James d'Egville Hams It Up

Costume of Mr d'Egville
Circa 1830 Signed C.H.
Folger Shakespeare Library

In 1827 the sons of two theatrical dynasties set off to tour Italy. Charles James Mathews (son of Charles Mathews) and James d'Egville (son of James Harvey d'Egville) had both been articled to Augustus Pugin who is now chiefly remembered as the architect of the interiors at the Palace of Westminster and its famous clock tower. Mathews later returned to the theatre as both actor and playwright.

Charles James Mathews
(1803-1878)

While in Florence, Mathews designed and built a small theatre for Lord Normanby. He and d'Egville both played in amateur productions during their stay and the costume designs have survived as a series of lithographs which are held by the Folger Shakespeare Library.

...In 1827 he again quitted England for Italy, but on a professional tour that time, accompanied by Mr. James D'Egville, with whom he had been associated in Mr. Pugin's office. They visited Milan, Rome, Venice, &c., examined the ancient monuments of those places, and exhibited their architectural drawings in each of those celebrated academies. At Milan, Venice, and Rome, Mathews was elected a member of the several academies. At the former place, some drawings of his, of the Duomo D'OssoIa, and other sketches, are still exhibited.

In 1829 they visited Florence, where Lord Normanby was then residing, and was entertaining the Florentines with private theatricals. Young Mathews (with his father's permission) appeared, at his lordship's request, in the following characters: Risk, in " Love Laughs at Locksmiths;" Dogberry, in "Much Ado about Nothing;" Tony Lumpkin, in " She Stoops to Conquer;" Adam, in " The Iron Chest;" Buskin, in " Killing no Murder;" Simpson, in "Simpson & Co.;" Falstaff, in "King Henry the Fourth," &c., &c., &c.

At the theatre San Clemente, the actors in the above plays, among others, were Lord and Lady Normanby (really admirable performers), Sir Hedworth and Lady Williamson, Lord Fitzharris, Lord Albert Conyngham, Messrs. Craven, Nightingale, Dundas, Aubry, Phipps, Bligh, Antrobus, Thelluson, Sitwell, St. John, E. Villiers; Mrs. Dalton, Miss Augusta Stephenson, Miss Geraldine de Courcy, Miss Sitwell, La Principessa Belgiojoso, La Marchesa di Pucci.*

He also performed Sir Benjamin Backbite in the " School for Scandal," on the single occasion of the comedy being performed at Lord Burghersh's, then ambassador at the court of Tuscany; on which occasion Lady Teazle was played by Lady Burghersh, Joseph Surface by the Marquis of Douro (the present Duke of Wellington), and Charles Surface by Lord Burghersh.

* Mathews, while at Florence, built Lord Normanby a small theatre, and painted a drop scene for it.

The literary life and correspondence of the Countess of Blessington, Volume 2
Richard Robert Madden, 1855

If the print is any sort of likeness James appears to be a chip off the old block. There is some similarity between the subject and this detail of Tatius from David's Intervention of the Sabine Women (1799) for whom James Harvey d'Egville modelled.

Woman's Right To Labour

Practical Illustration of Woman's Right to Labour.
Edited by Caroline H. Dall. (Boston, U.S., Walker & Co.)
Treatise on Deportment, Dancing, and Physical Education for Young Ladies.
By Madame D'Egville Michau. (Newby.)

Mrs. Caroline H. Dall and Madame D'Egville Michau would both object, with equal dislike, to having their names coupled together, and their respective brochures named in the same day. One, an emancipated woman, with stern contempt for the vanities of dress and adornment, desirous that all women should aim at making themselves as much like men as possible, claiming for them "an equal right to labour" at all masculine occupations, and calling upon women everywhere to cease from the domestic and ornamental frivolities which have hitherto been the badge of all their tribe, and to become the hard-working, self-sustained, independent female branch of the human race, living in an amiable neutrality towards men, and in a close offensive and defensive sisterly alliance amongst each other; Madame D'Egville Michau, professor of dancing and deportment, high priestess of elegance, grace, and the conventionalities of polite society,—what can the two women have in common? We answer, a great deal. Madame Michau, training girls to become elegant women, to be the ornaments of the drawing-room and the ball-room, finds that exactly the same virtues of character are required as Mrs. Caroline Dall invokes for "woman's right to labour"; only that Mrs. Dall takes a pretentious, dogmatic and aggressive tone. In their records of the deficiencies in female education, their testimony is agreed; in their opinions as to the remedy, there is no difference. In the result, we suspect that a pupil brought up after the fashion of Madame D'Egville Michau would be more modest, unpretending, thorough-bred, and altogether more pleasant as a woman and a companion, than a girl educated on the proud and Spartan-like self-assertion of Mrs. Dall. Both ladies agree in their remarks on the defective foundation that is laid in girlhood for the future character of the woman; Madame Michau remarks:—

