During her residence at Southgate, her family had been considerably increased, and a larger house was become necessary; and it was hoped that, by removing nearer to London, Mr Smith would be induced to pay a stricter attendance on his business than he had hitherto done; and with this view his father purchased for him a handsome residence at Tottenham, where it was hoped he would retrieve his lost time. But his habits were fixed, he had no turn for business, and never could be prevailed on to bestow more than a small portion of that time on it, which nevertheless hung so heavy on his hands, that he was obliged to have recourse to a variety of expedients to get rid of it. Hence fancies became occupations, and were followed up with boundless expense, till they were relinquished for some newer fancy equally frivolous and equally costly.

Mrs Smith unfortunately disliked her situation at Tottenham, and the more so, from its having failed in the object proposed. She had little or no society, and her mind languished for want of congenial conversation, and her natural vivacity seemed extinguished by the monotony of her life.

Her father-in-law was in the habit of confiding to her all his anxieties, and frequently employed her pen in matters of business. On one occasion, she was called on to vindicate

his character from some illiberal attack, and she acquitted herself of the task in a very able manner. This little tract was published, but not being of any general interest, has not been preserved. The elder Mr Smith has frequently declared, that such was the readiness of her pen, that she could expedite more business in an hour from his dictation, than any one of his clerks could perform in a day; and he even offered her a considerable annual allowance, if she would reside in London and assist him in his business, which he foresaw would be lost to his family after his death. Obvious reasons prevented her acceptance of this proposal, which, singular as it was, affords a strong instance of the compass of her mind, which could adapt itself with equal facility to the charms of literature, and the dry details of

commerce.

Mrs Smith had been long endeavouring to obtain her father-in-law's consent to the removal of her family entirely into the country; and such was her influence over him, that she prevailed, in opposition to his better judgment, and in 1774 an estate in Hants, called Lys Farm, was purchased and in a new and untried situation, she fondly imagined she should escape from existing evils; but she was soon awakened from her dream of happiness.

In removing her husband from his father's

eye, she had taken off the only check which could restrain his conduct, and accordingly he plunged into expenses much more serious than any he had hitherto ventured upon. In other respects her situation was improved— and if she had not more actual happiness, she had occasional enjoyment; she had better and more frequent society; she was better appreciated, both on account of her talents and her personal attractions. Though she was at that time the mother of seven children, and had lost much of the lightness of her figure, she was in the meridian of her beauty

<< In the sober charms and dignity

Of womanhood, mature, not verging yet
Upon decay, in gesture like a queen :
Such inborn and habitual majesty

Ennobled all her steps."

It was natural that she should take pleasure in society, where she was sure to be well received, and that she should seek, in such dissipation as the neighbourhood afforded, a temporary relief from the unremitting vexations which embittered her domestic hours. In 1776 she lost her best friend in her husband's father, who, if not an agreeable person to live with, had many estimable qualities, and had the discernment to appreciate hers. From his death may be dated the long course of calamities which marked her subsequent life. Mr Smith, whether from a conceit of

his own knowledge of law, or from the mistaken economy of a narrow mind, that would risk thousands to save a few pounds, thought proper to make his own will ; -a most voluminous document! which, from its utter want of perspicuity, from its numerous incomprehensible and contradictory clauses, no two lawyers ever understood in the same sense. It was a tangled skein, which neither patience nor skill could unravel. He had appointed his widow, his son, and his son's wife, joint executors, intending to restrain his son's power, without excluding him; but the measure defeated itself. The widow, weak and infirm, was easily overruled by cajolery, or less gentle means; and the appointment of the wife was (as to immediate power) completely nugatory; so that the entire power over the property fell

into the hands least fit to be intrusted with it. Endless disputes arose among the parties interested, or rather their agents, for many of Mr Smith's grand-children were orphans and minors; and I believe, though Mrs C. Smith considered herself and her children as the victims of these unhappy dissensions, the other branches of the family were more or less sufferers. Besides what was expended in law, and what was wasted by improvidence, the sum of twenty thousand pounds was lost to the family, by the old gentleman having suffered himself, with all his caution, to be over

reached by his solicitor, who persuaded him to lend that sum to a distressed baronet on mortgage: but the security was bad, and I believe the family never received any compensation. Mrs Smith had long foreseen the storm that was gathering round her, but had no power to avert it. A lucrative contract, which the interest of Mr Robinson (then secretary to the treasury, and who had married a sister of Mr B. Smith's) procured for him, warded off the blow for a time, and he went on with his accustomed thoughtlessness. About this time he took an active part in a contested election for the county of Southampton, between Sir Richard Worsley and

As

the brother-in-law of Mr Robinson, his exertions were, of course, in favour of the ministerial candidate. Mrs Smith had not at that time caught the contagion which spread so widely a few years afterwards, and very willingly lent her pen in support of the cause; and among the many efforts which were made on both sides to unite wit with politics, hers were reckoned the most successful; but as she was not known to have been the author of them, her vanity could not have been much gratified.

In the spring of 1777 she lost her eldest son in his eleventh year. His delicate health from