CHAPTER XXXIX
PEACEFUL CLOSING YEARS
The winter of 1852-3 was unusually cold, and Miss Mitford suffered much from rheumatism supervening upon the effects of her accident. For many months she was entirely confined to her room. She writes to her friend Mr. Fields in March: “Here I am at Easter still a close prisoner from the consequences of the accident that took place before Christmas.... But when fine weather—warm, genial, sunny weather—comes I will get down in some way or other, and trust myself to that which never hurts anyone, the honest open air. Spring, and even the approach of spring, has upon me something the effect that England has upon you. It sets me dreaming—I see leafy hedges in my dreams and flowery banks, and then I long to make the vision a reality.”
She writes again to Mr. Fields in the month of June: “I am in somewhat better trim, although the getting out of doors and into the pony-chaise, from which Mr. May hoped such great things, has hardly answered his expectations.... I am still unable to stand or walk unless supported by Sam’s strong hands. However I am in as good spirits as ever, and just at this moment most comfortably seated under the acacia tree at the corner of my house—the beautiful acacia, literally loaded with snowy chains—the flowering trees this summer—lilacs, laburnums, rhododendrons, azalias—have been one mass of blossoms, and none as graceful as this waving acacia.... On one side a syringa ... a jar of roses on the table before me—fresh-gathered roses, the pride of Sam’s heart; and little Fanchon at my feet, too idle to eat the biscuits with which I am trying to tempt her—biscuits from Boston, sent to me by Mrs. Sparks, whose kindness is really indefatigable, and which Fanchon ought to like upon that principle if upon no other, but you know her laziness of old. Well, that is a picture of Swallowfield Cottage at this moment.”
Among the many gifts from admiring readers of the _Recollections of a Literary Life_ that arrived at Swallowfield were choice plants for the garden. No less than twelve climbing roses for the front of her house appeared from the Hertfordshire nurseries, also two seedlings called in honour of her the “Miss Mitford” and the “Swallowfield.”
Mary Mitford writes to Mr. Fields:—
“Never, my dear friend, did I expect to like so well a man who came in your place as I do like Mr. Ticknor.... It is delightful to hear him talk of you, and to feel that sort of elder brotherhood which a senior partner must exercise is in such hands. He was very kind to little Harry, and Harry likes him _next_ to you. He came here on Saturday with the dear Bennocks, and the Kingsleys met him. Mr. Hawthorne was to have come but could not leave Liverpool so soon, so that is a pleasure to come.
“Mr. Ticknor will tell you that all is arranged for printing with Colburn’s successors, Hurst and Blackett, two separate works, the plays and dramatic scenes forming one, the stories to be headed by a long tale, of which I have always had the idea in my head to form almost a novel. God grant me strength to do myself and my publishers justice in that story!”
The title of the new book was _Atherton and other Stories_. They are as fresh and bright in style as if the author were in perfect health, and yet it was, as she writes to Mr. Fields, “in the midst of the terrible cough, which did not allow me to lie down in bed, and a weakness difficult to describe, that I finished _Atherton_.”
In her short Preface Miss Mitford mentions the adverse circumstances under which the composition had been carried on, and expresses her thankfulness to the merciful Providence for “enabling me still to live by the mind, and not only to enjoy the never-wearying delight of reading the thoughts of others, but even to light up a sick chamber and brighten a wintry sky by recalling the sweet and sunny valley which formed one of the most cherished haunts of my happier years.” And then she closes this, her last work, with the words: “And now, gentle reader, health and farewell.
M. R. MITFORD.
SWALLOWFIELD, _March, 1854_.”
_Atherton_ was dedicated to her valued friend Lady Russell, and was published in three volumes during the month of April. It was also published shortly afterwards in America. She writes to Mr. Fields on May 2nd: “Long before this time you will, I hope, have received the sheets of _Atherton_. It has met with an enthusiastic reception from the English press, and certainly the friends who have written to me on the subject seem to prefer the tale which fills the first volume to anything that I have done. I hope you will like it. I am sure you will not detect in it the gloom of a sick chamber.”
And writing to an English friend also in May she says: “Thank you for your kindness in liking _Atherton_. It has been a great comfort to me to find it so indulgently, so very warmly, received. Mr. Mudie told Mr. Hurst that the demand was so great that he was obliged to have four hundred copies in circulation.”
