A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley
MONTAGU, LADY MARY WORTLEY,
Was the oldest daughter of Evelyn, Duke of Kingston, and Lady Mary Fielding, daughter of the Earl of Denbigh. She was born at Thoresby, in Nottinghamshire, about the year 1690. She early gave such evidence of genius, that her father placed her under the same preceptors as her brother, and she acquired a singular proficiency in classical studies. Brought up in great seclusion, she was enabled to cultivate her mind to a degree rarely seen in women of that period. In 1712 she became the wife of Edward Wortley Montagu, and continued to live in retirement until her husband's appointment, on the accession of George the First, to a seat in the treasury, which brought her to London. Introduced at court, her wit and beauty called forth universal admiration, and she became familiarly acquainted with Pope, Addison, and other distinguished writers. In 1716, Mr. Wortley was appointed ambassador to the Porte, and Lady Mary accompanied him. Here began that correspondence which has procured her such wide-spread celebrity, and placed her among the first of female writers in our tongue; and here, too, her bold, unprejudiced mind, led her to that important step which has made her one of the greatest benefactors of mankind.
While dwelling at Belgrade, during the summer months Lady Mary observed a singular custom prevalent among the Turks—that of engrafting, or as it is now called, inoculating with variolous matter, to produce a mild form of small-pox, and stay the ravages of that loathsome disease. She examined the process with philosophical curiosity, and becoming convinced of its efficacy, did not hesitate to apply it to her own son, a child of three years old.
On her return home she introduced the art into England, by means of the medical attendant of the embassy; but its expediency being questioned among scientific men, an experiment, by order of the government, was made upon five persons under sentence of death, which proved highly successful.
What an arduous and thankless enterprise Lady Mary's was, no one, at the present day, can form an idea. She lived in an age obstinately opposed to all innovations and improvements, and she says herself, "That if she had foreseen the vexation, the persecution, and even the obloquy which it brought upon her, she would never have attempted it." The clamours raised against it were beyond belief. The medical faculty rose up in arms, to a man; the clergy descanted from their pulpits on the impiety of seeking to take events but of the hands of Providence; thus exhibiting more narrowness than the Turks, whose obstinate faith in predestination would nave naturally led them to this conclusion. Lady Mary, however, soon gained many supporters among the enlightened classes, headed by the Princess of Wales, afterwards Queen of George the Second; and truth, as it always does, finally prevailed. She gave much of her time to advice and superintendence in the families where inoculation was adopted, constantly carrying her little daughter with her into the sick room, to prove her security from infection.
The present age, which has benefited so widely by this art and its improvements, can form but a faint estimate of the ravages of that fearful scourge, before the introduction of inoculation, when either a loathsome disease, a painful death, or disfigured features, awaited nearly every being born. This may account, in some measure, for the absence of that active gratitude which services such as hers should have called forth. Had Lady Mary Wortley lived in the days of heathen Greece or Rome, her name would have been enrolled among the deities who have benefited mankind. But in Christian England, her native land, on which she bestowed so dear a blessing, and through it, to all the nations of the earth, what has been her recompense? We read of colossal endowments by the British government, upon great generals; of titles conferred and pensions granted, through several generations, to those who have served their country; of monuments erected by the British people to statesmen, and warriors, and even to weak and vicious princes; but where is the monument to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu? Where is recorded the pension, the dignity, bestowed upon her line, as a sign to future generations that she was a benefactor to the human race, and that her country acknowledged it? In the page of history, and in the annals of medicine, her name must find its place; but there alone is the deed recorded, which beneath every roof in Christendom, from the palace to the pauper's hut, has carried a blessing!
On her return to England, Lady Mary Wortley took up her residence, at the solicitation of Pope, at Twickenham; but their friendship did not continue long after. Pope, it is asserted, made a violent declaration of love to her, which she treating with ridicule, so offended him that he never forgave her. A paper war ensued between them, little creditable to either party. Lady Mary continued to exercise considerable influence in society till 1739, when her health declining, she resolved to pass the remainder of her days in the milder climate of Italy. She was not accompanied by her husband, which has given rise to many surmises; but as be always corresponded, with her, and gave repeated proofs of his confidence in her, there is no ground for believing that there was any objectionable reason for her conduct. Lady Mary's correspondence during this period of her life, is marked by the same wit, vivacity, and talents, as that of her earlier years, and is published with her collected writings.
This once brilliant court beauty was now become so indifferent to her personal appearance, that, speaking of her looks, she says, "I know nothing of the matter, as it is now eleven years since I have seen my figure in a glass, and the last reflection I saw there was so disagreeable, that I resolved to spare myself the mortification for the future."
After an absence of twenty-two years, Lady Mary returned to England, but she did not long survive the removal; she died in less than a year after, at the age of seventy-two. Of her two children, both of whom survived her, one was the eccentric and profligate Edward Wortley Montagu, who was a source of continual unhappiness to her through life; the other became the wife of the Marquis of Bute, a distinguished nobleman, and was the mother of a large family.
Lady Montagu's letters were first printed, surreptitiously, in 1763. A more complete edition of her works was published, in five volumes, in 1803; and another, edited by her great-grandson, Lord Whamcliffe, with additional letters and information, in 1837. The letters from Constantinople and France have been often reprinted.