The Duchess
Page 54
40 Ibid., f. 22: Bess to Lady Melbourne, Oct. 23, 1791.
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41 BL Add. MSS 45548, f. 42: Lady Duncannon to Lady Melbourne, circa Oct. 1791.
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42 Ibid., f. 44: Lady Duncannon to Lady Melbourne, circa Oct. 1791.
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43 Ibid.
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44 BL Add. MSS 45911, f. 20: GD to Lady Melbourne, Oct. 24, 1791.
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45 BL Add. MSS 45548, f. 40: Lady Duncannon to Lady Melbourne, circa Oct. 1791.
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46 BL Add. MSS 45911, f. 25: GD to Lady Melbourne, Nov. 20, 1791.
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16: EXILE
1 Chatsworth 1115: GD to Marquess of Hartington, circa Jan. 27, 1792.
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2 Carlisle MSS J18/20: GD to Lady Georgiana Cavendish, circa Feb. 1792.
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3 Papers of Hugh Seymour, Esq.: “Verses copied by Lady Charlotte Cholomondeley in her common place book, circa 1816,” attributed to GD.
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4 Francis Bickley, The Diaries of Sylvester Douglas, Lord Glenbervie (London 1928), I, p. 70: Sept. 5, 1796.
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5 NRO 324/L.8/42: Mrs. Creevey to Mr. Creevey, circa 1805.
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6 Papers of Hugh Seymour, Esq.: GD to Eliza Courtney, circa 1803.
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7 Ibid: GD to Eliza Courtney, circa 1804.
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8 Ibid., circa 1803–4.
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9 Ibid.
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10 Carlisle MSS, J18/20/95: fragment, GD to Lady Georgiana Cavendish, circa 1798.
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11 Chatsworth 1464: Lady Georgiana Cavendish to Selina Trimmer, April 1, 1799.
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12 Lady Granville, ed., The Private Correspondence of Lord Granville Leveson Gower (London 1916), II, p. 320: Lady Bessborough to LGLG, August 22, 1808.
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13 Henry Broughton, Recollections of a Long Life (London 1865), I, p. 92.
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14 Papers of Hugh Seymour, Esq.: diary of Eliza Ellice, February 28, 1828.
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15 BL Add. MSS 45548, f. 48: Lady Duncannon to Lady Melbourne, Dec. 11, 1791.
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16 Ibid., f. 35: GD to Lady Melbourne, Feb. 16, 1792.
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17 BL Add. MSS 45911, f. 28: Lady Duncannon to Lady Melbourne, Feb. 28, 1792.
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18 PRO 30/29/5/4, f. 13: Lady Sutherland to Lady Stafford, March 29, 1792.
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19 BL Add. MSS 45548, f. 50: Lady Duncannon to Lady Melbourne, Dec. 29, 1791.
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20 BL Add. MSS 45911, f. 32: Lady Duncannon to Lady Melbourne, March 24, 1792.
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21 Ibid., f. 34: Lady Duncannon to Lady Melbourne, April 15, 1792.
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22 Carlisle MSS J18/20: GD to Lady Georgiana Cavendish, May 20, 1792.
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23 Carlisle MSS J18/21/97: Selina Trimmer to GD, Nov. 4, 1791, and circa Nov./Dec. 1791.
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24 BL Althorp F71: LS to Mrs. Howe, Dec. 7, 1791.
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25 E. M. Graham, The Beautiful Mrs Graham (London 1927), p. 282.
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26 Lynedoch MSS, 3594, ff. 261–4: GD to Thomas Graham, July 17, [1792].
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27 Chatsworth 1176: GD to LS, Sept. 9, 1793.
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28 C. Price, ed., The Letters of Richard Brinsley Sheridan (Oxford 1966), I, p. 241: Sheridan to Lady Duncannon, May 3, 1792.
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29 Chatsworth 1130: Duke of Dorset to GD, August 10, 1792.
