Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 49.djvu/38

 mistress was recognised. After no long period the prince, who had transferred his ‘interest’ to another ‘fair one,’ wrote her a cold note intimating that they must meet no more. One further meeting was brought about by her pertinacity, but the rupture was final. The royal bond was unpaid, and Mrs. Robinson, knowing how openly she had been compromised, dared not face the public and resume the profession she had dropped. Ultimately, when all her letters had been left unanswered and she was heavily burdened with debt and unable to pay for her establishment in Cork Street, Fox granted her in 1783 a pension of 500l. a year, half of which after her death was to descend to her daughter. She then went to Paris, where she attracted much attention, and declined overtures from the Duke of Orleans; she also received a purse netted by the hands of Marie-Antoinette, who (gratified, no doubt, by the repulse administered to Philippe d'Orléans) addressed it to ‘La Belle Anglaise.’ In Paris she is said to have opened an academy. Returning to England, she settled at Brighton. Report, which is sanctioned by Horace Walpole, coupled her name with Charles James Fox. She formed a close intimacy, extending over many years, with Colonel (afterwards Sir Banastre) Tarleton, an officer in the English army in America. In a journey undertaken in his behalf, when he was in a state of pecuniary difficulty, she contracted an illness that ended in a species of paralysis of her lower limbs.

From this period she devoted herself to literature, for which she had always shown some disposition. She had already published, besides her poems (1775), ‘Captivity,’ a poem, and ‘Celadon and Lydia,’ a tale, both printed together in 4to in 1777. Two further volumes of poems saw the light in 1791, 8vo; ‘Angelina,’ a novel, 3 vols. 12mo, in 1796. ‘The False Friend,’ a domestic story, 4 vols. 12mo, in 1799, ‘Lyrical Tales’ in 1800, and ‘Effusions of Love,’ 8vo, n.d., purporting to be her correspondence with the Prince of Wales. She is also credited with ‘Vaucenza, or the Dangers of Credulity,’ a novel, 1792; ‘Walsingham, or the Pupil of Nature,’ a domestic story, 2nd ed. 4 vols. 12mo, 1805, twice translated into French; and ‘Sappho and Phaon,’ a series of sonnets, 1796, 16mo. ‘Hubert de Sevrac,’ a ‘Monody to the Memory of Sir Joshua Reynolds,’ and a ‘Monody to the Memory of the late Queen of France,’ ‘Sight,’ ‘The Cavern of Woe,’ and ‘Solitude’ were published together in 4to. To these may be added ‘The Natural Daughter,’ ‘Impartial Reflections on the Situation of the Queen of France,’ and ‘Thoughts on the Condition of Women.’ Halkett and Laing attribute to her a ‘Letter to the Women of England on the Injustice of Mental Subordination, with Anecdotes by Anne Frances Randall,’ London, 1799, 8vo. Under the pseudonym of Laura Maria, she published ‘The Mistletoe,’ a Christmas tale, in verse, 1800. She is said to have taken part under various signatures, in the Della Cruscan literature [see ], and is, by a strange error, credited in ‘Literary Memoirs of Living Authors,’ 1798 [by David Rivers, dissenting minister of Highgate], with being the Anna Matilda of the ‘World,’ who was of course Hannah Cowley [q. v.] Many other poems, tracts, and pamphlets of the latter part of the eighteenth century are ascribed to her, often on very doubtful authority. Her latest poetical contributions were contributed to the ‘Morning Post’ under the signature, ‘Tabitha Bramble.’ Mrs. Robinson's poems were collected by her daughter. What is called the best edition, containing many pieces not previously published, appeared in 1806, 3 vols. 8vo. Another edition appeared in 1826. Her memoirs, principally autobiographical but in part due to her daughter, appeared, 4 vols. 12mo, 1801; with some posthumous pieces in verse, again in 2 vols. 1803; and again, with introduction and notes by Mr. J. Fitzgerald Molloy, in 1894.

Mrs. Robinson was also active as a playwright. To Drury Lane she gave ‘Nobody,’ a farce, never printed, but acted, 29 Nov. 1794, by Banister, jun., Bensley, Barrymore, Mrs. Jordan, Miss Pope, Mrs. Goodall, and Miss de Camp. It was a satire on female gamblers. It was played three or four times amid a scene of great confusion, ladies of rank hissing or sending their servants to hiss. A principal performer, supposed to be Miss Farren, threw up her part, saying that the piece was intended to ridicule her particular friend. Mrs. Robinson also wrote the ‘Sicilian Lover,’ a tragedy, 4to, 1796, but could not get it acted.

Mary Robinson died, crippled and impoverished, at Englefield Cottage, Surrey, on 26 Dec. 1800, aged 40 (according to the tombstone, 43). She was buried in Old Windsor churchyard. Poetic epitaphs by J. S. Pratt and ‘C. H.’ are over her grave. Her daughter, Maria or Mary Elizabeth, died in 1818; the latter published ‘The Shrine of Bertha,’ a novel, 1794, 2 vols. 12mo, and ‘The Wild Wreath,’ 1805, 8vo, a poetical miscellany, dedicated to the Duchess of York.

Mrs. Robinson was a woman of singular beauty, but vain, ostentatious, fond of exhibiting herself, and wanting in refinement. Her desertion by the prince and her subsequent calamities were responsible for her