~ 
38 
had departed without taking his-leave, be- 
-eaufe fhe had infifted on going with him if 
he was driven to that extremity, which he 
had properly declined, having only 2ol. 
at his command. With the paffion and 
zeal of generous minds, Mis. Robinfon, 
between one and two o’clock in the morn- 
ing, threw herfelf into a poft-chaife to fol- 
Jow him, without. fufficient precautions’ of 
dre(s againf the cold, although it was 
the depth 6f winter, and the weather was 
very fevere. She was agitated, and heated, 
by her apprehenfions ; and Jet down the 
giaffes of the chaife; and, in that fituation 
tell afleep. At the frtt ftage, ff he was 
ebliged to be carried into the inn, almoft 
frozen; and from that hour, never reco- 
vered the entire ufe of her limbs. Fora 
Jong time the joints of her fingers were 
contracted; but they were afterwards par- 
tially reftored, and fhe could even write 
with great facility. But from the time of 
that accident, fhe could never walk nor 
even ftand; and was always carried from 
ene rcom to. another, and te and from her 
carriage, Mrs. Robinfon confoled her- 
felf with having effected the fervice fhe 
_ propofed by this unfortunate journey ; and 
mever once was known peevifhly to lament 
the irreparable confequences. 
Not leng after this, Mrs. Robinfon went 
abroad for the benefit of her health, and 
remained five years on the continent. She 
took with her her daughter, whom fhe 
tenderly loved ; and her mother, to whom 
fhe was always moft affectionate and duti- 
fuJ. And, folaced by the company of 
thefe perfons, enjoying the pleafure of tra. 
velling in an agreeable manner through 
fome of the fineft parts of Europe, and at 
Paris, and every other place, treated with 
the moft profound refpeét and confidera- 
tion by perfons moft diftinguifhed for rank 
er talents, Mrs. Robinfon paffed thofe 
five years with a calm and rational happi- 
nefs that, perhaps, made them the moit 
fortunate period of her life. 
Mrs. Robinfon had not thought of lite- 
rature as a refource, either againit the 
tedium of life, or fer its wants, fince the 
little attempt fhe had made when her huf- 
band was in prifon. On her return to 
England, which was in 17838, fhe began 
thofe literary employments in which fhe 
continued to be engaged, till within a 
very few weeks before her death, with a 
cenftancy, a fpirit of enterprife, and a de- 
gree of fuccels, that cannot fail refpec- 
tively to excite our aftonifhment, when we 
contemplate the difadvantages of a lite, at 
one time too rudely prefied with muisfer- 
tune, at another too much eneryated with 
the refinements of luxury. 
e 
Memoirs of the late Mrs. Robinfon. 
[ Feb. x5 
The chief of her publications are — 
Poems, in two volumes, 8vo. 
Legitimate Sonnets, with Thoughts on 
Poetical Subjects, and Anecdotes of the Gre~ 
cian Poetefs, Sappho. 
A Mouody tothe Memory of the Queen of 
France. . 
A Moxody to the Memory. of Sir Sofoua 
Reynolds: 
Modern Mazuners; a Satire, in tuo 
Cantos, ato. 
The Sicilian Lover,aTr agedy,i in frweAGs, 
Sight; The Cavern of Woe; and Solt- 
tude; three Poems, 4io. 
A ‘Pamphlet i ix Vindication of the Queen 
of France; publifhed without a name. 
A Pamphlet entitled, Thoughts on the 
Condition of Women, and the ” Injuftice of 
Mental Subordination. ~ 
Vancenza, a Romance, 2 Wolse 
The Widow, a Novel, 2 vols. ~ 
Angelina, a Novel, 3 vols. 
Farert de Sevrac, a Romance, 3vols. 
Wa'fngham, a Novel, 4 vols. 
The Falfe Friend, a Novel, 4 wals. 
The Natural Daughter, a Novel, 2 vols. 
Lyrical Tales, 1 vol. crown 8va. 
A Piéture of Palermo, tr anflated from 
Dr. Hagar. 
To the firft edition of her poems, Mrs. 
Robinfon had a fub{cription, that at once 
does honour to herfelf and the patronage 
fhe received. Six hundred perfons of the 
higheft rank or talents were her fubferibers ; 
many of whom took feveral copies, and 
others affifted her greatly beyond the 
amount of their {ubfcriptions. “Mrs. Ro- 
binfon’s beauty was ftill admired; her en- 
gaging manners were ftill. remembered ;- 
her talents had already gained her that: 
name, which men of genius often confer 
by converfation, in literary circles, long 
before the favoured fubjeét of their praife 
is known through the medium of publica-. 
tion. Mrs. Robinfon, at this period, was 
little. lefs an object of attention, a theme of 
fafhion, than in the moment of her entire 
afcendency in the gay world; and for this. 
diftin&tion fhe was indebted folely to her 
fafcinating charms and genius, fince her 
power was fled, and fhe was even then 
falling into the difrepute of | comparative 
adverfity. 
There exifts a literary anecdote that de- 
ferves to be noticed, both as it marks moft 
diftin&tly the adulation univerfally paid to 
Mrs. Robinfon at the time we fpeak of, 
and as it unfolds a little the character and 
fpecies of thofe periodical produétions that 
call themilelves Reviews. When the firft 
edition of Mrs. Robinfon’s Poems (thofe 
in two velumes) appeared, the Rewiews 
beltowed on them a praife, not above their 
/Meritsy 
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