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ROYAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS OF THE ‘LIVES’—PRESENTATION AT COURT—VISIT TO HAMMERSMITH CONVENT—LETTER FROM COUNT MONTALEMBERT—MISS STRICKLAND’S FEMININE TASTES—HER MODE OF LIFE—THE ROYAL WEDDING—‘VICTORIA FROM HER BIRTH TO HER BRIDAL’—LETTERS FROM GUIZOT AND MICHELET—DR LINGARD’S OPINION OF THE ‘LIVES.’

The first volume of the ‘Lives of the Queens of England’ was presented by Agnes to her youthful Sovereign, whose librarian, Mr Glover, acknowledged her Majesty’s gracious reception of it by the following letter:—

“Madam,—I have had the honour to submit the first volume of your ‘Lives of the Queens of England,’ which you transmitted to me some time since, to the Queen, and I have great satisfaction in now being able to acquaint you that her Majesty received it very graciously, and was pleased to honour me with her commands to express to you how very sensible her Majesty is of your attention in presenting it for her perusal.—I have the honour to be, madam, your very obedient servant,

J. W. Glover.”

Agnes Strickland was delighted by receiving this ROYAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. intimation that the august Lady to whom by gracious permission the royal biographies were dedicated, had acknowledged the receipt of the volume in a manner so gratifying to the feelings of the author.

Nor was the Queen-Dowager, to whom Agnes Strickland also sent a copy, less gracious in acknowledging the reception of the work.

“Lord Howe presents his compliments to Miss Agnes Strickland, and is commanded to convey the Queen-Dowager’s thanks for the first volume of the ‘Lives of the Queens of England,’ which Miss Strickland has been so good as to send to her Majesty, who has received it with great satisfaction.

“Marlborough House,

March 23, 1840.”

The presentation of any lady to the Sovereign forms an episode in her life; and the historian of the Queens of England, who had witnessed the coronation and bridal procession of the Queen, was very desirous of seeing Victoria presiding in her Court. In a letter to her beloved friend Miss Porter, she gives the following account of so important an event:—

“May 28, 1840.

“I have not written to you, my dearest, kindest friend, since the great affair of my presentation, which was beautifully arranged for me by the amiable Howards, Mrs Howard kindly regretting that (she was pleased to say) she could not have the gratification of presenting me herself, but would consign me to her venerable friend Lady Stourton, who was in all respects one of the most distinguished ladies I could have.

“It was an agitating but gratifying day; and fortunately I was so little embarrassed, that I absolutely forgot, PRESENTATION AT COURT. till I felt the train gently replaced on my arm after I had gone through the ceremonial, nor was I conscious of having so many yards of velvet sweeping behind me. When my name was announced to her Majesty, she smiled and looked most kindly. Nothing could be more gracious than her reception of my homage.

“Prince Albert returned my curtsey with a very courteous bow, and I passed from the presence with feelings of increased interest for the royal pair, but heard the most cruel and bitter remarks uttered by some of the ladies who had preceded me through the ante-room, on what they styled the ungracious and repulsive behaviour of the Queen to themselves and others. I am sure she was all sweetness to me, and those who thought so hardly of her had no business to intrude themselves upon her under the pretext of paying their homage.

“On Monday I attended the birthday Drawing-room, and a brilliant scene it was. The Queen gave me a nod and smile of friendly recognition when the lord-in-waiting pronounced my name. Nothing could be more gracious. She seemed to understand my feelings towards her. After all was over, I joined the dear Mackinnons in the corridor. Louisa Mackinnon looked lovely in her elegantly fancied dress, and is really one of the sweetest and most unaffected girls I know. You would have liked to see me in my Court costume, violet velvet, lined with primrose, over Brussels lace, and white satin; and from the absence of trimming and frippery, my nice historical dress cost less than many of the butterfly costumes round me. It was very suitable for the occasion, and will be useful.

