, a lady of considerable literary talents, whose maiden name was
, a lady of considerable literary
talents, whose maiden name was Darby, was born at Bristol, Nov. 27, 1758. Her life having been published, in
part written by herself, and completed by a friend, it may
be thought we cannot be deficient in materials for the present article. But these documents partake too much of
the nature of a novel for our purpose. Mrs. Robinson was
a frail lady of much note in her day, and for such it has
been the fashion of late years to encourage the publication
of “Apologies,
” the object of all which, for they are very
uniform, is to relax the obligations of virtue, and to prove
that vice, with its attendants, vanity and extravagance,
has nothing to dread but from poverty. It is then only,
when all is spent, and indigence stares in the face, that we
are to begin to think that something has been amiss, and to
pour out our exculpatory sympathies in sentimental strains.
From such narratives, it becomes us to borrow with caution.