In this same letter she says: “I am sitting now at my open window, not high enough to see out, but inhaling the soft summer breezes, with an exquisite jar of roses on the window-sill and a huge sheaf of fresh-gathered meadow-sweet giving its almondy fragrance from outside; looking on blue sky and green waving trees, with a bit of road and some cottages in the distance, and [hearing] K——‘s little girl’s merry voice calling Fanchon in the court.... An avalanche of kindness has come from America, where, as in Paris, my book has been reprinted. Letters to me or for me addressed through my friend Mr. Fields have arrived, I think, from almost every man of note in the States—Hawthorne, Longfellow, Holmes, etc. etc. And one lady, Mrs. Sparkes, wife of Jared Sparks, President of Harvard University, Cambridge, gravely invites me, with man-servant and maid-servant, pony and Fanchon, to go and take up my abode with them for two or three years, an unlimited hospitality which seems to English ears astounding. Cambridge is close to Boston, where most of the literary men of America live, and if I were not such a helpless creature really one would be tempted to go and thank all these warm-hearted people for their extraordinary kindness.”
And writing in August she says: “I do not think there is an authoress of name who has not sent me messages full of the kindest interest. It is one of the highest mercies by which this visitation has been softened that I can still give my thoughts and time and love and sympathy, not merely to dear friends, but to books and flowers and the common doings of this workaday world.”
A lady friend on one occasion had remonstrated with Mary Mitford for what she considered a misplaced enthusiasm. “Ah, my dear friend!” she responds, “do not lecture me for loving and admiring! It is the last green branch in the old tree, the lingering touch of life and youth.”
À propos of a tendency of hers to extoll at times some modern poem that had taken her fancy as being superior to the great poems of old, Mr. Fields quotes a saying of Pascal’s that “the heart has reasons that reason does not know.” “Miss Mitford,” he says, “was a charming exemplification of this wise saying.”
During the autumn of 1854 Mary’s condition had been rapidly growing worse, though her letters show that her bright spirit was not broken by her continued sufferings and increased weakness, nor her mind in any way clouded. Her last letter to Mr. Fields was written on December 23rd, 1854, only eighteen days before she died. In it she says: “God bless you, my dear friend! May He send to both of you health and happiness and length of days and so much of this world’s goods as is needful to prevent anxiety and insure comfort. I have known many rich people in my time, and the result has convinced me that with great wealth some deep black shadow is as sure to walk as it is to follow the bright sunshine. So I never pray for more than the blessed enough for those whom I love best.”
On January 1st, 1855, nine days only before her death, she wrote the following letter to a friend: “It has pleased Providence to preserve to me my calmness of mind and clearness of intellect, and also my powers of reading by day and by night, and which is still more my love of poetry and literature, my cheerfulness and my enjoyment of little things. This very day not only my common pensioners the dear robins, but a saucy troop of sparrows and a little shining bird of passage whose name I forget, have all been pecking at once at their tray of bread-crumbs outside the window. Poor, pretty things! How much delight there is in these common objects if people would learn to enjoy them; and I really think that the feeling for these simple pleasures is increasing with the increase of education.”
The end came on January 10th and was in accordance with her sweet life. As she lay with her hand in that of her dear friend Lady Russell she expired so quietly that the actual moment of her departure was not realized. “The features of her face in death,” we are told, “undisturbed by any trace of the cares and trials she had endured, were overspread by an expression of intense repose and peace and charity such as no living face had ever known.”
In the introduction to her _Dramatic Works_ Miss Mitford remarks that she “hopes the plays will be as mercifully dealt with as if they were published by her executor, and that the hand that wrote them were laid in peaceful rest where the sun glances through the great elms in the beautiful churchyard of Swallowfield.” And there she lies in the heart of the country she so dearly loved and amidst the sights and sounds that she most cherished.
We would close this book with the words of a friend and contemporary author who knew Miss Mitford well.
“Pleasant is the memory because happy was the life, kindly the nature and genial the heart of Mary Russell Mitford. She had her trials and she bore them well; trusting and ever faithful to the _Nature_ she loved; sending forth from her poor cottage at Three Mile Cross—from its leaden casement and narrow door—floods of light and sunshine that have cheered and brightened the uttermost parts of the earth.”
