Regency Women of Character: Anecdotes of Illustrious Females

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ANECDOTES OF ILLUSTRIOUS FEMALES MRS SI DDONS and may had been accustomed to do When When this charming actress had just Madam said Waller you are as young reached the height of her theatrical fame and handsome as you were then a formal assembly of ladies belonging to When she married the Earl of Sunderthe Blue Stocking Club prevailed on her i land Waller wrote the following letter to one night to make one of their party Lady Lucy Sidney which for its gallantry Their principal object was to examine her and well turned compliments we think well in order to get from her the grand secret worthy of a place among these anecdotes of her acting with such wonderful effect Madam In this common joy at PensMrs Montague was deputed deputy pro hurst 1 kuow none to whom complaints locutress on this important occasion may come less unseasonable than to your Pray Madam said she very seriously Ladyship the loss of a bed fellow being give me leave to interrogate you and to almost equal to that of a mistress and request you will tell us without any dupli therefore you might at least pardon if you city or mental reservation upon what consent not to the imprecations of the deprinciple you conduct your dramatic de serted which just Heaven no doubt will meanour Is your mode of acting by hear May my Lady Dorothy if we may which you obtain so much celebrity the yet call her so suffer as much result of certain studied principles of art she feel the like passion for this young Have you investigated with profound reLord whom she has preferred to the rest search the rules of elocution and gesture of mankind as others had for her and as laid down by the ancients and moderus may his love before the year go about Have you reduced these rules to practice make her taste of the first curse imposed Or do you suffer nature to predominate on womankind the pain of becoming a and only speak the untutored language of mother May her first born be none of her the passions Ladies replied the chief own sex por so like her but that he may favourite of Melpomiene modestly yet unresemble her Lord as much as herself May hesitatingly indeed I know not how to she that always affected silence and retiredanswer so learned a speech All I know wess have the house filled with the noise of the matter is that I always play as well and number of her children and hereafter as I can with her grandchildren and then may she arrive at that great curse so much declined by fair ladies old age may she live to be Tais noble and witty female seeing a very old and yet seem young be told so gentleman sauntering about in one of her by her glass and have no aches to inform parties said to him Pray Sir do you her of the truth and when she shall applay cards No my Lady replied he pear to be mortal may her Lord not Do you dance No replied the mourn for her but go hand in hand with lounger Then Sir said her Ladyship her to that place where we are told there give me leave to say that you are neither is no marrying nor giving in marriage useful nor ornamental that being there divorced we all may have an equal interest iu her again My revenge being immortal I wish all this may This illustrious lady was long known in befall her posterity to the world's end and the age that Waller wrote by the title of his afterwards To you Madam I wish all Sacharissa she however was known be good things and that this loss may in fore her marriage with the Earl of Sunder good time be happily supplied with a more land by the title of Lady Dorothea Sidney constant bedfellow of the other sex and she rejected the poet's addresses with Madam I humbly kiss your hands and disdait In her old age one day meeting beg pardon for this trouble from your with Waller she asked him when he would Ladyship's most humble servant again write such verses upon her as he EDMOND WALLIR LADY WALLIS COUNTESS OF SUNDERLAND ANECDOTES OF ILLUSTRIOUS FEMALES 151

From La Belle Assemblée October 1817 issue.   Many moons ago, we did a post on Sarah Siddons here: Regency Women of Character: Sarah Siddons – Regency Reader (regrom.com)

Sarah Siddons portrait by Thomas Gainsborough

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