Lavinia Forster, daughter of Thomas Banks, guides the education of the Eliot sisters in Paris 1826

 

The two letters written in 1826 transcribed below were written by a youthful Harriet/ Harriett Eliot to her father Major Eliot in London; she and her sister Eliza, who contributes a line to the first letter, are being polished and finished in Paris at an expense which may be placing a strain on the resources of their father. The first letter emphasises their frugality and the second the impressive educational and social opportunities which Mrs Forster is making available: virtually every name Harriett mentions can be followed up on a Wikipedia page. But the Eliots themselves remain elusive – I will amend this piece if I can find an account of them. The central figure of Mrs Forster, in whose Parisian family home they are staying and who is clearly charged with or taking responsibility for their education, is less elusive though fragmentary. 

It is easy enough to locate Mrs Forster in relation to her father and husband, less so in her own right. Lavinia Forster was born in 1775 the only child of the monumental sculptor Thomas Banks RA (1735-1805). She was clearly provided with a more than adequate education, evident in known work which she published. In 1799 Lavinia married Edward Forster (1769-1828) who like her father was from a fairly modest background but talented and ambitious. Forsaking the Law, Forster became a clergyman in 1796 but as well as becoming a fashionable London preacher launched publishing ventures which produced stylish (and expensive) illustrated editions of classical works in their original language or translated. Eventually, the costs outran the revenues and what my sources refer to as “financial difficulties” led him in 1815 to quit London for (cheaper) Paris, taking with him wife and children.

By that date, Lavinia had at least two pieces of published work to her credit. In 1802, she provided the numerous, fine-line illustrations for her husband’s edition (in original Greek) of the Anacreon or to give it its full title, Anacreontis Odaria ad textus Barnesiani fidem emendate, which was successful enough to merit a second edition in 1813. 

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Then in 1807 she published under her own name a long article in a short-lived London periodical The Director, edited by Thomas Dibdin (a clerical colleague and friend of her husband) analysing and paying tribute to her late father’s monumental sculpture Achilles Mourning the Loss of Briseis. 

When her husband died in 1828 at the age of 59 she edited and published, probably as a fund-raiser for herself and her children a volume of Sermons Preached a the Chapel of the British Embassy and at the Protestant Church of the Oratoire in Paris. 

In Paris, Edward Forster started out again as a preacher but more likely solved his financial problems when in 1818 he secured the post of Chaplain to the British Embassy, a post he retained until his death in 1828. By the time these two letters were written he was already in poor health and no mention is made of him by Harriett. I hazard that an energetic Mrs Forster had turned their home into a pension-cum-educational establishment for paying guests; a main attraction would have been the access to Parisian cultural and social life which she was able to supply, relying both on her backgrounds as daughter of Thomas Banks and her connection to the British Embassy. A nice vignette in Hariette’s letter describes the presence of a seven-year-old child, Clelie, who happens to be the daughter of Giuditta Pasta (1797-1865), an outstanding operatic soprano currently performing in Paris. Bellini wrote a lead part of La Somnabula intended for her and Donizetti the title role in his Anna Bolena. Other characters appearing in the letters include Francois Gérard (1770-1837), first painter to the French king.    

Lavinia Forster had in her possession works by her father and later in life donated or bequeathed them to a number of institutions including the Royal Academy, Sir John Soane’s Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum. Many more of her father’s works (and perhaps also her own) passed down in her family and are now held institutionally.  

But I close on a small note about material realities. Both letters were written in Paris but were carried by hand to London before being posted at Charing Cross for local delivery, thus saving expense. But who carried them? The first letter is annotated bottom left in a crabbed hand “E Forster”. At this period, when all letters were handwritten, it was common for government officials to indicate their responsibility and also to claim legitimate free of charge use by writing their name or initials bottom left. This letter was most likely carried from Paris to London by a British Embassy courier who would have arrived from a Channel port at the coach station of Charing Cross before turning the corner down into Whitehall. The second letter is not endorsed but was also carried privately using the same route.

