Читать книгу Life of Agnes Strickland - Jane Margaret Strickland - Страница 5

Table of Contents

DEATH OF MR STRICKLAND—PUBLICATION OF ‘WORCESTER FIELD’—ITALIAN TRANSLATIONS—CAMPBELL AND THE ‘NEW MONTHLY’—JUVENILE BOOKS—‘LIVES OF THE QUEENS’ PROJECTED—INTERVIEW WITH COLBURN—JOINT AUTHORSHIP—PERILS OF LITERARY POPULARITY.

Sorrow, that deep stern lesson sent to chasten the joyous vivacity of young life, had not yet fallen upon Agnes Strickland and her family, till, on the 18th of May 1818, it came heavily down upon them, in the sudden death of the revered and beloved parent, the faithful and loving husband. The blow was sudden, the bereavement appearing yet more terrible from its being wholly unexpected. The widow, with feelings none but those similarly situated can understand, saw her young and numerous family, of which the younger portion were not yet out of childhood, bereft of paternal care when they most required it. The happy union of four-and-twenty years had been in a few sad moments brought to a close. There had been no discord to mar the wedded life of the couple now separated by the inexorable hand of death. Nothing but the extreme sufferings of her husband with hereditary gout had disturbed the tranquil life of the wife with him, though she could not witness his agonising pain BATTLE OF LIFE BEGUN. without feeling every pang in her heart. His patience in sickness, and cheerful spirits when convalescent, were remarkable, and seemed to reward her for all her tender conjugal care. His varied talents and accomplishments, his vast mental stores, fine person, and charming manners, had made her willingly renounce, for his sake, the gaieties of life, though she was nearly twenty years his junior. The loss to her was indeed irreparable, and rendered still heavier by pecuniary losses, which compelled her to practise a rigid and unsocial economy.

“The battle of life” was begun in good earnest, and all were disposed to fight it well and bravely. Agnes hoped to maintain her part of it by the publication of ‘Worcester Field; or, The Cavalier,’ a work commenced by her before her father’s lamented death. She was on the point of quitting with her family the East Anglian metropolis, though not without regret, when the poem was ready for the press. Her guardian—a man of literary taste and talent—hoped he had found for her a publisher in Baldwin, the proprietor of the ‘London Magazine,’ who admired it, and wished to insert it in monthly parts in his periodical. The sum he offered, though not considerable, would not have been unworthy of the attention of a young unknown author; but, unfortunately, El Dorados usually glitter in the imaginations of poets, and her kind guardian could not induce her to accept the offered remuneration, or open her eyes to the utility of the arrangement he had taken much pains to make for her. She had reason to regret her refusal at a later date; for when a publisher was found, and the poem was in type, his failure caused the sheets to be seized, which occasioned her much anxiety and cost to release the prisoners. The work was finally brought out, at the request of some loving friends, by subscription—a method that confined it, of course, to ITALIAN STUDIES. private circulation. This poem was considered to possess considerable merit, and was much extolled by its kind purchasers. It was followed, two years later, by ‘The Seven Ages of Woman,’ which was not so popular as ‘Worcester Field; or, The Cavalier’ had been. The feeling for poetry was fading away, and sober prose had replaced it in the public mind. Indeed the galaxy of illustrious poets who adorned the early part of the nineteenth century had left none to successfully compete with them. Agnes was not then aware that her name was to be celebrated as a prose writer, for she continued “to write in numbers, for the numbers came.”

A new source of intellectual pleasure was opened for her by the study of the Italian language—her kind instructor being an elderly cousin of her father, an engraver of some eminence, and a highly accomplished man. He generally passed the summer months at Reydon, where he was a very welcome and beloved guest. Being a man of vast acquirements, a fine musician, a great antiquary, and one who had seen much of life, his company enlivened the solitude of Reydon; and he kindly devoted himself to the task of completing the education of his young cousins, who on their parts took some pains to draw him out of his eccentric old bachelor ways, but of course with very little success. Agnes was a great favourite with this amiable old gentleman, with whom she read Petrarca, Ariosto in select portions, and Dante. Of the most obscure passages of the last he could give a learned exposition. The two Tassos—the father and son—she also studied with him, and soon rendered into flowing verse the beautiful stanzas “Di Lontananza” of Bernardo Tasso, addressed by him to his beloved wife Portia, whom he was destined to behold no more. She was no great admirer of Torquato’s ‘Gerusalemme,’ nor of his heroine Clorinda; for her feminine feelings could not sympathise INTERVIEW WITH CAMPBELL. with a fighting woman, however exquisitely portrayed by the great poet. She translated many sonnets from Petrarca, and other choice pieces, to the infinite delight of her preceptor, many of which afterwards appeared in the ‘New Monthly Magazine.’

