SLIGHT NARRATIVE OF THE CELEBRATED MRS. CLARK. As this lady has attracted such universal notice, not indeed from any merit of her own, but, on the contrary, from the magnitude of her demerits, we have thought it proper to introduce some account of her in the Number of the present month-The curiosity with respect to Mrs. Clark is so general, that her reputation offers no excuse for omitting her name. Mrs. Clark is the daughter of a Mr. Farquhar, a native of Aberdeen, who was bred a printer, and worked at one time on The Star newspaper, and afterwards in the house of Mr. Hughs. He used to correct the proofs, and his daughter, a sprightly girl, was employed by him to read them. A son of Mr. Day, who had the conduct of Mr. Hughs's business, took a lively interest in Miss Farquhar's fate, and sent her for two years to school, meaning as we have been told, to marry her when she had finished her education. This, however, she avoided by forming a connection with Mr. Clark, the son of the builder, which ended in their marriage. She truly said in the House of Commons, that he was of no profession, for though bred to the business of a stone-mason, he utterly neglected it, and soon sunk into the most extreme waut. She was thus at an early period of her life flung upon the world with an infant family. Her mother and she at times liv. ed together, and she has been to her in all her changes of fortune her adviser and counsel. | Mrs. Clark was summoned to attend the House of Commons about twenty minutes before eight o'clock on the first of February, and she came readily through the lobbies, with a light step and a smirking countenance. She was dressed as if she had been going out to an evening party, in a light blue silk gown and coat, edged with white fur, and a white muff. On her head she wore a white cap or veil, which at no time was let down over her face. In size she is rather small, and she does not seem to be particularly well made. She has a fair, clear, smooth skin, and lively blue eyes, but her features are not handsome. Her nose is rather short and turning up, and her teeth are very indifferent; yet she has an appearance of great vivacity and fascination of manners, though she is said not to be a well bred or accomplished woman. She appears to be about thirty-five years of age, and probably has recommended herself more by her agreeable and lively spirit than by her beauty, though it must be allowed that she is pretty, having a soft delicate complexion, and an animated expression of features. When first she came into the House she was very pale; on her second appearance her colour had flushed into her face, which was like vermillion; but she seemed not at all daunted or embarrassed at any time. Her female friend was dressed in a white silk gown spotted with brown, and wore a white bonnet with a veil so thick and close about her face, that her features could not be distinguished. She went into the House of Commons and remained below the bar near Mrs. Clark during her examination. Mr. Gurney was seated at the bar taking the whole of the evidence in short-hand. Mrs. Clark's family was much inferior to that of her husband. Before she was quite fifteen she married Mr. Clark, the second son of a very eminent, wealthy, and respectable bricklayer, who had been largely employed in the city of London. The eldest son succeeded to the father's business, but is now dead, having left a family behind him, and a fortune of about twelve or fifteen thousand pounds. The second son (the husband of Mrs. Clark) was bred a stone mason by the father, and carried on that business in an extensive and respect. able manner on Snow-hill; but whether from the indiscreetuess of his marriage, or any general indiscretion, the father left him only a weekly annuity during his life, the principal going to his children, of whom he has several by Mrs. Clark, the lady of whom we are now speaking. Mr. Clark is living, but, we understand, he has for some time discontinued bis business at Snow-hill. He has two brothers living, the one an eminent surveyor, the other a clergyman, both of them gentlemen of great respectability-Mrs. Clark was always of a gay turn and very expensive habits. How long she has been separated from her husband we know not, nor do we know what was her course of life between that separation and her commencing the costly establishment in Glouces ter-place; but her extravagance there was unbounded; and she in particular exerted all her powers in keeping a luxurious table, set out in the most brilliant manner. Of the exteut to which she went, some notion may be formed from the fact of the wine glasses, such in size as individuals usually drink out of at dinner, being so finely cut, that at the sale of her furniture, they sold for a guinea cach glass! ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. JULIA; A RUSSIAN TALE, THE women complain of the men, and the men complain of the women. Which is right? or which is wrong? and who shall decide the contest? Were the decision left to us, without consideration, we should give it in favour of the most amiable-consequently women. But with this sentence the men would not be contented; they would accuse us of partiality, and say that we are bribed by the kind looks of Lydia, or Arethusa's charming smile; they would make an appeal from our judgment, and our defence would be of no avail. Perhaps the following tale may elucidate this argument: || And Julia loved no one thing except herself. With haughty self sufficiency she looked around her, and thought-where is my equal? who is worthy of me? Yet she very wisely suffered not any of these thoughts to be conjectured; and when she was remarked for beauty and good sense, she was equally admired for her modesty and talent of dissimulation. Julia was the ornament of the metropolis; she appeared, and the men saw and listened to her alone, conversed alone with her. And the women-the women whispered to each other, viewed her with malicious smiles, and endea-heart cherished virtuous precepts. He was in voured in vain to find out a fault in her to appease, in some degree, their offended selflove. Is it necessary, after the above, to say that every youth adored Julia, and considered it an honour to be reckoned among_her slaves? One sighed, another wept, a third hung his head, and of every one who appeared sorrowful it was said, "he is in love with Julia." || person pleasing, though not handsome; his countenance had the noblest cast, and a soul shone from his eyes. He blushed like an innocent girl at every immodest word; spoke little, but always sensibly and agrecably, strove not to shine by his wit and knowledge, and listened patiently to every body. The real worth of such a character is seldom known; tinsel is often regarded equally with pure gold, and modesty, the companion of real worth, is thrown into the shade, while impudence is caressed and applauded. || Boris loved Julia; how was it possible to avoid loving one so amiable and handsome ? but her numberless adorers kept him at a distance; he regarded her from a far without sighing; in a word, without acting the lover. Nevertheless Julia knew he loved her; whoever is so inclined may wonder at the quick. sightedness of women! but not more visible than the sun at noon day is to a woman the effect of her charms on a man of sentiment, however he may endeavour to conceal it. Julia soon distinguished the modest youth from the rest of her lovers; she encouraged him to approach her with friendly looks and smiles, she conversed with him, showed an esteem for his worth, listened to him with attention, and discovered a wish to see him more frequently. "You will go to the concert to-morrow? teF By degrees she approached the end of her fourth winter, and she began to perceive that vanity was only a vapour, which, though it plunges the soul in a pleasing delirium, has nothing stable or gratifying. However one may be taken up with self, it is yet not sufficient; something more than the magical I must be loved. Julia now took an attentive survey of her crowd of adorers. At first her view fell on young Samolubow, who thought on nothing but Julia and the looking-glass. Next appeared to her the manly Grabrow, a young hero who No. XLII, Vol. VI. wanted nothing but a Grecian dress to be a perfect Mars; and sometimes the talkative Pustolow appeared amiable, who, notwithstanding his judicial dignity, contended with Vestris in grace, and performed every day at least ten French hornpipes. But it did not continue long.In the first she soon perceived merely a tiresome and conceited fool; the young god of war, on a nearer acquaintance, was metamorphosed into a stately dragoon; and the amusing judge was shortly converted into a wearisome chatterer. Her choice, at last, fell on young Boris, who was really amiable; in this choice the heart and understanding were unanimous. Boris was brought up under the eye of his tender and sensible parent, in a foreign country. His head was furnished with useful and ornamental knowledge, and his morrow you will dine with us?