Martha Blount
Encyclopedia
Martha Blount was an English woman, a friend of many English literary figures, especially Alexander Pope
.
, near Reading
. She was educated first at Hammersmith
, London, probably at the Roman Catholic convent there, and afterwards in the Rue Boulanger, Paris, France. Her father was Lister Blount, and her family had long been of the highest position among Roman Catholic gentry
. It is not known when Martha and Pope first met. Her family and his were in close friendship in 1710, in which year her father and her maternal grandfather died, both on the same day; from a story which she told Spence, it may be assumed that Pope and she were in the habit of meeting on easy terms as early as about 1705.
From 1710 to 1715 Blount continued to live at Mapledurham with her widowed mother, her brother Michael, and her sister Teresa. During this period she and her sister were prominent figures in the fashionable world. In 1712 Pope sent them his 'Rape of the Lock' and his ‘Miscellany’ (Carruthers, p. 79); in 1713 the sisters were corresponding with James Moore Smythe
, author of the comedy The Rival Modes, he as Alexis, Teresa as Zephalinda, and Martha as Parthenissa; in 1714 Pope wrote to Martha from Bath that if she would come she would be the best mermaid in Christendom
; in 1715 he had two fans painted for the sisters. John Gay
called them "two lovely sisters" (Gay to Pope, Welcome from Greece), Pope spoke of their "endless smiles" (Epistle to Jervas, line 61) and of Martha's "resistless charms" (his Epistle to her with Voiture's works, line 59). In their portraits, still at Mapledurham, where they appear arm in arm, they both look very charming.
If Martha's brother had died unmarried, Mapledurham would have become her property. But in 1715 Michael Blount married Mary Agnes, coheir of Sir J. Tichborne, and Martha with her mother and sister thenceforth had a country residence at Petersham
, costing 20l. a year, and a town house, at one time in Bolton Street, at another in Welbeck Street (Pope to Caryll, 6 May 1733). The change in her fortunes called out Pope's warm pity. He had reason, too, to think that her mother, sister, and brother treated her unkindly; and though at first he was the friend of both sisters, having even settled 40l. a year on Teresa in 1717 for six years (Carruthers, p. 75), he quarrelled with the latter lady before long, and showed so much preference and partisanship for Martha, that it was the cause of rumours which seriously affected her honour. His ‘Birthday Poem’ to her in 1723 strengthened these rumours; his letters, however, vehemently declared them to be false (to Caryll, Christmas Day, 1725, &c.), and he attributed the scandal to Teresa. Pope, indeed, advised Martha to leave her mother and sister altogether when this calumny was abroad, but she refused the advice.
In 1732 Martha Blount seems to have been seriously ill, under Dr. John Arbuthnot
's care. In 1733 Pope's mother died, to whom Martha had always shown affectionate attention. In 1735 Pope dedicated his 'Epistle on Women' to her, telling her she had "sense, good humour, and a poet". In 1739 her brother died, leaving children to whom she was much attached. In 1743, after the death of her mother, she paid a memorable visit to the Allens at Prior Park, where Pope was staying. Ruffhead says she behaved during the visit in an arrogant and unbecoming manner; Warburton and Warton say she ‘took the huff’ because the Allens, as Protestants, refused to let their carriage take her to a Roman Catholic chapel; she says (Mapledurham MSS., Carruthers, p. 378): ‘They talk to one another without putting me at all into the conversation. … I'll get out of it as soon as I can.’ Pope defended her; called Mrs. Allen ‘a minx, and an impertinent one,’ and, after his own departure, advised her to ‘leave them without a word.’ Pope was seized with his last illness a few weeks after this unhappy episode. Ralph Allen went to see him, to find him still eager in Patty Blount's defence. Samuel Johnson
relates that during Pope's last illness he saw Miss Blount in his garden, and sent for her, and (what is incredible) that Patty met the messenger (Lord Marchmont) with a callous cry, ‘What! not dead yet!’ Pope bequeathed to Miss Blount 1,000l., three score of his books, his household goods, chattels, and plate, the furniture of his grotto, the urns in his garden, and the residue after all legacies were paid.
Miss Blount retained her place in the fashionable world after Pope's death. She lived at last in Berkeley Row, by Hanover Square
, and there Henry Swinburne
the traveller, her relative, visited her (Roscoe, i. 581 note). He found her a little, neat, fair, prim old woman, easy and gay in her manners. By her will she left the residue of her property to her "dear nephew," Michael Blount, of Mapledurham. She died in 1762, aged 72. A pleasing portrait is in Ayre's ‘Pope,’ vol. ii. facing page 17.
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
.
Life
Martha was born 15 June 1690 probably at the family seat, MapledurhamMapledurham
Mapledurham is a small village, civil parish and country estate beside the River Thames in Oxfordshire.It should not be confused with the Mapledurham electoral ward of the nearby Borough of Reading, which is a subdivision of that town's suburb of Caversham....
, near Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
. She was educated first at Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
, London, probably at the Roman Catholic convent there, and afterwards in the Rue Boulanger, Paris, France. Her father was Lister Blount, and her family had long been of the highest position among Roman Catholic gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....
. It is not known when Martha and Pope first met. Her family and his were in close friendship in 1710, in which year her father and her maternal grandfather died, both on the same day; from a story which she told Spence, it may be assumed that Pope and she were in the habit of meeting on easy terms as early as about 1705.
From 1710 to 1715 Blount continued to live at Mapledurham with her widowed mother, her brother Michael, and her sister Teresa. During this period she and her sister were prominent figures in the fashionable world. In 1712 Pope sent them his 'Rape of the Lock' and his ‘Miscellany’ (Carruthers, p. 79); in 1713 the sisters were corresponding with James Moore Smythe
James Moore Smythe
James Moore Smythe was an English playwright, fop,and wastrel. He was appointed by the King to the Office of, Co-Paymaster of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms. He was born James Moore.He was the son of Arthur Moore M.P. , for Great Grimsby, and his 2nd wife Theophila Smythe, dau...
, author of the comedy The Rival Modes, he as Alexis, Teresa as Zephalinda, and Martha as Parthenissa; in 1714 Pope wrote to Martha from Bath that if she would come she would be the best mermaid in Christendom
Christendom
Christendom, or the Christian world, has several meanings. In a cultural sense it refers to the worldwide community of Christians, adherents of Christianity...
; in 1715 he had two fans painted for the sisters. John Gay
John Gay
John Gay was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera , set to music by Johann Christoph Pepusch...
called them "two lovely sisters" (Gay to Pope, Welcome from Greece), Pope spoke of their "endless smiles" (Epistle to Jervas, line 61) and of Martha's "resistless charms" (his Epistle to her with Voiture's works, line 59). In their portraits, still at Mapledurham, where they appear arm in arm, they both look very charming.
If Martha's brother had died unmarried, Mapledurham would have become her property. But in 1715 Michael Blount married Mary Agnes, coheir of Sir J. Tichborne, and Martha with her mother and sister thenceforth had a country residence at Petersham
Petersham
Petersham is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the east of the bend in the River Thames south of Richmond, which it shares with neighbouring Ham. It provides the foreground of the scenic view from Richmond Hill across Petersham Meadows, with Ham House further along the River...
, costing 20l. a year, and a town house, at one time in Bolton Street, at another in Welbeck Street (Pope to Caryll, 6 May 1733). The change in her fortunes called out Pope's warm pity. He had reason, too, to think that her mother, sister, and brother treated her unkindly; and though at first he was the friend of both sisters, having even settled 40l. a year on Teresa in 1717 for six years (Carruthers, p. 75), he quarrelled with the latter lady before long, and showed so much preference and partisanship for Martha, that it was the cause of rumours which seriously affected her honour. His ‘Birthday Poem’ to her in 1723 strengthened these rumours; his letters, however, vehemently declared them to be false (to Caryll, Christmas Day, 1725, &c.), and he attributed the scandal to Teresa. Pope, indeed, advised Martha to leave her mother and sister altogether when this calumny was abroad, but she refused the advice.
In 1732 Martha Blount seems to have been seriously ill, under Dr. John Arbuthnot
John Arbuthnot
John Arbuthnot, often known simply as Dr. Arbuthnot, , was a physician, satirist and polymath in London...
's care. In 1733 Pope's mother died, to whom Martha had always shown affectionate attention. In 1735 Pope dedicated his 'Epistle on Women' to her, telling her she had "sense, good humour, and a poet". In 1739 her brother died, leaving children to whom she was much attached. In 1743, after the death of her mother, she paid a memorable visit to the Allens at Prior Park, where Pope was staying. Ruffhead says she behaved during the visit in an arrogant and unbecoming manner; Warburton and Warton say she ‘took the huff’ because the Allens, as Protestants, refused to let their carriage take her to a Roman Catholic chapel; she says (Mapledurham MSS., Carruthers, p. 378): ‘They talk to one another without putting me at all into the conversation. … I'll get out of it as soon as I can.’ Pope defended her; called Mrs. Allen ‘a minx, and an impertinent one,’ and, after his own departure, advised her to ‘leave them without a word.’ Pope was seized with his last illness a few weeks after this unhappy episode. Ralph Allen went to see him, to find him still eager in Patty Blount's defence. Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
relates that during Pope's last illness he saw Miss Blount in his garden, and sent for her, and (what is incredible) that Patty met the messenger (Lord Marchmont) with a callous cry, ‘What! not dead yet!’ Pope bequeathed to Miss Blount 1,000l., three score of his books, his household goods, chattels, and plate, the furniture of his grotto, the urns in his garden, and the residue after all legacies were paid.
Miss Blount retained her place in the fashionable world after Pope's death. She lived at last in Berkeley Row, by Hanover Square
Hanover Square
Hanover Square may refer to:* Hanover Square, London, England* Hanover Square, Manhattan, New York City, USA** Hanover Square , elevated station* Hanover Square, Syracuse, USA-See also:* Hanover Square Rooms, London...
, and there Henry Swinburne
Henry Swinburne
Henry Swinburne was an English travel writer.-Life:He was born at Bristol on 8 July 1743, into a Catholic family, and was educated at Scorton school, near Catterick, Yorkshire. He was then sent to the monastic seminary of Lacelle in France. He afterwards studied at Paris, Bordeaux, and in the...
the traveller, her relative, visited her (Roscoe, i. 581 note). He found her a little, neat, fair, prim old woman, easy and gay in her manners. By her will she left the residue of her property to her "dear nephew," Michael Blount, of Mapledurham. She died in 1762, aged 72. A pleasing portrait is in Ayre's ‘Pope,’ vol. ii. facing page 17.