The Diary and Letters of Madame D'Arblay Volume I Part 48

The talk upon this matter went on very long, and with great spirit. At last, a large party of ladies arose at the same time', and I tripped after them; Miss Monckton, however, made me come back, for she said I must else wait in the other room till those ladies' carriages drove away.

When I returned, Sir Joshua came and desired he might convey me home; I declined the offer, and he pressed it a good deal, drolly saying,--

"Why, I am old enough, a'n't I?" And when he found me stout, he said to Dr. Johnson,--"Sir, is not this very hard? n.o.body thinks me very young, yet Miss Burney won't give me the privilege of age in letting me see her home? She says I a'n't old enough."[165]

I had never said any such thing.

"Ay, sir," said the doctor, "did I not tell you she was a writer of romances?"

MRS. WALSINGHAM.

_December 15._--To-day, by an invitation of ten days standing, I waited upon Mrs. Walsingham. She is a woman high in fame for her talents,[166]

and a wit by birth, as the daughter of Sir Charles Hanbury Williams.

She has the character of being only civil to people of birth, fame, or wealth, and extremely insolent to all others. Of this, however, I could see nothing, since she at least took care to invite no company to her own house whom she was disposed to disdain. Her reception of me appeared rather singular. She was violently dressed,--a large hoop, flowers in her small and full dressed cap, ribands and ornaments extremely shown, and a fan in her hand. She was very polite, said much of her particular pleasure in seeing me, and kept advancing to me near, that involuntarily I retreated from her, not knowing her design, and kept, therefore, getting further and further back as she came forward, till I was stopped from any power of moving by the wainscot. I then necessarily stood still, and she saluted me.

We then quietly sat down, and my father began a very lively conversation upon various subjects; she kept it up with attention and good breeding, often referring to me, and seeming curious to know my notions.

The rest of the company who came to dinner were Mrs. Montagu, Mr. Percy, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, his lady and daughter, and Sir Joshua Reynolds and Miss Palmer. I was excessively glad to see the latter, who clung to me all the visit, and took off from its formality and grandeur by her chatting and intimacy.

Mrs. Walsingham lives in a splendid house in Stratford place, elegantly fitted up, chiefly by her own paintings and drawings, which are reckoned extremely clever. I hate that word, but cannot think of another.

We did not stay late, for my father and I were both engaged to Miss Monckton's; so was Sir Joshua, who accompanied us.

MRS. SIDDONS.

I was extremely happy to have my dear father with me at Miss Monckton's.

We found Mrs. Siddons, the actress, there. She is a woman of excellent character, and therefore I am very glad she is thus patronised, since Mrs. Abington, and so many frail fair ones, have been thus noticed by the great. She behaved with great propriety; very calm, modest, quiet, and unaffected---She has a very fine countenance, and her eyes look both intelligent and soft. She has, however, a steadiness in her manner and deportment by no means engaging. Mrs. Thrale, who was there, said,--"Why, this is a leaden G.o.ddess we are all wors.h.i.+pping! however, we shall soon gild it."

A lady who sat near me then began a dialogue with Mr. Erskine,[167] who had placed himself exactly opposite to Mrs. Siddons; and they debated together upon her manner of studying her parts, disputing upon the point with great warmth, yet not only forbearing to ask Mrs. Siddons herself which was right, but quite over-powering her with their loquacity, when she attempted, unasked, to explain the matter. Most vehement praise of all she did followed, and the lady turned to me, and said,--

"What invitation, Miss Burney, is here, for genius to display itself!--Everybody, I hear, is at work for Mrs. Siddons; but if you would work for her, what an inducement to excel you would both of you have!--Dr. Burney--."

"Oh, pray, ma'am," cried I, "don't say to him--"

"Oh, but I will!--if my influence can do you any mischief, you may depend upon having it."

She then repeated what she had said to my father, and he instantly said,--

"Your ladys.h.i.+p may be sure of my interest."

I whispered afterwards to know who she was, and heard she Was Lady Lucan.

DR. JOHNSON'S INMATES AT BOLT-COURT.

On Tuesday, Dec. 24, I went in the evening to call on Mrs. Thrale, and tore myself away from her to go to Bolt-court to see Dr. Johnson, who is very unwell. He received me with great kindness, and bade me come oftener, which I will try to contrive. He told me he heard of nothing but me, call upon him who would; and, though he pretended to growl, he was evidently delighted for me. His usual set, Mrs. Williams and Mrs.

De Mullins, were with him; and some queer man of a parson who, after grinning at me some time, said,--

"Pray, Mrs. De Mullins, is the fifth volume of 'Cecilia' at home yet?

Dr. Johnson made me read it, ma'am."

"Sir, he did it much honour."

"Made you, sir?" said the doctor, "you give an ill account of your own taste or understanding, if you wanted any making to read such a book as 'Cecilia.'"

"Oh, sir, I don't mean that; for I am sure I left every thing in the world to go on with it."

A s.h.i.+lling was now wanted for some purpose or other, and none of them happened to have one; I begged that I might lend one.

"Ay, do," said the doctor, "I will borrow of you; authors are like privateers, always fair game for one another."

"True, sir," said the parson, "one author is always robbing another."

"I don't know that, sir," cried the doctor; "there sits an author who, to my knowledge, has robbed n.o.body. I have never once caught her at a theft. The rogue keeps her resources to herself!"

THE TWO MR. CAMBRIDGES IMPROVE UPON ACQUAINTANCE.

_Thursday._--In the morning Mr. Cambridge[168] came, and made a long visit. He is entertaining, original, and well-bred; somewhat formal, but extremely civil and obliging, and, I believe, remarkably honourable and strict in his principles and actions. I wished I could have been easy and chatty with him as I hear he is so much my friend, and as I like him very much; but, in truth, he listens to every syllable I utter with so grave a deference, that it intimidates and silences me. When he was about taking leave, he said,--

"Shall you go to Mrs. Ord's[169] to-morrow?"

"Yes, sir."

"I thought so," said he, smiling, "and hoped it. Where shall you go to-night?"

"No where,--I shall be at home."

"At home? Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Why, then, Miss Burney, my son[170] and I dine to-day in your neighbourhood, at the Archbishop of York's, and, if you please, we will come here in the evening."

This was agreed to. And our evening was really a charming one. The two Mr. Cambridges came at about eight o'clock, and the good Mr. Hoole[171]

was here. My father came downstairs to them in high spirits and good humour, and he and the elder Mr. Cambridge not only talked enough for us all, but so well and so pleasantly that no person present had even a wish to speak for himself. Mr. Cambridge has the best stock of good stories I almost ever heard; and, though a little too precise in his manner, he is always well-bred, and almost always entertaining. Our sweet father kept up the ball with him admirably, whether in anecdotes, serious disquisitions, philosophy, or fun; for all which Mr. Cambridge has both talents and inclination.