t events of
which she speaks, and the scenes which she witnessed, upon a powerful
and original mind. It abounds with profound reflections and brilliant
remarks. The style, eloquent and impassioned, is in a high degree
conversational, and, as we read it, we almost expect to hear the sound
of the voice. The remarkable talent for discrimination and delineation
of character, which distinguish her as a novelist, lead us to regret
that it did not come within the design of the work to furnish us with
historical portraitures of the distinguished personages of the period.
The few which she has given us, increase our regret, and mark her as a
mistress in the art.

LADY HESTER STANHOPE.

The third Earl of Stanhope, father of the subject of our present
sketch, possessed abilities which qualified him for any station; yet
he devoted his ample fortune, his time, and his thoughts, to mechanics
and to experiments in science and philosophy; with what success, the
Stanhope printing press, many improvements in the process of
stereotype printing, and his various papers on the electric fluid, are
evidence. He married a daughter of the great Earl of Chatham; and of
this marriage, Lady Hester Stanhope was the earliest fruit. She was
born in 1776.

[Illustration: LADY HESTER STANHOPE.]

Genius was the only inheritance she received from her father. Upon the
death of her mother, which happened when she was young, she was
received into the house of her uncle, William Pitt, the younger, and
was there brought up. Between this minister and his brother-in-law
there was little sympathy of opinion. Stanhope was an enthusiast for
the improvement of social institutions, and hailed the French
revolution as the beginning of the change which he hoped for. So
confident was he in those views, as to urge upon his children the
necessity of qualifying themselves to earn a living by some honest
calling. He could not approve the measures which the minister now
adopted; and, as his children adhered in principle to their uncle, he
renounced them, saying, "that, as they had chosen to be saddled on the
public purse, they must take the consequences."

The genius and originality of Lady Hester made her an especial
favorite with her uncle. She presided at his table, and he evinced his
respect for her abilities, by employing her, after his retirement from
office, as his secretary. Though to the multitude this great statesman
appeared cold and unbending, with