[41] There is a history of the origin of the Admy family in the London and Paris Observer of June 30, 1839. Persons who doubt about the existence of hereditary nobility in Turkey will do well to read it. The Sultan creates Pashas, as the sovereign here makes Lord As and Lord Bs, but it is some time before they obtain the level of old families, except in their official capacities.
[42] Captain Meadows Taylor does not appear to have been quite so scrupulous in his “Confessions of a Thug,” where the following passage occurs:—“She falls at his feet; she is captivated; she conquers, and the nika is performed.” How harmless is the sound of words when not understood!
[43] “Report, but I do not give it as at all authentic, says that Pitt is to marry Eleanor Eden.”—Diaries and Correspondence of the Earl of Malmesbury, v. iii. p. 370.—Letter to Sir G. Elliott, Dec. 18, 1790.
[44] In 1837, when I visited Lady Hester Stanhope again, I was reading Wraxall’s Memoirs, where he says, “There was something about Mr. E***, that one could not feel confidence in him;” and Lady Hester Stanhope interrupted me by saying, “That was the reason that Mr. Pitt would not marry his daughter. She was unlike all the other sisters. The mother, like a hen with her chickens, would sit sometimes at a party, and almost devour a peer, to see if she could get him for one of them. There they were, all open-mouthed, ready to eat him up.”
[45] With respect to Mrs. Jordan, I believe Lady Hester Stanhope to have been mistaken.
CHAPTER VI.
Lady Hester Stanhope’s belief in the coming of a Messiah—Her two favourite mares—Lady Hester’s destiny influenced by Brothers, the fortune-teller, and by one Metta, a Syrian astrologer—Duke of Reichstadt—Madame de Fériat—Story of a Circassian slave—Rugged paths in Mount Lebanon—Anecdote of Lord and Lady Bute—Anecdote of Mr. A., afterwards Lord S.—His father’s rise in the world—Lord Liverpool and the order of merit—Intimidation exercised over the Author’s household by Lady Hester—Sundry difficulties arising therefrom—Lady Hester’s opinion of X.’s mission—Mrs. Fry—Lady Hester’s defiance of consular authority, and confidence in her own resources—Lunardi recommended as a servant—The Author takes leave of Lady Hester—Conduct of the Franks at Sayda—The Author sails for Cyprus—Is hospitably received by Mr. Hanah Farkouah, a Syrian, and by Signor Baldassare Mattei—Marine villa at Larnaka—Mr. George Robinson—Captain Scott—Captain Dundas—Mr. Burns—The Author sails for Europe.
As many travellers have circulated the report that Lady Hester Stanhope had announced the coming of a Messiah, and that she had shown her two Arabian mares, as of a particular breed, which were never to be mounted until this second advent, making inferences therefrom little favourable to that lady’s sanity, it may not be amiss to state, in her own words, what she actually did say on this subject.
“All sects,” said her ladyship, “have predicted the coming of a Saviour or Messiah; this event, it is foretold, will be preceded by the overthrow of most of the kingdoms of Christendom: the work has already begun, and we may soon expect its completion. For is not the world in a state of revolution? Have not kings been driven from their thrones? Hundreds and thousands of distressed persons will come to me for assistance and refuge. I shall have to wade up to here” (pointing to her girdle) “in blood; but it is the will of God, and I shall not be afraid. The advent of the Murdah has occupied the minds of many people, and I think unsuccessfully. M. Lamartine talked about religion to me. I told him—‘Does not the Testament say, ‘But there is one shall come after me, who is greater than I am—who is that?’ He hummed and hahed, but could make no reply.[46] Is he not to appear as an earthly king, in honour and glory? The Jews expect him, the Turks expect him, the Ansarias expect him; all expect him but the Christians. What did Lord P********** shoot himself for, but from the impossibility of getting at the truth in this matter? And the great Duke de St. Simon, how did he puzzle his brain to no purpose! He knew a great deal—much more than Enfantin and all his followers. Enfantin got hold of his manuscripts, and Rodrigo, his secretary, copied them; but they could not make it out. The St. Simonians came to see me; they thought to get hold of me, but they were mistaken. I know the woman that will suit them; a great bint el hawa, a beautiful creature.
“You tell me of secret societies, which have risen up in Europe since the long war. Did not I know all that? I have been bred in the work of revolutions since I was first with Mr. Pitt. How many plots did he crush, within two or three days of their consummation, of which not a syllable was ever known! The great freemasons, doctor, exist all over the world: they know I am the person they want. Many of them have been sent as spies on my actions; but I shall stand in no need of them—it is they who will want me. When the course of events shall have brought things to a point, I shall have assistance enough. All the people who come here after me, are sent to say something: Lord B******, who saw me at Tiberias, was a freemason, and one of them.”