[Illustration]
INDEX
A
Abbey School, Reading, its interesting associations, 63-65
Alresford, Hants, birthplace of Mary Russell Mitford, description of, 1-2; Broad Street, Dr. Mitford’s house in, 5
Andersen, Hans, his visit to England, his words in an album, 349
Anning, Mary, an inhabitant of Lyme Regis, discovers the gigantic fossil bones of the Ichthyosaurus, receives a visit from the King of Saxony, Kenyon’s verses upon her, 44-46
Athol, Dowager Duchess of, M. R. M. visits her at Alnwick Castle, 1806, description of, 104-7
Austen, Jane, M. R. M.’s admiration of, 253-255, 368-369
Aynsley, Lord Charles Murray, son of the Dowager Duchess of Athol, visited by M. R. M. in Northumberland in 1806, 103-105; receives visit from Louis XVIII, in Bocking Deanery, 111-118
Aynsley, Lady, wife of the above, first cousin of Dr. Mitford, is visited by
M. R. M. in Northumberland in 1806, at Little Harle Tower, takes her to Alnwick Castle, 103-107; describes visit from Louis XVIII in Bocking Deanery in letter to Mrs. Mitford, 111-118
B
Baillie, Joanna, meets M. R. M. in society, 329
Barrett, Miss Elizabeth. See under Mrs. Barrett Browning
Bath, M. R. M.’s visit to, 252-255
_Belford Regis_, by M. R. M., published 1835, 339
Bonar, Charles, translator of Hans Andersen’s’ works, friend of M. R. M., 349
Browning, Robert, meets M. R. M., 329; his marriage, 348
Browning, Mrs. Barrett, first meets M. R. M. before her marriage, 1836, their interesting correspondence, 330-334; her marriage, her correspondence with M. R. M., 348
C
Chorley, Henry, meets M. R. M. in London, 329; persuades her to resume literary work, 352
Cobbett, William, friend of Dr. Mitford, 126-127
_Country Stories_, published 1835, 339-340
Cowper, William, his letters, 131-132
E
Elford, Sir William, his influence on M. R. M., their interesting correspondence, 128-133; his views upon _Our Village_, 203-205
Exeter, Bishop of, 1
F
Fermor, Arabella (the “Belinda” of _The Rape of the Lock_), marries Mr. Perkins and lives at Ufton Court, 257-264
Fields, James T., American publisher and author, describes first visit to M. R. M. at Three Mile Cross, her surroundings and interesting conversation, 316-319; M. R. M.’s letters to him, 350-1; describes his visit to her at Swallowfield, 362-365; her letters to him, 368, 372, 376-378
_Foscari_, M. R. M.’s tragedy of, performed at Covent Garden, 5th November, 1826, 223-227
H
Hall, Dr. Spencer T., his visit to Three Mile Cross, 354-356
Harness, Rev. William, valued friend of the Mitfords, his wise guardianship of a bequest of Dr. Russell, his views on Dr. Mitford’s conduct, 158-159; meets M. R. M. in London, 329; M. R. M.’s letter to him on Church Reforms, 340-341
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, publication of _The Scarlet Letter_, _House of Seven Gables_, etc., etc., M. R. M.’s interest in them, 367
Haydon, Benjamin Robert, his picture the “Judgment of Solomon,” becomes friend of M. R. M., described by M. R. M., 318-319; his Life by Tom Taylor, 318
Hemans, Mrs., letter to M. R. M., on publication of _Our Village_, 208-209, 220
Holmes, Dr. (Oliver Wendell), M. R. M.’s admiration of his poems and personality, 366-367
Howett, Mrs. (Mary), authoress, letter to M. R. M. on _Our Village_, 321-322
Howett, William, author, describes visit to M. R. M. at Three Mile Cross, letter to M. R. M., 319-321
J
Jephson, Miss, letters to her from M. R. M., 335-336, 370-371
K
Kenyon, John, friend of the Mitfords, his lines on Mary Anning, 46; his words on M. R. M. to James T. Fields, 316
Kingsley, Charles, 341; described by M. R. M., 366
L
Landor, Walter Savage, meets M. R. M. in London, 228, 229
Landseer, Edwin, offers to paint M. R. M.’s dog, 330
Lansdowne, Lord, proposes M. R. M.’s health at meeting, 137-139
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, M. R. M.’s words on his poems and the _Golden Legend_, 366
Louis XVIII and court at Gosfield Hall, his visit to Bocking Deanery described by Lady Charles Aynsley, 110-118; his remarkable memory, 136, 137
Lyme Regis, removal of Mitfords to, in 1795, the Great House described by M. R. M., its association with the Monmouth Rebellion, 29-39
M
Macready, William Charles, takes leading rôle in _Foscari_, 222-224
Mitford, Dr., marriage and birth of child, 2; his gambling, loss of fortune, starts practice in Reading, 22, 23; removal to Lyme Regis, 29-50; further losses, flight to London to debtors’ Sanctuary, wins prize in lottery, 52-56; builds Bertram House, 92; further losses, 139-141; obliged to leave Bertram House, settles at Three Mile Cross, 158-162; witnesses performance of _Foscari_, 221; portrait by Lucas, 330; illness and death, confusion of his affairs, 341-343
