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rated them. Madame du Deffand's friends soon discovered the attractions of her companion; but in order not to excite her jealousy, they avoided, in her presence, taking too much notice of her. To enjoy her society they secretly visited her in her own room, an hour before the usual time of meeting; Madame du Deffand generally sleeping till the arrival of her guests. For a long time Madame du Deffand remained unconscious of this arrangement; but when she became acquainted with it, her rage was without bounds. She accused Mademoiselle de Lespinasse of the blackest treachery, and announced her intention of dismissing her immediately. The sense of her destitution and helplessness, added to Madame du Deffand's reproaches, acted powerfully upon the excitable imagination of Mademoiselle de Lespinasse, and, in a fit of exaggerated sensibility, she took laudanum. Timely remedies saved her from the consequences of this rash act, but she never entirely recovered the shock given to her nerves. They parted, and the Parisian world took sides in the affair; each had their partisans, and warm and bitter recrimination followed. The friends of Mademoiselle de Lespinasse procured her a pension, and Madame Geoffrin made her a yearly allowance. Placed above want, she soon gathered around her a choice literary circle, many of the friends of Madame du Deffand deserting her for her young rival. All the accounts left of the circle of Mademoiselle de Lespinasse represent it as one of the most agreeable places of Parisian resort; her tact in presiding over society being a quality in which she had attained the highest excellence.

With all the external graces of a French woman of the eighteenth century, Mademoiselle de Lespinasse possessed none of the heartlessness which characterized the period. Her nature had all the fire and passion of the inhabitants of a southern clime. A calm and even state of mind was insupportable to her, and it was perhaps this perpetual mobility of feeling which rendered her presence so attractive. Among her visitors was a young Spanish nobleman of distinguished talents, the Marquis de Mora; he became devotedly attached to her, and his friends fearing he would marry her, recalled him to Spain. His passion was returned, and during three years of separation, the lovers corresponded unceasingly. De Mora's health declining, his friends allowed him to return to Paris; but the fatigue of the journey was too great; he died on the road, without having seen the object of his idolatry. Mademoiselle de Lespinasse was overwhelmed with grief, and from that time she slowly declined; but it was not till after her death that it became known that there lay in her heart a hidden sorrow deeper still. During the absence of M. de Mora she had conceived a passion for the Count de Guibert, a man who ranked high in the opinion of the world. She loved him with all the impassioned fervour of her nature, which passion he for a short time, through vanity, feigned to return; but he married, and wounded affection, united with remorse for her involuntary faithlessness to her devoted lover Mora, brought her to the grave. Even D'Alem

bert, her life-friend, never knew till after her death that Mora was not the only one whom she had preferred to him. Mademoiselle Lespinasse's history is chiefly remarkable as an illustration of the difficulties and miseries which surround the path of a young lady who has no natural or legal protector. All these difficulties were enhanced by the profligacy of French society under the old régime.

