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C7i^/i
THE LIFE OF
IMIISS
Hrme CpTDEY
CELEBRATED
SINGING PERFORMER OF THE LAST CENTURY
INCLUDING AN
ACCOUNT OF HER INTRODUCTION
TO PUBLIC LIFE
HER
PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENTS
In London and Dublin
1ber IDarious Hfcventures anfc 3ntrtguc0
with well-known men of quality
and wealth.
Carefully Compiled and Edited from the Best and Most
Authentic Records Extant.
LONDON.
1888.
^
V
0,1 Z
I
\»
e
fIDemoir of fIDiss Hnne Catle^
— <r~* >aP^CLi-^ — » —
SNNE CATLEY, the subject of the following Memoir,
was one of the most celebrated actresses of the
^ latter half of the last century. Her personal beauty, her
high vocal abilities, and her connection with certain well-
known personages of the upper class, acquired for her a
o notoriety that was certainly distinguished, if not altogether
enviable.
^ Various writers having expressed themselves very differ-
ently as to this lady's character, it will be interesting to
gather together and present in a consecutive narrative such
authentic facts as are procurable.
N^ An author living at the time she nourished speaks of her
as "at present justly the most celebrated for her musical
fl powers the British Theatre ever boasted," and says, " she
« is the daughter of a hackney coachman who lived near
Tower Hill." All accounts of her seem agreed about this,
and that she was born in the year 1745, as the writer says,
"like a bright orient gem, when removed from the dark
bowels of the earth, emerging from an obscure and gloomy
alley in the neighbourhood of Tower Hill. Her father," he
says, " if he could not boast of luxury himself, most essen-
Q
26972
4 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
tially contributed to the enjoyment of it in others. His
courses were generally above the vulgar level, for he was
in short, and in plain English, neither more nor less than a
gentleman's coachman." As to the particular occupation
of the mother, opinion is much divided, but the most preva-
lent is that she was an humble washerwoman, and earned
small sums in that way by keeping clean the officers upon
the Tower duty.
In her infancy the little Nancy displayed charms which
attracted the attention of every beholder. Her complexion
was as fair as alabaster, her eyes sparkling; she had
vermilion lips, and nothing could equal the bloom which
adorned her cheeks. In a word, Nature seemed in forming
her to have meant to shew the world an abridgment of all
human perfection. Not to dwell, however, too long on a
subject which can afford our readers but little pleasure
besides a first perusal, we shall proceed to relate the
remarkable events of her younger years, observing only
that her beauty increased with her age.
Her education was such as persons who move in the
same sphere of life with her parents usually bestow on
their children. She imbibed the first rudiments of reading
in a charity school. She passed her youth in childish
amusements peculiar to that age, and in the company of
her equals; whom, whether male or female she strove to
«xcel in the noble arts of spinning a top, playing at
marbles, running down Tower Hill, jumping over posts, &c.
She had reached her fourteenth year, when, as she v/as
sitting one day in an alehouse, among her companions,
she was desired to sing a song. A draught of beer soon
gained her compliance, and a gentleman well known in the
musical world happening to pass by the door at that
Life of Miss Anne Catxey. 5
instant, was so much attracted by the angelic though
untutored melody of the little Catley that he stopped to
hear her song out. When she had done he went into the
house, sat down, and with the bribe of a few halfpence
prevailed on her to repeat it, and when she had finished he
went away without saying anything to her at that time.
He immediately enquired in the neighbourhood where
her parents lived, and what business they followed ; of
which particulars being informed, he went to them, told
them how much he admired their daughter's musical
talents, and offered to take her under his tuition, and
perfect her in an art for which nature had so well
qualified her.
Her father and mother, overjoyed at a proposal which
seemed so advantageous to their child, readily consented.
Accordingly, she removed next day to the house of her
patron, Mr. Bates, who put her to school very remote from
the haunts of her former companions.
Here she remained some time, wholly employed in
learning to read and write. After she was taken from
school she applied herself with so much assiduity to acquire
a competent knowledge of music, that at the end of two
years she was capable of occupying a distinguished position
in a London orchestra.
While living in the neighbourhood of the Tower, she
became an object very much admired, and by the credulity
of her unsuspecting parents was permitted to expose her
budding beauties, and, as we have seen, her melodious
cadences, in the commonest places of resort in that district.
She was yet too young for serious love affairs, but the
military heroes of the locality had their eyes upon her, as
beasts of prey watch their destined victims until they
6 Life of Miss Anne Catlet.
arrive at a proper time and place to spring upon them.
They were all, however, disappointed ; Nan, before she
arrived at her second teen, listened to the love-lore of a
young linen draper in the Minories, and in a very short
time returned his passion with equal ardour.
And now that charming voice for which she afterwards
became so justly celebrated began to increase in strength
and melody ; insomuch that, at the recommendation of
some friends, Mr. Bates gladly accepted her as an appren-
tice by indenture, with a penalty of ,£200 for the father in
case of misconduct.
Upon attaining proficiency she made her first appearance
in public at Vauxhall in the summer of 1762 ; and on the
8th of October in the same year she appeared for the first
time on the stage at Covent Garden, in the character of the
Pastoral Nymph in Comus, and gained uncommon applause.
Bates and Catley, however, soon found they could not
agree. She had discovered a mortal dislike to her master,
and her conduct became most irregular. It was in vain he
solicited and threatened — at one time he declared that he
would turn her out of doors and sue her father for the
.£200 — in vain also were her father's entreaties, her conduct
became so irritating that at last Bates agreed to allow her
£25 a year for her board and lodging, and take her salary
to himself. This arrangement, however, did not long
continue.
The succeeding year she became an object of public
attention from a very remarkable circumstance. Sir
Francis Blake Delaval, one of the most notorious and
abandoned characters of the times, being charmed with her
beauty, and understanding that the master and his fair
apprentice could not agree, resolved on releasing her
Life of Miss Anne Catley. 7
entirely from the coercion of Bates, and making her his
mistress. Accordingly, it was agreed that Sir Francis
should pay Bates the penalty of the father's bond, and also
give him <£2Q0 more in lieu of what she might earn for
him by the engagement that he had made for her with the
managers of Covent Garden Theatre and Marylebone
Gardens. In this purpose Mr. Fraine, an attorney, was
ordered to draw up a proper transfer of her indentures
from Bates to Sir Francis, and she and her mother were
removed into lodgings, where she lived publicly with Sir
Francis, was attended by his servants, and rode out with
him every day.
The attorney, having made the father a party to the
articles, waited on him to have his signature and seal. Mr.
Catley lived at this time with the very respectable Mr.
Barclay, of Cheapside, and, having got possession of the
articles, consulted his master on the nature of them.
The honest Quaker, shocked at the wickedness of trans-
ferring a girl by legal process, for the purpose of prostitution,
advised with his Lawyer, who laid a case before Counsel, and
the ensuing term two motions were made in the Court of
King's Bench on these articles : the first of these motions
was for Habeas Corpus, directed to Sir Francis Blake
Delaval, to bring the body of Anne Catley into Court ; and
the second was for a rule to shew cause why an information
should not be filed against Sir Francis Blake Delaval,
Bates the Master, and Fraine the Attorney, for a conspiracy
to prostitute Anne Catley, under the forms of Law. On the
following day, Catley, in consequence of the Habeas Corpus,
appeared in Court, accompanied by Sir Francis, and was
discharged out of his custody. The affidavits for the prose-
cutor were read, and a day was fixed for cause to be shewn.
8 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
On the young lady's release, her father attempted to seize
her, and carry her off by force. Sir Fletcher Norton,
Counsel for Sir Francis, immediately complained to the
Court, and the violent conduct of the father, was severely
reprimanded by the Chief Justice, Earl Mansfield, who
observed, that though the girl was not of legal age, she was
at full discretion ; and the question being put, whether she
would return with her father, or Sir Francis, she declared
her attachment to the latter, put her hand under his arm,
and making a curtsey to the Judges, and another to the
Bar, walked with him out of Westminster Hall to his
carriage, which waited at the gate, and carried them home.
On cause being shewn, the Court were clearly of opinion
that the information should be granted. Lord Mansfield
observed, that the Court of King's Bench was custos
morum of the country ; and had authority, especially where
the offence was mixed with conspiracy, to punish every
thing contra bonas mores. He called the money given by
Sir Francis to Bates, premium prostitutions, and cited the
case of Sir Richard Sedley, in the reign of Charles II. to
support it.
The consequence of this information against Sir Francis,
Bates, and Fraine, was a trial, and all the defendants being
found guilty by the Jury, were severely fined ; the whole
expense of which, together with the costs to a very con-
siderable amount, fell upon Sir Francis.
The story of her conquest of Sir F. B. D. is told as
follows, in a pamphlet published during her life-time and
professing to contain many curious anecdotes never before
published. She is thus described on the title page —
" Queen of Song, of Dance, of Sports,
You scarce will meet her like again."
Life op Miss Anne Catley. 9
Singing at Marylebone Gardens, her beauty, joined to
her superior excellence in singing, could not fail of creating
her a great number of admirers. Among the rest of her
numerous votaries, Sir F. B. D. obtained the preference.
He took her home with him in his chariot one night from
the gardens.
She was not ignorant of the conquest her charms had
made, and was resolved to make the utmost advantage of
it. The Knight who loved her to desperation, on their
arrival at his house, asked her on what terms she would
consent to live with him. She heartily replied, that the
happiness of being loved by him was, in her opinion, a
sufficient reward for any favours that she could bestow.
Pleased with this answer, he presented her with a diamond
ring which he took from his finger, worth a hundred
guineas, as an earnest of what he intended to do in the
future.
Her conversation during supper was witty, spirited and
enlivening ; she sung him several songs, all of which were
on the subject of love and omitting nothing that she
thought likely to increase his passion for her, the evening
was passed in the most agreeable manner imaginable.
The next day he sent for his coachmaker, and ordered
him to make for her a very elegant equipage. He fixed
her in genteel lodgings at two guineas per week, and
assigned her an allowance of five guineas.
Our heroine seemed now arrived at the pinnacle of her
glory, her inamorata was too fond to deny her anything
she asked him. She also, on her part resolved to give him
every satisfaction in her power, and accordingly requested
the favour of him to accompany her to a house near
Hampstead, prepared by her appointment, to partake of an
10 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
entertainment she had provided. She forgot nothing that
might make everything agreeable to him ; the most
delicate viands and the choicest wines were served up with
a degree of elegance, which plainly shewed that the mis-
tress of the feast was no novice in the art of doing the
honours of the table with propriety. All the time they
sat at table, two bands of music composed of the most
celebrated vocal and instrumental performers, played and
sung. The knight was in raptures, but his fair flame
desired him to forbear being so lavish in his thanks till
after supper, when she hoped to present him with a scene
that would be more deserving of them.
Miss Catley made a short meal, and retired somewhat
abruptly. This behaviour surprised her lover, and he
waited the issue of the event with impatience. When the
things were removed she sent a servant to desire Sir F. to
walk into a large hall below stairs, where a theatre
appeared, representing a forest at a distance, with a
beautiful valley stretching out towards it. Fields and
orchards seemed in full bloom ; the rivulets wandered
along, and their banks were decked with woodbines and
roses.
Here our heroine, who had only retired to dress, appeared
as Celia asleep ; three shepherds came slowly forward, the
music playing, and one of them sung as follows —
Soft advances let us make
Towards my lovely enemy ;
Let us, let us not awake
Her sleeping cruelty.
Then all three sang the following trio —
Sleep on, and take that sweet repose,
Ye bright victorious eyes,
Life op Miss Anne Catley. 11
Which the hard law that you impose
To other hearts denies.
Strephon.
Silence, ye birds, ye zephyrs, peace,
Let all a sacred silence keep ;
Ye purling streams, your murmurs cease,
For 'tis Celia that's asleep.
Trio.
Sleep on, and take the sweet repose,
Ye bright victorious eyes,
Which the hard law that you impose
To other hearts denies.
This was sung admirably well ; and when the shepherds
had done, several shepherdesses came out of the wood.
They advanced to the sleeping beauty in graceful measure,
as the music played, and when they came to the bank of
flowers she reclined on, one of them sang, incomparably
fine, these words —
Come, Celia with your charms,
Come view the innocent delights,
To which, with smiles and open arms,
Our peaceful wilderness invites.
Here seek no grandeur of a Court,
Love's alone our harmless sport :
Love crowns the night, love crowns the day,
And love's the burthen of the lay.
Here Celia awakened, and, singing, said to Strephon,
who stood gazing on and admiring the wonders of her face,
O what cruelty you shew,
To follow me where'er I go !
Strephon.
Whom would you have me, fair, pursue,
But she, alas ! I love — but you ?
12 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
Celia.
What is it, shepherd, that you mean ?
Strephon.
Fair shepherdess, I mean to die ;
Die at your feet and end my pain,
Since at your feet I sigh.
Celia.
Hence, Strephon, hence, I fear that I shall prove
Pity within my breast transform'd to love.
Strephon.
Or from pity or from love
It is graceful to be tender !
Shepherdess, enough you've strove,
To his flame yon must surrender.
Or from pity or from love,
It is graceful to be tender.
Celia.
Too long I've been, too long, severe,
Your ardent vows have treated ill ;
Here, take my heart, here, Strephon, here,
Of just revenge here take your fill.
Strephon.
O heavens ! 0 shepherds ! 0 Celia, why
Transport me thus ? If joy can kill, I die.
Damon.
This prize is worthy of thy fidelity ;
Thus blest, who but must envy thee !
This scene of a comedy ballet was finely performed and
beautifully improved by the conclusion taken from Shake-
speare's Tempest ; that is, when the shepherds had done,
Juno, Iris and Ceres appeared, descending in a machine
of clouds, to bless this pair, and sung their blessings on
them. Iris called the Naiads of the winding brooks, by
Life of Miss Anne Catley. 13
command of Juno, summoned the sun-burnt sicklemen to
put their rye-straw hats on and encounter those other
nymphs in country footing. The nymphs and reapers
appeared in a moment properly habited, and concluded the
scene with a graceful dance.
In this manner the time passed away till midnight, the
next day was passed in much the same manner, and he
stayed with her about a week, and she every day entertained
him with some new species of diversion. At the end of
that time he took his leave, and gave her fresh tokens of
his affection.
A writer in the " History of the English Theatre " (1789)
says, " To the man of her choice she was faithful, loving
and submissive." This opinion is certainly not borne out
by facts, and another writer of her times says, " Though of
a sprightly disposition and apparently of a volatile spirit,
she never lost sight of her own interest." Sir Francis had
possession of her person, but was never master of her heart,
and there is no doubt, but that even while she resided
with him, and appeared in public as his mistress, she
privately engaged in intrigues with others for pecuniary
consideration. A diamond to her was as inestimable an
argument as to Madame Sc-l-e-g. It won her last favour
as effectually as it gains the old German's interest. Her
passions were strong, but she was totally destitute of
sentiment and delicacy, and always gratified her appetite
with a view to her interests as well as to her taste ; being
attached to the whole sex without harbouring a particular
fondness for any particular individual, she measured love
by profit, and enjoyed indulgence without the least relish
for mental satisfaction.
Macklin was the person who first discovered her talents
14 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
for the stage, and she cultivated thero under his tuition
with assiduity and success; for notwithstanding she pleased
most when least natural and most outre, yet there was
great capability in her mind ; she could assume chaste
acting, and executed many characters of difficulty with
critical justice.
Time, possession, and infidelity — the capricious girl having
confessed to an improper intimacy with no less a personage
than the Duke of York himself, whom she declared to be
the father of her third child, adding with her native pleas-
antry, a hope that he might be wiser than his father
having at last cooled the passion of Sir Francis, he effected
an emancipation from the fascinating chains of his mistress,
who, by the advice of her venerable instructor, the father
of the stage, made a trip to Ireland.
It is evident that while she was making her most fervent
protestations of affection for Sir F., she could not confine her
desires to him alone, but among other adventures listened to
the overtures made her by a rich Portuguese Jew merchant.
Her amour with him seemed to be founded more on in-
terest, than any other motive, and was as follows.
She had been kept by Sir F. about a twelve month, when
returning home in a hackney chair from a visit pretty late
in the evening, a foot-pad presented a pistol to the foremost
man, commanding him in the usual phrase to stand. A
voice at that instant cried out, " hold villain, on your life I
charge you hold ! dare to repeat your insolence, and this
moment shall be your last." The robber obeyed, and a
gentleman, richly dressed, having ordered the chairman to
carry the lady home, escorted her thither himself.
As soon as she arrived at the door of her own house he
handed her out of the chair, and being struck with her
Life of Miss Anne Catley. 15
beauty he asked permission to pay her a visit, which she
readily complied with.
He then respectfully took his leave and went home
ruminating all the way on the pleasure he was likely to
reap from this happy encounter.
Before we proceed any further in the relation of this
adventure, it will not be amiss to give the best account we
could learn of this new adorer of our heroine. He was a
native of Lisbon, his name, Miguel Diaz Fernandes ; he
was very rich, and a widower. He had no children, and
was about fifty years old. As to his person, he was tall
and meagre, of a sallow complexion, and had something
rather forbidding in his countenance. Having given this
description of him, we shall resume the thread of the story.
As soon as he went home he retired to bed, but could
not sleep. He lay awake the whole night, ruminating on
what had passed ; he arose early in the morning, and
despatched his servant with the following billet to Miss
Catley.
" Divine creature !
I am dying for love of you, and unless you take
pity on me, and condescend to receive this declaration of
my passion favourably, I must inevitably fall a victim to
the ardent flame with which I am fired. I have sixty
thousand pounds, besides a large estate in Portugal, which
I here offer to make you sole mistress of. Deign therefore
to give me permission to hope I am not disagreeable to
you. My servant will deliver your answer to me.
I am, charming miss,
Your sincere admirer,
M. D. Fernandes."
16 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
To this passionate epistle our heroine, when she had
perused it, thought proper to send the following answer —
" Sir,
Your behaviour last night convinces me that you
are a man of honour and a gentleman. As such I shall
always esteem you. I know not how to look on you in
any other light at present. An interview perhaps may
determine me more in your favour. But oh ! I fear to
trust my too credulous heart. You have therefore leave to
visit me at my own house this afternoon, at six o'clock.
Pray come alone. Yours,
Anne Catley."
The merchant's heart was filled with joy at the receipt
of this favourable answer, and he waited with the utmost
impatience for the happy hour which was to make him the
most blest of all mankind. Time seemed to move with
leaden wings, but at length the wished-for moment came,
when he mounted his chariot, which soon conveyed him to
the abode of his charmer.
Being arrived at her house, she received him with an air
of affected modesty, which, though it did not utterly
discourage him, yet easily made him perceive that his
success would cost him some pains. He was somewhat
puzzled at the singularity of her behaviour, which was easy
without betraying too much freedom. He was as anxious
to turn the conversation on the topic of love as she seemed
studious to avoid it. At length, after having, as she
thought, thoroughly sifted her inamorata's inclination, she
appeared all at once to comply with his wishes, and in
order to give him the most exalted opinion of her virtue,
invented the following tale —
Life op Miss Anne Catley. 17
"I am, sir," said she, "the daughter of an Irish gentle-
man, a merchant, a native of Dublin, who, dying whilst I
was very young, left me to the care of my mother, who was
at that time about five-and-twenty years old. I was his
only daughter, and he was so excessively fond of me that I
was indulged in every reasonable wish my little heart could
form ; I was sensibly afflicted at his death, and used to
mingle my tears with those of my mother, who bewailed
his loss in the most affectionate manner imaginable. This
fond parent did not survive my father above three months,
and left me an orphan, with ,£10,000 to my portion, to the
guardianship of a rich old uncle, who, when I had attained
the proper age, endeavoured by threats and promises to
force me to give my hand to his son, a dissolute youth, who
had already deceived several young women by promising
them marriage, only with a view to ruin them more easily.
Finding me averse to his will, he forcibly kept from me the
writings of my estate, and I, for want of friends, being
unable to recover them, he gave them to his son, who in
about two years squandered away all my fortune in extrav-
agancies, and left me, a wretched being, reduced to the
cruel necessity of earning my bread by the labour of my
hands.
Having received an education suitable to the large
fortune I was born to possess, I was unacquainted with, as
well as incapable of undertaking, any laborious employ-
ment. The place, therefore, of governess to a young lady
of quality, which fortunately happened at that time to be
vacant, seemed the best adapted to my abilities. I applied
four years in the family, where I gave such satisfaction
that the lady's son, who, unknown to the whole family, had
entertained a passion for me, obtained his mother's leave to
c
18 Life op Miss Anne Catley.
marry me. As he had a great deal of good sense and
virtue, and was very agreeable in his person, I married
him. We did not live together above two years before he
died, leaving a beautiful daughter, and me mistress of a
large fortune. My patroness dying soon after, I came
over to England, together with my daughter, where I live
retired, busied only in the care of my Charlotte's educa-
tion."
The merchant, who had listened with the greatest at-
tention to this account which Miss Catley gave of herself,
admired her great virtue, wisdom and prudence. It gave
him infinite pleasure to find she was not married, and he
could not help expressing his joy to her on that account.
He then proceeded to make a formal declaration of his
love, but how much was be chagrined, when this lady of
pretended virtue, told him she was determined never to
marry a second time, and therefore begged him to relinquish
all thoughts of wedlock, as she had made a vow to remain
single during the rest of her life. She told him that she
should always rank him among her friends, and therefore
begged he would honour her so far as to place her among
the number of his. He politely thanked her and begged
to see her daughter. This request our heroine expected he
would make, and had accordingly procured a little girl
about seven years old, who was to pass as her daughter.
She rang the bell and ordered the maid to bring the child,
and presently after, a beautiful girl about seven years old,
richly dressed, entered the room. The supposed mother
presented her to Fernandes, who after having caressed her,
begged leave of Miss Catley to present her with what he
called an earnest of his future good intentions towards her.
•Saying this, he put a pearl necklace into her hands and a
Life op Miss Anne Catley. 19\
pair of ear rings mounted in gold, with diamond drops.
These were delivered immediately to our heroine, who
civilly thanked the gentleman for his ingenious present.
After having drunk tea, he desired permission to retire,
which having obtained, he went home, where we will leave
him awhile to acquaint the reader with the reasons of Miss
Catley's acting in the manner above related.
She always held it a duty incumbent on her to get all she
could, without rendering herself too cheap ; she therefore
always made it a rule to make her lovers pay exorbitantly
for the smallest favours, and she was never known to
complete anyone's happiness till she had gratified her
passion for money. This mode of conduct, which she ever
most religiously observed, has long since convinced the
world, that, as Peachum's daughter in the Beggar's Opera
says, " She knows as well how to make the most of her man
as any woman." But in the present case she had other
motives, though all had the same tendency, i.e. interest, for
behaving as she did. She was now in keeping by Sir F. B.
D., who rewarded her supposed constancy with too much
liberality to suffer her to give him the least room to suspect
her capable of being guilty of a breach of it.
On the other hand she seemed coy to her new lover, first,
to prove the extent of his passion ; secondly, to raise in
him a higher esteem for her ; and thirdly, to invent a
scheme to prevent her two lovers from coming to the
knowledge of her intimacy with either.
We will now return to Fernandes, who by this time
was arrived at his own house. He went to bed much
chagrined, but could not get a wink of sleep during the
whole night. He lamented his unhappy fate in having met
with so cruel a fair one. Having passed a sleepless night,
20 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
in the morning he sent a servant with the following billet.
" Cruel Charmer !
How shall I find words to express the ardour
of my passion for you, and lament the hardness of your
heart in thus treating your humble slave ! Unless you
relieve my pain, I shall inevitably fall a sacrifice to your
beauty. I shall ever offer the incense of the purest praise
of you at the altar of love. On your answer depends my
life. If you continue to be cruel, I shall soon put an
end to a wretched life. I am yours,
M. D. Fernandes."
To this passionate epistle our heroine returned the
following answer.
" Sir,
I am not so cruel in my disposition as you imagine.
I consent to alleviate your pain. I expect you this
evening at my house. Come alone at seven o'clock.
P.S. — Let this be a profound secret.
A. C Y."
Fernandes received this letter with joy, he kissed it a
thousand times, and waiting with the utmost impatience
for the appointed hour, which had no sooner come than he
flew at once to meet his charmer whom he found in perfect
readiness to meet him ; when he took his leave he was
so satisfied with the reception that had been accorded him
that he presented her with a note of a hundred pounds.
Whether Fernandes was not altogether quite as agreeable
to Miss C y as could have been expected, or whether
for other more cogent reasons, she did not judge it prudent
to encourage a renewal of his visits, cannot be ascertained.
It is however certain that she never gave him the pleasure
of her company after.
Life of Miss Anne Catley. . 21
She continued to revel for a considerable time in tall the
pleasures which gallantry and dissipation afford, happy in
the enjoyment of the affectionate indulgence shewn by her
knight, till the golden stream of felicity was, for a short
interval, turned into another channel, different from that
in which it had so long run. This unexpected stroke of
temporary unhappiness was occasioned by her father's
taking upon him to vindicate the supposed injury done to
his daughter's character by certain of these intimacies.
He accordingly entered a process against Sir F. B. D., as
principal agent, and also against B., the organist, for being
an accomplice in the affair. The cause was tried at West-
minster in 1764, when, it appearing to the judges that the
knight's intimacy with our heroine was entirely with her
own consent, and that Mr. B. could not in any manner be
considered as an abettor or aider to the transaction, her
indentures having been previously cancelled, her father,
who doubtless expected to have gained considerably by the
lawsuit, had the mortification to hear the jury pronounce a
verdict for the defendant with costs of suit ; which, as they
were considerable, and out of the plaintiff's power to pay,
the knight generously discharged.
This affair being thus settled, our heroine resumed her
former gaiety, and shone with greater splendour than before
at all places of polite resort. Her lover grew fonder of her
every day, giving her frequent marks of his esteem. During
the course of their intimacy, which lasted two years, two
children were born, who both died in their infancy. They
did not continue long together afterwards, an event hap-
pening which caused a final separation between them. It
was as follows :
Miss C y had been one evening at Vauxhall in
22 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
company with some ladies, from which place, filled with
wine, a vice she was sometimes guilty of, she went with
the rest of her company to W — th — by's, a well-known
house of questionable repute, where she passed the night
in mirth and jollity. Unluckily, Sir F. B. D. came there
also, to pass an idle hour or two, and the waiter by mis-
take shewed him into an apartment where our heroine was
in company with a young attorney's clerk. The indignant
knight, fired with rage, turned on his heel and departed.
The next morning she returned home, where she found
her lover, who awaited her arrival. He reproached her
for her baseness, as he termed it, towards him, and
giving her a bank-note of <£50 desired her to take another
lodging immediately. Miss C y, finding that all
endeavours to please him were in vain, retorted his
upbraidings on himself, and even went so far as to make
herself merry at his expense.
It must not be supposed by the reader that the fault was
all on one side, a mistake very often made with regard to
affairs of this particular nature. In order therefore to
do justice to all parties and that the true position of
things may be understood it is necessary to insert the
following.
Sir Francis Blake Delaval was a gentleman of high and
respectable family, being son to a baronet and related nearly
by blood and affinity to several of the nobility. His
person was elegant, his face handsome, his manners pol-
ished, his education liberal, his conversation sprightly and
pleasing. Few ever possessed so many of those qualities
which fascinate the ladies, and few ever succeeded better in
obtaining their favours by humbling their proud hearts.
When very young this gentleman dissipated his patrimony
Life op Miss Anne Catley. 23
on women and play, till at last his finances being reduced
to the lowest ebb, necessity forced him to relieve them by
fortune hunting, a resource truly despicable.
The object fixed upon as the means of repairing his
shattered fortune, was Lady Isabella Pawlet, daughter to
the Earl of Thanet. This lady possessed a very considerable
fortune, with a very plain person and face, and a character
somewhat questionable according to evidence said to be
given by Foote, though unstained by any actual charges.
The truth is, Lady Isabella Pawlet (or Paulet") had a
penchant for the humorist, and if he had not been restrained
from matrimony, by having previously entered into the
indissoluble noose of Hymen, there is scarcely a doubt that
he would have refused the acceptance of a considerable
fortune on any terms ; but this being impossible, he resolved
to come in for a share, and fixed upon Delaval, with whom
he had long lived on terms of intimacy, as a proper instru-
ment.
Lady Isabella was a dupe to superstition. The old gipsy
woman at Norwood, whom she frequently visited, stood
higher in her estimation than Boyle or Newton, and she
put more confidence in the presages of an astrologer who
resided up four pairs of stairs in the Old Bailey, than was
ever placed in Copernicus.
Foote having informed his friend Delaval of the lady's
foible, they came to an agreement, by which the former
was to have an annuity of five hundred pounds a year, and
the principal to enjoy the remainder of the lady's fortune.
A maid servant was bribed to betray her lady, and the
conspirators having received information from her of a
particular day when her ladyship was to consult a cele-
brated conjuror, to whom, at that time, several women of
24 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
the first fashion paid frequent visits, to this imposing
rascal, Delaval and his friend Foote immediately repaired,
and having secured his services by a few guineas, informed
him of several of the most remarkable incidents in Lady
Isabella's life, the conjuror at the same time taking an
exact survey of Delaval's face and figure for a purpose
which shall appear presently.
Lady Isabella soon after arrived, accompanied by her
treacherous attendant, who by a sign previously agreed
upon, informed the impostor who his visitor was.
The answers given to the interrogatories of her ladyship,
and to the prepared questions occasionally slipped in by
her cunning abigail, left no doubt on her mind of the
conjuror's extraordinary and supernatural powers, and of
course brought forward the material enquiry respecting
marriage, which is generally the great end of all such
applications.
The impostor now pretended to consult a planetary
system that lay before him on his table. Having delib-
erately taken off a pair of large spectacles and turned up
his eyes towards Heaven, he muttered over the names
given to the signs of the zodiac and fixed stars, — he drew a
number of circles and lines with white lead upon black
paper, and at last with a grave face described the person
and features of Delaval.
Lady Isabella, delighted at the description of her
intended cara sposa, rewarded the conjuror liberally, and
would now have retired, but her well-instructed companion,
pretending a tender interest in the future fortune of her
mistress, urged for further information, particularly as to
the time when and the place where her lover was to be
seen. The wizard answered that he could certainly com-
Life of Miss Anne Catley. 25
municate such information, but must first consult his
familiar spirit in an adjacent room, and immediately retired
to Delaval and Foote, who sat in another room, where
having waited a few minutes in consultation, he returned
to the women, and found Lady Isabella almost maddened
with anxious expectation. He told her that the gentleman
to whom the fates had destined her hand would be walking
the next day at twelve o'clock by the side of the canal in
the Green Park, but cautioned her not to speak first, as
that would break the charm, and having received another
fee for his pleasing news, Lady Isabella returned home in
rapture.
The description of the charming man described by the
conjuror had taken possession of this unfortunate lady's
brain ; she could not eat during the day, nor sleep during
the night. The morning sun, on rising, found her at her
toilette, culling ornaments, painting, washing, and per-
fuming ; and she involuntarily rambled to the place of
appointment an hour before the time. During this hour
this infatuated dupe to imposition kept her eyes rivetted
(9a the park gate, and every time it opened trembled from
head to foot with anxious expectation. Her repeater at
last struck twelve, and at that instant Delaval appeared,
dressed in every point exactly as the conjuror had described.
The sudden appearance of the gentleman extorted the
ejaculation of " 0 heavens ! " from the lady, which was
followed with " Lord preserve us ! " from the maid ; but
Delaval continued to pass and repass them several times
without turning his eyes towards the seat, which was
indeed a necessary precaution, as he was ready to burst
into loud laughter every instant. At last, looking full at
Lady Isabella, he bowed respectfully, and, she returning
26 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
the salute, he walked towards her, and commenced a
conversation.
The surprise of the lady having by degrees subsided, she
discovered on recovering her senses that the stranger held
her hand; she reluctantly drew it from him, at the same time
heaving a deep sigh, which he returned with all the softness
of sympathetic tenderness. Before they parted an assigna-
tion was made for a future meeting at the same place, and
the swain took leave with an affected warmth of passion
and respect that totally threw the lady off her guard, and
expelled from her mind all considerations but those of
romantic love.
Delaval, on separating, flew to inform Foote of his success,
and then retired to indulge in tender conversation with
a favourite in King's Place. Lady Isabella locked herself
within her chamber, there to contemplate with rapture the
conquest she had made, or rather, indeed, on the lover,
who, in her opinion, Heaven in its bounty had created for
her specially. The more she thought the more she became
enamoured, and the second meeting totally overturned
every idea that prudence suggested. Delaval
" Could impart
The loosest wishes to the chastest heart."
And Lady Isabella was now at an age when the heart is
tender, though not over young. She was approaching
towards that grand climacteric which brings despair to
maidens, and having long regretted her situation she was
resolved not to lose the present opportunity of doing all
within her power for the good of her generation, and to
remove from herself that most horrid of all horrid epithets
to a woman's ear — an old maid.
Life of Miss Anne Catley. 2T
The marriage, therefore, was soon celebrated, much to
the satisfaction of the bride ; but Sir Francis felt himself
rather uneasy on the occasion, which, however, he attempted
to put off with a laugh, and having been asked how he
could think of marrying so ordinary a woman, answered
"I married her for weight and paid nothing for fashion."
Had Lady Isabella been a Venus in beauty, and endowed
with the wisdom of Pallas, she would have found her
charms of body and mind unequal to fix the heart of
Delaval, ever on search for variety, and never satisfied
with any single object. But in truth her ladyship was
destitute not only of personal charms but of mental allure-
ments— her conversation was as plain as her face.
A young lady named Roche lived at this time under the
protection of a near female relative to Delaval, and was
supposed by many to be a natural daughter to one of the
family. In the leading astray of this girl he soon suc-
ceeded. Her mind was weak, her constitution meretricious,
and instead of retreating from him, and repelling his
overtures, she met his affections with ardour, and lived
with him as his mistress for a considerable time — indeed it
was a doubtful point which of the two was most in the
wrong.
This inconstancy on the part of Delaval naturally excited
resentment in the lady. Female pride could not patiently
submit to so gross an insult. She saw her fortune bestowed
upon a courtesan ; she felt that the husband to whom she
had administered the means of indulging his pleasures
affronted her by publicly appearing and living with his
mistress, and privately treating her, his wife, with neglect,
and even contempt that evinced disgust. This roused her
to revenge. She upbraided her husband with bitterness,
28 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
he answered with cutting coolness, and in the height of one
of their disputes discovered the secret of the conjuror.
Lady Isabella consulted her friends on this occasion and
they brought in the aid of the law. A case was drawn
and a suit of divorce was determined on, upon the grounds
that Delaval had committed adultery with Miss Roche.
Of the truth of this charge there could not be a doubt, but
Lady Isabella failed in the proof. The witnesses gave
evidence of the parties having rode out together, having
dined together, having lodged in the same house together,
but they failed in legally proving the offence on the
ground of which she sought relief and release from her
marriage contract.
Delaval thinking he had no offence to make, resolved
upon obviating the effect of his wife's complaint, which if
established would have materially injured his fortune, and
therefore he set up a charge of recrimination.
This charge states that a person named Craig took a
woman with him to Haddock's, at Charing Cross, on the
evening of a day when Delaval had invited some company
to meet him at the Cardigan's Head Tavern, Charing Cross,
among whom was the late Mr. Robert Quaime. To this
company he communicated that he had long believed his
wife to be inconstant, and had received information that
she was to be that night at Haddock's with a man who
went by the name of Brown, that he intended to be
convinced of the truth, and requested that the company
would go to the house with him in order to see if they
could detect her in the act. One Dupree was then des-
patched to Haddock's, and soon sent back a messenger to
inform Delaval that his wife was arrived. The company
then went to the place, when Dupree opened the door of a
Life of Miss Anne Catley. 29
room where Lady Isabella was said to be, and where they
saw a man and woman, the latter of whom one of the
witnesses swore was Lady Isabella, but in this he was not
corroborated by any of the other witnesses.
It was also deposed that her ladyship passed by the
name of Brown and met Craig, who also assumed that
name, at a lodging in Beaufort Buildings, where they
passed for man and wife ; but the general opinion was,
that the whole of the evidence against Lady Isabella was
fabricated and false and that her witnesses had been
tampered with and suborned. This suit in the commons
of course terminated all connubial connection between
Delaval and his wife, nor did his intimacy with Miss Roche
continue much longer.
As there is something particular and interesting in the
story of this lady, though it is not immediately connected
with the memoirs of Nan, yet the reader will find enter-
tainment from the perusal.
Sir Henry Echlin an Irish baronet, who possessed a very
considerable estate at Rush, near Dublin, having seen Miss
Roche became enamoured of her beauty, and indeed it must
be allowed her charms were attractive.
Sir Henry was a young man of very weak intellect in
worldly matters, extremely dissipated, naturally extrava-
gant and totally devoid of foresight.
He had been a dupe to gamblers, money lenders, bullying
captains, the keepers of low houses, <fec, and yet he was a
man of liberal education, elegant address and master of all
the polite languages. Probably he winked at the faux-pas
imputed by public report to Miss Roche, who conducted
herself with such cunning that his addresses terminated in
a marriage.
30 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
Sir Henry soon after this happy event returned to his
native country, accompanied by his lady and a gentleman
who lived with him as a confidential friend. On this
journey Lady Echlin, who delighted in variety, was im-
properly intimate with the friend of her husband, making
him dupe to her own disgrace, and be was the only person
of a large company who travelled with them, who did not
see the gross conduct of his wife.
Soon after their arrival in Ireland this intrigue came
glaring in his face, and had he permitted his wife to live
with him every boy would have hooted him — no legal steps
however were taken in consequence of her conduct, but they
separated by mutual consent ; Sir Henry remaining at his
country seat, and his lady removing to elegant lodgings in
Capel Street, Dublin.
In this situation Lady Echlin gave way completely to
that immoral disposition and habit that had long char-
acterised her, and among other degrading connections formed
one with the son of an attorney, a stupid creature destitute
of every quality that was not merely animal. Another and
another soon succeeded — man was her object, sensuality her
pursuit — "every rank fool went down." A conduct so
obnoxious, so foreign to the delicacy of her sex, soon re-
duced her to a state of contempt. Wherever she appeared
the women retreated, and even the men were ashamed to
shew her countenance in public. This marked, yet just
punishment of her offences, rendered Dublin a solitude —
she found herself without society, and daily experienced
insult, to avoid which she made a trip to London. This
was only changing the scene. In London her pursuits
were the same as in Dublin, and it is generally believed
that in a few years after she died miserably in the garret
Life of Miss Anne Catley. 31
of a wretched lodging house in one of the alleys of Drury
Lane.
The pursuits of Sir Henry were not more reputable than
those of his lady ; his house exhibited a scene of continued
revelling, debauchery and extravagance — mortgage fol-
lowed mortgage — foreclosures produced sales, till at last
the unhappy baronet was obliged to fly his country and
was so reduced in circumstances, that he officiated at Paris
in the degrading situation of a waiter. Afterwards, how-
ever, he emerged from that degenerate situation, and
received a trifling pension for the performance of secret
services.
After Miss Catley's quarrel with Sir Francis, and their
separation, she removed to a milliner's shop in Tavistock-
street, Covent Garden, which situation was the more
agreeable to her, as being highly convenient for the
business she carried on. It must however be remarked
that this fall from greatness was highly disgusting to a
person of our heroine's disposition. She was naturally
fond of splendour, and having been accustomed to parade
the streets in her chariot could hardly support the thought
of walking on foot. Being a woman of spirit her change
of circumstance did not affect her so much as it would have
done others. She resolved to cast her eye about for another
lover to supply the place of her former one.
A female performer no sooner starts in a line like this, if
she is only tolerably handsome and has any degree of merit
in her profession, than she has a number of professed
admirers. It is the ambition of every pretty fellow to
aim at being the happy man, and an artful girl acquainted
with the wiles of her class, in such a situation, cannot
fail of attracting a great many lovers. Our heroine's
32 Life op Miss Anne Catley.
talents and beauty were so superior to most contemporaries
in her profession, that the reader need not be surprised to
find her particularly distinguished ; and that the number
of her admirers were in proportion. She had indeed many,
both in England and Ireland, as will be seen in the course of
this work. We may venture to assert, that there never
perhaps was a more sincere devotee to the goddess of love
than this lady, nor one who has made a better use of the
vast sums she has acquired in her profession, in which
she has not only the greatest share of pleasure, but has
also reaped immense profits. She was engaged at Covent
Garden Theatre at this time, where her salary indeed was
but moderate, but which, however, united to the returns of
her other business, placed her in a state of affluence. Add
to this what she gained by singing at private concerts
during the winter season, and her lucrative appointment at
Marylebone Gardens in the summer time, then under the
direction of that arch-priest of Salinus, Tom L of
intriguing memory.
As we have stated, soon after her quarrel with Delaval,
Anne, acting under advice she respected, made a trip to
Ireland. Her reception in the " land of saints," fully
answered her most sanguine expectations ; she drew over-
flowing audiences, who applauded her to " the very echo,"
and raised considerable sums for herself and the manager.
In Dublin, however, a circumstance occurred which for a
time considerably damped her spirits, and mortified her
pride. Nan was not an only child ; she had a sister named
Mary, whom she took into the family, for the purpose of
superintending two children, one of whom she taught to
call Sir Francis Delaval father, the other she honoured
with royal blood, named him Edward, and gave him for
a sire his Royal Highness the late Duke of York.
Life of Miss Anne Catley. 33
It must be acknowledged by Nan's best friends that she
did not behave affectionately to her sister Poll. The girl
was kept at a distance, treated as a servant, and, as Nan's
disposition often broke out with all the unbounded viru-
lence of a vulgar termagant, the poor creature suffered not
only from the abuse of her tongue, which was pointed and
poisoned like that of an asp, but also from the violence of
her fists, and sharpness of her nails, which she could
exercise with such agility and effect that a black eye, or
bloody nose and cheeks were frequently the consequence.
This ill usage, which was almost daily repeated, deter-
mined poor Poll to quit her sister. She had a good voice,
though uncultivated, a small, neat, smart person, and good
eyes ; but the smallpox had ravaged the charms of her
face, which, however, displayed the lily and the rose, so
that she was desirable, though not beautiful, and had many
admirers. One of these laid close siege to Poll, who for a
considerable time rejected his addresses. Wearied out,
however, at last, by the repeated ill-usage of her tyrannical
sister, who rendered home a hell, she flew to the protection
of her lover.
The rage of Nan on this occasion is not easily described ;
cups, saucers, every article at hand, flew about the house ;
she felt for the honour of her family, and a violent fit of
hysterics was the consequence. Recovering from this
paroxysm of rage and pride, she became calm and vindic-
tive ; and having relieved her oppressed mind by a shower
of tears, and a torrent of abuse against the cause of her
grief, made a positive vow never to see or relieve her
runaway sister, which vow she kept most religiously.
Poll's charms, as has been already hinted at, were not
very fascinating, and her lover soon became disgusted with
E
34 Life op Miss Anne Catley.
his mistress, whom he one day caught intriguing with a
student of Dublin College, and of course dismissed her on
this positive proof of unfaithfulness.
Poll's new lover, the collegian, though rich in learning
was poor in purse; but he was young and agreeable,
qualities of high estimation with every female, and which
had such eflect upon this lady that, notwithstanding several
overtures had been made, she rejected them all, and for
near six months lived, or rather starved, in fidelity with
the man of letters. " Love," says the old proverb, " flies
out of the window when poverty enters the door." The
adage, however, was not illustrated by the conduct of Poll,
who, for a considerable time after poverty had taken
possession of her apartment, worked to supply the wants
of her favourite swain. The student was seized with
a severe illness, which, baffling all the efforts of the
physicians, assumed the form of a decline, and in the
end caused his death. Poll, too, was laid up in hospital
for a considerable time, but ultimately recovered ; and,
having a tolerable voice, and a name which would
make an attractive figure in a country playbill, got an
engagement in a strolling company, from which time fame
has neglected to report the incidents of her life.
In Ireland it is certain that Nan had many intrigues, in
most of which she acted with caution and prudence. Such
as had merely pleasure in view were mostly confined to the
gentlemen of the sock and buskin ; with the great, profit
was always her object, and secresy a part of the condition
she imposed upon her lovers. Being herself independent
of the world, and freed from every species of control,
her amours offered no variety of incident. By this
means, and the profits of her profession, Nan's finances
Life op Miss Anne Catley. 35
increased considerably, and she prudently secured and
increased them, always living much below her income.
There never was a greater favourite in Dublin, nor
indeed a more deserving one, for on every opportunity
she obliged the public, and by them was constantly
rewarded at her benefits.
She was perhaps the only woman leading such a life that
ever received countenance on the stage from the modest
women of Ireland; but they looked upon her as an
eccentric character, making proper allowances for her early
habits, and imputed her failings more to early misfortune
than to vice.
At this time the reverend Dean Bailey was a principal
superintendent to most of the public charities, and it having
been determined that a concert should be performed for the
benefit of the lying-in hospital, the dean, who was par-
ticularly attentive to this charity, took upon him to
engage Catley to sing at the concert, and wrote her a card
to the following purport. " Dean Bailey's compliments to
Miss Catley, and requests to know when she can give him
a night at the lying-in hospital, and her terms." On this
card Nan put a jocular interpretation, and returned for
answer, " Miss Catley presents her compliments to the
Reverend Dean Bailey ; for three nights to come she is
engaged to particular friends, but on the fourth will be
at his service." This produced a laugh against the Dean,
but in the end served the charity, for which Nan sung
gratis.
The world has often heard of Lord R who some
years ago was tried at the Quarter Sessions at Dublin,
upon a charge, which if true, would have been the most
disgraceful to him, as it is disgusting and shocking to
36 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
mankind. The manners of this nobleman abounded with
peculiarities. He was tall and bony in person, yet ef-
feminate in every action ; with a skin tawny as a mulatto,
and a beard thick, strong and black as that of a Swiss ; he
affected the delicacy and nervous sensations of a sickly
girl. Some ill demon put it into his lordship's head to
have an affair with Miss Catley ; probably for the purpose
of lessening the effect of several evil suspicions which then
flew about, materially to the injury of his character, in
respect to the affection of his passions.
The noble lord had not at this time attained the con-
siderable estates which he afterwards inherited from his
father ; and which might have accounted for the economic
plan by which he approached Miss Catley, if it was not
known that even then he abounded in wealth, and that
parsimony was among his faults. He waited on Nan one
evening soon after she had returned from performing
Captain Flash in the Farce of Miss in her Teens, in which
character, the appearance being masculine, for Nan was
then an excellent breeches figure, she had struck his eye,
and raised ideas very difficult for persons of his lordship's
taste to suppress.
Nan on her return had sat down to prepare supper for a
few theatrical friends whom she intended to treat with a
roast duck and having recently parted with her servant,
was officiating as cook at her chamber fire, where the duck
hung pendant from a string.
His lordship having been announced by the landlady,
was ordered to be ushered in. In a few complimentary
excuses, he apologised for so abrupt a visit, declared his
passion was pure and disinterested and regretted in very
pointed terms that so fine a shape should be concealed by
Life op Miss Anne Catley. 37
petticoats. Nan received his address with affected com-
plaisance and satisfaction ; swore that had she expected
the pleasure of his lordship's company, he should not have
found her in dishabille, and pressed him to do her the honour
of picking the breast of the bird that was then roasting.
Nothing could be more agreeable to his lordship's disposi-
tion than this invitation. He praised Catley for her
economy in doing her own business, and then he praised
the duck. She turned the string, he handed the dredging
box — never was lord more happy, till in the midst of his
culinary offices, a knocking at the door gave an alarm.
Nan was then in lodgings, with the exclusive privilege of
monopolizing the hall door to her own use. " It must be
some person for me," said Nan, "for heaven's sake, my lord,
turn the duck while I run to the door." His lordship
obeyed and placing himself upon a little stool, which Nan
had occupied by the fire-side, commenced his new profession
of cook with extraordinary satisfaction and adroitness.
Nan's theatrical friends, for it was they who were at the
door, having been conducted into the drawing room, where
the cloth was laid, she welcomed them with an assurance
that the supper she had provided was not only good but
had been dressed by one of the first cooks in Europe, and
opening the door suddenly introduced the astonished lord
to their wondering eyes.
" Take care cooky, said Nan " if the duck be burned, I
shall certainly discharge you from your place.
The degenerate nobleman felt to the very soul the con-
temptible situation to which his passion for a fine figure
had reduced him. He arose from the stool overwhelmed
with confusion ; his dress was brown velvet embroidered
with gold, point ruffles and a bag, at his side hung a sword
o«
26972
38 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
and elegant knot, in his hand he held a basting ladle
dropping butter.
Fancy may easily paint his lordship's figure on her
tablets ; but to give the true delineation and contour of
humour to the eye, requires the execution of a Hogarth or
a Bunbury. It was nature metamorphosed, by the workings
of shame and surprise, into the most extravagant contor-
tions of caricature. Nor were the painters, the engravers,
or the poets idle on the subject ; his lordship was sketched
in aquafortis, stuck up in every print shop and lampooned
in every newspaper.
Another adventure which took place nearly at the same
period as the foregoing, does equal credit to Nan's humour
and understanding. She had long been an object of atten-
tion to an old and dissipated rake following the wine
business, by whom she had been very much annoyed. This
fellow in appearance and mind was the perfect representa-
tive of a satyr, he was completely worn out with debauchery
and dissipation, yet, notwithstanding his ugliness and de-
bility, was inflated with vanity to an enormous extent and
imputed to the influence of his address, person, and conver-
sation the success and attachments which resulted solely
from the power of his money, or rather indeed the money
of his creditors, which he squandered in a most shameful
manner, though husband to an amiable wife and father of
several children.
Nan having repelled all his efforts successfully, he resolved
to attack her gratitude by paying tribute to her avarice, and
for this purpose sent a billet-doux requesting an appoint-
ment to supper and with it a large hamper of champagne,
assuring her that the cellar it came from was at her service,
and afforded as great a variety as France, Spain, Portugal,
Life of Miss Anne Catley. 39
or Italy could supply. The wine was received, and a verbal
message of thanks returned, but the very same evening it
was sent back to the merchant's house with a card directed
to his wife informing her of the fact.
At supper the wife declared she had a longing for cham-
pagne and must have a glass. The husband stared and
railed at her extravagance. "But I will treat you, my
dear," said the wife, " you may see I have received a
present," on which she put Catley's note into his hands.
It is easy to conceive the domestic quarrel that ensued, and
the person here alluded to has for years back lived in Lon-
don in the most indigent circumstances.
It has already been observed that Miss Catley was
avaricious, yet she had her favourites who succeeded in
duping her even out of her money, as for instance in the
case of Major P — m — g. Her connection with this man,
who was aide-de-camp to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
when she resided in that kingdom, was by no means ad-
vantageous. The major was penurious, not only from dis-
position but necessity, and Nan shared with him not only
her favours but her purse. With Captain C e, who
succeeded the major, she was equally infatuated, and yet
never did nature produce a stronger contrast between two
men. F g, was tall, strong, and manly. Clarke was
not above the middle size, weak and effeminate, he patched
and painted like a woman, and, in appearance, bore a
stronger resemblance to an eunuch than to a man. Yet to
this insect was Catley attached, on this insect she bestowed
considerable sums, though she used frequently, and even in
his presence, to rally her own choice, declaring that he was
in no respect suited to a woman of spirit and gallantry.
From the fascinating spell with which this petit maitre
40 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
trammelled the affections of Nan she was freed by the
exorcisms of General Lascelles, then only a captain in the
army.
One very peculiar attachment she formed was to Mr.
P , and this deserves to be noticed among the various
oddities of the age. He was possessed of near three hun-
dred pounds a year, of which he did not save a farthing
though a bachelor, and a parsimonious man to all outward
appearance. He was neither a patriot nor a ministerial
advocate. His sentiments in politics indeed he had never
revealed, but from the tenor of his whole conduct he seemed
not to care a farthing which courtier enjoyed the post of
prime minister. It was extremely difficult to form a just
idea of his sentiments upon any subject whatever, as he
seldom spoke unless it was to ask for the necessaries of life.
He took up his lodgings at an inn in the city in which he
resided several years. For the first six months he frequently
went to a very noted and genteel public-house, being a great
admirer of fine ale, but having an utter aversion to the
trouble of dress, and having a particular attachment to one
shirt for a number of weeks, it was hinted to him by the
master of the house how necessary it would be to clean
himself if he proposed resorting thither, as the other gentle-
men were offended at his appearance.
