Elizabeth Montagu, the queen of the bluestockings, Volumes 1 and 2

From my early youth I heartily desired to know more of the life of my great-great-aunt, Mrs. Elizabeth Montagu. Every scrap of information I could pick up respecting her I accum...

The Robinson, Sterne, and Morris families--Birth and childhood of Elizabeth Montagu--Correspondence with Duchess of Portland (_passim_)--Dr. Middleton’s second wife--“Fidget”--A...

Correspondence with Duchess of Portland (_passim_)--Sir Robert Austin--The goat story--The Freinds--Country beaux--Thomas Robinson, barrister--Lady Wallingford--Duke of Portland...

Hairdressing--Correspondence with Duchess of Portland (_passim_) --Sarah Robinson attacked by smallpox--Hayton Farm--A country squire--Handel--Dr. Middleton--Laurence Sterne--Du...

Love triumphs--Sir George Lyttelton--Edward Montagu--Anne Donnellan’s advice--Elizabeth’s engagement and marriage--Correspondence with Duchess of Portland--“Delia” Dashwood--Odd...

Journey to London--The floods--A faithful steward--The Rogers’ pedigree--A curious letter--Mr. Montagu’s visit to Newcastle --Birth of “Punch”--Inoculation--Baby clothes--Sandle...

Correspondence with the Duchess of Portland--Donnington Castle--Tunbridge Wells--Dr. Young and Colley Cibber--Buxton--Tonbridge Castle--The 1745 rising in Scotland--George Lewis...

Correspondence with Duchess of Portland--Death of Mrs. Robinson--Lydia Botham--The Hill Street house--“Such a Johnny”--Courayer--Mr. Carter’s death--Denton estate--Elixir of vit...

Ranelagh masquerade--Tunbridge Wells--Duke of Montagu’s death--Coombe Bank--The feather screen--Hinchinbrook--The Miss Gunnings--Chinese room in Hill Street--A parson’s children...

Before entering on the life of Elizabeth Robinson, afterwards Mrs. Edward Montagu, the famous _bas bleu_, the focus, as she may be called, of all the cleverest and most intellec...

On April 16, 1738, the Duchess of Portland’s son, William Henry, afterwards 3rd Duke, was born, after which Elizabeth returned home with her father. On June 30 the duchess wrote...

“Next Sunday I quit the peaceful groves and hospitable roof of Bullstrode for the noisy turbulent city; my books and serious reflections are to be laid aside for the looking-gla...

I have made but few allusions to Elizabeth’s love triumphs, but as the time approaches when she was to make her final choice, I must now allude to them. There was a certain “Mr....

At last the longed-for day arrived for Mrs. Montagu and her sister to set out southwards. Mr. Carter, the faithful old steward, insisted on travelling with them instead of his s...

The first letter of any interest in 1745 is from Mrs. Robinson to Mrs. Montagu, dated May 8. In this she alludes to the death of the second Mrs. Conyers Middleton, _née_ Miss Pl...

At the end of April, or commencement of May, Mrs. Montagu lost her excellent and amiable mother from a return of her former illness. I have no letters till the following one, un...

An account of a subscription masquerade given at Ranelagh in May opens the letters of 1749. My grandfather[467] by mistake put this in 1751. It succeeded a magnificent fête and...

Rev. William Robinson--Botham and Bishop Sherlock--Death of Dr. Chesilden--The Scott separation--South Lodge, Enfield--“Chinese pomp”--A letter to Edward Montagu--Mount Morris--...

Lord Montfort’s suicide--Mrs. Pococke--Lord Baltimore’s house--Mr. Bower’s cottage--Torriano’s marriage--Hatchlands--Sheep Leas--Painshill--Reading--Sarah Scott’s daily life--Th...

The Delany trial--Death of Dr. Clayton--Emin applies to Pitt--The attack on St. Malo--Death and will of John Rogers--The Garricks--Letters to Mrs. Elizabeth Carter (_passim_)--L...

Correspondence with Lyttelton (_passim_)--Lord Bath--The Lisbon Embassy--_Dialogues of the Dead_--Lord Chesterfield--Earl Ferrers executed--William Robinson’s marriage--Tunbridg...

Admiral Boscawen’s illness and death--Wortley Montagu’s death--“Montagu Minerva”--Voltaire’s _Tancred_--Macpherson’s _Fingal_--Lord Bath’s gift to Mrs. Carter--Dr. Young’s lette...

[1]_January 1, 1752_, an interchange of letters and compliments from the Wests and Mrs. Montagu take place. Mrs. West sends a huge turkey and ham pie, half for Mrs. Montagu, hal...