LICHTENAW, WILHELMINA, COUNTESS OF,

THE celebrated friend of Frederic William II. Her father, whose name was Enke, travelled over the greater part of Europe, as a clever musician on the French horn, and was afterwards received into the royal musical chapel of Berlin. She had two sisters, the eldest of whom, on account of her splendid figure, was engaged at the Italian opera. Count Matuschki eloped with her to Venice, and married her, after which they returned to Berlin, where they lived in a brilliant style, their house becoming the resort of the fashionable world. Her sister, Wilhelmina, when ten years of age, lived with her. The hereditary prince, Frederic William, who visited the house of Count Matuschki, thus accidentally made her acquaintance. She was then thirteen. Her beauty inspired the prince with an enthusiastic love; and when, on some occasion, the two sisters had quarrelled, he considered it most proper to have her sent back to the house of her father. However, his growing passion did not suffer him to stop here; he conducted her to Potsdam, to one of his confidants, procured her a governess and the most skilful masters, and came every day himself, to contribute, by his own instruction, to her mental development. Their mutual attachment was pure and disinterested; but when also in Wilhelmina's bosom a strong passion awoke for her amiable benefactor, she was no longer able to resist his protestations of unchangeable love. Notwithstanding, the prince followed other transient inclinations; and, not to be disturbed by Wilhelmina's presence, placed her, under pretext of perfecting her mind and accomplishments, under the guardianship of her sister, (the countess,) in Paris. When six months had elapsed, he decided himself entirely in her favour; yet, for the sake of outward propriety, a marriage was feigned with a certain Retz. After the death of Frederic I. she was elevated to a higher but more difficult position. To avoid envy and jealousy, was impossible; neither could she live in the same good intelligence with all parties of the court, who differed greatly in their views. In the year 1792 she travelled, with the king, to Vienna, where she was present at the coronation of Francis II.; three years later, she visited Italy, and on her return, received the diploma, which gave her the title of Countess Lichtenaw. On her arrival in Berlin, she was introduced as such to the queen; at the same time she received for her establishment 500,000 crowns, and the estates to which she had a claim by her title. Besides, she possessed a house in Berlin, (an inheritance of her deceased son, Count von der Mark,) and a beautiful villa in Charlottenburg. Her situation, as well as the

king's favour, lasted until his death, in 1797. But as soon as Frederic William had closed his eyes forever, the scene changed. She was forthwith arrested, at Potsdam, and, for four months, strongly secured; during which time her papers were examined, and she herself minutely interrogated. Although no discovery could be made to accuse her of a state crime, she was sent to Fort Glagow, and her property confiscated. Not until after an imprisonment of three years, and an unconditional renunciation of her entire property, was she released, and obtained an annuity of 4000 crowns. In 1811 her estates were partly restored, but the annuity was withdrawn. She afterwards lived in retirement, and died in 1820.

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As to the bad influence which, according to the statements of her enemies and misinformed perthis woman is said to have exercised over the monarch, and, through him, over the Prussian state, and the abuse which she made of her power for the destruction of worthy and the advancement of unworthy statesmen, there is no foundation whatever. Men of undoubted character speak of her with the highest esteem; and she is praised by those who intimately knew her, as a woman of deep sensibility, rare good-nature, correct judgment, and unfeigned self-sacrificing interest in those whom she loved. It is an acknowledged fact, that she never sought distinction or wealth for herself, nor for her nearest relations. Her parents died poor; her youngest sister was married to a merchant; and her two brothers, of whom the one was high-forester, and the other equerry, had never more than a competency to live on, and lost even that during the unfortunate period of the French war.

LINCOLN, ELIZABETH, COUNTESS OF, WAS one of the daughters and co-heiresses of Sir John Knevet, of Charlton, in Wiltshire, England, and was married to Thomas, Earl of Lincoln, about 1602, by whom she had seven sons and nine daughters. She published, in 1628, a small but valuable tract, called "The Countess of Lincoln's Nursery." It was addressed to her daughter-inlaw, the Countess of Lincoln, and is a well-written essay on the advantages of mothers nursing their own children.

LLOYD, MARY,

WAS the daughter of George Michael Moser, of England, and distinguished herself so much as an admirable artist in flower-painting, that she was elected a member of the Royal Academy at London. After her marriage, she practised her art solely for amusement. She died in 1819.

LOGAN, MARTHA,

A GREAT florist, was the daughter of Robert Daniel, of South Carolina. In her fifteenth year she married George Logan, and died in 1779, aged seventy-seven. At the age of seventy, she wrote a treatise "On Gardening."

LOGES, MARIE BRUNEAU,

WAS one of the most illustrious women in France in the seventeenth century. She was zealous for the reformed religion, and was highly esteemed by Malherbe and Balzac, and all the greatest wits and princes of her time. She died in 1641, and left nine children by her husband, Charles de Rechignèvoisen, Lord des Loges, at one time gentleman in ordinary of the king's bed-chamber.

