Lady Eliza

“ Now the wicked girl shall get her deserts—my arm shall ache before I give over whipping her I What a horribly fast girl she must be to flirt and go on with officers of the Guards! How do you like that, Miss Eveline? and that? and that?" giving my poor bum three terribly sharp cuts.
I bit my lips to restrain any cries.
"Ha, you don't speak. Just let the naughty girl's drawers down to her knees, will you, Eliza dear?"
"Why, she's a man!" almost screamed Lady Eliza, when the drawers were let loose. "Look, sister! look! Don't spare the horrid creature!" ”

“ Eliza.
[Burns.—Tune, "Gilderoy."—The heroine of this song, some say, was Elizabeth Miller, one of the "Mauchline Belles;" others avow that she was Elizabeth Black, afterwards Mrs. Stewart, a vintner in Alva; while John Gait is of opinion that the real lady was a relative of his own, named Elizabeth Barbour.]
From thee, Eliza, I must go,
⁠And from my native shore;
The cruel fates between us throw
⁠A boundless ocean's roar:
But boundless oceans, roaring wide
⁠Between my love and me,
They never, never can divide
⁠My heart and soul from thee. ”

“ It is better sometimes to pretend not to see things.
ELIZA'S MOTHER
I generally send Eliza to spend a day with her mother early in December, and try to cheer her up a little. I daresay the old lady is very lonely, and appreciates the kindly thought. The return ticket is four-and-two, and Eliza generally buys a few flowers to take with her. That does not leave much change out of five shillings when the day is over, but I don't grudge the money. Eliza's mother generally tries to find out, without precisely asking, what we should like for a Christmas present. ”

“ MRS. DRAPER, the Lady who has been so celebrated as the Correspondent of Mr. Sterne under the name of Eliza, will naturally attract the notice of the Public. That she was deserving of the encomiums bestowed upon her by that admirable writer will appear from the following eulogium written by the excellent Abbé Raynal, which I transmit to you for publication in your next Magazine.
I am, yours, &c.
A. T. 282Territory of Anjengo, thou art nothing; but thou hast given birth to Eliza. A day will come, when these staples of commerce, founded by the Europeans on the coasts of Asia, will exist no more. ”

“ Taylor from the caravan, to promise inoffensive companionship down the Red Sea. Calm was the prospect. But Eliza is Eliza. And we have not yet seen Eliza in close contact with another lady. Nor have we yet seen Mrs. Tulloch.
IV
The beauty of the Gulf of Suez—and surely it is most beautiful—has never received full appreciation from the traveller. He is in too much of a hurry to arrive or to depart, his eyes are too ardently bent on England or on India for him to enjoy that exquisite corridor of tinted mountains and radiant water. ”

“ So when Lady Eskdale invited Eliza to return with her to the Castle for a few days, no objection was made, and Eliza set off in a most hopeful state of mind. Her Extract Book, carefully padlocked, accompanied her, and it seemed likely that its gloomy contents might be enlivened with a few sonnets to "Hope," and "Peace of mind."
"Did you tell my aunt to ask her?" whispered Ernest to Helen, as they sat down to dinner nearly opposite to Eliza. "Certainly not," she said, laughing; "she is a nice little thing ”

“ Taking Leave of all the Town, before my departure to morrow.
21. detaind by Lord & Lady Spencer who had made a party to dine & sup on my Acct. Impatient to set out for my Solitude—there the Mind, Eliza! gains strength, & learns to lean upon herself—and seeks refuge in its own Constancy & Virtue—in the world it seeks or accepts of a few treacherous supports—the feign’d Compassion of one—the flattery of a second—the Civilities of a third—the friendship of a fourth—they all deceive—& bring the Mind back to where mine is retreating—that is Eliza! ”

“ Full-dress balls succeeded the fancy balls, and in the hight of the season at Saratoga the ball-room presented a magnificent sight. The wealthiest persons in the country were there congregated, each trying to outvie the other in magnificence and costliness of apparel. The jewels that sparkled amid fine laces and rich silks were only outshone by the beauty of those they adorned. The proud lady of fashion was there, who, having outlived all her better feelings, was only happy, only really existed amid such scenes ”

