299 CHAPTER XI. EPISTOLARY CURIOSITIES, ETC. Letter to Lady Blessington, endorsed by her Ladyship,— "A curious communication from a Mr. J , relative to a mysterious occurrence." "Brussels, October 26, 1835. "My Lady, "An utter stranger to you, I find it very difficult to apologize for the liberty I am taking, but your Ladyship has seen much of life, and you possess great talent; the latter consideration influences me to address you on a very extraordinary subject, sure you will help me to find out the object of my search. "Thirteen years ago, I was asked by a very old friend (an apothecary) if I would undertake an accouchement, under very extraordinary conditions. I consented; in a few days I was requested to be at the corner of Downing Street, at ten o'clock in the evening, and a pledge of honour was exacted, that I should never disclose the affair I had undertaken, or make any effort to find out the parties interested; and that if accident ever revealed them to my knowledge, I should never disclose the facts or names to any one; to all this I consented, and made no terms of any kind for myself, leaving the remuneration to the parties. On the night named I was at my post, and my old friend, Mr. Lee, saw me into a carriage, the blinds of which were up, and not a ray of light entered the space in which I was. How far we travelled I am totally unconscious, as I fell asleep. I was awoke by the door of the carriage being opened at a gate, wbich to all appearance led into a shrubbery; from this my conductor, who was the man that drove the coach, and who had very much the appearance of Mr. Lee, conducted me across a kitchen garden, and thence into a small house; here I was detained about twenty minutes; from thence I was taken a few steps to a large house, and ushered by the coachman or driver into a very large room. A female soon appeared, who told me, as my services would not be required probably for a day or two, I had better take some refreshment and repose—a bed was prepared, and I availed myself of it. How long I slept I know not, but I got up when tired of bed, and in a short time breakfast was announced. The windows of the rooms I occupied were never opened; books were provided me. From the luxurious appearance of everything about me, I had no doubt that I was in one of the first-rate houses in the country; three days must have passed in this way. On the 21st March, I was called from my bed, and followed the same female who attended me into a very splendid apartment, where I found my patient and two other persons, females; there was but one lamp in the room, and that at a considerable distance from the bed. The mother was in perfect health, and I should think about from twenty to twenty-eight years of age. She never spoke or uttered a sound of any kind; in a few hours a female child was born. 1 gave the proper directions as to her treatment, and quitted the room. I remained four days more, seeing my patient twice every day; I never spoke to any one but the female who attended me, who certainly was not accustomed to that kind of service. "I was on the fifth night taken to Downing Street, where I arrived about five o'clock in the morning. I went homo, where I found Mr. Lee waiting my arriral; he said I had conducted myself entirely to the satisfaction of the parties, and wa* charged to present me with £100, for which he gave me his cheque. Of course I asked no questions; he had no occasion to ask me any, I am sure. A few weeks after, he asked mc if I would take charge of the child I had introduced to the world; he would undertake to make the charge advantageous. I consented, provided I was to be secured against loss, and to have the entire control of a father. The infant was delivered into my hauds, and the sum of £100 per annum settled to be paid six-monthly, until the child was ten years of age ; then she was to be allowed £200 per annum. Things went on very regularly for four years, when I was requested to take the child to Richmond to be christened; this I could not comply with, so it was agreed that she should be taken to St. George's, Hanover Square, where she was baptized Frances D'E., daughter of Colonel and Lady D'E. The persons who undertook this office I had never seen before, and we parted at the doors of the church, and I have never seen them since. What their motives for baptizing the child were, I know not; but as I had engaged not to ask any questions, I let the whole pass in silence. Two years after that, Mr. Lee died suddenly. I tried in vain to find among his papers any trace of the affair; I waited in expectation of hearing from some other quarter; from the day of his death up to this hour I have not heard one word. I brought the child to Paris; placed her under the care of my