 from the hand of the law. When the scales are 
 overturned, nothing remains but the sword. 
 
 Towards the autumn of the year 1 798, this country 
 became in such a state, that the necessity for resort- 
 ing to the sword seemed imminent. Even in the 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 363 
 
 comity of Longford, which had so long remained 
 quiet, alarming symptoms appeared, not immediately 
 in our neighbourhood, but within six or seven miles 
 of us, near Granard. In the adjacent counties 
 military law had been proclaimed, and our village 
 was within a mile of the bounds of the disturbed 
 county of Westmeath. Though his own tenantry, 
 and all in whom he put trust, were as quiet, and, 
 as far as he could judge, well disposed, yet my 
 father was aware, from information of too good 
 authority to be doubted, that numbers of disaffected 
 persons throughout Ireland were leagued in secret 
 rebellion, and waited only for the arrival of the 
 French to break out. 
 
 Many held themselves in abeyance, not so much 
 from disloyalty, as from fear ; they dreaded that they 
 should be ultimately the conquered party. Those who 
 were really and actually engaged, and in commu- 
 nication with the rebels, and with the foreign enemy, 
 were so secret and cunning, that no proofs could 
 be obtained against them ; while the eagerness to 
 gain information laid proprietors in the middle and 
 higher classes open to treachery, and to double 
 danger from informers, who often gave them false 
 clews, to involve them still farther in darkness and 
 error. The object of such persons being in general 
 to gratify private malice, or to favour the escape 
 of the guilty by turning suspicion upon the in- 
 nocent. 
 
 Previous to this time, the principal gentry in the 
 county had raised corps of yeomanry ; but my 
 father, who had held for some months the commis- 
 sion of Captain of Yeomen Cavalry, had delayed 
 doing so, because as long as the civil authority had 
 
364 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 been sufficient, he was unwilling to resort to military 
 interference, or to the ultimate law of force, of the 
 abuse of which he had seen too many recent ex- 
 amples. However, it now became necessary, even 
 for the sake of justice to his own tenantry, that they 
 should be put upon a footing with others, have equal 
 security of protection, and an opportunity of evincing 
 their loyal dispositions. He therefore determined to 
 raise a corps of infantry, which would accommodate 
 a poorer class of the people, and to admit Catholics 
 as well as Protestants. This was so unusual, and 
 thought to be so hazardous a degree of liberality, that 
 by some of an opposite party it was attributed to 
 the worst motives. Many who wished him well 
 came privately to let him know of the odium to 
 which he exposed himself — the timid hinted fears 
 and suspicions that he was going to put arms into 
 the hands of men, who would desert or betray him, 
 in the hour of trial ; who might find themselves 
 easily absolved from holding any faith with a Pro- 
 testant, and with one of a family, of whom the head, 
 in former times, had been distinguished by the 
 appellation of Protestant Frank. He thanked his 
 secret advisers, but openly and steadily abided by 
 his purpose. Suspicion he knew often produces the 
 very evils it fears ; and confidence he felt to be due 
 to those, who had hitherto conducted themselves 
 irreproachably, and who manifested at this moment, 
 by every means in their power, strong attachment 
 to him and to the government. These men had 
 been exposed to some trial, and might be called upon 
 to resist great temptations of passion and interest. 
 On his own part, my father knew the risk he ran, 
 but he braved it. Resident as he had long been 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 365 
 
 in Ireland, his established character, his property, 
 and his large family, afforded altogether so strong 
 a pledge of his good intentions, that he considered 
 himself as in a situation to set an example of that 
 conduct, which he thought most advantageous for 
 the country. The corps of Edgcworth-Town In- 
 fantry was raised, and my father's nephew, Mr. Fox, 
 who had been Lieutenant Colonel of the Longford 
 militia, was appointed one of the Lieutenants ; but 
 the arms were, by some mistake of the ordnance- 
 office, delayed. The anxiety for their arrival was 
 extreme, for every day and every hour the French 
 were expected to land. 
 
 The alarm was now so general, that many sent 
 their families out of the country. My father was 
 still in hopes, that we might safely remain. At the 
 first appearance of disturbance in Ireland he had 
 offered to carry his sisters-in-law, -the Mrs. Sneyds, 
 to their friends in England, but this offer they refused. 
 Of the domestics, three men were English and Pro- 
 testant, two Irish and Catholic ; the women were all 
 Irish and Catholic, excepting the housekeeper, an 
 English woman, who had lived with us many years. 
 There were no dissensions or suspicions between the 
 Catholics and Protestants in the family, and the 
 English servants did not desire to quit us at this 
 crisis. 
 
 At last came the dreaded news. The French, 
 who landed at Killala, were, as we learned, on their 
 march towards Longford. The touch of Ithuriel's 
 spear could not have been more sudden or effectual, 
 than the arrival of this intelligence, in shewing people 
 in their real forms. In some faces joy struggled for 
 a moment with feigned sorrow, and then, encouraged 
 
366 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 by sympathy, yielded to the natural expression. Still 
 my father had no reason to distrust those, in whom 
 he had placed confidence ; his tenants were steady ; 
 he saw no change in any of the men of his corps, 
 though they were in the most perilous situation, 
 having rendered themselves obnoxious to the rebels 
 and invaders, by becoming yeomen, and yet standing 
 without means of resistance or defence, their arms 
 not having arrived. 
 
 The evening of the day, when the news of the 
 success and approach of the French came to Edge- 
 worth-Town, all seemed quiet; but early the next 
 morning, September 4th^ a report reached us, that 
 the rebels were up in arms within a mile of the 
 village, pouring in from the county of Westmeath, 
 hundreds strong. Such had been the tranquillity of 
 the preceding night, that we could not at first believe 
 their report. — An hour afterwards it was contra- 
 dicted. An English servant, who was sent out to 
 ascertain the truth, brought back word, that he had 
 ridden three miles from the village on the road de- 
 scribed, and that he had seen only twenty or thirty 
 men with green boughs in their hats, and pikes in 
 their hands, who said, " that they were standing there 
 to protect themselves against the Orangemen, of whom 
 they id ere in dread, and who, as they heard, were 
 coming down to cut them to pieces." This was all 
 nonsense ; but no better sense could be obtained. 
 Report upon report, equally foolish, was heard, or at 
 least uttered. But this much being certain, that men 
 armed with pikes were assembled, my father sent off 
 an express to the next garrison town (Longford), 
 requesting the commanding officer to send him assis- 
 tance for the defence of this place. He desired us to 
 
R. L. EDGEWOETH, ESQ. 367 
 
 be prepared to set out at a moment's warning. We 
 were under this uncertainty, when an escort with an 
 ammunition cart passed through the village, on its 
 way to Longford. It contained several barrels of 
 powder, intended to blow up the bridges, and to stop 
 the progress of the enemy. One of the officers of 
 the party rode up to our house, and offered to let us 
 have the advantage of his escort. But, after a few 
 minutes deliberation, this friendly proposal was de- 
 clined. My father determined, that he would not 
 stir till he knew whether he could have assistance ; 
 and as it did not appear as yet absolutely necessary 
 that we should go, we staid — fortunately for us ! 
 
 About a quarter of an hour after the officer and 
 the escort had departed, we, who were all assembled 
 in the portico of the house, heard a report like a loud 
 clap of thunder. The doors and windows shook with 
 some violent concussion ; a few minutes afterwards, 
 the officer galloped into the yard, and threw himself 
 off his horse into my father's arms almost senseless. 
 The ammunition cart had blown up, one of the 
 officers had been severely wounded, and the horses 
 and the man leading them killed ; the wounded officer 
 was at a farm-house on the Longford road, at about 
 two miles distance. The fear of the rebels was now 
 suspended, in concern for this accident. Mrs. Edge- 
 worth went immediately to give her assistance ; she 
 left her carriage for the use of the wounded gentle- 
 man, and rode back. At the entrance of the village 
 she was stopped by a gentleman in great terror, 
 who, taking hold of the bridle of her horse, begged 
 her not to attempt to go further, assuring her that 
 the rebels were coming into the town. But she an- 
 swered, that she must and would return to her family. 
 
368 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 She rode on, and found us waiting anxiously for 
 her. No assistance could be afforded from Long- 
 ford ; the rebels were reassembling, and advancing 
 towards the village ; and there was no alternative, 
 but to leave our home as fast as possible. One of 
 our carriages having been left with the wounded 
 officer, we had but one other at this moment for our 
 whole family, eleven in number. No mode of con- 
 veyance could be had for some of the female servants ; 
 our faithful English housekeeper offered to stay till 
 the return of the carriage, which had been left with 
 the officer ; and as we could not carry her, we were 
 obliged, most reluctantly, to leave her behind to 
 follow, as we hoped, immediately. As we passed 
 through the village, we heard nothing but the en- 
 treaties, lamentations, and objurgations of those who 
 could not procure the means of carrying off their 
 goods or their families : most painful when we could 
 give no assistance. 
 
 Next to the safety of his own family, my father's 
 greatest anxiety was for his defenceless corps. No 
 men could behave better than they did at this first 
 moment of trial. Not one absented himself, though 
 many, living at a distance, might, if they had been 
 so inclined, have found plausible excuses for non- 
 appearance. The bugle was not sounded to call 
 them together, but they were in their ranks in the 
 street the moment they had their captain's orders, 
 declaring, that whatever he commanded they would 
 do. He ordered them to march to Longford. The 
 idea of going to Longford could not be agreeable to 
 many of them, who were Catholics ; because that 
 town was full of those who called themselves — I 
 would avoid using party names if I could, but I can 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 369 
 
 no otherwise make the facts intelligible — who called 
 themselves Orangemen, and who were not supposed 
 to have favourable opinions of any of another religious 
 persuasion. There was no reluctance shewn, how- 
 ever, by the Catholics of this corps to go among 
 them. The moment the word march was uttered by 
 their captain, they marched with alacrity. — One of 
 my brothers, a youth of fifteen, was in their ranks : 
 another, twelve years old, marched with them. 
 
 We expected every instant to hear the shout of the 
 rebels entering Edgeworth-Town. When we had got 
 about half a mile out of the village, my father sud- 
 denly recollected, that he had left on his table a 
 paper, containing a list of his corps ; and that, if this 
 should come into the hands of the rebels, it might be 
 of dangerous consequence to his men ; it would serve 
 to point out their houses for pillage, and their families 
 for destruction. He turned his horse instantly, and 
 galloped back. The time of his absence appeared 
 immeasurably long, but he returned safely, after 
 having destroyed the dangerous paper. 
 
 About two miles from the village was the spot, 
 where the ammunition cart had been blown up ; the 
 dead horses, swollen to an unnatural bulk, were lying 
 across the road. As we approached, we saw two 
 men in an adjoining field looking at the remains of 
 one of the soldiers, who had been literally blown to 
 pieces. They ran towards us, and we feared, that 
 they were rebels going to stop us. They jumped 
 over the ditch, and seized our bridles ; but with 
 friendly intent. With no small difficulty they 
 dragged us past the dead horses, saying, " God speed 
 you ! and make haste any way ! " We were very 
 
 2 u 
 
370 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ready to take their advice. After this, on the six 
 long miles of the road from Edge worth-Town to 
 Longford, we did not meet a human being. It was 
 all silent and desert, as if every creature had fled 
 from the cabins by the road side. 
 
 Longford was crowded with yeomanry of various 
 corps, and with the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, 
 who had flocked thither for protection. With great 
 difficulty the poor Edge worth-Town infantry found 
 lodgings. We were cordially received by the land- 
 lady of a good inn. Though her house was, as she 
 said, "fuller than it could hold," yet she, being an old 
 friend of my father's, did contrive to give us two rooms, 
 in which we eleven were thankful to find ourselves. 
 
 All our concern now was for those we had left 
 behind. We heard nothing of our housekeeper all 
 night, and were exceedingly alarmed : but early 
 the next morning, to our great joy, she arrived. 
 She told us, that after we had left her, she waited 
 hour after hour for the carriage : she could hear 
 nothing of it, as it had gone to Longford with the 
 wounded officer. Towards evening, a large body of 
 rebels entered the village. She heard them at the 
 gate, and expected that they would have broken in 
 the next instant. But one, who seemed to be a 
 leader, with a pike in his hand, set his back against 
 the gate, and swore, that, " if he was to die for it the 
 next minute, he would have the life of the first man, 
 who should open that gate, or set enemy's foot within 
 side of that place. He said the housekeeper, who was 
 left in it, was a good gentlewoman, and had done him 
 a service, though she did not know him, nor he hey. 
 He had never seen her face, but she had, the year 
 
R.L.EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 371 
 
 before, lent his wife, when in distress, sixteen shillings, 
 the rent of flax -ground, and he would stand her 
 friend now. 
 
 He kept back the mob ; they agreed to send him 
 to the house with a deputation of six, to know the 
 truth, and to ask for arms. The six men went to the 
 back-door, and summoned the housekeeper; one of 
 them pointed his blunderbuss at her, and told her, 
 that she must fetch all the arms in the house ; she 
 said she had none. Her champion asked her to say 
 if she remembered him — " No ; to her knowledge 
 she had never seen his face." He asked if she 
 remembered having lent a woman money to pay her 
 rent of flax-ground the year before ? " Yes," she 
 remembered that, and named the woman, the time, 
 and the sum. His companions were thus satisfied of 
 the truth of what he had asserted. He bid her not 
 to be frighted, " for that no harm should happen to 
 her, nor any belonging to her ; not a soul should get 
 leave to go into her master's house ; not a twig should 
 be touched, nor a leaf harmed." His companions 
 huzzaed and went off. Afterwards, as she was told, he 
 mounted guard at the gate during the whole time the 
 rebels were in the town. 
 
 When the carriage at last returned, it was stopped 
 by the rebels, who filled the street ; they held their 
 pikes to the horses and to the coachman's breast, 
 accusing him of being an Orange-man, because, as 
 they said, he wore the orange colours (our livery 
 being yellow and brown). A painter, a friend of 
 ours, who had been that day at our house, copying 
 some old family portraits, happened to be in the 
 street at that instant, and called out to the mob, 
 " Gentlemen, it is yellow! — gentlemen, it is not 
 
 2 b 2 
 
372 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 orange.'" In consequence of this happy distinction 
 they let go the coachman ; and the same man, who 
 had mounted guard at the gate, came up with his 
 friends, rescued the carriage, and surrounding the 
 coachman with their pikes brought him safely into 
 the yard. The pole of the carriage having been 
 broken in the first onset, the housekeeper could not 
 leave Edgeworth-Town till morning. She passed 
 the night in walking up and down, listening and 
 watching, but the rebels returned no more, and thus 
 our house was saved by the gratitude of a single 
 individual. 
 
 We had scarcely time to rejoice in the escape of 
 our housekeeper, and safety of our house, when we 
 found, that new dangers arose even from this escape. 
 Even from the house being spared jealousy and sus- 
 picion arose in the minds of many, who at this time 
 saw every thing through the midst of party prejudice. 
 The dislike to my father's corps appeared every hour 
 more strong. He saw the consequences, that might 
 arise from the slightest breaking out of quarrel. It 
 was not possible for him to send his men, unarmed as 
 they still were, to their homes, lest they should be 
 destroyed by the rebels ; yet the officers of the other 
 corps wished to have them ordered out of the town, 
 and to this effect joined in a memorial to government. 
 Some of these officers disliked my father, from diffe- 
 rences of electioneering interests ; others, from his not 
 having kept up an acquaintance with them; and 
 others, not knowing him in the least, were misled 
 by party reports and misrepresentations. 
 
 These petty dissensions were, however, at one 
 moment suspended and forgotten in a general sense 
 of danger. An express arrived late one night, with 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 373 
 
 the news that the French, who were rapidly ad- 
 vancing, were within a few miles of the town of 
 Longford. A panic seized the people. There were 
 in the town eighty of the carabineers and two corps 
 of yeomanry, but it was proposed to evacuate the 
 garrison. My father strongly opposed this measure, 
 and undertook, with fifty men, if arms and ammuni- 
 tion were supplied, to defend the gaol of Longford, 
 where there was a strong pass, at which the enemy 
 might be stopped. He urged, that a stand might be 
 made there, till the king's army should come up. 
 The offer was gladly accepted — men, arms, ammu- 
 nition, all he could want or desire, were placed at his 
 disposal. He slept that night in the gaol, with every 
 thing prepared for its defence ; but the next morning 
 fresh news came, that the French had turned off from 
 the Longford road, and were going towards Granard ; 
 of this, however, there was no certainty. My father, 
 by the desire of the commanding officer, rode out to 
 reconnoitre, and my brother went to the top of the 
 court-house w T ith a telescope for the same purpose. 
 We (Mrs. Edgeworth, my aunts, my sisters, and 
 myself) were waiting to hear the result in one of the 
 upper sitting-rooms of the inn, which fronted the 
 street. We heard a loud shout, and going to the 
 window, we saw the people throwing up their hats, 
 and heard huzzas. An express had arrived with 
 news, that the French and the rebels had been 
 beaten ; that General Lake had come up with them 
 at a place called Ballynamuck, near Granard ; that 
 1,500 rebels and French were killed, and that the 
 French generals and officers were prisoners. 
 
 We were impatient for my father, when we heard 
 this joyful news ; he had not yet returned, and we 
 
374 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 looked out of the windows in hopes of seeing him, 
 but we could see only a great number of the people 
 of the town, shaking hands with each other. This 
 lasted a few minutes, and then the crowd gathered in 
 silence round one man, who spoke with angry vehe- 
 mence and gesticulation ; stamping, and frequently 
 wiping his forehead. We thought he was a mounte- 
 bank haranguing the populace, till we saw, that he 
 wore a uniform. Listening with curiosity to make out 
 what he was saying, we observed, that he looked up 
 towards us, and we thought we heard him pronounce 
 the names of my father and brother in tones of 
 insult. We could scarcely believe what we heard 
 him say. Pointing up to the top of the court-house, 
 he exclaimed, 
 
 " That young Edgeworth ought to be dragged down 
 from the top of that house." Our housekeeper burst 
 into the room, so much terrified she could hardly speak. 
 
 " My master, ma'm — it is all against my master, 
 the mob say they will tear him to pieces, if they 
 catch hold of him. They say he's a traitor, that he 
 illuminated the gaol to deliver it up to the French." 
 
 No words can give an idea of our astonishment. 
 Illuminated ! what could be meant by the gaol being 
 illuminated ? My father had literally but two farthing 
 candles, by the light of which he had been reading 
 the newspaper late the preceding night. These how- 
 ever were said to be signals for the enemy ! The 
 absurdity of the whole was so glaring, that we could 
 scarcely conceive the danger to be real ; but our pale 
 landlady's fears were urgent, she dreaded that her 
 house should be pulled down. We found, that the 
 danger was not the less because the accusation Avas 
 false; on the contrary, it was great in proportion to its 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 375 
 
 absurdity, for the people who could at once be under 
 such a perversion of intellects, and such an illusion 
 of their senses, must indeed be in a state of frenzy. 
 
 The crowd had by this time removed from before 
 the windows ; but we heard, that they were gone to 
 that end of the town, through which they expected 
 Mr. Edgeworth to return. 
 
 We sent immediately to the commanding officer, 
 informing him of what we had heard, and requesting 
 his advice and assistance. He came to us, and 
 recommended, that we should despatch a messenger to 
 warn Mr. E. of his danger, and to request, that he 
 would not return to Longford this day. The officer 
 added, that, in consequence of the rejoicings for the 
 victory, his men would probably be all drunk in a 
 few hours, and that he could not answer for them. 
 This officer, a captain of yeomanry, was a good- 
 natured, but inefficient man, who spoke under con- 
 siderable nervous agitation, and seemed desirous to 
 do all he could, but not to be able to do any thing. 
 We wrote instantly, and with difficulty found a man, 
 who undertook to convey the note. It was to be 
 carried to meet him on one road, and Mrs. Edgeworth 
 and I determined to drive out to meet him on the 
 other. We made our way down to the inn yard, 
 where the carriage was ready. Several gentlemen 
 spoke to us as we got into the carriage, begging us 
 not to be alarmed : Mrs. Edgeworth answered, that 
 she was more surprised than alarmed. The com- 
 manding officer and the sovereign of Longford walked 
 by the side of the carriage through the town ; and as 
 the mob believed, that we were going away hot to 
 return, we got through without molestation. We 
 went a few miles on the road towards Edgeworth- 
 
3/6 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Town, till at a tenant's house we heard, that my 
 father had passed by half an hour ago ; that he was 
 riding in company with an officer, supposed to be of 
 Lord Cornwallis's or General Lake's army ; that they 
 had taken a short cut, which led into Longford by 
 another entrance. Most fortunately not that at 
 which an armed mob had assembled, expecting the 
 object of their fury. Seeing him return to the inn 
 with an officer of the king's army, they imagined, as 
 we were afterwards told, that he was brought back a 
 prisoner, and they were satisfied. 
 
 The moment we saw him safe, we laughed at our 
 own fears, and again doubted the reality of the danger, 
 more especially as he treated the idea with the utmost 
 incredulity and scorn. 
 
 Major (now General) Eustace was the officer who 
 returned with him. He dined with us ; every thing 
 appeared quiet. The persons who had taken refuge 
 at the inn were now gone to their homes, and it was 
 supposed, that, whatever dispositions to riot had 
 existed, the news of the approach of some of Lord 
 Cornwallis's suite, or of troops who were to bring in 
 the French prisoners, would prevent all probability of 
 disturbance. In the evening the prisoners arrived at 
 the inn ; a crowd followed them, but quietly. A 
 sun-burnt coarse looking man, in a huge cocked hat, 
 with a quantity of gold lace on his clothes, seemed 
 to fix all attention ; he was pointed out as the 
 French General Homberg, or Sarrazin. As he dis- 
 mounted from his horse, he threw the bridle over 
 its neck, and looked at the animal as if he felt that 
 he was his only friend. 
 
 We heard my father in the evening ask Major 
 Eustace, to walk with him through the town to the 
 
R.L.EDGEWOUTH, ESQ. 377 
 
 barrack yard to evening parade ; and we saw them go 
 out together, without our feeling the slightest appre- 
 hension. We remained at the inn. By this time 
 Col. Handheld, Major Cannon, and some other officers, 
 had arrived, and were at dinner in a parlour on the 
 ground-floor, under our room. It being hot weather, 
 the windows were open. Nothing now seemed to be 
 thought of but rejoicings for the victory. Candles 
 were preparing for an illumination ; waiters, chamber- 
 maids, landlady, all hands were busy scooping turnips 
 and potatoes for candlesticks, to stand in every pane 
 of every loyal window. 
 
 In the midst of this preparation about half an hour 
 after my father had left us, we heard a great uproar 
 in the street. At first we thought the shouts were 
 only rejoicings for victory, but as they came nearer 
 we heard screechings and yellings, indescribably 
 horrible. A mob had gathered at the gates of the 
 barrack-yard, and joined by many soldiers of the 
 yeomanry on leaving parade, had followed Major 
 Eustace and my father from the barracks. The major 
 being this evening in colored clothes, the people no 
 longer knew him to be an officer ; nor conceived, as 
 they had done before, that Mr. Edgeworth was his 
 prisoner. The mob had not contented themselves 
 with the horrid yells that we had heard, but had been 
 pelting them with hard turf, stones, and brickbats. 
 From one of these my father received a blow on 
 the side of his head, coming with such force as to 
 stagger, and almost to stun him ; but he kept him- 
 self up, knowing that if once he fell he should be 
 trampled under foot. He walked on steadily till he 
 came within a few yards of the inn, when one of the 
 mob seized hold of Major Eustace by the collar. 
 
