PEACEFUL CLOSING YEARS
The winter of 1852-3 was unusually cold, and Miss Mitford suffered much
from rheumatism supervening upon the effects of her accident. For many
months she was entirely confined to her room. She writes to her friend
Mr. Fields in March: “Here I am at Easter still a close prisoner from
the consequences of the accident that took place before Christmas....
But when fine weather—warm, genial, sunny weather—comes I will get
down in some way or other, and trust myself to that which never hurts
anyone, the honest open air. Spring, and even the approach of spring,
has upon me something the effect that England has upon you. It sets me
dreaming—I see leafy hedges in my dreams and flowery banks, and then I
long to make the vision a reality.”
She writes again to Mr. Fields in the month of June: “I am in
somewhat better trim, although the getting out of doors and into the
pony-chaise, from which Mr. May hoped such great things, has hardly
answered his expectations.... I am still unable to stand or walk unless
supported by Sam’s strong hands. However I am in as good spirits as
ever, and just at this moment most comfortably seated under the acacia
tree at the corner of my house—the beautiful acacia, literally loaded
with snowy chains—the flowering trees this summer—lilacs, laburnums,
rhododendrons, azalias—have been one mass of blossoms, and none as
graceful as this waving acacia.... On one side a syringa ... a jar of
roses on the table before me—fresh-gathered roses, the pride of Sam’s
heart; and little Fanchon at my feet, too idle to eat the biscuits with
which I am trying to tempt her—biscuits from Boston, sent to me by Mrs.
Sparks, whose kindness is really indefatigable, and which Fanchon ought
to like upon that principle if upon no other, but you know her laziness
of old. Well, that is a picture of Swallowfield Cottage at this moment.”
Among the many gifts from admiring readers of the _Recollections of a
Literary Life_ that arrived at Swallowfield were choice plants for the
garden. No less than twelve climbing roses for the front of her house
appeared from the Hertfordshire nurseries, also two seedlings called in
honour of her the “Miss Mitford” and the “Swallowfield.”
Mary Mitford writes to Mr. Fields:—
“Never, my dear friend, did I expect to like so well a man who came in
your place as I do like Mr. Ticknor.... It is delightful to hear him
talk of you, and to feel that sort of elder brotherhood which a senior
partner must exercise is in such hands. He was very kind to little
Harry, and Harry likes him _next_ to you. He came here on Saturday with
the dear Bennocks, and the Kingsleys met him. Mr. Hawthorne was to have
come but could not leave Liverpool so soon, so that is a pleasure to
come.
“Mr. Ticknor will tell you that all is arranged for printing with
Colburn’s successors, Hurst and Blackett, two separate works, the plays
and dramatic scenes forming one, the stories to be headed by a long
tale, of which I have always had the idea in my head to form almost a
novel. God grant me strength to do myself and my publishers justice in
that story!”
The title of the new book was _Atherton and other Stories_. They are as
fresh and bright in style as if the author were in perfect health, and
yet it was, as she writes to Mr. Fields, “in the midst of the terrible
cough, which did not allow me to lie down in bed, and a weakness
difficult to describe, that I finished _Atherton_.”
In her short Preface Miss Mitford mentions the adverse circumstances
under which the composition had been carried on, and expresses her
thankfulness to the merciful Providence for “enabling me still to
live by the mind, and not only to enjoy the never-wearying delight of
reading the thoughts of others, but even to light up a sick chamber and
brighten a wintry sky by recalling the sweet and sunny valley which
formed one of the most cherished haunts of my happier years.” And
then she closes this, her last work, with the words: “And now, gentle
reader, health and farewell.
M. R. MITFORD.
SWALLOWFIELD, _March, 1854_.”
_Atherton_ was dedicated to her valued friend Lady Russell, and was
published in three volumes during the month of April. It was also
published shortly afterwards in America. She writes to Mr. Fields on
May 2nd: “Long before this time you will, I hope, have received the
sheets of _Atherton_. It has met with an enthusiastic reception from
the English press, and certainly the friends who have written to me on
the subject seem to prefer the tale which fills the first volume to
anything that I have done. I hope you will like it. I am sure you will
not detect in it the gloom of a sick chamber.”