Transcription first letter

Addressed to: Major Eliot   23 Bedford Place Russell Square

No dateline but written in Paris

Endorsement: E Forster [Edward Forster, Chaplain British Embassy Paris]

Posted in London at the Charing Cross office, charged 2d, London transit mark A[after]NOON 24 FE 1826

Docketing note: Harriet & Eliza Feby 1826

My dear Papa

You need not make yourself uneasy about the letter there was not the least hint given about money it was in French and about different things Paris news &c the only part that in any way related to our staying was that in speaking of Paris I said that we found Mrs Forsters family so pleasant & Mrs F herself such an agreeable woman that we should regret very much leaving her, that you had not yet spoken to us upon the subject but that we were in daily expectation of hearing from you, it was written some time ago soon after Mrs Forster left France, I didn’t [?] send it to you as I did not then owing to your long silence know whether you were at Manchester or in London. It must have been received some time as I gave it to Mrs Forster to send nearly a month ago. What do you mean by saying that you think of taking a house out of London for us all to live in pray explain this to me in your next letter are we to be with you alone or with mamma or grand papa  We will endeavour to be as sparing as possible in cloaths washing &c you will find our cloaths come to considerably less this year as we shall not have to buy leghorn hats pelisses silk gowns & dress gowns for me as we have a good stock which will last a long time, it is that sort of things which are so expensive, we shall now only want shoes & such kind of necessary articles of which we shall use as few as possible I have been thinking about the masters & think there are several which we might do without for instance there is a master for Geography  & the globles [?] &c Dancing is no longer necessary I suppose you are not particularly anxious for us to figure in a ball room like opera dancers we know a great number of steps & can dance at least like gentlewomen also I think I might do without Italian Emma [Mrs Forster’s daughter] & Mrs Forster are very good Italian scholars & I do exercises with them every day with the master I only read for the pronunciation There then remains the Harp piano singing & drawing masters  I should feel sorry for Eliza [ her sister] to leave off the piano as she is now making great progress & I think has some talent for that as well as for singing & certainly  has a fine voice, for myself drawing & the Harp is what I should give up with the most regret, but do as you please dear Papa what ever you decide upon for us to leave off, I will practice by myself, let me hear soon,

Last night I was at a concert at Mr Jennings[probably Robert Jennings, London-based publisher of books about Paris] & he desired to be remembered to you, we have been to two dances this week & have just received an invitation to a very grand ball at Monsr. Lafitte’s the banker but of course we shall not go, as it is on Sunday. I will set about the drawing for you as soon as possible, I am now finishing one for Mrs Forster’s birthday she will not receive bought presents but we all give her a trifle of our own making. It is copied from a beautiful lithograph called La retraite coupée  between a Turk & a French Dragoon [a famous work by Godfroy Englemann, contemporary and prominent Parisian lithographer]. With the master I draw from a bas relief of the nine muses, which has been lent to me, we have also a jointed figure of a Roman Senator which we have draped in robes to study drapery from, Eliza begins to draw Landscapes in seppia very pretty in a good, bold style but I do not think that [she] has much idea of figures, with the money [seal torn here, probably which]  you were so kind to send me I have bought a small [torn here] of books which are to me invaluable chiefly treatises on … French language, the participles, verbs &c which cannot be had in England & without which it is almost impossible to have a complete knowledge of the language & write it elegantly. We have also bought a few of the best French authors

In a different hand:

Harriet is obliged to attend the harp mistress & therefore begged me to finish this letter for her I believe she has nothing more to say nor have I either excepting our kind love to all &

Believe me my dear papa your very affectionate child Eliza Eliot

 

Transcription second letter

Addressed to: Major Eliot   23 Bedford Place   Russell Square

Datelined: Paris April 25^th 1826

Docketing note: Harriet 25^th April 1826

Carried by hand from Paris to London and put into the post at Charing Cross, dated postmark  2 MY 1826

My dear papa

It is very long since we have heard from you, more than a month, I think you must have left town Aunt Eliza mentioned in her last letter that you had been staying some time at Blackheath. Mrs Forster gave us a few days ago a sovereign which you had begged her to keep till we wanted money, it could not have come more opportunely for I was actually soulless, we both thank you very much for it dear Papa. [The previous letter refers to Mrs Forster leaving France presumably for a visit to England]

