Life And Letters Of Maria Edgeworth/Volume 1/Letter 118

MARIA to MISS RUXTON.

EDGEWORTHSTOWN, Jan. 1, 1820.

Have you seen a life of Madame de Staël by that Madame Neckar de Saussure, of whom Madame de Staël said, when some one asked, "What sort of woman is she?" "Elle a tous les talents qu'on me suppose, et toutes les vertus qui me manquent." Is not that touching and beautiful?

Jan. 14.

Poor Kitty Billamore breathed her last this morning at one o'clock. A more faithful, warm-hearted, excellent creature never existed. How many successions of children of this family she has nursed, and how many she has attended in illness and death, regardless of her own health! I am glad that sweet, dear little feeling Francis, her darling, was spared being here at her death. Harriet, who, next to him, had always been a great favourite, was with her to the last. All the poor people loved her, and will long feel her loss. Lovell intends that she should be buried in the family vault, as she deserves, for she was more a friend than a servant, and he will attend her funeral himself.

Having finished the memoirs of her father's life, and settled that they should be published at Easter, Maria determined to indulge herself in what she had long projected&mdash;a visit to Paris with two of her young sisters, Fanny and Harriet. They set out on the 3rd of April.