Her cousin painted a fine miniature of Agnes during one of his visits at Reydon, which is now in the possession of her sister, Mrs Gwillym. This was an excellent likeness of her at the time it was taken, as she was then fuller in person than in more mature years. A cast of her head was afterwards made, somewhat to her regret, though she was an enthusiastic phrenologist; for the operators robbed her of a considerable portion of her magnificent black hair—a costly sacrifice she had no wish to make to science, the admiration her head received from its votaries not consoling a young lady for the injury done to her tresses.

During her first visit to London she had an interview with Campbell, who at that time edited the ‘New Monthly Magazine.’ He praised her talents, and afterwards described her to his friends as a lovely, interesting creature, full of genius and sensibility. She had the pleasure of shaking hands with Sir Walter Scott, of whose works she was an enthusiastic admirer. But she did not enter into society, for her bachelor cousin and his niece led very secluded lives in Newman Street. The library was, however, stored with rare books in many languages, and portfolios filled with choice prints and fine drawings; and she was amused and happy. Her gifted cousin and her father’s dear old friend the Chevalier Giese were her cicerones to public places. The wonders of art contained in the British Museum and National Picture Gallery made the want of lively society little felt to an intelligent young woman. For the first time in her life she saw a play, and was much delighted with the representation of Shakespeare’s LITERARY FRIENDS. ‘Henry VIII.,’ which was strongly cast, and which realised her own vivid conceptions of the characters introduced in that noble drama.

Upon her return to Reydon, she resumed the toilsome uphill work of a comparatively unknown author. She turned her attention to prose, and found in juvenile works the means of obtaining a little ready money. In conjunction with Elizabeth, she wrote a popular book of this kind—‘The Rival Crusoes;’ then ‘Historical Tales of Royal British Children,’ published by Hales; and soon after, ‘Historical Tales,’ published by Parker. These juvenile works made a great impression on Young England, and readily obtained for the author and her younger sisters admission into the juvenile annuals. She was now becoming a popular author, and her contributions to the annuals were generally appreciated, and opened for her an acquaintance with many people of literary celebrity.

In her visits to the metropolis, she found a home with Mrs Leverton, her father’s first cousin, a widow lady of fortune, residing in Bedford Square, under whose chaperonage she entered into society. Here she met Mr Sotheby, who presented her with his ‘Italy,’ and made the acquaintance of many of her father’s family, who till then had been personally unknown to her. Under the care of Mrs Leverton she was able to see many influential editors. Of these Mr Jerdan proved a useful friend: he appreciated her talents, and always gave her works favourable reviews. She had made the acquaintance of the learned and eccentric Mr Mitford, the editor of the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine,’ during a journey in which they were fellow-travellers, and his critical pen was likewise at her service.

The intense interest Agnes took in the struggle of the Greeks to shake off the Turkish yoke, made her once more apply her talents to poetry. ‘Demetrius,’ PLAN OF ENGLISH QUEENS. though the most polished of her poems, was cut up by Fraser the publisher in his own magazine, to the great injury and displeasure of the author, who had rashly published it on her own account. The cause of the Greeks no longer interested the English nation, and the publication of ‘Demetrius’ caused the author considerable loss.

Agnes again devoted her talents to a prose work, to be published upon the share account—‘The Pilgrims of Walsingham,’ a series of tales in three volumes, of which she retained the copyright. It produced neither loss nor gain. The time was, however, drawing on when she would abandon light literature for a higher walk, for which her early education and aspirations had prepared her.

Elizabeth, who at this time edited the ‘Court Journal,’ had written for it some interesting biographies of female sovereigns, which were very popular. Agnes then conceived the idea that the historical biographies of the Queens of England would prove a useful and interesting addition to the libraries of Great Britain. The sisters united in planning the work, and procured its announcement under the title of ‘Memoirs of the Queens of England from the Norman Conquest.’ They lost no time in bringing their plan into operation; but though both possessed great historic information, they were aware that they must obtain documentary evidence if they determined to establish their biographies upon the firm basis of truth. While they were consulting reliable authorities, the accession of the young Queen presented a favourable opportunity for dedicating the work to her. Her Majesty was pleased to accept it very graciously, and the ‘Memoirs of the Queens of England’ was announced, with the dedication to the present sovereign. The first volume was already prepared for the press, when the title of their work was appropriated THE TITLE PIRATED. by another female author, and the sisters were forestalled in the literary market by her publication.

