Madame Le Vert, as she is usually styled, was born at Bellevue near Augusta, Georgia, and was reared in Pensacola, Florida. She was a granddaughter of George Walton, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and daughter of George Walton, governor of Florida. She learned languages easily and conversed well in French, Spanish, and Italian. LaFayette said of her: “A truly wonderful child! She has been conversing with intelligence and tact in the purest French. I predict for her a brilliant career.” She gave the name to the capital of Florida, Tallahassee, a Seminole word meaning “beautiful land.” She spent several seasons in Washington; and she wrote such excellent accounts of the speeches in Congress, that Calhoun, Webster, and Clay frequently asked her to read to them their own speeches from her portfolio.
In 1836 she was married to Dr. Henry S. Le Vert of Mobile and removed to that city. She travelled in Europe in 1853 and 1855, and her delightful journal and letters home were afterwards arranged and published as “Souvenirs of Travel.” Their spirit and style make them charming yet, and they are valuable as pictures of the times.
Her memory is still fragrant as a most gracious and lovely woman, a brilliant conversationalist, and a queen of society. It is said of her that her tongue never wounded and that she never had an enemy.
WORKS.
Souvenirs of Travel.
Souvenirs of the War, [unpublished].
Souvenirs of Distinguished People, [unpublished].
TO CADIZ FROM HAVANNA, 1855.
(From Souvenirs of Travel.)
“O lovely Spain! renowned, romantic land!”
Our last day on board, the good Dominga (our waiting-woman) awakened us long before the dawn, saying, “Come, Señora, go with me on deck and see the day arise.” We did so and were charmed with the beautiful scene. At first the sky was “deeply, darkly blue,” and the stars were gleaming with a brightness never seen in more northern regions. Slowly a gauzy veil seemed wafting over them, and along the east sprang up, as it were, banners of purple and rose-color, and the intense azure of the heavens melted into a soft gray hue. Soon streaks of golden light flashed through it, and the glorious sun came forth, converting the mirror-like ocean into a sea of radiance, burnished and glittering like myriads of gems. And this was morning upon the Atlantic!
At mid-day there was a cry of tierra! tierra! (land! land!) which sent a thrill of joy to many hearts. We had seen none, except the island of Santa Maria (one of the Azores, near which we passed), since we left the Antilles. We ran on deck, and in a few moments