BEAUTY 172 however, were not unhappy, although she felt her position keenly. Jenkins adored her, and her influence over him so reformed his wild and extravagant habits that his family -were grateful, and treated her as though she had been his wife. At the end of six years she was a lovely woman of twenty-two, witty, cultivated, and graceful. She had a low voice and an irresistible laugh, a quick sense of humour, and a marvellous taste in dress. Becomes Lady Blesslngton Then the Earl of Blessingto.n came to the neighbourhood. She had met him pre- viously in Ireland — a gay, extravagant, young Irishman, with an ailing wife and
- ^3o,ooo a year. Now when she met him
again he was still good-looking and young, but his wife was dead, and his extravagance had reduced his income to ;^24,ooo a year. Margaret soon fell in love with him, and for her Blessington conceived an adoration which never faltered. He made her promise to marry him as soon as she could get a divorce, installed her in London under the care of one of her brothers, and sent Captain Jenkins, in return for the presents and apparel he had given her, a cheque for ;^i 0,000, and the captain forfeited all title to the role of the constant and injured lover by accepting it. Before the divorce could be obtained, Captain Farmer obliged his wife, for the only time in his life, by falling out of a window when intoxicated and killing himself. Four months later, therefore, Margaret Power became Marguerite Blessington. Her husband spent money Hke water. Wherever his wife went she moved among splendid surroundings. Her rooms were hung with richest velvet and bullion fringes ; she had the jewels of an empress, aiid her taste for magnificent dress was displayed to the full. Her clothes caused a sensation even in Paris. Her lightest word was her husband's law, she chose her friends among the most distinguished of the land, and her entertainments were constant and lavish. In this setting Lady Blessington's bril- liance shone with its true lustre. Her good qualities developed in prosperity, and her beauty became the talk of England. After a while the Blessingtons embarked on a lengthy Continental tour. Their progress through the various countries amazed all who witnessed it. They took a full retinue of servants, cooks, cooking utensils, furniture, and enough clothes to last a townful of ordinary folk for a lifetime. Wherever they went, moreover, Blessing- ton had his wife's apartments specially decorated. With them went her youngest sister and a young Frenchman, whose father had been a friend of Blessington's. This was Alfred, Comte d'Orsay, whose friendship with Lady Blessington was to last till death. Lord Blessington arranged a marriage of convenience between his daughter by his first wife and D'Orsay. It was an unhappy marriage, and ended disastrously ; but it served to place D'Orsay in the position of son-in-law to Lady Blessington. His own mother confided him to Marguerite's care. But when a lovely woman mothers a young man only twelve years her junior, whose wife leaves him ; when he lives almost entirely in that lovely woman's house, and when the death of her husband does not break the friendship, there are always spiteful tongues ready to wag. The sudden death of Lord Blessington in Paris came like a thunderbolt into her sunny and magnificent life. She mourned him long and truly, but had no time for moping. His affairs were much embarrassed, and from ;^24,ooo a year she came down to ;^2,ooo — absolute poverty to a woman of her tastes. She came to London, therefore, took Gore House, Kensington, and began to work hard at literary labours. Gore House . became the chief literary centre of London, and Lady Blessington the most talked-of woman. Soon, however, only men came to her parties ; the scandal about D'Orsay kept the women away. This fine woman, how- ever, would take no notice ; she had pro- mised to look after the grown-up child, the iridescent butterfly, called D'Orsay, and even scandal and ostracism could not make her go back on her word. She worked harder and harder at the pen. Her family was dependent on her, and her entertaining cost a great deal, as also did her clothes, and D'Orsay, who had no sense of the value of money. Her Late Days Nevertheless, times grew bad. Rents were unpaid in Ireland, and she did not receive her /2,ooo a year at all regularly. She overwrote herself, and could get only tiny sums for her books. One of her publishers died insolvent, owing her ;^7oo. The gates of Gore House were kept locked against the bailiffs, and only on Sundays could D'Orsay or Lady Blessington venture out. At last things reached a crisis. Lady Blessington packed D'Orsay and his valet off to the Continent, advertised the exquisite furniture and pictures of Gore House for auction, insured her life heavily, and gave the policy to her creditors, and, bidding good-bye to London, departed to Paris. There she was busy finding an apparie- ment, while in London for twelve days the public poked among the treasures of Gore House, so greedily that Thackeray was moved to tears. " The dear, kind old drawing-room " was dismantled, and Lady Blessington became only a memory in London. Gradually she furnished a house, but on the day after she had moved into it she was seized by a heart attack, from which she never rallied. She died in 1849, at the age of sixty. Dr. Parr's famous description of her applied to her manner and her appearance ; but in the beauty of her nature this brave and honest lady was "the most gorgeous Lady Blessington."
