1 00:00:02,279 --> 00:00:06,199 Speaker 1: Hey, listeners. This episode is part of our new playlist 2 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 1: to help everybody get through these times we're living in. 3 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:12,400 Speaker 1: It's our host faves playlist. Yeah, these are just some 4 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:15,000 Speaker 1: of our personal favorites, ones that we had a particular 5 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:18,599 Speaker 1: affinity for, and because these are stressful and trying times, 6 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:22,240 Speaker 1: we tried to stick to the ones that weren't quite 7 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:25,160 Speaker 1: as dour. So hopefully they'll give you a little lift. 8 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:31,560 Speaker 1: Stay safe. Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, 9 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:42,239 Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to 10 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:46,200 Speaker 1: the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson and I'm Holly Fry. 11 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:51,159 Speaker 1: In the late eighteenth century, Sarah Ponsonby and Lady Eleanor Butler, 12 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: who became known as the Ladies of Van Goughlin, abandoned 13 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: their life in the upper tiers of Irish society and 14 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 1: made a home for themselves in whales. And even though 15 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: their entire plan with this had been to live alone 16 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: in solitude, they became famous for doing so. Anna Seward 17 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,080 Speaker 1: and William Wordsworth both wrote poems about them. In a 18 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:16,000 Speaker 1: cottage that they lived in. Byron sent them a copy 19 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:19,400 Speaker 1: of The Corsair with a personal note. When that came out. 20 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 1: Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, paid them a visit 21 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 1: and even stayed with them, and Queen Charlotte was enamored 22 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:28,199 Speaker 1: enough with them that she convinced the king to grant 23 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:31,039 Speaker 1: them a pension. Apparently at one point they were even 24 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,720 Speaker 1: offered a lack of Napoleon's hair. And this whole story, 25 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:36,840 Speaker 1: which in a lot of ways sounds kind of like 26 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:40,760 Speaker 1: a regency romance novel, was completely outside the bounds of 27 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: what was expected or allowable for women at the time. 28 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:46,280 Speaker 1: And up here at the front, I'm just going to 29 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: issue a blanket apology for our poor pronunciation of Welsh. Yeah, 30 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 1: definitely not a language either of us has grown up speaking. 31 00:01:56,760 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 1: It's a tricky one if you didn't grow up speaking 32 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: to els and the two d's. Those are easy sounds 33 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: if you've been making them your whole life. But if 34 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 1: you are an English speaker, you start watching these tutorials, 35 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: they're like, put your tongue behind your teeth and kind 36 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: of exhale a little bit and then make that noise 37 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 1: while you're saying words, and well, difficult, it's tricky, So 38 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 1: brave they We're going to do our best, but it's 39 00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: not gonna be anywhere near perfect, but to start in. 40 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: Eleanor Charlotte Butler born seventeen thirty nine was the youngest 41 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 1: daughter of one of the most powerful and prominent families 42 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:33,760 Speaker 1: in Ireland. Her father was Walter Butler, the Earl of Ormond, 43 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:37,920 Speaker 1: and their family's home was Kilkenny Castle. The Butler's family 44 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: seat had been at Kilkenny Castle since the late fourteenth century. 45 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 1: I know sometimes there are buildings that are described as 46 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:51,760 Speaker 1: castles that look sort of like a stone square. This 47 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: is not one of those. It is a castle with 48 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:02,480 Speaker 1: four towers on it. Eleanor was Eleanor was quite a 49 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:07,120 Speaker 1: bit younger than her two attractive and accomplished older sisters, 50 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:11,240 Speaker 1: and the arrival of a younger brother also supplanted her 51 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:13,360 Speaker 1: as the baby of the family before she was even 52 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 1: two years old. Consequently, Eleanor wound up being the most 53 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:20,800 Speaker 1: left out of all the Butler siblings. Her two older 54 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:24,679 Speaker 1: sisters got a much more fashionable education than she did. 55 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 1: They were sent to the Convent of the Blue Nuns 56 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 1: in Paris, while Eleanor went to an English Benedicting convent 57 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:34,960 Speaker 1: and Cambray. When it came to the quality of education 58 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: at the convent, Eleanor went to. I mean, it was 59 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: a good enough education, but it was certainly no Paris, 60 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 1: and it did not have the same prestigious reputation is 61 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: where her sisters went. At times, it seemed like Eleanor 62 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:54,280 Speaker 1: was literally forgotten. Correspondences from aunts and cousins routinely mentioned 63 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 1: and asked after her older sisters while saying nothing of her. 64 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: Relatives remembered her sisters and their wills, but they passed 65 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: over Eleanor entirely. And even though from a social standpoint 66 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: it was essentially mandatory for the Butler family to find 67 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 1: suitable marriages for all of their daughters, they put way 68 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 1: more effort into her sisters than into Eleanor. While Eleanor 69 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:19,760 Speaker 1: had had some suitors, none of them really worked out. 70 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 1: So by the time Eleanor was twenty nine, she was 71 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,600 Speaker 1: the family spinster and she just did not have much 72 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:30,800 Speaker 1: to occupy her time. That changed when she was introduced 73 00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 1: to Sarah Ponsonby. Sarah, born in seventeen fifty five, was 74 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: from a family that was also quite prominent and well off, 75 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:41,240 Speaker 1: although not nearly as big a deal as the Butler's, 76 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 1: but a series of tragedies left her both orphaned and 77 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:48,480 Speaker 1: destitute before she was out of her teens. Her father, 78 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:52,840 Speaker 1: Chambre Brabazon Ponsonby, was a member of parliament and he 79 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:56,479 Speaker 1: had been married once before marrying Sarah's mother. He and 80 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:59,400 Speaker 1: his first wife had a son and three daughters, but 81 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:03,160 Speaker 1: only one daughter survived infancy. This left him still in 82 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:05,920 Speaker 1: need of a male heir, so he married Sarah's mother, 83 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:10,520 Speaker 1: LOUISEA Lyons, in seventeen fifty two. Sarah was born three 84 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:14,240 Speaker 1: years later in seventeen fifty five, and Louisa died another 85 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 1: three years after that. Sarah's father married once again, this 86 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,200 Speaker 1: time to Mary Barker, who was an heiress and did 87 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:25,320 Speaker 1: indeed conceive the son that he was hoping to have, 88 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:29,320 Speaker 1: but Chambre died before that son was born when Sarah 89 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:34,080 Speaker 1: was only seven. Then Sarah's stepmother remarried, but died herself 90 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:38,720 Speaker 1: when Sarah was only thirteen. After this series of marriages 91 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:41,640 Speaker 1: and deaths Sarah was left with no fortune of her own, 92 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:44,440 Speaker 1: in the care of a stepfather who didn't have much 93 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:47,200 Speaker 1: interest in a teenage girl he had acquired through his 94 00:05:47,279 --> 00:05:51,520 Speaker 1: late wife's previous husband's prior marriage, so he sent her 95 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 1: off to live with a cousin Lady Elizabeth Founds, who 96 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:57,760 Speaker 1: was called Betty, and she lived with her husband, Baronet 97 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:02,880 Speaker 1: Sir William Founds, in woodstock House, County Kilkenny. When Stockhouse 98 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 1: no longer stands, but it was also very large and impressive. 99 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:10,320 Speaker 1: Sarah's introduction to Eleanor Butler came when the Founds enrolled 100 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:13,000 Speaker 1: her in a boarding school run by a Miss Parks. 101 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:16,200 Speaker 1: The boarding school was much closer to kill Kenny Castle 102 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:18,560 Speaker 1: than it was to wood stock House, so Lady Betty 103 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:22,160 Speaker 1: Founds wrote to Eleanor's mother, the Countess Ormand, to ask 104 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:25,120 Speaker 1: that the Butlers keep an eye on Sarah, and this 105 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:29,120 Speaker 1: request wound up serving two purposes quite well. It offered 106 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:32,200 Speaker 1: Lady Betty some assurance that Sarah would make the right 107 00:06:32,279 --> 00:06:34,480 Speaker 1: sorts of friends at school and be kept away from 108 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:38,520 Speaker 1: influences that might damage her prospects, and it offered Eleanor 109 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:42,919 Speaker 1: Butler something to do with her time. Eleanor and Sarah 110 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:45,960 Speaker 1: became fast friends, and for the entire five years that 111 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:48,799 Speaker 1: Sarah was enrolled in the school, they were very close. 112 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:52,719 Speaker 1: Eleanor had a reputation for being way too educated for 113 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:55,000 Speaker 1: a woman, and they spent a lot of their time 114 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:59,680 Speaker 1: reading and then discussing what they had read. The sixteen 115 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:03,359 Speaker 1: year gap in their ages, combined with Sarah's youth, wouldn't 116 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 1: have raised eyebrows at the time and the way that 117 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 1: it probably would today. But what did raise some eyebrows 118 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: was was that they seemed to be so devoted to 119 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:16,640 Speaker 1: one another. Close and intimate relationships were common, but the 120 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 1: fact that Sarah and Eleanor seemed to turn to each 121 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,640 Speaker 1: other to the exclusion of anyone else was viewed with 122 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:27,200 Speaker 1: some suspicion. It was probably during Sarah's school years that 123 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 1: they began to talk about how nice it would be 124 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:33,000 Speaker 1: if they could retire somewhere together, to live quietly out 125 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:37,120 Speaker 1: in the country, away from society. But when Sarah finished school, 126 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:40,960 Speaker 1: they were separated. Sarah returned to Woodstock House to live 127 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:44,840 Speaker 1: with the Founds, while Eleanor continued to live at Kilkenny Castle, 128 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 1: about twelve miles roughly nineteen kilometers