378 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 My father seeing the windows of the inn open, called 
 with a loud voice, " Major Eustace is in danger!" 
 
 The officers who were at dinner, and who till that 
 moment had supposed the noise in the street to be 
 only drunken rejoicings, immediately ran out. At the 
 sight of British officers and drawn swords, the popu- 
 lace gave way, and dispersed in different directions. 
 
 The preparation for the illuminations then went on, 
 as if nothing had intervened. All the panes of our 
 windows in the front room were in a blaze of light by 
 the time the mob returned through the street. The 
 night passed without further disturbance. 
 
 As early as we could the next morning we left 
 Longford, aud returned homewards, all danger from 
 rebels being now over, the rebellion having been 
 terminated by the late battle. 
 
 When we came near Edge worth- Town, we saw 
 many well-known faces at the cabin doors, looking 
 out to welcome us. One man, who was sitting on the 
 bank of a ditch by the road side, when he looked up 
 as our horses passed, and saw my father, clasped his 
 hands and blessed our return ; his face, as the morning- 
 sun shone upon it, was the strongest picture of joy I 
 ever saw. The village was a melancholy spectacle ; 
 windows shattered, and doors broken. But though 
 the mischief done was great, there had been little 
 pillage. Within our gates we found all property safe ; 
 literally " not a twig touched, nor a leaf harmed." 
 Within the house every thing was as we had left 
 it — a map that we had been consulting was still 
 open on the library table, with pencils, and slips of 
 paper containing the lessons in arithmetic, in which 
 some of the young people had been engaged the 
 morning we had been driven from home ; a pansy, 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 379 
 
 in a glass of water, which one of the children had 
 been drawing, was still on the chimney-piece. These 
 trivial circumstances, marking repose and tranquillity, 
 struck us at this moment with an unreasonable sort 
 of surprise, and all that had passed seemed like an 
 incoherent dream. The joy of having my father in 
 safety remained, and gratitude to Heaven for his 
 preservation. These feelings spread inexpressible 
 pleasure over what seemed to be a new sense of 
 existence. Even the most common things appeared 
 delightful ; the green lawn, the still groves, the birds 
 singing, the fresh air, all external nature, and all the 
 goods and conveniences of life, seemed to have wonder- 
 fully increased in value, from the fear into which we 
 had been put of losing them irrecoverably. 
 
 The first thing my father did, the day we came 
 home, was to draw up a memorial to the Lord Lieu- 
 tenant, desiring to have a court-martial held on the 
 serjeant, who, by haranguing the populace, had raised 
 the mob at Longford ; his next care was to walk 
 through the village, to examine what damage had 
 been done by the rebels, and to order that repairs of 
 all his tenants' houses should be made at his expense. 
 A few days after our return, Government ordered 
 that the arms of the Edgeworth-Town infantry should 
 be forwarded by the commanding officer at Longford. 
 Through the whole of their hard week's trial, the 
 corps had, without any exception, behaved perfectly 
 well. It was perhaps more difficult to honest and 
 brave men passively to bear such a trial, than to 
 encounter any to which they could have been exposed 
 in action. 
 
 When the arms for the corps arrived, my father, 
 in delivering them to the men, thanked them publicly 
 
380 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 for their conduct, assuring them, that he would re- 
 member it, whenever he should have opportunities 
 of serving them, collectively or individually. In long 
 after years, as occasions arose, each, who continued 
 to deserve it, found in him a friend, and felt that 
 he more than fulfilled his promise. Looking back 
 upon suspicions and accusations, now that events had 
 decided upon guilt and innocence, and had shown 
 who were, and w T ho were not, implicated in this 
 rebellion, he had the satisfaction of feeling, that, 
 though he had trusted much, he had seldom trusted 
 rashly. In some instances he w r as deceived. — Who 
 in Ireland at that time can boast, that he was not ? 
 Some few, very few indeed, of his tenantry, on a 
 remote estate — alas too near Ballynamuck, did join 
 the rebels ! These persons were never readmitted on 
 my father's estate. But it was difficult in certain 
 cases to know what ought to be done : for instance, 
 with regard to the man who had saved our house 
 from pillage, but who had certainly been joined with 
 the rebels. It was the wise policy of Government, 
 to pardon those, who had not been ringleaders in 
 this rebellion ; and who, repenting of their folly, 
 were desirous to return to their allegiance, and to 
 their peaceable duties. My father sent for this 
 man, and said he would apply to government for a 
 pardon for him. The man smiled, and clapping his 
 pocket said, " I have my Corny here safe already, I 
 thank your Honour — else sure I would not have 
 been such a fool, as to be shewing myself without I 
 had a purtection." — A pardon, signed by the Lord 
 Lieutenant, Lord Cornwallis, in their witty spirit of 
 abbreviation, they called a Corny. 
 
 When my father said, that, however much we 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 381 
 
 were obliged to him for saving the house, we could 
 not reward him for being a rebel ; he answered, 
 " Oh, I know that I could not expect it, nor look 
 for any thing at all, but what I got — thanks." 
 With these words he went away, satisfied that though 
 my father gave him nothing at this time his honor 
 would never forget him. 
 
 A considerable time afterward my father, finding 
 that the man conducted himself well, took an oppor- 
 tunity of serving him. Rewards my father thought 
 fully as necessary and as efficacious as punishments, 
 for the good government of human creatures : there- 
 fore he took especial care, not only to punish those 
 who had done ill, but to reward, as far as he could, 
 all who had done well. 
 
 Before we quit this subject, it may be useful to 
 record, that the French generals, who headed this 
 invasion, declared they had been completely deceived 
 as to the state of Ireland. They had expected to 
 find the people in open rebellion, or, at least, in their 
 own phrase, organised for insurrection ; but to their 
 dismay, they found only ragamuffins, canaille, as they 
 called them, who, in joining their standard, did them 
 infinitely more harm than good. It is a pity, that 
 the lower Irish could not hear the contemptuous 
 manner in which the French, both officers and sol- 
 diers, spoke of them and of their country. The 
 generals described the stratagems, which had been 
 practised upon them by their good allies. The same 
 rebels frequently returning with different tones and 
 new stories, to obtain double and treble provisions of 
 arms, ammunition, and uniforms — selling the ammu- 
 nition for whiskey, and running away at the first fire 
 in the day of battle. The French, detesting and 
 
382 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 despising those by whom they had been thus cheated, 
 pillaged, and deserted, called them beggars, rascals, 
 and savages. The} r cursed also without scruple 
 their own Directory, for sending them, after they 
 had, as they boasted, conquered the world, to be 
 at last beaten in an Irish bog. Officers and soldiers 
 joined in swearing, that they would never return to 
 a country, where they could find neither bread, 
 wine, nor discipline ; and where the people lived 
 on roots, whiskey, and lying. 
 
 These, as my father observed, were comfortable 
 words for Ireland. National antipathy thus felt 
 and expressed between the invaders and the Irish 
 malcontents, would be better security for the future 
 quiet and safety of the country even than the 
 victory. Full of these thoughts, unconcerned about 
 himself, and in excellent spirits, he succeeded in turn- 
 ning our attention to new objects. The Longford 
 mob completely vanished from our imagination. Re- 
 flecting upon what had passed, my father drew from 
 it one useful conclusion for his own future conduct — 
 that he ought to mix more with society, and make 
 himself more generally known in Ireland. 
 
 At all times it is disadvantageous to those who 
 have the reputation of being men of superior abilities, 
 to seclude themselves from the world. It raises a 
 belief, that they despise those with whom they do 
 not associate ; and this supposed contempt creates 
 real aversion. The being accused of pride or singu- 
 larity may not, perhaps, in the estimation of some 
 lofty spirits and independent characters, appear too 
 great a price to pay for liberty and leisure ; they 
 may care little if they be misunderstood or mis- 
 represented by the vulgar ; they trust to truth 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, Esq. 383 
 
 and time, to do them justice. This may be all 
 well in ordinary life, and in peaceable days : but 
 in civil commotions, the best and the wisest, if 
 he have not made himself publickly known so as 
 to connect himself with the interests and feelings 
 of his neighbours, will find none to answer for 
 his character, if it be attacked, or to warn him 
 of the secret machinations of his enemies ; none 
 who on any sudden emergency will risk their 
 own safety in his defence : he may fall, and be 
 trampled upon by numbers, simply because it is 
 nobody's business or pleasure to rally to his aid. 
 Time and reason may right his character, and may 
 bring all who have injured, or all who have mistaken 
 him to repentance and shame, but in the interval 
 he must suffer — he may perish. There is no ab- 
 surdity of ignorance, or grossness of calumny, from 
 which he may hope to be secure. He may be 
 conceived to be a traitor, because he would not be 
 a tyrant ; he may be called a rebel, for offering to 
 defend a loyal garrison ; and may well nigh be torn 
 to pieces by a mob, for having read the newspapers 
 by two farthing candles. 
 
384 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Government, having at this time the union between 
 Great Britain and Ireland in contemplation, were 
 desirous, that the Irish aristocracy and country 
 gentlemen should be convinced of the kingdom's 
 insufficiency to her own defence, either against inva- 
 sion or internal insurrection ; with this view it was 
 politic to let the different parties struggle with each 
 other till they completely felt their weakness and 
 their danger. It was said, with what justice I do 
 not presume to determine, that with this view the 
 Orange-men and United Irishmen, the Ribbon-men, 
 the Thrashers, the Croppies, the Caravats, the 
 Shanavats, or by whatever other names, more savage 
 or more ridiculous, they called themselves, were 
 let loose upon each other. It is certain, that 
 the combinations of the disaffected at home, and 
 the advance of foreign invaders, were not checked 
 till the peril became imminent, and till the purpose 
 of creating universal alarm had been fully effected. 
 As soon as the Lord Lieutenant, who was at that 
 time commander in chief, exerted his full military 
 and civil power, the invaders were defeated, and 
 the rebellion was extinguished. The nightly depre- 
 dations, and the nocturnal scouring of the country 
 ceased ; the dogs of war were recalled, and the havoc 
 ended. Those would-be-soldiers, who under the cry 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 385 
 
 of loyalty, had become hunters of men, found their 
 occupation gone. They were obliged to recur to their 
 former sports, and, in the uniform of a hunt, instead 
 of the uniform of a military corps, to content them- 
 selves with pursuing no " other game than beast or 
 bird." The petty magisterial tyrants, who had been 
 worse than vain of their little brief authority, were 
 put down, or rather, being no longer upheld, sunk 
 to their original and natural insignificance. The 
 laws returned to their due course ; and, with justice, 
 security and tranquillity were restored. 
 
 My father used his utmost endeavours to obliterate 
 all that could tend to perpetuate ill-will in the 
 country, and in his own case set the example of 
 forgiveness. 
 
 It is a pervading sentiment with the poor that legal 
 revenge is one of the sweetest luxuries, which wealth 
 puts in the power of their superiors in station. 
 Assuredly my father did some service in his neigh- 
 bourhood, by shewing, that it was not among the 
 number of his luxuries, and by discountenancing the 
 habit of indulging in this perverted taste. 
 
 The lower Irish are such acute observers, that there 
 is no deceiving them as to the state of the real feel- 
 ings of their superiors. They know the signs of what 
 passes within, more perfectly than any physiognomist, 
 who ever studied the human face, or human head. 
 Combining quickly every circumstance in the man- 
 ners, gestures, and slightest actions, of those, whom it 
 is their interest to study ; the result is, that the ruling, 
 or the reigning passion can scarcely escape their 
 detection. It was soon seen, however, by all of 
 those who had an}^ connexion with him, that my 
 father was sincere in his disdain of vengeance, — of 
 
 2 c 
 
386 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 this they had convincing proof in his refusing to 
 listen to the tales of slander, which many were 
 ready to pour into his ear, against those who had 
 appeared to be his enemies. Even in his determi- 
 nation to have a public trial of the man who had 
 instigated the Longford mob, they saw that this 
 was only for the sake of justice, and not from any 
 paltry motives of personal resentment. This was 
 proved by his conduct in the course of the trial. As 
 soon as it became apparent that this man was a mere 
 ignorant enthusiast, who had been worked up to 
 phrenzy by persons more designing than himself; and 
 as soon as he shewed that he was penitent, and 
 ashamed of what he had done, my father would not 
 press the evidence against him, but ordered his 
 counsel to desist, and to let the poor culprit be 
 acquitted. 
 
 The judge who presided at the trial was Sir Michael 
 Smith, whose charge was able and eloquent ; honour- 
 able to himself as it was to my father. 
 
 His thoughts were soon called from this affair to 
 that most important question, which it was expected 
 would be discussed at the approaching meeting of 
 Parliament — of the union between England and 
 Ireland. 
 
 On the subject of the union he had not yet been 
 able, in parliamentary phrase, to make up his mind ; 
 he went to the house in that state, in which so 
 many profess to find themselves, and so few ever 
 really are, anxious to hear the arguments on both 
 sides, and open to be decided by whoever could shew 
 him that, which was best for his country. 
 
 The debate on the first proposal of the union was 
 protracted to an unusual length, and when he rose to 
 
R. L. EDGEAVOBTH, ESQ. 387 
 
 speak, it was late at night, or rather it was early in 
 the morning, two o'clock — the house had been so 
 wearied, that many of the members were asleep. It 
 was an inauspicious moment. No person present, not 
 even the speaker, who was his intimate friend, could 
 tell on which side he would vote. — Curiosity was 
 excited: some of the outstretched members w r ere 
 roused by their neighbours, whose anxiety to know 
 on which side Mr. E. would vote prompted them to 
 encourage him to proceed. Curiosity was kept alive 
 as he went on ; and when people perceived, that it 
 was not a set speech, they became more and more 
 interested. Stating his doubts just as they really 
 occurred, balancing the arguments as he threw them 
 by turns into each scale, and as they balanced one 
 another in his judgment, the doubtful beam nodded 
 from side to side, while all watched to see when its 
 vibrations would settle. Both parties w r ere in good 
 humour, because each expected to have him their 
 own at last. After stating many arguments in favour 
 of what appeared to him to be the advantages of the 
 union, he ended by declaring that he must give his 
 vote against it, because, he said, he had been con- 
 vinced by what he had heard in that house this night, 
 that the union was at this moment decidedly against 
 the wishes of the great majority of men of sense and 
 property in the nation. He added, that if, at the 
 final discussion of the question, he should be con- 
 vinced that the opinion of the country was changed, 
 his vote would be in favour of the union. 
 
 One of the anti-unionists, who happened not to 
 know my father personally, imagined from his accent, 
 style, and manner of speaking, that he was an English- 
 man ; and accused Government of having brought a 
 
 2 c 2 
 
388 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 new member over from England, to impose him upon 
 the house as an impartial country gentleman, who was 
 to make a pretence of liberality by giving a vote against 
 the union, while by arguing in its favour, he was to 
 make converts for the measure. Many on the minis- 
 terial bench, who had still hopes, that on a future 
 occasion Mr. E. might be convinced, and brought to 
 vote with them, complimented him highly, declaring 
 that they were completely surprised, when they learnt 
 how he voted ; for that undoubtedly the best argu- 
 ments on their side of the question had been pro- 
 duced in his speech. 
 
 This session my father had the satisfaction of 
 turning the attention of the house to a subject, which 
 he considered to be of greater and more permanent 
 importance than the union, or than any merely 
 political measure could prove to his country, the 
 education of the people. By his exertions, a select 
 committee was appointed, and they adopted the 
 resolutions drawn up by him. When the report of 
 this committee was brought up to the house, my 
 father spoke at large upon the subject, and leave was 
 granted to bring in a bill for the improvement of 
 the education of the people of Ireland ; from this 
 proceeded, after the Irish Parliament was no more, 
 the appointment of a Board and Commissioners of 
 Education. 
 
 The following letters to Dr. Darwin will shew the 
 effect produced by a political campaign on my father's 
 private feelings : 
 
 « March 12, 1799. 
 
 " MY DEAR DOCTOR, 
 
 " One morning in the year 1791, when you were confined to 
 your bed, and asked me to come into your room at Derby to take 
 leave of you, you told me, that if ever I went into Parliament I 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 389 
 
 should be torn to pieces by the teeth and fangs of the parliamen- 
 tary leaders ; but in truth, my dear Doctor, I have found them 
 very harmless creatures as to myself individually, though I 
 acknowledge, that some of them can tear their country to pieces 
 with all possible ferocity. 
 
 " I then told you I was not ambitious, and I continue to be of 
 the same opinion. For though I have not been entirely unsuc- 
 cessful in gaining the attention of the House, I do not feel one 
 jot the more disposed to become a commissioner of the revenue, 
 a sinecure placeman, or a pensioner. 
 
 " In the shock of contending parties, seizing a moment of tem- 
 porary calm, I found an opportunity of laying the foundation of a 
 system of education, by which the wretched poor of this country 
 may in time be rendered less savage. * * * 
 
 " God bless you, my dear Doctor, and keep all evil from you, 
 from your good and amiable lady, and from your giant brood. 
 
 " Yours, affectionately, 
 
 " R. L. E." 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 " March 31, 1800. 
 
 " MY DEAR AND EXCELLENT FRIEND, 
 
 " Words which are not meant as a mere translation of ' vir 
 excellentissime] but which really express my feelings and opinions. 
 I have been absent from home upon the business of the nation. 
 The fatigue of the session was enormous. I am a unionist, but 
 I vote and speak against the union now proposed to us — as to 
 my reasons, are they not published in the reports of our de- 
 bates ? &c. 
 
 " It is intended to force this measure down the throats of the 
 Irish, though five sixths of the nation are against it. Now, 
 though I think such a union as would identify the nations, so as 
 that Ireland should be as Yorkshire to Great Britain, would be 
 an excellent thing ; yet I also think, that the good people of 
 Ireland ought to be persuaded of this truth, and not to be dra- 
 gooned into submission. 
 
 " The minister avows, that seventy-two boroughs are to be 
 compensated — i. e. bought by the people of Ireland with one 
 million and a half of their own money ; and he makes this legal 
 by a small majority, made up chiefly of these very borough mem- 
 bers. When thirty-eight county members out of sixty-four are 
 against the measure, and twenty-eight counties out of thirty-tico 
 
390 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 have petitioned against it, this is such abominable corruption, 
 that it makes our parliamentary sanction worse than ridiculous. 
 
 " I had the honour of offering, for myself and for a large 
 number of other gentlemen, that, if the minister could by any 
 means win the nation to the measure, and shew us even a small 
 preponderance in his favour, we would vote with him. 
 
 " So far for politics. I had a charming opportunity of advanc- 
 ing myself and my family, but I did not think it wise to quarrel 
 with myself, and lose my own good opinion at my time of life. 
 "What did lie in my way for my vote I will not say, but I stated 
 in my place in the House, that I had been offered 3000 guineas 
 for my seat during the few remaining weeks of the session. 
 
 " Maria continues writing for children, under the persuasion 
 that she cannot be employed more serviceably. 
 
 " I shall now resume my pen, with the same sincere intention 
 of being useful, and I shall write and draw Mechanoiconomia, or a 
 Description of Machinery for Domestic Purposes. 
 
 " I have not yet received the whole of Phytologia. Not one 
 copy has yet made its appearance in Ireland. 
 
 " I am just going, at the desire of a national institution, similar 
 to your Board of Agriculture, to begin an Agricultural, Economic, 
 and Statistic Account of this County, in which I shall make free 
 with your information. — By the by, I used your name in two 
 debates this session Avith effect. 
 
 " Yours, 
 
 " R. L. E." 
 
 To the view which his letters exhibit of his senti- 
 ments freshly given to his most intimate friend, at 
 the moment when this political question of the union 
 was first discussed, I add the following pages, written 
 by my father many years afterwards : — (in 1817,) 
 
 " I was in the Irish Parliament, when the question of a legis- 
 lative union between Great Britain and Ireland was finally dis- 
 cussed. The part which I took may be known, by the speeches 
 which I then published. One of these is miserably reported, 
 appearing to be faulty both in sense and grammar; they are, 
 however, sufficient to enable my children to decide upon the con- 
 sistency of my conduct, which has, I hope, never deviated from 
 what appeared to me to be right and honorable. The influence 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 39 1 
 
 of the Crown was never so strongly exerted as upon this occasion. 
 It is but justice, however, to Lord Cornwallis and Lord Castle- 
 reagh, to give it as my opinion, that they began this measure with 
 sanguine hopes, that they could convince the reasonable part of 
 the community, that a cordial union between the two countries 
 would essentially advance the interests of both. When, however, 
 the ministry found themselves in a minority, and that a spirit of 
 general opposition was rising in the country, a member of the 
 House, who had been long practised in parliamentary intrigues, 
 had the audacity to tell Lord Castlereagh from his place, that, ' if 
 he did not employ the usual means of persuasion on the members 
 of the House, he would fail in his attempt, and that the sooner he 
 set about it the better.' 
 
 " This advice was followed ; and it was well known, what 
 benches were filled with the proselytes, that had been made by 
 the convincing arguments, which obtained a majority. In one of 
 the last sittings of the last session of the last Parliament of freland, 
 a distinguished member said he would not sit in that House, to 
 hear its death-warrant read from the chair. It was expected, that 
 he would go out of the House at the close of this speech. When 
 he sat down*, I rose from my seat, went to the bar, and bowing 
 to the Chair, withdrew ; I was followed by Mr. George Pon- 
 sonby, and by some other members, whose names I do not now 
 remember." 
 
 Temptations were held out to my father in every 
 possible form, in which they could flatter personal 
 ambition or family interest ; he had offers of all 
 that could serve or oblige his dearest friends, and 
 choice of situations, in which he might, as it was 
 said, gratify his peculiar tastes, serve his country, 
 and accomplish his favourite object of improving the 
 education of the people. Opportunity for convenient 
 
 * Note by the Editor. 
 
 I shewed these pages, Sept. 1817, to Mr. Porster, (the Speaker 
 of the L-ish House of Commons) ; and I asked whether he remem- 
 bered this circumstance : he assured me, that it was perfectly in 
 his recollection. M. E. 
 
392 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 distinctions in his case appeared also ; since he was 
 avowedly of opinion, that the measure in question 
 would be ultimately advantageous to this country, 
 though he thought the means of carrying it, and the 
 forcing it, at this time, contrary to the sense of the 
 people, was wrong. But, however plausible, he 
 would not admit of any such nice casuistry in a 
 case of conscience ; he would not palter with the 
 fiend Ambition. 
 
E. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 393 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 In the spring of 1799 he went to England. He 
 visited his old friends Mr. Keir, Mr. Watt, Dr. Darwin, 
 and Mr. William Strutt of Derby. 
 
 In passing through different parts of the country 
 he saw, and delighted in shewing us, every thing 
 curious and interesting in art and nature. Travelling, 
 he used to say, was from time to time necessary, to 
 change the course of ideas, and to prevent the growth 
 of local prejudices. 
 
 He paid his respects to his friend Sir Joseph 
 Banks, attended the meetings of the Royal Society, 
 and met various old acquaintance, whom he had 
 formerly known abroad ; — some of them persons of 
 rank and fortune, who, since he had seen them, had 
 much improved from the wildness of youth, and now 
 appeared with mature and sedate characters. He 
 saw also others, whom he had known formerly on the 
 continent, some who had been the tutors or travelling 
 companions of these young noblemen ; and who 
 having risen by literature to fame and affluence, 
 were equal, at least in consideration, to those, who, 
 by birth, had been so much their superiors. All 
 these persons recognized my father with cordial 
 pleasure, recollecting every circumstance of his work? 
 