“You will, I know, rejoice to hear that I have had one of the most gratifying notes in the world from Guizot, the French ambassador, on the ‘Lives of the Queens.’ He has, besides, allowed me to quote this proud testimonial to the work in the Introduction to the third volume.

“Most ardently do I hope we may meet in town. I rejoice to hear you are daily improving in health; and believe me ever, with much love, your affectionate friend,

Agnes Strickland.”

The historian of the Queens of England was much struck by the graceful self-possession her Majesty displayed upon every public occasion—the truest test of a dignified mind.

HAMMERSMITH CONVENT.

As conventual life was a mystery to Agnes, it was necessary for her, as a historian, to see the Christian vestals and their home. She was furnished with letters of introduction to the lady abbess, and also to Lady Bedingfield, who was living in the convent at Hammersmith when not on duty at Court, she being one of the Queen-Dowager Adelaide’s ladies. Agnes gives the following account of her visit to her sister Sarah:—

“We rang at a bell attached to a grated door, which was opened by a nice old dear in a white hood, with a large black scarf pinned over it like a veil. This was the porteress, who greeted us with a smile, and immediately ushered us into a shabby, ugly parlour, hung with prints and paintings of saints. One represented the embarkation of St Ursula and the eleven thousand virgins. After a time the lady abbess came in, wearing her Benedictine dress, black veil, and gold cross, who seemed embarrassed at first, till a dear old nun, whom she called Sister Josepha, came in, when her reserve wore off, and she took us to see her chapel and burying-ground. Then Dame Selby, the abbess, claimed kindred with me from the Stricklands of Sizergh Castle, and we became excellent friends.

“I was then taken to be introduced to a novice, who had received the white veil the day before. She was a very tall, interesting-looking person, in spectacles, wearing a chaplet of white roses over her veil, and a garland of flowers hung at the door of her cell. She was very lively, and was delighted with our visit. Her name is Sister Mary Walburga.”

LADY BEDINGFIELD.

The absence of drawers and wardrobe in her cell surprised Agnes Strickland, who asked, “Where she kept her clothes?” “I have none,” replied the novice, “as an individual possession. Our vestments are furnished from the conventual wardrobe.” When we consider how much importance women usually attach to dress, this regulation appears an admirable one for a religious community, and shows a complete severance from the things of this world; but it gave Agnes a melancholy view of conventual life, who was rather fond of rich attire.

“Lady Bedingfield received me with much warmth,” continues Agnes. “She was a Miss Jerningham of Cossey, and though seventy years old, is a very delightful person, bright and intelligent as well as amiable. She showed me a splendid MS. illumination of the battle of Tewkesbury, which she copied in the convent of Ghent. She told me how much Queen Adelaide admired the ‘Lives of the Queens of England,’ and how delighted every one was with the work. Lady Bedingfield’s rooms are beautifully arranged, and contain fine paintings and many curiosities. She will give me a MS. letter of Queen Mary Beatrice when she returns my visit, which she means to do the first time she comes to town.”

Agnes afterwards witnessed the profession of the novice of the year before. “It was,” she writes, “a very affecting spectacle. She received the black veil from the Bishop, and pronounced her vows—vows that dissevered her from the world—in a firm voice. The LETTER FROM COUNT DE MONTALEMBERT. service was interesting, and the nuns sang divinely. After the touching scene was over, we drank tea with Lady Bedingfield, and were introduced to the Catholic Bishop.

“The nuns appeared cheerful and happy; they were constantly employed—a great aid to contentment. Some were employed in teaching their school, others were painting or embroidering, and there was no time left for ennui. Their profession, too, was perfectly voluntary—it was the life they believed to be the most agreeable to God. Friendships in convents are not encouraged—a dreary circumstance in female life, of which it forms a principal charm. To young women of sensibility this can hardly fail to be a source of regret—at least we Protestants cannot but suppose so.”