away, and even though 129 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 1: Lady Betty had asked the butlers to keep an eye 130 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 1: on Sarah, the two families weren't particularly close for the 131 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,360 Speaker 1: next five years. Sarah and Eleanor may have seen one 132 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:01,240 Speaker 1: another at social events that both families would have attended, 133 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: but they really did not have much time together. They 134 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:06,920 Speaker 1: started to have more contact with each other. A few 135 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,600 Speaker 1: years later, when Sarah was in her early twenties, Lady 136 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:14,120 Speaker 1: Betty Founds health wasn't very good, and it had become 137 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:17,440 Speaker 1: obvious that Sir William Bounds was planning to take Sarah 138 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:22,360 Speaker 1: as a wife once Lady Betty died. Sarah had so 139 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:25,720 Speaker 1: many problems with this. She did not want to marry 140 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:28,440 Speaker 1: Sir William. She thought he was repulsive, and she found 141 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:32,079 Speaker 1: his attention to her to be gross and inappropriate. And 142 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:34,679 Speaker 1: even though Lady Betty had urged her to be kind 143 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:38,040 Speaker 1: and accommodating to Sir William, Sarah didn't think she meant 144 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:42,120 Speaker 1: that accommodating. So Sarah felt stuck. She didn't want to 145 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:44,640 Speaker 1: encourage Sir William, but she also didn't want to hurt 146 00:08:44,679 --> 00:08:48,000 Speaker 1: Lady Betty. In a letter to a friend, Lucy Goddard, 147 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:51,440 Speaker 1: she wrote, I would rather die than wound Lady Betty's heart. 148 00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:57,319 Speaker 1: In these same years, Eleanor was almost equally unhappy. By 149 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:00,840 Speaker 1: this point, her brother Robert had converted to prod Centism. 150 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:04,079 Speaker 1: Than the family had long been Catholic, but following some 151 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:07,679 Speaker 1: changes to the law, Catholics are being stripped of their titles, 152 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:11,600 Speaker 1: so Robert's conversion was a matter of necessity to try 153 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:15,160 Speaker 1: to hold onto the earldom, and that title would be 154 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:18,440 Speaker 1: in jeopardy at various other points in Eleanor's life for 155 00:09:18,559 --> 00:09:22,680 Speaker 1: various reasons. At the same time, Eleanor's family was getting 156 00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:26,640 Speaker 1: tired of supporting their spinster daughter. They were talking about 157 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 1: sending her to a convent, which would simultaneously give the 158 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:32,240 Speaker 1: family a cheaper way to keep her fed and sheltered, 159 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 1: and it would also maybe get them right with God. 160 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:38,320 Speaker 1: Her parents probably also thought she might be happy at 161 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:41,000 Speaker 1: a convent, after all, she'd been happy enough at the 162 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:46,080 Speaker 1: convent in Cambra where she was educated. But Eleanor did 163 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 1: not want to go to a convent, especially not to 164 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:51,640 Speaker 1: please the family who had always been kind of indifferent 165 00:09:51,679 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 1: to her, and particularly since part of the motivation was 166 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: the religion of her brother, who she had always blamed 167 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:03,960 Speaker 1: for her being so overlooked at home. So Sarah did 168 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:06,800 Speaker 1: not want to marry her gross guardian when his wife, 169 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:09,600 Speaker 1: who she was very fond of, died, and Eleanor did 170 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:12,679 Speaker 1: not want to join a convent to make things financially easier. 171 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:16,320 Speaker 1: On her family or assuage their religious guilt. So the 172 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:19,080 Speaker 1: two of them decided that they would do something about it, 173 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:21,280 Speaker 1: and we're going to talk about that after we first 174 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:32,760 Speaker 1: pause for a little sponsor break. Both unhappy with their 175 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:37,079 Speaker 1: situations and their future prospects, Sarah Ponsonby and Lady Eleanor 176 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:42,360 Speaker 1: Butler started writing each other secret correspondence around seventeen seventy six. 177 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:45,560 Speaker 1: To do this, they would have needed help, probably from 178 00:10:45,559 --> 00:10:48,640 Speaker 1: someone in the household staff, to basically secret their letters 179 00:10:48,679 --> 00:10:51,240 Speaker 1: in and out of the house. They wrote back and 180 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 1: forth bemoaning their circumstances and trying to plan an escape 181 00:10:54,960 --> 00:11:00,679 Speaker 1: for at least eighteen months. Then on March seventeen seventy eight, 182 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:04,240 Speaker 1: they made their first attempt to run away. That might 183 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:07,200 Speaker 1: seem like an odd choice of words to describe grown 184 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:09,480 Speaker 1: women who were twenty three and thirty nine at the time, 185 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:12,680 Speaker 1: but both women were at this point really considered to 186 00:11:12,679 --> 00:11:15,920 Speaker 1: be under the control of their parents and guardians. They 187 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:18,560 Speaker 1: were expected to do as they were told Mary and 188 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:21,880 Speaker 1: have children to continue the family line, and if that 189 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:24,960 Speaker 1: for some reason absolutely could not happen, to go to 190 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:28,480 Speaker 1: a convent. Even though they were at least in numeric 191 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:31,440 Speaker 