394 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 at Lyons, of his conduct there, and of the high esti- 
 mation in which he had been held. These testimonies 
 were peculiarly agreeable coming home to his children 
 and family. Accidental recurrence of the recollection 
 of the friends of a man's youth, and the witnesses of 
 what he has done, and has been, at different periods, 
 should be noticed in every life, as a source of pain or 
 pleasure, self-complacency or self-reproach. 
 
 My father's having become an author put it in his 
 power, during this journey, to enlarge his acquaintance 
 in the English literary world. Many men of learning, 
 whom he had formerly known, recognized him with 
 satisfaction, and introduced him to several contem- 
 porary authors. Among the friends he formed during 
 this summer in England, and in consequence of the 
 publication of his sentiments on education, was 
 Mrs. Barbauld. Her writings he had long admired 
 for their classical strength and elegance, for their high 
 and true tone of moral and religious feeling, and for 
 their practically useful tendency. She gratified 
 him by accepting an invitation, to pass some time 
 with us at Clifton ; and ever afterwards, though at 
 a great distance from each other, her constant friend- 
 ship for him was a source of great pleasure and just 
 pride. 
 
 While we were at Clifton, when Mrs. Edgeworth 
 was recovering after the birth of her first child, her 
 two brothers, the Rev. William Beaufort, and Captain 
 Beaufort*, of the Royal Navy (whom my father had 
 never seen before), came to visit her. It seldom 
 happens, that, when two large families are connected 
 
 * Now Hydrographer to the Admiralty. Author of "Kara- 
 mania — a survey and description of the South Coast of Asia 
 Minor." 
 
R.L.EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 395 
 
 by marriage, they suit each other in every branch of 
 the connexion. My father's and Mrs. Edge worth's 
 families were both numerous, and among such numbers, 
 even granting the dispositions to be excellent, and the 
 understandings cultivated, the chances were against 
 their suiting ; but, happily, all the individuals of the 
 two families, though of various talents, ages, and 
 characters, did from their first acquaintance, coalesce. 
 
 After he had lost such a friend as Mr. Day, so 
 tried, so faithful, of such superior abilities, of 
 such a generous, noble character, who could have 
 dared to hope, that he should ever have found 
 another equally deserving to possess his whole 
 confidence and affection ? yet such a one it pleased 
 God to give him — and to give him in the brother of 
 his wife. And never man felt more strongly grateful 
 for the double blessing. To Captain Beaufort he 
 became as much attached, as he had ever been to Lord 
 Longford, or to Mr. Day. 
 
 His father-in-law, Dr. Beaufort, was also particularly 
 agreeable to him as a companion, and useful as a 
 friend. 
 
 In the year 1802, at the time of the short peace, 
 man}' travellers, who had visited the continent, returned 
 enraptured with Paris. Letters and visits from some 
 of these, excited my father's curiosity and interest ; 
 he was charmed by their accounts of the literary and 
 scientific society in France. He wished to see their 
 public institutions, and was very desirous, that Mrs.E.'s 
 taste for painting should be gratified by the sight of 
 the superb gallery of the Louvre, were the master- 
 pieces of the finest artists, torn from their native 
 countries, had been forced into one spot ; the spoils 
 
396 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of military despotism gracing the triumph of republican 
 liberty. 
 
 Among the foreigners, who came to England about 
 this time, was Professor Pictet * of Geneva, brother of 
 the editor of the Journal Britannique, who translated 
 Practical Education, and with whom my father had 
 had some correspondence on the subject. Professor 
 Pictet visited Ireland, and came to Edgeworthstown. 
 He decided us to go abroad, by the kind offers of 
 introduction to numerous literary friends at Paris ; a 
 tour was arranged for the ensuing Autumn, and the 
 pleasure of revisiting some of his old English friends, 
 Dr. Darwin in particular, was full in his contemplation, 
 when he received the following letter. 
 
 FROM DR DARWIN. 
 
 Priory, near Derby, April 17, 1802. 
 
 " DEAR EDGEWORTH, 
 
 " I am glad to find, that you still amuse yourself with mechanism, 
 in spite of the troubles of Ireland. 
 
 " The use of turning aside, or downwards, the claw of a table, 
 I don't see ; as it must then be reared against a wall, for it will not 
 stand alone. If the use be for carriage, the feet may shut up, 
 like the usual brass feet of a reflecting telescope. 
 
 " We have all been now removed from Derby about a fortnight, 
 to the Priory, and all of us like our change of situation. "We have 
 a pleasant house, a good garden, ponds full of fish, and a pleasing 
 valley somewhat like Shenstone's — deep, umbrageous, and with a 
 talkative stream running down it. Our house is near the top of 
 the valley, well screened by hills from the east, and north, and open 
 to the south, where, at four miles distance, we see Derby tower. 
 
 " Four or more strong springs rise near the house, and have 
 formed the valley, which, like that of Petrarch, may be called 
 Vol chiusa, as it begins, or is shut,at the situation of the house. I 
 hope you like the description, and hope farther, that yourself and 
 any part of your family will sometime do us the pleasure of a visit. 
 
 * Author of " Voyage en Angleterre." 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 39/ 
 
 " Pray tell the authoress, that the water-nymphs of our valley 
 will be happy to assist her next novel. 
 
 " My bookseller, Mr. Johnson, will not begin to print the Temple 
 of Nature, till the price of paper is fixed by Parliament. I suppose 
 the present duty is paid ****** 
 
 At these words Dr. Darwin's pen stopped. What 
 follows was written on the opposite side of the paper 
 by another hand. 
 
 " Sir, 
 " This family is in the greatest affliction. I am truly grieved 
 to inform you of the death of the invaluable Dr. Darwin. 
 Dr. Darwin got up apparently in health ; about eight o'clock, he 
 rang the library bell. The servant, who went, said, he appeared 
 fainting. He revived again, — Mrs. Darwin was immediately called. 
 The Doctor spoke often, but soon appeared fainting ; and died about 
 nine o'clock. 
 
 " Our dear Mrs. Darwin and family are inconsolable : their 
 affliction is great indeed, there being few such husbands or fathers. 
 He will be most deservedly lamented by all, who had the honor to 
 be known to him. 
 
 " I remain, Sir, 
 
 " Your obedient humble Servant, 
 " S.M. 
 
 " P. S. — This letter was begun this morning by Dr. Darwin 
 himself." 
 
 The shock, which my father felt, must in some 
 degree be experienced by every person, who reads 
 this letter, where the playfulness of the beginning 
 is in such awful contrast to the end. 
 
 As it had happened after the loss of his friend 
 Mr. Day, my father was after the death of Dr. 
 Darwin called upon by his widow, to write the life 
 of this still more celebrated friend. In Mrs. Dar- 
 win's wish his sons strongly joined ; but difficulties 
 occurred, the intended publication was forestalled by 
 the appearance of Miss Seward's Memoirs of Darwin. 
 
398 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Of these, and of the general merit of the biographer, 
 and of the poet, the public have necessarily formed 
 their judgment ; but there occurred one point, 
 which, as it depends much on private opinion and 
 evidence, seemed subject to appeal ; and as it affects 
 more the moral character than the literary fame of 
 Darwin, appeared to call for the vindication of friend- 
 ship. The following letter was addressed to one, 
 whose generous spirit my father loved even more 
 than he admired that genius, which all the world of 
 literature reveres. 
 
 TO WALTER SCOTT. 
 
 " Edgeworths-toivn, 
 " dear sir, Feb. 3d, 1812. 
 
 " Scales and the sword are emblems as properly suited to the 
 chair of the critic, as to the seat of the municipal justice. I do 
 not therefore hesitate to represent to your court, that an imputa- 
 tion against the fairness of Dr. Darwin's character as an author 
 has been sanctioned by your tribunal, without sufficient evidence 
 to support it. 
 
 " It had been said by Miss Seward, that the Doctor had inserted 
 some of her poetry in his Botanic Garden, without making any 
 acknowledgment of his having received it from her ; and hence it 
 is concluded, that he meant to pass her verses for his own. 
 
 " I was at Lichfield when the lines in question were written 
 by Miss Seward, and I considered them as complimentary to the 
 Doctor, but not as an offering of assistance. The Doctor had not 
 at that time formed the scheme of the Botanic Garden ; but many 
 of the lines, which it contains, had been seen by his friends, 
 several years before the garden, which became the theme of his 
 poetry, was in existence. Doctor Darwin composed and wrote the 
 detached pictures in his poem, as he travelled in his carriage 
 among his patients ; and these lines were shown from time to 
 time to his intimate acquaintance, before they were arranged, 
 as they now appear, in one collection. Among these friends 
 I had the honor to be ranked ; and for one, I steadily com- 
 bated his intention of giving to them the form and name, which 
 are before the public. I suggested the scheme of a poetical 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 399 
 
 pantheon, to which the Doctor listened ; hut he could not prevail 
 upon himself to untwine the amatorial bands, by which he had 
 married the lovesick beings of his vegetable world. 
 
 " When I received the printed copy of his work, I expressed my 
 surprise at seeing Miss Seward's lines at the beginning of the 
 poem. He replied, that it was a compliment, which he thought 
 himself bound to pay to the lady, though the verses were not of 
 the same tenor as his own. 
 
 " Miss Seward's ode to Captain Cook stands deservedly high in 
 the public opinion. Now, to my certain knowledge, most of the 
 passages, which have been selected in the various reviews of that 
 work, were written by Doctor Darwin. Indeed they bear such 
 strong internal marks of the Doctor's style of composition, that 
 they may easily be distinguished by any reader, who will take the 
 trouble to select them. I remember them distinctly to have been 
 his, and to have read them aloud before Miss Seward and Doctor 
 Darwin, in presence of Sir Brooke Boothby, who will corroborate 
 my assertion. 
 
 " I knew the late Doctor Darwin well, and it was as far from 
 his temper and habits, as it was unnecessary to his acquirements, 
 to beg, borrow, or steal from any person upon earth. 
 
 " The indifference of friends to living friends is frequently to be 
 deplored. Fewer still will risk any thing, to support the fame of the 
 deceased. I cannot however refrain from endeavouring, to rescue 
 the moral character of a friend, when it is in my power to give 
 perfect evidence, that it has been misrepresented. If I can by 
 any means rescue Dr. Darwin's name from an unmerited censure, 
 I shall think that I have done for him, what, in a similar situation, 
 I am sure he would have done for me. 
 " I have the honor to be, 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " Your most obedient servant, 
 
 " Rich. Lovell Edgeworth." 
 
400 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 In the autumn of 1802, my father, with Mrs. Edge- 
 worth, my sisters Emmeline and Charlotte, and 
 myself, went to England, where, in October, 1802, 
 my sister Emmeline was married to John King, Esq., 
 and settled at Clifton. Charlotte, who was then 
 according to the description of a celebrated foreigner, 
 " jeune personne de seize ans, jolie, fralche comme la 
 rose" accompanied us to Paris. 
 
 In passing through England we went to Derby, and 
 to the Priory, to which we had been so kindly invited 
 by him who was now no more. The Priory was all 
 stillness, melancholy, and mourning. It was a painful 
 visit, yet not without satisfaction ; for my father's 
 affectionate manner seemed to soothe the widow and 
 daughters of his friend, who were deeply sensible of 
 the respect and zealous regard he shewed for Dr. 
 Darwin's memory. 
 
 We pursued our journey to France, and, after a 
 delightful tour through the Low Countries, arrived 
 at Paris, where we were to spend the winter. In the 
 Hotel, Place de Louise Quinze, to which we drove 
 on entering Paris, my father was fortunate in meeting 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 401 
 
 with his illustrious friend, Mr. Watt.* To him he 
 owed an introduction to many foreigners of celebrity. 
 M. Pictet had, as we found, in the most friendly 
 manner prepared the way for us at Paris ; and there 
 he more than kept all his promises of assistance, and 
 of introduction to his numerous literary acquaintance, 
 and to a highly cultivated and agreeable society. He 
 was not in Paris on our arrival ; but we had, among 
 other kind friends, in particular the venerable Abbe 
 Morellet. During my father's former residence in 
 France, at the time when he was engaged in directing 
 the works of the Rhone and Saone at Lyons, as he 
 mentions in his Memoirs, he wrote a treatise on the 
 construction of mills. He wished that D'Alembert 
 should read it, to verify the mathematical calculations, 
 and for this purpose he had put it into the hands of 
 Morellet. D'Alembert approved of the essay ; and 
 my father became advantageously known to Morellet 
 as a man of science, and as one who had gratuitously 
 and honorably conducted a useful work in France. 
 His predominating taste thus continued, as in former 
 times, its influence, and was still a connecting link 
 between him and new and old friends. 
 
 The Abbe Morellet, on renewing his acquaintance 
 with my father, found, that the vivacity, frankness 
 and candour of both their dispositions made them 
 particularly suited to each other. An intimacy im- 
 
 * Since this page was written, Mr. Watt died ; a hand equal to 
 do justice to his merits, has already given to the public a character 
 of him, who among men of invention and science, is universally 
 considered as the most illustrious of the age, and who in domestic 
 life, has been equally esteemed and beloved for his amiable temper, 
 unassuming manners, and for that simplicity of nature which is 
 one of the characteristics of superior genius. 
 
 2 D 
 
402 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 mediately commenced. It began, however, by a 
 warm debate at a literary breakfast, where an argu- 
 ment arose on the exact meaning of the words 
 perfectibilite and perfectionnement. To the astonish- 
 ment of the company, my father, a stranger, a 
 foreigner, speaking the French language but imper- 
 fectly, maintained his opinion against le doyen de 
 la litterature Frangoise. Instead of being offended, 
 the venerable and amiable Abbe wrote him a note 
 early the next morning, acknowledging, that, upon 
 examining the authorities, he found himself in the 
 wrong, and from this time forward he kindly paid 
 my father and his family all possible attention. The 
 high character which Morellet bore, not only for 
 learning and sound judgment, but for moral courage 
 and for the bold consistency of his conduct through 
 the whole of the Revolution, gave him the highest 
 influence in that society in Paris, to which we were 
 ambitious of being introduced, and which was com- 
 posed of all that remained of the ancient men of 
 letters, and of the most valuable of the nobility. 
 
 We felt in this society all the charms of Parisian 
 conversation, the polish and ease, which in its best 
 days distinguished it from that of any other capital. 
 Most grateful my father felt at the time, and long 
 continued to feel, for the kindness and confidence, 
 with which we were treated by many, whom it would 
 gratify, not merely my vanity, but my desire to do 
 honor to his memory, here to enumerate. But 
 knowing well their sentiments on this point, I 
 refrain. 
 
 I may, however, without impropriety, be permitted 
 to name those, who, by their stations and talents 
 having publicly distinguished themselves, are in fact 
 
K. L.EDOEWOUTII, ESQ. 403 
 
 public characters. My father had not only an oppor- 
 tunity of becoming acquainted with the French lite- 
 rati, but with most of the celebrated men of science ; 
 particularly civil engineers, and men of invention and 
 skill in mechanics. — M. de Prony, who was then at 
 the head of les Ponis et Chaussees, shewed him in the 
 best manner all that to a well-informed engineer was 
 most worthy of notice in the Repository of that cele- 
 brated School ; put him in the way of seeing every 
 other invention, object, and person, in the mechanical 
 and engineering department ; but, above all, he felt 
 grateful for M . de Prony's giving him so much of his 
 own conversation, and for various indubitable proofs 
 of private esteem and confidence. 
 
 Le Breton, then one of the principal officers at the 
 Mint, is, as I am informed, at present at the Brazils : 
 if so, there is little chance that the lines I am now 
 writing should ever be seen by him ; but, if they 
 should meet his eye, may they convey to his heart 
 the assurance, that my father, as long as he lived, 
 remembered him with gratitude, and bequeathed that 
 sentiment to his surviving family ! 
 
 Berthollet, Montgolner, and Breguet, gratified him 
 by bestowing that gift, of which philosophers and 
 men of science, occupied upon great objects, and 
 independent of common society, best know the value 
 — their time. It was at this period, that we 
 first became acquainted with our excellent friend, 
 M. Dumont. 
 
 This gentleman, so well known by his conversa- 
 tional talents and his exquisite critical acumen, has 
 entitled himself to the gratitude of the literary and 
 political world in general, and of Englishmen in par- 
 ticular, b} r the successful pains he has bestowed in 
 
404 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 arranging, elucidating, and making known to the 
 continent of Europe several valuable English works,* 
 — works, which, notwithstanding their depth of 
 thought and extent of views, would never have 
 acquired popularity, if they had not been re-written 
 in M. Dumont's clear and forcible style. 
 
 From the commencement of their friendship in 
 1802, my father continued to correspond with 
 M. Dumont ; and we owe much to his critical 
 advice and sagacity in all our literary pursuits and 
 publications . 
 
 One of the first things, that struck my father when 
 he went to Paris, and one which he wished to see 
 imitated in his own country, was the munificent 
 liberality, with which all museums, public libraries, 
 and national institutions are, or were open, both to 
 foreigners, and to the natives of the country, without 
 any paltry fees or petty patronage. This example 
 has of late years been happily followed in our own 
 country. 
 
 As a member of the English Royal Society, my 
 father was invited to the honors of the sitting at the 
 French Institute ; but wishing to claim this privilege 
 in the Royal Irish Academyt, he begged to be per- 
 mitted to take his seat in the Institute as a member 
 of that Academy, and declined taking it as F. R. S. 
 This was perhaps considered as a waste of patriotic 
 politeness by some English gentlemen then present ; 
 
 * Bentham's " Traites sur la Legislation" and " Theorie des 
 peines et des recompenses" &c. 
 
 | This Academy was formed in 1785 from a literary society 
 which used to meet weekly in Dublin to read papers and to discuss 
 philosophical subjects. My father was an original member of the 
 Royal frish Academy. 
 
K. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 405 
 
 but on his return home he was thanked for his con- 
 duct by Mr. Kirwan, (President of the Royal Irish 
 Academy,) and by those members of that Academy, 
 who were conscious, that their own fame had de- 
 servedly reached to foreign countries. 
 
 In Paris there is an institution resembling our 
 London Society of Arts ; " La Societe d 'Encourage- 
 ment pour V Industrie Nationale ;" of this my father 
 was made a member, and he presented to it the 
 model of a lock of his invention. In getting this 
 executed, he became acquainted with some of the 
 mechanics in Paris, and had an opportunity of 
 observing how differently work of this kind is 
 carried on there and in Birmingham. Instead of the 
 assemblage of artificers in manufactories, such as we 
 see in Birmingham, each artisan in Paris, working 
 out his own purposes in his own domicile, must in 
 his time " play many parts," and among these many 
 to which he is incompetent, either from want of 
 skill, or want of practice ; so that in fact, even sup- 
 posing French artisans to be of equal ability and 
 industry with English competitors, they are left at 
 least a century behind, by thus being precluded 
 from all the miraculous advantages of the division 
 of labour. 
 
 Of course every stranger who goes to Paris, 
 whether he have, or have not, a taste for the arts, 
 visits the great gallery of the Louvre. My father 
 had always been fond of good pictures, but had 
 never turned much of his attention to them, till 
 he married a lady, who had a taste for painting. 
 He now spent hours in the gallery of the Louvre ; 
 not to acquire the cant of connoisseurship, but with 
 
406 ' MEMOIRS OF 
 
 a desire to increase his knowledge of the arts, 
 that he might enjoy more fully this subject of 
 sympathy with one, who had bent all her pursuits to 
 his, and who had turned her attention to those 
 sciences, which he particularly liked. 
 
 Some people believe, that in marriage those who 
 have different tastes and tempers suit the best. Dif- 
 ference between quick and slow tempers may perhaps 
 be advantageous ; because it may happen, that the 
 faults of each may occur at different times, and that 
 each person may bear with the other. But, if the 
 temper be good, and well managed, the pleasure 
 of sympathy will assimilate the tastes, without 
 any danger of competition or jealousy. Indeed, 
 it may be observed, that, where people are sincerely 
 attached, they imperceptibly acquire each other's 
 tastes. 
 
 My father had left England with a strong desire 
 to see Buonaparte, and had procured a letter from 
 the Lord Chamberlain (Lord Essex), and had applied 
 to Lord Whitworth, our ambassador at Paris, who 
 was to present him. But soon after our arrival at 
 Paris, he learned that Buonaparte was preparing the 
 way for becoming Emperor, contrary to the wishes 
 and judgment of the most enlightened part of the 
 French nation. Besides private conversations, from 
 which he learned the sentiments of the best friends 
 of France, his ej T es were opened to the truth by 
 an eloquent address to the First Consul, which had 
 about this time appeared. The publisher of this 
 address had been arrested ; the author, Camille Jour- 
 dan, declared and surrendered himself; but so strong 
 was public opinion in the author's favor, that Buona- 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 40/ 
 
 parte, who ever warily watched the signs of the 
 times, refrained from any attempt to punish the 
 noble-spirited patriots.* 
 
 My father could no longer consider Buonaparte as 
 a great man, abiding by his principles, and content 
 with the true glory of being the first citizen of a 
 free people ; but as one meditating usurpation, and 
 on the point of overturning, for the selfish love of 
 dominion, the liberty of France. With this impres- 
 sion, he declared, that he would not go to the court 
 of an usurper. 
 
 My father had not the presumption to imagine, 
 that in a cursory view, during a slight tour, and a 
 residence of four or five months at Paris, he could 
 
 * A single passage from this pamphlet may shew the spirit of 
 liberty, which previously to that time had existed in France. — 
 
 " Et pour prendre l'exemple qui nous touche de si pres, nous 
 avons un Buonaparte, nous en jouissons, nous l'admirons ; mais 
 qui nous l'a fait ? Notre choix. Que seroit cet homme peut-etre, 
 si la gloire de ses aieux l'eut dispense de la sienne ; et puisque 
 nous voulons le continuer dans les siecles, pourquoi ne pas nous 
 confier a la cause puissante qui nous le donna ?***** Ainsi 
 point de nom qui puisse enfler le coeur d'un chef, avilir celui de 
 ses administres, leur faire oublier a toute la relation primitive qui 
 doit subsister entre eux. Serait-il vrai, par exemple, comme des 
 ecris ont semble l'indiquer, que quelques courtissans auraient medite 
 de proposer l'adoption de quelque titre dEmpereur, dEmpereur 
 des Gaules ? Quoi, remonter ainsi dans la nuit des siecles, recher- 
 cher pour nous le nom que portaient nos barbares ancetres quand 
 ils etaient enchaines par Cesar, et trompes par les Druides ! Nous 
 faire abjurer ce doux et beau nom de la France consacre par 
 tons les grands souvenirs de la monarchic, et par tous les triomphes 
 de notre republique J * * * * Voir ainsi un feodal Empereur des 
 Gaules en tete de la charte libre des genereux Francs. Mais 
 pourquoi s'arreter a combattre de telles chimeres ? Et combien 
 l'esprit national, d'accord avec le bon esprit de Buonaparte, doit 
 nous rassurer contre de telles denominations, si de laches flatteurs 
 osaient jamais les reproduire." 
 
408 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 become thoroughly acquainted with France. Besides, 
 his living chiefly with the select society, w T hich I 
 have described, precluded the possibility of seeing 
 much of what were called les nouveaux riches. 
 