LOHMAN, JOHANNA FREDERICA,

Was born in 1749, at Wittemburg. She was the daughter of the Professor of Law, J. D. Richter. She married the auditor Lohman in Schoenbeck, by Magdeburg. She lived at first in Leipzic, then in Magdeburg, and after the death of her husband again in Leipzic, where she died, in 1811. Most of her works were published anonymously. She wrote "The Jacobin," in 1794; "Clara of Wahburg," in 1796; "Carelessness and its Consequences," in 1805.

LOHMAN, EMELIE F. SOPHIE,

DAUGHTER of the above-mentioned lady, was born in 1784, at Schoenbeck, and died, in 1830, at Leipzic. She was a very prolific writer. Some of her best works are, "Winter Evenings," 1811; "Life and Poetry," 1820; and "New Tales," 1823.

LONGUEVILLE, DUCHESS DE,

SISTER of the great Condé, was the daughter of Henry, prince de Condé, and of Marguerite de Montmorenci. She married Henry d'Orleans, duke de Longueville, who, though brave, intelligent, and virtuous, preferred a quiet and retired life; and soon withdrew from the wars of the Fronde, in which his wife had induced him to take an active part, to his own estate. The duchess, whose character was very different, embraced with warm ardour the views of that party, whose heroine she soon, from her high birth, beauty and intrepidity, became. Her influence and charms were of great use to the Frondeurs, by inducing the celebrated Turenne and the duke de la Rochefoucauld to join them. Turenne, however, soon returned to his allegiance to the king; but the duke remained faithful to the last, "à ses beaux yeux."

After the amicable termination of the civil war, the duchess was received into the favour of Louis XIII., and from that time devoted herself to literature, and united with her illustrious brothers, the great Condé, and the prince de Condé, in encouraging rising genius. On the death of the duke de Longueville, she left the court, and consecrated the remainder of her days to the most austere penitence. She had a house built at Port-Royal aux Champs, where, although she renounced "the pomps and vanities of the world," she still retained her love for society, and the conversation of intelligent persons. The recluses at Port-Royal were all people who had acquired a high reputation while they lived in the world. Human glory followed them to their hermitage, all the more because they disdained it.

The duchess de Longueville died April 15th, 1679, at the age of sixty-one. She left no children.

LOUIS, MADAME,

THE wife of an architect of celebrity, was distinguished for her abilities in music. She composed an opera called "Fleur d'Epine," which was performed at the Italian opera at Paris in 1776, and received much commendation from the musical critics. At the revolution, her husband being banished, she emigrated with him, and passed the remainder of her life in obscurity. She published several sonatas, ariettes, and some works of a scientific class upon music.

LOUISA AUGUSTA WILHELMINA AMALIA, QUEEN of Prussia, daughter of Charles, duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, was born at Hanover, where her father was commandant, March 10th, 1776. In 1793, she and her sister were presented at Frankfort to the king of Prussia. The princeroyal was struck with her beauty, and married her, December 24th, 1793. It was the union of mutual affection. Her husband became king, November 16th, 1797; and she fulfilled all the duties of this high station so admirably, as well as those of wife and mother, that she was almost worshipped by the people, as well as by her husband and those immediately around her. In 1806, when Prussia was suffering severely from the burdens of war, this good queen, by her solicitude for others, even while oppressed with heavy cares and sorrows of her own, was the theme of general praise. Her beauty, her grace, her benevolent and lofty character, attracted the hearts of all, and her goodness won the confidence of the nation. She died in 1810.

LOUVENCOURT, MARIE DE,

WAS born at Paris in 1680. Graceful and intellectual, she was the ornament of both gay and literary society. She had a fine voice, and sang and played exquisitely. Several of her songs have been set to music by the most celebrated composers of her time. She lived unmarried, and died in 1712.

LUCAR, ELIZABETH,

DAUGHTER of Paul Witterpool, was born in London in 1510. She was liberally educated, and excelled in all kinds of needle-work, writing, music, mathematics, and the languages. She was a religious woman, and died in 1537.

LUCCHESINI, GUIDICCIONI LAURA, LIVED at Sienna in 1601, and was of the same family as John Guidiccioni, one of the first Italian poets of the time. She was distinguished for her poetical taste and talents. Her writings were principally lyrics; but she also composed three pastorals to be set to music.

