The third Earl of Stanhope, father of the subject of our present
sketch, possessed abilities which qualified him for any station; yet
he devoted his ample fortune, his time, and his thoughts, to mechanics
and to experiments in science and philosophy; with what success, the
Stanhope printing press, many improvements in the process of
stereotype printing, and his various papers on the electric fluid, are
evidence. He married a daughter of the great Earl of Chatham; and of
this marriage, Lady Hester Stanhope was the earliest fruit. She was
born in 1776.
[Illustration: LADY HESTER STANHOPE.]
Genius was the only inheritance she received from her father. Upon the
death of her mother, which happened when she was young, she was
received into the house of her uncle, William Pitt, the younger, and
was there brought up. Between this minister and his brother-in-law
there was little sympathy of opinion. Stanhope was an enthusiast for
the improvement of social institutions, and hailed the French
revolution as the beginning of the change which he hoped for. So
confident was he in those views, as to urge upon his children the
necessity of qualifying themselves to earn a living by some honest
calling. He could not approve the measures which the minister now
adopted; and, as his children adhered in principle to their uncle, he
renounced them, saying, "that, as they had chosen to be saddled on the
public purse, they must take the consequences."
The genius and originality of Lady Hester made her an especial
favorite with her uncle. She presided at his table, and he evinced his
respect for her abilities, by employing her, after his retirement from
office, as his secretary. Though to the multitude this great statesman
appeared cold and unbending, with his intimates, and those whom he
received into his private friendship, he was cheerful and affable; to
women he was polite in the extreme, and, in the midst of his gravest
avocations, would rise to pick up his secretary's fallen handkerchief.
Devoted to the affairs of state, Pitt paid no attention to his own
pecuniary concerns, so that the only provision he could make for his
niece at his death, was to recommend her to the favor of his king and
country, who acknowledged their obligation to him by bestowing upon
her a pension of twelve hundred pounds, annually.
Soon after the death of her uncle, she left England, and spent some
years in visiting the chief cities of continental Europe. Her rank,
her beauty, and her fortune, were alone sufficient to attract crowds
of suitors; but they were all rejected. After satisfying her curiosity
in Europe, she embarked, with a numerous retinue, for Constantinople,
with the determination of making a long sojourn in the East, and
taking with her a large amount of property. A storm overtook the
vessel on the coast of Caramania, fronting the Island of Rhodes; the
vessel struck against a rock, and soon went to pieces, burying Lady
Hester's jewels and other property, to a large amount, in the waves.
Her own escape was almost miraculous. The piece of the wreck on which
she had taken refuge was cast on the shore of a small, desert island,
where she remained twenty-four hours, without help or food of any
kind. At last, some fishermen of Marmoriga, who were in search of the
remains of the wreck, found her out, and brought her to Rhodes.
Her resolution was not daunted by this disaster. She returned to
England, collected the remains of her fortune, and, after investing a
portion of it in the English funds, embarked once more for the East,
taking with her articles for presents, and whatever else might be of
service in the countries she designed to visit. Her voyage was
prosperous, and she landed at the site of the ancient Laodicea, now
called Latakia, between Tripoli and Alexandretta, on the coast of
Syria.
In the neighborhood of this place she fixed her residence, and entered
upon a course of preparation for her intended journeys into the most
inaccessible parts of Arabia, Mesopotamia, and the desert. She
strengthened her body by diet and exercise, and, from being weak and
debilitated, became strong and vigorous as an Amazon. She studied the
Arab language, and sought for intercourse with the various classes of
Arabs, Druses, and Maronites of the country.
After having become perfectly familiar with the language, manners, and
usages, of the country, she organized a large caravan, and, loading
her camels with rich presents for the Arabs, set out on her travels.
She visited every place worthy of notice in Syria. At Palmyra numerous
hordes of wandering Arabs assembled round her tent, to the number of
forty or fifty thousand, and, charmed by her beauty, her grace, and
her splendor, proclaimed her queen of that once imperial city, and
delivered firmans into her hand, by which it was agreed that every
European who should receive her protection might proceed in perfect
safety through the desert, paying to them a certain fixed tribute.