-The time appeared very long to me yesterday without 39 ou Boris did not belong to the number of those who construed every friendly word or look of a girl into a declaration of love, and, in their own conceit, set themselves down already as the favoured lover, when they are hardly even thought of; but, with all his discretion, he formed hopes; and hope is fo love what a warm April shower is to the newly sown seeds. He was nearly on the point of throwing himself at the feet of Julia to require an avowal of her love, and Julia was looking with desire towards that moment, when a new phenomenon in the great world appeared on the horizon, and drew universal attention. her. The next day, when Boris called on Julia, a dreadful head-ach prevcuted her admitting him. The third day he saw her at a ball. The young Prince sat next to her, danced with, her, conversed with her. Boris was saluted civilly. He was asked how he did, without attending to his answer. He approached on the other side. He was not observed. And how was it possible he could be, as the Prince did not sit on that side? Poor Boris! you might have been happy; but the moment is past. There now remains nothing to you but to retire. And he did so. He quitted the room and Julia, with what feelings may easily be imagined. We will also quit him; may he weep in solitude, and if possible learn to forget the lovely inconstant. The young Prince Karin, a favorite of nature and fortune, of high rank, rich and handsome, made his entrée into the world; all eyes turned Julia was transported with her new contowards him; he was the talk of the day. quest. Her Prince was an Autinous, when Lvery body praised him, principally the wo- silent; a Cicero, when he spoke; and a demimen, but especially those to whom he had paid god, when he said, “Julia, I love you!" Nor He was in reality enmost attention, or those whom he had flattered. ; did he deceive her. His good sense could not be sufficiently ex-amoured of her charms. He could listen to no tolled, even when he merely conversed about concert if Julia did not sing; went to no ball the weather; and it need not be a matter of where she did not dance; and visited no public great astonishment, for enthuiasm is a micro- walk which was not graced with Julia's prescope which magnifies things in a most sursence. He formerly was fond of gaming; but he sacrificed the cards to Julia. He used to prising manner. In the mean time a report prevailed that the young Prince was perfectly indifferent to female charins, and that Cupid had in vain emptied his quiver against him. What a task for the women! what fame for the victor! It appeared to cach as if offended Cupid, with weeping eyes, had applied to them, saying, "revenge me, or I shall die of chagrin ! Cupid die! Ye Gods! what a misfortune! How could it be possible to exist without the amiable child? O, no! we must take his part; he must be revenged, let it cost what it will! The new Alcides must be tamed, must be enslaved, must be enchained! spend many hours in the day with his English horses, but on Julia's account he forgot the horses. One might perceive his love was serious. Perhaps it may be observed, that in the days of chivalry, love was still more serious; but every century has its own customs, and we live in the nineteenth. Our belles are not so difficult to be pleased as they were under Francis I. and certainly no one will now throw her glove on the mane of an enraged lion, and order her knight to fetch it, undoubt edly for no other reason than that, very probably, none of the knights of the present time would obey her commands. All the females of the metropolis now appeared adorned with gold chains, as a sign of certain victory. Tremble, tremble audacious yout!! the rattling, sparkling chains proclaim thy downfall! Julia was convinced that the Prince could not live without her. It only appeared strange to her that he always spoke of his heart, but never of his hand. Many of her friends already wished her joy of such a bridegroom; but the bridegroom did not explain himself more clearly. At last Julia gave him to understand how much it surprized her. The tender Prince appeared offended. “Julia doubt the power of her charms!" exclaimed he with warmth; "Julia will exchange the ardent god of love for frigid Hymen? The enchanting smile of one for the constant wrinkles of the other? A garland of roses for the bonds of a slave: O Julia! || Smiling and careless the young spark roved about, till he met Julia at a public place. She eclipsed all the females. He was the handsomest among the men. "He must fall in love with her," thought the latter. must fall in love with him," said the former; and every one cast down their eyes, and gave¦⠀⠀ up all hope. Julia's admirers dispersed on all sides in despair; Boris alone did not leave "She have tiger hearts. Poison is beneath their love bears no constraint; one word, and the happiness of two lovers is for ever destroyed. || tongues. Their tears are crocodile's tears, Would Petrarch have so ardently loved his and whoever trusts to them is inevitably lost." Laura, would he have composed one of those In these and such like colours the enraged glowing sonuets which now enchant us, if Julia painted mankind. Such kind of passionLaura had been his wife?" Julia turned pale ate accusations are to be excused; but are at this discourse; the Prince perceived that they just? are then the hearts of all men cast this philosophy did not please her; he retreat- in one