LUMLEY, JOANNA, LADY, ELDEST daughter of Henry Fitz-Allan, Earl Arundel, married Lord John Lumley. She was very learned, and translated from the Greek, three

of the orations of Isocrates, of which the MS. is still preserved in the Westminster Library. She also translated the Iphigenia of Euripides. Her death occurred in 1620.

LUSSAN, MARGARET DE,

A WRITER very much admired in France for a number of romances which she produced, was the daughter of a coachman belonging to Cardinal Fleury, and was born about 1682. The celebrated Huet observed her early talents, assisted her in her education, and advised her to the style of writing in which she afterwards excelled. She had no personal beauty, but possessed many noble and generous qualities of mind and heart. She supported herself chiefly by her pen; and her works would probably have been more perfect, if she had not been obliged to write so much. Her best productions are "Histoire de la Comtesse de Gondez;"" Anecdotes de la Cour de Philippe Auguste;" "Les Viellées de Thessalie;" "Memoirs Secret et Intrigues de la Cour de France, sous Charles VIII. ;" "Anecdotes de la Cour de François I. ;" &c. Some works were published under her name, which are now known to have been written by other persons, with whom she shared the profits.

M.

MACAULAY, CATHARINE,

A CELEBRATED female historian and politician, was the youngest daughter of John Sawbridge, Esq., of Ollantigh, in Kent. Catharine was born about the year 1733. During her infancy her mother died, and left her and an elder sister to be brought up by a governess, who, it appears, was very unfit for such a responsible task. The two sisters seem to have been left almost wholly to the guidance of their own feelings and instincts. Catharine, at an early age, found constant access to her father's large library, and rummaged and read whatever she fancied. Her first favourites were the periodicals, the Spectator, Rambler, Guardian, &c.; next, history attracted her mind; and at length Rollin's spirited account of the Roman republic struck on the master chord of her noble nature, and made her a republican and a writer of history.

She took the name by which she is best known from her first husband, Dr. George Macaulay, a London physician, to whom she was married in 1760. It was soon after this date that she commenced authoress, by the publication of her "History of England from the accession of James I. to the elevation of the House of Hanover," the first volume of which, in 4to., appeared in 1763, and the fifth and last, which however only brought the narrative down to the Restoration, in 1771. The work also went through more than one edition in 8vo. On its first publication it attracted considerable attention, principally from the double piquancy of the sex and the avowed republicanism of the writer; but, notwithstanding some occa

sional liveliness of remark, and its notice of a good many facts omitted by most of our other historians; yet, as its spirit was purely republican, its advancement to a s andard work was rendered impossible in England. The style is nervous and animated, although sometimes loose and inaccurate, and the reflections of the author are often acute and sagacious, always noble and benevolent. The five volumes of the History were followed, in 1778, by another, entitled "The History of England from the Revolution to the present time, in a series of Letters to the Reverend Dr. Wilson, rector of St. Stephen's, Walbrook, and prebendary of Westminster," 4to., Bath. The six letters of which this volume consists come down to the termination of the administration of Sir Robert Walpole, in 1742. A female historian, by its singularity, would not fail to excite curiosity; and as Mrs. Macaulay had ventured to step beyond the province of her sex, as it was then considered, she was more severely criticised for her political opinions than a man would have been. As her talents could not be denied, her adversaries resorted to petty, personal scurrilities against her. They said she was "deformed," "ugly,” “disagreeable;" and that her ambition to become distinguished had, therefore, taken this course, most absurd for a woman -attempting to encroach on the province of man. Mrs. Arnold, a lady who subsequently became the warm friend of Mrs. Macaulay, remarks, that these notions had prejudiced her, and adds: "Judge then of my surprise, when I saw a woman elegant in her manners, delicate in her person, and with features, if not perfectly beautiful, so fascinating in their expression, as deservedly to rank her face among the higher order of human countenances. Her height was above the middle size, inclining to tall; her shape slender and elegant; the contour of her face, neck, and shoulders, graceful. The form of her face was oval, her complexion delicate, and her skin fine; her hair was of a mild brown, long and profuse; her nose between the Roman and the Grecian; her mouth small, her chin round, as was the lower part of her face, which made it appear to more advantage in front than in profile. Her eyes were as beautiful as imagination can conceive; full of penetration and fire; but their fire softened by the mildest beams of benevolence; their colour was a fine dark hazel, and their expression the indication of a superior soul. Infirm health, too often the attendant on an active and highly cultivated understanding, gave to her countenance an extreme delicacy, which was peculiarly interesting. To this delicacy of constitution was added a most amiable sensibility of temper, which rendered her feelingly alive to whatever concerned those with whom she was connected either by nature or by friendship."