I have not much to tell you for almost all the gaieties of Paris are over, Aunt Eliza tells me that a Mr Schalch of the Artillery [John Schlach, Major in the 6^th Battalion of the Royal Artillery ….] is coming to Paris in a short time & will bring a letter from Uncle Frank by way of an excuse to call; do you know any thing of him? We have had beautiful weather here for this last week it is just like summer we went yesterday to see the models for a monument  to be erected to the memory of General Foy they are all by different artists & exposed in the bazaar for the public to give their opinion, they have been there about a fortnight & I believe the election is to be made tomorrow. I see by the journal that the Duc de Rivière capitaine des Gardes du Corps is appointed to succeed the Duc de Montmorenci as governour of the little prince. We have also had grand illuminations here on account of the bill for the droit d’ainesse having been rejected it seems to be a subject of universal joy the whole nation was so much against it [ a Crown-initiated bill to restore the pre-revolutionary inheritance rights of first-born children, intended to strengthen the traditional aristocracy] . Your drawing is finished but the difficulty is getting it to Manchester should you be there. I may soon have an opportunity of sending it to London but it is a chance if I meet with anyone going from here to Manchester. Mary [ possibly another sister?] continues to practice very assiduously and is learning a piece of Kalkbrenner [Friedrich Kalkbrenner, German composer long-term resident in Paris] I suppose you have heard the music of the Dame Blanche it is very much admired but does not strike me as anything remarkable [ now a received view of La Dame Blanche , a comic opera of the French composer François-Adrien Boieldieu] - every thing gowns capes ribbons gentlemen’s pantaloons &c are  à la Dame Blanche as they were formerly à la Jocko [Jocko, ou le Singe du Brésil, a melodrama which in Paris  starred the famous acrobat Charles Mazurier as the ape Jocko] There is a new piece preparing at the porte St Martin [ Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin ]  under the direction of Mr [Thomas] Cooke the London actor, it is from the story of Frankenstein the scenery & dresses are to be very good & it is expected to have a great run [it did; Cooke played the Monster in  Le Monstre et le Magicien for eighty successive nights].  While I am writing this letter Madame Pasta’s little girl Clelie is standing by my side cutting out paper dolls, she frequently spends the day here being at school in Chaillot – it seems so extraordinary to hear her talk Italian continually but she understands French perfectly, she is about the size of Belle & would be very handsome if her eyes looked the same way. The fine collection of Pictures Statues & in short – the whole museum of the late Baron Denon [Vivant Denon] is to be sold by auction the beginning of next month, the catalogue only consists of two large volumes I was looking over it this morning & thinking that you & Mr B.O. Brydon would like to have Fortunatus’ wishing cap & inexaustible  purse, it is said to be the finest collection in France & every one regrets that the French government does not buy it entire, it is really a pity to seperate such a large collection which the Baron has spent the greatest part of his life in assembling. A few days ago I accompanied Mrs Forster to the atelier of Gérard the king’s painter he was working at a picture of the Dauphin but it was so little advanced that we could not form any opinion respecting it. I was very much struck by a portrait by him of Marshall Beresford [ Viscount Beresford, Marshal in the Portuguese Army during the Napoleonic Wars] it was at a little distance like a living head, there was also a portrait of Gerard himself by Thomas Lawrence. We have been to the Chapel in the Tuilleries again & saw much better than we did the last time we were there, we had tickets for the gallery & stood next to the Dames d’Honneur so that we saw the royal family during the whole of the service after it we walked through the Salle des Maréchaux where all the officers noblemen &c were waiting to be admitted to the king’s presence the Duke d’Angoulême passed close to us accompanied by Prince Talleyrand & the Duke de Biron Gontaut [usually rendered Gontaut de Biron]  If it is fine on Monday we are going with a large party to a review on the Champ de Mars, I expect it will be very hot & dusty.

Since I began this letter I have heard from Aunt Eliza she mentions John’s departure for Ceylon and a variety of other circumstances with which I daresay you are acquainted. Baron Denon’s collection is to be viewed today tomorrow & the day after & the sale begins on the 1^st of May. The Forsters are going on Friday night to a grand amateur concert give for the benefit of the Greeks [whose War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire was faltering at this time] as the tickets are a napoleon each of course I do not think of it. There is a grand ball at the Ambassador’s next week and Mrs Forster regrets very much not being able to take me, she desires me to ask you if you do not know some one who could introduce me to Lady Granville [wife of the British Ambassador in Paris, 1824-1828] & could write a letter of introduction for me, do pray papa try and do something for me it would be such an advantage some of the Phillippsons know them now do not forget for Mrs Forster charged me to tell you and let us hear from you soon you have not written for so long. God bless you dear Papa.

Your affte Daughter Harriett Eliot

 

References

Wikipedia: Thomas Banks (sculptor)

Wikipedia: Edward Forster (writer)

Wikipedia: François Gérard

Wikipedia: Giuditta Pasta

Wikipedia: Vivant Denon

Wikipedia: Thomas Cooke (actor)

Wikipedia: Godefroy Engelmann

Wikipedia: Friedrich Kalkbrenner

Wikipedia: La Dame Blanche

Wikipedia : Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin