The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-04-17

All the men were in love with her,
among the rest DR.. Wolcot ("Peter Pin
dar"), who addressed to her a copy of
verses commencing:
Eliza, when, with female art
You seem to shun aud yet pursue'-
in which, in very plain language, he in
timated that the dame was too coy for so
warm lover as himself Holcroft, in
one of his widowhoods, made her an of
fer; also gentleman named Glover, who
would have settled $500 year upon her;
but there was a Sir Charles Bunbury,
who paid her devoted attention, and for
the chance of becoming "My Lady," and
for preference to the gay, dashing Bar
onet, she refused this very advantageous
proposal. Sir Charles dangled after her
for years, tried hard to obtain her upon
easier terms than marriage, was several
times forbidden the house in conse-
quence, and as many times made his
peace.
She was undoubtedly fascinating to an
extraordinary degree; it was said of her
| that when she came into room and sat
in chair in the middle of it, as was her
custom, every man gathered around it,
and it was useless for any other woman
to attempt to gain attention. Goodwin
described her as piquant mixture be-
tween lady and a milkmaid; Sheridan
declared she was the only authoress
whose society pleased him, and George
Frederick Reynolds tells us that the i'm
pediment in her speech-which was
never heard upon the stage-imparted a
charm rather than defect to her con-
versation At nearly fifty she was still a
belle and coquette; she was always in
love, but still always with the wrong
man, with the one who could not or
would not marry her.
Mrs. Shelley says it was because they
were too mercenary to take an actress
and poor authoress for wife; but with
the example of the Ears of Derby and
Craven, who married ladies decidedly in
ferior in intellectual, if not personal,
charms, to Mrs. Inchbald, before them,
they would have scarcely hesitated upon
those. 1t was her violent and capricious
temper they all feared to undertake.
There was DR.. Osborne, who for time
took tea with her two or three times a
week, and paid her the most devoted at
tentions; but one day, when she was fully
expecting a declaration and an offer OF
marriage, she says, che talked seriously
of marrying, but not me-" The widows
rage and modification may be conceived
she ordered him cut of her room, and
forbade him ever to visit or even write to
her again.
But although these admirers could moi
summon up courage to put the moose
round their neeks, no snubs nor insult.
could drive them away, and after time
Osborne was permitted to renew hii
tete-a- tete. There was DIR. Warren, but
he was married man, for whom she con
ceived most desperate fancy. 1t was q
delight to her even to hear his name
mentioned in company; she would wall
up and down Sackvile street, where he
lived, to watch for the lights in his apart
ments, and would follow his carriage
about the town for the chance of catch
ing glimpse of him. She would ever
accept attentions from strangers in the
street. Yet it must again be repeated
that not even scandal could ever cast /;
stain upon her character. "No woman,
says REYNOLDS, the dramatist, lever en-
tered the walls of theater with NOR,
fair, honorable pride than Mrs. Inchbald
nor ever Quilted it with more admiration
and esteem"