Mr. P was affronted at this insinuation, and showed
his resentment by never going thither afterwards, for con-
sidering his shirt as the nearest thing to him in the world
he resolved not to part with it as long as it would stick by
him. For this reason he was confined to his hotel, where
he admitted no one into his room, making his own bed, if
ever it was made, and doing everything for himself. For fear
of being robbed, imitating thereby the French poet, who
Life of Miss Anne Catley. 41
threw his money among his faggots, Mr. P upon the
receipt of a sum used to give it a jerk under the bed, and
as long as he could find a single guinea without trouble, he
never thought of a clean shirt or the bank. He was, how-
ever, once, unfortunately, reduced to his last moidore, and
arrived at the ne plus ultra of filth and rags, and must
have been reduced to the mortifying necessity of changing
his linen, pulling up the heels of his shoes thereby to
conceal the holes in his stockings, which were at that time
very conspicuous, in order to repair to the bank to receive
his last half-year's interest, which always lay dormant till
he was in the greatest distress.
Mr. P was not without vices. Though ostentation
and ambition were not among the number ; he was a great
votary of Bacchus, to whom he devoted not only his nights
and days but also his fortune. Loquacity he contemned,
reason he despised, dress he set at naught, women he was
once passionately fond of, but at the time we are speaking
of, they, Miss Catley excepted, had no charms. But his
jolly god was his constant friend and advocate, with him
alone he used to confer, and he seemed resolved to live
and die in such celestial company. He once obtained a
temporary relief from a disagreeable necessity of going out,
through the industry of an army of moths who had eaten
the lining of an old waistcoat in which were concealed near
thirty guineas and which was going to be thrown upon the
dunghill.
With this charming Adonis did our heroine pass away
now and then a leisure hour, and she would probably have
liked him well enough had he been cleanly. Neatness of
dress she always admired, no wonder then if his excessive
passion for slovenliness disgusted her, and obliged her to
F
42 Life op Miss Anne Catley.
quit the society of such a man to enjoy the more refined
delights that resulted from the engaging conversation of
Lord B 1, with whom she had at this time contracted a
close intimacy, and who gratified every wish she could form
with the greatest generosity. He had seen her perform on
the stage, was charmed with her and took her home in his
chariot, hired an elegant house for her and maintained her
in the greatest splendour.
Of all the connections formed by Miss Catley, perhaps
the one that ultimately exercised the greatest and most
beneficial influence over her life was that with the General
Lascelles already briefly alluded to; indeed, when her
relationship with this gentleman was settled by her marriage,
it seemed to mark the real turning point of her life. It
appears that the gallant officer, who in 1768 was promoted
to the rank of a lieutenant-colonel of dragoons, went over
to Ireland about that date to join his regiment which
lay in the city of Dublin. Miss Catley had been in that
metropolis three years, in consequence of her having made
an engagement with Mr. Mossop to perform at the theatre,
and where she had been received with almost universal and
justly merited applause, particularly as a vocal performer.
It may easily be supposed that she was no less than a reign-
ing toast in that great city, where the queen of love held as
extensive an empire as in the English metropolis. Colonel
Lascelles went to the play one evening, and having seen our
heroine perform the part of Rosetta, was smitten with love
of her. He accordingly soon got introduced to her behind
the scenes, and the great politeness, refined sense, and un-
wearied assiduity to please her, joined to his personal
recommendations, which were the strongest imaginable and
sufficient to have captivated a heart less susceptible of love
Life op Miss Anne Catley. 43
than Miss C y's, distinguished him from the herd of her
admirers, and she almost as speedily convinced the world
how greatly she was prejudiced in his favour by the
partiality she testified for him, in consenting to live with
him, preferably to any other of her lovers. Before entering
at any length upon this connection, which leads to the
closing scenes of her life, there are two or three other
matters necessary to be narrated in order to make the story
complete.
One of her most conspicuous intrigues was with a silk
mercer, Mr. S 1, who lived near Fleet Street. The
manner of their first acquaintance was truly romantic, as
follows : —
She was going home one evening from the play, and, it
being moonlight and a frost, she chose to walk rather than
ride in a chair. As she was crossing over the end of James
Street, she perceived a young man before her, who by his
appearance seemed to be very well in his circumstances.
Being now entirely destitute of a keeper, she determined to
throw out a lure to attract his notice. She accordingly had
scarcely reached the opposite footpath when, pretending to
stumble, she caught hold of the skirt of his coat in order to
save herself. He immediately stretched out his hand to
raise her up, and begged to have the honour of being
permitted to wait on her to her lodgings. The kind fair
one, overjoyed at this opportunity which fortune had thrown
in her way, consented, though with some seeming reluctance.
Having escorted her home, he took his leave of her in the
politest manner imaginable, and begged she would not think
him guilty of too much presumption on her goodness if he
should take the liberty of enquiring after her health. She
gave him a suitable answer and they parted.
44 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
The smitten silk-man paid her a visit the next day
about twelve o'clock and was received with much decorum.
She did not offer to impose on him a well invented tale, as
she had done on the Jew merchant. Her appearance,
everything about her, the very house she lived in pro-
claimed her a lady of easy virtue. Such a one her new
acquaintance wished her to be, and he made no scruple of
making her an advantageous proposal that very hour,
which she thought proper to accept, and from that day
commenced an intimacy between them.
He was a man who had seen more of the world than the
generality of people in his sphere of life are supposed to do.
He had fine parts well cultivated by a good education, and
a large share of experience of mankind. He was of a
generous disposition, and susceptible of the most tender
passions, particularly that which the little god Cupid
inspires. No wonder therefore if Miss Catley appeared so
charming in his eyes. His heart had imbibed a passion,
which nothing, to all appearance, could ever eradicate.
Unfortunately he was married to a very virtuous and
beautiful woman, who had brought him two fine children,
a boy and a girl.
Notwithstanding all his allurements to love his own
family alone, he became so infatuated with the charms
of his new mistress, that forgetful of the ties of nature,
he attached himself entirely to her.
The better to carry on this intrigue, 'twas agreed
between them, that our heroine should become a customer
of the shop, and as such, frequently go thither under
pretence of buying goods : but in reality to take off all
suspicion of any criminal intercourse between them. The
mercer took his leave, slipping a £20 note into her
Life of Miss Anne Catley. 45
hands, and she promised to go next day to his house to
look at some new fashioned silks that were just made up
purposely for the spring wear.
She did not fail to go the next forenoon according to the
appointment with Mr. S 1, and was introduced into
the parlour behind the shop, by his wife, who not knowing
her character, treated her with all the good manners she
was mistress of. After having looked over a large quantity
of different patterns, she ordered some of those which she
liked best to be sent home to her lodgings, and was about
to take her leave which she was prevented from doing by
the mercer and his wife, who both pressed her in the most
obliging manner imaginable, to stay and drink tea with
them. She consented after much entreaty ; which being
over, she went away, her lover slipping a note into her
hand at parting.
Eager to know the contents of the billet, as soon as she
reached her lodgings, she opened it and read the following
words.
" Dear Charmer,
The infinite pleasure your sweet company gave
me this afternoon has by far overpaid me for the trifling
things you had out of my shop ; I therefore beg of you to
accept of them as a token of my love. My wife is im-
moderately fond of you and wishes for the pleasure of
seeing you often. By compliance with her request, you will
oblige me beyond expression, as you thereby afford me an
opportunity of enjoying the sweets of your angelic con-
versation. I am, loveliest of your sex,
Your sincere admirer
W. S 1."
46 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
Two days after Miss C y received a visit from the
enamoured mercer, who brought her a present of a beautiful
set of Dresden china, and some of the finest tea that could
be purchased. They made themselves very merry at his
wife's credulity and passed the time in a most agreeable
manner till it was time for him, that he might not give
Mrs. S 1 any cause of suspicion, to return home, which
he did with the utmost reluctance.
Their intrigue did not (happily for the mercer) last
above six months. During this short period, our heroine
had cost him about five hundred pounds in presents of
different kinds, including her weekly allowance of five
guineas. An accident, however, happened, which termi-
nated their guilty intercourse, occasioned by the mercer's
being arrested for a large sum, and was as follows.
The reader need not be told that it is no uncommon
thing for men in a large and extensive way of trade to be
obliged to give very long credit, and that they sometimes
meet with heavy losses. This was exactly the case of Mr.
S 1, who, in making up great payments, had offered
several notes and bills which he had received as money,
and by the drawers he was forced either to take up
himself, or be liable to be sent to prison for the sum of two
thousand pounds, which was demanded of him at that time,
and being unable to answer it, he was arrested and carried
to the King's Bench, to the no small grief of his affectionate
wife and family.
Our heroine who was totally ignorant of the affair,
accidentally called at his shop the very day this misfortune
happened, and, seeing Mrs. S 1 in tears, earnestly
desired to know the cause of her grief. The mercer's wife
told her and Miss Catley cried out " 0 my dear Mr.
Life op Miss Anne Catley. 47
S 1 ! " She could say no more, but swooned. Mrs.
S 1, astonished at her behaviour, as soon as she was a
little recovered asked her what had caused such an emotion,
but our heroine, unable to answer her question properly,
only replied, "that the compassion she felt for Mr. S 1
on this melancholy occasion had caused her present illness."
Having said this, she desired a chair might be called, into
which she got and was carried home immediately.
Mrs. S 1 went to her husband directly, and related
to him every circumstance of Miss Catley's behaviour. Her
narration filled him with the utmost confusion, from which
being somewhat recovered, he threw himself on his knees
before her, and gave her a circumstantial account of the
infamous connection that had so long subsisted between
him and the object of his lawless flame.
He was often interrupted by sighs and tears during
the melancholy relation of his former vices. His wife
wept bitterly over his past misconduct, but at the same
time was greatly comforted at the signs he gave of the
most genuine repentance. Heaven itself was also pleased
to approve his reformation and to reward it.
He that day received a letter, acquainting him that his
elder brother was dead in Bengal, and left him master of
a very ample fortune, and the same post which brought
him this welcome news, brought him also bills of exchange
payable at sight to the amount of upwards of £30,000.
He was immediately released from confinement, and
returned home to his own house. He left off trade as soon
as he conveniently could, and bought a large estate in the
country, to which place he removed his family, where he
now lives in the sweet society of his virtuous wife and
amiable offspring ; he adoring the kind interposition of
48 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
providence, which had thus miraculously snatched him from
inevitable ruin, and she blessing his return to goodness, and
offering up her daily prayers at the throne of grace for the
prolongation of his life.
We now proceed to the relation of an adventure which
she had with an old gentleman, a widower, who lived at
Epsom, for the better understanding of which it will be
proper to speak in this place, first, of her amour with his
son, who was at that time a student in the university of
Oxford. This young gentleman, after the example of most
of the Oxonians, being tired of the vigorous discipline of
the college, would, at certain intervals, make little excur-
sions to London, in order to unbend his mind by partaking
of the amusements that great metropolis afforded. In one
of these journeys chance directed him to the theatre, where
our heroine's voice so enchanted him that as soon as the
play was over he enquired who she was and where she
lived, and paid her a visit next morning.
Miss C y was struck at the first sight with his
genteel mien and address, and, considering him as a pretty
fellow with whom she could pass away her leisure hours
agreeably, she leaped into his embraces without the least
hesitation. They saw each other frequently during his
stay in London, which lasted about a fortnight, and on
parting he presented her with a purse of gold.
The reader will please to take notice that he went by the
name of H s, though his real name was B te.
To return to her intrigue with the old gentleman. She
had been to Epsom to see an acquaintance, a lady who had
retired on an easy fortune to the village already mentioned,
where her remains of beauty had wrought so powerfully on
the affections of a barrister-at-law that he had married her.
Life of Miss Anne Catley. 49
Old Mr. B te used to visit at the house, and had
frequent opportunities of seeing our heroine there. He
was struck with her charms, perceiving which she resolved
to try what effect her voice would have on him. She knew
he was rich, and would therefore have gladly drawn him in
for a husband. Accordingly, one afternoon, when he went
to the house of Mrs. M , he found her playing on the
harpsichord and singing an Italian air. Highly delighted
with the melody of her pipe, he desired her to repeat her
song, which request she as obligingly complied with.
When she had done he passed the highest praises on her
musical talents, and expressed a desire that she would
undertake to teach his daughter, a girl of about fourteen
years of age, to sing. Nan, who desired above all things
an opportunity of introducing herself into his house, readily
consented, promising to attend the young lady as often as
business or pleasure should draw her into the country.
She was as good as her word, and after the time of her
visit to her friend at Epsom had expired she constantly
went thither three times a week from London.
She found means to steal so far into the good graces of
the whole family that the old gentleman's esteem for her
ripened by degrees into a confirmed passion. He was,
however, willing to try her some time longer before he
made a formal declaration of love. She continued to do
all in her power to please him, and was so punctual in her
assiduities that he could no longer resist the impulse of his
heart, which, with uninterrupted emotions, incited him in
the strongest manner possible to make a formal profession
of his flame. He did so, and had the happiness, as he
esteemed it, to find that his suit met with a favourable
reception. Our heroine could not have refused so advan-
G
50 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
tageous an offer without being guilty of the greatest folly
imaginable. But that she might reap as much profit as
ever she could from this union she told him that, previous
to her giving him her hand in marriage, she insisted on his
signing a paper, properly drawn up by an attorney, to
screen her from any insults which might be offered her by
his children, in case she should survive him, after his
decease. This he readily agreed to, and the conditions
were as follows :
First, that he should settle a thousand pounds on her, to
be paid within one month after his funeral, and one
hundred pounds a year during her natural life.
Secondly, that he should settle the like annuity on every
one of the children she might have by him, to be paid them
also during the term of their natural lives.
Thirdly, that previous to their marriage he should vest a
sum or sums sufficient to produce the aforesaid annuities in
any of the public funds, or lend the same on mortgages, on
lands or houses, or on eligible securities, for the payment
of them.
Fourthly, that in case of failure in any of the said
conditions the marriage shall be null and void, and she
shall be at liberty to marry again.
These conditions, however extravagant they may appear
to the reader, he readily complied with, and the writings
were accordingly drawn up with all convenient expedition,
and signed by him in the presence of several witnesses.
Preparations were now made for the nuptials with all
imaginable haste, a Dew equipage was bespoke, an additional
train of servants was hired, the wedding clothes were
ordered, the ring was bought, the license was procured,
and everything seemed to concur in making our heroine the
Life of Miss Anne Catley. 51
happiest of women, when an accident intervened which put
an end to her approaching felicity. The old gentleman
wrote a letter to his son, acquainting him with his intended
wedding, and demanding to see him immediately. The
young student hastened to London directly on the receipt
of his father's epistle, and arrived at his house the very
next day.
As soon as he came he was introduced to his intended
mother-in-law, but who can describe the amazement which
appeared in their countenances when they saw each other !
Old Mr. B te, surprised at this extraordinary behaviour,
hastily enquired into the reason of it. His son for some
time could not utter a word, but at length, resuming his
courage, he fell on his knees and spoke as follows :
"Your pardon, honoured sir, for what I am going to
acquaint you with. About two months since, unknown to
you or any of my friends, I left the college and took a
journey to London. In the course of my rambles I made
acquaintance with this infamous woman, whom, to the
eternal disgrace of your family, you are going to raise to
the dignity of being your wife. I have seen my folly, and
promise in the sincerest manner possible never to be guilty
of the like again, provided you have the goodness to pardon
this slip of youth; and I flatter myself that which has been
the happy means of rescuing my family from dishonour will
contribute somewhat towards effecting a reconciliation with
you."
His father kept a profound silence all the while he was
talking, and for some minutes after. When he had done
speaking he made him a sign to follow him into his
closet, when having shut the door, he ordered him to relate
in the most circumstantial manner possible the whole
52 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
series of his adventures with Miss Catley. Young B te
obeyed and his father forgave him, overjoyed at this lucky
discovery. He then returned to the parlour where he left
our heroine, and told her that he had been happy in finding
out what sort of a woman she was, before it was too late,
and therefore desired her to go away immediately. She did
not hesitate to comply with his request, and mounted a
chaise which conveyed her to her lodgings in town.
The following may be cited as an example of that
avariciousness of spirit which has been said to have dis-
tinguished this woman. In 1771, soon after her return to
England, a singing performer belonging to Covent Garden
Theatre, Mr. D — 1 — my, had obtained permission from the
Lord Chamberlain to have a play acted for his benefit
at the Haymarket play-house. Thinking our heroine's
appearance might be a means of drawing a crowded
audience, he waited on Miss C y to be informed on
what terms she would represent her celebrated character of
Rosetta. She demanded the sum of forty guineas, but was
told that her price was too extravagant. She answered she
would not play for less money. He expostulated in the
strongest terms with her on the exorbitancy of her
demands, and succeeded so far as to obtain a promise from
her of playing for twenty. He issued his tickets, and
caused bills to be printed in which was her name. The
time now drew near for the fulfilling her engagement, when
she gave a signal proof of her avarice ; the night before the
representation, she sent him a card acquainting him that
she was taken suddenly ill, and could not possibly perform
the next evening. He plainly discovered the meaning of
the message and went to her. He represented the great
inconveniency a disappointment of this nature would
Life op Miss Anne Catley. 53
subject him to, and entreated her in the warmest manner
to oblige him with her appearance on the promised night.
She at last told him that unless he would give her thirty
guineas, she would not perform. He complied and lost by
his benefit.
Her engagement at Covent Garden Theatre, the ensuing
season, was purely accidental. Mrs. Pinto had given notice
to the managers that she would not renew her engagement
for any longer time, as they refused to come to her terms,
i.e. twenty guineas per week. They were therefore at a
loss to find a proper woman to supply her place, and
accordingly cast their eyes on our heroine; Mr. C n was
deputed by his colleagues to treat with her, and easily
complied with her demands of fifteen guineas per week.
She appeared soon after in public, and for the two first
nights brought amazing great houses. But the company
after this time began to decrease, and she received a second
visit from Mr. C n, who acquainted her that he,
unknown to his brother managers, had agreed to give her
her price, but that as the success had not answered their
expectations, they could not think of paying her so
extravagant a salary. To this harangue she returned the
following answer. " Sir, I thought you were the sole
acting manager, or else your law-suit has been decided to
very little purpose; however, my engagements were with
you, and I expect you will fulfil them."
Saying this, she turned out of the room, singing the air
of the last new birthday minuet.
She had long desired to be connected with Mr. Th — 1 — w
the S — 1 — tor G — r — 1, but was disappointed ; that gentle-
man, being already provided with a favourite, did not choose
to enter into an intimacy with her. He, however, paid her
54 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
some occasional visits, which would have paved the way to
a further correspondence, had he not, unfortunately for her,
found her one morning, when he went to her lodgings,
with a silk mercer's clerk, who occasionally visited her.
Their intimacy accordingly broke off, and he never visited
her any more.
To return to Colonel Lascelles : We have already observed
that his fortune was but small, too small for the complexion
of his unbounded wishes. Notwithstanding the disagree-
able, as well as involuntary indigence to which he was often
reduced, he always found means to render himself agreeable
to the fair sex, to whom he was so lavish in his adorations,
by his genteel air and engaging deportment, which was ever
such as could not fail to captivate the hearts of all those
with whom he conversed, particularly such as, unmindful of
the more refined and superior excellent interior accomplish-
ments, are attached in a more peculiar manner to those of
the outside. His connection with our heroine had, besides
her transcendent charms, another more potent object. I
mean her immense profits, of which he longed to become a
sharer. There was no other way of gaining this point than
by professing himself her avowed admirer, which, we have
already seen, he did in a most effectual manner.
It has been already remarked that to the most engaging
person were added the most insinuating arts. We shall
not therefore enter into a further detail of his beauties, for
such they appeared in the eyes of every female beholder,
but proceed to the relation of matters of greater consequence.
Though they always lived in a state of the strictest unity
and love, yet their close connection, like that of matrimony,
how sweet soever it may be, was sometimes embittered
by little bickerings arising from the mutual jealousy
Life of Miss Anne Catley. 55
they entertained of each other ; thus it happened that the
sweetness of their intimacy, which would otherwise have
been very insipid, was tempered to such a degree by the
acrimony of their differences, that their intimacy became
the most agreeable imaginable. It was like the acid, of
which a proper quantity being infused in the composition
of what is generally known by the name of punch, renders
that liquor agreeable to the taste and grateful to the palate.
It cannot but be agreeable to our readers to mention a
few of the trifling disputes which often happened between
this loving pair; we shall therefore in order to gratify their
wish, relate a few, though we must beg to be excused if,
like Vellum in the comedy of The Drummer, or the
Haunted House, we confine ourselves to three only.
The first which we find standing on record is one which
occurred in consequence of her keeping a genteel footman,
whom our officer considered as a rival to his happiness.
The affair was as follows. Our heroine was without a man-
servant ; several were recommended to her, amongst whom
was a young fellow of very genteel mien and address ; he
was about eighteen; tall, handsome, and extremely well
made. He had not been many months in town, and was
an utter stranger to the manners of it. This simplicity
gained him the approbation of Miss Catley, who never
appeared so well pleased as when she was attended and
served by him. His obliging manner and the address with
which he executed her commands, had made so great an
impression on her, that she could no longer resist the temp-
tation, and actually entertained a passion of the softest
kind for him. She was so unguai'ded as not to be able to
help betraying it in her looks, and often, while he was
waiting at table, could not help casting affectionate glances
towards him.
56 Life op Miss Anne Catley.
This behaviour, though it was the effect of pure accident,
was taken notice of by her lover, whose jealousy immediately
taking fire, caused him to upbraid her in the strongest
manner for her infidelity. This gave rise to a violent
quarrel which lasted several days, during which time they
did not see or speak to each other.
During this interval both parties were equally uneasy,
and longed for a reconciliation, though neither made the
smallest advance towards an accommodation.
Our heroine was the first to offer terms of peace. It was
easily produced by the immediate discharge of the footman.
Miss Catley however, out of regard, provided for him in a
very decent manner till she could put him in another place,
which she found an opportunity of doing in a very short
time.
The next source of uneasiness which arose between this
loving pair, was owing to the restless temper of Miss Catley,
who having been one day to a noted milliner's in the Strand,
to buy some rich laces, besides other goods furnished by
those people, made use of in the article of dress, accidentally
met her dear inamorata at the same place. Finding him
in deep discourse with one of the young women behind the
counter, she in her turn grew jealous, and was for a
considerable time implacable in her resentment, which she
took every opportunity of shewing. The lovers at length
being heartily tired of living in this state of indifference,
resolved to be reconciled, which was very easily brought to
pass.
The third quarrel we shall mention owed its origin to the
following accident. Miss C y had once returned a very
humorous answer to a billet-doux which was sent her one
evening while she was performing at the theatre. Her
Life of Miss Anne Catley. • 57
lover was in the green room when she received it, and
mistaking the contents of her answer, imagined she had
given him an assignation. This occasioned a great
altercation between them, which was succeeded by a mutual
silence on each side, which lasted for above a month,
although they saw each other and ate at the same table
every day. Their reconciliation was brought about as
follows. She, one day while they were at table, having
eyed him attentively for some time, burst out into a loud
fit of laughter, which he observing, put on a look which
but too plainly showed the great displeasure he conceived
at her behaviour. He still however maintained a profound
silence, which she obliged him to break by extending her
hands and speaking to him in these words : "My dear
colonel, you are certainly very little versed in the ways of
women, or you would be convinced that they are actuated
principally by whim and caprice. You are therefore not to
wonder at their actions, nor easily to take umbrage at what
may at first sight appear a levity in their conduct. You
were present when I received a note from the Earl of H
and you saw me write an answer to it, which I should have
shown you had I the least suspicion of your being jealous.
To show you how little reason you have for this odd
behaviour, I do assure you, and call heaven to witness, that
I did not return any other answer to him than an order
to admit one into the boxes, which plainly evinces how
averse I was to any connection with him." He could
contain no longer, but throwing his arms round about her
neck, vowed eternal fidelity and love.
Thus did these two lovers re-assume their intercourse
with greater ardour than before, and this peace, which
indeed proved only temporary, lasted about six months.
H
58 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
Another unhappy accident occasioned a breach, which was
as follows.
Her lover had for some time been confined to his bed by
a violent fit of the gout, a disease he was very much
subject to, and on his recovery had removed to country
lodgings at Kensington, where our heroine visited him as
often as she conveniently could find an opportunity. She
went thither one day, having no employment at the theatre,
to see him. She entered the apartment, but was surprised
that she did not according to her expectation meet with
him at home. She was not a little amazed to see several
letters on his table, the superscriptions of which appeared
to be written in a woman's hand. As they were opened
her curiosity induced her to take up one, in which she read
as follows :
" My dear,
I would have waited on you this evening, but was
hindered by a female friend, who with irresistible force
obliged me to accompany her to the play. I was on thorns
during the whole time of the representation, and could not
in consequence of the uneasiness which I suffered receive
the least pleasure from what I was obliged to be present at.
I hope, however, to-morrow to enjoy the pleasure of your
agreeable company, to which, as you may be well convinced
from the tenor of my whole behaviour hitherto, I shall fly,
borne on the swiftest wings of love, to participate.
Yours eternally, N ."
This letter produced such an effect as is easy for the
reader to guess. She left the house in a rage, vowed never
to see him more, and every one of her actions shewed how
much she took this seeming inconstancy of his to heart.
She returned home in such agitation of spirits that she fell
Life of Miss Anne Catlet. 5£
into fits almost instantaneously on entering her own house,
and it was several days before she was entirely recovered.
She could not by any means be prevailed on to repeat her
visits to Kensington, to which place she did not once return
during the whole time the Colonel remained there. When
he came to town she loaded him with the keenest reproaches,
and was not reconciled to him for several weeks. In vain
did he assert his innocency, the letter she had seen was an
incontestable proof of his guilt, and this quarrel must have
necessarily terminated in a final separation, had not a friend
of his, dining one day at the house of our heroine solved
the riddle, by declaring it to be a letter he had received
from his mistress and which he had sent to the Colonel for
his perusal. This declaration produced the desired effect,
and a reconciliation presently took place.
Not to tire the reader with a repetition of these domestic
feuds and uneasiness, we shall only mention one more, and
then proceed to the relation of matters of greater importance.
It happened in the following manner. Our heroine having
one evening appeared in the character of a virgin in a
dramatic poem lately introduced on the stage, called Elfrida,
had given so much pleasure and satisfaction to the Right
Honourable Earl of D , as great an admirer of, as he is
a connoisseur in, the art of music, that his lordship could
not help complimenting her, a few days after, with a ticket
for the Pantheon. She went thither in the habit of a
shepherdess, and on this occasion had taken care not to omit
anything that might be the least addition to her native
beauty. The Colonel accompanied her thither, dressed in a
domino, and though a man of his polite breeding might be
easily supposed to be thoroughly acquainted with such
freedoms as the liberty of a place of that sort affords, yet
€0 Life op Miss Anne Catley.
he could not forbear suffering his troublesome jealous spirit
to reign predominant in his breast on this occasion.
Observing that our heroine, imitating the other masks,
appeared more gay than ordinary, he was highly offended,
and took notice of it afterwards in terms which were highly
disagreeable to her. She resented this behaviour very
much, and refused to have anything to do with him for
several weeks, though he lodged at the same house with her.
At length, being unable to support this cessation of arms in
the cause of love, he acknowledged his error, asked her
pardon, and they became as cordial friends as before.
We may here relate an adventure which happened to our
heroine during the time of her connection with a young
wine merchant near Crutched Friars. He had seen her in
the piazza and had ordered his footman, who attended him,
to watch her home, and bring him word where she lived.
Having received the necessary information, he repaired the
next day to her lodgings and was well received by Miss
Catley, who was struck at the engaging appearance which
he made, and after about an hour's conversation they agreed
to see each other at an appointed place as often as
opportunity offered. Love, ever on the watch, soon
prompted one, and our heroine frequently made excursions
to White Conduit House, and they passed their leisure
hours in the most tender endearments. This lasted about
three years, during which period Miss Catley found
means to ingratiate herself into his good graces so far, that
at the end of it, she found herself about fifteen hundred
pounds in pocket, the fruits of this agreeable intrigue.
The adventure would have probably lasted much longer,
had she not been discovered by her inamorata when she
least expected it, in a private tete-a-tete with one of the
Life of Miss Anne Catley. 61
drawers belonging to a noted place of resort in the gardens.
This caused a rupture between her and her gallant, and his
animosity against her was so great that no persuasion could
ever induce him to consent to a reconciliation with her.
The rest of our story is connected with an entirely new
aspect of this singular woman's life, with the period dating
from her marriage with the Colonel Lascelles. For several
years she had lived with him merely as his mistress, during
which time several children were born. Then her former
levity gave way to domestic decorum^ and her faults were
only to be found in a retrospective view of her life. This
behaviour raised such a disinterested and generous affection
in the heart of her friend, that he resolved to bestow upon
her the highest reward in his power, and actually made her
his wife.
Nan would not be outdone in generosity; before she
accepted the hand of the Colonel (for he was a Colonel when
he married her) she insisted that certain preliminary articles
should be ratified. The principal of these were, that her
fortune should go to her children, that she should continue
to play while her health permitted her, and that the
marriage should be kept secret till she retired from the
stage.
She did not however long continue in a public line, after
she became a wife; the ensuing season she engaged with the
manager of Covent Garden Theatre, and it proved the last
of her appearances. Her voice was then considerably
weakened, and her vivacity evidently diminished. She
attempted the character of Macheafh, in the Beggars* Opera,
but she was then nothing better than the shadow and echo
of what she had been, and her exertions to please only
excited the pity, not the approbation, of the audience.
62 Life op Miss Anne Catley.
After leaving the stage she took up her abode at Ealing
in Middlesex, and was much respected by the better sort of
people in the neighbourhood, and beloved by the poor, to
whom she became a beneficent friend. She died in this
retirement, in the 44th year of her age, and was buried in
Ealing Church, with every mark of attention and respect
that a husband could possibly shew to a wife whom he
tenderly loved.
Her disease was a consumption, to which she had been
inclined from her youth, and which probably was accelerated
by her early indulgencies in dissipation, and great exertion
of voice which injured her lungs. She bore its progress
with resignation, and died in that most enviable of all
states, at peace with the world, and in strong hopes of
eternal bliss.
Miss Catley had great capabilities for an actress, and
notwithstanding her vivacious appearance would have
succeeded not only in comedy, but tragedy, had she made
them her study ; but her voice was so exquisite, she had no
occasion for further aid. Its native strains exceeded the
vocal powers of all who went before her, yet she often
evinced a deficiency of judgment.
Rosetta in Love in a Village, and Euphrosyne in Gomus,
were her best performances. In the latter it may not be
going too far to assert she never was equalled, particularly
in the song of " The wanton god that pierces hearts," which
she gave in a characteristic style of levity, that left all
competition at a distance. And in the former, her singing
was truly exquisite and replete with native humour. Soon
after the affair with Lord R and the roast duck, which
has been stated, that nobleman came into the stage-box
whilst she was singing " The wanton god," and when she
Life op Miss Anne Catley. 63
came to the line "No squeamish fop shall spoil my rest,"
she turned full upon his lordship with a look of archness,
so pointed and so marked with contempt, that the mortified
nobleman rose from his seat and left her to enjoy the
thundering plaudits of the audience, which were given in
peals accompanied by bursts of laughter.
In The Maid of the Mill she often performed Patty, and
not without pathos, and when Mrs. Abingdon was in
Ireland, during the late Mr. Mossop's management, Catley
often performed in a style of the highest spirit and humour
Captain Flash, in contrast to the other lady's Fribble, which
was also excellent. Catley was not vain, for though she
took every possible pains to set off her person and face to
advantage when she appeared in juvenile parts, yet, as
the representative of old Dorcas in Thomas and Sally,
she was equally attentive to appear ancient.
Catley was not beautiful but pleasing. Her face was
oval, her features petite, and her eyes small ; her forehead
being remarkably high, she always wore her dark hair,
which was thin and lank, cut down upon it like a fan, and
this at last became a general fashion under the denomination
of Catlified hair, and as it gives a peculiar archness to the
countenance, remained in vogue for years among the lower
classes of those ladies who stroll the streets.
Catley was remarkably thin, her bones small, her skin
brown, and all covered over with freckles, yet her tout en-
semble was pleasing, when she was made up and on the
stage.
Much has been said of Miss Catley's wit, by those who
have mistaken her talent; her bon mots were those of
broad and vulgar humour, they were deficient in that polish
sharpness and neatness, which produce the genuine bright-
64 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
ness of conversation, her points were not those of raillery,
but of railing, they came out gross, as if issuing from a
cellar in St. Giles's, or, which was the fact, as if they had
received their original impression in a garret near the
Tower.
A retrospect of Miss Catley's life when compared with
that of the celebrated Nell Gwynn, exhibits many incidents
of strong similitude. Nell was born of obscure parents, so
was Nan. Nell was born in a cellar in the Coal-yard,
Drury-lane ; Nan was born in a garret in a wretched alley
near Tower-hill. Nell, when first taken notice of, sold
oranges, and resorted to public houses. Nan, when young>
sang in alehouses for hire. Nell when almost a child was
decoyed from the path of virtue by a merchant; Nan
suffered similarly soon after entering her teens, at the
hands of a linen draper. Nell was remarkable for smart-
ness of conversation, so was Nan. Nell was an actress
in great vogue, so was Nan. To Nell, lords and dukes
paid their addresses, so they did to Nan. Nell was
the mistress of a king, Nan that of a prince of the blood
royal.
" This shews that sultans, emperors, and kings,
When blood boils high will stoop to meanest things."
Nell was of a gay frolicksome disposition, so was Nan ;
of Nell many droll passages have been reported, so of Nan,
but in respect to both ladies, some of their sayings should
be suppressed as being too loose for the public ear.
Nell's air was free and degagee, so was the carriage of
Nan. Nell had spirit and pleasantry, so had Nan. She
had professed more charity and generosity than most
women of her situation in life, so did Nan, and here an
instance may be given, which illustrates this part of our
Life op Miss Anne Catley. 65
heroine's character. Mr. Linton, a musician belonging to
Covent Garden Theatre, having been inhumanly murdered
by footpads, Mr. Harris the manager, gave his widow and
children a free benefit. A short time previous to the
benefit night, Nan went to a masquerade in the character
of an orange girl, with several dozen box tickets in her
basket, these she disposed of among the company for a very
considerable sum over their usual price, which with ten
guineas added by herself, she sent the next day to the
unfortunate family.
As in their lives, so in their deaths, there was a strong
similarity between Nell Gwynne and Ann Catley, except
that Nell lived to be much older than Nan. But she
certainly died with a moral and religious mind, or Dr.
Tenison, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, would not
have preached her funeral sermon. And this was the
opinion of Queen Mary, who, when the Earl of Jersey
urged the circumstance to prevent the doctor's preferment
to the diocese of Lincoln, answered, " It was a sign that
this unfortunate woman died penitent, for if I can read a
man's heart through his looks, had she not made a truly
pious and christian end, the doctor wonld never have been
induced to speak well of her." Just such an end did Catley
make, dying in charity with the world, and in lamenting
that the early parts of her life had not been equally
virtuous and honourable with her latter days.
A writer in the History of the English Stage says,
" Her goodness of heart and benignity of disposition
appear in many charitable works which would have done
honour to more high-born dames ; her wanderings cannot
be called errors, but misfortunes, the common result of
a bad education. Though she came into the world without
I
66 Life op Miss Anne Catley.
reputation, she left it with a good character, a sufficient
proof that all her levities proceeded from inexperience and
not from natural depravity."
The following eulogium was paid to her memory in the
public prints :
"She was the favourite of Thalia, the favourite of the
Town, and the favourite of Fortune.
Her theatrical representations will be remembered as
long as the fame exists of the poets that pourtrayed them.
The discussion of her professional merit should be the
subject of a volume ; we shall therefore only add, that her
voice and manner were, perhaps, never equalled in the same
style. Her person all but equalled her accomplishments,
and nearly to her death she was the centre of attraction.
Beauty is a captivating syren, and to resist her enchant-
ments man must possess something more or something less
than the usual portion of humanity. The allurements a
theatrical life holds out to lovely women, admit, the same
observation, and justify the application with tenfold
force. All that can be said is, Alas poor human nature !
She possessed many virtues, and the greatest of all —
humanity. The generous hand often lightened the heavy
heart. Feelingly alive by nature to every impression of
sensibility, this amiable virtue accompanied her elevation
to rank and riches, and joined others that adorn the first
stations in society, and which alone make them respectable.
She was the good mother, the chaste wife and accomplished
woman. Prudery certainly formed no part of her
character, but where is the prude that ever owned half her
merit ! Her openness, goodness, knowledge and generosity,
added to her personal accomplishments, rendered her an
acquisition of which the worthiest might be proud. This
Life of Miss Anne Catley. 67
morality of players, like that of princes, is exempt from the
precision of vulgar rules."
INSCRIPTION
Engraved on a tree at George Stainforth, Esq's., in Hertford-
shire, formerly the cottage of Anne Catley.
Catley, the once famed Syren of the stage,
Melodious heroine of a former age,
Her labours o'er, here fix'd her glad retreat ;
These her lov'd fields, and this her fav'rite seat.
Hither at early dawn she bent her way,
To mark the progress of the new mown hay ;
Partook the toil, joined gaily in the throng,
And often cheer' d the rustics with a song;
Nor with a song alone, her liberal heart
In all their little sorrows bore a part,
And as they simply told their tale of grief
Her head gave counsel and her hand relief.
Let not the wedded dame who wanders here,
Disdain o'er Catley's turf to shed a tear ;
Nor the fond virgin, sheltered by this tree,
Withhold the drop of sensibility.
What though stern Hymen may no sanction give
In nature's tenderest page the tear shall live ;
An anxious parent, to her offspring just,
True to her promise, sacred to her trust ;
Firm in her friendship, faithful in her love, —
Who will the mourn'd remembrance disapprove ?
The celebrated Anne Catley, formerly a member of Covent
Garden Theatre, died the beginning of this season (Oct. 14,
1789), at General Lascelles' house, near Brentford, to
whom it is said she was married.
This lady was a striking example of what merit can do,
unaided by birth or interest. She was born in 1745, in an
68 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
Alley, near Tower Hill, — " of parentage obscure," — her
father being a hackney coachman (afterwards the keeper of
a public house near Norwood), and her mother a washer-
woman. Her extraordinary vocal abilities soon discovered
themselves, for at the early age of ten years she sung at
public houses in her father's neighbourhood, and for the
officers on duty at the tower ; her situation of course exposed
her to seduction — but who that considers her then helpless
condition of life, will not curse the seducer, and pity the
seduced !
Her musical talents soon spread their own fame ; and one
Bates, a musician, who lived in the west end of the town,
entered into an article with her father and took her
apprentice ; but Bates and Catley could not agree, and the
former, it is said, was once so provoked as to threaten to
turn her out of doors, and sue her father for £200, the
penalty of the bond executed when she was bound.
Her first appearance was at Vauxhall, in the summer of
1762, and on the 8th of October in the same year she
appeared for the first time on the stage at Covent Garden,
in the character of the Pastoral Nymph, in Comus.
The succeeding year she became the object of public
attention from a very remarkable circumstance : Sir Francis
Blake Delaval, being smitten with her beauty, and under-
standing that the master and fair apprentice could not
agree, resolved on releasing her entirely from the coercion
of Mr. Bates, and making her his mistress. Accordingly it
was agreed that Sir Francis should pay Bates the penalty
of the father's bond, and also give him two hundred pounds
more in lieu of what she might earn for him, by the engage-
ment he had made for her with the managers of Covent
Garden Theatre and Marybone Gardens. For this purpose
Life of Miss Anne Catley. 69
Mr. Fraine, an attorney, was ordered to draw up a proper
transfer of her indentures from Bates to Sir Francis ; and
she and her mother were removed into lodgings, where she
lived publicly with Sir Francis, was attended by his servants,
and rode out with him every day.