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30 A. Aspinall, ed., The Correspondence of George, Prince of Wales 1770–1812 (London 1964), II, n. 696: Prince of Wales to GD, Sept. 26, 1992.
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31 BL Add. MSS 51705, f. 115: Henry Pelham to Lady Webster, [April] 16, 1792.
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32 BL Althorp F72: LS to Mrs. Howe, May 4, 1792.
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33 BL Add. MSS 33,129, f 88: Henry Pelham to Earl Chichester, Sept. 19, 1792.
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34 Brian Connell, Portrait of a Whig Peer (London 1957), p. 285: Lady Palmer-ston to Benjamin Mee, May 26, 1793.
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35 Carlisle MSS J18/20: GD to Lady Georgiana Cavendish, August 7, 1792.
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36 Carlisle MSS J18/20: GD to Lady Georgiana Cavendish, Sept. 30, 1792.
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37 A. Aspinall and Lord Bessborough, eds., Lady Bessborough and Her Family Circle, p. 74: LS to Lady Duncannon, circa Dec. 1792.
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38 Broadlands MSS, BR11/18/7: Mary Mee to Benjamin Mee, Sept. 6, 1792.
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39 Connell, Portrait, p. 268: Lady Palmerston to Benjamin Mee, Sept. 7, 1792.
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40 Ibid., p. 269: Sept. 10, 1792.
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41 BL Althorp F72: LS to Mrs. Howe, Oct. 6, 1792.
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42 Carlisle MSS J18/20: GD to Lady Georgiana Cavendish, Nov. 30, 1792.
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43 BL Althorp F72: LS to Mrs. Howe, June 1, 1792.
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44 Chatsworth 1131: Lady Sutherland to GD, August 31, 1792.
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45 Chatsworth 1191: GD to Coutts, Oct. 31, 1793.
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46 Chatsworth 1192: GD to LS, Nov. 1, 1793.
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47 Chatsworth 1152: Lady Sutherland to GD, March 24, 1792.
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48 Suffolk RO, Hervey, MSS, Acc. 941/56/93: Lord Hervey to GD, March 7, 1793.
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49 Chatsworth 1147.1: James Hare to GD, circa late 1792.
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50 Roger Hudson, ed., The Grand Tour 1572–1796 (London 1993), pp. 187–8.
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51 Aspinall and Lord Bessborough, Lady Bessborough, p. 85: Lord Bessborough to Lady Bessborough, May 10, 1793 and May 14, 1793.
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52 Carlisle MSS J18/20: GD to Lady Georgiana Cavendish, May 18, 1793.
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53 Connell, Portrait, p. 385: Lady Palmerston to Benjamin Mee, May 26, 1793.
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54 Chatsworth 1155: LS to GD, July 30, 1793.
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55 Chatsworth 1174: GD to LS, Sept. 9, 1793.
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56 Ibid.
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57 Chatsworth 1179: GD to LS, Sept. 16–18, 1793.
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58 Ibid.
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17: RETURN
1 Chatsworth 1180: GD to LS, Sept. 2 18, 1793.
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2 Chatsworth 1183: GD to LS, Sept. 26 23, 1793.
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3 Charlotte may have been slightly mentally impaired.
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4 Chatsworth 1183: GD to LS, Sept. 23, 1793.
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5 BL Althorp F40: Lady Georgiana Cavendish to LS, April 26, 1795. She wrote that she was too young and unworthy to talk about her faith. But “by endeavouring to strengthen my faith in God may I not hope by these reflections to become better—may I acquire a settled composed devotion—may it dictate my actions and may it help me to correct my faults.”
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6 Chatsworth 1185: GD to LS, Sept. 30, 1793.
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7 Lady Granville, ed., The Private Correspondence of Lord Granville Leveson Gower (London 1916), I, p. 82: Lady Stafford to LGLG, Feb. 16, 1794.
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8 BL Add. MSS 51927, ff. 108–9: diary of Lady Holland, Dec. 1793.
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9 Chatsworth 1297: GD to LS, July 11, 1795.