Mr Philip Howard was very useful to Agnes Strickland by engaging in her service many of his literary friends in France. The following letter from Charles Forbes, Count de Montalembert, proves how much pains he had taken to interest that distinguished gentleman in her behalf:—

“My dear Mr Howard,—I have received the two letters you have done me the honour to address me on the 23d and 10th instant, but it has been impossible for me to answer sooner, because of the very numerous public and private avocations I have had to fulfil, and also because of the length of time required for any sort of research like that required by Miss Agnes Strickland.

“I have consulted several persons who seemed to me most competent on such matters, but no one can give me any satisfactory answer with regard to the will of Margaret of Anjou. I have requested a member of our House of Commons M. Leprecost, renowned for his antiquarian lore, to search in the General Record Office for this same will, and he has most kindly undertaken this task, but as yet he has obtained no satisfactory result. As soon as I may hear something favourable from him or anybody else on this subject, I shall hasten to transmit that information to you. It will always give me pleasure to be useful or agreeable to you.—-With my respectful compliments to your father and mother, I remain, dear Mr Howard, your faithful and obliged servant,

De Montalembert.”

FRIENDSHIPS.

Agnes Strickland did not spend all her time in study. She was fond of society, and formed many lasting and enduring friendships among the great and good. Lady Braye, Lady Blantyre and her charming family, Alexander Mackinnon, M.P., and his amiable daughters;^[1] and last, not least, Miss Jane Porter, the kindest, most useful, and disinterested of friends. But her attachments were not limited to the members of her own Church. The Howards of Corby Castle, and their accomplished daughter Lady Petre, though strict Roman Catholics, were very dear to her; and Mr Howard, and his learned son Mr Philip Howard, were very serviceable in the antiquarian portion of the work, as well as in furnishing the sisters with many rare historical documents. To her intimacy with the Howard family, and to her own ancestral names of Agnes Strickland, she owed perhaps the report that she was of the same religion as the head of her own house, the Stricklands of Sizergh, who had never quitted the ancient faith. Now she had been the means of founding a Sunday-school at Reydon, and when at home regularly taught the village children every Sabbath-day, who read the New Testament with her, and recited the Catechism and Collects, which formed their course of instruction. This is surely a sufficient refutation of an unfounded assertion.

Agnes Strickland had the pleasure of seeing the young maiden Queen open her Parliament, and was surprised and charmed by her delivery of her speech. Her self-possession, distinct enunciation, and sweet-toned AGNES’S FEMININE TASTES. voice, realised what had been so greatly admired in Queen Anne, and had been commended by those who had heard her long after that Queen-regnant had passed away. For our own Sovereign Lady, among many other accomplishments, possessed the rare one of reading and speaking well in public. Perhaps no other young princess in Europe could have addressed a great national assembly with so much dignity and grace; and Agnes Strickland was proud of her Queen. She had come to town for this purpose, and was gratified in witnessing this grand historical scene.

We must, however, remember that Agnes Strickland was really more of the woman than the author. She had a feminine love of dress and female employments, was fond of fine needlework, and did not despise the more useful handicrafts to which the needle is applied, and, till she had a maid, mended her own stockings. On one occasion of great distress she and her sister Elizabeth sat down to make a sheet for a sick person, which proved that the authors of the Queens were as familiar with the use of the needle as with that of the pen. Agnes for her especial friends would provide pretty accessories for the toilet of her own manufacture, and never seemed happier than when so employed. A glance at her domestic life may not be unacceptable to the reader.

Her lively descriptions of what she had seen and heard during her sojourn in the gay capital enlivened the seclusion of home, and delighted her mother and sisters in those hours not devoted to the great work she had in hand. In the country she made use of the stores she had gathered from the records of many lands, as well as those culled from British sources, and sometimes wrote till eleven at night, but rarely was out of her bed at twelve o’clock. She laboured assiduously in her study till noon, when she took a walk, and METHOD OF WORK. usually drove out in the afternoons, or paid visits to her friends, or visited the sick and needy. If the weather did not permit outdoor exercise, she joined the family circle, and employed her leisure time with needlework. On wet mornings she sat close to her desk. She wrote with great rapidity, having made herself complete mistress of the life of that queen whose biography she had in hand before commencing it; and this judicious method greatly contributed to her success as a historical biographer.

