, an ingenious English lady, sister to the subject of the following
, an ingenious English lady, sister
to the subject of the following article, was born at Malmsbury, in Wiltshire, in 1687, and was carefully trained up
in the principles of religion and virtue. As her father’s
circumstances rendered it necessary that she should apply
herself to some business, she was brought up to that of a
milliner. But, as she had a propensity to literature, she
employed her leisure hours in perusing the best modern
writers, and as many as she could of the antient ones,
especially the poets, as far as the best translations could
assist her. Amongst these, Horace was her particular favourite, and she greatly regretted that she could not read
him in the original. She was somewhat deformed in her
person, in consequence of an accident in her childhood.
This unfavourable circumstance she occasionally made a
subject of her own pleasantry, and used to say, “That as
her person would not recommend her, she must endeavour
to cultivate her mind, to make herself agreeable.
” This
she did with the greatest care, being an admirable œconornist of her time; and it is said, that she had so many excellent qualities in her, that though her first appearance
could create no prejudice in her favour, yet it was impossible to know her without valuing and esteeming her. She
thought the disadvantages of her shape were such, as gave
her no reasonable prospect of being happy in the married
state, and therefore chose to remain single. She had,
however, an honourable offer from a worthy country
gentleman, of considerable fortune, who, attracted merely by
the goodness of her character, took a. journey of an hundred miles to visit her at Bath, where she kept a milliner’s
shop, and where he paid her his addresses. But she declined his offers, and is said to have convinced him that
such a match could neither be for his happiness, nor her
own. She published several poems in an 8vo volume,
but that which she wrote upon “Bath
” was the best received. It passed through several editions. She intended
to have written a large poem upon the being and attributes
of God, and did execute some parts of it, but did not live
to finish it. It was irksome to her to be so much confined
to her business, and the bustle of Bath was sometimes disagreeable to her. She often languished for more leisure
and solitude: but the dictates of prudence, and a desire
to be useful to her relations, whom she regarded with the
warmest affection, brought her to submit to the fatigues
of her business for thirty-five years. She did, however,
sometimes enjoy occasional retirements to the country
seats of some of her acquaintance; and was then extremely
delighted with the pleasures of solitude, on which she
wrote some beautiful verses, and the contemplation of
the works of nature. She was honoured with the esteem
and regard of the countess of Hertford, afterwards
duchess of Somerset, who several times visited her. Mr.
Pope also visited her at Bath, and complimented her
for her poem on that place, and the celebrated Mrs. Howe
was one of her particular friends. She had the misfortune
of a very valetudinary constitution, which was supposed
to be, in some measure, owing to the irregularity of her
form. By the advice of Dr. Cheyne, she entered on a
vegetable diet, and adhered to it even to an extreme. She
died en the llth of September, 1745, in the fifty-eighth
year of her age, after about two days illness.
, an ingenious English lady, was the daughter of Thomas Mulso, esq.
, an ingenious English lady, was
the daughter of Thomas Mulso, esq. of Tvvy well in Northamptonshire, and was born Oct. 27, 1727. At a very
early age she exhibited proofs of a lively imagination and
superior understanding. It is said that at nine years of
age she composed a romance, entitled “The Loves of
Amoret and Melissa,
” which, we are told, exhibited “fertility of invention, and extraordinary specimens of genius.
”
Her mother was a beauty, with all the vanity that unhappily attaches to beauty, and fearing that her daughter’s
understanding might become a more attractive object than
the personal charms on which she valued herself, she took
no pleasure in the progress which Hester seemed to make,
and if she did not obstruct, employed at least no extraordinary pains in promoting her education. This mother,
however, died when her daughter was yet young, and a
circumstance which otherwise might have been of serious
consequence, seemed to strengthen the inclination miss
Mulso had shewn to cultivate her mind. She studied the
French and Italian languages, and made some progress in
the Latin. She read the best authors, especially those
who treat of morals and philosophy. To these she added
a critical perusal of the Holy Scriptures, but history, we
are told, made no part of her studies until the latter part
of her life. Her acquaintance with Richardson, whose
novels were the favourites of her sex, introduced her to
Mr. Chapone, a young gentleman then practising law in
the Temple. Their attachment was mutual, but not hasty,
or imprudent. She obtained her father’s consent, and a
social intimacy continued tor a considerable period, before
it ended in marriage. In the mean time, miss Mulso became acquainted with the celebrated miss Carter; a correspondence took place between them, which increased
their mutual esteem, and a friendship was thus cemented,
which lasted during a course of more than fifty years.
, an ingenious English lady, was the daughter of a surgeon and physician
, an ingenious English lady, was the daughter of a surgeon and physician in South Wales, where she was born in 1706. Her father, Zachariah Williams, during his residence in Wales, imagined that he had discovered, by a kind of intuitive penetration, what had escaped the rest of mankind. He fancied that he had been fortunate enough to ascertain the longitude by magnetism, and that the variations of the needle were equal, at equal distances, east and west. The idea fired his imagination; and, prompted by ambition, and the hopes of splendid recompence, he determined to leave his business and habitation for the metropolis. Miss Williams accompanied him, and they arrived in London about 1730; but the bright views which had allured him from his profession soon vanished. The rewards which he had promised himself ended in disappointment; and the ill success of his schemes may be inferred from the only recompence which his journey and imagined discovery procured. Hg was admitted a pensioner at the Charter-house. When Miss Williams first resided in London, she devoted no inconsiderable portion of her time to its various amusements. She visited every object that merited the inspection of a polished and laudably-inquisitive mind, or could attract the attention of a stranger. At a later period of life she spoke familiarly of these scenes, of which the impression was never erased, though they must, however, have soon lost their allurements. Mr. Williams did not long continue a member of the Charter-house. A dispute with the masters obliged him to remove from this asylum of age and poverty. In 1749 he published in 4to A true Narrative," &c. of the treatment he had met with. He was now exposed to severe trials, and every succeeding day increased the gloominess of his prospects. In 1740 Miss Williams lost her sight by a cataract, which prevented her, in a great measure, from assisting his distresses, and alleviating his sorrows. She still, however, felt her passion for literature equally predominant. She continued the same attention to the neatness of her dress; and, what is more extraordinaryj continued still the exercise of her needle, a branch of female accomplishment in which she had before displayed great excellence. During the lowness of her fortune she worked for herself with nearly as much dexterity and readiness as if she had not suffered a loss so irreparable. Her powers of conversation retained their former vigour. Her mind did not sink under these calamities; and the natural activity of her disposition animated her to uncommon exertions: