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Page 3
"Know shouldst thou bid the beauteous duchess fade,
Thou, therefore, must thy own delights invade;
And know, 't will be a long, long while
Before thou givest her equal to our isle.
Then do not with this sweet _chef-d'oeuvre_ part,
But keep to show the triumph of thy art."
A dramatic fate has befallen the original canvas. In 1875, it was sold
at auction, and was bought by a firm of dealers for the then highest
price paid for a single picture in England. The publicity gained by
this was taken advantage of by the purchasers to exhibit the picture.
One morning when the gallery was opened, the frame only was there; the
picture had vanished. The canvas is lost.
[Illustration: MARY, THE HONORABLE MRS GRAHAM by GAINSBOROUGH]
LOVELY MARY CATHCART
Like the happiest countries that have no history, the tranquil life of
joyous content leaves little to chronicle. Only in the nobility of
character of a husband who grieved her loss for years, and in his
strong dignity, and devotion to her memory, do we get a hint of the
gracious and good lady whom Gainsborough has made immortal for us.
And in that phrase of her lifetime, "lovely Mary Cathcart," is a whole
biography of benignity and beauty. She came of one of the most ancient
and noble families in Scotland, and was the daughter of the ninth
Baron Cathcart, called "Cathcart of Fontenoy." Her brother William
became the tenth Baron, and afterwards the first Earl Cathcart. He had
studied law, but abandoned it for the army, and had a gallant career
therein; becoming a lieutenant-general in 1801, and commander-in-chief
of the expedition to Copenhagen in 1807; afterwards acquiring
reputation as ambassador for several years at St. Petersburg. He was
perhaps the earliest of British noblemen to marry American beauties;
having wedded the daughter of Andrew Elliott of New York, in 1779.
In November, 1774, there was rejoicing among the retainers of the
House of Cathcart, for there was to be a double wedding. The eldest
daughter, "Jenny," was married to the Duke of Athole, that same Duke
who became a friendly patron of Burns, and in reference to whom the
poet writes, when addressing some verses to him: "It eases my heart a
good deal, as rhyme is the coin with which a poet pays his debts of
honor and gratitude. What I owe to the noble family of Athole, of the
first kind, I shall ever proudly boast; what I owe of the last, so
help me God, in my hour of need I shall never forget."
The second sister, the Hon. Mary, was married to Sir Thomas Graham of
Balgowan, a descendant of the Marquis of Montrose and of Graham of
Claverhouse. The youngest sister, Louisa, later became Countess of
Mansfield, and her portrait, by Romney,--a seated profile figure with
flowing draperies,--is that artist's most masterly work.
After eighteen years of happy married life, she died childless; one of
those good women that were--
"True in loving all their lives,"--
"a surpassing spirit whose light adorned the world around it." Her
husband grieved greatly. He was ordered to travel to divert his
despair. He visited Gibraltar, and there the dormant martial spirit of
his ancestors was aroused by his environment. Though then forty-three
years of age, he immediately entered the army as a volunteer. He
rapidly rose in his profession, and had an especially brilliant career
in the Peninsular War. In 1811, he became the hero of Barossa, and in
the same year was made second in command to the Duke of Wellington. He
was created Lord Lynedoch of Balgowan, Perthshire, and frequently was
thanked by Parliament for his services. Sheridan said, "Never was
there a loftier spirit in a braver heart." And alluding to his
services during the retreat to Corunna, he said, "Graham was their
best adviser in the hour of peril; and in the hour of disaster, their
surest consolation." Scott eulogizes him in the poem, "The Vision of
Don Roderick," in the lines,--
"Nor be his praise o'erpast who strove to hide
Beneath the warrior's vest affection's wound,
Whose wish Heaven for his country's weal denied;
Danger and fate, he sought, but glory found.
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