Dixon: LADY MORGAN'S MEMOIRS

I received your letter this moment, and waive all other business to accelerate the answer. I shall not take up your time with professions of gratitude, which you know I owe you ever, and will therefore excuse. I have been very fortunate since I had the pleasure of Miss Owenson’s last letter, which I intended to answer when I could, with most news and propriety. A certain great man of literary celebrity coming accidentally acquainted with some things of mine, has nearly freed my fortune. One poem of mine has been applauded as the finest in this age, in which are the venerable names of Cumberland and Arthur Murphy. This poem, with others, will be published in the most splendid style, by subscription, which is expected to be very large. His Majesty, the Duke, and Princess Amelia, are among the first. In this volume will be a poetical epistle to my sister competitor, Sydney, which proves I need no other incentive, even at this distant period, but my own sensibility of your goodness, to render our friendship immortal. The lines are very beautiful, but it is impossible to give you any adequate extract. I have had some lines from Sydney which are eminently charming, but how she has arrived at such excellence I cannot well imagine.

204

LADY MORGAN'S MEMOIR.

I have not yet seen her poems here, but will inquire among the booksellers for them. Are you certain they have been sent here? When I can find a copy I will be their reviewer myself in three monthly publications—viz., the London Review, Monthly Review, and Monthly Magazine. Though unconnected with newspaper editors, I will likewise observe what you mentioned with regard to them. The Monthly Mirror is what I publish most poetry in (which is very little, for some reasons), and I therefore shall send some verses, on the appearance of these poems, to it. Pray let me manage the affair in my own way. Two satirical poems of mine, under the signature of “Mauritius Moonshine,” have made a great noise here; but I shall pursue that path no further. You may be dreaded and admired, but never loved for such productions. Who is the Mr. Moore Sydney mentions? He is nobody here, I assure you, of eminence. Let me have no strictures on some little vanity I have been forced to indulge in, describing my literary prospects; pardon likewise this illegible, unauthor-like scribble, and ever believe me,

Your most obedient and obliged,

Thomas Dermody.

“No. 28, Stratton Ground,
“Westminster, London.”

I had like to have forgot your remembering me to my dear Olivia, and all old acquaintances.

Princess Amelia (1711-1786) Born in Hanover, she was the second daughter of George II, known for her sharp tongue.

Lady Olivia Clarke [née Owenson] (1785 c.-1845) The younger sister of Lady Morgan who married Dublin physician Sir Arthur Clarke (1778-1857) in 1808. She wrote songs and a play, and published in the Metropolitan Magazine and Athenaeum.

Richard Cumberland (1732-1811) English playwright and man of letters caricatured by Sheridan as “Sir Fretful Plagiary.” Memoirs of Richard Cumberland, written by himself was published in two volumes (1806-07).

Thomas Dermody (1775-1802) Prolific Irish poet whose early promise a child prodigy went unfulfilled; after the publication of James Grant Raymond's 1806 biography he became a type of the wastrel bard.

Frederick Augustus, Duke of York (1763-1827) He was commander-in-chief of the Army, 1798-1809, until his removal on account of the scandal involving his mistress Mary Anne Clarke.

King George III of Great Britain (1738-1820) King of Great Britain (1760-1820).

Thomas Moore (1779-1852) Irish poet and biographer, author of the Irish Melodies (1807-34), The Fudge Family in Paris (1818), and Lalla Rookh (1817); he was Byron's close friend and designated biographer.

Lady Sydney Morgan [née Owenson] (1778 c.-1859) Anglo-Irish novelist and socialite, author of The Wild Irish Girl (1806).

Arthur Murphy (1727-1805) Irish actor, playwright, and biographer; he wrote The Way to Keep Him (1760) and Three Weeks after Marriage (1764).

London Review. (1809). Edited by Richard Cumberland; only two numbers appeared; in a departure from usual practice the reviews were signed.

Monthly Mirror. (1795-1811). A literary periodical that published book reviews, poetry, and essays on the theater; the proprietor was Thomas Hill and editor Edward Dubois. Thomas Dermody was a contributor.

The Monthly Magazine. (1796-1843). The original editor of this liberal-leaning periodical was John Aikin (1747-1822); later editors included Sir Richard Phillips (1767-1840), the poet John Abraham Heraud (1779-1887), and Benson Earle Hill (1795-45).

The Monthly Review. (1749-1844). The original editor was Ralph Griffiths; he was succeeded by his son George Edward who edited the journal from 1803 to 1825, who was succeeded by Michael Joseph Quin (1825–32).

Lady Sydney Morgan [née Owenson] (1778 c.-1859) Poems: dedicated by permission to the Right Honorable the Countess of Moira. (Dublin: Alex. Stewart, 1801).

INFORMATION FROM TEI HEADER

Source Description:

Authors: Morgan, Lady (Sydney), 1783-1859; Jewsbury, Geraldine Endsor, 1812-1880; Dixon, William Hepworth, 1821-1879

Title: Lady Morgan’s Memoirs: Autobiography, Diaries and Correspondence. Second Edition, Revised 2 vols (London: Wm. H. Allen & Co., 1863).

Electronic Edition:

Series: Lord Byron and his Times: http://lordbyron.org

Encoding Description: Any dashes occurring in line breaks have been removed. Obvious and unambiguous compositors’ errors have been silently corrected.

Markup and editing by: David Hill Radcliffe

Completed August 2010

Publication Statement:

Publisher: Center for Applied Technologies in the Humanities, Virginia Tech

Availability: Published under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License