 The few general observations he made on French 
 society at this time I shall mention. He observed, 
 that among the families of the old nobility, domestic 
 happiness and virtue had much increased since the 
 Revolution, in consequence of the marriages, which, 
 after they lost their wealth and rank, had been 
 formed, not according to the usual fashion of old 
 French alliances, but from disinterested motives, from 
 the perception of the real suitability of tempers and 
 characters. The women of this class in general, 
 withdrawn from politics and political intrigue, were 
 domestic and amiable ; many wives, who had not 
 formerly been considered as patterns of conjugal 
 affection, having made great sacrifices and exer- 
 tions for their husbands and families during the 
 trials of adversity, became attached to them to a 
 degree, of which they had not perhaps known them- 
 selves to be capable, during their youthful days of 
 folly and dissipation. 
 
 With regard to literature he observed, that it had 
 considerably degenerated. For the good taste, wit, 
 and polished style, which had characterized French 
 literature before the Revolution, there w T as no longer 
 any demand, and but few competent judges remained. 
 The talents of the nation had been forced by circum- 
 stances into different directions. At one time, the 
 hurry and necessity of the passing moment had 
 produced political pamphlets, and slight works of 
 amusement, formed to catch the public revolutionary 
 taste. At another period, the crossing parties, and 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 409 
 
 the real want of freedom in the country, had repressed 
 literary efforts. Science, which flourished indepen- 
 dently of politics, and which was often useful and 
 essential to the rulers, had meanwhile been encouraged, 
 and had prospered. The discoveries and inventions 
 of men of science shewed, that the same positive 
 quantity of talent existed in France as in former 
 times, though appearing in a new form. 
 
 The system, of espionnage in Paris at this period 
 could not but strike every true Englishman with 
 disgust and indignation. My father could scarcely 
 be brought to believe in its existence, till he had 
 well-attested facts produced to him, and till he per- 
 ceived the suspicion, and excessive caution and 
 constraint, which the system spread over general 
 society. He never meddled in politics ; and was, for 
 his own sake, and for the sake of his friends, so 
 prudent in conversation, and in the acquaintance he 
 formed, that he had no apprehensions of attracting 
 the censures of the police. Nevertheless, he was 
 one morning surprised by an order to quit Paris in 
 twenty-four hours, and the French territories in 
 fifteen days. A letter of his own, written at the 
 moment, gives a more lively description than I could 
 of this slight affair. 
 
 TO MRS. CHARLOTTE SNEYD. 
 
 " my dear c. sneyd, Paris, Jan. 27, 1803. 
 
 " The only thin sheet of paper in the house had the words ' My 
 dear Sneyd' written at the top — by squeezing in a C. I make it 
 serve for the beginning of a letter to you, my dear friend, to whom 
 I have wished to write every day for this last week, without finding 
 it possible ; for in truth this has been an eventful week ; and 
 though the events of every week of my life, with my good will, 
 should be detailed to you, with the utmost exactness, yet, during 
 the moment that they pass, it is sometimes absolutely impossible, 
 
410 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 to write them down in order of battle ; so that I often find myself 
 passing over things that appeared worth relating, to come imme- 
 diately to later circumstances, that fill my mind when I sit down 
 to write to you. 
 
 te I had been lying in bed later than usual, to dissipate a cold, 
 which had hung upon me for some time, and having just taken 
 another reef of the blanket to keep my back warm, I heard a 
 strange voice talking to Fanny in the next room ; she came in and 
 told me, that an officer of the police must speak to me instantly. 
 I desired he might walk in ; he appeared in his blue uniform, 
 embroidered with green, and presented a warrant, which, as 
 he informed me (in a manner sufficiently peremptory) required 
 my immediate attendance. My being ill was not a sufficient 
 excuse ; I got up, and dressed myself slowly, to gain time for 
 thinking — drank one dish of chocolate, ordered my carriage, and 
 went with my exempt to the Palais de Justice. There I was shewn 
 into a parlour, or rather a guard-room, where a man like an under- 
 officer was sitting at a desk. In a few minutes I Avas desired to 
 walk up stairs into a long narrow room, in different parts of which 
 ten or twelve clerks were sitting at different tables. To one of 
 these I was directed — he asked my name, wrote it on a printed 
 card, and, demanding half a crown, presented the card to me, 
 telling me it was a passport. I told him I did not want a pass- 
 port ; but he pressed it upon me, assuring me, that I had urgent 
 necessity for it, as I must quit Paris immediately. Then he 
 pointed out to me another table, where another clerk was pleased 
 to place me in the most advantageous point of view for taking my 
 portrait, and he took my written portrait with great solemnity, 
 and this he copied into my passport. I begged to know who was 
 the principal person in the room, and to him I applied to learn the 
 cause of the whole proceeding. He coolly answered, that if I 
 wanted to know, I must apply to the Grand Juge. To the Grand 
 Juge I drove, and after having waited till the number 93 was 
 called, the number of the ticket which had been given to me at the 
 door, I was admitted, and the Grand Juge most formally assured 
 me, that he knew nothing of the affair, but that all I had to do 
 was to obey. I returned home, and on examining my passport, 
 found that I was ordered to quit Paris in twenty-four hours. I 
 went directly to our ambassador, Lord Whitworth, who lived at 
 the extremity of the town : he was ill — with difficulty I got at 
 his secretary, Mr. Talbot, to whom I pointed out, that I applied to 
 my ambassador from a sense of duty and pulitencss, before I would 
 
E. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 4 1 1 
 
 make any application to private friends, though I believed, that I 
 iiad many in Paris, who were willing and able to assist me. The 
 secretary went to the ambassador, and in half an hour wrote an 
 official note to Talleyrand, to ask the why and the wherefore. He 
 advised me in the mean time to quit Paris, and to go to some 
 village near it — Passy or Versailles. Passy seemed preferable, 
 because it is the nearest to Paris — only a mile and a half distant. 
 Before I quitted Paris, I made another attempt to obtain some 
 explanation from the Grand Juge. I could not see him or even 
 his secretary, for a considerable time ; and when at length the 
 secretary appeared, it was only to tell me, that I could not see the 
 Grand Juge. ' Cannot I write,' said I, 'to your Grand Juge?' 
 He answered hesitatingly — ' Yes.' A huissier took in my note, 
 and another excellent one from the friend who was with me — F. D. 
 The huissier returned presently, holding my papers out to me at 
 arm's length — ' the Grand Juge knows nothing of the matter.' 
 
 I returned home, dined — ordered a carriage to be ready to take 
 me to Passy — wrote a letter to Buonaparte, stating my entire 
 ignorance of the cause of my deportation, and asserting that I 
 was unconnected with any political party. F. D. engaged, that the 
 letter should be delivered ; and Mrs. E. and Charlotte remaining 
 to settle our affairs at Paris, I set off for Passy with Maria, where 
 my friend F. D. had taken the best lodging he could find for me in 
 the village. Madame G. had offered me her country house at 
 Passy ; but though she pressed that offer most kindly, we would 
 not accept of it, lest we should compromise our friends. Another 
 friend, Mons. de P., offered his country house, but for the same 
 reason this offer was declined. We arrived at Passy about ten 
 o'clock at night, and though a deporte, I slept tolerably well. 
 Before I was up, my friend Mons. de P. was with me — breakfasted 
 with us in our little oven of a parlour — conversed two hours most 
 agreeably. Our other friend, F. D., came also before we had 
 breakfasted — and just as I had mounted on a table, to paste some 
 
 paper over certain deficiencies in the window, enter M. P and 
 
 Le B * * * * n. 
 
 " ' Mon ami, ce n'est pas la peine !' cried they, both at once, 
 their faces rayonnant de joie. ' You need not give yourself so 
 much trouble — you will not stay here long. We have seen the 
 Grand Juge, and your detention arises from a mistake. It was 
 supposed, that you are brother to the Abbe Edgeworth — we are 
 to deliver a petition from you, stating what your relationship 
 to the Abbe really is. This shall be backed by an address 
 
412 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 signed by all your friends at Paris, and you will be then at 
 liberty to return.' 
 
 " I objected to writing any petition, and at all events I de- 
 termined to consult my ambassador, who had conducted himself 
 well towards me. I wrote to Lord AVhitworth, stating the facts, 
 and declaring, that nothing could ever make me deny the 
 honor of being related to the Abbe E. Lord Whitworth advised 
 me, however, to state the fact, that I was not the Abbe's brother." 
 
 p # * * * * an( j L e g * * * * * drew up a 
 memorial in my father's favor, and presented it to the 
 Grand Juge at a public audience. His reply was a 
 question — " Is not this Englishman brother to the 
 Abbe E. ?" — Pretending to be satisfied when he was 
 apprised of the contrary, he said, that the affair was 
 all a mistake, and that the gentleman might return 
 to Paris. No direct answer was received from the 
 first Consul ; but perhaps the revocation of the order 
 of the Grand Juge came from him. We were as- 
 sured, that my father's letter had been read by him, 
 and that he declared he knew nothing of the affair ; 
 and, so far from objecting to any man for being re- 
 lated to the Abbe Edgeworth, he declared, that he 
 considered him as a most respectable, faithful subject, 
 and that he wished he had many such. In the same 
 spirit, and with the same expressions, he had about 
 this time given a place to the only surviving coun- 
 sellor of Lewis the XVIth, who had defended the 
 King on his trial. 
 
 In the evening of the second day of my father's 
 banishment from Paris, our friends informing Mrs. 
 Edgeworth of the permission granted him to return, 
 she came to Passy for us at seven o'clock in the 
 evening. Late as it was, when he got to Paris, he 
 stopped at the English ambassador's hotel, to tell him 
 the result of the business. 
 
R L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 4 1 3 
 
 At a public court dinner, at which Regnier, the 
 Grand Juge, was present, some days after this affair, 
 one of our friends spoke of it, and questioned him as 
 to his real reasons. He declared he had none ; but 
 excused himself by saying, that Paris was too full of 
 strangers, and that he had general orders, to clear it 
 of la lie dupeuple et ranger ; to which our friend re- 
 plied, that " M. le Grand Juge should however 
 distinguish between la lie and V elite du peuple." 
 
 By every playful and every serious expression of 
 kindness, our friends endeavoured to efface from our 
 minds any disagreeable recollection of what had 
 happened. As to personal inconvenience or transient 
 anxiety, occasioned by an eight and forty hours 
 banishment, it was infinitely overbalanced to my 
 father, by the means it afforded him of seeing the 
 real regard felt for him by those, whom he most 
 esteemed in France. It gave us also an opportunity 
 of seeing the character of the French in the most 
 amiable point of view, and confirmed his former 
 belief in the steadiness and substantial nature of 
 their friendships. 
 
 The memorial, which our Parisian friends drew up, 
 to present to the Grand Juge, stated, " that my father 
 was a man of letters, that we were authors of a work 
 on education, well known in France — that he had 
 lived, ever since he came to Paris, with literary 
 society, totally unconnected with politics." Some 
 kind and highly gratifying expressions were added : 
 several celebrated names of the highest respectability 
 were subscribed. After the business was over, the 
 memorial was put into my father's hand, and has 
 been, and will be carefully preserved by his family, 
 as a testimony of the steadiness of our Parisian 
 
414 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 friends. It should be observed, that all this happened 
 just after the explosion of what was called the infernal 
 machine, when Buonaparte had been put in fear of 
 his life, and when he was peculiarly suspicious of 
 foreigners, and jealous in an extraordinary degree 
 of the English, and of all who liked or frequented 
 their society. Our friends were well aware of the 
 disagreeable consequences to themselves, that might 
 have ensued from exciting his displeasure. At the 
 moment when they offered their country-houses, and 
 their active assistance and support, they did not 
 know, that the whole affair originated with the Grand 
 Juge ; they had, on the contrary, reason to believe, 
 that it came from Buonaparte himself. Therefore 
 there was the more hazard and merit in their 
 kindness. 
 
 As the spring was advancing, my father was 
 pressed by his friends to prolong his stay ; they 
 assured us, that a summer at Paris is more delightful, 
 than can be imagined by any, who have not ex- 
 perienced its charms. The society there pleased him 
 so much, he saw so many means of instruction and 
 amusement for his children, and of improvement for 
 the grown and growing up part of his family, that 
 before this affair occurred, he had more than half 
 resolved to send to Ireland for them, and to take a 
 house at Paris for two years. Previously to his 
 being ordered to leave Paris, he was in treaty for a 
 house formerly belonging to Garat, in a charming- 
 situation, near les Jardins du Luxembourg. But, 
 notwithstanding the proofs of disinterested and steady 
 attachment, which he had received from his friends, 
 and notwithstanding all the allurements of Parisian 
 society ; an Englishman, with British feeling and the 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 4 1 5 
 
 spirit of liberty within him, could not, after all that 
 had passed, desire to reside under a government, 
 where he might, innocent of all offence, be seized by 
 a petty officer of police, and without examination, 
 trial, or reason given, be ordered to quit the capital 
 in four and twenty hours. He was no longer tempted 
 by Garat's house in the Luxembourg gardens. He 
 was prudent, decided, and prompt — had he been other- 
 wise, we might all have been among the number of our 
 countrymen, who were, contrary to the law of nations, 
 and to justice and reason, made prisoners in France 
 at the breaking out of the war. We were fortunate in 
 getting safe to free and happy England a short time 
 before war was declared, and before the detention of 
 the English took place. 
 
 My eldest brother had the misfortune, to be among 
 those who were detained. His exile was rendered as 
 tolerable as circumstances would permit, by the inde- 
 fatigable kindness of our friends the D' ******* s. 
 But it was an exile of eleven years — from 1 803 to 
 1814 — six years of that time spent at Verdun ! 
 
416 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 On our return to England, we heard such an account 
 of the declining health of my brother Henry, who was 
 then at Edinburgh, as determined my father to go 
 immediately to see him, and to bring him home with 
 us to the milder climate of Ireland. 
 
 We went to Scotland in the spring of 1803 ; found 
 Henry's health and spirits better than we had ex- 
 pected ; his kind and skilful physician and friend, 
 Dr. Gregory, gave us hopes, that, with care and 
 caution, he might escape threatening consumption. 
 My father was ever ready to hope, and his confidence 
 in the judgment and care of Dr. Gregory were so far 
 justified ; for Henry recovered from this attack, and 
 we flattered ourselves, that by care he might be long 
 preserved. He mended rapidly while we were at 
 Edinburgh ; and this improvement in his health, 
 added to the pleasure my father felt in seeing the 
 interest his son had excited among the friends he had 
 made for himself at Edinburgh — men of the first 
 abilities and highest characters, both in literature and 
 science — whom we knew by their works, as did all 
 the world ; with some of whom my father had had 
 the honor of corresponding, but to whom he was 
 personally unknown. Imagine the pleasure he felt 
 at being introduced to them by his son, and in hearing 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 4 J 7 
 
 Gregory, Alison, Playfair, Dugald Stewart, speak of 
 Henry, as if he actually belonged to themselves, and 
 with the most affectionate regard. 
 
 From the time he came to Edinburgh, to the hour 
 he left it, Henry was received at Lothian House, 
 where Mr. and Mrs. D. Stewart then resided, as if he 
 had been one of their own family. There all his 
 holidays, all the hours that could be spared from 
 study, were delightfully spent ; and there, in health 
 and in sickness, he received all the counsel and sym- 
 pathy, and all the tender care, which the best of 
 parents could have bestowed. As one of those friends 
 said to me, — " this pure and innocent being was, 
 while in Edinburgh, watched over with constant and 
 unwearied affection." 
 
 May I? Yes — I must be permitted to name 
 Mrs. Dugald Stewart, for whom he always felt the 
 gratitude of the most affectionate son to the kindest 
 of mothers. To her maternal care, and to Mrs. Ali- 
 son's, we owe it, that Henry got through two severe 
 seasons in Scotland, and that a few years longer of 
 his life were preserved. 
 
 We spent some weeks with him, and among his 
 friends at Edinburgh, in delightful society. The 
 evening parties at Lothian House appeared to us 
 (then fresh from Paris) the most happy mixture 
 of men of letters, of men of science, and of people 
 of the world, that we had ever seen. And here, while 
 we enjoyed the powerful display of talents, and the 
 pleasures and profits of conversation, we felt a sense 
 of security and satisfaction, from knowing, that be- 
 yond and above these there existed British liberty, 
 and domestic virtue and happiness. 
 
 2 E 
 
418 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 We left Edinburgh with sentiments of public 
 admiration and private gratitude, regretting, that we 
 must quit such society, and part from such friends. 
 Dr. Gregory advised, that no delay should be made 
 in removing my brother Henry, who was now equal 
 to the journey, to a milder climate. He went to 
 Madeira some time afterwards, but he was never 
 restored to health. He died at Clifton in 1813. 
 
 After our return to Edge worths-town in 1803, my 
 father was again intent upon an object, in which he 
 had formerly met with disappointments, sufficient to 
 have discouraged the ardor, and disgusted the 
 patriotism of most other men. Ireland was again 
 threatened with a French invasion. Lord Hardwicke 
 was at that time Lord Lieutenant of Ireland ; and to 
 him my father renewed his gratuitous offers of 
 establishing a telegraph for the much wanted quick 
 and sure communication of intelligence. Govern- 
 ment now thought this a most desirable object, and 
 my father was desired to form a line of communica- 
 tion from Dublin to Galway. Captain Beaufort, R.N., 
 his brother-in-law and friend, not being at that time 
 in active service, engaged to assist in this under- 
 taking, both from private friendship and pure public 
 motives. He would not accept of any remuneration, 
 and devoted to this object two years of his life in 
 unremitting exertion. 
 
 A line of telegraphs from Dublin to Galway was 
 completed, temporary guard-houses were built at 
 the requisite stations, and a telegraphic corps was 
 formed from those of my father's yeomanry corps, 
 and others of his tenantry, whom he had judged 
 fit for the purpose. They had some additional 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 4 1 9 
 
 pay, and their expenses of living at different sta- 
 tions were defrayed by government. They con- 
 ducted themselves invariably well, during the 
 whole time they were employed, and shewed all 
 the steadiness and intelligence, that could be desired. 
 Telegraphic messages and answers from Dublin to 
 Galway were transmitted in the course of eight 
 minutes, in a public experiment for the Lord Lieu- 
 tenant ; and his Excellency's approbation was gra- 
 ciously expressed. Every one seemed perfectly 
 convinced of the utility, and satisfied of the efficiency 
 and success of the establishment. The telegraphs 
 being portable, they could be erected or taken down 
 in a few minutes, and the whole line might thus 
 be removed into any direction, that the will of the 
 commander-in-chief, or the exigency of the moment, 
 should require — two men could, with ease, carry 
 the whole paraphernalia of each station upon their 
 shoulders. 
 
 To shew how rapidly the stations might be rendered 
 secure from any sudden attack, and available for 
 other purposes in disturbed parts of the country, my 
 father proposed to fortify one of them, suggesting, 
 that the experiment should be made on the hill of 
 Cappa, the third station from Dublin, and a place 
 where the advantage of having a military post had 
 been sufficiently manifest during the rebellion of 
 1"9^- Government empowered him to carry this 
 plan into execution. He obtained possession of 
 a ruined stone windmill on that hill, and at a won- 
 derfully small expense rendered it proof against 
 any species of hostility, except that of cannon, or 
 blockade. 
 
 'I E 2 
 
420 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 The views of Buonaparte, however, seemed to be 
 directed to other shores. The alarm of invasion 
 gradually subsided, and the telegraphs were consigned 
 to the care of the ordinary military established in the 
 country. My father and his friend being diplomati- 
 cally thanked for their exertions, the latter returned 
 to the more active pursuits of his profession, and 
 we again rejoiced in the undisturbed peace of the 
 country. 
 
 I cannot quit this subject, without expressing what 
 I know were my father's feelings towards the Irish 
 military secretary, Sir Edward Baker Littlehales*, 
 who in all this business shewed the most liberal and 
 enlightened views for Ireland. On every occasion he 
 treated her country gentlemen, and all who had 
 business to transact at the Castle, with that politeness, 
 temper, and uniform propriety, which in his station is 
 equally becoming and conciliating. 
 
 My father's domestic happiness about this time 
 had severe shocks. He was doomed to see the 
 fairest blossoms of talent blasted by disease, and 
 the most highly cultivated, and the most valuable 
 fruits of education perish, almost at the moment 
 when they attained to perfection beyond his fondest 
 hopes. 
 
 Charlotte, for whom we had never had any appre- 
 hensions ; and who during our visit to Paris had 
 appeared the image of health, and had been described 
 by foreigners " as fresh as a rose," suddenly faded. 
 Soon after her return from the continent, her health 
 declined ; but, as she did not resemble either 
 
 * Now Sir E. B. L. Baker. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 42 1 
 
 of her sisters, Honora or Elizabeth, who died of 
 consumption, this difference long gave nattering 
 security. 
 
 In the autumn of 1806, however, the symptoms 
 of pulmonary consumption appeared. She died the 
 ensuing spring (April 1807), in her twenty-fourth 
 year. 
 
422 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 In the spring of 1805, my father visited London 
 again ; having been summoned as a witness in the 
 case of his friend Judge Fox, against whom a violent 
 attack had been made : from which the judge re- 
 turned fully justified and with higher claims than 
 ever to the esteem of his friends. In 1806, under 
 the administration of the Duke of Bedford, who, 
 happily for Ireland, was then its Viceroy, a board of 
 commissioners to inquire into the education of the 
 people of Ireland was appointed by His Grace. My 
 father had claims to the honor of being of this board, 
 as having brought into the last Irish parliament a 
 bill for the better education of the people, as having 
 resided long in Ireland, and as being a person, whose 
 principles of toleration had been manifest in his con- 
 duct, and whose zeal for the improvement of educa- 
 tion was known by his writings. ^ These claims were 
 felt ; and in the most handsome maimer, without any 
 direct or indirect application on his part, he was 
 appointed one of the commissioners. They received 
 no salary. Their board lasted from 1806 to 1811. 
 Their meetings were attended regularly, at every 
 
R.L. EDllKWOliTII. ESQ. 423 
 
 summons, by all the members, who assembled for 
 that purpose in Dublin, though many lived at distant 
 parts of the country- To my father this was fre- 
 quently inconvenient, but he never missed any one 
 meeting. The Primate w r as indefatigable in his zeal 
 and patience, and substantial good resulted from the 
 inquiries of the commissioners. Some abuses were 
 detected and reformed, and the public obtained a 
 clear view of the present state of the Charter Schools, 
 and other schools in Ireland, with suggestions for 
 the best means for their improvement. But, above 
 all, the great point gained was the assurance from 
 this commission, composed of many of the dignitaries 
 of the Church, with the highest at their head, that 
 the system of proselytism was abandoned, and that 
 it was their wish to proceed in the most liberal 
 manner towards the Catholics of Ireland in the 
 further improvement of the education of the 
 people. 
 
 The Reports of this Board have been published by 
 the House of Commons. In the Appendix there is 
 a paper of my father's, containing a short but com- 
 prehensive view of the Charter Schools of Ireland, as 
 they were, and some hints for their improvement ; 
 and also a letter addressed to the Primate, the 
 contents of which, the Duke of Bedford observed, 
 formed the foundation of this, the most liberal (the 
 16th) of all the Reports of the Irish Board of 
 Education. 
 
 A private good, to my father, on which he set 
 high value, resulted from the manner in which 
 he conducted himself at this Board. He obtained 
 the approbation, and, during his life ever afterwards, 
 
424 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 he enjoyed the esteem and peculiar regard of that 
 excellent Primate of Ireland the Hon. William Stuart, 
 son of Lord Bute. 
 