1: terms adults. The fact that they were leaving home alone 192 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:35,479 Speaker 1: without their parents or guardians permission or knowledge was scandalous, 193 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:41,600 Speaker 1: particularly given Eleanor's families prominence. Eleanor snuck out of Kilkenny 194 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:44,959 Speaker 1: Castle that night, changed into men's clothes once she was out, 195 00:11:45,240 --> 00:11:47,480 Speaker 1: and took a horse from the stables, and she wrote 196 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:49,600 Speaker 1: it to a barn where she and Sarah had arranged 197 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:52,920 Speaker 1: to meet. No one at the castle noticed her absence 198 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:56,840 Speaker 1: for at least a couple of hours. Meanwhile, Sarah climbed 199 00:11:56,840 --> 00:11:59,319 Speaker 1: out the window at Woodstock House, dressed as a man 200 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:01,600 Speaker 1: and armed with a pistol, and she took her dog 201 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:04,320 Speaker 1: Frisk with her and proceeded the rest of the way 202 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:07,200 Speaker 1: on foot. I love a window escape with a puppy. 203 00:12:10,559 --> 00:12:13,559 Speaker 1: From their rendezvous point, they planned to go to Waterford 204 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:15,679 Speaker 1: and take a packet ship that was a boat that 205 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:20,480 Speaker 1: carried mail across St George's Channel to Wales. This plan 206 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:22,959 Speaker 1: did not work out, though either they missed the boat 207 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:25,520 Speaker 1: or the one they had planned on didn't set sail. 208 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:28,559 Speaker 1: The weather was bad and there were rumors of pirates 209 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:30,360 Speaker 1: in the channel, so it really could have been either. 210 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:34,400 Speaker 1: Their families, though, had started a search as soon as 211 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:37,400 Speaker 1: they realized that the young women were gone. The Founds 212 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:40,440 Speaker 1: and the Butlers alike worried that they had run away 213 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:44,520 Speaker 1: with men. They were simultaneously kind of puzzled because they 214 00:12:44,559 --> 00:12:48,360 Speaker 1: couldn't think of any men that would be candidates for this. 215 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:53,439 Speaker 1: After a few hours, some of Sir William Founds his 216 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:57,239 Speaker 1: men tracked Eleanor and Sarah down not far from Waterford 217 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:00,920 Speaker 1: and sent word back to their respective families. Lady Betty 218 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:04,120 Speaker 1: took a coach to retrieve them, intending to bring both 219 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:07,600 Speaker 1: Sarah and Eleanor back to Woodstock House, but before they 220 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:09,720 Speaker 1: had left the dock, a friend of the Butler family 221 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:13,439 Speaker 1: arrived and insisted that Eleanor be sent back with him. 222 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:17,400 Speaker 1: Over both women's serious objections, they were sent back home separately. 223 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:21,320 Speaker 1: This left their families to puzzle out what had happened 224 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:25,480 Speaker 1: and ideally how to keep it from happening again. An elopement, 225 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:28,079 Speaker 1: which at the time just meant running away and didn't 226 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:31,880 Speaker 1: necessarily have a romantic or marriage subtext, was a huge 227 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:36,800 Speaker 1: topic for gossip and scandal. Letters quickly circulated among both 228 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:41,200 Speaker 1: families social circles, full of details and speculation. It was 229 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:44,440 Speaker 1: typical for mail to be delivered several times a day, 230 00:13:44,559 --> 00:13:47,600 Speaker 1: so even Lucy Goddard, who was the subject of a 231 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:50,040 Speaker 1: lot of letters from a lot of people in this story, 232 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:54,000 Speaker 1: even Lucy Goddard, who was away in Dublin, had heard 233 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:56,959 Speaker 1: about it within a day or two. It was in 234 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:00,200 Speaker 1: this flurry of letters that people started describing ellen Or 235 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:05,760 Speaker 1: and Sarah as having a romantic friendship. Like elopement. Romantic 236 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:08,120 Speaker 1: had a different connotation at this point, and it was 237 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:12,319 Speaker 1: one that wasn't altogether positive. When it came to friendships. 238 00:14:12,679 --> 00:14:17,640 Speaker 1: Romantic often meant eccentric, whimsical, imaginative, or in some way 239 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:21,920 Speaker 1: not really something that people talking about it understood, So 240 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 1: their quote romantic friendship was viewed with some suspicion, but 241 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:28,560 Speaker 1: not nearly as much as if they had run away 242 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:31,280 Speaker 1: with men, which would have ruined their reputation and that 243 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:34,440 Speaker 1: of their families. For a couple of weeks after the 244 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:39,680 Speaker 1: attempted elopement, both Eleanor and Sarah were miserable. Sarah had 245 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:41,920 Speaker 1: caught a cold, which came along with a fever and 246 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:44,200 Speaker 1: a sore throat, and on top of being sick, she 247 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:49,200 Speaker 1: was increasingly worried and agitated about Eleanor. Eleanor's parents had 248 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:52,320 Speaker 1: sent her to stay with friends at Boris House, which 249 00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:54,960 Speaker 1: wasn't that much farther away, but kept her out from 250 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:58,480 Speaker 1: underfoot while they made preparations to send her to a 251 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:02,040 Speaker 1: convent in France, and also tried to bribe her into 252 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:05,280 Speaker 1: going along with it by promising to double her allowance. 