fashionably-bred ladies, also added to her attractions in
the eyes of thoughtful men.

But whilst to these causes may be attributed her rapid rise into favour,
it was undoubtedly owing to her unswerving and unassuming piety that she
retained for so long the respect, confidence, and affection of varied
orders of mind in London society.

At first she appears to have done little to enforce religious teaching
amongst her acquaintances. Her moral and religious principles were known
by the firm stand she took against common incentives to dissipation and
irreligion--such as card-playing and Sunday entertainments--against the
introduction of questionable topics, unseemly language, and vacuous
frivolity into conversation. Her religious influence, thus far, was
almost a silent or negative one; but it had its effect on others, and
laid the foundation of that direct searching and far-reaching influence,
which, under the Divine blessing, she wielded in later years.

Her interest in young people was notably illustrated by her efforts to
foster the intellectual tastes of Lord Macaulay when a lad. She supplied
him with standard books, which formed the nucleus of an excellent
library, and advised him in his studies. To the child of six she thus
writes:--"Though you are a little boy now, you will one day, if it
please God, be a man; but long before you are a man I hope you will be a
scholar[1]."

[Footnote 1: See _Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay_, by George Otto
Trevelyan, M.P., vol. 1. pp. 35, 36]

When Hannah More began to produce books her reputation rose to literary
fame. In 1775 she wrote a romantic poem, entitled _Sir Eldred of the
Bouer_, with which was published another poem, written earlier, _The
Bleeding Rock_. In the first the element of religion was not forgotten;
and both works met with a flattering reception. Though, as we have seen,
a woman of high Christian tone, with what we should consider strange
inconsistency, she both wrote plays, which were acted, and attended the
theatre herself.

In 1777 her tragedy, _Percy_, was brought out at Covent Garden Theatre.
One of the results of this venture was a shower of invitations to the
author of the play from a new circle of titled and distinguished people.
The play was afterwards translated into German, and performed at Vienna
with notable success.

On the death of Garrick in 1779, Hannah More broke off attendance at the
theatre. Garrick's widow sought relief and solac