PREFACE. THOUGH the introductory chapter contains an explicit statement of the views of the writer, and an ample apology for a biographical memoir of this description, it may be necessary to apprise the reader that the facts here related are brought forward merely as illustrative of character, and not to indulge a splenetic disposition, or to grati. fy an idle curiosity. It is possible, however, that some persons will be offended with what is here narrated, and the reflections to which the incidents have given rise; while others, perhaps, may feel resentment at the disclosure of circumstances that have a tendency to weaken their admiration of men of eminence: but, in justification of the author, let it be considered that morality is of great value than genius, and that the precepts and institutions of religion are of infi nitely more consequence than temporal glory. When, therefore, any of those, who have risen above their contemporaries by their performances, are found remarkably deficient in those duties which constitute the only points of efficient example, the causes of their errors, and the consequences of their follies ought to be plainly related, that historic truth may not be injured by partial representations, nor the power of virtue weakened by the influence of splendid names. But, if, after all, any reasonable objection shall be made to what is detailed in these sheets, or the slightest wound be inflicted thereby on the feelings of those who have a claim to respect, for their connexions and their virtues, the author will be the first to condemn the offensive page, and to remove, by retraction, the impression which it may have made; being herein animated by the sentiment of the greatest of poets, -Επος δ' ειπες τι βεβακται If any words offend the candid mind, Far, far away those words, ye whirlwinds, bear, MEMOIRS OF LADY HAMILTON, CHAPTER I. Nothing extenuate, THE maxim, that " nothing should be said of the dead, but what is good," though it has become proverbial by the frequency of repetition, and the benevolence which it seems to inculcate, is too often made an excuse for error, and an apology for depravity. But whatever may be the nature or the extent of the rule, it never could have been intended to operate as an act of indemnity, to cover in oblivion the deeds of those who have endeavoured to loosen the foundations of morality by their principles, or to render vice attractive by their example. The precept of the ancients must be regarded as equivalent to the universal duty of doing strict justice to all concerning whom we may be called to give the testimony of our knowledge, and of adhering rigidly to truth, without any mixture of prejudice, in what we relate of the conduct of others, whether they are in the capacity of speaking for themselves, or are placed beyond the possibility of being affected by our praise or our censure. Were the doctrine otherwise, and did it lay survivors at all times, and in every circumstance, under the immutable obligation of concealing the obliquities of those who have been removed from this busy stage, where every action of the humblest individual has some connexion with his contemporaries, and effect on posterity, history would be no better than romance, by depriving mankind of the lessons for the regulation of life which are afforded by the contemplation of human infirmity. Coloured by the partiality of friendship, and shaded by an excess of liberality, the examples, even of the most upright men, would lose much of their efficacy for the want of being rendered familiar by those peculiar touches of character, which can alone enable the mind to form a correct estimate of those qualities which are the object of admiration. Active virtue is most brilliant in the resistance of temptations, and in that conflict which brings the passions under the dominion of reason. The nature of this trial, and the value of the conquest, cannot be duly appreciated without closely inspecting human nature in the varieties of public and private life. In this study, the whole of man must be investigated, if any improvement is expected from the inquiry; but that will be looked for in vain, unless the ruling principle of the mind is distinctly marked, the favourite pursuits are clearly exhibited, and all the circumstances related to them are faithfully detailed, and minutely observed. No judgment is to be formed of men from particular occurrences; and it would be as useless to think of obtaining a correct knowledge of their real character in the bustle of the world, as it would be idle to leave the completion of our own to the meditations of a cloister. Virtue and vice are often so confounded in this world, through the ignorance and weakness of mankind, that to be guarded against the frequent artifices which are used to pass off the one for the other, it is necessary that both should be examined as they appear recorded in the lives of those who have distinguished themselves by their |