author's ingenious preface to the, we believe, tenth edition of
"Thaddeus of Warsaw."

[Illustration]

This story brought her abundant honors, and rendered her society,
as well as the society of her sister and brother, sought for by all
who aimed at a reputation for taste and talent. Mrs. Porter, on her
husband's death, (he was the younger son of a well-connected Irish
family, born in Ireland, in or near Coleraine, we believe, and a major
in the Enniskillen Dragoons,) sought a residence for her family in
Edinburgh, where education and good society are attainable to persons
of moderate fortunes, if they are "well-born;" but the extraordinary
artistic skill of her son Robert required a wider field, and she
brought her children to London sooner than she had intended, that his
promising talents might be cultivated. We believe the greater part
of "Thaddeus of Warsaw" was written in London, either in St. Martin's
Lane, Newport Street, or Gerard Street, Soho, (for in these three
streets the family lived after their arrival in the metropolis);
though, as soon as Robert Ker Porter's abilities floated him on the
stream, his mother and sisters retired, in the brightness of their
fame and beauty, to the village of Thames Ditton, a residence they
loved to speak of as their "home." The actual labor of "Thaddeus"--her
first novel--must have been considerable: for testimony was frequently
borne to the fidelity of its localities, and Poles refused to believe
the author had not visited Poland; indeed, she had a happy power in
describing localities. It was on the publication of Miss Porter's two
first works in the German language that their author was honored by
being made a Lady of the Chapter of St. Joachim, and received the
gold cross of the order from Wurtemberg; but "The Scottish Chiefs" was