 My father was engaged in the years 1807-8, in 
 various scientific and literary occupations, — further 
 experiments on wheel carriages, &c, — and in 1809 
 he began, at the earnest request of one of his sons, to 
 write the narrative of his life, when in the autumn of 
 that year, he was suddenly interrupted by a bilious 
 or nervous fever, which caused us much alarm, and 
 though he seemed to recover from it, his constitution 
 was evidently weakened by it. Scarcely had he 
 even appeared to recover, when he was called to 
 fresh exertions by a new object of public utility, on 
 which his ardent mind became intent. 
 
 A Commission to examine into the nature and 
 extent of the bogs of Ireland, and to determine 
 whether they could or could not be reclaimed, was 
 appointed by Parliament. One of the Commissioners, 
 a friend of my father's, was particularly anxious to 
 engage his active assistance ; but, after some letters 
 on the subject had passed, he happened to come 
 for a day to Edgeworths-town, and seeing the state 
 to which my father was then reduced by illness, 
 thought that it would be not only dangerous, but 
 impossible for him, especially at his advanced time 
 of life, to undertake such a task, which could not be 
 executed without great bodily fatigue and exposure 
 to wet and variable climate. 
 
 My father, however, said he could only die, 
 and that he would rather die doing something, than 
 doing nothing. Besides its being a great national 
 object, he was also interested in this business on 
 
R.L.EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 425 
 
 account of one of his sons, who was intended for a 
 civil engineer ; and this undertaking would, he 
 thought, afford opportunity of advantageously con- 
 ducting his son's professional education. After pri- 
 vately remonstrating in vain against some articles in 
 the instructions of the board to their engineers, which 
 he thought would lead to great and needless expense, 
 he accepted the employment, being convinced, that 
 the undertaking, even though it might not be managed 
 in the most economical or best manner possible, 
 would, nevertheless, pay the public by its ultimate 
 utility. He undertook the charge of a district, con- 
 taining above thirty-four thousand five hundred 
 English acres, which, according to his instructions, 
 were "to be surveyed, levelled, and bored to the 
 hard ground, at lines parallel to each other, at the 
 distance of a quarter of a mile." However he might 
 previously remonstrate as an adviser, from the 
 moment he acted as one under command, no man 
 could obey more scrupulously, or labor more zea- 
 lously. 
 
 In pursuance of the instructions of the Board, 
 which were, to establish means of verifying the maps 
 delivered by their engineers, my brother William 
 laid down a base for a series of triangles for the 
 trigonometrical survey of this district ; and with the 
 assistance of his friend Dr. Brinkley (Professor of 
 Astronomy in Ireland), and with an excellent transit 
 instrument of three and a half feet length, he de- 
 termined a meridian line ; he also ascertained the 
 latitude with a repeating circle of eighteen inches 
 diameter, constructed by Troughton. 
 
 It was late in the year, and the weather unfavour- 
 
426 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 able. In laying out and verifying the work of the 
 surveyors employed, my father was usually out from 
 day-break to sunset, — often fifteen hours without 
 food, traversing on foot, with great bodily exertion, 
 wet and deep bogs, scarcely passable at that season, 
 even by the common Irish best used to them. 
 
 In traversing these bogs, a man must pick his way 
 carefully, sometimes wading, sometimes leaping from 
 one landing place to another, chusing these cautiously, 
 lest they should not sustain his weight ; avoiding 
 certain treacherous green spots, on which the unwary 
 might be tempted to set foot — and would sink, never 
 to rise again. It may be conceived what fatigue and 
 anxiety must attend these operations to a person 
 unused to them ; especially to one in my father's 
 habits of life, and brought up, as the reader may 
 remember he describes himself to have been, too 
 tenderly. 
 
 He was now in his 65th year. To our astonish- 
 ment his health not only endured these exertions, 
 and the hardships to which he exposed himself, but 
 improved under them, and was re-established. This 
 confirmed him in the belief of his favorite doctrine, 
 that the mind can sustain the body. After nearly a 
 twelvemonth's hard work, his part of the undertaking 
 was completed, and his report was given to the 
 Board. It is published among the parliamentary 
 reports for 1810. His general opinion was, that the 
 improvement of the vast tract of bog, which he 
 examined, was not only practicable, but that it would 
 prove highly and quickly profitable to individuals, 
 and advantageous in every point of view to this 
 country, and to Great Britain. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 427 
 
 The public reports of the other engineers employed, 
 and the private conversation he had with them, con- 
 firmed him in this belief. But he was aware, that 
 his and their opinion, evidence, or reasoning, would 
 not, and ought not, to be sufficient alone to impress 
 this conviction upon the public. Therefore, in his 
 Report, he strongly urged, " that some public experi- 
 " ment should be tried, that might demonstrate to 
 " the nation, either that the scheme of improving 
 " the bogs of Ireland is practicable or hopeless." 
 
 The chief obstacles are the want of capital, and 
 the danger of litigation. The want of capital in the 
 immediate proprietors appeared to him of no irreme- 
 diable consequence ; because if once the public mind 
 were satisfied of the safety and advantage of the 
 speculation, English capital would speedily flow to 
 Ireland for this purpose, and large companies would 
 be formed to carry on any undertaking which pro- 
 mised high and secure profit. The danger of litiga- 
 tion he considered as a greater obstacle. Of this he 
 had experience in his own case. He had wished 
 to undertake the improvement of a large tract of 
 bog in his neighbourhood, and for this purpose had 
 desired to purchase it from the proprietor ; but the 
 proprietor first told him he had neither the power nor 
 inclination to sell it. Then my father, being very 
 desirous to try a decisive experiment on a large 
 scale, proposed to take the w T hole tract on a long 
 lease, and offered a rent, till then unheard of for bog 
 land. The proprietor professed himself satisfied with 
 the proposal, provided my father would undertake 
 to indemnify him for any expense, to winch he might 
 be put by future lawsuits concerning the boundaries 
 
428 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of this bog ; but it was impossible to enter into this 
 insurance, and consequently he could not obtain the 
 bog proposed, or further prosecute his plan. 
 
 The same sort of difficulty must frequently recur. 
 Parts of different estates pass through extensive bogs, 
 of which the boundaries are uncertain. The right to 
 cut the turf is usually accorded to the occupiers of 
 adjoining farms ; but they are at constant war with 
 each other, and these disputes, involving the original 
 grants of the lands hundreds of years ago, with all 
 subsequent deeds and settlements, appear absolutely 
 interminable. 
 
 No hand but that of the legislature, can untie or 
 cut this knot. And whether it could be safely cut 
 through even by that all-powerful hand, remains 
 questionable. It may not be a question at present 
 of much interest to the British public, because no 
 decisive experiment has yet proved the value and 
 attainableness of the object ; but its magnitude and 
 importance are uncontestable. The whole extent of 
 the peat soil in Ireland exceeds, as it is confidently 
 pronounced, " Two millions eight hundred and thirty 
 thousand acres*," of which above half, as it is 
 supposed, might be converted to the general purposes 
 of agriculture. 
 
 Whenever the public attention shall become intent 
 upon the subject, which must sooner or later happen, 
 these " Reports" will be anxiously consulted ; and it 
 will, I trust, be found, that my father's contain, 
 in as few words as possible, many applicable facts, 
 
 * Fourth and last Report of the Commissioners on Bogs in 
 Ireland. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 429 
 
 some accurate experiments, some improvements on 
 machinery now in use, and some new and ingenious 
 mechanical contrivances. 
 
 In the year 1811, he was occupied in con- 
 structing, upon a plan of his own invention, a 
 spire for the church of Edgeworths-town. This 
 spire was formed of a skeleton of iron, covered with 
 slates, painted and sanded, to resemble Portland 
 stone. It was put together on the ground, within 
 the tower of the church, and when finished, it was 
 to be drawn up at once, with the assistance of coun- 
 terbalancing weights, to the top of the tower, and 
 there to be fixed in its place. 
 
 The novelty of the construction of this spire, even 
 in this its first skeleton state, excited attention ; and 
 as it drew towards its completion, and near the 
 moment when, with its covering of slates, altogether 
 amounting to many tons weight, it was to move, or 
 not to move, fifty feet from the ground to the top of 
 the tower, every body in the neighbourhood, forming 
 different opinions of the probability of its success or 
 failure, became interested in the event. 
 
 Several friends and acquaintance, in our own and 
 from adjoining comities, came to see it drawn 
 up. Fortunately it happened to be a very fine 
 autumnal day — and the groups of spectators of 
 different ranks and ages, assembled and waiting in 
 silent expectation, gave a picturesque effect to the 
 whole. A bugle sounded, as the signal for ascent. 
 The top of the spire, appearing through the tower 
 of the church, began to move upwards : its gilt ball 
 and arrow glittered in the sun, while with motion 
 that was scarcely perceptible it rose majestically. 
 Not a word nor interjection was uttered by any even 
 
430 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of the men, who worked the windlasses at the top of 
 the tower. 
 
 It reached its destined station in eighteen minutes, 
 and then a flag streamed from its summit, and gave 
 notice, that all was safe. Not the slightest accident 
 or difficulty occurred. The conduct of the whole 
 had been trusted to my brother William, (the civil 
 engineer) ; and the first words my father said, when 
 he was congratulated upon the success of the work, 
 were, that his son's steadiness gave him infinitely 
 more satisfaction, than he could feel from the success 
 of any invention of his own. 
 
 The spire was well secured, and provided with a 
 conductor before we left the place. This proved a 
 wise precaution, for that very evening the weather 
 changing suddenly, a storm of wind, thunder, and 
 lightning lasted during the night. In the morning 
 the first thing of which we thought, the first point to 
 which we looked, was the spire ; but my father had 
 not been anxious, and experience has hitherto jus- 
 tified his confidence ; in thirty-two years since its 
 erection no change has been perceptible in the per- 
 pendicularity of this spire. Though the slightest 
 alteration would have been detected, as by a singular 
 coincidence, the spindle of the weathercock was pre- 
 cisely in the plane of a vertical wire of the transit 
 instrument, in the observatory in our house. 
 
 An account of its construction, and of the simple 
 machinery employed in raising it, may be found in 
 Nicholson's Journal, vol. xxx. 1811.* 
 
 Towards the close of this year, 1811, Sir John 
 
 < Tn the same Journal, vol. xxxi. 1812, is another paper relative 
 to the same subject. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 431 
 
 Sinclair applied to my father, by the desire of the 
 Committee of the House of Commons, as he under- 
 stood, requesting that he would look over and give 
 a report upon a mass of papers, containing the evi- 
 dence and opinions of all who had been examined 
 by what had been technically called the Committee 
 of Broad Wheels. The chief object was to deter- 
 mine, whether cylindrical or conical wheels are most 
 advantageous, and to decide which are least destruc- 
 tive to the roads. To arrange, analyse, and report 
 on all the heterogeneous evidence and opinions of 
 carters, waggoners, coachmen, practical mechanics, 
 and mechanic philosophers, from the civil engineers 
 of the highest reputation, down to the most illiterate 
 English drayman, was a tedious and difficult task. 
 After winnowing the sense from the nonsense, he 
 gave the information compressed into the smallest 
 compass. In the form of an alphabetical index, a 
 catalogue raisonne was made, presenting the result 
 and value of the evidence of each person, who had 
 been examined. 
 
 When this was effected, and when he had prepared 
 a report to be laid before the House of Commons, 
 it was explained to him, that Sir John Sinclair had 
 not been empowered to make his application by 
 the Committee, of which he had been chairman. 
 It was a private request of his own, and Sir John 
 now expressed a wish, to have the report for the 
 Board of Agriculture. With this request my father 
 declined to comply ; but to shew his respect for the 
 members of that Board, and his willingness to con- 
 tribute towards their useful and patriotic purposes, 
 he wrote and presented to them " An Essay on 
 Springs applied to Carts'' 
 
432 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 He reserved for future publication what he had 
 prepared as a report, resolving to add to it, from time 
 to time, at his leisure, whatever further knowledge 
 fresh observation and experiment might furnish. The 
 Board of Agriculture did him the honor to vote him 
 their thanks, and a hundred guineas to be presented 
 to him in the form of a piece of plate, or in any other 
 form he might wish ; but this he declined accepting, 
 at the same time expressing a wish, that if it should 
 suit the views of the Society, the money might in 
 future be applied towards defraying the expense of 
 some public experiments on this subject. 
 
 Some time afterwards, when he was in London, he 
 pursued this idea, and endeavoured to have a course 
 of experiments tried on a large scale, to determine 
 the draught of different carriages. The Duke of 
 Bedford, to whom he had been known, when his 
 Grace was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, offered his 
 assistance, with all the means of accommodation and 
 publicity, which Woburn could so amply afford. But 
 unfortunately some private affairs just at that moment 
 occurred, which called my father away from London, 
 and deprived him of the possibility of availing himself 
 of these advantages. It was a disappointment, which 
 he then and afterwards strongly lamented. He ever 
 retained a grateful sense of the peculiar politeness 
 shewn to him on this occasion by the Duke of Bed- 
 ford, and felt true esteem for the patriotic spirit and 
 zeal so worthy of a British nobleman, which his Grace 
 has always shewn, to promote the interests of science, 
 and to urge objects of national utility. 
 
 In my father's " Essay on Roads and Wheel 
 Carriages" he gave to the public all the inform- 
 ation which he had collected, all the facts ascertained, 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 433 
 
 and has pointed out the means, by which experiments 
 on a large scale might be satisfactorily tried, to 
 decide practically the theoretic points yet remaining 
 in dispute. 
 
 Connected with this essay, were " Experiments on 
 the use of Springs applied to Carriages" So early 
 as the year 1/88, he had published a memoir on 
 this subject in the Transactions of the Royal Irish 
 Academy. 
 
 Since the time of Dr. Hooke (in Charles the 
 Second's reign) it had been well understood, that 
 springs contribute considerably to the ease and conve- 
 nience of all who travel in carriages, and to the safety 
 of goods conveyed in them ; but no one had dis- 
 covered, or at least had ever hinted to the public, 
 the great utility of springs, in easing to the horses 
 the draught of carriages, till this fact was stated, 
 and proved by experiment by my father in the 
 memoir referred to. It was given with so little 
 ostentation, and in so few words, that it was pro- 
 bably passed over by many without being noticed as 
 a new discovery, or without their comprehending the 
 consequences to which it would lead. By those 
 who call themselves practical men it lay long 
 unheeded as mere theory ; by some more wise and 
 more crafty, it had been used, amplified on, and 
 appropriated, without due acknowledgment in any 
 scientific publication. But it happened, that in 
 1803, on the very day when my father, for the first 
 time, arrived in Edinburgh, Professor Robison was 
 lecturing on this branch of mechanics ; and acci- 
 dentally going to the lecture, he had the satisfaction 
 of hearing his own experiments mentioned in the 
 
 2 F 
 
434 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 most gratifying manner, by one who was so well 
 qualified to judge on this subject. 
 
 May I be permitted to remark, how steadily he 
 pursued the same objects of research through the 
 whole of his life ? When he was but nineteen, he 
 wrote an essay on wheel carriages in the Museum 
 Rusticum ; at seventy we find him prosecuting the 
 same inquiries ; and those first thoughts, and those 
 ingenious ideas, which had been but the amusement 
 of his early youth, as he advanced in life, he turned 
 to practical purposes, and to large objects of public 
 utility. For instance, that mode of conveying secret 
 and swift intelligence, which he had first suggested, 
 merely to decide a wager between a friend of his and 
 a young nobleman, thirty years afterwards he im- 
 proved into a national telegraph ; and his juvenile 
 amusements with the sailing chariot led to those 
 experiments on the resistance of the air, which in 
 more mature years, pursued in the patient spirit of 
 philosophical investigation, he turned to good account 
 for the real business of life, and for the advancement 
 of science. 
 
 In the year 1783 he published in the Transactions 
 of the Royal Society, (vol. 73,) " An Essay on the 
 Resistance of the Air" The object of that essay 
 is to determine the force of the wind upon sur- 
 faces of different size and figure, or upon the same 
 surface, when placed in various directions, inclined 
 at different angles, or curved in different arches. 
 These experiments were originally suggested by a 
 singular circumstance, thus mentioned by Robins in 
 his Treatise on Gunnery. 
 
 " If two similar cards are placed opposite the 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 435 
 
 wind, one upon its end, and the other on its side, 
 and both inclined to the horizon at the same angle, 
 the wind will have the greater effect upon the card 
 that is placed endways." 
 
 To verify this experiment, and to pursue the inquiry, 
 my father contrived an apparatus of a more accurate 
 construction, upon a larger scale, and less liable to 
 friction, than that which had been used by Mr. Robins. 
 After trying several experiments on surfaces of various 
 shapes, he ascertained the difference of resistance in 
 different cases ; suggested the probable cause of these 
 variations ; and opened a large field for future curious 
 and useful speculation; useful it may be called, as 
 well as curious, because such knowledge applies 
 immediately to the wants and active business of life, 
 to the construction of wind and water-mills, and to 
 the extensive purposes of navigation. The theory of 
 philosophers, and the practice of mechanics and sea- 
 men, were, and perhaps are, still at variance as to the 
 manner in which sails of windmills, and of ships, should 
 be set. Dr. Hooke, in his day, expressed his sur- 
 prise, at the obstinacy of seamen, " in continuing, 
 " after what appeared the clearest demonstration to 
 " the contrary, to prefer what are called bellying or 
 " bunting sails, to such as are hauled tight." The 
 doctor said, that he would, at some future time, add 
 the test of experiment to mathematical investigation 
 in support of his own theory. 
 
 It is remarkable, that the test of experiment, when 
 at length it was applied, confirmed the truth of what 
 the philosopher had reprobated as an obstinate vulgar 
 error. My father, in his " Essay on the Resistance 
 of the Air" gives the result of his experiments on a 
 flat and curved surface of the same dimensions, and 
 
436 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 explains the cause of error, into which Dr. Hooke, 
 M. Parent, and other mathematicians fell in their 
 theoretic reasonings. These subjects of course are 
 all open to further experiment, and require further 
 investigation. In science it is not given to man, to 
 finish; to persevere, to advance a step or two, is all 
 that can be accomplished ; and • all that will be 
 expected by the real philosopher. 
 
 " We will endeavour? is the humble and becoming 
 motto of a philosophical society.* 
 
 It is tempting to human ingenuity, and still more 
 to vanity, to raise, each man after his own fashion, 
 a little pyramid of human knowledge ; but not only 
 will he be more useful to science, but the memory of 
 his labors will be the more likely to endure, who 
 has been content to work humbly along with others, 
 even if he have added but one stone, one morsel of 
 cement, to the great solid edifice. 
 
 * Eoyal Irish Academy. 
 
R.L. EDGE WORTH, ESQ. 437 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 It has been said, that the best part of an author is 
 always in his books. Upon this principle, the 
 biography of literary men often consists of little 
 more than the history of the books which they have 
 written, the dates of their publication, their different 
 editions and variations, with an account of the 
 quarrels and controversies, that may have occurred 
 with brother authors, and a display of the encomiums 
 of friends, or a repetition of complaints of the injustice 
 of critics. All such tiresome topics the reader of 
 these memoirs has been spared the more readily, 
 because the best part of him, whose life I am writing, 
 was not in his works. He undervalued his literary 
 talents so much, that for many years of his life he 
 said, that he could not write. In one of his early 
 letters to Mr. Day, the reader may recollect his 
 concluding with " You know I am no writer ; my 
 ideas do not, like yours, flow to my pen readily." He 
 found, that the early habit of writing Latin had 
 given a Latin construction to his style ; and I have 
 often heard him declare, that he never wrote any 
 thing he could bear to read till he was past forty. 
 He never seemed to be satisfied with his own writing, 
 when he knew it to be his. In general, he so com- 
 pletely forgot what he had written, that we have often 
 cheated him into praising passages which he believed 
 
438 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 to have been written by another. Though he had 
 passed much of his youth with some of the most 
 celebrated writers of his age, this did not excite in 
 him any ambition to become an author, he was con- 
 tent with assisting and enjoying the celebrity of his 
 friends. 
 
 One little book, however, he and Mrs. Honor a 
 Edgeworth wrote, I believe, very early in the year 
 1778, when she, in teaching her first child to read, 
 found the want of something to follow Mrs. Bar- 
 bauld's lessons, and felt the difficulty of explaining 
 the language of all the other books for children, 
 which were then in use. 
 
 " Favete Unguis 
 
 Virginibus puerisque canto," 
 
 was the motto of this little volume, which was the 
 first part of " Harry and Lucy," or of " Practical 
 Education? as I find it called in the title page to 
 the few copies which were then printed in large type 
 for the use only of his own children. He intended to 
 have carried on the history of Harry and Lucy, through 
 every stage of childhood ; to have diffused, through 
 natural dialogue or interesting story, the first principles 
 of morality, with some of the elements of science and 
 literature, so as to shew parents how these may be 
 taught, without wearying the pupil's attention. Much 
 of this plan has, in different forms, been since executed 
 in various publications, by persons of information and 
 talents, who have of late written for young people ; 
 but at the time to which I refer, the design was new, 
 and scarcely any English writer of eminence, except 
 Dr. Watts and Mrs. Barbauld, had condescended to 
 write for children. 
 
 Mr. Day, who was much pleased with my father's 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 439 
 
 plan, offered to assist him, and with this intention 
 began Sandford and Merton, which was first designed 
 for a short story to be inserted in Harry and Lucy. 
 The illness of Mrs. Honora Edgeworth interrupted 
 the progress of that little volume, and after her 
 death, the ideas associated with it were so painful 
 to my father, that he could not recur to it. 
 Meanwhile, Mr. Day wrote on rapidly, and finished 
 and published his delightful book. Often, with 
 pride and pleasure, my father used to say, that the 
 public owed Sandford and Merton to him, since it 
 was he, who first turned his friend's attention to the 
 subject of education, and excited him to write that 
 popular and useful work. As to Harry and Lucy 
 after the first part had remained for above twenty 
 years, printed, but not published, it was at last con- 
 tinued by my father, and given to me for " Early 
 Lessons." 
 
 In fact, my father never thought of becoming an 
 author, till he felt sufficient motive, in the wish to 
 encourage and assist me to finish " Practical Edu- 
 cation." All his literary ambition then and ever was 
 for me. 
 
 After " Practical Education," the next book which 
 we published in partnership was (in 1803) the 
 " Essay on Irish Bulls." The first design of this 
 Essay was his : — under the semblance of attack, he 
 wished to shew the English public the eloquence, 
 wit, and talents of the lower classes of people in 
 Ireland. Working zealously upon the ideas which 
 he suggested, sometimes, what was spoken by him 
 was afterwards written by me ; or when I wrote 
 my first thoughts, they were corrected and improved 
 
440 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 by him ; so that no book was ever written more 
 completely in partnership. The notes on the Dublin 
 shoe-black's metaphorical language, I recollect, are 
 his. 
 
 I have heard him tell that shoe-black's story with 
 all the natural, indescribable Irish tones and gestures, 
 of which written language can give but a faint idea. 
 He excelled in imitating the Irish because he never 
 overstepped the modesty or the assurance of nature. 
 He marked exquisitely the happy confidence, the 
 shrewd wit of the people, without condescending to 
 produce effect by caricature. He knew not only 
 their comic talents, but their powers of pathos. In 
 the chapter on wit and eloquence, in Irish Bulls, 
 there is a speech of a poor freeholder to a candidate, 
 who asked for his vote ; this speech was made to my 
 father when he was canvassing the county of Long- 
 ford. It was repeated to me a few hours afterwards, 
 and I wrote it down instantly, without, I believe, the 
 variation of a word. 
 
 In the same chapter there is the complaint of a 
 poor widow against her landlord, and the landlord's 
 reply in his own defence. This passage was quoted, 
 I am told, by Campbell, in one of his celebrated 
 lectures on eloquence. It was supposed by him to 
 have been a fictitious narrative, but, on the contrary, 
 it is an unembellished fact. My father was the 
 magistrate, before whom the widow and her landlord 
 appeared, and the whole was described exactly from 
 the life. 
 
 After the " Essay on Bulls," my father did not 
 write any thing for several years, except some ele- 
 mentary books, suggested by feeling the want of them 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 441 
 
 in his own family. In 1802 he published " Poetry 
 explained for Young People": in 1816, " Readings 
 on Poetry": and at various times, different parts of 
 " Early Lessons. " He also explained and illustrated 
 his method of teaching to read, in a small tract, called 
 " A Rational Primer." Nothing but the true desire 
 to be useful could have induced any man of talents, 
 to chuse such inglorious labors ; but he thought no 
 labor, however humble, beneath him, if it promised 
 any improvement, even in early education. To the 
 construction of twenty pages of this "Rational Primer" 
 he devoted more time, than it would have cost him 
 to write an octavo volume on another subject. 
 
 In the introduction to this primer, a striking fact 
 is asserted relative to the short time in which a child, 
 taught by the method there described, learned to 
 read. I have to add, that further trials upon dif- 
 ferent children in his own family increased his con- 
 fidence in the success of his plan. The quickness, 
 with which the pupil may learn, he considered but as 
 an inferior and comparatively unimportant object. 
 His purpose was, to prevent children's associating 
 with their first ideas of literature the painful feelings 
 of overstrained or disappointed attention ; and it was 
 in this point of view chiefly, that he considered his 
 mode of teaching to read as of material consequence. 
 His principle of always giving distinct marks for each 
 different sound of the vowels has been since brought 
 mto more general use. It forms the foundation of 
 Pestalozzi's plan of teaching to read. But one of the 
 most useful of the marks in the " Rational Primer," 
 the mark of obliteration, designed to shew what letters 
 are to be omitted in pronouncing words, has not, I 
 
442 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 believe, been adopted by any public instructor. As 
 to the method in general, more time than has yet 
 elapsed must put it to the only sufficient trial, to 
 that of experience, before we can decide on its ex- 
 pediency. 
 
 With respect to his other elementary books, 
 " Readings on Poetry," &c, and what he wrote of 
 " Early Lessons," I have only to say, that children 
 and parents have given him the satisfaction, which 
 he most desired — the pleasure of knowing, that these 
 books have answered the purpose, for which they 
 were intended. 
 
 In 1808 he published " Professional Education." 
 The best criticism and analysis that I have seen 
 of this book, and also of his general principles of 
 Education, are in Rees's Encyclopedia, in the article, 
 " Moral and Intellectual Education." 
 
 Compared with his powers of mind, my father wrote 
 but little, but I may be permitted to say, how much 
 as a critic he did for me. Yet, indeed, this is out of 
 my power, fully to state to the public — only that 
 small circle of our friends, who saw the manuscripts 
 before and after they were corrected by him, can 
 know or imagine how much they were improved by 
 his critical taste and judgment. 
 
 Whenever I thought of writing any thing, I 
 told him my first rough plans ; and always with the 
 instinct of a good critic, he used to fix immediately 
 upon that, which would best answer the purpose. — 
 " Sketch that, and shew it to me" — These words, 
 from the experience of his sagacity, never failed 
 to inspire me with hope of success. It was then 
 sketched. Sometimes, when I was fond of a par- 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 443 
 
 ticular part, I used to dilate on it in the sketch ; but 
 to this he always objected — "I don't want any of 
 your painting — none of your drapery ! — I can 
 imagine all that — let me see the bare skeleton." 
 
 It seemed to me sometimes impossible, that he 
 could understand the very slight sketches I made ; 
 when, before I was conscious that I had expressed 
 this doubt in my countenance, he always saw it. 
 
 " Now my dear little daughter, I know, does not 
 believe, that I understand her." — Then he would in 
 his own words fill up my sketch, paint the descrip- 
 tion, or represent the character intended, with such 
 life, that I was quite convinced he not only seized 
 the ideas, but that he saw, with the prophetic eye of 
 taste, the utmost that could be made of them. After 
 a sketch had his approbation, he would not see the 
 filling it up, till it had been worked upon for a week 
 or fortnight, or till the first thirty or forty pages 
 were written ; then they were read to him, and if he 
 thought them going on tolerably well, the pleasure 
 in his ej-es, the approving soimd of his voice, even 
 without the praise he so warmly bestowed, were 
 sufficient and delightful excitements to "go on and 
 finish." When he thought that there was spirit in 
 what was written, but that it required, as it often did, 
 great correction, he would say, " Leave that to me : 
 it is my business to cut and correct — yours to write 
 on." His skill in cutting — his decision in criticism 
 was peculiarly useful to me. His ready invention 
 and infinite resource, when I had ran myself into 
 difficulties or absurdities, never failed to extricate me 
 at my utmost need. It was the happy experience of 
 this, and my consequent reliance on his ability, 
 
444 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 decision, and truth, that relieved me from the vacilla- 
 tion and anxiety to which I was much subject. He 
 enjoined me to finish whatever I began, and such 
 was his power over my mind, that during his life 
 nothing I began to write was left unfinished. In 
 particular instances, where the subject was not 
 happily chosen, it was irksome to go on and com- 
 plete the task ; nor was the labor always paid by 
 literary success. Yet it was not labor in vain ; it 
 strengthened my power of perseverance. Nor did 
 it prevent fresh exertion. My father inspired in 
 my mind that degree of hope and confidence, which 
 is essential to the full exertion of the mental 
 powers. 
 
 Were it worth while I could point out many hints 
 for invention, furnished to me by the incidents and 
 characters which my father had met with in his 
 youth. One instance I may record, because it leads 
 to the general principle of criticism, that in most 
 cases the attempt to join truth and fiction does not 
 succeed. The story of Virginia and Clarence Hervey 
 in Belinda, was suggested by the fact of Mr. Day's 
 having educated Sabrina for his wife. This circum- 
 stance was however objected to by readers and 
 critics as improbable or impossible. For this, as my 
 father shewed me, there are good and sufficient 
 reasons. In the first place, anxiety to avoid drawing 
 the characters from real life, that might be blameable 
 or ridiculous, led me to apply whatever circumstances 
 were taken from reality to characters quite different 
 from those to whom the facts had occurred, conse- 
 quently when so applied, they were unsuitable, and 
 seemed improbable. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ 445 
 
 Besides, as my father remarked, the facts which 
 strike the attention because they are out of the 
 common course of events, are for this very reason 
 unfit for the moral purposes as well as for the 
 dramatic effect of fiction. The interest we take in 
 hearing an uncommon fact must depend on our belief 
 in its truth. Introduce it mto fiction, and this 
 interest ceases ; the reader stops to question the pro- 
 bability of the narrative, the illusion and the dra- 
 matic effect are at once destroyed ; and as to the 
 moral, no safe conclusion for conduct can be drawn, 
 from any circumstances which have not frequently 
 happened, and which are not likely often to recur. 
 In proportion as events are extraordinary, they are 
 unsafe and useless as foundations for prudential 
 reasoning. The writer is reduced to the difficulty of 
 omitting the evidence on which the belief of reality 
 exists, or of introducing what is incongruous, out of 
 proportion to the rest of the story, delaying its pro- 
 gress, or destructive of its unity. But without enter- 
 ing further into theory, most literary manufacturers 
 practically know how dangerous it is to put a patch 
 of truth into a work of fiction. The truth is too 
 strong for the fiction, and on all sides pulls it 
 asunder. 
 
 My father's knowledge of the world, and all that 
 he had had opportunities of seeing behind the scenes 
 in the drama of life, was, independently of particular 
 anecdotes, of inestimable service to me. What I 
 could not otherwise have known was thus supplied 
 to me in the best possible manner. Few female 
 authors, perhaps none, have ever enjoyed such ad- 
 vantages in a critic, friend, and father united. Few 
 
446 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 have been blessed with, in their own family, such 
 able assistance, such powerful motive, such constant 
 sympathy. 
 
 My father never carried on what is called a regular 
 correspondence. He wrote even to his most intimate 
 friends only when prompted by some immediate 
 subject, either of business or affection. His most 
 regular correspondence was with the late excellent 
 Joseph Johnson his bookseller — the man of whom 
 the poet Cowper speaks so frequently in his letters 
 with strong regard, and with expressions of just 
 esteem. All, who have ever had any connexion with 
 him, think of him, I believe, in the same manner. I 
 can answer for my father's having had the highest 
 opinion of his professional integrity, of his humane, 
 liberal, benevolent character, and of his amiable 
 temper. 
 
 He considered Mr. Johnson quite as a friend. 
 Indeed he had reason to do so. It is difficult, with- 
 out hurting the feelings, or in some way compromising 
 the characters of others, to bring before the public 
 examples in support of these assertions ; but, sup- 
 pressing names and dates, one fact I may mention. 
 
 A manuscript, written by a celebrated person, and 
 containing the life of one still more interesting to the 
 public, was offered to Mr. Johnson. He knew, that 
 it was likely to be a popular work, and, on the terms 
 on which it was offered, it would have been to him a 
 very advantageous speculation : but, it contained 
 some abuse of my father (of what nature I do not 
 know). Mr. Johnson returned the manuscript, refus- 
 ing to have any thing to do with it, unless these 
 passages were struck out. The invective was conse- 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 447 
 
 quently obliterated, and some flattery substituted. 
 Not till a length of time afterwards did the secret 
 transpire to one of our friends, who, knowing it would 
 give my father pleasure to hear of our bookseller's 
 handsome conduct, communicated it to us. 
 
 Some years afterwards we received from one of 
 Johnson's nephews the following account of the death 
 of this valuable man, and of another liberal act in 
 our favour, literally in his last moments. 
 
 " dear sin, London, 2\st December, 1809. 
 
 " I am sorry it foils to my lot, to communicate to you the melan- 
 choly and sudden change, which has taken place in our family. 
 My ever to he lamented uncle, Mr. Johnson, terminated his 
 honourable life yesterday afternoon, about four o'clock. His illness 
 was short, for, on Sunday morning, he was as well as usual ; since 
 which time, an inflammation in the lungs took place, and baffled 
 all the exertions of his medical attendants. A short time 
 before he died, he dictated the following words, and soon after 
 expired. 
 
 " ' My uncle is so afflicted with the spasms and asthma, that he 
 has desired me to write to you, to say, that he should ill deserve 
 your confidence, if he were rigidly to adhere to the contract, 
 which he made for the last work ; the sale of which has enabled 
 him, to double the original purchase money, and to place the 
 sum to the credit of your account.' 
 " I remain, 
 
 With the greatest respect, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 John Mlles." 
 
 Mr. Miles was alone with Mr. Johnson when this 
 was dictated. What Johnson so generously ordered 
 was immediately paid by his executors in the most 
 handsome manner, and with an alacrity, which shewed 
 that his representatives felt pleasure in maintaining 
 his character for liberality. 
 
 Some time after Johnson's death, an engraved 
 portrait of him was published, of which his nephews 
 
448 MEMOIRS or 
 
 sent us a copy. My father wrote under the print the 
 following lines. 
 
 " Wretches there are, their lucky stars who bless 
 Whene'er they find a Genius in distress : 
 Who starve the Bard, and stunt his growing fame, 
 Lest they should pay the value for his name. 
 But Johnson raised the drooping Bard from earth, 
 And fostered rising Genius from its birth : 
 His liberal spirit a profession made 
 Of what with vulgar souls, is vulgar trade. 
 
 R. L. E." 
 
 Two years after Mr. Johnson's death, we had 
 opportunities of seeing more of the liberal character 
 of his successors, in their conduct to a very deserving 
 person, whom we introduced to them, Mrs. Lead- 
 beater, author of " Cottage Dialogues" She trusted 
 entirely to them, and had ample reason to be 
 satisfied. My father, who was as much pleased as she 
 could be, wrote, warm at the moment, the following 
 note. 
 
 " MY DEAR GENTLEMEN, 
 
 " I have just heard your letter to Mrs. Leadbeater read, by one 
 who dropped tears of pleasure, from a sense of your generous and 
 handsome conduct. I take great pleasure in speaking of you to 
 the rest of the world, as you deserve ; and I cannot refrain from 
 expressing to yourselves the genuine esteem, that I feel for you. 
 I know, that this direct praise is scarcely allowable, but my 
 advanced age, and my close connexion with you, must be my 
 excuse. 
 
 " Yours, sincerely, 
 " Edgeworth-Town, May the 31st, 1811. R. L. E." 
 
 -" My 68th Birth-day." 
 
 This warm-hearted note is characteristic of my 
 father more than most of his letters. In general 
 they give no notion of his manner of speaking, 
 therefore I do not regret that I have so few of 
 them to lay before the public : his style in writing 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 449 
 
 and speaking was more different than can well be 
 conceived, by those who did not personally know 
 him. The character of his writing, if I mistake not, 
 is sober good sense, but his conversation was, as all 
 who heard it felt, full of the enthusiasm of genius, 
 and the energy of benevolence. Young persons 
 delighted in it especially ; to them his manner was 
 peculiarly winning, encouraging, inspiring, and per- 
 manent in its effect. 
 
 Many have gratified me by the assurance that they 
 owed to him their first hopes of themselves, their 
 resolution to improve, and a happy change in the 
 colour and fortune of their lives. In fact in many 
 instances, the strong ambition he inspired, to deserve 
 his approbation and esteem, became a permanent, 
 governing motive in the minds of persons even 
 unconnected with him, or with his family, 
 
 2 g 
 
450 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 In 1813 my father went to England for the last time 
 in his life. Mrs. Edgeworth and I accompanied 
 him, and spent the season of that year in London. 
 He had the happiness of renewing old friendships, and 
 the pleasure of becoming acquainted with almost 
 all the persons of the present day most distinguished 
 for worth and talents. Parents of all ranks were 
 anxious to obtain from him his opinion of their chil- 
 dren, and his counsels on education. 
 
 They would not allow him to consider himself as 
 a stranger. They spoke to him with grateful frank- 
 ness, as to a person long known and loved by their 
 families. After we had enjoyed this delightfully 
 cordial gratifying reception, and seen the London 
 panorama of society, and admired all the several 
 bright stars and constellations, we returned satisfied 
 to our retired home. 
 
 In former times it had been with painful feel- 
 ings, that my father had, on his return from 
 England to Ireland, remarked the wide extremes — 
 the shocking contrast between the affluence and 
 poverty, the happiness and misery, of the two coun- 
 tries. But now, this contrast was less striking, 
 though the difference was still great, yet it was 
 diminished and diminishing ; a spirit of improve- 
 ment had arisen. That " sordid content," which he 
 
R. L. EDGEW011T1I, ESQ. 451 
 
 had deplored as the bane of industry, that despair- 
 ing indolence, that recklessness of the future, which 
 formerly characterised the lower classes of the people, 
 have, within the last thirty or forty years, consider- 
 ably diminished ; hope, industry, laudable ambition, 
 habits of forecast and providence, have appeared. 
 At the time to which I now allude, that is just before 
 the peace (in 1814), this was strikingly apparent in 
 the increase of the comforts, as well as the necessaries 
 of life, among the poor. Speaking without exagge- 
 ration, I may say, that increasing attempts towards 
 order and neatness in their dwellings, apparel, and 
 mode of living, became in this part of Ireland every 
 where visible. 
 
 Assertions are not so satisfactory as particular facts ; 
 and yet even the statement of facts leads some- 
 times to misconception, from the propensity of the 
 English public to believe, that what is true of a part 
 of Ireland is true of the whole ; while on the other 
 hand, it is not always possible, to enter into sufficient 
 detail, to give information without fatiguing the 
 fastidious taste of high-bred impatient benevolence. 
 With all possible, or with all convenient brevity, I 
 will state the improvements we observed in our own 
 county and neighbourhood, and say what I think is 
 attributable to the residence and influence of landed 
 proprietors. Several gentlemen in the county of 
 Longford having become resident, contributed in 
 various ways to this end ; some had beautified the 
 face of the country with extensive plantations, and 
 the taste for planting had been raised among the 
 middle class of farmers, and among even the smallest 
 occupiers of land. Hedge rows appeared, and corners 
 of fields well stocked with trees, tolerably fenced ; 
 
 2 (•; O 
 
452 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and the tenant's right in all he planted being secured 
 by the Irish registry act, the planting had been car- 
 ried on with the activity which security of possession 
 unfailingly creates. My father had but little share 
 in promoting improvement in planting, except by 
 supplying of course his own tenantry with young 
 trees, and by the confidence they had in him, that 
 even if they neglected to register they should enjoy 
 the full value of every twig they planted. He regretted 
 that he had not early begun to plant his estate, and 
 he desired to note this oversight for the sake of those 
 who were to come after him. He had better reason 
 to be satisfied with himself in other respects. 
 
 The exertions he made from the time he settled 
 at Edgeworth-Town in 1782, in building comfortable 
 dwellings for some, and in assisting others to build 
 the same for themselves ; — his never following the 
 vile system of making forty shilling freeholders, 
 merely for electioneering purposes — the reasonable 
 rent and tenure at which he let his land — the unusual 
 time which he allowed his tenants to make their rent 
 — his freeing them from duty work — his avoiding as 
 much as possible, in his leases, oppressive or restric- 
 tive clauses — his respecting the tenant's right, 
 wherever tenants had improved — his encouraging 
 them by the certainty of justice and kindness — his 
 discouraging all expectation of partial favor or protec- 
 tion, if they transgressed the laws, or if they lived 
 in indolence and inebriety ; succeeded altogether 
 beyond his most sanguine hopes, in meliorating the 
 condition of the people. Especially within the last 
 twenty years, his tenantry, and the whole face of 
 his estate, strikingly improved not only in appearance, 
 but in reality. The poorest class of his tenants, who 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 453 
 
 m former times lived in smoke and dirt, in too piti- 
 able a condition for description, have now to most 
 of their cabins chimneys and windows, comfortable 
 thatch, and good earthen floors. The dunghills no 
 longer stop up the windows, nor is " the first step 
 out of the cabin into the dirt." The number of slated 
 houses and boarded floors has much encreased ; and 
 what is of more consequence, and of better promise, 
 for the future permanence of good habits, and for the 
 progress of improvement, much of what has been 
 done has been effected, not by the landlord, but by 
 the tenants. Even some of the poorest have exerted 
 themselves, to make small additions and improve- 
 ments in their habitations. No matter how small, 
 my father always, from the first dawning of hope, 
 hailed the appearance of these efforts with due en- 
 couragement and assistance ; and this, more than any 
 pecuniary donations, tended to increase the dispo- 
 sition to exertion. Even from the first mending of a 
 gap, or the digging a rough cabbage-garden, the 
 planting a hedge, or the building a rude wall, he had 
 hopes ; and in these he was not disappointed. 
 
 It may be proper to mention, for those who see 
 things more in a prudential or monetary, than either 
 in a sentimental or patriotic point of view, that his 
 pecuniary interests did not ultimately suffer for any 
 temporary sacrifices or forbearance, which he had 
 shewn towards his tenants. On the contrary, his 
 land very considerably increased in value, from the 
 effect of better cultivation ; and this was proportion- 
 ably felt in his income at the close of leases, when 
 the land reverted to him. In other cases, when the 
 times altered at the peace, when the change of prices 
 
454 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and the fall in demand ruined many, both tenants and 
 landlords — and when the distress in this country was 
 so great, that rents could not be obtained — his, with 
 few exceptions, and with moderate allowance, were 
 regularly paid. 
 
 As he advanced in years, my father had the very 
 great satisfaction of seeing himself surrounded by a 
 respectable, independent, attached, grateful tenantry. 
 He endeavoured to be of use, not only to his 
 tenantry, but to all within his influence as a country 
 gentleman ; not merely by relieving the wants of the 
 poor, but by protecting them as a magistrate from 
 injustice and oppression, by instructing them as to 
 their real interests, showing them the consequences 
 of their bad habits, and exciting and encouraging 
 them by approbation and assistance to improve. 
 In this point of view his residence in Ireland suc- 
 ceeded beyond his hopes. In the course of twenty 
 years a considerable number of human beings had been 
 trained in the way they should go, and others, timely 
 advised, have been saved from guilt and destruction. 
 Reclaimed from the effects of ignorance and bad 
 example, or raised from the indolence of despair, 
 they have become good subjects, and useful members 
 of society. In various lines of humble life, he edu- 
 cated and forwarded in the world many excellent 
 servants, workmen, and tradespeople ; and in classes 
 much above these, several young persons, sons of 
 tenants, who looked up to him for protection and 
 advice, and whose early habits and principles he 
 happily influenced, have advanced in different pro- 
 fessions, and have succeeded in situations beyond 
 his or their most sanguine expectations. He took 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 455 
 
 pleasure and pride in counting the numbers of those, 
 who from our remote little village have gone out 
 into the world, and have made their way in foreign 
 countries. Letters from many of these from France, 
 Spain, America, from the East and West Indies — 
 news of their success, evidence of their good conduct, 
 and tokens of their affection and gratitude — have 
 often, in his latter years, and to his latest days, 
 gladdened my father's heart. 
 
 The residence of well-educated landed proprietors 
 contributed to improve, not only the pecuniary cir- 
 cumstances, prudence, and moral conduct of the 
 lower classes, but refined and elevated the tastes and 
 maimers of all the middle and intermediate classes 
 of gentry. In the course of a quarter of a century, 
 even in our own memory and observation, in our own 
 county and neighbourhood the whole style and tone 
 of society altered. — The fashion has passed away of 
 those desperately tiresome, long, formal dinners, 
 which were given two or three times a year by 
 each family in the country to their neighbours, 
 where the company had more than they could eat, 
 and twenty times more than they should drink ; 
 where the gentlemen could talk only of claret, 
 horses, or dogs ; and the ladies, only of dress or 
 scandal : so that in the long hours, when they were 
 left to their own discretion, after having examined 
 and appraised each other's finery, many an absent 
 neighbour's character was torn to pieces merely for 
 want of something to say or to do in the stupid 
 circle. But now, the dreadful circle is no more ; the 
 chairs, which formerly could only take that form, at 
 which the firmest nerves must ever tremble, are 
 
456 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 allowed to stand, or turn in any way which may suit 
 the convenience and pleasure of conversation. The 
 gentlemen and ladies are not separated from the time 
 dinner ends, till the midnight hour, when the carriages 
 came to the door to carry off the bodies of the dead ; 
 or, till just sense enough being left, to find their way 
 straight to the tea-table, the gentlemen could only 
 swallow a hasty cup of cold coffee or stewed tea, and 
 be carried off by their sleepy wives, happy if the 
 power of reproach were lost in fatigue. 
 
 No doubt in all other parts of Ireland where gentry 
 have settled, similar improvements in society have 
 appeared. The residence of great English landed 
 proprietors, wherever it has been, must have operated 
 advantageously, by bringing to Ireland, by their 
 intermarriages and wide-spread connexions, numerous 
 visitors, and encreasing the much wanted reciprocal 
 knowledge of each other in both countries. But 
 without extending our view further it is not foreign 
 to our purpose to observe what has actually come 
 within our power of verification. 
 