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10 Morning Post, Oct. 1, 1793.
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11 Chatsworth 1188: LS to GD, Oct. 19, 1793.
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12 Royal Society: diary of Sir Charles Blagden, March–April 1793 passim.
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13 Among the specimens were “porphyry. This specimen was broken off from the very top of the highest point of the Mount St. Gothard August 2, 1793, by Lieutenant Genl. Count Rumford, and by him presented to her Grace the Duchess of Devonshire at Bern, August 21, 1793.” Quoted in Michael P. Cooper for the Russell Society, “Notes on the Mineral Collections of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire and the Sixth Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth House, Derbyshire;” Chatsworth Cataloguing Project 1992. Cooper notes the systematic nature of the collection, as well as its considerable breadth.
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14 PRO 30/29/5/5, f. 49: Lady Sutherland to Lady Stafford, Oct. 23, 1793.
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15 Chatsworth 1147.1: James Hare to GD, circa 1793.
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16 BL Althorp G287: GD to second Earl Spencer, Nov. 14, 1793.
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17 Chatsworth 1186: LS to GD, Oct. 11, 1793.
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18 Chatsworth 1189: GD to LS, Oct. 22, 1793.
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19 Chatsworth 1192: GD to LS, Nov. 1, 1793.
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20 BL Althorp G291: Lavinia, Lady Spencer to second Earl Spencer, rec. Feb. 28, 1794.
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21 BL Althorp G287: GD to second Earl Spencer, rec. July 16, 1794.
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22 Lady Granville, Lord Granville Leveson Gower, I, p. 359: Lady Bessborough to LGLG, Sept. 21, 1802/BL Add. MSS 45911, f. 44: GD to Lady Melbourne, circa Jan–March 1795/ Chatsworth 1386: LS to GD, Jan. 8, 1796/ James Greig, The Farington Diary (London 1922–8), I, pp. 199–200.
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23 R. Adair, A Sketch of the Character of the Late Duke of Devonshire (London 1811), p. 13.
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24 BL Althorp G287: GD to second Earl Spencer, August 28, 1794. George replied that he would do everything in his power but “it is not very easy to interfere personally on a subject of this sort, as everything that is said and done by anyone in the situation in which I am here is the subject of much speculation and jealousy, and as it would be impossible for me to do or say anything which would at all involve the government at home without being expressly authorised by them.” BL Althorp G287: second Earl Spencer to GD, August 28, 1794. Lady Holland’s diary reveals that Georgiana pressed on, undaunted by George’s pessimistic response: “Ld M[Malmesbury?] thinks he shall not succeed in his attempts to attain La Fayette’s release; he has no instructions whatever from Ministry and all must be done through his own influence. The Dss of Devon suggested the measure to him, she did intend writing herself to the Empress of Russia to beg her interference on behalf of the poor Captive—but all [illeg.] be fruitless.” BL Add. MSS 51927, f. 114: diary of Lady Holland, marked Dec. 1793 [1794].
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25 However, there was considerable hypocrisy regarding the role of women. Female participation in any activity outside the domestic sphere was haphazard and unpredictable; character and circumstances were often more important in determining a woman’s life than social convention. Widowhood could force a woman to take up her husband’s occupation, for example in running a printing press or owning a shop, while spinsterhood brought its own hardships but also its own opportunities. The arts and education offered the most opportunity for women, as the careers of Mary Wollstonecraft, the playwright Elizabeth Inchbald, and the moralist Hannah More illustrate. Although the majority of tracts and pamphlets on the role of women argued for passivity and delicacy, constantly reminding women of their subordinate status, these were, in the main, prescriptive works on how women ought to be. See H. Barker and E. Chalus, eds., Gender in Eighteenth Century England: roles, representations and responsibilities (London 1996), in which the eight contributors argue against the case for separate spheres and therefore, by implication, against the notion that women’s history is a separate discipline within the field of history. In the past, historians have argued that men and women lived in increasingly rigid separate spheres, controlled and demarcated by the functions of gender. More recently, the argument has turned in favour of idiosyncrasy, of integration and pluralism, with a greater dependence on individual case histories rather than theoretical models.