And writing to an English friend also in May she says: “Thank you for
your kindness in liking _Atherton_. It has been a great comfort to me
to find it so indulgently, so very warmly, received. Mr. Mudie told Mr.
Hurst that the demand was so great that he was obliged to have four
hundred copies in circulation.”
In this same letter she says: “I am sitting now at my open window,
not high enough to see out, but inhaling the soft summer breezes,
with an exquisite jar of roses on the window-sill and a huge sheaf of
fresh-gathered meadow-sweet giving its almondy fragrance from outside;
looking on blue sky and green waving trees, with a bit of road and some
cottages in the distance, and [hearing] K——‘s little girl’s merry voice
calling Fanchon in the court.... An avalanche of kindness has come from
America, where, as in Paris, my book has been reprinted. Letters to me
or for me addressed through my friend Mr. Fields have arrived, I think,
from almost every man of note in the States—Hawthorne, Longfellow,
Holmes, etc. etc. And one lady, Mrs. Sparkes, wife of Jared Sparks,
President of Harvard University, Cambridge, gravely invites me, with
man-servant and maid-servant, pony and Fanchon, to go and take up my
abode with them for two or three years, an unlimited hospitality which
seems to English ears astounding. Cambridge is close to Boston, where
most of the literary men of America live, and if I were not such a
helpless creature really one would be tempted to go and thank all these
warm-hearted people for their extraordinary kindness.”
And writing in August she says: “I do not think there is an authoress
of name who has not sent me messages full of the kindest interest.
It is one of the highest mercies by which this visitation has been
softened that I can still give my thoughts and time and love and
sympathy, not merely to dear friends, but to books and flowers and the
common doings of this workaday world.”
A lady friend on one occasion had remonstrated with Mary Mitford for
what she considered a misplaced enthusiasm. “Ah, my dear friend!” she
responds, “do not lecture me for loving and admiring! It is the last
green branch in the old tree, the lingering touch of life and youth.”
À propos of a tendency of hers to extoll at times some modern poem
that had taken her fancy as being superior to the great poems of old,
Mr. Fields quotes a saying of Pascal’s that “the heart has reasons
that reason does not know.” “Miss Mitford,” he says, “was a charming
exemplification of this wise saying.”
During the autumn of 1854 Mary’s condition had been rapidly growing
worse, though her letters show that her bright spirit was not broken
by her continued sufferings and increased weakness, nor her mind in
any way clouded. Her last letter to Mr. Fields was written on December
23rd, 1854, only eighteen days before she died. In it she says: “God
bless you, my dear friend! May He send to both of you health and
happiness and length of days and so much of this world’s goods as is
needful to prevent anxiety and insure comfort. I have known many rich
people in my time, and the result has convinced me that with great
wealth some deep black shadow is as sure to walk as it is to follow the
bright sunshine. So I never pray for more than the blessed enough for
those whom I love best.”
On January 1st, 1855, nine days only before her death, she wrote the
following letter to a friend: “It has pleased Providence to preserve
to me my calmness of mind and clearness of intellect, and also my
powers of reading by day and by night, and which is still more my love
of poetry and literature, my cheerfulness and my enjoyment of little
things. This very day not only my common pensioners the dear robins,
but a saucy troop of sparrows and a little shining bird of passage
whose name I forget, have all been pecking at once at their tray of
bread-crumbs outside the window. Poor, pretty things! How much delight
there is in these common objects if people would learn to enjoy them;
and I really think that the feeling for these simple pleasures is
increasing with the increase of education.”
The end came on January 10th and was in accordance with her sweet
life. As she lay with her hand in that of her dear friend Lady Russell
she expired so quietly that the actual moment of her departure was
not realized. “The features of her face in death,” we are told,
“undisturbed by any trace of the cares and trials she had endured, were
overspread by an expression of intense repose and peace and charity
such as no living face had ever known.”
