Lippincotts Magazine of Popular Literature and Science | Page 5

Hannah! the cause is visible enough: Stuff is thy raiment, and
thy writings--stuff.
[Illustration: BARLEY WOOD, HANNAH MORE'S RESIDENCE.]
A curious incident in Hannah More's life was her encounter with Ann
Yearsley, the Bristol Milkwoman, of whom some account is given in
Southey's Essay upon the Uneducated Poets. A gossiping writer briefly
states the case as follows: "This poor woman, as is well known, sold
milk, and, from going to water it each morning at the Pierian font,
caught at length the poetic fervor. Mrs. Hannah More, whom she
served with cream, was struck by the superior merit of her verses, and
became her patroness. Mrs. More's name was enough to sell worse
poetry, or even worse milk, than Ann Yearsley's. Milton had no such
friend, and could not get twenty pounds for Paradise; but Ann
Yearsley's book brought her some three hundred guineas. Hannah More,
as she was the artificer, wanted also to become the manager, of the
milkwoman's little fortune; but the milkwoman thought she was
competent to take care of it herself, and wanted to bind her boys out to
trades. The lady-patroness was offended at the independence of the
protégée, who had been taken from under the milk-pails; Ann Yearsley
dared to differ from her benefactor, and was denounced as an
ungrateful woman; all Mrs. More's idolaters declared against her, and
the whole religious world opened on her in full cry."[5] Lactilla (for so
the Mores and Montagus called her) loudly remonstrated: she accused
Hannah of being envious of her talents, and announced a new edition of
her poems freed from Mrs. More's corruptions. She carried her point,

but, deprived of Mrs. More's favor, she quickly sank back into
misfortune and obscurity.
[Illustration: WINE STREET, THE BIRTHPLACE OF ROBERT
SOUTHEY.]
The parents of Lord Macaulay were intimate friends of Mrs. More, and
in her later years Hannah watched with tender interest the brilliant
promise of that extraordinary youth. Young Macaulay was a not
infrequent visitor at Barley Wood, and Mrs. More at one time devised
her library to him, but afterward withdrew the bequest, owing to her
doubts of the "strictness" of Macaulay's views. Poor Macaulay! He
failed to win the esteem of two great female writers: the one feared he
had no "religion;" the other declared he had no "heart."
As the Misses More began to get on in the seventies, one after the other
died, and Barley Wood (or Mauritania, as wags called it) grew desolate.
Then occurred the last great event of Hannah's life--her flight from
Barley Wood. It suddenly transpired that for three years her eight
servants had been in full enjoyment of high life below stairs It was
discovered that they had given large orders to tradesmen in her name;
they had intercepted sums of money intended for charity, and when the
whole household was supposed to be at rest they were supping on
presents of game sent to Mrs. More; they had secretly harbored in the
house one of their relatives who had lost her place for disreputable
conduct: in short, Mrs. Jellaby's household would have been a paradise
in comparison with this one. What did Hannah do? She left for ever the
home of her life: she ran away! A house was secretly taken at Clifton,
and after she had fled the servants received a quarter's wages in
advance with immediate dismissal. It must be said for Mrs. More that
during her sisters' lifetime she had had nothing to do with the
housekeeping; further, she was in very ill health, and had not been
down stairs for seven years; but, with all the palliations that may be
offered, is it not startling to find that this woman's influence had
pervaded the civilized world with the exception of that little corner of it
which was to be found under her own roof? This incident, together with
the quarrel with Lactilla, suggests that Mrs. More did not exert

personally a very strong influence. In regard to her servants she relied
upon the deathbed harangue with which Mrs. Martha had consigned her
to their care, and her confidence was kept up by the texts of Scripture
which they each night carefully repeated to her before retiring to eat her
game.
In the heyday of Hannah More's popularity there were living in Bristol
or its vicinity three young men who were to bring in the new literary
epoch by which Hannah has been forgotten--Coleridge, Southey and
Wordsworth. Both Southey and Coleridge were introduced to Mrs.
More by Cottle. Southey was invited to pass a day at Cowslip Green:
he pleased equally all five of the sisters, and Hannah pronounced him
"one of the most elegant and intellectual young men they had seen." In
1814, Cottle conferred a like favor on Coleridge: they went down to