mould? must all be answerable for one? ed."At least," said he, "we will lengthen But the passions seldom make good logicians: the time of our courtship, as long as we can; they take easily one for all, and all for one. for never, never enchanting Julia, will these Julia's misfortune was known throughout the delightful hours return." But Julia could not town the next day. "The Priuce has forsaken adopt his sentiments; she was not at rest till Julia," was the word; and the men shrugg d he had given her his word to be united with their shoulders, while the women smiled maliher in the holy bands of wedlock. ciously, and each secretly thought, "he would certainly not have forsaken me." How was it possible for Julia now to appear? She hated the world; and did not quit her room for many weeks. After this promise he thought he could take liberties, which even Julia did not deny, while he kept them within bounds; but he daily grew more assured, and moments occurred where the protector of innocence alone could have rescued the virtue of Julia. In Julia was sensible of her danger, and insisted that the wedding day should be fixed. the mean time the Prince made use of all his arts to overcome Julia's fortitude; but in vain. In those moments, when to all appearance she was on the point of forgetting herself, she with a stern look made him keep his distance; so that at last he gave up all hopes of being happy without the name of a husband. As Julia awoke one morning with the thoughts of her beloved Prince, she received a billet to the following purport :-"You are charming, Julia, but what is more charming than liberty? It is painful to me to leave you; but the thoughts of an indissoluble tie is much more painful for me to endure. The heart bears no constraint, and ceases to love when it pleases. What then are the bands of wedlock but an insupportable yoke? You do not choose to love after my manner, for love's sake alone, as long as the inclination of the heart continues. Farewel, then! call me faithless if you please; that I have broken my word; but it is an old maxim, that the oaths of lovers are written on saud, which the slightest breeze effaces. With so many amiable qualities, it will not be difficult for you to find a worthy husband, who, perhaps, may possess the rare virtue of truth and constancy! There are phoenixes, but I am not one, at least, in that sense. I shall therefore trouble you no more. 1 leave Moskow. Farewel. PRINCE KARIN." Julia trembled in every joint, and fell, after the manner of the new Didos, into a fainting fit. When recovered from it, she found some relief in abusing the men. "They are altogether faithless, perjured villains! They A fortnight after this affair Boris announced himself; after a little reflection she gave orders to admit him. Poor Boris! the arrow of Julia's eloquence fell on him equally with the rest of his sex. Like a convicted malefactor he was obliged to listen to the bitterest reproaches; another in his situation had perhaps struck Julia dumb with one word, and made her blush with shame; but the good Boris loved; he did not come to shame the injured Julia. Julia was satisfied with his visit; she wished to see him again, and she lost by degrees her anger against mankind. The tender, affec tionate, noble heart of Boris, which in the bustle of the great world she could not have been able to judge of so well as in the confidential converse of her quiet apartment, made an impression on her. "Why," with tears exclaimed she, "why are not all men like you? love would not then be for us the source of misery." Boris took advantage of this moment, and Julia promised to be his; bat under the condition that they should retire from the world. "The wicked world does not deserve to witness our happiness;" she said, "its ridiculous vanity is hateful to me. Let us, dear Boris, retire into the country." "My whole life shall be dedicated to your happiness, incomparable Julia," auswered Boris. "Gladly with you will I live at the extremity of the globe; and never, either by a reproach or complaint, give you cause for sorrow. Your will shall be my law; for my happiness I have to thank you; it is therefore my duty to anticipate your wishes, and depend solely upon you." Boris did not deceive Julia. The first six or seven weeks passed over in the country like a serene day. The worthy husband was happy in the possession of his charming wife, and Julia returned his tenderness with equal love; an ardent passion inspired both hearts; ' she felt the delicacy of his conduct, and when nature itself seemed to partake in their happi-alone rewarded him for it with the most transness; spring appeared every where in its full porting caresses. "Do you not perceive," beauty; the sweet scents of the flowers, the said she with an enchanting smile," that the warbling of the the birds, every thing couspir- || pleasures of town, and the change of objects, ed to increase the transport of the tender is a renewal of our love? My heart, harassed pair. with the dissipation of the world, so joyfully reposes itself in your embraces." Boris sighed, but so gently it was not heard by Julia. One evening, when Julia received visitors, Boris saw Prince Karin enter among other company. He turned pale, and was violently agitated; but recovered himself in a few moments so far as to receive the Prince with civility; but he took care to avoid meeting the eyes of Julia during the whole evening, that he might not distress her, fearing she would read the uneasiness of his heart in his looks. "Good God!" exclaimed Julia, "how can any body live in town? how is it possible ever to forsake the country? Nothing is there but confusion and disquietude; here blooms the pure state of innocence; there reigns perpetual constraint; here peace and freedom. Ah! dear Boris," and with the tenderest looks she pressed his hand on her heart, "Ah! dear Boris, in the peaceful country, in the bosom of nature alone, can a sentimental mind enjoy the full plenitude of love." After supper, when the company departed, and Julia found herself alone with Boris, she took his hand and said, smiling :-" Did you observe, my dear Boris, with what cool civility I treated Prince Karin? It would have been ridiculous to have shut our doors against him; let the indiscreet fickle Narcissus feel that he is now perfectly indifferent to me, that my former folly has not left one trace in my || Boris kissed her hand, and owned that he thought her conduct was very proper. The praises of Julia on a country life grew colder and less frequent towards the close of summer; but when pensive autumn took place of the delightful summer, as the flowers in the gardens and fields drooped, and the leaves fell from the trees, the birds retired, and it began to be every where lonely and melancholy, she lost all inclination to extol a country life. Boris perceived she began to feel ennui. Sighing, he took up a volume of the New Heloise, and read to her an extract, on the hap-heart, and that I have no cause to fear him." piness of mutual love. Julia listened to him with attention, and said:—“Charming! but yet Rousseau is more followed from imagination than conviction; it were indeed well if it were to continue so. Certainly the bliss of love is the greatest of blessings; but can it always remain the same? will it ever satisfy the mind? will it ever be an equivalent for all other enjoyments? Ah! the heart of mankind is insatiable: it always requires novelty, new ideas and impressions, which renovate and strengthen its feelings; I believe the most ardent love must languish, and tire at last, in solitude; comparison is required to enhance the worth of a beloved object." Boris answered, sighing "I thought otherwise; however, to-morrow we will take a journey to town." In a few days Julia had again company, and the Prince came there also. He was gay, entertaining, witty, and hardly spoke to any one except the mistress of the mansion; with regard to Boris, he hardly noticed him at all; in a word, he played the part of a man of the ton. At length he never missed being at Julia's house. "What an agreeable house," cried both men and women; "Julia is an angel," added one; "the amiable Prince Karin dispenses pleasure around him," said another: Mean while people began to make observatious. Some regarded Boris with a smile, others with a shrug of the shoulders. "What is there to wonder at?" whispered one to the other, "old love is never forgotten; and now one is more secure; the husband is a quiet good soul, and all is in a proper train.” Boris's behaviour towards Julia remained just the same as usual; but in her he soon remarked an alteration. She was often absorbed in thought; sometimes she turned. red, sometimes pale. She tried to hide her uneasiness, sometimes would throw herself with vehemence around the neck of Boris, appeared as if she had something to impart, yet say not a word. The prudent Boris also remained silent; only when in the dusk, he Julia appeared again on the theatre of the great world, with all the blaze of fresh beauty, riches, and splendour. She was received with transport, and roses sprang up under all her steps; one pleasure chased away the other, one diversion followed the other as formerly; with only this difference, that now, as a wife,⠀⠀ she could enjoy all the dissipation of life with much less restraint than before. She opened her house to receive company, and had parties at home four times, at least, in the week. Boris was silent, and did every thing she pleased: |
Obtén una còpia impresa del llibre
0 Ressenyes Les ressenyes no es verifiquen, però Google comprova si hi ha contingut fals i el suprimeix quan l'identifica. Escriu una ressenya |