The story of Lady Hamilton (4 page)

EMMA HAMILTON'S STAY IN ITALY In her he finds the charm of all antiques, the fair profile on Sicilian coins, the Apollo Belvedere himself. ... We have already rejoiced in the spectacle two evenings."

It heightens the impression to set later descriptions of the " Attitudes " side by side with Goethe's. Sir Gilbert Elliot was by no means one of her admirers, but he wrote of these performances:" We had the 'Attitudes' a night or two ago by candle light. They come up to my expectations fully, which is saying everything. They set Lady Hamilton in a very different light from any I had seen her in before; nothing about her,neither her conversation, her manners, nor figure, announce the very refined taste which she discovers in this performance, besides the extraordinary talent which is needed for the execution."

Five years earlier than this, in the year of Emma's marriage, Lady Malmesbury said : " You never saw anything so charming as Lady Hamilton's ' Attitudes.' The most graceful statues or pictures do not give you

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anideaofthem." MadameLe Brunsawthem in 1803, and declared, "she changed from grief to joy, and from joy to terror, so rapidly and effectively that we were all enchanted." When somebody on one of these later occasions compared her to Mrs Siddons Nelson was much annoyed and walked up and down acrowded room muttering, "D Mrs Sid-dons ! " Finally there is the description of the very critical Mrs St George :—

" Breakfasted with Lady Hamilton, and saw her represent in succession the best statues and paintings extant. She assumes their attitude, expression, and drapery with great facility, swiftness, and accuracy. Several Indian shawls, a chair, some antique vases, a wreath of roses, a tambourine, and a few children are her whole apparatus. She stands at one end of the room, with a strong light to her left, and every other window closed. Her hair is short, dressed like an antique, and her gown a simple calico chemise, very easy, with loose sleeves to the wrist, she disposes the shawls so as to form Grecian,

LADY HAMILTON AS " SPINSTRESS "

After painting by Romney

HANFSTAENGL COLLECTION

EMMA HAMILTON'S STAY IN ITALY Turkish, and other drapery, as well as a variety of turbans. Her arrangement of the turbans is absolute sleight-of-hand; she does it so quickly, so easily, and so well. It is a beautiful performance, amusing to the most ignorant, andhighly interestingto the lovers of art. The chief of her imitations are from the antique. Each representation lasts about ten minutes."

Rehberg did a series of delicate outline drawings of these "Attitudes"—or, rather, of some of them—and the drawings give a very fair idea of her classical grace of line, but of course the colour, the mobility of movement falling into new forms of grace, are inevitably absent.

There are many pictures of these early Italian days which survive to us in all their gaiety in Emma's own exclamatory letters, in the admiring comments of Sir William Hamilton and others. Sir William must not only have Emma herself, but also numberless pictures of her. "Thehouse isfull of painters painting me," she says in one of her early

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Naples letters. "He has now got nine pictures of me, and 2 a painting. Marchant is cutting my head in stone, that is in camea for a ring. There is another man modeling me in wax, and another in clay. All the artists iscomefrom Rome to study from me, that Sir William as fitted up a room, that is calld the painting-room. Sir William is never a moment from me."

Besides these perpetual sittings—which her vanity and her vitality alike made it possible for her to enjoy—Emma had masters of all sorts to teach her singing,drawing, and Italian. It was Sir William's wish that she should become a very miracle of accomplishments, as of beauty. She certainly did not lack the praise which encourages : Sir William, she says, "takes delight inall I do." Apparently the musicians, as well as the painters,went wild about her. Inadeliciously funny letter, ecstatic in its simple vanity, she says:—

"Galucci played solo some of my solfegos and you whold have thought he would have

EMMA HAMILTON'S STAY IN ITALY gone mad. He says he had heard a great deal of me. But he never saw or heard of such a whoman before. He says when he first came in, I frightened him with a Majesty and Juno look that I received him with. Then he says that whent of on being more acquainted, and I enchanted him by my politeness and the maner in which I did the honors, and then I made him allmost cry with Handels; and with the comick he could not contain himself for he says he never saw the tragick and comick muse blended so happily together."

The heavy King of Naples was among her admirers—as Emma expressed it, he "as eyes, he as a heart, and I have made an impression on it." Butshewasasproudofherprudenceas of her beauty and quaintly writes, "We keep the good-will of the other party mentioned abbove [the Queen] and never give him any encouragement." There is a tale that on one occasion her high spirits got the better of her vaunted prudence and she played a prank upon the stupid King, getting him to 43

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put his devotion in writing and then presented the document to the Queen. But the truth of this story is somewhat doubtful. Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples andsister of Marie Antoinette of France, could not receive Emma at Courtowing to her unregularised position in the British Ambassador's house, but she admired her loveliness and showed her "every distant civility."