“ Selinda was a young lady very much celebrated for an uncommon share of wit and understanding; and being endowed with every thing me could wish for in life, she imagined not that such a one would discontent herself with any fancied ills. To her therefore she resolved to apply, and in a few days made her a visit, with all that form which is made use of among people who live in the great world, and are not sufficiently acquainted with each other, to have made a mutual agreement to throw off those tiresome and indeed unnecessary ceremonies. ”

“ Here on the broad verandas, as we rock and dream the lazy days away, visions visit me of the old hotel at Pass Christian in the forties. The oaks and three China trees in front of the veranda, and the view of the nearby waters, the whistle of mocking-birds among the china berries (thank heaven! sparrows have not found this Elysium) lend additional force to the semblance. One old lady, who hunts not, neither does she fish, rocks on the sunny veranda and dreams, as is the wont of those who have lived beyond their day and generation. ”

“ Society is made up of varieties; but it is easy for the humblest servant to distinguish the well-born and highly-bred lady, under the plainest garb, from the parvenu woman, whose sudden good luck and well-filled purse dresses her in lace, seats her in a carriage, and places her in circles where she is more endured than courted. ”

“ I have never been so much favoured by so fine a young lady."
Harriet looked reproachfully at Mr. Wilson for having betrayed to Major Steifenbiegen her wish for the introduction; but Wilson afterwards took an opportunity of making her understand that she had nothing to fear; the field-officer being entirely guiltless of the sin of vanity—as far, at least, as regarded the ladies. ”

“ It was during her stay Minnie's reception came off. I told this lady what an affair it was: Three servants elegantly dressed—one at the hall door, one on the stairway, and one at the parlor door to announce the guests. I told her the number of invitations sent out, the splendor of the tables, and what was on them. There were hundreds of dollars spent in flowers scattered hither and thither through the rooms. ”

“ He was a fine looking man, in the prime of life, kind and courteous in his manners, and was possessed of immense wealth. From the moment of his first visit, I saw that he was enamored of my young lady. She, dazzled by his wealth, had accepted the offer of his hand, and they were soon to be married.
"When the appointed time arrived, my young lady went to the altar a not unwilling bride, for she loved position and wealth; and had never been contented with her lot since her father's failure; but I knew, from observing her closely, that she had never felt any love for her intended husband. ”

“ The Truth by one of you shall be reveal'd. —Beauplaisir being brought to the Bed side, was beginning to address himself to the Lady in it, to beg she would clear the Mistake her Mother was involv'd in; when she, covering herself with the Cloaths, and ready to die a second Time with the inward Agitations of her Soul, shriek'd out, Oh, I am undone! – I cannot live, and bear this Shame! ”

“ All ladies are not alike, any more than working people, they should be more charitable toward Iangy, for she has been with them all her life, and like a child with its nurse, she has imbibed something of their disposition."
"I would like to see Iangy," said the lady, "and as I intend giving a party for children next week, I will send for her to come and take charge of the little ones." ”

“ I do not call those ladies who drive around, call on ladies, and invite them to their parties without knowing them. I have frequently been asked who is such-and-such a lady as I have been invited to a party to her house."
I saw the ladies were getting very uneasy and restless under my sarcastic remarks, and one of them, a lady I had worked for for some years, I thought a great deal of, now said, "Iangy, you are too much excited, you don't know what you are saying." ”

“ I have often been amused in passing through the saloon—which, I have before mentioned, was at the head of the stairs, and was mostly used by courting characters, as a lady, gentleman or servant would not think of stopping one instant there if they saw a lady and gentleman in conversation—to see one of these young lords and a lady ”