 In our own county and neighbourhood a taste for 
 reading and literary conversation has been universally 
 acquired and diffused. Literature has become, as my 
 father long ago prophesied that it would, fashion- 
 able, indeed it is now really necessary to all 
 who would appear to advantage, even in the society 
 of country neighbours. A new generation of well- 
 informed young people has grown up, some educated 
 in England, some in Ireland ; while those of former 
 days have been obliged to change their tone of real 
 or affected contempt for reading people. They have 
 been compelled, either to cultivate themselves in haste 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 45/ 
 
 to keep pace with their neighbours, or to assume at 
 least the appearance of understanding, and of liking 
 that, which has become the mode. 
 
 About the year 1783, or 4, my father having been 
 present in the only large bookseller's shop in Dublin, 
 when a cargo of new books from London arrived, and 
 among them the Reviews, I should say Review, for 
 there was only one then sufficiently in circulation to 
 make its way to Ireland, — The Monthly Review, — 
 of this, he, on inquiry, found that not above a dozen 
 or twenty at the utmost were ordered in this island. 
 I am informed that now more than two thousand are 
 taken regularly. This may give some measure of 
 the general increase of our taste for literature. The 
 Edinburgh or Quarterly Reviews are now to be found 
 in the houses of most of our principal farmers ; and 
 the positive comparative merits or demerits of Camp- 
 bell, Byron, or Scott, are now as common table and 
 tea-table talk here as in any part of the United 
 Empire. The distinction, which about half a century 
 ago was very strongly marked, between the manners 
 and mental cultivation of a few of the highest class 
 of the aristocracy in Ireland, and of all of the 
 secondary rank of gentry, has now, by the diffusion 
 of literature and the general improvement in educa- 
 tion, been softened so much as to be effaced in its 
 striking points of contrast. What might be termed 
 the monopoly of information and elegance it is no 
 longer possible to maintain. This may be mortifying 
 in some few instances to pride, but good sense, to 
 say nothing of benevolence or patriotism, will see 
 ample compensation. Even to the few who enjoyed 
 pre-eminence it must have been, if not a "painful 
 
458 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 pre-eminence," one attended with many inconve- 
 niences and dangers; all the inconveniences of being 
 misunderstood or misrepresented, and all the dangers 
 of jealousy and envy. The pride of being without a 
 rival is dreadfully overbalanced by the misfortune of 
 being without a judge. 
 
 
K. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 459 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 I found the following fragment among my father's 
 papers. It was written in his seventy-second year, 
 and is addressed to his children : — 
 
 " Since Practical Education was written, Providence has 
 blest me with six children by my present wife, in addition to 
 twelve that I had before. I have attended with care to their 
 education, which has been entirely domestic : I have not deter- 
 mined to follow any preconceived system, but have applied the 
 lessons of my previous experience to correct what had been useless 
 or faulty in my former endeavours, to educate the elder part of 
 my family, or to confirm what I had found to be successful. I 
 now write in the seventy-second year of my age, and I think it is 
 a duty owing to my children, to let them know the means, which 
 have been taken to cultivate their understandings, to give them a 
 sense of religion, a profound veneration for the unknown cause of 
 their existence, and a sincere and practical submission to those 
 decrees, which are to us in our present state inscrutable. 
 
 " I wish to prove to my children, that pains have been taken, to 
 give them moral habits, generous sentiments, kind tempers, and 
 easy manners. How very far my success may have fallen short 
 of my endeavours, it is not for me to determine. But upon one 
 pleasing circumstance in their education I look with confident 
 pleasure; because they, and they alone, are able to judge of it. 
 All my children, except my youngest, a boy of five years old, are 
 now of an age when they are able to reflect upon what is past ; 
 and they must know that they have upon all occasions been treated 
 with perfect sincerity ; that no petty artifices, or what are strangely 
 called pious frauds, have ever been practised to encourage or to 
 deter them ; and that they have acquired necessarily habits of truth 
 entirely from principle and from example. This legacy then of a 
 
460 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 short Manual of Education I leave to my children, in the pleasing 
 hope that it will recall to them my memory with sentiments of 
 regard and kindness ; and that they will trust in some degree, in 
 the education of my grandchildren, to the means and precepts 
 which I have collected; appealing to their own retrospection of 
 the effects, which they have had in the formation of their own 
 characters." 
 
 This is all that remains of my father's intended 
 legacy ! Our feelings of regret are nothing to the 
 public ; but it may be of some consequence to those 
 who have been influenced by his works, or who may 
 hereafter look into them, to know what changes were 
 made in his opinions by his latest experience in edu- 
 cation. All these are well known to me, and as he 
 expressed to me in his last illness anxiety that they 
 should be made known, I feel it peculiarly my duty 
 to record them. 
 
 The first point of consequence on which his 
 opinions were modified (be it observed I say modified, 
 not changed,) is with regard to the non-intercourse 
 of servants with children. 
 
 I should state that in my father's childhood, ser- 
 vants in Ireland were peculiarly bad ; and in England, 
 though less vulgar, those he knew were not essentially 
 better. Some circumstances convinced him that ser- 
 vants such as he then knew were the most horrible 
 companions imaginable for children, and facts in 
 proof came to his knowledge during his acquaintance 
 with Sir Francis Delaval, which deeply impressed his 
 mind with a sense of dreadful danger. Hence the 
 vehemence of his cautions to parents, in the chapter 
 on Servants, in Practical Education, — hence the strict- 
 ness of the regulations he recommended to all families, 
 and the absolute prohibition in his own of all conver- 
 sation between children and servants. We have now, 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 46 1 
 
 both in Ireland and in England, a more refined, or at 
 least a finer race of domestics, but whether they are 
 improved as much in morals as in maimers must 
 still be questioned. 
 
 During my father's long life he had opportunities of 
 seeing the bad consequences of leaving children to 
 the companionship and influence of servants. Some of 
 the unhappy failures of apparently careful and strict 
 education in the heirs of great families were, he had 
 reason to know, attributable to the influence early 
 obtained over them by servants. Even unintention- 
 ally, and where there is ' no wickedness, only pure 
 folly, they have been found to do irreparable mis- 
 chief. Ladies' maids, young gentlemen's gentlemen, 
 footmen, grooms and coachmen, often have, as my 
 father observed, more influence than the preceptor 
 or governess ; and are in fact, remotely or imme- 
 diately, the cause of much of the extravagance, vice, 
 and follies of those under whom they seem to serve. 
 
 I recollect that Mrs. Barbauld was the first person 
 who, on the first publication of Practical Education, 
 made this unanswerable objection to the chapter on 
 Servants, — that it was impracticable, in ninety-nine 
 cases out of a hundred morally and physically impos- 
 sible. She was ready to allow, as I recollect she said, 
 that in his own family might have been found the 
 happy exception, — and this was true. In educating 
 his first family he had assistants in the relations who 
 lived with him, who made it possible to dispense with 
 much of the usual attendance of servants. 
 
 Besides this, (truth to tell) the non-intercourse 
 with servants was not absolute. There was a real 
 phoenix of a housekeeper who was an exception. 
 The children were every day for hours trusted to her 
 
462 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 charge, and in her room where they could learn only 
 good. One family haying thus in peculiar circum- 
 stances found the plan practicable was, as my father 
 acknowledged, no rule. 
 
 Mrs. Barbauld w r as further w r ell prepared to urge 
 against his plan the tendency to foster aristocratic 
 pride and perhaps ingratitude. The one and twenty 
 other good reasons she said could be given, my father 
 spared her. The plea of impracticability is un- 
 answerable. Then his advice must be modified to 
 bring it within the bounds of possibility. As far as 
 possible prevent all unnecessary intercourse between 
 your children and servants. 
 
 Avoid all that sort of intercourse which leads to 
 companionship, — but make no absolute prohibitions, 
 no interdict against speaking to servants. 
 
 Prohibitions in this case, as in most others, tend to 
 encrease instead of diminishing the danger by creating 
 a desire to break the law, whether from curiosity or 
 the spirit of contradiction. 
 
 When children are made happy with their friends 
 above stairs they will not want to go to the lower 
 regions for amusement or indulgence. And if as 
 they grow up they are permitted to become part of 
 the family, and to join in the conversation of their 
 equals and superiors, they will not need the flattery 
 of servants and dependants ; and the taste for good 
 company, meaning persons of superior attainments 
 and noble qualities, will effectually supersede the love 
 of vulgar companions. 
 
 The next chapter in Practical Education, in which 
 my father desired to abolish some restrictions, was 
 that on Acquaintance. It is impossible to exclude 
 from the sight, hearing, and imagination of children, 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 463 
 
 every thing that is wrong ; the seclusion necessary 
 for the attempt would be not only difficult, but dan- 
 gerous, as it would leave young people in ignorance 
 of the world in which they are to live, and would 
 deprive them of the means of forming their judg- 
 ment on moral subjects. 
 
 On the contrary, if free intercourse be allowed 
 with various persons, they learn to judge of character, 
 and from acquaintance to select friends. In private 
 education this freedom of intercourse is particularly 
 necessary, as it is the only way in which the advan- 
 tage of early experience in large public schools can 
 be supplied. 
 
 In the course of my father's long life, after seeing 
 the result of much careful and much careless public 
 and private education, he was convinced that it is 
 vain to make nice calculations as to the effect of 
 peculiar methods of moral or of intellectual training ; 
 he perceived that by different modes and by various 
 paths we may reach the same points, and attain the 
 same objects ; therefore he no longer insisted upon 
 which road should be taken, provided the end be 
 kept clearly and constantly in view. But with this 
 encreased toleration for the modes of education his 
 faith in the power never was shaken. Far from 
 becoming sceptical his belief in the certainty of its 
 operation encreased and strengthened, and in propor- 
 tion as his anxiety and exactness about the lesser 
 points decreased, he grew more eager and more atten- 
 tive to strengthen the great moral principles of action. 
 
 As to intellectual education, he had commenced 
 with a belief that there is no considerable difference 
 between the original predispositions of children for 
 one art, science, or study, excepting what may arise 
 
464 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 from differences in their organs of sight, hearing, &c. 
 Allowing for these, he doubted that there was any 
 difference in the power of the understanding, or 
 any but what education could equalize. In short, he 
 did not believe in what is called original genius. 
 Genius he considered to be the power of invention ; 
 and the superiority in this power which appears in 
 some men he attributed to accident, which roused 
 and incited their attention early, and to judicious 
 early culture. 
 
 But on longer observation of children, and further 
 experience in education, he could not but be con- 
 vinced that there is an undeniable difference, not 
 only in the original quickness of the senses, but also 
 in the intellectual powers of attention, conception, 
 imagination, and memory, — memory especially. He 
 had formerly not only attributed all faults of memory 
 to mere want of attention, but had undervalued the 
 faculty, I must say, ungratefully, for Heaven had 
 blest him with a remarkably good memory, and, never 
 having felt the want, he had never sufficiently prized 
 the gift ; further, he had been disgusted by the 
 misuse of the faculty in some who call a good 
 memory that which retains dates and historic facts 
 indiscriminately, and merely for pedantic or ostenta- 
 tious display in writing or conversation. Memory is 
 absolutely essential to the exercise of the invention ; 
 memory collects, stores, and retains and recals, at the 
 fit moment, all the facts, ideas, materials, on which 
 Invention works, and on which she can alone work, 
 by combining, not creating. In this point of view, 
 memory rose to its just value. 
 
 And as to the rest, whatever original difference 
 there may or may not be in the natural faculties, the 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 465 
 
 only question of much importance is, whether defi- 
 ciencies can be supplied or defects remedied by edu- 
 cation. The rest is a merely speculative metaphysic 
 question. That much, if not all, may be done by 
 judicious culture, my father continued to be firmly 
 convinced. 
 
 In some few points, however, he altered his opinion 
 as to the early modes of training the attention and 
 cultivating the faculties of children. Formerly he 
 had been shocked by the long lessons in spelling and 
 grammar, &c. ; he disapproved of learning by heart 
 or by rote ; he thought that all these irksome and 
 fatiguing tasks might bring on unconquerable disgust 
 to literature, and for no purpose, since there can be 
 little danger, as he said, that any child of common 
 sense should fail to learn in due time to read, spell, 
 and write a legible hand, or to obtain a quantum 
 suff. of grammar and history. All this is true ; but 
 further experience convinced him that what he called 
 useless drudgery, is absolutely necessary to train chil- 
 dren early to the habit of labor, and the power of 
 attention, and perseverance, essential to future suc- 
 cess or advancement in any profession, in any business 
 in life, or in science, or in literature. And further 
 experience shewed him, that much inconvenience 
 results from pupils having to learn common things at 
 an advanced and unusual period of education. Even 
 though the pupils might perhaps excel in higher exer- 
 cises of the understanding, and possess superior capacity 
 and taste for knowledge, yet there would be a certain 
 sense of inferiority and shame attendant on the con- 
 sciousness of ignorance of common things not in 
 themselves valuable. This sense of shame, besides its 
 being a painful feeling, is to be dreaded at the time 
 
 2 H 
 
466 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 when young people are entering the world. It em- 
 barrasses them just at the moment when the mind 
 ought to be free and vigorous for the competitions of 
 youth. With pupils who have had a private educa- 
 tion this is particularly dangerous. When they first 
 measure themselves with others, the perception of 
 any deficiency, especially any obvious to ridicule, 
 tends to raise a fear that all has been wrong in their 
 education ; and in the midst of the fright, and hurry 
 and pressure of immediate business, there is no time 
 or possibility for remedy, or power of recovering 
 self-confidence or self-possession. All possible pre- 
 cautions should therefore be taken, that young people 
 brought up at home should not, on going out into 
 the world, find themselves inferior to others, or be 
 subject to the reproach of having been educated in 
 some odd way. 
 
 With respect to the choice between private and 
 public education, I find my father's last opinion re- 
 corded in a letter to Dr. Rees, editor of Rees's 
 Cyclopedia. These are his own words : — 
 
 " I most earnestly deprecate the conclusion that 
 has been drawn from our books, that we recommended 
 in general private education for boys. 
 
 " We know that it is in general impracticable — 
 and think that it requires an uncommon coincidence 
 of circumstances to make it in any case advisable." 
 
 But whether public or private education be pursued, 
 there are some points of domestic preparation as to 
 teaching moral principles and habits, which my father 
 desired strongly to enforce. 
 
 For many years of his life he had been under one 
 important mistake. He had believed that if even 
 children, could be made early to see and under- 
 
R.L.EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 46? 
 
 stand that virtue will render them happy, and that 
 vice will render them miserable, either in this world 
 or in the next, they would, in consequence of this 
 conviction, constantly follow virtue, and avoid vice. 
 
 He therefore insisted, in the first place, upon the 
 cultivation of the reasoning faculty, and upon the 
 constant appeal to it in childhood for the govern- 
 ment of the child, trusting that thus he might be 
 trained to govern himself when he should become 
 a man. 
 
 In the instances which he had known of men who 
 see the best, and yet the worst pursue, he attributed 
 this to some error in their early intellectual training ; 
 he supposed that the moral truths had not been well 
 demonstrated to them, and that conviction had never 
 reached their understanding. But alas ! resolution is 
 often wanting, where conviction is perfect in theory. 
 Probably, nine times out of ten, vicious conduct 
 arises, not from want of knowledge of good and evil, 
 or from want of conviction that the one leads to 
 happiness and the other to misery, but from actual 
 deficiency in the strength of resolution. Were the 
 demonstration of moral truths clear as the mathema- 
 tical demonstrations of Euclid they would not, they 
 could not, in perilous moments of passion, control 
 the will, or govern the conduct. It is in vain to 
 expect that resolution should stand in the trials of 
 youth, unless it have been previously practised and 
 strengthened by exercise, from earliest childhood. 
 Unless principle, the habit of submission to the sense 
 of duty, the habit of self control, have been formed 
 from the earliest years, there will be no safety in 
 the time of temptation. All who have observed 
 the human mind, all who have attended to their 
 
468 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 own feelings must know, that at the first rising of 
 any passion reason is disturbed ; the data suddenly 
 vary ; the whole scale of human happiness alters ; 
 the very perceptions of pain and pleasure change 
 at once in the fever of the soul. It is during this 
 suspension of reason that habit will act with the 
 power of moral instinct, and safely guide the conduct 
 to the right point. 
 
 That these are not mere words, all who have lived 
 long in the world will feel. They must have seen 
 innumerable and fatal instances of the truth of this 
 assertion, that reason, even right reason, can never 
 alone govern human creatures. There must be 
 early formed moral and religious habit of submis- 
 sion to the sense of duty. This is the point which 
 I know my father would have urged with his 
 utmost force, if he had written his last thoughts 
 on Education. 
 
 The silence which has been observed in Practical 
 Education on the subject of religion has been mis- 
 understood by some, and misrepresented by others. 
 
 To misrepresentation, apparently wilful, and made 
 in acrimonious language of party spirit and intolerance, 
 my father never deigned to reply. But to those, who 
 with upright and benevolent intentions, from a sense 
 of public duty, and in a spirit of Christian charity, 
 made remonstrances on this subject, he thought it due 
 to give all the explanation in his power. 
 
 Professor Pictet, of Geneva, was the first, to whose 
 able and kind animadversions in the Bibliotheque 
 Britannique he replied. 
 
 The correspondence, which passed between them 
 is prefixed to a French translation of "Practical Edu- 
 cation," published at Paris and Geneva in 1 800. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 46 ( J 
 
 In the preface to the second English edition, pub- 
 lished in 1801, my father, by whom that preface was 
 written, adverts to M. Pictet's strictures, and con- 
 cludes with these words — 
 
 " The authors continue to preserve the silence upon this 
 subject which they before thought prudent ; but they disavow, 
 in explicit terms, the design of laying down a system of education 
 founded upon morality, exclusive of religion" 
 
 After this declaration, my father never felt himself 
 called upon to say more upon the subject, till, in 
 1812, he accidentally met with an admirable article 
 on " Intellectual Education" in Rees's Cyclopedia. 
 As we read on, we found in it many expressions so 
 flattering to ourselves, that I should not here venture 
 to mention it, but for the importance of the subject, 
 on which it is necessary to cite the facts. 
 
 The following letter of my father speaks for itself. 
 
 "sir, Edgeworth-Town, Aug. 18, 1812. 
 
 " Having this day seen the article, 'Intellectual Education* in 
 your Cyclopedia, I cannot delay returning my acknowledgments 
 for the very candid and liberal manner in which ' Practical Edu- 
 cation ' has been discussed in your dictionary. 
 
 " The large mind, which comprehends and directs the mag- 
 nificent national work in which you are engaged, is every where 
 visible ; and we consider, that what would have been only of 
 temporary duration in our book, will now be permanently pre- 
 served in yours. I must, however, regret, that an error pervades 
 the whole, which has been adopted by most of our critics, and 
 which we most earnestly deprecate — the imputation of disre- 
 garding religion in Education. 
 
 " In the French translation of ' Practical Education,' this sub- 
 ject is discussed in the preface, and I beg from your justice, that 
 some occasion may be taken of entering our protest against this 
 charge. We hope, that in ' Professional Education,' under the 
 head ' Clerical Education,' we have evinced a proper sense of the 
 Clerical character, and an enlarged view of religious sanction. 
 
.4/0 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 This chapter was written for the Clergy of the Establishment, to 
 which we belong; but our views in 'Practical Education' were 
 not confined to any sect or nation. 
 
 " Oul- private tenets are of little consequence to the public, 
 but we are convinced, that religious obligation is indispensably 
 necessary in the education of all descriptions of people, in every 
 part of the world. 
 
 " We dread fanaticism and intolerance, whilst we wish to hold 
 religion in a higher point of view, than as a subject of seclusive 
 possession, or of outward exhibition. To introduce the awful 
 ideas of God's superintendence upon puerile occasions, we ■decline. 
 At the same time, we have not presumed to blame others for 
 acting upon a different persuasion. 
 
 " I have the honor to be a member of the Board of Education 
 in Ireland. My opinions on the subject of national education 
 appear in our reports. By these I hope I shall obtain the justice 
 due to me on the subject, and that it will appear, that I consider 
 religion, in the large sense of the ivord, to be the only certain bond 
 of society" 
 
R. L. EDGE WORTH, ESQ. 471 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 " But grant the virtues of a temperate prime ; 
 Bless with an age exempt from scorn or crime, 
 An age that melts in unperceiv'd decay, 
 And glides in modest innocence away ; 
 Whose peaceful day benevolence endears, 
 Whose night congratulating conscience cheers ; 
 The general fav'rite, as the general friend : 
 Such age there is, and who could wish its end ? 
 Yet, ev'n on this her load misfortune flings, 
 To press the weary minute's flagging wings ; 
 New sorrow rises as the day returns, 
 A sister sickens, or a daughter mourns ; 
 Now kindred merit fills the sable bier, 
 Now lacerated friendship claims a tear ; 
 Year chases year, decay pursues decay, 
 Still drops some joy from withering life away : 
 New forms arise, and different views engage, 
 Superfluous lags the veteran on the stage, 
 Till pitying nature signs the last release, 
 And bids afflicted worth depart in peace." 
 
 These are beautiful lines. But this picture of 
 age, drawn by the master-hand of a great moralist, 
 is darkened by his constitutional melancholy. If 
 the virtues of a temperate prime include energy 
 of character, and habits of useful activity, age may 
 hope to be blessed with more than the negative 
 happiness of being exempt from scorn or crime, 
 something more even than melting in unperceived 
 decay. 
 
472 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 In the course of his life, my father had known 
 the weight of misfortune ; he had felt what it is 
 to lose the object of the fondest affection ; he had 
 submitted to the loss of children, and to the death 
 of friends : year after year, sorrow after sorrow had 
 pressed upon him ; but, instead of suffering his mind 
 to fix in ungrateful despair upon the joys which 
 " drop from withering life away," he had, with true 
 gratitude to Providence, enjoyed the blessings which 
 remained, and had resolutely cultivated the promise 
 of another spring. New forms arose, and different 
 views engaged ; but these forms were dear, and 
 attached to him by grateful affection, and in all 
 these different views he sympathised and assisted. 
 Never could he know the dreadful feeling of the 
 veteran, who lags superfluous on the stage ; for 
 besides his public use and influence in a wide circle 
 of connexions, he was conscious that his large family 
 were continually guided by his experience, excited 
 by his energy, and made happy by kindness, such as 
 a father only can feel or bestow. 
 
 As every human being, if he live, must grow old, 
 it cannot be uninteresting to him to know something 
 of the old age of those who have made themselves 
 happy and beloved in the decline of life. My father 
 was a remarkably happy old man. I may therefore 
 dwell upon this period of his life, and observe what 
 circumstances conduced particularly to this happiness. 
 In the first place, I should say it principally arose from 
 his preparing cheerfully to meet old age, instead of 
 letting it overtake him. 
 
 When he was about sixty, I recollect his being 
 struck with an expression of a friend much farther 
 advanced in years than himself, the Abbe Morellet. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 4/3 
 
 " Ivhear people complaining of growing old," said 
 the venerable Abbe, " but for my part, I enjoy the 
 " privileges and comforts, in short, the convenience 
 " of old age (les commodites de la vieillesse)." 
 