Mitford, Mrs., née Russell, only child and heiress of Dr. Russell, Rector of Ashe, marriage with Dr. Mitford, birth of her only daughter, Mary, in 1787, home in Alresford, 2-8; visits her daughter in Hans Place, 72; another visit, 87, 88; letter on Louis XVIII’s visit to Bocking, 113-118; her death, New Year’s Day, 1830; buried in Shinfield churchyard, her daughter’s tribute, 325-326
Mitford, Mary Russell, born at Alresford, Hants, December 16th, 1787, 2; early recollections of her home in Broad Street, precocious power of reading, 5-8; their village neighbours, at a rustic wedding, 9-21; removal of family to Reading, 1791, her early recollections of the town, 22-25; a flying visit to London, 25-28; removal of family to Lyme Regis, 1795, her recollections of the Great House, etc., 29-39; rambles on the shore, 40-44; sudden loss of fortune, flight to London, 49-51; family takes refuge in debtors’ Sanctuary, a lottery ticket bought, turns up a prize, 52-55; sent to a school in Hans Place, her recollections of it, 64-73; amusing account of old French Society, 74-81; interest in French drama, visits to the theatre, great actors of the day, Miss Rowden’s inspiring influence, 82-88; an incident of school life, 88-91; leaves school, 1802, recollections of old Reading, 92-99; removal of family to Bertram House, 99-100; her visit to Northumberland with her father, guests of Lord and Lady Murray Aynsley, visits to Alnwick Castle, Morpeth and Cheviot Hills, returns home, 104-109; early poems published in 1810-11, successful, 119-121; describes performances of “Greek tragedies,” by Dr. Valpy’s pupils, 121-123; short visit to London, 123-125; writes of Cobbett and Sir Francis Burdett, 126-128; introduced to Sir William Elford, becomes his chosen correspondent, their interesting letters, 128-133; in London in June, 1814, witnesses the assemblage of Crowned Heads on the fall of Napoleon, sees the Duke of Wellington, 134-137; an ovation to M. R. M. at a public meeting, 137-139; more loss of money owing to her father’s gambling, 139-140; flattering recognition by American publishers, 141-143; Sir William Elford’s visit to Bertram House, their correspondence resumed, writes of singers and actors of the day, and distinguished writers, 144-155; Haydon’s “Judgment of Solomon,” describes the artist, 156-158; further losses of property, forced to quit Bertram House, the family settle in Three Mile Cross, M. R. M.’s detailed account of their cottage and the village, 161-178; describes village scenes, and a sunset over the Loddon, 182-189; _The Talking Lady_, 190-196; describes her garden, a quack doctor, 196-202; publication of _Our Village_, the opening paragraph, letters received about it, its early success, 203-211; _Patty’s New Hat_, 212-217; a fog in the country, Mrs. Heman’s words, 217-220; tries hand at tragedy, _Foscari_ and _Julian_ approved by Macready, _Foscari_ performed at Covent Garden Theatre, 1826, M. R. M. present and describes its success, 221-229; writes _Rienzi_, produced at Drury Lane Theatre, its great success, M. R. M. in town, letters of congratulation, performed in New York, tribute from James Crissy, 230-240; her stories of two émigrés neighbours, 241-249; describes visits to Southampton, Bath, Richmond Park, and Hampton Court, 250-259; writes of Ufton Court and its associations, 264-270; writes of Three Mile Cross in 1830, _The Black Velvet Bag_, 271-282; stories of eccentric neighbours, 283-291; attends country Mayings and visits Silchester, 292-301; a trip to Aberleigh (Arborfield) on the Loddon, 302-306; stories of gipsies, 306-314; her friendship with James T. Fields, his visit to Three Mile Cross, also visits from William Howett, George Ticknor, and Daniel Webster, 315-325; words on her mother’s death, letter to a child, 325-327; stays with Sergeant Talfourd, receives warm welcome from leading writers, correspondence with Miss Barrett (afterwards Mrs. Barrett Browning), 328-334; pecuniary anxieties, receives pension, undertakes fresh literary work, 334-337; writes on first appearance of _Pickwick_, 337-338; publication of _Belford Regis_, and _Country Stories_, _Our Village_, translated into Spanish, 339-340; writes to William Harness on Church reforms, 340-341; death of her father, 1842, resolves to pay all his debts but whole sum subscribed by friends, receives constant supply of books from Mr. George Lovejoy, little Henry, adopted child of the