, an English wit and poetess, of no very eminent rank, was the daughter
, an English wit and poetess,
of no very eminent rank, was the daughter of Dr. Van
Lewen, a gentleman of Dutch extraction, who settled in
Dublin, by a lady of good family; and born there in 1712.
She had early a strong inclination and taste for letters,
especially for poetry; and her performances were considered as extraordinary for her years. This, with a lively
manner, drew many admirers; and at length she became
the wife of the rev. Matthew Pilkington, a gentleman once
known in the poetical world by his volume of Miscellanies,
revised by dean Swift, who had reason afterwards to be
ashamed of the connection. In a short time Mr. Pilkington grew jealous, as she relates, not of her person, but of
her understanding; and her poetry, which when a lover
he admired with raptures, was changed now he was become
her husband, into an object of envy. During these jealousies, Mr. Pilkington, in 1732, went into England, in
order to serve as chaplain to Mr. Barber, lord mayor of
London; and absence having brought him into better humour with his wife, he wrote her a very kind letter, in
which he informed her that her verses were full of elegance
and beauty; that Pope, to whom he had shewn them,
longed to see the writer; and that he himself wished her
heartily in London. She accepted the invitation, went,
and returned with her husband to Ireland, where they were
soon after separated, in consequence of a gentleman being
found in her bed-chamber at two o'clock in the morning.
Her apology is rather curious: “Lovers of learning, I am
sure, will pardon me, as I solemnly declare it was the attractive charms of a new book, which the gentleman would
not lend me, but consented to stay till I read it through,
that was the sole motive of my detaining him.
” Of her
guilt, however, no doubts were entertained. “Dr. Delany,
” says dean Swift, in a letter to alderman Barber, “is
a very unlucky recommender, for he forced me to countenance Pilkington; introduced him to me, and praised
the wit, virtue, and humour of him and his wife; whereas
he proved the falsest rogue, and she the most profligate
w e in either kingdom. She was taken in the fact by her
own husband; he is now suing for a divorce, and will not
compass it; she is suing for a maintenance, and he has
none to give her.
”