“I imagine that you will be glad to hear the history of the times, which indeed bring forth daily wonders; nor is it the least that the most profound arithmetician and the great...

“I shall enclose an _Advertizer_ in which you will find a curious article from Warsaw. It astonished all Europe to find the King of Prussia had got copies of the plans of the Im...

“The first place I shall mention to you is Alnwick, the seat of the Earl of Northumberland. The Castle is very gracious, and stands on the brow of a hill; it was formerly very s...

“Can I begin the new year more auspiciously than by dedicating the first hours of the New Year’s Day to that person from whose friendship I hope to derive so much of the honour...

Matthew Robinson, Mrs. Montagu’s eldest brother, who had been member for the borough of Canterbury, did not propose to offer himself for re-election to the new parliament, but p...

Burke, Edmund, ii. _100_, 101, 108, 144; _Vindication of Natural Society_, ii. 156; _Sublime and Beautiful_, ii. 159; Lady Bab Montagu and, ii. 163; and the Madrid Consulship, i...

Cumberland, Duke of, acts as proxy at Princess Mary’s wedding, i. 53; Septimus Robinson, Governor to, i. 177; his tutor, Dr. Robert Smith, i. 200; Edward Montagu’s wish, i. 208;...

Donnellan, “Mrs.” Anne, i. 25, 40, 41, 43, 52, 84, 124, 146, 197, 232, 240, 242–244, 252; ii. 2, 5, 13, 21, 26, 51, 183; her letters to Mrs. Montagu, i. 44, 53, 58, 70, 80, 85,...

Emin, or Ameen, Joseph, an Armenian, ii. 99, 115, 122, 165, 214; his flight to England, ii. 100; Duke of Northumberland’s kindness to, ii. 101, 102; his patron Burke, ii. 101, 1...

Lyttelton, Sir George, 1st Lord, i. 64, 278; ii. 8, 11, 22, 25, 30, 32, 35, 60, 93, 168, 245, 250, 252, 255, 260, 267; _Observations on Cicero_, i. 82; Mrs. Montagu on his Verse...

Medows, Jemima, Lady (_née_ Montagu), i. 111, 117, 128, 148, 149, 153, 154, 158, 184, 248, 262, 266, _273_; ii. 12, 61, 129, 144, 151, 163, 177; her letters to Mrs. Montagu, ii....

Pendarves, Mrs. (_née_ Granville), afterwards Mrs. Delany, “Pen,” i. 18, 25, 40, 43–47, _50_, 56, 57, 98, 103, 116, 146; her letters to Mrs. Montagu, i. 101, 116, 131. _See also...

Pope, Alexander, i. 7, _54_; ii. 57, 113; his epitaph--“Under the marble, etc.,” i. 24; _Dunciad_, i. _38_, 172; _Letters_, i. 89; his villa at Twickenham, i. 163; at Mount Bevi...

Robinson, Sarah (sister), afterwards Mrs. George Lewis Scott, “Pea,” i. 5, 21, 34, 37, 78, 117, 135, 143, 146, 148, 158, 163–165, 174, 194, 195, 208, 213, 224, 252, 256, 260, 26...

Elizabeth’s letters to, i. 45–47, 53, 56, 60, 61, 63, 65, 74, 88–90, 95–97, 108, 149, 165, 178, 183, 184, 186, 187, 215, 248, 258, 262, 264, 271, 279; ii. 1, 20, 29, 33, 54, 58,...

Scott, George Lewis, i. 206, 211, 213, 219, 260, 280, 287, 292, 293; engagement, i. 270; marriage, i. 284; and separation, ii. 5–7, 44; dismissed from tutorship to the Princes,...

Sherlock, Thomas, Bishop of Salisbury, and of London, i. 249, 269, 284; ii. 2, 3, 42, 43, 54, 55, 73, 77, 132, 147, 194, 220; his letter to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 198; his letter to...

Stillingfleet, Dr. Benjamin (_Cabinet of Flora_, etc.), ii. 73, 86, 93, 95, 98, 99, 102, 160; his letters to Mrs. Montagu, ii. 104, 185, 250; Mrs. Montagu’s letters to, ii. 114,...

Swift, Dean, i. 7, 25, 41, 153, _184_, 196; ii. 2, 85; _Letters_, i. 89; _Four Last Years of Queen Anne_, i. 104; his Yahoos, i. 113; “Friend, you make the very crowd you blame,...

Walpole, Horace, i. _28_, 33, 124; ii. 24, 38, 114, 207; _Letters to Sir Horace Mann_, i. _264_, 274, 287; _Letter to George Montagu_, i. 267, 275; ii. 67, 177; _Memoir of the R...