The Youngest Son, William (The Father Of Miss Roberts), In
The Course Of His Travels On The Continent, In Early
Life, formed some
intimacies at the Court of St. Petersburgh (to which he was introduced
by the British Ambassador), and
Eventually entered the Russian
service; he was made aide-de-camp to General Lloyd, his countryman,
and served with great distinction in several campaigns against the
Turks. He afterwards entered the British army, but had not attained
a higher rank than that of captain (with the paymastership of his
regiment), when he died, leaving a widow, a son (who died a lieutenant
in the army), and two daughters.
Emma, the youngest daughter of Captain Roberts, was born about the
year 1794. After the death of her father, she resided with her mother,
a lady of some literary pretensions, at Bath. Though possessed of a
very attractive person, though of a lively disposition, and peculiarly
fitted to shine in the gayest circles of social life, her thirst for
letters was unquenchable, and the extent of her reading proves that
her early years must have been years of application.
Her first literary work was in the grave department of
history, - Memoirs of the Rival Houses of York and Lancaster, or the
White and Red Roses, which was published in two volumes, 1827. In the
preparation of this work, Miss Roberts prosecuted her researches
into the historical records at the Museum with so much diligence
and perseverance, as to attract the notice of the officers of that
institution, who rendered her much assistance. This work did not
take hold of public attention; the narrative is perspicuously and
pleasingly written, but it throws no additional light upon the events
of the time. It is not unusual for young writers, in their first
essay, to mistake the bent of their powers.
On the death of her mother and the marriage of her sister to an
officer of the Bengal army (Captain R.A. M'Naghten), Miss Roberts
accompanied Mrs. M'Naghten and her husband to India, in February 1828,
taking her passage in the Sir David Scott, to Bengal. From Calcutta
she proceeded with them to the Upper Provinces, where she spent the
years 1829 and 1830, between the stations of Agra, Cawnpore, and
Etawah. Her active and inquisitive mind was constantly employed in
noting the new and extraordinary scenes around her, the physical
aspect of the country, the peculiar traits of its population, and the
manners of both natives and Anglo-Indians: the strong and faithful
impressions they made never faded from a memory remarkably retentive.
It is to these favourable opportunities of diversified observation, in
her journeys by land and water, along the majestic Ganges, or by the
dawk conveyance in a palanquin, and in her residence for so long a
period away from the metropolis of British India, which exhibits but
a mongrel kind of Eastern society, that the English public owe
those admirable pictures of Indian scenery and manners, which have
conquered, or contributed to conquer, its habitual distaste for such
topics.
Whilst at Cawnpore, Miss Roberts committed to the press a little
volume of poetry, entitled Oriental Scenes, which she dedicated to
her friend Miss Landon, then rising into eminence under the well-known
designation of L.E.L. This volume, which she republished in England,
in 1832, contains some very pleasing specimens of glowing description,
graceful imagery, and well-turned expression, which show that her
powers required only cultivation to have secured to her a respectable
rank among modern poets.
Mrs. M'Naghten died in 1831, and about this time (either soon after
or shortly before the death of her sister), she exchanged provincial
scenes and society for the more cheerful atmosphere of Calcutta, where
a new world of observation and of employment opened to her. The sketches
she has given of the City of Palaces, and of its inhabitants, prove how
accurately she had seized their characteristic features. Here her pen
was called into incessant activity; besides various contributions
to Annuals and other ephemeral works, Miss Roberts undertook the
formidable task (doubly formidable in such a climate) of editing a
newspaper, and the Oriental Observer, whilst under her direction,
was enriched by some valuable articles written by herself, indicating
the versatility of her talents, the extent of her resources, and the
large area of knowledge over which her active mind had ranged.
This severe over-employment, however, entailed the inevitable penalty,
loss of health, and in 1832, being now bound by no powerful tie to
India, and looking forward, perhaps, with innocent ambition, to a less
confined theatre for the display of her talents and acquisitions, she
quitted the country, and returned to England, the voyage completely
repairing the injury which the climate of India had wrought upon her
constitution. The reputation she had acquired preceded her to this
country, where she had many literary acquaintances, some of whom had
reached a high station in public esteem; and her entrance into the
best literary circles of the metropolis was thereby facilitated;
but the position which she was entitled to claim was spontaneously
conceded to talents such as hers, set off by engaging and unaffected
manners, warmth and benevolence of heart, equanimity and serenity of
temper.
The fruits of her observations in the East were given to the world
in several series of admirable papers, published in the Asiatic
Journal,[A] a periodical work to which she contributed with
indefatigable zeal and success, from shortly after her return to
England until her death. A selection of those papers was published, in
three volumes, in 1835, under the title of Scenes and Characteristics
of Hindostan, which has had a large circulation, and (a very unusual
circumstance attending works on Indian subjects) soon reached a second
edition. This work established Miss Roberts's reputation as a writer
of unrivalled excellence in this province, which demands a union of
quick and acute discernment with the faculty of vivid and graphic
delineation. Of the many attempts which have been made in this country
to furnish popular draughts of Indian "Scenes and Characteristics,"
that of Miss Roberts is the only one which has perfectly succeeded.
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