CHAPTER II.
1818-1837.

DEATH OF MR STRICKLAND-PUBLICATION OF 'WORCESTER FIELD'-ITALIAN TRANSLATIONS-CAMPBELL AND THE 'NEW MONTHLY'-JUVENILE BOOKS-'LIVES OF THE QUEENS' PROJECTED-INTERVIEW WITH COLBURN-JOINT AUTHORSHIP-PERILS OF LITERARY POPULARITY.

Sorrow, that deep stern lesson sent to chasten the joyous vivacity of young life, had not yet fallen upon Agnes Strickland and her family, till, on the 18th of May 1818, it came heavily down upon them, in the sudden death of the revered and beloved parent, the faithful and loving husband. The blow was sudden, the bereavement appearing yet more terrible from its being wholly unexpected. The widow, with feelings none but those similarly situated can understand, saw her young and numerous family, of which the younger portion were not yet out of childhood, bereft of paternal care when they most required it. The happy union of four-and-twenty years had been in a few sad moments brought to a close. There had been no discord to mar the wedded life of the couple now separated by the inexorable hand of death. Nothing but the extreme sufferings of her husband with hereditary gout had disturbed the tranquil life of the wife with him, though she could not witness his agonising pain BATTLE OF LIFE BEGUN. without feeling every pang in her heart. His patience in sickness, and cheerful spirits when convalescent, were remarkable, and seemed to reward her for all her tender conjugal care. His varied talents and accomplishments, his vast mental stores, fine person, and charming manners, had made her willingly renounce, for his sake, the gaieties of life, though she was nearly twenty years his junior. The loss to her was indeed irreparable, and rendered still heavier by pecuniary losses, which compelled her to practise a rigid and unsocial economy.

"The battle of life" was begun in good earnest, and all were disposed to fight it well and bravely. Agnes hoped to maintain her part of it by the publication of 'Worcester Field; or, The Cavalier,' a work commenced by her before her father's lamented death. She was on the point of quitting with her family the East Anglian metropolis, though not without regret, when the poem was ready for the press. Her guardian-a man of literary taste and talent-hoped he had found for her a publisher in Baldwin, the proprietor of the 'London Magazine,' who admired it, and wished to insert it in monthly parts in his periodical. The sum he offered, though not considerable, would not have been unworthy of the attention of a young unknown author; but, unfortunately, El Dorados usually glitter in the imaginations of poets, and her kind guardian could not induce her to accept the offered remuneration, or open her eyes to the utility of the arrangement he had taken much pains to make for her. She had reason to regret her refusal at a later date; for when a publisher was found, and the poem was in type, his failure caused the sheets to be seized, which occasioned her much anxiety and cost to release the prisoners. The work was finally brought out, at the request of some loving friends, by subscription-a method that confined it, of course, to ITALIAN STUDIES. private circulation. This poem was considered to possess considerable merit, and was much extolled by its kind purchasers. It was followed, two years later, by 'The Seven Ages of Woman,' which was not so popular as 'Worcester Field; or, The Cavalier' had been. The feeling for poetry was fading away, and sober prose had replaced it in the public mind. Indeed the galaxy of illustrious poets who adorned the early part of the nineteenth century had left none to successfully compete with them. Agnes was not then aware that her name was to be celebrated as a prose writer, for she continued "to write in numbers, for the numbers came."

A new source of intellectual pleasure was opened for her by the study of the Italian language-her kind instructor being an elderly cousin of her father, an engraver of some eminence, and a highly accomplished man. He generally passed the summer months at Reydon, where he was a very welcome and beloved guest. Being a man of vast acquirements, a fine musician, a great antiquary, and one who had seen much of life, his company enlivened the solitude of Reydon; and he kindly devoted himself to the task of completing the education of his young cousins, who on their parts took some pains to draw him out of his eccentric old bachelor ways, but of course with very little success. Agnes was a great favourite with this amiable old gentleman, with whom she read Petrarca, Ariosto in select portions, and Dante. Of the most obscure passages of the last he could give a learned exposition. The two Tassos-the father and son-she also studied with him, and soon rendered into flowing verse the beautiful stanzas "Di Lontananza" of Bernardo Tasso, addressed by him to his beloved wife Portia, whom he was destined to behold no more. She was no great admirer of Torquato's 'Gerusalemme,' nor of his heroine Clorinda; for her feminine feelings could not sympathise INTERVIEW WITH CAMPBELL. with a fighting woman, however exquisitely portrayed by the great poet. She translated many sonnets from Petrarca, and other choice pieces, to the infinite delight of her preceptor, many of which afterwards appeared in the 'New Monthly Magazine.'