Her partner, Elizabeth, usually remained in town, as it was an absolute necessity that one of the authors should be in the metropolis while the forthcoming volume was issuing from the press. This necessity occasioned considerable expense, and materially lessened the slender profits of the work. Agnes usually joined her sister in April, and rarely quitted London till July, when she either returned to Reydon or took an English or Scotch tour, visiting on her way many friends to whom her company was dearly welcome.

Colburn was very urgent with Agnes to leave Reydon for London at this time, and she willingly complied with his request, as she was very anxious to be present at a ceremony the approach of which filled every loyal heart with intense interest—the marriage of Queen Victoria. She was aware that she could not hope to obtain entrance to the chapel, but thought she might, through the influence of friends, secure a ticket for the colonnade. Charlotte, Lady Stradbroke, kindly exerted herself on her behalf, and through Lady Fitzallan procured one for her.

Agnes rose at an unusually early hour to be full dressed for the occasion, and a friend lent his carriage and servants to attend her. She obtained a favourable place in the colonnade, whence she saw the grand procession on its way to and return from the chapel. QUEEN’S MARRIAGE. The splendid bridal procession, though so striking as a pageant, derived its chief interest from the royal bride herself, for whose happy wedlock every loyal heart breathed ardent wishes. It was a cold cheerless February morning, till the sun suddenly broke forth from gloomy clouds to shine for the maiden Queen as she entered the chapel. The return of the procession appeared to Agnes the most interesting part of the pageant, for the Queen no longer walked alone in her companionless grandeur, but with him who was destined (to use her own beautiful and touching words) “to make her life bright and happy.” No shadow of that sad separation that, after years of perfect union, was to divide by death the wedded lovers, darkened that auspicious bridal hour. The royal pair were in the brilliant early morning of life, in the bloom of youth and beauty: the bridegroom triumphantly happy; the bride serene, as if she felt she had secured her domestic felicity in giving her hand to the accomplished prince by her side.

After the procession had passed through the corridor, Agnes entered the chapel to obtain a sight of the Attestation Book, a relic of great antiquarian and historic interest, enhanced far more at that moment by the signatures of her Majesty and her illustrious consort, and of those distinguished persons who witnessed the important document, being still wet.

Not possessing the organ of locality, Agnes missed her way in leaving the chapel, and found herself, rather fortunately, in an apartment adjoining it, where the choristers were being regaled with sherry and bridecake by a clergyman, who very politely asked the intruder to drink her Majesty’s health, which she was very happy to do, not having taken any refreshment since her early breakfast at six o’clock that eventful morning. The kind donor regretted that the royal VIEW OF THE BANQUETING-ROOM. bridecake had all been distributed; but the glass of sherry was very acceptable, as she felt faint, and was considerably revived after she had received it, and had wished long life and happiness to the wedded Majesty of Great Britain and her royal bridegroom.

When she quitted this room she was again at fault; and after wandering about, followed a stream of people, who she thought were, like her, seeking their exit from the palace. In this surmise she was mistaken; they were on the route for the sight of the splendid banqueting-room, by the entrance of which stood the lord-in-waiting, who permitted each party a brief view of the glories therein, and was then engaged in an amicable contest with a lovely girl, who demanded more peeps than he considered was her due.

“No, Lady Jane,” he said, “you have had three peeps instead of one; other people must have the sight as well as you.” As he resisted the beseeching looks of his fair petitioner, Agnes feared her chance was not a very good one. However, she advanced and made her request known, to which he replied “that he would open the door with great pleasure if she had a ticket.” Now as Agnes was unprovided with that essential sesame, she relied upon her feminine eloquence to supply its place. She considerably softened the jealous guardian by her appeal, which she concluded by remarking “that it would do him no harm to give her the sight, though she had no documentary claim to it.”