Agnes was so annoyed and mortified by this incident, that she was inclined to give the volume up. Elizabeth considered the pirating of the title of little consequence, as a better would be found in the ‘Lives of the Queens of England from the Norman Conquest,’ by which the work was afterwards widely circulated and known. Agnes found no difficulty in disposing of the ‘Lives of the Queens of England,’ which Mr Colburn agreed to publish upon the share account, she being exonerated from all risk, and dividing with him the profits of the work. Unfortunately, she drew up the agreement herself, and being wholly unacquainted with the technicalities required in such instruments, supposed she had made a good and binding arrangement for herself as well as for her publisher. The first volume had a very rapid sale, and the demand for the succeeding ones being urgent on Colburn’s part, the author did not demand the settlement as prudence required she should have done. The second volume followed the first with great rapidity—too great, indeed, to have been the work of one writer alone. Agnes, always delicate, fell into ill health, the result of intense labour, and would have been unable to proceed with the work even if no other cause for the delay had existed; but there was indeed a very stringent one, that would have stopped the pens of the sisters independent of the increasing languor of Agnes. This was the long purposely delayed settlement by Mr Colburn, which, when gone into, left, from the share account of the most popular work he had ever published, a paltry and inadequate remuneration.

The disappointment and vexation this caused the authors were extreme. Agnes became dangerously ill, and she resolved to give up the continuation of the AGNES OUT OF HEALTH AND SPIRITS. ‘Lives of the Queens of England,’ from which she had gained much fame and no profit. Elizabeth, less sanguine, and possessing a finer constitution and more masculine mind than her sister, comforted and supported her desponding partner, by assuring her “that she saw a clear way out of the dilemma in which the unfair dealing of Colburn had placed them.”

The publisher insisted that the work should proceed; but how could he compel a person to write for his profit over whom the shadow of death seemed impending, or oblige another to do so whose name had appeared neither in the agreement nor on the title-page? In answer to the lawyer’s letter sent to Agnes, the certificate of her medical attendant gave a sufficient reason for her non-compliance with his demands upon her pen. Then Mr Colburn, when the joint authorship was made known to him, requested a personal interview with Elizabeth, upon whose literary labours he had no legal claim.

Perhaps no successful author was so unfortunate as Agnes Strickland at this trying period. She was sick and sorrowful, her hope of ample remuneration lost, and the prospect, if she recovered her health, of a life of fruitless labour before her. No wonder she was sad, with such a cheerless outlook before her.

Before complying with Mr Colburn’s request for an interview, Elizabeth consulted an eminent barrister, Archibald Stephens, Esq., upon the validity of the document containing the agreement between Agnes and her publisher. He was of opinion that the document, though it bound her sister, could not affect her, as her name was not included therein.

As soon as she was furnished with his instructions and advice, she made an appointment with Mr Colburn, who received her with great politeness, assuring her that as her sister’s illness prevented her from proceeding with the work, he should be satisfied by her continuing ELIZABETH’S INTERVIEW WITH COLBURN. it, as her literary talents were well known and appreciated by him.

Elizabeth in reply reminded him that she had made no agreement with him—that what she had done was to assist her sister in the arduous labour that had injured her health and left her in her present precarious state, adding, “I shall do nothing for you, having signed no document to that effect.”

This was a statement very puzzling to the publisher, who was not aware of the joint authorship of the sisters, and was evidently surprised and annoyed upon learning it. After a few minutes he replied, “But if I were to offer you a certain sum per volume, would you then refuse to continue the work?”

“If my sister, upon her recovery, is willing to accept your offer, I shall not refuse my assistance, but I will not allow my name to appear upon the title-page,” was her answer; and with this compromise Mr Colburn was obliged to be content.

Finally, a new agreement was drawn up under the direction of Mr Stephens, in which Elizabeth’s name was duly entered, Mr Colburn agreeing to pay the joint authors £150 per volume, upon which conditions they consented to continue the work—a poor remuneration for one so eminently important and successful as the ‘Lives of the Queens of England.’ In the new deed the authors forbade any corrections or alterations to be made by any hands but their own. No official of the publisher’s was to be allowed to introduce or exclude a single word; nor could the copyright be sold without the consent of the authors.