In the introduction to her _Dramatic Works_ Miss Mitford remarks that
she “hopes the plays will be as mercifully dealt with as if they were
published by her executor, and that the hand that wrote them were laid
in peaceful rest where the sun glances through the great elms in the
beautiful churchyard of Swallowfield.” And there she lies in the heart
of the country she so dearly loved and amidst the sights and sounds
that she most cherished.
We would close this book with the words of a friend and contemporary
author who knew Miss Mitford well.
“Pleasant is the memory because happy was the life, kindly the nature
and genial the heart of Mary Russell Mitford. She had her trials and
she bore them well; trusting and ever faithful to the _Nature_ she
loved; sending forth from her poor cottage at Three Mile Cross—from its
leaden casement and narrow door—floods of light and sunshine that have
cheered and brightened the uttermost parts of the earth.”
[Illustration]
INDEX
A
Abbey School, Reading, its interesting associations, 63-65
Alresford, Hants, birthplace of Mary Russell Mitford, description of,
1-2; Broad Street, Dr. Mitford’s house in, 5
Andersen, Hans, his visit to England, his words in an album, 349
Anning, Mary, an inhabitant of Lyme Regis, discovers the gigantic
fossil bones of the Ichthyosaurus, receives a visit from the King of
Saxony, Kenyon’s verses upon her, 44-46
Athol, Dowager Duchess of, M. R. M. visits her at Alnwick Castle, 1806,
description of, 104-7
Austen, Jane, M. R. M.’s admiration of, 253-255, 368-369
Aynsley, Lord Charles Murray, son of the Dowager Duchess of Athol,
visited by M. R. M. in Northumberland in 1806, 103-105; receives visit
from Louis XVIII, in Bocking Deanery, 111-118
Aynsley, Lady, wife of the above, first cousin of Dr. Mitford, is
visited by
M. R. M. in Northumberland in 1806, at Little Harle Tower, takes her to
Alnwick Castle, 103-107; describes visit from Louis XVIII in Bocking
Deanery in letter to Mrs. Mitford, 111-118
B
Baillie, Joanna, meets M. R. M. in society, 329
Barrett, Miss Elizabeth. See under Mrs. Barrett Browning
Bath, M. R. M.’s visit to, 252-255
_Belford Regis_, by M. R. M., published 1835, 339
Bonar, Charles, translator of Hans Andersen’s’ works, friend of M. R.
M., 349
Browning, Robert, meets M. R. M., 329; his marriage, 348
Browning, Mrs. Barrett, first meets M. R. M. before her marriage,
1836, their interesting correspondence, 330-334; her marriage, her
correspondence with M. R. M., 348
C
Chorley, Henry, meets M. R. M. in London, 329; persuades her to resume
literary work, 352
Cobbett, William, friend of Dr. Mitford, 126-127
_Country Stories_, published 1835, 339-340
Cowper, William, his letters, 131-132
E
Elford, Sir William, his influence on M. R. M., their interesting
correspondence, 128-133; his views upon _Our Village_, 203-205
Exeter, Bishop of, 1
F
Fermor, Arabella (the “Belinda” of _The Rape of the Lock_), marries Mr.
