HANNAH MORE AND AITIT YEAHSLEY. 



175 



HANNAH MOEE AND ANN YEAESLEY. 



"I was well acquainted with Ann 

 Yearsley," says Cottle, "and my 

 friendship for Hannah More did 

 not blind my eyes to the merits of 

 her opponent. Candour exacts the 

 acknowledgment that the Bristol 

 milkwoman was a very extraordi- 

 nary individual. Her natural abi- 

 lities were eminent, united with 

 which she possessed an unusually 

 sound masculine understanding, 

 and altogether evinced, even in 

 her countenance, the unequivocal 

 marks of genius. 



" It has been customary to charge 

 her with ingratitude (at which all 

 are ready to take fire), but without 

 sufficient cause, as the slight ser- 

 vices I rendered her were repaid 

 with a superabundant expression 

 of thankfulness. What then must 

 have been the feelings of her heart 

 towards Mrs. Hannah More, to 

 whom her obligations were so sur- 

 passing ? 



" The merits of the question in- 

 volved in the dissension between 

 Ann Yearsley and Mrs. Hannah 

 More lie in a small compass, and 

 they deserve to be faithfully stated. 

 The public are interested in the 

 refutation of charges of ingrati- 

 tude, which, if substantiated, would 

 tend to repress assistance towards 

 the humbler children of genius. 

 The baneful effects arising from a 

 charge of ingratitude in Ann Years- 

 ley towards her benefactress might 

 be the proximate means of doom- 

 ing to penury and death some un- 

 born Chattertou, or of eclipsing 

 the sun of a future Burns. 



" Hannah More discovered that 

 the woman who supplied her fa- 

 mily daily with milk was a re- 

 spectable poetess. She collected 

 her productions, and published 

 them for her benefit, with a recom- 

 mendatory address. The- poems, 

 as they deserved, became popular, 

 doubtless, in a great degree, through 



I the generous and influential support 

 ' of Mrs. H. More ; and the profits of 

 the sale amounted to some hun- 

 dreds of pounds. 



" The money thus obtained the 

 milkwoman wished to receive her- 

 self, for the promotion of herself in 

 life, and the assistance of her two 

 promising sons, who inherited much 

 of their mother's talent. Hannah 

 More, on the contrary, in conjunc- 

 tion with Mrs. Montague, thought 

 it most advisable to place the money 

 in the funds, in the joint names of 

 herself and Mrs. Montague, as trus- 

 tees for Ann Yearsley, so that she 

 might receive a small permanent 

 support through life. 



" The great error on the part of 

 the milkwoman was in not pre- 

 vailing on some friend thus to in- 

 terfere, and calmly to state her 

 case ; instead of which, in a disas- 

 trous moment, she undertook to 

 plead her own cause, and, without 

 the slightest intention of giving 

 offence, called on her patroness. 

 Ann Yearsley 's suit, no doubt, was 

 urged with a zeal approaching to 

 impetuosity, and not expressed in 

 that measured language which pro- 

 priety might have dictated, and 

 any deficiency in which could not 

 fail to offend her polished and 

 powerful patroness. 



" Ann Yearsley obtained her ob- 

 ject, but she lost her friend. Her 

 name, from that moment, was 

 branded with ingratitude ; and se- 

 vere indeed was the penalty en- 

 tailed on her by this act of indis- 

 cretion. Her good name, with the 

 rapidity of the eagle's pinion, was 

 forfeited. Her talents, in a largo 

 circle, at once became questionable, 

 or vanished away. Her assumed 

 criminality also was magnified into 

 audacity, in daring to question the 

 honour or oppose the wishes of two 

 such women as Mrs. Hannah More 

 and Mrs. Montague. And thus, 

 through this disastrous turn of af- 

 fairs, a dark veil was suddenly 



