THE MODERN SPECTATOR No. XXIV

TO THE MODERN SPECTATOR, IN MR. ACKERMANN'S REPOSITORY OF ARTS, &c. SIR,

--I have long and repeatedly determined to address you on the subject of a plan I have in contemplation, and which I now offer to your serious, attentive, and, as I flatter myself, favourable, regard. But before it will be possible for you to give a judicious opinion on the subject, it will be essentially necessary for you to become acquainted with the leading circumstances of my past life, and from what source those motives have arisen which have induced me to engage in a correspondence with you.

You may smile, perhaps, and some of your readers may follow your example, when I assure you, that I am by no means ashamed of being an OLD MAID--such is my present situation, and my origin I shall very briefly tell you.

I am the daughter of an officer in the army, who left me so little that it can scarcely be called a fortune; and as for beauty, that kind of personal property was pretty much upon a par with my real possessions. All I shall say of my figure is, that it did not want height, as I was upwards of six feet high, without the elevating aid of pattens. My father, however, for he was the best of men, though he was disappointed of that promotion which he well deserved, having attained no higher rank than that of a captain, contrived to give me an excellent education, observing at the same time, that, in so doing, he gave me what the world could not take from me (a remark replete with wisdom). Among other things, he taught me landscape and figure drawing, in which he himself excelled; while my mother instructed me in the useful arts of needle-work, weaving lace, &c. which were enlivened with music and the song.

When I was about twenty-one, the rude hand of fate deprived me of both my parents in one little month. My father died with his sword in his hand on the field of battle; and my mother, who loved him to excess, had not the strength to sustain the affliction of such a loss, and soon sunk into her grave.

No relation was now left me but an aunt, who had lived with us for some years. She was the widow of a bookseller in London, who had left her something more than fifty pounds a year. As for myself, two hundred pounds were all that my father's honourable patrimony could save for me. This small sum, however, I put out to interest, and, with the approbation of my aunt, I determined to try what my pencil, my needle, and my lace-pillow would do for me. This determination was attended with success far beyond my expectations; and I acquired that degree of character in thus employing the talents I possessed, that a gentlewoman, who kept a school for young ladies in the neighborhood, made me such an offer to assist her in the conduct and management of it, that I immediately engaged in the undertaking. Thus, I was not only enabled to live in a comfortable manner, but to save al little money. In short, I conducted myself with so much satisfaction to Madame de Brazille, the lady governess of the school, that, after having had the goodness to treat me with the affection of a mother, she closed her life with the same parental disposition, by leaving me her school, the house in which it was carried on, with all its furniture, plate, and apparatus for instruction, including also five acres of land at the distance of thirty miles from London.

At the head of this respectable establishment I continued till I found myself worth five hundred pounds a year. I was at this time about fifty-five, an age when it was natural for me to wish to retire from the bustle of life; in which, by my own application, and with the blessing of a beneficent Creator, I had succeeded so well. I accordingly sold my house, my school, and all their contents, to a young lady, the orphan daughter of an officer, whom I had educated, and who fortunately had been left a sufficiency to make the purchase. This circumstance added considerably to my income, and having reserved the five adjoining acres already mentioned, I built a neat small cottage there; so that I am close to my old abode, which I frequently visit, and where I am always received and treated as a mother.

In this pleasing and comfortable retreat I reside during eight months of the year, and during the other four I pay a visit to the metropolis: but as, from my former habits of incessant occupation, I feel a vacancy in this part of my life, I wish to fill it up as I can. In short, I am anxious to have something to do, and to let that something be to the advantage of my own sex. I propose, therefore, to establish an EXHIBITION, on the following plan, whose ultimate tendency will not be suspected of originating in the mind of an Old Maid. But so it is.

In the first place, I propose to fit up, in an appropriate manner, the first floor of a handsome house, in a fashionable part of the town, for the reception of works of art by those young women of respectable families, whose situation requires the support of their own exertions, whether in the different branches of design and painting, or in the ornamental works of personal decoration and elegant utility; such as embroidery, laces, worsted works, and other decorations of fancy. A little of the supposed stiffness and starchness of the old maid may, however, be thought to appear, when I mention, that every one of my female exhibitors must accompany their productions with the most satisfactory testimonials of their character, conduct, and connections; but as my plan is not only to encourage, but to reward merit, it is essentially necessary, that the fair deserts of the candidates should be clearly established. Such an arrangement will then be made, that visitors may be received to view the exhibition; and the prices being fixed to every article, there will be no difficulty in the disposal to such as may be inclined to become purchasers of them. This part of my plan, however useful it may prove, is on the principle of accommodation, which has already been adopted and successfully executed. The new and, as I conceive, original part of my plan, is yet to be displayed.

I propose that one of my rooms shall be altogether appropriated to portraits, which must be of such young ladies as are qualified to produce them by their own efforts in that branch of art: and here my plan will proceed a step further, Mr. Spectator, than I presume you are prepared to expect, and which, I trust, the most scrupulous of my sisterhood of old maidens, over the worst dish of tea in England, will not be disposed to censure. It is my opinion, which I think will not be controverted by any reflecting and experienced mind, that a young lady of respectable family, agreeable person, amiable manners, and suitable accomplishments, though of a circumscribed fortune, is worthy the attention of, and a becoming match for any gentleman. Now if such an one should, from the impression made on him by any one of these portraits, feel himself disposed to present himself in a matrimonial capacity, he must then send me his portrait, which, with an account of himself and his circumstances, I will transmit to the lady who is the object of his admiration; and, if they are approved by herself and her friends, her address shall be communicated to him, when he may present himself in person, and prefer his suit. I perceive nothing romantic in all this. It is the way in which George III. obtained his queen, and I do not see what objection any of his loyal subjects can have to follow his Majesty's royal example. A more happy marriage has seldom been seen or known, than of the royal pair, which was produced by the interchange of their pictures.

Thus, sir, I should hope to advance that state in which I have never engaged myself, but whose felicity I am anxious to promote in others, and in this way, at least, to answer the ends of my creation.

Such is my plan for the promotion of domestic happiness and national strength, which I hope will meet not only with your approbation, but also with your co-operating assistance. Some of your ingenious correspondents may, perhaps, furnish hints for the improvement and enlargement of my design; and I shall thank them, with great sincerity, for their attention to this most interesting, and consequently most important subject.

Nothing is now, I think, left me to do, but inform you, that I am known, by my friends, under the name of Beacham; but though, from its orthography, it might be mistaken for that of a foreigner, our family have lived on the borders of Scotland for many centuries.

I remain, with great admiration of Mr. Ackermann's Repository, your most obedient and very humble servant,

BEATRICE DE BEAUCHAMP.

THIRTY-MILE COTTAGE

17th Jan. 1813.