January 8.—This place is the grand asylum of mediocrity—the Paradise of old women—the Olympus of old men—the resort of the refuse of all societies: viz., the dull, the old, sickly, or tiresome; and yet it has its aristocracy!
Well, with all this, we have found a few with whom it is
pleasant to live, and with them we live a great deal. The dear, old, agreeable,
and cordial Corry’s—James Corry, once the Corypheus of the Kilkenny theatricals. They have given up
Ireland, like others, and come to live in a pretty cottage here; our other most
agreeable, but new acquaintances, the family at
| CHELTENHAM AND LONDON—1835. | 389 |
January 10.—Moore, talking to Corry on the Whigs having done nothing for him, said of Lord Holland, Lansdowne, and Lord John Russell, “I had no reason to expect it; I live upon equal terms with Lansdowne, and when he is at Bowood I dine there constantly; now there is Macaulay, Lansdowne gave him a place of two or three thousand pounds a year, and never asked him to dinner once. These great men seek people in different ways, and for different purposes. I am quite contented.”
And so he is. This is so Irish, and so much an affair of temperament, that there is no arguing about it. Moore is an epitome of genuine Irish character, feeling, fancy, genius, and personal vanity overwhelming all—I know him well.
Last night we had some charming music at the Whitmore’s—my little Olivia sang divinely; but the dowagers and their turbans were too much for me.
Lady Charleville has one of the finest
minds that ever took a wrong direction. The ingenuity with which she argues on
false principles, the eloquence with which she does the honours of error, are
curious; but if you force her to step out of the track
in which her position has placed her, as a great lady, reared in the
| 390 | LADY MORGAN'S MEMOIR. |
A letter from Sir Henry Hardinge to my husband about the compensation for his office. Nothing definite.
I have had some correspondence with the Treasury on your subject, and was in hopes to have induced them to have made a more desirable arrangement, They adhere, however, to that of their predecessors, and when I return to London, which I do this day, you shall hear from me officially; the exact amount of the retiring pension not having been as yet communicated. The division shall be expedited without delay.
I hope Lady Morgan enjoys the fine air of Cheltenham, and that her unrivalled talents are employed in amusing and instructing all classes and ages.
I am going to see Lady Clarke. I beg to offer my best regards to Lady Morgan, and am, my dear Sir Charles,