Perkins and lives at Ufton Court, 257-264
Fields, James T., American publisher and author, describes first visit
to M. R. M. at Three Mile Cross, her surroundings and interesting
conversation, 316-319; M. R. M.’s letters to him, 350-1; describes his
visit to her at Swallowfield, 362-365; her letters to him, 368, 372,
376-378
_Foscari_, M. R. M.’s tragedy of, performed at Covent Garden, 5th
November, 1826, 223-227
H
Hall, Dr. Spencer T., his visit to Three Mile Cross, 354-356
Harness, Rev. William, valued friend of the Mitfords, his wise
guardianship of a bequest of Dr. Russell, his views on Dr. Mitford’s
conduct, 158-159; meets M. R. M. in London, 329; M. R. M.’s letter to
him on Church Reforms, 340-341
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, publication of _The Scarlet Letter_, _House of
Seven Gables_, etc., etc., M. R. M.’s interest in them, 367
Haydon, Benjamin Robert, his picture the “Judgment of Solomon,” becomes
friend of M. R. M., described by M. R. M., 318-319; his Life by Tom
Taylor, 318
Hemans, Mrs., letter to M. R. M., on publication of _Our Village_,
208-209, 220
Holmes, Dr. (Oliver Wendell), M. R. M.’s admiration of his poems and
personality, 366-367
Howett, Mrs. (Mary), authoress, letter to M. R. M. on _Our Village_,
321-322
Howett, William, author, describes visit to M. R. M. at Three Mile
Cross, letter to M. R. M., 319-321
J
Jephson, Miss, letters to her from M. R. M., 335-336, 370-371
K
Kenyon, John, friend of the Mitfords, his lines on Mary Anning, 46; his
words on M. R. M. to James T. Fields, 316
Kingsley, Charles, 341; described by M. R. M., 366
L
Landor, Walter Savage, meets M. R. M. in London, 228, 229
Landseer, Edwin, offers to paint M. R. M.’s dog, 330
Lansdowne, Lord, proposes M. R. M.’s health at meeting, 137-139
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, M. R. M.’s words on his poems and the
_Golden Legend_, 366
Louis XVIII and court at Gosfield Hall, his visit to Bocking Deanery
described by Lady Charles Aynsley, 110-118; his remarkable memory, 136,
137
Lyme Regis, removal of Mitfords to, in 1795, the Great House described
by M. R. M., its association with the Monmouth Rebellion, 29-39
M
Macready, William Charles, takes leading rôle in _Foscari_, 222-224
Mitford, Dr., marriage and birth of child, 2; his gambling, loss of
fortune, starts practice in Reading, 22, 23; removal to Lyme Regis,
29-50; further losses, flight to London to debtors’ Sanctuary, wins
prize in lottery, 52-56; builds Bertram House, 92; further losses,
139-141; obliged to leave Bertram House, settles at Three Mile Cross,
158-162; witnesses performance of _Foscari_, 221; portrait by Lucas,
330; illness and death, confusion of his affairs, 341-343
Mitford, Mrs., née Russell, only child and heiress of Dr. Russell,
Rector of Ashe, marriage with Dr. Mitford, birth of her only daughter,
Mary, in 1787, home in Alresford, 2-8; visits her daughter in Hans
Place, 72; another visit, 87, 88; letter on Louis XVIII’s visit to
Bocking, 113-118; her death, New Year’s Day, 1830; buried in Shinfield
churchyard, her daughter’s tribute, 325-326
Mitford, Mary Russell, born at Alresford, Hants, December 16th, 1787,
2; early recollections of her home in Broad Street, precocious power
of reading, 5-8; their village neighbours, at a rustic wedding,
9-21; removal of family to Reading, 1791, her early recollections of
the town, 22-25; a flying visit to London, 25-28; removal of family
to Lyme Regis, 1795, her recollections of the Great House, etc.,
29-39; rambles on the shore, 40-44; sudden loss of fortune, flight to
London, 49-51; family takes refuge in debtors’ Sanctuary, a lottery
ticket bought, turns up a prize, 52-55; sent to a school in Hans
Place, her recollections of it, 64-73; amusing account of old French
Society, 74-81; interest in French drama, visits to the theatre,