family, 341-345; her interest in _Modern Painters_ and friendship for Ruskin, her words on Browning’s poems, Hans Andersen in London, 345-349; letters to Mr. Fields, _Country Stories_ republished, commencing her _Recollections of a Literary Life_, an Italian exile in Three Mile Cross, her views on Louis Napoleon, receives a visit from Dr. Spencer Hall, decides to leave Three Mile Cross, her farewell to the village, 350-359; settles at Swallowfield, describes her cottage and garden, visits from Mr. Fields, Mr. James Payne and others, her affection for the Russells of Swallowfield Park, 360-365; her interest on works of Longfellow, Hawthorne, O. W. Holmes, and Whittier, 366-368; _Recollections of a Literary Life_ published, its success in America, her admiration of Jane Austen’s works, her remarks on Shelley and on Saint Bouve, writes introduction to her dramatic works, 368-370; her severe accident, her courage, cheerful letters to Mr. Fields, kind attentions from far and near, visits from Mr. Ticknor, writes _Atherton and Other Stories_, dedicated to Lady Russell, its great success, 370-376; her last illness, her delight in beauty of nature to the end, her last letter to Mr. Fields, her death, January 1st, 1855, buried in Swallowfield churchyard, 376-380
Molière, M. R. M.’s early delight in his comedies, 84-85
“Monsieur” (Le Conte d’Artois) visits Lord and Lady Aynsley in Bocking Deanery, 114-118
N
North, Christopher (John Wilson), his amusing scene in the “Noctes Ambrosianæ” upon the publication of _Our Village_, 209-211
O
_Our Village_, publication of, March, 1824, its success, etc. (see under Mary Russell Mitford), 203-211
P
Pepys (Samuel), M. R. M. on his “Memoirs,” 153
_Pickwick_, publication of, 31 March, 1836, its great success, 337-338
Pope (Alexander), M. R. M.’s early remarks on him as a letter writer and poet, 132-133; quotation from _Rape of the Lock_, 258-259; its heroine Belinda, 260-263
R
Racine, his “Athalie,” 221
Reading (“Belford Regis”), removal of Mitford family to, 1791, 22-23; M. R. M.’s early recollections of, 25, 56-59, 63-65; shopping adventures, 271-282
_Recollections of a Literary Life_, by M. R. M., 352; published in January, 1852, its success in America, 368
_Rienzi_, M. R. M.’s tragedy of, performed at Drury Lane, October 4, 1828, 232-235 (see under Mary Russell Mitford)
Rowden, Miss, a teacher in the school in Hans Place, her inspiring influence on M. R. M., 68, 85-88
Russell, Dr., Rector of Ashe, his daughter marries Dr. Mitford, 2
Russell, Lady, of Swallowfield Park, 365, 371; M. R. M.’s _Atherton_ dedicated to her, 375
S
St. Quintin, M., arrival in Reading, becomes head of Abbey School, marries the English teacher, removes School to Hans Place, London, 1798, M. R. M. becomes their pupil, 64-68; his hospitality to émigrés, 74-91
Sedgwick, American authoress, her letters to M. R. M., 220, 326-327
Seward, Anna, “Swan of Lichfield,” M. R. M.’s early strictures on her writing, 130-132
Shakespeare, William, M. R. M.’s early appreciation of _Much Ado About Nothing_, 133
Shelley (Percy Bysshe), M. R. M. on his poems, 369
Sherwood, Mrs. (née Butt), sees M. R. M. when a child, 23-25; her recollections of Abbey School, Reading, 64-65
Swallowfield, M. R. M. residing at, 360-380
Swallowfield Park, abode of the Russell family, 365
T
Talfourd Sergeant, author of _Ion_, present at performance of _Foscari_, 222-224; M. R. M. at his house in London, interesting society, 328-330
Three Mile Cross, prototype of _Our Village_, description of, 156-183 (see under Mary Russell Mitford)
Ticknor, George (American author and publisher), describes visit to M. R. M. at Three Mile Cross in 1835, 323; visits her at Swallowfield, 374
Trollope, Mrs. (authoress), describes performance of _Rienzi_ in New York, 236
U
Ufton Court (in Berkshire), description of, 260-269
V
Valpy, Dr., headmaster of Reading Grammar School, man of great influence, 62-65; introduces acting of Greek tragedy in original language, described by M. R. M., 121-123
Voltaire, M. R. M. reading his tragedies at school, 83
W
Walpole (Horace), M. R. M.’s admiration for his letters, 132; her words upon him, 257
Webster, Daniel (American statesman and author), his visit to Three Mile Cross described by M. R. M., 323-325
Whittier (John Greenleaf), M. R. M.’s admiration of his “Massachusetts to Virginia,” 352; and of his poem on Burns, 368
Wordsworth, William, his personality described by M. R. M., 328-329
Y
Young, Charles Mayne, performs leading rôle in _Rienzi_, 232-235
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