 This amiable, respectable, and respected old man, 
 in some playful lines he wrote on his own birthday, 
 declares, that if the gods were to permit him to return 
 again on earth, in whatever form he might chuse, he 
 should make perhaps the whimsical choice of return- 
 ing to this world as an old man. Without going 
 quite so far as this, my father was, as he advanced in 
 years, as cheerful, and more serenely happy, than at 
 any previous period. Reflecting upon and comparing 
 his felicity at different ages, he often assured me, that 
 he thought the last thirty years of his life had been 
 the happiest. It is remarkable, that though men, as 
 they advance in years seem so much to regret the 
 past, yet there are few, who, if the offer were made 
 to them, would like to live their lives over again. Of 
 the numbers to whom my father proposed this ques- 
 tion, I have never known any person answer in the 
 affirmative. Him alone I have heard repeatedly 
 declare, that, provided he were allowed to correct 
 some faults, he would willingly accept the terms. 
 He could not more strongly mark his conviction, that 
 the sum of good he had enjoyed infinitely surpassed 
 the pain or evil. In his latter years, his children 
 often heard him repeat, that he had been happy in 
 this world beyond his utmost expectations, and that 
 he really thought he had been allowed more than his 
 share of blessings. 
 
 In his seventy -first year his flow of spirits, youth of 
 heart, and vigour of intellect promised many years 
 more of life and enjoyment. But it happened, on the 
 
4/4 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 evening of a day when some visitor who saw him for 
 the first time had been struck with his remarkable 
 healthy appearance, and by his enjoyment of that 
 family happiness of which he was the centre and the 
 cause, he was seized by an alarming and painful ill- 
 ness. Long confinement, to him worse than pain, he 
 endured with fortitude, — and more than fortitude, — 
 with constant temper and cheerfulness between every 
 remission of pain. 
 
 One morning after a good night's sleep he felt 
 reviving health, he called me to him, and bid me 
 write these words — 
 
 " I beg it may be remembered that I now declare, 
 " that all the bodily pain I have felt during this 
 " illness has been overbalanced by the pleasure 
 " of mind I have felt from the kindness of my 
 " friends, and from the delightful feeling of gra- 
 " titude." 
 
 At the moment of return to health he observed 
 that this pleasure of renovated strength and health 
 could never have been felt by one who had not been 
 stretched on the bed of sickness, or who had never 
 known the taste of pain ; he pointed out to us that 
 though it is the lot of our nature to suffer, yet even 
 from our suffering pain beneficent Providence has 
 ordained that a new pleasure shall arise, — the pleasure 
 of cessation of pain, to which Burke, in his essay on 
 the Sublime and Beautiful, assigns peculiarly the name 
 of delight. 
 
 The first time he walked out, — it was a fine autumn 
 evening I recollect, — he repeated those well-known 
 
 lines : 
 
 " Fragrant the fertile earth, 
 After soft showers ; and sweet the coming on 
 Of crrateful evening mild." 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 4/5 
 
 As he had grown older, he had become more sen- 
 sible to the beauties of external nature. He took more 
 pleasure in observing the seasons and their change, 
 the influence of the cheerful sun, the refreshing 
 breeze, the song of birds. He enjoyed more all those 
 simple pleasures which are commonly supposed to be 
 felt peculiarly by the young, and to pass away with 
 the first impressions of novelty, or with the first 
 enthusiasm of poetry and romance. 
 
 The being capable of returning to these simple 
 pleasures, and enjoying them in age, is, as he re- 
 marked, one of the rewards of those, who preserve, 
 with a peaceful conscience, minds untainted by 
 avarice or ambition, and undisturbed by any malig- 
 nant passions. 
 
 One evening after having repeatedly said, " how I 
 enjoy my existence !" he observed, that Dr. Darwin 
 was right in asserting, that a sense of pleasure is 
 annexed to the mere feeling of existence ; and that 
 this, independently of other causes, creates an attach- 
 ment to life, encreasing with habit, instead of diminish- 
 ing and fading, like other enjoyments, with the 
 charm of novelty. From the same habit of belief, 
 which leads us to expect, that the sun which rose 
 yesterday will rise to-morrow, old men continue to 
 believe, that they shall live to-morrow, as they 
 have lived to-day. And though increasing infirmi- 
 ties, or the frequency of the deaths of those of the 
 same age, warn the old, that they cannot last beyond 
 a certain term ; yet the mere irrational habit prevails 
 so far, as to counteract much of that apprehension, 
 which might otherwise embitter the latter years of 
 life. 
 
 These truths my father pointed out to us, as some 
 
476 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of the beautiful provisions, which have been made 
 in our nature for the tranquillity of age. Whatever 
 he said on such subjects came with peculiar force 
 from one who was free from all affectation ; his words 
 carried with them perfect conviction of the truth of 
 his feelings. 
 
 The same moralist, who described the decline of 
 life in such melancholy strains, has said, that no man 
 adds much to his stock of knowledge, or in short im- 
 proves much, after forty. Of this assertion my father 
 always doubted the truth, and he opposed the prin- 
 ciple, as injurious to the cause of knowledge and 
 virtue, and tending to lessen the energy and happiness 
 of a large portion of human existence. From forty 
 to threescore years and ten, the ordinary limits of 
 the age of man, comprises above a third part of his 
 life, during which his intellect would be by this 
 principle condemned to remain stationary, or to 
 become retrograde. Every instance to the contrary 
 is encouraging and useful to humanity ; and such my 
 father loved to recollect and record ; his own example 
 may now be added to the number. 
 
 As the preceding account of his life shews, it was 
 during the last thirty years, from forty to seventy, 
 that he exerted himself most constantly and effec- 
 tually in useful public undertakings, contributed most 
 to literature and science, and most improved in the 
 art of education ; the subject to which he had from 
 early youth devoted the greatest share of his atten- 
 tion. Above all other excellences he valued for 
 himself, and for his friends, this power of improving. 
 He used to say, that with it they might in time be 
 any thing, and without it in time they would be 
 nothing. 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 477 
 
 One day, in searching with my father for some 
 papers, I found some old sheets of a commonplace 
 book, which he had kept when he was a very young 
 man. He looked at the pages with an expression of 
 extreme pleasure in his countenance, for, as he said, 
 they recalled to him most agreeable associations, 
 with the time, when he first strongly felt the delight 
 of voluntary study, when he could say at the end of 
 each day, that he had added something new to his 
 stock of knowledge, or had in some respect improved 
 himself. The same habit of mind continued through 
 life. He was proud of shewing, that he could in 
 advanced age acquire new knowledge, or correct any 
 habit or fault, trifling or serious. He often assured 
 his children, and, more than asserted, demonstrated 
 by his daily practice, that it was his ambition to im- 
 prove, even to the latest hour of life. To this desire, 
 early formed, he ascribed a great portion of his 
 peculiar happiness in age. 
 
 In his own account of his childhood, he has said 
 that his temper was not only warm, but violent. 
 The natural warmth continued, but the violence was 
 completely subdued. Upon trifling occasions, per- 
 haps, he sometimes spoke hastily ; but when he felt 
 serious displeasure, or what might have broken out 
 into anger, if uncontrolled, he became silent, still, 
 and composed. 
 
 All the powers of his soul and body seemed to be 
 concentered in restraining the passion. He found 
 this absolute refraining from speech or action, the 
 most effectual mode of conquering anger. 
 
 But this silence was imposed upon himself, to 
 command, — not to conceal his feelings. He never 
 retained any obscure remains of dissatisfaction, nor 
 
478 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of any kind of mental reservation. All who lived 
 with him were secure, that he never was displeased, 
 without letting them know it. If they were in 
 any doubt as to the cause, they had only to ask, 
 and were sure of hearing, not the evasive replies 
 of " Nothing of any consequence," — or "Why 
 should you think I was displeased?" — but the truth, 
 the plain truth, and the whole truth. So that 
 every dependant, or inferior, was certain of being 
 allowed full opportunity of vindication and justice ; 
 and every friend, time for explanation, with a heart 
 open in their favor. He used to say, that all he 
 asked of his friends was to suppose, that he meant 
 kindly, till it was proved that he meant unkindly ; 
 and he did the same by them. 
 
 This sincerity he thought not only necessary to 
 the general confidence, that ought to subsist in a 
 family, but beneficial to the temper. Those who 
 have the courage to bear the shame of telling the 
 petty causes of their displeasure, or who, in more 
 important cases, can own themselves in the wrong, 
 will, he thought, have the resolution to correct their 
 faults of temper ; and will, by such candor, be secure 
 of holding the esteem and regard of every friend 
 worth preserving. 
 
 His care in the cultivation of his understanding 
 was unremitting, as well as in the management of his 
 temper. In advanced age he exerted himself to 
 prevent any of his faculties from sinking into the 
 torpid state, which precedes and portends their 
 decay. His power of memory was naturally good, 
 but as age advanced he felt that difficulty of recol- 
 lecting names and dates which is the first symptom 
 of failure of the faculties. He exerted himself to 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTII, ESQ. 479 
 
 counteract as far as possible this defect ; for this 
 purpose it was necessary to repress the anxiety and 
 impatience which naturally seizes upon the mind, and 
 increases the difficulties. This he found of essential 
 service. 
 
 Some passages on the management of the memory 
 in declining life, in Dugald Stewart's life of Reid, 
 were highly useful to him, and will be found interesting 
 to all who look for them. He assisted his memory 
 so much by reasoning and arrangement, and strength- 
 ened it so much by exertion — that it became in age 
 more alert and vigorous even than it had been in 
 youth. 
 
 But though he succeeded in preventing the 
 decay of his mental powers, he could not avert the 
 inevitable doom. He was taken dangerously ill. 
 In the winter of 1815 we went to Dublin, where he 
 had the best medical advice ; he was under the care 
 of Surgeon-general (now Sir Philip) Crampton, whose 
 great talents he had always highly admired ; and on 
 whose skill in his profession, and kindness as a friend, 
 he had perfect reliance. But all that kindness, and 
 all that skill could do, were tried in vain. The 
 digestive organs were impaired beyond the restoring 
 power of the art of medicine. 
 
 From the very commencement of this illness, it was 
 my father's presentiment, that he might linger a few 
 months, that perhaps his existence might be pro- 
 longed a year or two ; but that there could not be 
 expectation of recovery, or of any permanent enjoy- 
 ment of ease or health. This opinion, which was not 
 contradicted by his medical friend, did not diminish 
 the wonderful cheerfulness and activity of my father's 
 
480 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 mind. His intellectual energy seemed to increase, as 
 his bodily powers weakened ; and he pursued his 
 usual occupations with extraordinary zeal. 
 
 Previous to this illness, he had been occupied in 
 trying some experiments on wheel-carriages. The 
 same which he had formerly wished to have tried in 
 England, at Woburn. This had been a favorite 
 scientific object of considerable public utility, in 
 which he had persevered during a great number of 
 years, and which he anxiously desired to complete, 
 having always before his conscience the early admo- 
 nition given, the principle early instilled and followed 
 to the last, to finish whatever he began. 
 
 He had engaged to try a set of public experiments 
 for the Dublin Society, and with the assistance of 
 his son William he fulfilled his engagement, and 
 accomplished his object. In April 1815, and in May 
 1816, he tried in Dublin a set of experiments on 
 wheel-carriages, of which an account is before the 
 public* At this time he went through a degree of 
 fatigue, which no one who knew how ill he was, no 
 one indeed who saw him, could have conceived that 
 his state of health could endure. 
 
 He returned home, in such a dreadful state of 
 suffering and weakness, as left us little reason for 
 hope. Yet there was so much animation in his 
 manner, such firmness and strength in his voice — we 
 saw him revive so wonderfully in every interval of 
 sickness, and make such exertions in every intermis- 
 sion of pain, that we could not believe the body was 
 failing, while the soul was so full of life and energy. 
 But he was well aware of his imminent danger, he 
 
 * In the second Edition of his " Essay on Wheel-Carriages." 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 481 
 
 never deceived us or himself with false hopes. Nor 
 did he ever for a moment repine, even when, from the 
 loss of sight, he was deprived of all power of inde- 
 pendent occupation. 
 
 He thanked God, for the blessings still left to him, 
 and with resignation and gentle tenderness, most 
 striking in one of his vivacious temper, and indepen- 
 dent habits and character, he submitted, as he said, 
 willingly to become dependent on the kindness of 
 his friends and children. 
 
 His greatest anxiety during his whole illness was 
 to prevent his wife from wearing herself out, by her 
 unceasing exertions. He expressed a constant fear 
 of being spoiled by her extreme kindness ; for he had 
 observed, that men are apt to grow selfish in long 
 sickness, and at last to expect as a right, or to receive 
 without gratitude as a tribute, or a duty, all the con- 
 tinually recurring little efforts of affection and atten- 
 tion. Not a day, scarcely an hour passed, without 
 his giving her some proof of his care in watching 
 over himself, lest he should fall into this error. 
 
 " The smallest service merits thanks," he used 
 to repeat ; and his thanks never being mere words of 
 course, or appearing to be uttered as acquittances 
 for kindness, were ever agreeable and touching. 
 
 After days and nights of sickness and pain, such as 
 would have incapacitated any common mind, my 
 father, in the intervals of ease, listened with incon- 
 ceivable interest and energy to reading ; or dictated 
 letters. 
 
 The following may give proofs of the clearness of 
 his head. 
 
 Some circumstances recalling to his mind the time 
 
 2 I 
 
482 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of the union between England and Ireland, he dic- 
 tated the following addition to his former remarks on 
 the subject. 
 
 " 7th June 1817. 
 
 " If ever any country was governed by an oligarchy, Ireland 
 was in this situation before the union. 
 
 " The only plausible argument that has been produced in favor 
 of venal boroughs, is, that by their means men of high talents 
 obtain seats in parliament, from which, if they had not friends in 
 the aristocracy, they would necessarily be excluded. This might 
 for some little time be the case, but the necessity of employing 
 talent would soon be felt, and men of abilities would be chosen 
 for counties instead of being put in for boroughs. 
 
 " A contrary system leads to the conversion of politics into a 
 lucrative trade. If it should ever be the case, that men cannot 
 be found to fill the higher offices of government, without being 
 paid as in a profession, the spirit of the English nation will 
 evaporate. Men will then be found to advocate every cause, and 
 to advocate with ability ; but love of the country and national 
 glory will be considered as schoolboy, obsolete themes, foreign to 
 the purposes of omnipotent parliament. Some reform in the 
 House of Commons is necessary, and will in time be effected ; but 
 this must begin by a reform among the people. The petty elec- 
 tioneering views and expectations of voters are more corrupt, than 
 the designs of the most artful demagogue, that ever obtained a 
 seat in parliament. 
 
 " A complete reform in the Irish system of representation 
 actually took place at the union ; what its effects may be in check- 
 ing the influence of the crown, time alone can determine : but 
 there is every reason to suppose, that it will necessarily produce 
 a superior race of representatives, because the representative body 
 must be chosen from men, who have had all the advantages of a 
 liberal education, and all the independence which affluence can 
 confer. 
 
 " As I have formerly mentioned, it was at the time of the union 
 in my power, to have followed the career of ambition. I might 
 have obtained a seat in the imperial parliament, and might have 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 483 
 
 dedicated the remainder of my life to what is fondly called the 
 good of my country ; or which, under this name, is often meanly 
 pursued, the advancement of my family and fortune. 
 
 " I now feel most sincerely grateful to Providence, for having 
 given me sufficient prudence and resolution, to resist these tempta- 
 tions, to follow a different course, to cultivate my estate, to improve 
 my tenantry, and to educate my children. 
 
 " How far I have heen successful in these pursuits, it is not 
 for me to determine ; hut there is one enjoyment, of which it is 
 impossihle to deprive me ; the consciousness of having endeavoured 
 to do well. 
 
 " I dictate what I am now writing, in my seventy-fourth year, 
 in my bed, to which I am nearly confined by a lingering disease ; 
 and I would not at this instant exchange the satisfaction which I 
 feel from the attachment of any one of my numerous children, for 
 the largest fortune, or the highest title, that is possessed by the 
 most powerful statesman in the empire." 
 
 The following was addressed to the Minister of 
 Louis the Eighteenth, at the time when the public 
 papers announced, that a monument was erecting in 
 France, to the memory of Marie Antoinette and 
 Louis the Sixteenth. 
 
 TO MONS. DE CAZE. 
 
 " sm, Edgeivorth-Town. 
 
 " As it has fallen to your lot, to discover the last writings of 
 the magnanimous Marie Antoinette, and as every heart in Europe 
 is touched by these remains of fallen greatness, I beseech you to 
 turn, at this moment of sympathy, the attention of your country- 
 men, to the merit of the man, whom Louis the XVIth chose for 
 the depositary of his latest will and wishes, and whom Marie 
 Antoinette calls her friend, and appoints to be her Executor. 
 
 " As the nearest relation of the Abbe Edgeworth, I claim from 
 the justice of France, that his name should be inscribed on some 
 public monument, with those of the exalted personages, who 
 
484 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 relied for consolation on his fidelity and courage. The records 
 of illustrious actions do not perish with brass and marble — they 
 live in the page of history ; but even the fragile memorials of 
 art will teach the present and some future generations this 
 rare lesson : That monarchs may have friends, and that princes 
 can be grateful. 
 
 " R. L. Edge worth." 
 
 This letter to Lady Romilly was dictated to me by 
 my father, four days before his death — spoken with 
 the strength of voice of a person in perfect health, and 
 without hesitating or changing a word. 
 
 " my dear madam, June 8, 1817. 
 
 " I have a strange habit, for which I fear you will not pardon 
 me, of snatching the pen from my daughter Maria, when she is 
 going to write to you. But I will not fill the whole paper with my 
 dotage. 
 
 " Formerly it was the fashion, to write under the title of ' Letters 
 from the Dead to the Living.' I think letters from the dying, to 
 those who are in full vigor, might perhaps be full as instructive. 
 But then, who is there that has courage to speak the truth? — 
 Superstition and bigotry press upon the enfeebled mind, and enhance 
 the instinctive terror of death. If a careful retrospect be made of 
 former life ; if the faults which we have committed strike us with 
 regret, and if we do sincerely believe that we should avoid them were 
 we to live over again ; and if upon the whole we feel the internal 
 conviction, that we have exerted our faculties in the exercise of 
 our domestic duties, and, as far as it has been in our power, for the 
 public good, I do believe, that the descent to the grave, if we can 
 escape bodily pain, may resemble sinking to a sweet sleep. I am now 
 confined to my bed for the greatest part of the day. I sutler con- 
 siderable pain, and almost constant sickness ; and yet my mind 
 retains its natural cheerfulness. I enjoy the charms of literature, 
 the sympathy of friendship, and the unbounded gratitude of my 
 children. ****** an( j i ? w ith the most true submission of the 
 heart, feel silently grateful to Providence, for permitting my body 
 to die before my mind. 
 
 " When I consider what I have just said, I feel that I place 
 myself in rather an awkward situation. What right have I to 
 call up before your Ladyship, who are in the full enjoyment of 
 
R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 485 
 
 every happiness the world can bestow, melancholy ideas, which 
 relate to a person who has very little claim to your attention ? 
 And yet I never could consider your Ladyship as a common 
 acquaintance who took us up from fashion, and would lay us down 
 from caprice. 
 
 " We are heartily sorry for Lord L ****** *' s illness. 
 I look upon his Lordship to be a first rate gentleman ; and / am 
 inclined to think that the understanding of the lady is in no way 
 inferior to his. 
 
 " The little Dramas, which you mention, are inferior perform- 
 ances, upon which I assure you we set but small value. They 
 however sell well, which we are glad of, on our publisher's account. 
 In a few days I hope you will receive Maria's new Tales. I do 
 acknowledge, that I set a high value upon them. They have 
 cheered the lingering hours of my illness ; and they have — I 
 speak literally — given me more hours of pleasure during my 
 confinement, than could well be imagined from the nature of my 
 illness. 
 
 ****##*♦# 
 
 " I am, my dear Madam, 
 " With great respect, your obliged servant, 
 
 " R. L. E." 
 
 Five days after this letter was written, the writer 
 
 of it was no more ! His prayer, that he might 
 
 preserve as long as he lived his intellectual faculties, 
 was granted. To the last they continued clear, 
 vigorous, energetic ; and to the last were exerted in 
 doing good, and in fulfilling every duty, public and 
 private. — The strength of his understanding, such as 
 it had been while in perfect health, with more tharr 
 all that we ever knew of the tenderness of his heart, 
 poured forth with the last efforts of life in his 
 parting words of counsel and consolation to each of 
 his family. 
 
 In his last hours his bodily sufferings subsided ; 
 and in the most serene and happy state, he said, 
 
486 MEMOIRS OF R. L. EDGEWORTH, ESQ. 
 
 before he sunk to that sleep from which he never 
 wakened — 
 
 " I die with the soft feeling of gratitude to my 
 friends, and submission to the God who made me." 
 
 He died the 13th of June, 1817- 
 
 It remains with his children to do honor to his 
 memory. 
 
The following were my father s directions concerning 
 his burial, left in writing, addressed to his sons, 
 who were his executors. 
 
 " I desire, that I may be buried in as private a manner, and at 
 as little expense as possible. I have always endeavoured to dis- 
 countenance the desire, which the people of this country have for 
 expensive funerals. I would have neither velvet, nor plate, nor 
 gilding employed in making my coffin, which I would have carried 
 to the grave, without a hearse, by my own laborers. 
 
 " I desire, that no monument or inscription, but one precisely 
 similar to that which I have erected for my father, should be 
 erected for me." 
 
 His orders were obeyed. His coffin, without 
 velvet, plate, or gilding, and without a hearse, was 
 carried to the grave by his own laborers. There was 
 the most respectful and profound silence. His re- 
 mains were deposited in the family vault in the 
 churchyard of Edgeworth Town. No monument or 
 inscription, but one precisely similar to that which 
 he had erected for his father, has been erected for 
 him — a plain marble tablet within the church, bearing 
 his name, and the date of his birth and death. 
 
List of Essays of Mr. Edgewortlis which have 
 appeared in different periodical publications. 
 
 Philosophical Transactions. 
 
 Essay on the Resistance of the Air vol. lxxiii. — 1783. 
 
 Account of a Meteor vol. lxxiv.— 1784 
 
 Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy. 
 
 Essay on Springs and Wheel-Carriages. . . vol. ii. — 1788. 
 
 Essay on the Telegraph vol. vi. — 1795. 
 
 Monthly Magazine. 
 
 On the engraving of Bank of England Notes. vol. xii. — 1801. 
 
 Nicholson's Journal. 
 
 Essay on Rail-Roads vol. i. — 1801. 
 
 Description of an Odometer for a Carriage. . vol. xv. — 1806. 
 
 Remarks on Mr. Ryan's Boring-Machine. . . vol. xv. — 1806. 
 
 On the Construction of Theatres vol. xxiii. — 1809. 
 
 On Telegraphic Communication vol. xxvi. — 1810. 
 
 On roofing Longford Jail with flag-stones. . vol. xxix. — 1811. 
 
 Description of a new Spire vol. xxx. — 1811. 
 
 On Portland Stone, as a covering for the Spire, vol. xxxi. — 1812. 
 
 On Aerial Navigation vol. xlvii. — 1816. 
 
 On Wheel-Carriages vol. xlviii. — 1816. 
 
 Letter from Z vol. xlix. — 1817. 
 
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 : ^A EDGEWORTH, Maria. 
 9I+8.3 Memoirs of Richard 
 .E2 Lovell Edgeworth. 
 
 
 '*•** 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 EDGEWORTH 
 
 Bapst Library 
 
 Boston College 
 Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02167