253 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:09,440 Speaker 1: Sarah became even more distressed when she heard the news 254 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:14,000 Speaker 1: that Eleanor's departure might be eminent. The Butler's announced that 255 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:16,840 Speaker 1: their decision that Eleanor would be sent to a French convent, 256 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:20,280 Speaker 1: whether she liked it or not, was final. On April sixteen, 257 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:24,000 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy eight, both Eleanor and Sarah asked to be 258 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:26,560 Speaker 1: allowed to meet one last time, just for half an 259 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:30,320 Speaker 1: hour to say goodbye, and that wish was ultimately granted. 260 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 1: But this was not really a goodbbe is it. They 261 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:36,680 Speaker 1: agreed that they would make one more attempt to try 262 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:40,760 Speaker 1: to be together. Eleanor would run away again. This time 263 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:43,320 Speaker 1: she would go to Woodstock House, and she did exactly that. 264 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:47,400 Speaker 1: On April eighteenth. Mary Carroll, who was Lady Buddy's housemaid, 265 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:51,560 Speaker 1: snuck her in through a window and then kept kept 266 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:54,040 Speaker 1: taking care of her by smuggling her food from the 267 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:59,320 Speaker 1: kitchen's a lot of window entry and exit, which always 268 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:02,000 Speaker 1: makes for a good story. Uh. They managed to keep 269 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:04,800 Speaker 1: Eleanor's presence at wood Stockhouse secret for a little while, 270 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:08,000 Speaker 1: but soon one of Sir William's men told him that 271 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 1: he had learned where Eleanor was hiding, and that it 272 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:13,680 Speaker 1: was in fact in his own house. Sir William began 273 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:16,080 Speaker 1: writing letters to the Butler's asking them to come and 274 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:19,960 Speaker 1: collect their daughter, but those letters went unanswered. He also 275 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:23,000 Speaker 1: started trying to convince Sarah to give up her attachment 276 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:26,760 Speaker 1: and let Eleanor go to the convent as planned. Sarah 277 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:29,840 Speaker 1: professed that she would live and die with miss Butler. 278 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:35,560 Speaker 1: That is a quote in her own words. Finally, the 279 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:38,960 Speaker 1: Butler's essentially gave up, agreeing to let Eleanor do what 280 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:41,920 Speaker 1: she wanted. She and Sarah had at that point been 281 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:45,120 Speaker 1: ready to leave for Wales for days, down to Sarah 282 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:47,840 Speaker 1: putting on her riding habit every morning just in case. 283 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:51,400 Speaker 1: When they went, they took Mary Carroll with them. They 284 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:53,760 Speaker 1: went to Waterford to sail on the package ship, as 285 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:57,160 Speaker 1: they had already planned to do back in March. After 286 00:16:57,200 --> 00:16:59,800 Speaker 1: being delayed at Waterford for four days due to a 287 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:02,920 Speaker 1: domination of bad weather and pirates in the Channel. Again, 288 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:09,040 Speaker 1: they left for Wales on Friday May nine. We will 289 00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:19,800 Speaker 1: talk about their life in Wales after another quick sponsor break. 290 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:24,520 Speaker 1: After arriving in Wales, Sarah Ponsonby and Eleanor Butler spent 291 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:27,960 Speaker 1: a few weeks traveling around, essentially touring the country. This 292 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:30,960 Speaker 1: wasn't really something they could afford, and because they'd spent 293 00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:33,639 Speaker 1: some time being tourists, they wound up needing to hurry 294 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:38,000 Speaker 1: to find a place that they could actually live before winter. Also, 295 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:41,800 Speaker 1: as they were doing this, Thor William Founds died. It 296 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:44,240 Speaker 1: was of a seizure or maybe a stroke that followed 297 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:48,000 Speaker 1: about ten days of serious illness. Then Lady Betty Founds 298 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:51,600 Speaker 1: died three weeks after that. Since they were traveling, Sarah 299 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:55,520 Speaker 1: and Eleanor only heard of it much later. Sarah had 300 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:58,960 Speaker 1: an income of about eighty pounds a year and Eleanor 301 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:02,840 Speaker 1: had maybe two pounds a year. They also both occasionally 302 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:05,879 Speaker 1: got small sums of money from other sources, and this 303 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:08,280 Speaker 1: would have been enough to live on if they lived frugally, 304 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:10,560 Speaker 1: but that was not a skill that either of them 305 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:14,360 Speaker 1: had ever learned. Plus, at multiple points each of them 306 00:18:14,359 --> 00:18:17,200 Speaker 1: was convinced, often with good reason, that they were going 307 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:20,720 Speaker 1: to receive more money from a range of inheritances, annuities 308 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:25,159 Speaker 1: and pensions. More often than not, those expected funds fell through. 