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Memoirs of Miss Porter
(With a Portrait[*])
This eminent and amiable lady is the sister of her equally eminent and amiable relatives Sir R. K. Porter, (an account of whose life and attainments may be seen in our Number for September, 1809,) and Miss Anna Maria Porter, the author of the Lake of Killarney, the Hungarian Brothers, Don Sebastian, and other celebrated and admired productions.
As it is a deference due to female youth, not to speak so plainly as to betray the precise periods of its introduction to the world, we shall confine ourselves by this restriction, and proceed generally, by stating that her christian name is Jane; that, like her brother, the foundations of her education were laid north of the Tweed, under the inspection of one of the most learned preceptors in Scotland; that the superstructure was finished in England, where, encompassed by ingenious friends, her mind early imbibed the vigour of literary emulation; and that, at a time when other young women have scarcely dismissed their masters in the commonest accomplishments of their sex, she had began [sic] to write for the world, and with applause.
In her first work, Thaddeus of Warsaw, we find a new species of composition; an harmonious union between the heroic matter of ancient romance, and the domestic interest of a modern novel. The success of this work (evinced by its having gone through nine editions during the comparatively short time of its publication), has occasioned her many imitators. The narrative in Thaddeus, respecting the disasters in Poland, is given with so much truth and accuracy, that the late General Gardener (who was the last British ambassador at the Court of Stanislaus) has been heard to say, after his reading Thaddeus of Warsaw, that 'no one could have described so well the horrors in Poland, who had not been an eye-witness;' and accordingly he expressed his surprise, how it was possible for Miss Porter to have been there during his residence in Warsaw, and he be ignorant of the circumstance. [404] Miss Porter never was in Poland, but the remark and the anecdote prove that the romance-writer has some pretensions to the powers of the poet's eye,
Which glances from earth to heaven.
The next production of Miss Porter was a Selection of Thoughts on Moral Subjects, from the writings of Sir Philip Sidney. These are arranged in a regular series of aphorisms; and to most of them are subjoined remarks, whose sentiments being built upon the principles of her text, are, therefore, not unworthy a station in the same page. To the admirers of Rochefoucault's Maxims, or similar epitomes of ethics, this little vade mecum of 'honour, manners, and piety,' might be usefully introduced as a valuable pocket and travelling companion.
Miss Porter's last and just published work, 'The Scottish Chiefs,' is a romance founded on one of the most interesting periods of the Scottish history; and its effects on the enthusiasm of her hero's country have lately been displayed by public commemorations in the very scenes of his most celebrated actions. It is not particular that this work should be read with avidity in Scotland, Miss Porter having kept to time and tradition, the natives are enabled to travel with her over every rood of land; but it is not in Scotland alone that Miss Porter is greeted with the warmest applause, her work is generally read throughout the kingdom, and has fixed her as it were in an exalted hemisphere, where her imitators, as minor planets, shine with diminished brightness.
The works of Miss Porter have frequently been attributed to her sister, Miss Anna Maria Porter, and, vice versa, Miss A. M. Porter, though her sister's junior, began her literary career first; and we have from her pen, The Lake of Killarney, The Hungarian Brothers, Don Sebastian, &c. &c.
The first of these works is confined altogether to the events of modern days, and elegant fashionable life; and is written with great spirit and accuracy of pointing. It is enriched, as all Miss A. M. Porter's novels are, with several pieces of true poetry. Her second production, The Hungarian Brothers, embraces her sister's scheme of uniting the romance with the novel; and, amidst the deep interest of love and fraternal affection, we are made no less sympathising spectators of the [405] eventful struggle between France and Austria, in the campaigns of 1796, &c. Her last work, Don Sebastian, is founded on the extraordinary and mysterious fate of the royal hero, and is managed with great skill and pathos.
The works of the Misses Porter are eagerly welcomed by parents and guardians, as true champions in the cause of moral and religious restraint, and of the beauty as well as propriety of woman's modesty, and man's adherence to the virtues. [complete]
[*] Posting of portrait pending permission to reproduce.
Provided by Julie A. Shaffer, January 2000
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