“ Eliza owned to a "sneaking kindness for people of quality." But Mary cared only for a man's intrinsic merit. His rank could not cover his faults. Therefore, with the misery and destitution of so many men and women staring her in the face, the amusements and occupations of the few within Lady Kingsborough's household continually grated upon her finer instincts.
In the winter of 1788 the family went to Dublin, and Mary accompanied them. She liked the society of the capital no better than she had that of the country. ”

“ We think that gentlemen lose a particle of their respect for young ladies who allow their names to be abbreviated into such cognomens as Kate, Madge, Bess, Nell, &c. Surely it is more lady-like to be called Catharine, Margaret, Eliza, or Ellen. ”

“ I always did hate to get hold of any one on their first appearance at the springs, unless they were ladies of great refinement, and used to a good deal of gayety, as, if not, their whole trouble was to look better than Miss So-and-So. I know a number of ladies, who actually, when they got to the springs, were so dissatisfied with their wardrobe, that they had a full wardrobe made up to suit the times.
Having finished dressing this lady and heard all she could tell me, I went down in search of some other ladies, who I thought might be through with their breakfast. ”

“ Well, honey, them two lost flowers jest haunt me. They're like dead children. You know a house may be full o' livin' children, but if there's one dead, a mother'll see its face and hear its voice above all the others, and that's the way with my lost flowers. No matter how many roses and chrysanthemums I have, I keep seein' Old Lady Elrod's yeller roses danglin' from Miss Penelope's gyirdle, and that bed o' pink chrysanthemums under Dr. Pendleton's dinin'-room windows. ”

“ This season the Germania Band was there, and I have often been amused, while listening to the music, to see the different dresses, different appearances, and different cliques.
There were five ladies there from the neighborhood of Philadelphia, all of one family. These were all beautiful and very elegant in every respect. Though the ladies did not associate with them much, they were great belles with the gentlemen; they did not care much for the ladies' society, as they knew they were on the strong side. Three of those ladies were married, one was a widow, and the other a young lady. ”

“ Hearing that voice, she would make mock of herself for ever having feared Eliza's tongue, still more for ever having cared enough to honour her with hate. A small thing then would be the great Eliza, in spite of her size, beside the mother for whom the dead had been made alive. She would talk with Eliza as the gods talk when they speak with the humble human from invisible heights. So strong was the vision that she found herself framing the godlike sentences with gracious ease. The silver teaspoons clinked against the cups, and the visitor's tea was fragrant in the musty room. ”

“ A statuary who would have wished to represent Voluptuousness, would have taken her for his model; and she would equally have served for him who might have had a figure of Modesty to display. Even the gloomy and clouded sky of England had not been able to obscure the brightness of that aërial kind of soul, unknown in our climates. In every thing that Eliza did, an irresistible charm was diffused around her. Desire, but of a timid and bashful cast, followed her steps in silence. Any man of courteousness alone must have loved her, but would not have dared to own his passion. ”

“ Fortunate Sterne, thou art no more, and I am left behind. I wept over thee with Eliza; thou wouldst weep over her with me; and had it been the will of Heaven, that you had both survived me, your tears would have fallen together upon my grave.
The men were used to say, that no woman had so many graces as Eliza: the women said so too. They all praised her candour; they all extolled her sensibility; they were all ambitious of the honour of her acquaintance. The stings of envy were never pointed against unconscious merit. ”

“ But trust my declaration, Eliza, that thy husband (if he is the good, feeling man I wish him) will press thee to him with more honest warmth and affection, and kiss thy pale, poor, dejected face, with more transport, than he would be able to do, in the best bloom of all thy beauty;—and so he ought, or I pity him. He must have strange feelings, if he knows not the value of such a creature as thou art! ”

“ Those who have known her tenderness for me, the confidence she had bestowed upon me, will they not say to me, She is no more, and yet thou livest.
Eliza intended to quit her country, her relations, her friends, to take up her residence along with me, and spend her days in the midst of mine. What happiness had I not promised to myself? What joy did I not expect, from seeing her sought after by men of genius; and beloved by women of the nicest taste? I said to myself, Eliza is young, and thou art near thy latter end. It is she who will close thine eyes. ”