309 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:28,720 Speaker 1: As a result, the pair always struggled with money, and 310 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:33,520 Speaker 1: they were almost always living outside their means. They did, however, 311 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:36,720 Speaker 1: find a five room cottage that they were able to rent. 312 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:40,160 Speaker 1: It was in than Goin where they'd started their tour 313 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:43,000 Speaker 1: of Wales on the River d It was a very 314 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:46,320 Speaker 1: simple stone house and they named it plas News, which 315 00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:49,480 Speaker 1: just means new place or new home. They moved in 316 00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:52,639 Speaker 1: in se and one of their major projects for the 317 00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:56,240 Speaker 1: rest of their lives would be making it beautiful. They 318 00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:59,840 Speaker 1: had four servants, a gardener, a footman, a kitchen maid, 319 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:03,720 Speaker 1: and Mary Carroll, who was the housekeeper. All of them 320 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:07,280 Speaker 1: but Mary were paid. It's a little unclear why Mary, 321 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:10,679 Speaker 1: unlike the other employees, did not receive a salary. She 322 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:13,520 Speaker 1: was allowed to keep tips from people who visited them, 323 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:16,000 Speaker 1: and that number of people did grow over the years, 324 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:20,840 Speaker 1: and when she died, she left all her money to Sarah, 325 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:24,560 Speaker 1: so even though they weren't paying her, she apparently did 326 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:26,760 Speaker 1: have enough of an income to be able to save 327 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:32,080 Speaker 1: it up and buy property. I wish I could find 328 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:34,720 Speaker 1: more detail about that, but I could not. The nebulous 329 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:40,680 Speaker 1: finances of Mary Carroll well, and she was incredibly devoted 330 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:43,440 Speaker 1: to both of them. It's I feel like there's a 331 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:45,440 Speaker 1: whole other story there, and at this point in time 332 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:51,440 Speaker 1: probably impossible to get the details of it. So Sarah 333 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:55,240 Speaker 1: and Eleanor had been hoping for solitude when they decided 334 00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:58,679 Speaker 1: to retire away together, and at first, thank Goth was 335 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:02,480 Speaker 1: even more lonesome than they had hoped. There was barely 336 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:05,720 Speaker 1: a town there. Both women had a lot more education 337 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:07,800 Speaker 1: and had come from a higher rank than most of 338 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:10,399 Speaker 1: the people around them, but they did gradually begin to 339 00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:14,040 Speaker 1: make friends. By seventeen eighty two, people were describing their 340 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:17,240 Speaker 1: little home in the surrounding garden as very romantic, and 341 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:20,080 Speaker 1: at that point that was a term starting to shed 342 00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:23,680 Speaker 1: some of the negative associations that had previously been used 343 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:28,720 Speaker 1: to describe their relationship. Eleanor's father died in seventeen eighty three, 344 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:31,520 Speaker 1: and she was not mentioned in the will. There was 345 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:33,879 Speaker 1: a huge and bitter back and forth with her brother 346 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:36,439 Speaker 1: that secured her two hundred pounds a year and a 347 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:39,000 Speaker 1: lump sum of five hundred pounds to pay off debts. 348 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:42,160 Speaker 1: There would be a similar situation when her mother died 349 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:44,879 Speaker 1: and she was left one hundred pounds, but wrote to 350 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:49,399 Speaker 1: her sister to ask for more, which her sister turned down. Typically, 351 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:52,520 Speaker 1: their letters to ask for money came off as accusatory 352 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:55,399 Speaker 1: and backhanded, which might be why they were so often 353 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:58,920 Speaker 1: turned down. Yeah, they often started out with a tone 354 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:02,359 Speaker 1: of you have always been terrible to me, and I 355 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:08,720 Speaker 1: have some money though, may I have some cash. As 356 00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:12,280 Speaker 1: the years progressed, Eleanor and Sarah continued to read and 357 00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:18,080 Speaker 1: study extensively. They learned multiple languages. They compiled enormous lists 358 00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:21,359 Speaker 1: of books that they had read together. They also walked 359 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:24,160 Speaker 1: a lot. Even though they didn't have a lot of money, 360 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:27,080 Speaker 1: they tried to help people around them who were less fortunate, 361 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:29,560 Speaker 1: setting a goal of giving away ten percent of their 362 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:33,080 Speaker 1: income to charity every year, and they put a lot 363 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:37,719 Speaker 1: of work into plast nudds, adding Gothic embellishments, expanding and 364 00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:40,200 Speaker 1: making one of the rooms a suitable guest room, which 365 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:44,159 Speaker 1: they named the State Apartment. At one point, oak carvings 366 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:47,840 Speaker 1: came into fashion and they went wild collecting them. They 367 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:51,400 Speaker 1: and the gardener also constantly improved the garden and the ground. 