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26 SNRA Douglas-Home MSS TD95/54: diary of Lady Mary Coke, August 17, 1782.
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27 L. Werkmeister, A Newspaper History of England, 1792–1793 (Lincoln, Nebraska 1967), pp. 426–7: Nov. 22, 1793.
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28 J. Parkes and H. Merivale, eds., The Memoirs of Sir Philip Francis (London 1867), II, p. 400.
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29 Mary Hays, Appeal to the Men of Great Britain in Behalf of Women (London 1798); Catherine Macaulay, Letters on Education (London 1790).
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30 Chatsworth 1210: GD to LS, Feb. 1, 1794. Harriet shared Georgiana’s view that there were unbreachable boundaries between men and women. Defending her right to disagree politically, Harriet nevertheless conceded that “nothing can be more ridiculous than a female politician.” Lady Granville, Lord Granville Leveson Gower, I, p. 102.
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31 BL Add. MSS 33272, ff. 133–4: Sir Charles Blagden to Sir Joseph Banks, August 22, 1794. On September 8, 1794, Sir Charles Blagden wrote that Georgiana had recommended three men: B. Watson, Barker, and French. Barker was almost certainly the scientist Thomas Barker (1722–1809). B. Watson was White Watson (1760–1835), a mineral dealer and pioneer of Derbyshire geology who catalogued Georgiana’s collection in 1799 and again in 1804.
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32 BL Althorp G282: LS to second Earl Spencer, Sept. 25, 1794.
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33 BL Althorp G287: GD to second Earl Spencer, June 1, 1795.
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34 Granville Leveson Gower came from a complicated family background. His mother, Lady Stafford, was the third wife of Lord Gower (later Marquess of Stafford). His half-brother, Lord Gower’s elder son, as well as being the future Marquess became Earl of Sutherland when he married Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland, suo jure. He later became the first Duke of Sutherland.
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35 Lady Granville, Lord Granville Leveson Gower, I, p. 91: Lady Duncannon to LGLG, June 1, 1794.
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36 BL Add. MSS 45911, f. 40: Bess to Lady Melbourne, Jan. 8, 1795.
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37 Ibid., f. 44: GD to Lady Melbourne [Jan./Feb. 1795].
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38 Chatsworth 1286: GD to LS, April 14, 1795.
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39 BL Althorp G287: GD to second Earl Spencer, Feb. 5, 1795.
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40 Bon Ton Magazine, no. 56, Oct. 1795.
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41 PRO 313/744: Lady Stafford to Lady Harriet Douglas, Oct. 30, 1795.
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42 Ibid., Thursday, circa Nov. 1795.
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43 Chatsworth 1334: LS to GD, April 12, 1795.
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44 BL Add. MSS 45911, f. 44: GD to Lady Melbourne, [Jan./Feb. 1795].
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45 Chatsworth 1386: LS to GD, Jan. 8, 1796.
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46 BL Althorp G287: GD to second Earl Spencer, June 17, 1796.
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18: INTERLUDE
1 Chatsworth 1211: LS to GD, Jan. 2, 1796.
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2 Modern medical opinion differs as to the cause of the illness. Arthur Calder-Marshall suggests “unilateral exophthalmos of endocrine origine” or perhaps “orbital cellulitis.” Arthur Calder-Marshall, The Two Duchesses (London 1978), p. 179.
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3 Lady Granville, ed., The Private Correspondence of Lord Granville Leveson Gower (London 1916), I, p. 126: Lady Bessborough to LGLG, [August 1796].
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4 Chatsworth 1358: LS to Selina Trimmer, August 4, 1796.
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5 Lady Granville, Lord Granville Leveson Gower, I, p. 127: Lady Bessborough to LGLG, [August–Sept. 1796].
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