In her friendships, we are told by this lady, she was fervent, disinterested, and sincere; zealous for the prosperity, and for the moral improvement, of those whom she distinguished and loved.

In 1785, Mrs. Macaulay visited the United States, and travelled through the greater part of the country, where she was very kindly received.

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She terminated her journey by a visit to General Washington, with whom she corresponded for the remainder of her life. She resided after her return principally at Binfield, in Berkshire.

In 1778, or according to another account, in 1785, Mrs. Macaulay, having lost her first husband, married a Mr. Graham, of whom all that is told is that he was so many years her junior as to expose the lady to much irreverent remark. She also wrote several pamphlets, both during the progress of her great work, and after its completion. Of these the catalogue-makers have preserved the following titles: "Remarks on Hobbe's Rudiments of Government and Society," 1767; enlarged and republished in 1769, with the more striking title of "Loose Remarks on some of Mr. Hobbes' Positions;" "Observations on a pamphlet (Burke's) entitled Thoughts on the Causes of the present Discontents," 1770; "An Address to the People of England, Scotland, and Ireland, on the present Important Crisis of Affairs," 1775; A Treatise on the Immutability of Moral Truth," called in a second much enlarged edition, "Letters on Education," 1790; and "Observations on the Reflections of the Right Hon. E. Burke on the Revolution in France, in a Letter to the Right Hon. the Earl of Stanhope," 1791.

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This excellent woman died June 23d, 1791. Her friend Mrs. Arnold, in her account of the private character of Mrs. Macaulay, says: "As a wife, a mother, a friend, neighbour, and the mistress of a family, she was irreproachable and exemplary. My sentiments of this amiable woman are derived from a long and intimate acquaintance with her various excellencies; and I have observed her in different points of view. I have seen her exalted on the dangerous pinnacle of worldly prosperity, surrounded by flattering friends, and an admiring world; I have seen her marked out by party prejudice as an object of dislike and ridicule; I have seen her bowed down by bodily pain and weakness; but never did I see her forget the urbanity of a gentlewoman, her conscious dignity as a rational creature, or a fervent aspiration after the highest degree of attainable perfection. have seen her humble herself in the presence of her Almighty Father; and, with a contrite heart, acknowledging her sins and imploring his forgiveness; I have seen her languishing on the bed of sickness, enduring pain with the patience of a Christian, and with the firm belief, that the light. afflictions of this life are but for a moment, and that the fashion of the world will pass away, and give place to a system of durable happiness."

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Dr. Wilson, prebendary of Westminster, was an enthusiastic admirer of hers, and erected a statue to her, as a patroness of liberty, in the church at Walbrook; but on the death of Dr. Wilson, this mark of homage was removed by his successor.