368 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:55,879 Speaker 1: Their monograms contained both of their initials, and they signed 369 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:59,520 Speaker 1: all of their letters jointly. Their journals chronicle all the 370 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:03,159 Speaker 1: Monday details of their life together and also express a 371 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:06,919 Speaker 1: deep and tender love for each other. For example, in 372 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:11,320 Speaker 1: one entry, Eleanor, writing about one of her very frequent migraines, said, 373 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:15,159 Speaker 1: quote rose at eight after a tedious night spent in 374 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:19,119 Speaker 1: coughing and with a most dreadful headache, My dearest, my 375 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:22,600 Speaker 1: kindest love, did not sleep even for one moment the 376 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:26,960 Speaker 1: entire night, but lay beside me, watching and lamenting my illness, 377 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:32,960 Speaker 1: and soothing by her tenderness the distressing pain of my head. Simultaneously, 378 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:36,160 Speaker 1: There was so much gossip about them back in Ireland 379 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:40,199 Speaker 1: as well as elsewhere. People speculated extensively about what they 380 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:42,680 Speaker 1: were doing and what had led them to throw off 381 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:45,560 Speaker 1: all of their family obligations and the incomes that would 382 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:48,200 Speaker 1: have come along with them to live in a remote 383 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 1: part of Wales. As a side note, the idea that 384 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:54,520 Speaker 1: they dressed as men persists today, but that really came 385 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:57,360 Speaker 1: around after they lived, and it was mostly because they 386 00:22:57,359 --> 00:22:59,760 Speaker 1: had short hair and they wore hats, both of which 387 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:03,199 Speaker 1: were following a French fashion, and they were not so 388 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:06,120 Speaker 1: that they would look like men. Yeah, if you see, 389 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:08,199 Speaker 1: there are a few a great engravings of them, and 390 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:10,679 Speaker 1: in some of them they're wearing their clothing. They have 391 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,919 Speaker 1: the short cropped hair, which you see other portraits of 392 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:16,800 Speaker 1: women in the same time who have short cropped hair 393 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:20,800 Speaker 1: and sort of top hat looking hat on. And if 394 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:23,719 Speaker 1: you start just at the top and stop at the shoulders, 395 00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:26,840 Speaker 1: you might think that's a kind of masculine appearance, but 396 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:31,960 Speaker 1: then below that is address. So yeah, that was definitely 397 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:37,320 Speaker 1: going on in France. Yes, they they and also they 398 00:23:37,359 --> 00:23:39,960 Speaker 1: did not spend a ton of money on their wardrobes. 399 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:43,800 Speaker 1: So this gossip about them even made the papers. In 400 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,080 Speaker 1: the General Evening Post published an article about them called 401 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:53,200 Speaker 1: Extraordinary Female Affection. And even though some of the information 402 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:56,520 Speaker 1: in the article was actually accurate, not all of it was, 403 00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:59,720 Speaker 1: and it was heavily threaded through with an undertone that 404 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:03,520 Speaker 1: their relationship was unnatural, that they were lesbians, even though 405 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:07,600 Speaker 1: that term hadn't taken on that connotation yet. That same 406 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:12,360 Speaker 1: undertone of being quote unnatural would even be President Eleanor's 407 00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:16,399 Speaker 1: obituary when it ran in the Gentleman's magazine. In spite 408 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:19,320 Speaker 1: of this suspicion, as we noted at the top of 409 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:22,040 Speaker 1: the show, the two women became famous more or less 410 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:24,960 Speaker 1: for simply being who they were. Their home was on 411 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:27,359 Speaker 1: the way from London to Ireland, and it became something 412 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:31,200 Speaker 1: of a tourist attraction. They eventually got a lot of visitors, 413 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:34,240 Speaker 1: to the point that Eleanor would write things like quote 414 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:37,679 Speaker 1: when will we be truly alone? In her journal, and 415 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:40,200 Speaker 1: their names and manner of living were well known even 416 00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:43,640 Speaker 1: among people who did not personally visit. They were basically 417 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:48,080 Speaker 1: famous in the regency. They found a little bit more 418 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:51,800 Speaker 1: financial stability when they were able to buy Plassnews in 419 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:56,200 Speaker 1: eighteen nineteen. Their ability to do this is often credited 420 00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:58,919 Speaker 1: to Mary Carroll, who died in eighteen o nine and, 421 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:01,080 Speaker 1: as we said earlier, left all of her money to 422 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:04,720 Speaker 1: Sarah that was actually less one shilling for each of 423 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:09,440 Speaker 1: her siblings, provided that they came from Ireland to collect it. 424 00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:12,640 Speaker 1: It's almost certain, though, that they got money from somewhere 425 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:15,159 Speaker 1: else as well, but it's a little unclear as to 426 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:20,159 Speaker 1: exactly where. Later in her life, Eleanor developed cataracts in 427 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:23,840 Speaker 1: an eye inflammation and she eventually lost her sight. She 428 00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:28,280 Speaker 1: died on June two nine. She and Sarah had become 429 00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:31,920 Speaker 1: such a fixture in Glan Gothlin that the whole community 430 00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:35,399 Speaker 1: went into mourning. Word also began to spread about a 431 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:39,800 Speaker 1: number of supernatural happenings attributed to her passing. One of 432 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:43,600 Speaker 1: the local farmers cows had all black calves. A stray 433 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:45,480 Speaker 1: dog that arrived at their home on the day of 434 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:49,400 Speaker 1: the funerals started howling inconsolably when Sarah tried to give 435 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:53,920 Speaker 1: one of Eleanor's books away. Because so much of their 436 