wife, who is one of the daughters of Mrs. K., widow of Admiral [ ]; she has been with me up to this moment as my daughter. I have given her my name, and I love her as my own child— having lost my own. "She has received a first-rate education, is highly talented and beautiful. Misfortune has overtaken me; I am now suffering extreme privation; Fanny is at a school, where I pay £100 per annum for her education. "What I would ask of your Ladyship is, to consider if about the period I name, 21st March, 1822, any lady of rank or fortune was absent, under extraordinary circumstances; if there is any family who might take the name of D'E.; if there is any Colonel or Lady D'E. I think the Register at St. George's Church was about September or October, 1826. Frances has been with me at Paris about eight years; I have never been in England since, as I am attending to chemistry and scientific objects, but I would cheerfully lay aside everything to secure the child a provision. "I have never made till this hour any kind of communication or research into this matter; bound by my word, I have kept it. Frances knows and loves me, yet she has some vague idea that my wife is not her mother. I think I am, under these circumstances, absolved from secresy, as it is the fault of the parties to leave the dear child to chance. If I were able to support her, as I have done since the death of Mr. Lee, I would never trouble any one on this head. Mr. Lee died poor, and he never was rich; he was one of the most honourable men I ever knew. I am almost wild about this dear child; her future fate preys upon my heart and spirits. She must be the child of some person of consequence; she shows blood in every thought and action. "I have thought Lady D'E., or some of that family, may know something of the matter, but I have never made any inquiry into the case; now I am forced to do so, by circumstances. I never saw the features of her mother, or any of the parties, or do I know what part of the country I was taken to; it could not be far from London, from the time, and I should think, from the stars which I saw as I got out of the carriage, the house I was taken to must bear S. W. of London, but I may be deceived in this point; being under a promise of secresy, I determined not to notice anything, so that I might be better able to keep my promise. I am sure no deceit has been practised on me by Mr. Lee, as he was ever beforehand with Uw payments he undertook, and often has borrowed money of m soon after he has made the payments; he never asked me for a receipt for any monies. It was an affair upon honour, and he also was bound to secresy, as we never spoke on the subject. I have dined with him, and have been introduced to several persons, who have often asked to see my daughter ; but whether they had any particular motive for so doing, I know not; she must have some one to whom she is dear. Will your Ladyship find out, if possible, if Lord G. knows anything of the child? I have no grounds for the supposition beyond the name, which is very uncommon in England. The great caution used in this affair, and the profound mystery connected with it, with the obvious riches of the proprietor of the hoo« where the lady was confined, convince me that they cannot be common persons. "Begging your pardon for this trouble, I am, my Lady, "Your most obedient, humble servant, "H. C. J." To Lady Blessington,—transmitting two letters, endorsed "Curious Correspondence indicative of the Triumphs of Popery." Mrs. Martyr's letter the momir.g after Miss Younge's "Dear Madam, "Permit me to be one of the first in offering congratulations. I have no doubt of your happiness, for I will confess that if his holiness had attacked me, I should not have had the resolution, as good a Protestant as I am, to die "A. Martyr." Answer. "Dear Madam, "Accept my best thanks for your congratulations; this is not an hour for criticism. But I will whisper softly to my friend, that Pope's 'Essays' are in perfect harmony with Young's ' Night Thoughts.' "Yours, &c. "E. Pope." The Pilgrim, alias Octogenarius, of Mount Radford, Exeter. Among the anonymous correspondents of Lady Blessington, there was one who usually styled himself "The Pilgrim," evidently a person far advanced in years, of eccentric habits and modes of thinking, with a dash of gallantry, and a strong tincture of southern travel and literary tastes in his quaint and laconic compositions. Who the Pilgrim was, I have not been able to learn, nor does it appear that he was personally known to Lady Blessington. Occasional verses, having reference to the current events of the times, or the subjects of leading articles in the Annuals edited by Lady Blessington, furnished the customary themes of his singular communications. |