Elizabeth’s invincible dislike to seeing her name in print was fortunate on this occasion. She had no real reason for her aversion, for her talents were equal to her sister’s, and her industry greater; but she hated notoriety, and never courted it in any shape. Hitherto AGNES AT NEEDLEWORK. the joint authorship of the sisters has been only known to the few, and has remained a mystery to the many; but the veil is now to be raised, and the share taken by each lady arranged in proper order. There was indeed a marked individuality in the separate styles of Elizabeth and Agnes Strickland, which ought to have apprised the public of the fact that these royal biographies were not all by the same hand; nor, indeed, could one person have produced the serial volumes in such rapid succession.

While the negotiations with Mr Colburn were proceeding, Agnes remained in a very precarious state at Reydon, slowly recovering from sore throat and fever; but the prospect of a new agreement relieved her nervous depression, and she amused herself during her lingering convalescence with doing some ornamental work, in which from childhood she had been a proficient. Forbidden to write a line by the absolute decree of her medical attendant, she found pleasure in the use of her needle. Intensely feminine in her habits, she was never happier than while thus employed. Her first inquiry for the fine bâtiste handkerchief she had been embroidering gave her sister Jane, who was her sole nurse, great delight, as it showed a reviving interest in sublunary affairs, of which she had long appeared to have lost sight. This elaborate piece of stitchery was designed by herself with the needle alone, as she proceeded with the work, without the aid of a pattern. It was indeed a very delicate and beautiful imitation of point-lace, wrought in the cambric itself, and would have been greatly valued, and probably framed, if it had not been stolen by an ungrateful maid some years afterwards, to the great mortification of the artiste. As the handkerchief progressed so did the health of Agnes Strickland, and her family had soon the happiness of ANNOYANCE. seeing her restored to their society in her usual buoyant spirits.

As every serial volume of the ‘Lives of the Queens of England’ sold off as soon as issued from the press, it was supposed that Miss Agnes Strickland had realised large sums by the work. This erroneous supposition was an unfortunate one for her, whose sole name was on the title-page, since it subjected her to a series of petty annoyances in the shape of begging-letters from unknown individuals, papers requesting donations for building hospitals, restoring churches, and furnishing libraries. Some of her correspondents even requested her to favour them with situations under Government—one gentleman, whom she had known as a troublesome child, demanding of her to procure a snug sinecure for him. She was perfectly astonished, as well she might be, at the ignorance and folly of these applicants, who really were hoaxing themselves, not her, for they had the absurdity to be in earnest. Their cupidity did not deserve any answer, and she gave them none; but her kindly and charitable nature would not at first permit her to leave unnoticed and unrelieved many moving appeals to her compassion, till their frequent occurrence, and the repetition of the same pathetic story, in some measure opened her eyes to the necessity of closing her hand to unknown persons who were continually soliciting her alms.

More than fifty letters, purporting to be from the widows of clergymen, related in moving language the following story, stating “that the applicant had taken and furnished a house with the intention of keeping a school, but not being able to obtain scholars, could not pay for the furniture, and in consequence was threatened with arrest.” Agnes, after contributing to several cases of this kind, remembered that the obvious way of meeting the difficulty would have been to send ACQUIRES CAUTION. back the furniture, and was strongly advised to take no notice of the writers; and after reading a statement in an influential paper, she became more cautious, and confined her charity to subscriptions to valuable institutions, and to the relief of distress in her own neighbourhood, unless cases were recommended to her notice by her own friends.

The continual demand for autographs was also troublesome and expensive, but after a time she left such requirements unnoticed unless a stamped envelope with the address was enclosed. But a more serious attack upon the time and patience of the worried author consisted in questions requiring information already given in her work. Persons, too, bored her about their pedigrees, instead of applying to the Heralds’ Office for the missing links they were desirous to obtain. Such applications, however, would have cost them money, though they could have procured from thence the necessary information they required, if, indeed, they had any real claim to pedigrees.

Then the success of the ‘Queens of England’ gave rise to an immense number of royal female biographies, most of which fell dead-born from the press, to the authors’ or Mr Colburn’s loss. A host of plagiarists also sprang up, who chose the same subject as the successful work, and pillaged it without owning their obligations. One firm, indeed, who employed a person to write lives of the Queens of England for their magazine, had to pay a considerable sum for appropriating the work, which had been copied out without the slightest attempt at alteration.

But her correspondence was not always of this troublesome kind. Many learned and illustrious persons sent her valuable extracts from their family archives, or directed her attention to scarce books. Those persons, too, of ancient name and lineage, to VALUABLE CORRESPONDENTS. whom she applied for information regarding their own ancestors which could not be obtained from other sources, readily opened their family records for her inspection; and, in cases where no information relating to a particular era or individual existed, returned courteous replies to her requests, and referred her to the quarters where it might possibly be found.