LORD  BYRON  and  his  TIMES
Byron
Documents Biography Criticism
Fifty Years’ Recollections, Literary and Personal
INTRODUCTION & INDEXES
DOCUMENT INFORMATION
GO TO PAGE NUMBER:
Preface
Vol. I Contents
Chapter I.
Chapter II.
Chapter III.
Chapter IV.
Chapter V.
Chapter VI.
Chapter VII.
Chapter VIII.
Chapter IX.
Chapter X.
Vol. II Contents
Chapter I.
Chapter II.
Chapter III.
Chapter IV.
Chapter V.
Chapter VI.
Chapter VII.
Chapter VIII.
Vol. III Contents
Chapter I.
Chapter II.
Chapter III.
Chapter IV.
Chapter V.
Chapter VI.
Chapter VII.
Chapter VIII.
Chapter IX.
Chapter X.
Creative Commons License

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
Produced by CATH
 
“Sir,

“Hannah Lightfoot’s maiden name was Wheeler, and at the time of her daughter’s mysterious disappearance—for disappear she did, and the family never saw her more—she was staying with her brother or nephew, a linen-draper named Wheeler, at the corner of Market Street, St. James’s Market. Her brother or nephew kept the shop during his life, and was succeeded by his sons. Not knowing exactly when the death of the former took place, I was unable to state precisely which had the shop at the time in question, but that is
LITERARY AND PERSONAL.123
immaterial. Hannah Lightfoot’s mother lived near Richmond, and Prince George’s admiration of her was known to the people there, as well as to her own family. By some persons well acquainted with the Prince’s admiration of her, the well known song of ‘The Lass of Richmond Hill’ was written. Hannah’s mother visited at St. James’s Market with her daughter, remaining often for some time as was the case on her daughter’s disappearance. Hannah was standing with a little girl about ten years of age, at one of the drawing-room windows over the shop, when a carriage drove by and Hannah immediately making an excuse to the little girl who was with her, and who was her cousin, for going away from her, and putting on her things, left the house by the front door, in place of going through the shop. She left a note behind, telling her mother not to be uneasy about her as in twelve months she should hear from her again, but not before. The mother never did hear of her again, and died of a broken heart. It happened that Hannah had a lover, not a quaker, who after her disappearance gave her family much trouble, imagining they had sent her away to break off their intimacy.

“The only intimation her family ever had about her subsequently, was from a gentleman they knew, who happening to be in Germany, and at a ball, saw a female who had with her two boys, whom he at once recalled to memory as Hannah Lightfoot. He endeavoured to speak to her, but finding she was recognized, she left the room, and he was unsuccessful in tracing her out.

“The little girl with her at the time she disappeared,
124FIFTY YEARS’ RECOLLECTIONS,  
was afterwards my grandmother. From her I heard the story, little expecting ever to see it in print. I can find a person, a generation older than myself, who also heard it from her lips. The shop in St. James’s Market was kept by one of the Wheelers, up to the time it was pulled down to make way for Regent Street. I often heard one of the Wheeler’s sisters speak of notice being taken of some of the family by George III. and his queen, when they chanced to see them at Kew or Kensington.

“I am, &c., &c.
“——”