He smiled and replied, “No, it will not. I will tell you what to do. When the next party arrives, come up with them, and I will ask no questions respecting a ticket.”

Agnes Strickland followed his obliging directions and, upon his unclosing the jealously guarded door, beheld the magnificent banqueting-room, with the table covered with glittering gold plate, while the royal ‘VICTORIA, FROM HER BIRTH TO HER BRIDAL.’ bridecake, with its banners and blazonry, occupied a separate table, the whole scene exhibiting a magnificent coup d’œil. After her two fortunate mistakes, Agnes Strickland found no difficulty in making her way out of the palace, as she had only to follow in the train of departing visitors, and found her friend’s carriage in waiting for her. Tired as she was, she rallied sufficiently to join a party to see the illuminations in the evening, with which the greatest and wealthiest metropolis in the world honoured the royal bridal of their lovely and youthful Sovereign.

This year Mr Colburn persuaded Agnes Strickland to write a work for him, of which the early life of her Majesty was to form the subject, to be entitled ‘Victoria, from her Birth to her Bridal,’ in two volumes. She undertook her task without due consideration, having no documentary evidence beyond the information provided for her by Mr Colburn himself, the public press, and anecdotes furnished by too credulous friends. Towards her youthful Sovereign her feelings were enthusiastically loyal, and she was grieved to find that the book did not please the Queen, and that the work not being her own property, she could not reprint it with the omissions and corrections suggested by her Majesty. If she erred, it was not from any want of love and loyalty on her part. Indeed she firmly refused to include in her lives of the Queens of England and Great Britain those of the Brunswick dynasty, as she considered it would be personally disrespectful to her Majesty to carry her researches into the present royal house, nor could the large remuneration offered by Mr Colburn induce her to do so.

The following letters, from Monsieur Guizot and his friend Monsieur Michelet, will show their appreciation of the talents of the author of the ‘Lives of the Queens of England’:— LETTERS FROM M. GUIZOT.

Translation.

“London, May 17, 1840.

“Mademoiselle,—I acknowledge, though very late, the kindness you have done me in sending me your ‘Lives of the Queens of England’; but I would not speak to you about them till I could find time to read them, which was not then at my disposal. I have read them, mademoiselle, with lively pleasure. It is a charming work. You have studied from the source, and presented your facts singularly exempt from dryness. My perusal being finished, I have sent your book to my daughters, who are now in Paris, and who will read them in their turn with the lively pleasure natural to their age. Accept, I pray you, mademoiselle, my thanks and respectful compliments.

Guizot.

“P.S.—I have written to Paris to ask if there are any particular documents unedited concerning the history of Margaret of Anjou. If they send me any, I shall have the honour of transmitting them to you.”

The opinion expressed by the French Minister of her work was peculiarly gratifying to Agnes Strickland; for he was deeply read in English history, on which he has written with great power, judgment, and impartiality. His history of the ‘English Revolution and Execution of Charles I.’ is only paralleled by his ‘Life of Oliver Cromwell.’ In later times the fame of Monsieur Guizot will probably belong more to the fine author than to the great Minister.

Monsieur Guizot was quite as gracious in his acceptance of the third volume of the ‘Lives of the Queens of England’ as he had been in his reception of the two first:—

“Mademoiselle,—I thank you very much for sending me your third volume. It will afford, like the two first, pleasure and information to my daughters; but I shall not transmit it to them till I have read it myself. If there should fall into my hands any documents that would interest LETTER FROM M. MICHELET. you for your second edition, I will not fail to send them to you.

“Be pleased, mademoiselle, to accept my respectful compliments.

Guizot.

“London, August 29, 1840.”