00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:57,360 Speaker 1: lives together had been spent reading and learning and walking 437 00:25:57,400 --> 00:26:01,320 Speaker 1: in general generally being pretty solid terry Apart from receiving 438 00:26:01,359 --> 00:26:04,000 Speaker 1: so many visitors, a lot of Sarah's day to day 439 00:26:04,119 --> 00:26:07,520 Speaker 1: routine stayed pretty much the same after Eleanor's death, except 440 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:09,800 Speaker 1: that she no longer had Eleanor to share it with. 441 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:13,359 Speaker 1: She didn't live very much longer, though, she died on 442 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:18,600 Speaker 1: December nine, thirty one, six months after their deaths Plas 443 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:22,199 Speaker 1: Nuet was sold and their belongings were auctioned off. The 444 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:24,639 Speaker 1: proceeds were enough to pay their debts and set up 445 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:29,399 Speaker 1: annuities for their surviving household staff. Today Plas Nuet is 446 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:33,760 Speaker 1: a museum that is open seasonally. I thought we would 447 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:38,280 Speaker 1: end their story, which I find to be lovely. It's 448 00:26:38,359 --> 00:26:40,560 Speaker 1: kind of a heavenly ideal. Let's live out in the 449 00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:45,000 Speaker 1: country together and read books and walk around. All right, 450 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:50,840 Speaker 1: Maybe not for Holly, it would not be I need um, 451 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:53,000 Speaker 1: I need a lot more take out options than that 452 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:56,880 Speaker 1: would offer. Critically well, but she would have a staff 453 00:26:57,200 --> 00:27:00,720 Speaker 1: of four people who would be cooking for I need 454 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:06,240 Speaker 1: more than the country life offers in terms of um stimulation. Okay, yeah, 455 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:10,679 Speaker 1: I'm a city I love to watch so much that 456 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:12,880 Speaker 1: as long as I can walk, I'm pretty happy about it. 457 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:17,480 Speaker 1: But anyway, I thought we would end by reading Wordsworth's 458 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:22,200 Speaker 1: Sonnet A stream to mingle with your favorite d along 459 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:26,479 Speaker 1: the veil of meditation flows so styled by those fierce 460 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:30,840 Speaker 1: Briton's pleased to see in nature's face the expression of 461 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:35,720 Speaker 1: repose or happily There some pious hermit chose to live 462 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:39,240 Speaker 1: and die the peace of heaven, his aim to whom 463 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:43,200 Speaker 1: the wild sequestered region owes. At this late day it's 464 00:27:43,359 --> 00:27:49,440 Speaker 1: sanctifying name. Glenn Coak rock in the Cambrian tongue. In hours, 465 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:53,760 Speaker 1: the veil of friendship. Let this spot be named where 466 00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:57,879 Speaker 1: faithful to a low roofed cot on Diva's banks, you 467 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:02,720 Speaker 1: have abode so long, sisters in love, a love allowed 468 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:06,919 Speaker 1: to climb even on this earth above the reach of time. 469 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:12,000 Speaker 1: I find those ladies to be very dear. It's a 470 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:15,320 Speaker 1: very charming little story. Well, and I stumbled upon it 471 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:18,439 Speaker 1: completely by accident. I was I was looking into a 472 00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:23,680 Speaker 1: completely different topic, which was Radcliff Hall, who we may 473 00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:28,520 Speaker 1: still talk about sometime later. Um. And in this cycle 474 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:32,280 Speaker 1: of of pulling together resources on Radcliff Hall, I've fell 475 00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:35,360 Speaker 1: down this rabbit hole about the origin of the term 476 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:39,400 Speaker 1: Boston marriage, which is a basically term for two women 477 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:42,320 Speaker 1: who decided to make their lives together without the company 478 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:46,520 Speaker 1: of men. Uh. And a number of people point to 479 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:49,840 Speaker 1: these two ladies is like maybe the first Boston marriage. 480 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:51,720 Speaker 1: I don't know if I would go that far. It's 481 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:56,320 Speaker 1: also unclear when exactly the term Boston marriage was coined. UM. 482 00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:57,680 Speaker 1: But then I said, you know what I think I 483 00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:00,800 Speaker 1: want to talk about instead of Rad left Hall right now, 484 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:04,960 Speaker 1: these two to these two ladies, I love them. Sarah 485 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:14,800 Speaker 1: eleanor out in the country, Thank you so much for 486 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:17,720 Speaker 1: joining us today, for this classic. If you have heard 487 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:20,040 Speaker 1: any kind of email address or maybe a Facebook you 488 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:22,080 Speaker 1: are l during the course of the episode, that might 489 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:24,760 Speaker 1: be obsolete. It might be doubly obsolete because we have 490 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:28,120 Speaker 1: changed our email address again. You can now reach us 491 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:31,520 Speaker 1: at history podcast at i heart radio dot com, and 492 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:34,520 Speaker 1: we're all over social media at missed in History and 493 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:37,800 Speaker 1: you can subscribe to our show on Apple podcasts, Google 494 00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:40,760 Speaker 1: podcast the I heart radio app, and wherever else you 495 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:46,760 Speaker 1: listen to podcasts. Stuff you Missed in History Class is 496 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:49,960 Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from 497 00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:53,360 Speaker 1: I heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, 498 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:55,479 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.