University of Virginia Library

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LETTER XXVII.
ANNE TO ELENOR.

DURING your residence in London, my dear
madam, you saw every letter I received from
Mrs. Darnley, and were witness to the cruel
anxiety I experienced upon the receipt of the
last, in which she informed me of her removal
from Mrs. Bellamy's; though I highly applauded
her conduct, I trembled for the dangers to
which she might be exposed in her miserable
retreat, and as she had given no direction how a
a letter might find her; however, hoping that
she might send to the post-office to inquire for
letters, I wrote, having first placed a sum of
money with a banker, who had a correspondent in
Dublin, with orders to pay it to her; giving such
particular instructions, that in case the letter
should be lost, there might be no danger of the
money being taken by an impostor. This money
I entreated her to take and make what use she
pleased with it, but by all means to come to England,
where she might be within reach of those
who love, esteem, and would protect her to the
utmost of their power. Having thus done, I rested
in quiet, until I imagined time enough was elapsed
for an answer to arrive, but no answer came. I
then flattered myself that Sarah, in compliance
with my advice, was on her way home; but a
month passed on, and still no intelligeace arriving,

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Mr. Lewis, though an excellent man, could
not feel interested as I did in the fate of Sarah,
and neglected writing for above a week; after
his letter was gone, it was three weeks before he
received an answer; and when he did, it almost
deprived me of my reason. I will give you a
full account of Mr. Lewis's visit to me, and then
transcribe the letter which he has left with me.
He was polite enough to call the very day the
letter arrived. It was about twelve o'clock
when a carriage drove up to the door, and seeing
from the window that it was Mr. Lewis's, I
could not restrain my impatience, but hastened
to the top of the stairs to meet him. `You have
news for me, dear sir,' said I, reaching out my

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John Gallaghan, Esq. to Meredith Lewis, Esq.

DEAR SIR,

Dublin, June 22, 1796.

IN pursuance of your advice, I sought out
Mrs. Bellamy, and waited on her to inquire
after Mrs. Darnley, who I perceived, by your
letter, was a person in whose fate either yourself,
or some of your friends, were particularly
interested. When I discovered who this Mrs.
Bellamy was, I will confess I was surprised how
you could be any way engaged in an inquiry after
a woman who had resided in her family; as
she is the mother of the celebrated Mrs. O'Donnell,
who has alienated the affection of the
(otherwise) worthy lord Linden, from his amiable
lady and her lovely children; and this
Mrs. Bellamy was always supposed to be the
vile agent who instigated the daughter to attempt
to ensnare, and whose counsel afterwards assisted
her to bind fast, the fetters which hold his lordship
in his unworthy bondage. However, I presumed
you had some very good reason for desiring
me to be particular in my inquiry, and I set
in earnest about it. The old gentlewoman received
me with politeness, regretted that it was
not in her power to give me the desired information
where Mrs. Darnley was to be found; said
she had been much deceived in her; that she had
brought her from England with her, to superintend
the education of her grand-daughter; but
that very soon after their arrival in Dublin,
she, Mrs. Darnley, made acquaintance with
some low people in the neighborhood; and

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one day when she was out, she had taken her
trunk and gone off, without leaving any message
whatever; and that she imagined she was gone
with a kind of sailor-looking man, who used frequently
to come after her. While she was
speaking, a servant came in to bring a note; of
whom she inquired whether any of the people
below had heard or seen any thing of Darnley,
since she went away? The young woman replied,
that Mrs. O'Donnell's John had said, he
saw her a few days since go into a house in an
alley at the lower end of the town. `It is no
great matter where she is,' replied Mrs. Bellamy,
`for what is she good for? She imposed
on me, when she applied for employment, by
telling an artful tale of her husband's misfortunes;
said necessity had obliged her to separate herself
from him; but I rather think, from what
I have since heard, that he had good reasons for
separating from her.' After this intelligence,
my good sir, you may be sure I felt no very
great curiosity to hear any more about your fair
adventurer; but as you had expressed so ardent
a desire for information, I took down the name
of the alley where the woman said she had been
seen, and went immediately there; inquired at
every house where I thought it was likely I
might find her, describing her person according
to the description given in your letter; I had
almost given up all hope, when going into a house
that stood a little more back than the rest, I
found she was known to the mistress of it, and
had lived there several weeks.

