Verily, "the visible fair form of a woman is
hereditary queen of us." Wraxall also likens the Duchess to an
older-time beauty, Diane de Poitiers,--that famous lady of France, the
favorite of Francois I. and Henri II. Of that lady's beauty, it was
written, that it was of the form and feature rather than the radiance
of the mind and manner transforming them; and like her, too, our
Duchess retained her beauty to an advanced age. She died in 1821. To
the last, she impressed one with her dignity, her nobility, her
loveliness.
"And they who saw her snow-white hair.
And dark, sad eyes, so deep with feeling,
Breathed all at once the chancel air,
And seemed to hear the organ pealing."
[Illustration: LAVINIA COUNTESS SPENCER by REYNOLDS]
LAVINIA
In March, 1781, Walpole writes to a friend: "As your lordship has
honored all the productions of my press with your acceptance, I
venture to inclose the last, which I printed to oblige the Lucans.
There are many beautiful and poetic expressions in it. A wedding, to
be sure, is neither a new nor a promising subject, nor will outlast
the favors; still, I think Mr. Jones's ode is uncommonly good for the
occasion." The ode was "The Muse Recalled," and the occasion the
nuptials of Lord Viscount Althorp and Miss Lavinia Bingham, eldest
daughter of Sir Charles Bingham, created, in 1776, Baron Lucan of
Castlebar.
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