Lady Morgan’s Memoirs
Sydney Owenson to Alicia Le Fanu, 12 August 1808
Penrhos, Anglesey, Holyhead.
August 12, 1808.
Since I left London (until within this week back) my life
has been so unvaried, so wholly devoted to the irksome labours of my trade, that I have not written to you, because I wished
to spare you the ennui of reading the effects of my stupidity, or being teased
with unavailing complaints at the distress of a life no longer in consonance
with my habits and my feelings; while that anxiety which never slumbers for you—dearest of dear friends—and all that
concerns you, depended upon Olivia for information, who always men-![]()
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tioned you in her weekly letter, either par rapport, or from what she herself had
ascertained. It is from a letter I received from her yesterday, that I learn
that that miserable and treacherous constitution, which can keep no pace with
your mind and spirit, is again betraying its weakness, in spite of change of
air and place. Think of me as you will (and my frequent negligences and
inadvertencies must inevitably lessen me in your opinion). I feel towards you
the mingled tenderness of a child and friend, and whenever I hear of your
ill-health, I suffer not only for you but for myself. I never expect to meet
one who shall exactly resemble you; perhaps I may find some one who excels you
in one way, and some in another, but it is you I should
want.
My affection for you is connected and associated with
some of the most interesting moments of my early life; it does and must
influence, in some degree, the present and future events of my
existence—your tender little councils, your affectionate solicitudes,
your smiling reproofs, your kind indulgences, dear friend, they are all present to me. You are sometimes neglected, and I am a
wretch; but never has my heart ceased to love or to remember you—and when
I hear you are not all your friends could wish you in health and spirits, my
tenderness to you increases with reprobation towards myself.
I suppose Livy
told you how gaily I closed my campaign in London. Mrs. Sheridan continued her attentions to the last. I spent two
dear mornings with lovely Mrs. Tom
Sheridan; he was at Lord
Cra-![]()
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ven’s lodge, fishing. My six weeks in
Shropshire were industrious, but stupid—à
mourir, I passed two singular and charming days with
Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss P——, in Langollen, of which
you shall hear an account when we meet, and have been now near a fortnight the
guest of one of the most superior women in the world—Lady Stanley. Oh! how you would like each
other. She wishes much for the happiness of being known to you; we talked you
over this day. She is a woman who has seen much of the world, lived a great
deal abroad, and carried away many foreign graces which she has blended with
the strongest and most original mind I ever met. She is old,
“mais il y a des graces dans ses
rides.” She has a princely fortune, and though she
has one of the finest houses in London, she lives most in elegant retirement on
her own estate in Anglesea. I know not when I shall be able to get away from
her, but I long much to see you all, and think it will not be
long till I do. Till then and ever, best and dearest friend,
Most truly yours,
A thousand loves and kisses to Mr. Le F——, to the Tom, Bess, and Joes; respects to Silky.
The book goes on swimmingly.
Lady Charlotte Eleanor Butler (1739-1829)
The daughter of Walter Butler of Garryricken, and elder of the two Ladies of Llangollen;
she lived in picturesque and much-admired retirement with her companion Sarah Ponsonby
(1755-1831).
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.
Joseph Le Fanu (1743-1825)
Of Dublin, son of William Le Fanu (1708-1797); his second wife was Alicia Elizabeth
Sheridan, daughter of Thomas Sheridan.
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1793-1833)
Of Dublin, the son of Joseph and Alicia Le Fanu; he is not the novelist of the same name
(1814-1873).
Thomas Philip Le Fanu (1784-1845)
The son of Joseph and Alicia Le Fanu; he was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and was
Dean of Emly.
Sarah Ponsonby (1755-1831)
The daughter of Chambre Brabazon Ponsonby; she was the younger of the two Ladies of
Llangollen, living in picturesque and much-admired retirement with her companion Eleanor
Butler (1739-1829).
Caroline Henrietta Sheridan [née Callander] (1779-1851)
Novelist, the second daughter of Colonel James Callander; in 1805 she married Tom
Sheridan, son of the playwright; the poet Caroline Norton was their daughter.
Thomas Sheridan (1775-1817)
Actor, son of Richard Brinsley Sheridan and Elizabeth Linley; he was manager of Drury
Lane when it burned in 1808; he died of consumption, the disease that killed his
mother.
Margaret Stanley [née Owen] (d. 1816)
The daughter of John Owen of Penrhos; in 1763 she married John Thomas Stanley, baronet.
She was a friend and correspondent of Lady Morgan.
