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Lady Morgan’s Memoirs
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte to Lady Morgan, 1 October 1819
INTRODUCTION & INDEXES
DOCUMENT INFORMATION
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Preface
Vol. I Contents.
Prefatory Address
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Chapter XII
Chapter XIII
Chapter XIV
Chapter XV
Chapter XVI
Chapter XVII
Chapter XVIII
Chapter XIX
Chapter XX
Chapter XXI
Chapter XXII
Chapter XXIII
Chapter XXIV
Chapter XXV
Chapter XXVI
Chapter XXVII
Chapter XXVIII
Chapter XXIX
Chapter XXX
Chapter XXXI
Chapter XXXII
Chapter XXXIII
Chapter XXXIV
Chapter XXXV
Chapter XXXVI
Chapter XXXVII
Chapter XXXVIII
Vol. I Index
Vol. II Contents
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter IV
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Chapter XII
Chapter XIII
Chapter XIV
Chapter XV
Chapter XVI
Chapter XVII
Chapter XVIII
Chapter XIX
Chapter XX
Chapter XXI
Chapter XXII
Chapter XXIII
Chapter XXIV
Chapter XXV
Chapter XXVI
Chapter XXVII
Chapter XXVIII
Chapter XXIX
Chapter XXX
Chapter XXXI
Chapter XXXII
Chapter XXXIII
Chapter XXXIV
Chapter XXXV
Chapter XXXVI
Chapter XXXVII
Chapter XXXVIII
Chapter XXXIX
Chapter XL
Vol. II Index
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Geneva,
October 1, 1819.
My dear Lady Morgan,

Your letter from Casa Fontana reached me yesterday. I cannot imagine the cause of this long delay, as it appears, from the direction you gave me for the 1st of September, that the letter was written previously; the date you neglected putting. I am very anxious to see you again, to assure you of an affection
LETTERS AND GOSSIP.109
which absence has not diminished, to listen to you once more, and to relate to you my adventures since our separation. I had heroically resolved to support the ennui of my fate in America, and should never have ventured another voyage to Europe could I have found the means of education for my son which exist here; but either he must have remained ignorant or I was compelled to leave the repose of my fauteuil, therefore, I did not hesitate to sacrifice my personal comfort for his advantage.

You know we have been nearly ruined in America, by commercial speculations, and even I have suffered, as my tenants are no longer able to pay me the same rents, and the banks have been obliged to diminish the amount of yearly interest which I formerly received from them; these inconveniences are, however momentané, and I flatter myself that in a year or two, tout ira bien; it is, however, provoking enough to find one’s income curtailed at a moment when I most required it; my son’s education, too, demands no inconsiderable expense, and as you know, his father never has and never will contribute a single farthing towards his maintenance. We have no correspondence with him since the demand I made two years ago, which was merely that he would pay some part of his necessary expenditure; this he positively refused, therefore, I consider myself authorized to educate him in my own way. I wish I could see you again; it was so unfortunate for me that you had left Geneva before my arrival. I fear, too, that you will not return this way, and it is impossible for me to leave my son without
110 LADY MORGAN'S MEMOIR.  
protection in a foreign country. Your Florence Macarthy is the most delightful creature, and had the greatest success with us; by the way, you should take into consideration with your bookseller in London, the profits which accrue to him from the sale of your works in America, where they are as much sought after as in Europe. This town is intolerably expensive, quite as much so as Paris; there exists, too, an esprit de corps, or de coterie, appalling to strangers,—I mean to woman strangers, for men are les bien venus partout; it is quite à propos that I did not contemplate amusement, or petits soins during my séjour, and that I came seulement par devoir. They have a custom here parmi les gens de haut ton prendre à un prix très élevé des étrangers en pension settlement “pour leur agrément.” In these genteel boarding-houses there is no feast to be found, unless it be the feast of reason; the hosts are too spirituels to imagine that their pemionnaires possess a vulgar appetite for meat and vegetables, tarts and custards, but as I cannot subsist altogether on the contemplation of la belle Nature, I have taken a comfortable apartment for six months, en ville, where I hope I shall get something to eat. La belle nature, Mont Blanc, le Lac de Gènéve, le beau coucher du soleil, le lever magnifique de la lune, are in the mouth of every one here, and paraissant tenir lieu de tout autre chose. I am writing you all this; my letter will, perhaps, never reach you. Adieu, my dear friend; tell Sir Charles everything amiable for me, and be convinced of the sincerity of my affection for you both.

My health is entirely restored, and I am much less
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in the genre larmoyant than when you saw me,—I was so ill, physiquement, that I had not sufficient force to support les maux morales. I am so happy that I did not go to Edinburgh; the climate here is finer; living, although dear enough, cheaper, and the language, French,—more desirable for my son than English, which he knows; in short, à tout prendre, I am better here than I could possibly have been in Great Britain. Why do you persist in living in Ireland? I am sure you would be delightfully circumstanced in any other place.

E. P.