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placing levity to her account. The following letters,

amongst many others, afford a convincing proof of the truth of this assertion.

"Nathan,

I am, and have been very ill; it would perhaps cure me if you could come and sing to me, 'Oh Mariamne'-now will you? I entreat you, the moment you have this letter, come and see me, and I promise you that if I get well I will come to your Theatre but I use no bribe, I merely ask-come and soothe one who ought to be happy, but is not. I enclose this to Miss Richardson."

Yours, with much truth,

To I. Nathan, Esq.

CAROLINE LAMB.

Lady Caroline Lamb was generous and kindhearted in the extreme, and would forget all personal danger, or what might be termed the mere etiquette of appearances, in guarding against the illiberal and censorious, to forward the views of any distressed per

son, and in her own words, "the knowledge that a human being was unhappy, at once erased from her mind, the recollection either of enmity or of error;" (a) The following anecdote, will fully illustrate the true benevolence of her heart.

A few years previously to her death, Lady Caroline Lamb requested my interest in procuring the assistance of some professional singers to perform at a concert about to take place at her house in Conduit Street, for the benefit of a Lady in distressed circumstances. I proposed the powerful aid of Miss Love's rich voice. Lady Caroline instantly exclaimed, "Oh! do ask her to come-will my writing to her assist you? and immediately seated herself as if to pen the necessary epistle, when instead of a letter to Miss Love, as expected, I received the following hieroglyphical card, neatly executed.

(a) Graham Hamilton speaking of Lady Orville.

[graphic][merged small]

My Dear Sir,

From the Conservatory at Brockett Hall,
In the beautiful Month of May.

I think your book delightful, and am much flattered by your sending it to me. I have not yet sent it to Lady John, as I wished to write with it. I shall send to purchase a copy immediately, and shall take every opportunity of recommending it. I think I must ask you to come here one day next week, when every thing is in bloom: thank you for my song. I gave one copy to Lady Cork, who is here, and she has nieces who play and sing very well. This weather is too delightful. Believe me, when I tell you, if I can serve you at any time, or in any way, I shall be most happy. I mean to send Mrs. Nathan Ada Reis, in return for her remembering me. Tell my God-daughter to love me.

And believe me,

Yours, with truth,

To I. Nathan, Esq.

CAROLINE LAMB.

I wrote these lines in Hebrew on a melancholy occasion, and sent them with the literal translation to Lady Caroline Lamb, entreating her Ladyship's goodness to turn them into verse, that they might be engraven in the hearts and minds of my six very young children, as a memento of their highly talented, virtuous, amiable, and inestimable mother.

מול כציץ! ותברח כצל רוחה,

בהקשותיה

בלדתה יצאה נפשה בפרח

נערותיה:

היא תישנה! וער נפשת: שער שמים פתח לה. לקבל נשמתה

אתה תרום למרום קרניה: להתעדן! בגן עדן נשמתה; לאכול פרי מעשי:

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