The attorney having made the father a party to the
articles, waited on him to have his signature and seal. Mr.
Catley lived at this time with the very respectable Mr. Bar-
clay, of Cheapside, as private coachman, and having got
possession of the articles, consulted his master on the nature
of them. The honest quaker, shocked at the wickedness of
transferring a girl, by legal process, for the purpose of
prostitution, advised with his lawyer, who laid a case before
counsel, and the ensuing term two motions were made to
the court founded on these articles.
The first of these motions was for a habeas corpus,
directed to Sir Francis Blake Delaval, to bring the body of
Anne Catley into court. The second was for a rule to shew
cause why an information should not be granted against Sir
Francis Blake Delaval, Bates the master, and Fraine the
attorney, for a conspiracy to prostitute Anne Catley, under
the forms of law.
On the ensuing day, our heroine, in consequence of the
habeas corpus, appeared in court, accompanied by Sir
Francis, and was then discharged out of his custody ; the
affidavits for the prosecutor were read, and a day was fixed
for cause to be shewn. On the lady's release, her father
attempted to seize her and carry her off by force. Sir
Fletcher Norton, counsel for Sir Francis, immediately
complained to the court, and the violent conduct of
the father was very severely reprimanded by the Chief
Justice, Earl Mansfield, who observed that, though the
girl was not of legal age, she was at full years
70 Life of Miss Anne Catley.
of discretion ; and the question being put, whether she
would return with her father or Sir Francis, she declared
her attachment to the latter, put her hand under his arm,
and making a curtsey to the Judges, and another to the
bar, walked with him out of Westminster Hall, to his
carriage, which waited at the gate, and carried them home.
On cause being shown, the court was clearly of opinion
that the information should be granted. Lord Mansfield
observed that the court of King's Bench was custos morum
of the country, and had authority, especially where the
offence was mixed with conspiracy, to punish everything
contra bonos mores. He called the premium given by Sir
Francis to Bates premium prostitutionis, and cited the case
of Sir Richard Sedley in the reign of Charles II. to prove it.
The consequence of this information against Sir Francis,
Bates, and Fraine, was a trial, and all the defendants being
found guilty by the jury, were severally fined, the whole
expense of which (with the costs to a very considerable
amount) fell npon Sir Francis.
After this she sung at Marybone Gardens, and became a
pupil of Mr. Macklin, who procured her an engagement at
Dublin from Mossop, where she met with great success and
brought crowded houses. Many anecdotes are related of
her while on her visit to Dublin; the following are the
most remarkable. A merchant, with a wife and family,
having been smitten by her charms, sent her a billet-doux
requesting an appointment to supper, and accompanied his
request with a large hamper of champagne. Catley
returned the wine untouched, with a direction to the
amorous trader's spouse, enclosing his note under a cover.
At supper the wife declared she had a longing for cham-
pagne, and must have a glass ; the husband reprobated
such extravagance. " But I will treat you, my dear," said
Life of Miss Anne Catley. 71
the wife, "you may see I have received a present," on
which she put Catley's note into his hands. It is easy to
conceive the domestic quarrel that ensued, and the person
here alluded to has for years back lived in London in the
most indigent circumstances.
When Dean Bailey was a principal superintendent to the
public charities of Dublin, it was determined by the
governors that a concert should be performed for the
benefit of the Lying-in-Hospital, whereupon the Dean took
it upon hi in to engage Catley as a singer, and wrote her a
card requesting that she would give him a night, and
mention when she should be disengaged. The answer was
that Miss Catley was specially engaged for a week, but
after that time, as the Dean was a charitable man, she
would give him a night gratis. Our heroine kept her word,
to the great emolument of the hospital, and told the story,
which produced a general laugh against the ecclesiastic.
She paid another visit to Dublin during Ryder's
management, when her Juno, in the Golden Pippin, was
highly applauded, and her song of " Push about the Jorum "
universally encored. Perhaps the manner of performing
burlettas there, where the recitative is generally spoken as
dialogue, afforded her a greater opportunity of displaying
that peculiar vivacity which scorned all bounds, except
those of decorum.
In 1770 she appeared again at Covent Garden, and
continued to perform a stated number of nights for many
succeeding years, much to her own and the manager's
advantage. In 1773, she sung at the oratorios at Covent
Garden, by which she added to her fortune more than her
fame, for her natural vivacity was not well suited to the
solemnity of such performances, and had to contend with
72 Life op Miss Anne Catley.
the more chastised deportment of Mr. Sheridan at the rival
theatre. Being always attentive to economy, in a course of
years she had amassed a considerable fortune, and when
her attractions failed, she was enabled to retire to indepen-
dence. Her last performance was in 1784.
Her goodness of heart and benignity of disposition
appear in many charitable works, which would have done
honour to more high-born dames ; her wanderings cannot
be called errors, but misfortunes, the common result of a
bad education. Though she came into the world without
reputation, she left it with a good character, a sufficient
proof that all her levities proceeded from inexperience, and
not from natural depravity.
Though she was no wit, she possessed a considerable
share of humour, several bon mots, however, have been made
for her, such as she would be ashamed to utter, for good
nature and decency were inseparable companions of her
mirth. To the man of her choice she was faithful, loving,
and submissive, though on the stage the best Juno that
ever boxed a Jupiter.
Life of Miss Anne Catlet. 73
Cbaractets performed bs fllMss Catlep.
1763. — Covent Garden.
April 26th " Sally," in Love makes a Man.
1763.— Dublin.
Mossop invited her to Dublin ; she arrived in December,
and made her first appearance as " Polly Peachum."
1764. — Smock Alley, Dublin.
October 15th " Polly " and " Macheath."
"Patty," in the Maid of the Mill.
1765. — Smock Alley, Dublin.
As " Polly " and " Lucy."
1769. — Smock Alley, Dublin.
March As " Euphrosyne," in Comus.
Oct. 11th As "Polly," also "Euphrosyne."
1770. — Covent Garden.
October 2nd As " Rosetta," in Love in a Village.
„ 23rd As " Leonora," in Venice Preserved.
Novem. 8th As " Jenny," in Lionel and Clarissa.
„ 22nd As " Isabella," in The Portrait.
(Never before acted.)
Decern. 13th As "Rachel," in the Jovial Crew.
1772. — Smock Alley, Dublin.
As " Rosetta," several times. As " Polly " once.
As " Euphrosyne " once, when she took a benefit.
1772. — Covent Garden.
Sept. 30th First appearance for two years in " Rosetta."
Oct. 13th As "Polly," in the Beggars' Opera.
„ 17th In Chorus of British Virgins, in Elfrida.
(Never before acted.)
k
74
Life op Miss Anne Catley.
1773. — Covent Garden.
February 6th As " Juno," in the Golden Pippin.
Septem. 16th As " Euphrosyne," in Comus ; also in the
West Indian.
Decern. 16th As "Theaspe," in Achilles in Petticoats;
also as " Earl of Essex."
1774. — Covent Garden.
Septem. 5th As "Lucy" (1st time), in Beggars1 Opera.
Novem. 1st As " Rachel," in the Jovial Crew.
1775. — Covent Garden.
January 21st As "Harriet," in the Two Misers ; also in
Henry II.
1776. — Covent Garden.
Septem. 27th As " Polly," in the Beggars1 Opera.
„ 30th As " Lucy," do.
October 25th As " Rachel," in the Jovial Crew.
1780. — Covent Garden.
Feby. 17th As " Euphrosyne," in Comus.
Septem. 20th As " Clara" (1st time), in The Duenna.
„ 21st As "Lucy," in the Beggars1 Opera.
Novem. 15th As "Aunt Deborah " (by desire, and with a
Song in character).
Decern. 12th As "Dorcas," in the Spanish Friar.
(By desire.)
1781. — Covent Garden.
January 13th As "Fanny," in the Maid of the Mill.
October 17th As " Macheath," in the Beggars1 Opera.
1782. — Covent Garden.
March 18th As "Margery," in the Mourning Bride
(for Miss Younge's benefit.)
Life op Miss Anne Catley. 75
fl&iss Catley as /Hbacbeatb.
To the Printer of the Town and Country Magazine.
Sir,
The different Metamorphoses which the Beggars* Opera
has lately undergone, clearly prove that burlesque and
ridicule may be carried too far. It is more than probable
that Mr. Colman took his idea of transposing the characters
from males to females, and vice versa, from the success Mrs.
Kennedy had met with in "Macheath;" the thought,
however, appeared novel, and it succeeded beyond his most
sanguine expectations. The managers of Covent Garden
Theatre, unwilling to be outdone in invention, judged,
that in representing all the characters by females they
would improve upon Mr. Column's thought, and Miss
Catley was chosen, at a very extravagant salary, to perform
Macheath; but her greatest admirers must own, that she
neither looked, dressed, or spoke the character, so as to
convey the idea of a bold, enterprising gentleman highway-
man. For what cause is best known to herself, she never
changed her dress, but appeared in boots the whole time,
as if she were just come off the road ; whereas Macheath
always dressed previous to his going to Marybone, as it is
to be supposed he was there to meet some of the politest
company about town, to whom he would take every pre-
caution of not giving the slightest suspicion of his being a
highwayman. The consequence was natural, and, as might
be expected, the town was nauseated with the same un-
natural hodge-podge, though dressed different ways, and
they repaired to another table that was better served.
In a word Miss Catley has been fairly foiled at her own
weapons. She judged that by brazening out the part she
76 Life op Miss Anne Catley.
was sure of success ; whilst Mrs. Cargill, by studying
nature, and pursuing the intention of the poet, not only
succeeded in the same character beyond her friends' most
sanguine expectations, but, it is said, that she looked so
much " the youth in a cart who has the air of a lord," that
she made some conquests amongst her own sex, who were
unapprized of the deception. Theatkicus.
©'Ikeeffe ant> /IDiss Catley
O'Keeffe says " The first time of my venturing into a
theatre after the ill success of my ' Banditti,' Miss Catley
accosted me from a front now of the lower boxes, loud
enough, as I was many rows back, to be heard by all and
everybody, ' So, O'Keeffe you had a piece damned the other
night — I'm glad of it — the devil mend you for writing an
Opera without bringing me into it. '
A few minutes after she had thus accosted me, Leoni
entered the box, with a lady leaning on his arm — Miss
Catley catching his eye, called out, 'How do you do Leoni ?
I hear you're married — is that your wife ! bid her stand
up till I see her.' Leoni, abashed, whispered the lady, who,
with good humoured compliance stood up — Catley after
surveying her a little, said, ' Ha ! very well indeed — I like
your choice.' The audience around seemed more diverted
with this scene in the boxes than that on the stage, as
Miss Catley and her oddities were well known to all."
Life op Miss Anne Catley. 77
H)eatb of flDiss Gatles.
The family of Catley coming from Yorkshire, I am
reminded of the decease of a favourite of that name, the
celebrated Anne Catley, whom I could only know, when
a visible decline was sapping the vital power that bore
her once triumphantly above all humorous singers.
Miss Catley, was, I think, married to General Lascelles,
and left a large family by him, four sons and four
daughters — however her will was signed Anne Catley, and
was written entirely in her own hand. The good sense
that she unquestionably possessed, appears eminently in
the final settlement of her property. She makes General
Francis Lascelles sole executor, and bequeaths him ten
pounds for a mourning ring. The eldest of her four
daughters at the time of her decease, was to have her
wearing apparel, watch, trinkets, <fec, as a distinction —
in all other respects, the four sons and four daughters
were to have equal shares at the age of twenty-one years ;
and, until then, their shares were to be invested in the
funds, and considered, as to the interest, applicable to
their education. She had bought the house in which she
died, at Ealing for the daughters, and, as far as a provident
parent could do, established them respectably. The
probate called her property £5000, but this was far from
being the whole of it.
There was in her personal character a good deal of the
careless boldness of Woffington ; like her too she was
extremely handsome, and her eye and mouth had a peculiar
expression of archness. She aimed at an almost manly
frankness of speech, and acted as one superior to censure,
78 Life op Miss Anne Catlet.
when she raised the wonder of prudery. Catley had an
understanding too sound to indicate the indiscretions of
her youth ; but her follies did not long survive that period,
and she amply atoned in her maturity for the scandal she
had excited formerly in society. There was a graceful
propriety in her domestic concerns. She was never profuse,
and could therefore be liberal in all her arrangements. In
her youth she had been acquainted with difficulties, and
the lesson was ever present to her mind. Her ear was
always open to the unhappy, and her hand was enabled,
by economy, to spare no scanty relief to strangers, without
invading the provision she had destined for her family.
In the great relations of life as a daughter, wife, mother,
and friend, she was, in principle, steady and exemplary.
Her complaint, a pulmonary consumption, had wasted
her to a shade, and it had lingered beyond the usual term
of that baneful, yet nattering pest. She was but forty
four at the time of her decease. There were many points
of similarity between Mrs. Jordan and Miss Catley ; not
that the former ever possessed the nerve or the prudence
of the latter. — Life of Mrs. Jordan, Boaden.
FINIS.
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