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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Untitled Article
first , because the marriage was a happy one ; second , because all mention of it is omitted in the Peerages ; and third , because Lord Wharncliffe , in his edition of the ' Letters and
Works of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu / above mentioned , has designated Beard , we know not on what authority , as " a man of very indifferent character . " Now it has ever been
acknowledged by the common feelings of society , that the reputation of an honest man is the property of all who resemble him ; and therefore his lordship , as one of them , is bound either to own himself mistaken in this
matter , or inform us upon what ground he differs with the received opinion . We never met with a mention of Beard , in which his characterwas spoken of at all , without its being accompanied with high approbation , sometimes enthusiastic . We
are not sure that , in the extracts we are about to make , we have not even missed the most glowing of all the instances ; but his lordship , if he does us the honour of reading them ,
will here find quite enough to render a gentleman uncomfortable for having misconceived a character so attaching . The ensuing passage is from the Gentleman ' s Magazine : —
" Feb . 6 th , 1791 . —In his 75 th year , at Hampton , where he has resided since his retirement from the stage , John Beard , Esq ., formerly one of the proprietors and actingmanager of Covent Garden Theatre , and long a very emi *
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nent and popular singer , till the loss of his tearing disqualified him from performing , iiis first marriage is thus recorded on a handsome pyramidal monument in Pancras churchyard .
" ' Sacred to the remains of Lady Henrietta Beard , only daughter of James Earl of Waldegrave . In the year 1734 she was married to Lord Edward Herbert , second son to the Marquis of Powis ; by whom she had issue one daughter ,, Barbara , now Countess of Powis . On the
8 th of January 1738-9 , she became the wife of Mr John Beard , who during an happy union of 14 years , tenderly loved her person , and admired her virtues ; who sincerely feels and laments his loss ; and must for ever revere her memory ; to which he consecrates this
monument . " < Ob . xxxi Maii , mdccliii , set . xxxvi . " * Requiescat in pace / " By this lady ' s death , a jointure of 600 / . a year devolved to Earl Powis . He married .
secondly , a daughter of Mr Rich , patentee of Covent Garden Theatre , whose sister married , 1 . Mr Morris , 2 , Mr Horsley , brother to the Bishbp of St David ' s . By the death of his father-in-law , Mr Rich , Mr B . found himself in affluent
circumstances , and his agreeable talents secured to him a circle of friends ill his retirement . He has left legacies to the amount of 3 , 000 / . ; which , considering his expenses in his house at Hampton , and Ms
Untitled Article
Marriages from the Stage . 163
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 1, 1837, page 163, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1835/page/19/
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