A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Inglis, Esther

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4120609A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography — Inglis, Esther

INGLIS, ESTHER,

Is celebrated for her skill in calligraphy, or fine writing. In the beauty, exactness, and variety of her characters, she excelled all who preceded her. In the library of Christ-church in Oxford are the Psalms of David, written in French by Mrs. Inglis, who presented them in person to Queen Elizabeth, by whom they were given to the library. Two manuscripts, written by her, were also preserved with care in the Bodleian library: one of them is entitled "Le six vingt et six Quatrains de Guy de Tour, Sieur de Pybrac, escrits par Esther Inglis, pour son dernier adieu, ce 21 ejour de Juin, 1617," The following address is, in the second leaf, written in capital letters: "To the right worshipful my very singular friende, Joseph Hall, Doctor of Divinity, and Dean of Winchester, Esther Inglis wisheth all increase of true happiness, Junii xxi. 1617.". In the third leaf is pasted the head of the writer, painted upon a card. The other manuscript is entitled "Les Proverbes de Salomon; escrites en diverses sortes de lettres, par Esther Anglois, en Françoise. A. Lislebourge en Escosse," 1599. In the Royal Library, D. xvi. are "Esther Inglis's Fifty Emblems," finely drawn and written: A Lislebourg en Escosse, l'anne 1624.

Esther Inglis married, when about forty, a Scotchman, Bartholomew Kello, and had one son, who was a learned and honourable man. The time of her death is not known.