Festivities and endless admiration, that seemed to bring her nosurfeit, were theorder of Emma's day. On one occasion she was the guest of honour on board a Dutch man-of-war. This is her picture of herself: "We settdovvn thirty todine—meattheheadofthe table, mistress of the feast, drest all in virgin white and my hair all in rinlgets, reaching allmost to my heals. I assure you it is so long, that I realy look'd and moved amongst it. Sir William said so."

After the dinner onboard there was a gala night at the Opera. Emma of course was there: "I had the finest dress made up on purpose, as I had a box near the King and

LADY HAMILTON AS "DAPHNE

By Romney

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Queen. My gown was purple sattin, wite sattin peticoat trimd with crape and spangles. My cap lovely, from Paris, all white fethers."

On one occasion she was highly pleased with the praise of a prince who told her that she was (the spelling is hers, not theprince's!) "a dymond of the first watter, and the finest creature on the hearth." But it was not only princes and ambassadors who praised her, servants, peasants, priests and nuns all joined in the chorus, till it almost seems as though the whole population of Naples had no other occupation than admiringher. A Neapolitan maid of her own once asked her, "Does not God favour you more than us?" On being told that He didn't, the contadina exclaimed reproachfully, "O God, your excellenza is very ungrateful! He has been so good as to make your face the same as He made the face of the Blessed Virgin, and you don't esteem it a favour." When a priest came to their house Sir William bade his Madonna-Emma put a shawl over her head and look 45

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up, whereupon the priestburst into tears and said, "God had sent her on purpose."

Emma went to the Convent of Santa Romitaforsomeof her accomplishments and there met a nun whom she much admired. Theletterinwhichshetells Sir William about her is so pretty in its frank worldliness that it must be quoted almost in full:—

"I am quitecharmed with Beatrice Acqua-viva. Such is the name of the charming whoman I saw to-day. Oh, Sir William, she isaprettywhoman. She is 29 years old. She took the veil at twenty; and does not repent to this day, though if I am ajudgein physiognomy, her eyes does not look like the eyes of a nun. They are all ways laughing, and some-thinginthemvastlyalluring,andlwonderthe men of Naples wou'd suffer the oneley pretty whoman who is realy pretty to beshutin aeon-vent. But it is like the mean-spirited ill taste of the Neapolitans. I told her I wondered how she wou'd beletttohideherself from the world, and I daresay thousandsof tears was shed the day she deprived Naples of one of its great-

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est ornaments. She answered with a sigh, that endead numbers of tears was shed, and once ortwice her resolution was allmostshook,but a pleasing comfort she felt at regaining her friends that shehad been brought up with, and religious considerations strengthened her mind, and she parted with the world with pleasure. And since that time one of her sistershad followed her example, and another —which I saw—was prepared to enter soon. But neither of her sisters is so beautiful as her, tho' the[y] are booth very agreable. But I think Beatrice is charming, and I realy feil for her an affection. Her eyes, Sir William, is I don't know how to describe them. I stopt one hour with them ; and I had all the good things to eat, and I promise you they don't starve themselves. But there dress is very becoming, and she told me that shewas allow'd to wear rings and mufs and any little thing she liked, and endead she display'd today a good deal of finery, for she had 4 or 5 dimond rings on her fingers, and seemed fond of her muff. She has excellent teeth, 47

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and shows them, for she is allways laughing. She kissed my lips, cheeks, and forehead,and every moment exclaimed : ' Charming, fine creature,' admired my dress, said I looked like an angel, for I was in clear white dimity and a blue sash. . . . She said she had heard I was good to the poor, generous, & noble-minded. * Now,' she says, 'it wou'd be worth wile to live for such a one as you. Yourgood heart wou'd melt at any trouble that befel me, and partake of one's greef or be equaly happy at one's good fortune. But I never met with a friend yet, or I ever saw a person Icou'dlovetill now, and you shall have proofs of my love.' In short I sat and listened to her, and the tears stood in my eyes, I don't know why, but I loved her at that moment. . . . 'Oh, Emma,' she says to me ... 'We may read your heart in your countenance, your complexion; in short, your figure and features is rare, for you are like the marble statues I saw when I was in the world.' I think she flattered me up,but I was pleased." And what of Sir William himself during

LADY HAMILTON AS By Rojuney

KATE

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this time? He had progressed rapidly in her affections—Greville had faded to a distant " friend " and his uncle become the kindly sun of her sphere. Emma's letters to Sir William during any temporary separation breathe the same impulsive warmth as her earlier letters to Greville, her later ones to Nelson. There is no doubt she loved easily, she was by nature impulsive and responsive. But a little remark of hers to Nelson in 1798 shows that, like many other people, she cherished an idea of herself that had no foundation in fact. It raises a half-smile to find her telling the Admiral, in all good faith, " I am no one's enemy, and unfortunately am difficult and cannot make friendships with all." " Difficult " surely Emma never was—her whole record proves her easy in friendship, easy in love, easy with money, both in giving and spending. All her life she scattered with both hands all she had—a very spendthrift of the emotions. Hear the expressions she lavished upon her elderly Ambassador: "Do you call me your dear friend ? Oh, what a 49 D