The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-01-08

|
sumed name of Monsieur and Madame Aubin.:, ;,
This elopcment, Mcdora says, was connlrcd
! at by her sister, who wanted to get rid OF her
husband, (and no wondcr,) and did in fact al,-
| ply for divorce, but it was not granted. We
pass over the life Of the guilty pair in France.
There the daughter Marie, whom we have al
ready mentioned, was born-thc only solace oil
| the wretched existence OF this thrice untortll-
| nate child Of sin. She corrcspondcd with her
! mother, who sent her what little money She
could spara-but the Leighs were always in
pecuIiary embarrassment. Other relatives
| did something for her, and in 1898 slss.cft her
paramount that name could be applied 10 a
| man she never lOved-and went To nelgh6or-
ing town. At last, in 1910, she received an
affectionatc letter from Lady Byron, WIN
offers of assistance and protection. and an IN
vitation to 60 with her 10 Paris. She accepted
the offers with joy. What followed she must
| tell in her own words:
"At Fontaincblcu, where she was detained by
| illness, Lady Byron informed me OF the cause ei
the deep interest she felt, anu must ever iGel iur
me. Her husband had been my father. She I'M
plored and sought my affection by every means;
! and almost eNacted my confidence to Inc most
unlimited extent. l was willing and anxious, IN
any and every way | could, 10 prove both my
gratitude and the desire so sincerely felt torepay.
by my affection and devotion, any pain she ,Gusl
have felt for circumstances connected with III:
birth and her separation from Lord liyron. Her
only wish, she said, was 10 provide for me- ac-
corling to Lord Byron's intentions respecting
me, and according 10 my rank in life. SHE
evnccd much anxiety for my health and comlort,
expressed Indignation for ali had suffered, SPOKE
of the comfort would be TO her, AMI OF tile he
cessity that should he devoted chllu to her,
She went with Lady Byron TO England. She
YVES treated by her, and by Lord and Lady
Loveace, with the greatest kindness. was
taught, she says, 10 regard Ada as my sister.
For. awhile it seems rs If her life must Elvc
been smooth and happy. But disagreemcnts
followed with her protcc;rcss, in which, though
Medora lays the blame on Lady Byron's temper,
It is not difficult to perceive from the AuoOl-
ooraphy traces OF the wild and ungovernab!c
nature of which evidence enough has already
been shown, and something perhaps of the
suspiciousncsS which is so characteristic of
insanity. There was q lawsuit for the posses
sion of deed Of appointment executed / Mrs.
Leigh and Lady Byron, by which the Sum oi
$4,000 was to be paid Medora after the death OF
those ladies'; and this suit apparently was the
main cause Of the trouble. At any rate 1t was
arranged that Mcdora should go with her
daughter to Hyercs, accompanied by maid
and valet husband and wife, to whom Lady
Byron intlusted the disbursement OF the sums
she allowed for her nicce's maintenance.
Here the Autobiography becomes obscure;
in some places unintelligiblc; iii some ira
tional; filled with details about money deal
ings, complaints of the maid and valet whom
the writer believes TO have been Lady ByrOn's
spies, and angry aluSions to Lady Byron.
Mrs. Leigh and Mrs. Trcvanion, The editor
informs us that this latter part Of tue mantl-
script Is not in the handwriting of Miss Leigh,
but was apparently dictated to an anlaii-
ucnsis of very imperfect education. We learn
from it, however, that she offended Lady By
ron very deeply by removing, to Paris, but her
ladyshp aftcrward offered TO settle upon her
$500 year on certain conditions, which were
not accepted. The Deed of Appointment and
box Of other important papers had been left
in Lady. Byron's hands. Medora Leigh sent
the maid to get them, purposing to raise
money by selling her rcversionary interest in
the Decd Lady Byron, however, refused to
deliver thcm except to Mcdora in person.
Here Captain De b appears upon the
scene; Miss Leigh goes to London, and the
autobiography closes.
What finally became Of the papers is not
shown When the French maid left the house.
the box disappeared, AMI it was supposed that
she had stolen it-not for her mistress, with
whom she had qlarrelled; but to be used in
cXtorting money from the Byron family. Al
any rate we find her husband the valet soon
afterward making a demand of some kind Of
Lady Byron, and threatening 10 publish the
story of Medora Leigh TO all the world. Yet
in the negotiations between Mr.. s. and
Lady ByronS representatives. to which we now
return, the principal conditions cXacted Of
Miss Leigh was that she should surrender that
deed to the custody OF trustees, the money be-
Ing intended not SO much as for her personal
u;e as for the benefit Of her child. 1t was
also required that she should make q
sswrittcn confession of her sincere con-
triton Tor her conduct to Lady Byron"
and consent to return to her sccluson in
France. On these terms Sir George Stephen
writes that he is confident her friends will Sc
cure for her comfortable and permanent
home. III personally KNOW" continues Sir
George. "the motive as well as the extent of
the Kindness that she has shown to Miss Leigh,
and there are very few, certainly not more
than three, who know it as well. She has de-
served all that is grateful and oil that is
respectful at Miss Leigh's hands and, there
fore, till her feelings are consulted and salts
fed, so tar as under the present unfortunate
circumstances they can Ge, | will never ap-
proach her, or any of her family, as an inter-
cessor for further assistance" To the second
and lird stipulations Miss Leigh made no
objectvn; but she was obstinate about the
deed, and so negotiations were broken Off
Meanwhile she had written TO several of her
relatives, most of whom took no notice of her
letters She sent to her kinsman. the Duke of
Leeds, an abstract oi her autobiography, lit
is given in the book,) and received
no answer She went TO her mothers
house, and was denied admission. She wrote
to her, and the letter was not acknowledged
Thcrcafte. the unfortunate woman seems TO
have passed out Of the knowledge of the lnys-
terious Mr.. S--from whom We have all these
particulars; bnt if Mrs. Stoves account is cor
rect, she must have made her peace with Lady
Byron at last. Mr. s. writes under date of
September "a, 1869: Il asccrtained that the
so-calcu secret was known TO very many
persons besides DR.. Lushington and Sir George
stephen, and do not know how to reconcile
this fact with the 'digniled and magnanimous
silence claimed us nerit for adv Byron: for
if she did not impart the knowledge. WHO else
can have done so!" This agrees with the state
ments of Mr. John Robertson Or Brighton, and
the Rev. Francis Trench. whose letters some
time ago in the London papers represent
Lady Byron as distributing her condolences on
this subject during the latter part Of her life to
great number Of her relatives and friends
The Autobiography of Mcdora Leigh, Judged
entirely by itself. would probably Impress most
| people rs the production OF 4 disorLcred brain:
but it should be remembered that in none OF
the letters here printed, in which the afrairs OF
the poor woman are discussed by Or. Lushins-
ron Sir ,pbr,ra Stpphnn and Aff. ie tbnr,,