John Timbs

A Century of Anecdote from 1760-1860 John Timbs

General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1864 Original Publisher: R. Bentley Subjects: Anecdotes History / General Humor / General Humor / Form / Anecdotes Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: A VISIT TO LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGU. 'Walpole, writing in 1762, describes his visit to this strange lady : " I found her in a little miserable bedchamber of a ready-furnished house, with two tallow-candles, and a bureau covered with pots and pans. On her head, in full of all accounts, she had an old black-laced hood, wrapped entirely round, so as to conceal all hair or want of hair. No handkerchief, but up to her chin a kind of horseman's riding- coat, calling itself a pet-en-Vair, made of a dark green brocade, with coloured and silver flowers, and lined with furs ; boddice laced, a foul dimity petticoat, sprig"d, velvet muffeteens on her arras, grey stockings and slippers. Her face less changed in twenty years than I could have imagined; I told her so, and she was not so tolerable twenty years ago that she need have taken it for flattery, but she did, and literally gave me a box on the ear. She is very lively, all her senses perfect, her language is imperfect as ever, her avarice greater. With nothing but an Italian, a French, and a Russian, all men servants, and something she calls an old secretary, but whose age till he appears will be doubtful; she receives all the world, and crams them into this kennel. The Duchess of Hamilton, who came in just after me, was so astonished and diverted, that she could not speak to her for laughing." SAVING A LIFE, AND AN EAR. Lady Suffolk was early affected with deafness. Cheselden, the surgeon, then in favour at Court, persuaded her that he had hopes...