Monsieur Guizot had not forgotten his promise respecting inquiries relative to Margaret of Anjou, made through Monsieur de Montalembert and Monsieur Michelet; and he sent the letter of the last-named gentleman to Agnes Strickland to prove that he had been mindful of it, though engaged in conducting the affairs of a great and turbulent kingdom. Nothing can be more courteous than the following letter from Michelet concerning the documents Agnes Strickland was anxious to procure:—

Translation.

“Monsieur Guizot,—You have not, I think, received through M. de Montalembert the notice of the pieces, unfortunately few in number, relating to Margaret of Anjou. These documents appear to be wholly diplomatic, and have nothing original or interesting in them.

“When I received the letter that you did me the honour to send, I have made new researches, hoping to be more happy; and I have asked a friend from Rouen if the archives of that city possessed any letters of M. de Brezè (Sénéchal de Normandie), and I have received from Rouen a voluminous catalogue of acts from this remarkable man, but none of them relating to English affairs.

“Will you, monsieur, express to the author of the ‘Queens of England’ the deep regret I feel in not being able to assist her on this occasion? I should be happy, if this lady had need of researches or references relating to the fifteenth century, of which I have made this year a particular study, to furnish them to her.

“Believe me, monsieur, with sincere compliments, to be your very humble servant,

Michelet.

“May 31, 1840.”

LINGARD’S OPINION OF THE ‘QUEENS.’

Monsieur Guizot was not the only historian of our day who did justice to the talents of Agnes Strickland. Dr Lingard, one of the ablest writers of English history, in a letter to his friend Mr Philip Howard of Corby Castle, gives his opinion of her work as follows:—

“I have snatched a few moments now and then to read Miss Strickland’s work, which you had the kindness to send me. It afforded me great pleasure, bringing to my recollection many anecdotes which I had forgotten, and making me acquainted with many that I had never met with—at least as far as I can recollect. The rival history^[2] I have not seen; but to judge from this, I should say that Miss Strickland’s promises to be a very favourite book, particularly among the ladies, who will be proud of making acquaintance with the female sovereigns of other days.”

The learned writer is not, however, satisfied by the female author having ascribed that curious piece of needlework, called the Bayeux tapestry, to Matilda of Flanders,—the most likely person to have commemorated the conquest of England in that feminine manner—though it has been attributed to Odo, the half-brother of the Norman Conqueror.

“But in ancient subjects no one should ever be guided by modern writers,” remarks Dr Lingard. “Miss Strickland tells us that the Bayeux tapestry was embroidered by Matilda, and has even favoured us with a print of the queen at work. Yet had she inquired, she would have found she had no more authority for attributing it to Matilda than to Marguerite of France, or any one else. She suffered herself to be led astray by Ducarel or some other modern. But enough of that. I am happy that she has become a sister of the craft, and that she will do honour to the body.—I remain, dear sir, most truly yours,

J. Lingard.

“Hornby, May 30.”

REVIEWS.

Agnes did not always care for criticisms, and indeed was generally highly favoured by reviewers; but she was really annoyed by an uncandid review, not only on her book, but on herself, in the ‘Athenæum.’

In her letter to Miss Porter she writes: “The writer in his zeal for Miss Lawrence, forgets his judgment as a critic, but also all sense of truth and justice, and has not only garbled my paragraphs by cutting out all the evidences I had adduced in support of certain historic facts not familiar to such superficial readers as himself, but actually condescends to the meanness of enclosing between inverted commas, as if quoted from my work, sentences not to be found therein, and says everything offensive and injurious he can think of to deteriorate from its merits. You will, however, dear Miss Porter, read the volume, and if the ‘Athenæum’ should fall in your way read it also, and determine whether it ought to be answered.”

The best answer to this unfair criticism was the immense sale of the volume, which won not only a high English reputation, but a European one.

[1]	Afterwards Duchess de Gramont, and Countess of Dundonald.

[2]	Memoirs of the Queens of England. By Miss Lawrence.