Her cousin painted a fine miniature of Agnes during one of his visits at Reydon, which is now in the possession of her sister, Mrs Gwillym. This was an excellent likeness of her at the time it was taken, as she was then fuller in person than in more mature years. A cast of her head was afterwards made, somewhat to her regret, though she was an enthusiastic phrenologist; for the operators robbed her of a considerable portion of her magnificent black hair-a costly sacrifice she had no wish to make to science, the admiration her head received from its votaries not consoling a young lady for the injury done to her tresses.

During her first visit to London she had an interview with Campbell, who at that time edited the 'New Monthly Magazine.' He praised her talents, and afterwards described her to his friends as a lovely, interesting creature, full of genius and sensibility. She had the pleasure of shaking hands with Sir Walter Scott, of whose works she was an enthusiastic admirer. But she did not enter into society, for her bachelor cousin and his niece led very secluded lives in Newman Street. The library was, however, stored with rare books in many languages, and portfolios filled with choice prints and fine drawings; and she was amused and happy. Her gifted cousin and her father's dear old friend the Chevalier Giese were her cicerones to public places. The wonders of art contained in the British Museum and National Picture Gallery made the want of lively society little felt to an intelligent young woman. For the first time in her life she saw a play, and was much delighted with the representation of Shakespeare's LITERARY FRIENDS. 'Henry VIII.,' which was strongly cast, and which realised her own vivid conceptions of the characters introduced in that noble drama.

Upon her return to Reydon, she resumed the toilsome uphill work of a comparatively unknown author. She turned her attention to prose, and found in juvenile works the means of obtaining a little ready money. In conjunction with Elizabeth, she wrote a popular book of this kind-'The Rival Crusoes;' then 'Historical Tales of Royal British Children,' published by Hales; and soon after, 'Historical Tales,' published by Parker. These juvenile works made a great impression on Young England, and readily obtained for the author and her younger sisters admission into the juvenile annuals. She was now becoming a popular author, and her contributions to the annuals were generally appreciated, and opened for her an acquaintance with many people of literary celebrity.

In her visits to the metropolis, she found a home with Mrs Leverton, her father's first cousin, a widow lady of fortune, residing in Bedford Square, under whose chaperonage she entered into society. Here she met Mr Sotheby, who presented her with his 'Italy,' and made the acquaintance of many of her father's family, who till then had been personally unknown to her. Under the care of Mrs Leverton she was able to see many influential editors. Of these Mr Jerdan proved a useful friend: he appreciated her talents, and always gave her works favourable reviews. She had made the acquaintance of the learned and eccentric Mr Mitford, the editor of the 'Gentleman's Magazine,' during a journey in which they were fellow-travellers, and his critical pen was likewise at her service.

The intense interest Agnes took in the struggle of the Greeks to shake off the Turkish yoke, made her once more apply her talents to poetry. 'Demetrius,' PLAN OF ENGLISH QUEENS. though the most polished of her poems, was cut up by Fraser the publisher in his own magazine, to the great injury and displeasure of the author, who had rashly published it on her own account. The cause of the Greeks no longer interested the English nation, and the publication of 'Demetrius' caused the author considerable loss.

Agnes again devoted her talents to a prose work, to be published upon the share account-'The Pilgrims of Walsingham,' a series of tales in three volumes, of which she retained the copyright. It produced neither loss nor gain. The time was, however, drawing on when she would abandon light literature for a higher walk, for which her early education and aspirations had prepared her.

Elizabeth, who at...