If to the seraglio you brought her,

Where for slaves their maidens they sell, I'm sure tho' the Grand Seignior bought her, He'd soon turn a slave to Lepel.

Had I Hanover, Bremen, and Verden,
And likewise the Duchy of Zell!
I'd part with them all for a farthing,
To have my dear Molly Lepel.

Or were I the King of Great Britain,
To choose a minister well,

And support the throne that I sit on,
I'd have under me Molly Lepel.

Of all the bright beauties so killing,
In London's fair city that dwell,
None can give me such joy were she willing,
As the beautiful Molly Lepel.

What man would not give the great Ticket,
To his share if the benefit fell,

To be but one hour in a thicket,
With the beautiful Molly Lepel.

Should Venus now rise from the ocean,
And naked appear in her shell,

She would not cause half the emotion,
That we feel from dear Molly Lepel.

Old Orpheus, that husband so civil,
He followed his wife down to hell,
And who would not go to the devil,

For the sake of dear Molly Lepel.

Her lips and her breath are much sweeter,
Than the thing which the Latins call mel;
Who would not thus pump for a metre,
To chime to dear Molly Lepel.

In a bed you have seen pinks and roses;
Would
you know a more delicate smell,
Ask the fortunate man who reposes
On the bosom of Molly Lepel.

"Tis a maxim most fit for a lover,
If he kisses he never should tell:
But no tongue can ever discover

His pleasure with Molly Lepel.

Heaven keep our good king from a rising,
But that rising who's fitter to quell,
Than some lady with beauty surprising,
And who should that be but Lepel?

If Curll would print me this sonnet,
To a volume my verses should swell;
A fig for what Dennis says on it,

He can never find fault with Lepel.

Then Handel to music shall set it;
Thro' England my ballad shall sell;
And all the world readily get it,

To sing to the praise of Lepel.

On the 25th of October, 1720, when in her twentieth year, Miss Lepel accepted the hand of the celebrated John, Lord Hervey. About the period of their marriage, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu writes to her sister, Lady Mar,

"The most considerable incident that has happened a good while was the ardent affection that Mrs. Hervey, and her dear spouse,* took to me.

* Lord Hervey at this period had not attained to the title. His elder brother, Carr, Lord Hervey, survived till the 15th November, 1723.

They visited me twice or thrice a day, and were perpetually cooing in my rooms. I was complaisant a great while; but, (as you know,) iny talent has never lain much that way; I grew at last so weary of those birds of paradise, I fled to Twickenham, as much to avoid their persecutions as for my own health, which is still in a declining way." Notwithstanding the " perpetual cooing" here referred to, the married life of Lord and Lady Hervey is said to have been distinguished, at a later period, rather by a well-bred civility, than any apparent remains of an ardent or romantic attachment.*

The misunderstanding which took place between Pope and her husband, effectually put an end to the long and friendly intercourse which

* See Lady M. W. Montagu's Works, v. 1. p. 69. Ed. 1837. On the contrary, the editor of Lady Hervey's Letters, observes,— "Neither her own vivacity nor the indulgence of a court appear to have betrayed Lady Hervey into the neglect of any of her duties. She was fondly attached to Lord Hervey's person, she respected and admired his talents, and revered his memory." Lady Hervey's Letters, Biog. Sketch. p. 9. Lady Hervey herself writes to the Reverend Edmund Morris, on the 31st. of October, 1743, about two months after her husband's death," The misfortunes Mrs. Phipps can have met with are few and slight compared to those I have experienced; I see and feel the greatness of this last in every light, but I will struggle to the utmost, and though I know, at least I think, I can never be happy again, yet I will be as little miserable as possible, and will make use of the reason I have to soften, not to aggravate, my affliction." Lady Hervey's Letters,

p. 14.

had existed between Lady Hervey and the great poet. Pope, however, though he grew to detest the husband, was still ready to do justice to the wife; and in his memorable letter to Lord Hervey, pays a last tribute to the "merit, beauty, and vivacity," of his charming friend.

The friendship, too, which had existed between Lady Hervey and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu appears to have been of short duration. A coldness sprang up between them, to which we shall presently have to allude, and it seems to be in consequence of Lady Mary considering herself the party aggrieved, that we are to attribute those slighting and almost illnatured remarks in her celebrated letters, whenever she has occasion to introduce the name of Lady Hervey. The circumstances of their misunderstanding were as follow:

One of Lady Hervey's most valued friends was a Mrs. Murray, a grand-daughter of the first Earl of Marchmont, and a woman of considerable accomplishments of person as well as mind.*

* Griselda Baillie, daughter of Mr. Baillie of Jerviswood, and a near relation of Bishop Burnet, became the wife, in 1710, of Mr. afterwards Sir A. Murray, of Stanhope. She died in 1759. Lady Hervey says of her, in recording her loss,"Never in my long life, did I ever meet with a creature in all respects like her: many have excelled her, perhaps, in particular qualities; but none that ever I met with have equalled her in all. Sound good sense, strong judgment, great sagacity, strict honour, truth, and sincerity; a most affectionate disposition of mind; constant and steady; not obstinate; great indul

About the month of October, 1721, Mrs. Murray obtained a most unenviable notoriety, in consequence of a criminal attempt made upon her by one of her own footmen, a man of the name of Arthur Grey. This individual, it appears, entered her chamber in the middle of the night, and presenting a pistol at her breast, swore that, unless she would consent to gratify his passion, he would take her life. Either terror or virtue, however, gave strength to her arm, and she had already succeeded in wresting the pistol from her assailant, when her screams brought her the assistance which she required. The man was immediately seized, and Mrs. Murray giving her evidence against him at the Old Bailey, he was sentenced to be transported for life.

The publicity given to this unfortunate affair must have been sufficiently painful to most women; while, to a person who, like Mrs. Mur

gence to others; a most sweet, cheerful temper; and a sort of liveliness and good-humour, that promoted innocent mirth wherever she came." Lady Hervey's Letters, p. 254. Horace Walpole writes to Sir Horace Mann on the 22nd of June, 1759, "A much older friend of yours is just dead, my Lady Murray. She caught her death by too strict attendance on her sister, Lady Binning, who has been ill. They were a family of love, and break their hearts for her. She had a thousand good qualities; but no mortal was ever so surprised as I when I was first told that she was the nymph Arthur Grey would have ravished. She had taken care to guard against any more such dangers by more wrinkles than ever twisted round a human face." Walpole's Letters, v. 3, p. 4458.