MACDONALD, FLORA,

WAS the daughter of Mr. Macdonald, of Milton, in South Uist, one of the Hebrides. She was born in 1720, and, after her father's death, resided in the Isle of Skye, with her mother and stepfather, Hugh Macdonel, of Arnadale. After the disas

trous defeat of Culloden, when prince Charles Edward, a hunted fugitive, was seeking concealment in the Western Isles, Flora was on a visit to her brother, in South Uist, where, as it happened, the prince lay hid. The circumstances which induced this young and beautiful girl to become the companion of the prince's wanderings, and the sharer of his dangers and almost unexampled hardships, have never been clearly explained. The most probable account, and no doubt the true one, is, that her stepfather, Hugh Macdonel, though in command of a company of royal militia, was in secret so well disposed towards the cause of the Stuarts, that he was induced to allow his stepdaughter to aid in the prince's escape, and to write privately to him by a trusty messenger, making him the offer. Flora was conducted to the prince at midnight, where in a lonely hut they concerted measures for his escape. The isles were overrun with soldiers; the prince's pursuers had traced him to South Uist, and thirty thousand pounds were offered for his apprehension. It was therefore necessary to be prompt, wary, and courageous, in the attempt, all of which qualities Flora brought to the undertaking. After passing through numerous adventures, concealed in rocks and caves, and exposed to imminent danger, they succeeded in leaving the isle; the prince dressed as a female, and personating the character of Betty Burke, an Irish woman in attendance upon Miss Macdonald. On approaching Skye, the boat was fired upon by the soldiers on shore, and Flora, though the bullets fell thick around her, positively refused the prince's request to lie down in the boat for shelter, unless he would consent to do so also, and he was obliged to yield to her importunities to ensure her safety. They succeeded in effecting a landing in Skye. Here, Flora was called upon to exercise all her skill, fortitude, and courage, in behalf of the prince; and many interesting anecdotes of the romantic incidents connected with her efforts to conceal and aid him in his escape, are on record. She conducted him in safety to Portaree, whose arrangements were made to convey him to a neighbouring island, and parted from him after receiving his warmest assurances of gratitude and regard. Twenty days after they parted the prince escaped to France, but before half that period had elapsed Flora was arrested, and carried on board a vessel of war, where she was confined five months. She was then conveyed to London, and detained under surveillance for eight months. In July, 1747, she was finally set at liberty, by the provisions of the Act of Indemnity. While in London, Flora was visited by people of the highest distinction, and on her departure she was presented with fifteen hundred pounds, which had been subscribed by the Jacobite ladies of the metropolis. In 1750, Flora became the wife of Alexander Macdonald, of Kingsburgh. A few years after, in consequence of the embarrassment of their affairs, they were compelled to emigrate to America, where they settled upon an estate which they purchased in North Carolina. On the breaking out of the revolutionary war, Macdonald sided with the royalist party,

and after the independence was secured, they returned to Skye. Here Flora died, at the advanced age of seventy. By her particular request her body was enclosed and buried in one of the sheets that had been used by the unfortunate prince during the night he rested at Kingsburgh, and which she had preserved, unwashed, for that purpose. Flora Macdonald was the mother of seven children, all of whom were an honour to her name. Dr. Johnson's interview with her is recorded in his "Tour to the Hebrides."

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WAS the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Payne, of Virginia, members of the society of Friends, who manumitted their slaves soon after their marriage, and removed to Pennsylvania. Miss Dolly Payne was educated in Philadelphia, and, when very young, married Mr. Todd, a lawyer in that city, who soon left her a widow, with one son. In 1794, Mrs. Todd became the wife of Mr. James Madison, and went to live on his estates in Virginia, till he was appointed secretary of state, in 1801, when they removed to Washington, where Mrs. Madison won the admiration of all by the charms of her elegant hospitality. Mrs. Madison also presided at the White House, in the absence of Mr. Jefferson's daughters, and her frank and cordial manners gave a peculiar charm to the frequent parties there assembled. But there were individuals who never visited at the president's, nor met at the other ministerial houses, whom Mrs. Madison won, by the sweet influence of her conciliatory disposition, to join her evening circle, and sit at her husband's table-always covered with the profusion of Virginia hospitality, but not always in the style of European elegance. The wife of a foreign minister ridiculed the enormous size and number of the dishes, observing that "it was more like a harvest-home supper, than the entertainment of a secretary of state." Mrs. Madison heard of this and similar remarks, and only answered with a smile, "that she thought abundance was preferable to elegance; that circumstances formed customs, and customs formed taste; and as the profusion, so repugnant to fo

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