Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-01-21
Indy Mar WortIoy NTontasue.


The Southern Literary Messenger says of
Lady Montague:
An anecdote, which she has related of her
court days at this period, has been so often
repeated that perhaps it would be wrong to
omit it here. On one evening passed at
court she wished to escape in order to keep
some important engagement. She explained
her reasons to the Schulenberg, who told
them to the King, but His Majesty was too
much charmed with Lady Mary's wit-and
well the heavy German may have been So
to allow her to depart. At last, however,
she contrived to run away. AT the bottom
of the stairs she met Crsggs, the footman's
son, who asked her why she was decamping
so early. She told him how the King had
pressed her to stay, and without replying he
lifted her in his arms and carried her up the
stairs into the ante-chamber, then kissed her
hands respectfully, and left her. The page
hastily threw open the door and re-an.
nounced her. She was so confused by this
sudden transportation, that she told the
King, who was delighted to see her come
back, the whole story. She bad just finished
when in came Craggs. "Mais comment,
Monsieur Craggs" cried the King, "est ce
que c'est pusage de ce pays de porter les
bellies CONNIE un sac de froment?" The
secretary, confused, could say nothing for
minute or two, but at last, recovering him
self, muttered, "There is nothing | would
not do for your Majesty's satisfaction" an.
answer which was well received.
From this corrupt court, Lady Mary es-
caped to one where there was less cOrrup-
ton, because there was less pretense of
either honesty or morality. The Turk had
few vices, because his easy religion allowed
him many indulgeneeS. The Protestant
monarch had many, because his religion,
which he cared little for, allowed him none
The Turk could go to the mosque with a
free conscience; Madame Schulenberg went
regularly to the Lutheran chapel in the
Savoy, but we may question whether the
reading of the seventh commandment was
not trying to her ears.
In 17l6 the Embassy to the Porte became
vacant, and it was filled by Lady Mary's
husband (Mr Wortley.) Few ladies in those
days ventured upon Eastern travel, aud she
was even supposed for a long time to have
been the first English woman who had done
so; but this was not the case, Ladies Paget
and Winchelsea having both accompanied
their lords in their respective embassies
However, Lady Mary was the first woman
who wrote any account of her travels in
those regions, and her letters from the East
! attained great celebrity. AT first indeed,
! ti,,nv were looked upon as exaggerated and
repjete with "traveler's tales" but Mr..
! galloway, who travelled the same route and
1 lived in the same palace at Pera, has Vlndi-
Gated them from this imputation.
They were first published in 1853, without
| the cognizance of her relations, edited, it Is
supposed, by a Mr.. Cleland. She appears to
! have travelled from Rotterdam to the Hague,
| Nimueguen, Cologne, where she writes: ~
| own that was wicked enough to covet st.
| Ursula's pearl necklaces" aud "wished she
| herself converted into dressing-plate to
Nuremberg, after passing Frankfortand Wurz-
burg. Here she makes an observation which
| is probably made by every English traveller,
! with much satisfaction, contrasting the clean
illness and order of the free Protestant towns
with the shabby finery of the rest and tells
us.that in a Roman Catholic Church at Nuren-
berg, she had actually seen an image of our
| Savior in "a fair full bottomed wig, very well
powdered" From Nuremberg they passed on
to Ratisbon, whence, taking boat, they pro-
ceeded down the Danube to Vienna Here
| she received one of Pope's extraYagant love.
letters which, rather than lose a friend, she
allowed him to write to her, replying in 8
iocose strain, which did not show much re.
ciprocity of feeling. In this letter Pope says
81 think love you as we'll as King Herod
could Herodias, (though | never had SC
much as one dance with YOU ')-fancy Pope
dancing l-"and would as freely give you
my heart in o dish as he did another's head. .
He bears high testimony to her wit and
! mind. "Books have lost their effect upor
me; and was convinced since | saw you
that there is something more powerful thar
philosophy, and since heard you that there
is one alive wiser than all the sages."