great actors of the day, Miss Rowden’s inspiring influence, 82-88; an
incident of school life, 88-91; leaves school, 1802, recollections
of old Reading, 92-99; removal of family to Bertram House, 99-100;
her visit to Northumberland with her father, guests of Lord and Lady
Murray Aynsley, visits to Alnwick Castle, Morpeth and Cheviot Hills,
returns home, 104-109; early poems published in 1810-11, successful,
119-121; describes performances of “Greek tragedies,” by Dr. Valpy’s
pupils, 121-123; short visit to London, 123-125; writes of Cobbett
and Sir Francis Burdett, 126-128; introduced to Sir William Elford,
becomes his chosen correspondent, their interesting letters, 128-133;
in London in June, 1814, witnesses the assemblage of Crowned Heads
on the fall of Napoleon, sees the Duke of Wellington, 134-137; an
ovation to M. R. M. at a public meeting, 137-139; more loss of money
owing to her father’s gambling, 139-140; flattering recognition by
American publishers, 141-143; Sir William Elford’s visit to Bertram
House, their correspondence resumed, writes of singers and actors of
the day, and distinguished writers, 144-155; Haydon’s “Judgment of
Solomon,” describes the artist, 156-158; further losses of property,
forced to quit Bertram House, the family settle in Three Mile Cross,
M. R. M.’s detailed account of their cottage and the village, 161-178;
describes village scenes, and a sunset over the Loddon, 182-189; _The
Talking Lady_, 190-196; describes her garden, a quack doctor, 196-202;
publication of _Our Village_, the opening paragraph, letters received
about it, its early success, 203-211; _Patty’s New Hat_, 212-217; a fog
in the country, Mrs. Heman’s words, 217-220; tries hand at tragedy,
_Foscari_ and _Julian_ approved by Macready, _Foscari_ performed
at Covent Garden Theatre, 1826, M. R. M. present and describes its
success, 221-229; writes _Rienzi_, produced at Drury Lane Theatre, its
great success, M. R. M. in town, letters of congratulation, performed
in New York, tribute from James Crissy, 230-240; her stories of two
émigrés neighbours, 241-249; describes visits to Southampton, Bath,
Richmond Park, and Hampton Court, 250-259; writes of Ufton Court and
its associations, 264-270; writes of Three Mile Cross in 1830, _The
Black Velvet Bag_, 271-282; stories of eccentric neighbours, 283-291;
attends country Mayings and visits Silchester, 292-301; a trip to
Aberleigh (Arborfield) on the Loddon, 302-306; stories of gipsies,
306-314; her friendship with James T. Fields, his visit to Three Mile
Cross, also visits from William Howett, George Ticknor, and Daniel
Webster, 315-325; words on her mother’s death, letter to a child,
325-327; stays with Sergeant Talfourd, receives warm welcome from
leading writers, correspondence with Miss Barrett (afterwards Mrs.
Barrett Browning), 328-334; pecuniary anxieties, receives pension,
undertakes fresh literary work, 334-337; writes on first appearance
of _Pickwick_, 337-338; publication of _Belford Regis_, and _Country
Stories_, _Our Village_, translated into Spanish, 339-340; writes
to William Harness on Church reforms, 340-341; death of her father,
1842, resolves to pay all his debts but whole sum subscribed by
friends, receives constant supply of books from Mr. George Lovejoy,
little Henry, adopted child of the family, 341-345; her interest in
_Modern Painters_ and friendship for Ruskin, her words on Browning’s
poems, Hans Andersen in London, 345-349; letters to Mr. Fields,
_Country Stories_ republished, commencing her _Recollections of a
Literary Life_, an Italian exile in Three Mile Cross, her views on
Louis Napoleon, receives a visit from Dr. Spencer Hall, decides to
leave Three Mile Cross, her farewell to the village, 350-359; settles
at Swallowfield, describes her cottage and garden, visits from Mr.
Fields, Mr. James Payne and others, her affection for the Russells
of Swallowfield Park, 360-365; her interest on works of Longfellow,
Hawthorne, O. W. Holmes, and Whittier, 366-368; _Recollections of a
Literary Life_ published, its success in America, her admiration of
Jane Austen’s works, her remarks on Shelley and on Saint Bouve, writes
introduction to her dramatic works, 368-370; her severe accident, her
courage, cheerful letters to Mr. Fields, kind attentions from far and
near, visits from Mr. Ticknor, writes _Atherton and Other Stories_,
dedicated to Lady Russell, its great success, 370-376; her last
illness, her delight in beauty of nature to the end, her last letter
to Mr. Fields, her death, January 1st, 1855, buried in Swallowfield
churchyard, 376-380
Molière, M. R. M.’s early delight in his comedies, 84-85
“Monsieur” (Le Conte d’Artois) visits Lord and Lady Aynsley in Bocking
Deanery, 114-118
N
North, Christopher (John Wilson), his amusing scene in the “Noctes
Ambrosianæ” upon the publication of _Our Village_, 209-211
O
_Our Village_, publication of, March, 1824, its success, etc. (see
under Mary Russell Mitford), 203-211
P
Pepys (Samuel), M. R. M. on his “Memoirs,” 153
_Pickwick_, publication of, 31 March, 1836, its great success, 337-338
Pope (Alexander), M. R. M.’s early remarks on him as a letter writer
and poet, 132-133; quotation from _Rape of the Lock_, 258-259; its
heroine Belinda, 260-263
R
Racine, his “Athalie,” 221
Reading (“Belford Regis”), removal of Mitford family to, 1791,
22-23; M. R. M.’s early recollections of, 25, 56-59, 63-65; shopping
adventures, 271-282
_Recollections of a Literary Life_, by M. R. M., 352; published in
January, 1852, its success in America, 368
_Rienzi_, M. R. M.’s tragedy of, performed at Drury Lane, October 4,
1828, 232-235 (see under Mary Russell Mitford)
Rowden, Miss, a teacher in the school in Hans Place, her inspiring
influence on M. R. M., 68, 85-88
Russell, Dr., Rector of Ashe, his daughter marries Dr. Mitford, 2
Russell, Lady, of Swallowfield Park, 365, 371; M. R. M.’s _Atherton_
dedicated to her, 375
S
St. Quintin, M., arrival in Reading, becomes head of Abbey School,
marries the English teacher, removes School to Hans Place, London,
1798, M. R. M. becomes their pupil, 64-68; his hospitality to émigrés,
74-91
Sedgwick, American authoress, her letters to M. R. M., 220, 326-327
Seward, Anna, “Swan of Lichfield,” M. R. M.’s early strictures on her
writing, 130-132
Shakespeare, William, M. R. M.’s early appreciation of _Much Ado About
Nothing_, 133
Shelley (Percy Bysshe), M. R. M. on his poems, 369
Sherwood, Mrs. (née Butt), sees M. R. M. when a child, 23-25; her
recollections of Abbey School, Reading, 64-65
Swallowfield, M. R. M. residing at, 360-380
Swallowfield Park, abode of the Russell family, 365
T
Talfourd Sergeant, author of _Ion_, present at performance of
_Foscari_, 222-224; M. R. M. at his house in London, interesting
society, 328-330
Three Mile Cross, prototype of _Our Village_, description of, 156-183
(see under Mary Russell Mitford)
Ticknor, George (American author and publisher), describes visit to M.
R. M. at Three Mile Cross in 1835, 323; visits her at Swallowfield, 374
Trollope, Mrs. (authoress), describes performance of _Rienzi_ in New
York, 236
U
Ufton Court (in Berkshire), description of, 260-269
V
Valpy, Dr., headmaster of Reading Grammar School, man of great
influence, 62-65; introduces acting of Greek tragedy in original
language, described by M. R. M., 121-123
Voltaire, M. R. M. reading his tragedies at school, 83
W
Walpole (Horace), M. R. M.’s admiration for his letters, 132; her words
upon him, 257
Webster, Daniel (American statesman and author), his visit to Three
Mile Cross described by M. R. M., 323-325
Whittier (John Greenleaf), M. R. M.’s admiration of his “Massachusetts
to Virginia,” 352; and of his poem on Burns, 368
Wordsworth, William, his personality described by M. R. M., 328-329
Y
Young, Charles Mayne, performs leading rôle in _Rienzi_, 232-235
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