The CHARACTER of

KATHARINE,

LATE

Duchefs of Buckinghamshire and Normanby.

By the late Mr POPE.

HE was the daughter of James the second, and of

tegrity and Virtue of her father with happier fortune. She was married first to James earl of Anglesey; and fecondly, to John Sheffield duke of Buckinghamshire and Normanby; with the former fhe exercised the virtues of Patience and Suffering, as long as there was any hopes of doing good by either; with the latter all other Conjugal virtues. The man of fineft fenfe and fharpeft difcernment, she had the happiness to please; and in that, found her only pleasure. When he died, it seemed as if his spirit was only breathed into her, to fulfit what he had begun, to perform what he had concerted, and to preferve and watch over what he had left, his only fon; in the care of whofe Health, the forming of whofe Mind, and the improvement of whose Fortune, he acted with the conduct and fenfe of the Father, foften'd, but not overcome, with the tendernefs of the Mother Her Understanding was fuch as must have made a figure, had it been in a man; but

the modesty of her sex threw a veil over its luftre, which nevertheless fupprefs'd only the expreffion, not the exertion of it; for her Senfe was not fuperior to her Resolution, which, when once she was in the right, preferv'd her from making it only a tranfition to the wrong, the frequent weakness even of the best women. She often followed wife counfel, but fometimes went before it, always with fuccefs. She was poffeffed of a fpirit, which affifted her to get the better of those ac cidents which admitted of any redress, and enabled her to fupport outwardly, with decency and dignity, those which admitted of none; yet melted inwardly, through almost her whole life, at a fucceffion of melancholy and affecting objects, the lofs of all her Children, the misfortunes of Relations and Friends, public and private, and the death of those who were deareft to her. Her heart was as compaffionate as it was great: her Affections warm even to folicitude: her Friendship not violent or jealous, but rational and perfevering: her Gratitude equal and conftant to the living; to the dead boundless and heroical. What perfon foever the found worthy of her esteem, she would not give up for any power on earth; and the greatest on earth whom she could not esteem, her no farther tribute than Decency. was wholly directed by merit, not by accident; not measured by the regard they profefs'd for her own defert, but by her idea of theirs: And as there was no merit which fhe was not able to imitate, there was none which she could envy; therefore her Conversa

obtain'd from

Her Good-will

tion was as free from detraction, as her Opinions from prejudice or prepoffeffion. As her thoughts were her own, so were her Words; and fhe was as fincere in uttering her judgment, as impartial in forming it. She was a fafe Companion, many were ferv'd, none ever fuffer'd by her acquaintance: inoffenfive, when unprovoked; when provoked, not stupid: But the moment her enemy ceased to be hurtful, fhe could cease to act as an enemy. She was therefore not a bitter but confiftent enemy: (tho' indeed, when forced to be fo, the more a finish'd one for having been long a making.) And her proceeding with ill people was more in a calm and steddy course, like Justice, than in quick and paffionate onfets, like Revenge. As for those of whom fhe only thought ill, fhe confidered them not fo much as once to wish them ill; of fuch, her Contempt was

other paffions that

great enough to put a stop to all could hurt them. Her Love and Averfion, her Gratitude and Refentment, her Efteem and Neglect, were equally open and ftrong, and alterable only from the alteration of the perfons who created them. Her Mind was too noble to be infincere, and her Heart too honeft to stand in need of it; fo that he never found caufe to repent her conduct either to a friend or an enemy. There remains only to fpeak of her Perfon, which was most amiably majestic ; the niceft eye could find no fault in the outward lineaments of her Face or proportion of her Body; it was fuch, as pleas'd whereever the had a defire it fhould; yet fhe never envied that of any other, which might better please in gene

ral: In the fame manner, as being content that her merits were esteemed where the defired they should, fhe never depreciated thofe of any other that were esteemed or preferred elsewhere. For fhe aimed not at a gcneral love or a general esteem where he was not known; it was enough to be poffefs'd of both wherever the was. Having lived to the age of Sixty-two years; not courting Regard, but receiving it from all who knew her ; not loving Business, but discharging it fully wherefoever duty or friendship engaged her in it; not following Greatness, but not declining to pay respect, as far as was due from independency and difintereft; having honourably abfolv'd all the parts of life, flie forfook this World, where fhe had left no act of duty or virtue undone, for that where alone fuch acts are rewarded, on the 13th Day of March, 1742-3*.

Mr POPE to JAMES MOYSER of Beverly, Efq;

DEAR SIR,

I

Bath, July 11. 1743. Am always glad to hear of you, and where I can I always enquire of you. But why have you omit ted to tell me one word of your own health? The account of our Friend's † is truly melancholy, added to the circumstance of his being detained (1 fear, without much hope) in a foreign country, from the comfort of feeing (what a good man most desires and best deserves

"The above Character was written by Mr Pope fome years before her Grace's Death." So the printed Edition.

† Mr Bethel.

to fee to the laft hour) his Friends about him. The public news indeed gives every Englishman a reasonable joy, and I truly feel it with you, as a national joy, not a party one; nay as a general joy to all nations where bloodfhed and mifery must have been introduced, had the ambition and perfidy of prevail'd.

I come now to answer your friend's queftion. The whole of what he has heard of my writing the Character of the old || Duke of Buckingham is untrue. 1 do not remember ever to have feen it in MS. nor have I ever seen the pedigree he mentions, otherwise than after the Duchefs had printed it with the Will, and fent one to me, as, I fuppofe, fhe did to all her acquaintance. I do not wonder it fhould be reported I writ that Character, after a story which I will tell you in your ear, and to yourself only. There was another Charafter written of her Grace by herfelf (with what help, I know not) but fhe fhewed it me in her blots, and pressed me, by all the adjurations of Friendship, to give her my fincere opinion of it. I acted honeftly, and did fo. She feemed to take it patiently, and, upon many exceptions which I made, engaged me to take the whole, and to select out of it just as much as I judged might ftand, and return her the Copy. I did fo. Immediately the picked a quarrel with me, and we never faw each other in five or fix `years. In the mean time, she shewed this Character. (as much as was extracted of it in my hand-writing) as a The Victory at Dettingen.

He fays the old Duke, because he wrote a very fine Epitaph for the Son.