The newly-proclaimed queen herself ran great hazard, on her return
from Palmyra, and narrowly escaped being carried off by a tribe
hostile to those of that region. She, however, received notice of her
danger in season--by the swiftness of her horses, and a twenty-four
hours' journey of almost incredible extent--to place herself and her
caravan out of the reach of the enemy. The next few months she passed
at Damascus, protected by the Turkish pacha, to whom the Porte had
highly recommended her.
Satisfied, at length, with a life of wandering, Lady Hester settled
herself on one of the mountains of Lebanon, near the ancient Sidon.
Quitting this place, the traveller enters upon a wild and barren
country. Hill succeeds to hill, and all are divested of vegetation or
soil. At last, from the top of one of these rocks, his eye rests upon
a valley deeper and broader than the rest, bordered on all sides by
more majestic but equally barren mountains. In the midst of this
valley the mountain of Djoun rises, with a flat summit covered with a
beautiful green vegetation. A white wall surrounds this mass of
verdure, and marks the habitation of the "Sittee Inglis," or "English
lady." It is a confused assemblage of small cottages, each containing
one or two rooms, without windows, and separated from one another by
small gardens. All the verdure was the result of her own labor; she
created what to Eastern eyes might seem a paradise--gardens containing
bowers of fragrant vines, kiosks embellished with sculpture and
paintings, with fountains of marble; and arches formed of orange, fig,
and lemon-trees.
Here she resided for many years in a style of Eastern magnificence,
surrounded by a concourse of household officers, and a numerous
retinue of young females,--upon whose education she employed
herself,--and a host of servants, black and white. She held friendly
intercourse with the Sublime Porte, with the various pachas, and with
the chiefs of the numerous tribes of Arabs and others about her. Such
was the state in which she lived, and the influence which she exerted,
that she might well imagine herself "Queen of the Desert."
But the splendor of her reign was soon dimmed. Her treasures were not
large enough to bear the unlimited draughts upon them. Her Arab
friends, whose affections were only to be preserved by constant gifts,
cooled towards her when these became less rich and less frequent;
those who had accompanied her from Europe, died or deserted her; and
she was at length left in a state of absolute retirement.
Some sources of influence still remained to her; one of these was in
that power which the strong-minded and educated always exercise over
the weak and ignorant. Astrology--a science long banished from
Europe--still holds its sway in the East. The opinion went abroad that
Lady Hester could read the stars, and procured for her that respect
among the common people, and, to a certain extent, that personal
security, which had formerly been purchased with the shawls of
Cashmere, and the rich silver-mounted pistols of England.
But whilst practising these arts upon others, she became herself the
victim of strange delusions. She came by degrees to believe that the
history of all was written in the stars, and that she had there read
the history of the world. The Messiah was soon to appear upon the
earth, and by his side, mounted upon a milk-white mare of matchless
beauty, which was then in her stable, she was to witness the conquest
of Jerusalem, and the establishment of his kingdom. She had, too, in
her stable the mare upon which her companion was to ride. This animal,
in all other respects of beautiful proportions, had behind the
shoulders a cavity so large and deep, and imitating so completely a
Turkish saddle, that one might say with truth she was foaled saddled.
The appearance of an animal with this peculiarity, in itself a
deformity, served as an incitement to credulity, and to keep up the
delusion. The animal was watched with the greatest care by two grooms,
one of whom was never to lose sight of her. No one had ever mounted
her, and from her bearing one might have fancied that the creature was
conscious of the admiration and respect which were entertained for her
by all around, and felt the dignity of her future mission.
The talent which Lady Hester was supposed to possess was put in
constant requisition by her credulous neighbors; nor was her power
ever exercised for bad purposes. She used it to calm the passions of
the violent; to induce the unjust and the oppressor to make reparation
for their wrong-doings; and put it to other good uses, of which the
following anecdote, related by herself, will furnish an example: "An
Arab suspected his wife of talking too much with strangers in his
absence, and one of his neighbors confirmed his suspicions. He went
home, proceeded to strangle the unfortunate woman, and, when she
became insensible, he dragged her to some distance, and commenced
interring her: the first heap of sand which he threw upon her recalled
sensation; she manifested symptoms of life, and he repented of his
vengeance; he brought her to me half dead; told the story of her
supposed guilt, but owned he was premature in strangling her, as he
should have first got me to consult her star, to ascertain if she
really deserved to die or not. I sent the woman to the _harem_, had
her bled, and taken care of till she recovered, and then I summoned
the man before me. 'My good friend,' said I, 'your wife's star has
been consulted; take her back in peace, and thank God you have her;
for it is written in the stars, "On vain surmises thou shalt not
strangle thy wife, neither shalt thou hearken to the slanderers of her
honor."' The man immediately held out his hand to his gentle rib; she
kissed it, and forth he walked, desiring her to follow him, with the
most perfect indifference. I asked the woman if she were afraid of
another act of violence. She calmly replied, 'Is he not my husband?