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Upon my first inquiry, I found Mrs. Darnley
had left this woman, impressed with no higher an
opinion of her prudence or virtue, than Mrs.
Bellamy was. She seemed eager to give me all
the information in her power; and as I thought,
giving her permission to talk as fast and as long
as she pleased, would be gratifying at once her
favorite propensity, and enable me to give you
a more succinct account of the person for whom
you were so much interested, I remained silent,
and only endeavored to connect the story, and
free it from its superfluities. I learnt that about
two months since, Mrs. Darnley had come to this
house and taken a lodging—she did not go by the
name of Darnley, but Beetham; and the woman
discovered her real name by a pocket handkerchief
she dropped one day in taking some linen
from her trunk, on which Sarah Darnley was
marked at full length. `I took up the handkerchief,'
said the woman, `and looking at her, said,
I thought your name was Beetham?' She colored,
and said, `My name was once Darnley.'
`Then you are a married woman?' `Yes,' answered
she, but she looked confused, so I thought I
would question her further. `Where is your
husband?' says I. She said she believed in London.
`And what is he?' `He was a merchant.'
`And how came you to be separated from him?'
She shut up her trunk, sir, and, taking the
handkerchief out of my hand, tore off the corner
and put it into the fire; yes, sir, she put it into
the fire, and told me that she did not know by what

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right I catechised her, and telling me she wanted
to be alone, as good as turned me out of the
room. Now, sir, this argufied no good.—I
thought so too; but not to weary you with her
jargon, I found that this delicate Mrs. Darnley
had been visited by a man several times in the
course of a week; that three or four times she
had gone out and stayed until between ten and
eleven o'clock. At last, her landlady having
remonstrated with her a little mildly upon keeping
such late hours, she told her that she would
not long be a trouble to her, for she had been
seeking a situation in a family, and had, she
thought, met with one to her satisfaction; that
about a week afterwards she went away, leaving
her trunk as security to the woman of the house,
for she had never paid for the apartment she occupied;
that having been absent nearly a fortnight,
she returned one night, requesting to be again
received, but at the same time said she had brought
home no money; that she had only the clothes
she had on, and what was in the woman's possession;
and that she had walked twelve miles that
day; but the apartment being let to another,
Mrs. Darnley went away; and a day or two
after she was seen at a neighboring house, where
the woman said she sent her clothes after her.
I went to this house, but could get no further
information, only that she had been there, and
was gone they knew not whither. But it was
the universal agreement of all, that she was a
woman of light character; and the last person I

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inquired of, said she had been entirely supported
by a very genteel old gentleman, and she supposed
was gone into better lodgings of his
providing.

So you perceive, my good sir, that Mrs. Darnley
is not destitute of new friends; and her
having changed her name is an evident proof
that she wishes to conceal herself from her old
ones. I wish it had been my good fortune to
procure any more satisfactory intelligence, but I
could trace her no further. I hope she has
neither father, brother, or husband to be dishonored
by her conduct. If I can be of any
further use, any directions you may be pleased
to send, shall be punctually followed by

Sir, your humble servant,

JOHN GALLAGHAN.

Can you conceive for a moment what my agony
of mind was, during the perusal of this letter, to
see how my poor friend has been misrepresented?
For, until I have manifest evidence of it, I can
never believe her lost to honor. She may have
been betrayed, (the very supposition is torture to
my heart) for if she has, she is lost to me and to
the world forever; she will conceal herself from
the knowlege of every one, whom she had known
before. But it is not in nature for her to become
a voluntary slave to vice. Indeed, it is plain to
me, thoughout every part of this letter, that she
has been persecuted and ill used; perhaps driven
to extreme distress; want of bread or clothing

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Did I require any thing to convince me that
she is not the depraved being they have represented
her, the sincerity of her replies to the
woman who interrogated her about her handkerchief,
would be a sufficient proof, that she retained
her native singleness of heart; which, to me,
was ever the most interesting trait in her character.
Before she could become abandoned, she
would have learnt to dissemble. What can I
do? How shall I find her? I have requested
Mr. Lewis to write to his friend once more; in
the mean time, I am determined, however eccentric
you may think the step, to write to the
marquis of H—, and endeavor to interest him
in her behalf; a man of his rank has great
influence in such a city as Dublin; and if he has
the smallest spark of honor, he will exert himself
to restore to her friends, a woman whom his

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