Has he not a right to kill me, if he suspects me of doing wrong?'"
Lady Hester believed in the science of astrology to the fullest
extent. She believed that we are all children of some one of the
celestial fires which presided at our birth, and of which the happy or
malignant influence is written in our eyes, on our foreheads, in our
fortunes, in the lines of our hands, in the form of our feet, in our
gesture, in our walk. She believed that, from these various elements,
she could read the character and destiny of any individual who was but
for a few moments in her presence. In accordance with her belief, she
thought that skilful astrologers should be appointed to every
district, to consult the heavenly bodies at the birth of every child;
the nature of each natal star to be registered by them, and kept
secret till the period of education, which is to be adapted to that
particular calling which the star of every human being indicates.
The following somewhat poetical description of the personal appearance
of Lady Hester is given by a traveller, who, in 1832, was suffered to
visit her--a favor rarely granted to Europeans: "I was introduced into
her cabinet by a little negro child. It was so extremely dark, that it
was with difficulty I could distinguish her noble, grave, yet mild and
majestic features, clad in an Oriental costume. She rose from the
divan, advanced, and offered me her hand. She appeared to be about
fifty years of age; but she possessed those personal traits which
years cannot alter. Freshness, color, and grace, depart with youth;
but when beauty resides in the form itself, in purity of expression,
in dignity, in majesty, and a thoughtful countenance, whether in man
or woman, this beauty may change with the different periods of life,
but it does not pass away--it eminently characterized the person of
Lady Hester Stanhope.
"She wore a white turban, and on her forehead was a purple-colored
woollen fillet, which fell on each side of her head as low as her
shoulders. A long, yellow Cashmere shawl, and an immense Turkish robe
of white silk, with flowing sleeves, enveloped all her person in
simple and majestic folds, while an opening of these folds upon the
bosom displayed a tunic of rich Persian stuff, covered with flowers,
which was attached round the neck by a clasp of pearls. Turkish yellow
morocco boots, embroidered with silk, completed this beautiful
Oriental costume, which she wore with that freedom and grace, as if
she had never used any other from her youth."
Though Lady Hester retained her power over the lower classes by means
of their superstitious fears, the neighboring chiefs were not to be
thus restrained, and some of them sought by robbery to indemnify
themselves for the loss of the accustomed presents. Hoping to coerce
her into a renewal of them, they harassed her by petty vexations; her
camels were seized; her servants were beaten; and at length, when she
retaliated, a firman was procured, forbidding any Mussulman, on pain
of death, to remain in her service, or to carry water to her house.
The severity of the last prohibition may be judged from the fact that
the water for the use of her house and garden had to be brought from a
river three or four miles distant. Her appeal, however, to the Porte
procured the withdrawal of the firman, and saved her gardens from the
destruction which a want of irrigation would soon have produced.
In 1837, a new source of vexation to Lady Hester arose. The British
government, having received information that some of her English
creditors were in a state of destitution, appropriated the pension
which Lady Hester had so long received to their relief. This met with
a spirited remonstrance on the part of her ladyship, who called to
her aid the Duke of Wellington and other opponents of the whig
administration. Failing in these efforts, she appealed to the queen
herself, but with no better success. She did not long survive this
new source of mortification. On hearing of her illness, the British
consul at Beyroot, accompanied by Mr. Thomson, an American missionary,
hastened to her assistance; but, on their arrival, nothing was left
for them to do but to pay the last sad offices to her remains. She
died on the 23d of June, 1839.
Various and opposing motives have been assigned for the unusual
conduct of Lady Hester: we think, however, its explanation is to be
found in an eccentric imagination, a turn for adventure, and that love
of power which is inherent in the human breast. We can hardly consider
it more extraordinary that one English lady should be found willing to
accept a government under the sunny skies of Syria, than that so many
English officers should seek for sway on the burning shores of Africa
and the East Indies.