"What a thousand pities it is that the whims and caprices of children are so much listened to at home! A certain branch of education is commenced; and, after a little time, the pupil finds that it gives more trouble to accomplish than she likes. She writes home, stating some plausible excuse for discontinuing the lessons; and the parent, instead of remonstrating with the child, or writing to the lady under whose care the child is placed, at once allows the lessons to be given up. The reason why so many girls are only half educated is occasioned by so much time having been lost in attempting and giving up different branches of education. With regard to dancing lessons, I know many girls who would join my classes if they could fly about the rooms as they pleased; but they object to exercise as well as to being told of their faults; and, as this appears to be the age for children to govern their parents, of course, the education of a girl who has not much mind and is (what is termed) indulged amounts to a positive absence of any knowledge whatever."
Mrs.Caroline Dull testifies:—
"After the publication of ' Woman's Right to Labour,' generous men came forth to help me carry out my plans. The best printer in Boston said, 'I am willing to take women into my office at once, if you can find women who will submit to an apprenticeship like men.' On the same conditions, a distinguished chemist offered to take a class of women and train them to be first-class apothecaries or scientific observers, as they might choose. To these offers there were no satisfactory responses. 'Yes,' said the would-be printers, 'we will go into an office for six months; but by that time our oldest sisters will be married and our mothers will want us at home.' 'An apprenticeship of six years!' exclaimed the young lady of a chemical turn, 'I should like very much to learn, to that I could be a chemist if I ever had to; but poison myself over those "fumes" for six years—not I!' It is easy to rail against society and men in general; but it is very painful for a woman to confess her heaviest obstacle to success,—viz., the weakness of women. 'Six years out of the very bloom of our lives to be spent in the printing-office or the laboratory!' exclaim the dismayed band ; and they flutter out of reach through the side walks of Beacon Street or through the mazes of ' The Lancers.' * * What does common sense demand, if not that women should make thorough preparation for trades or professions; and, having taken up a resolution, should abide by all its consequences like men!"

Both these extracts show the blossom and the fruit of the evil tree of self-indulgence. Women seem incapable of doing anything they are not inclined to do; they are in general as unteachablc as cats, which therein seem the type of the female character; viz., that they are incapable of being controlled or taught. The fault lies at the very root of their life; they are not trained to work; there is nothing thorough in their education; to seem, to appear, to look like, bo rational beings; but it is made a marvel when a woman shows herself to be one. The reform must, as we have so often said, begin with women themselves. Before they undertake great things, such as taking their places as professional men, and going out into the world to push their way in the active walks of life to fame and fortune, let them, as mothers, sisters, and wives, train the girls, the future women, committed to their charge; in earliest life, let them lay the foundation of industry, perseverance, and, above all, of obedience. The habit of honest obedience "to those who are put in authority over her," goes for a great deal in laying the foundation of a sterling character in woman; for self-will is not firmness of purpose, nor is it an indication of strength of character, but women flatter themselves that it is so, and they "hate to be instructed" or controlled; they are radically indocile and intractable. All the talk that is now going on about "woman's work" and "woman's right to labour" is so much wasted breath; women who have grown up in the desultory, self-willed habits which women allow themselves, never can turn to the steady, heavy drudgery of learning a trade or profession thoroughly; those who wish to improve the condition of women must begin at the other end, and train them from early childhood to look forwards to work as a natural condition, and not as a voluntary or exceptional state of things "for a woman." There is not the least objection to a woman earning her own living, or to her getting as much money as she can; Mrs. Ball testifies that men are quite ready to assist her, to receive her, and to teach her,—if she will only submit to the discipline of being thoroughly taught. The subject of Mrs. Ball's 'Practical Illustration' is a young Polish woman, Maria E. Zakrzewska, M.B., who, from assisting her aunt, who was a professional nurse, imbibed an ardent desire to become a physician, and who, by dint of great energy and firmness of purpose, accomplished her desire. There are many points of interest in the narrative, and the lady's indomitable perseverance is worthy of all esteem; but we must confess that we found the tone of the book disagreeable and repelling. It left us with no wish to become acquainted with Dr. Maria, and not the least desirous that any woman belonging to us should resemble her. The practical illustration is worth reading, as a sign of the increasing disposition in women to seek some useful and permanent employment for their energy; but we recommend the little brochure of Madame D'Egville Michau, with its unpretending common sense, to the perusal of parents and guardians, as well as to the young people for whose benefit it is more especially intended. If they will lay to heart and follow out the suggestions, they will not only walk better, dance better, and be more elegant in "deportment," but they will stand a chance of becoming considerably wiser during the process.

The Athenaeum, 7 September 1861

 In 1861 Madame d'Egville Michau's women cousins, the children of George Harvey d'Egville, were already enjoying the right to labour. They and most other women laboured with little comment in the press. Women broke rocks, hauled coal, made nails, gutted fish etc. with no interference from the patres familias. Perhaps they walked better, danced better and were more elegant in deportment? Their only consolation being that Madame d'Egville Michau was only a bad debt away from being in their circumstances and their clogs.

How And What To Dance

Why not use those slack hours until the next series of Strictly Come Dancing (or Dancing With The Stars) by brushing up on your ballroom technique? The Internet Archive have a copy of Geoffrey d'Egville's How and What to Dance (C. Arthur Pearson, Ltd. 1919) which you can read online or download.

This is perhaps the only book on dance that you will ever need; it even includes chapters on Organising A Dance and Etiquette Of The Ball-Room. Be sure that at your dance you have a master of ceremonies, "who will be in supreme control on the day of the dance, settling all questions and disputes which may arise." I must be one of the few people who thinks that Bruce Forsyth doesn't do such a bad job as he usually manages a sour comment for any judge that oversteps the line.

Any readers who would like to write a review can be assured of publication here, providing it doesn't breach any superinjunctions.

The Five Positions
from How And What To Dance

War Memorial

The remains of my great-grandfather, Peter Degville, lie in Brompton Cemetery. He died on 10th April 1915 after being mortally wounded perhaps in the same action in which his comrade Thomas Degville was killed.

CWGC "Debt of Honour Register" Listing

In March 1915 the Second Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment were at the front in the area of Givenchy. The Defense of Givenchy in December 1914 seems to have flowed in to the First Action at Givenchy on 25 January 1915 and then the Second Action on the 15 and 16 June.

Trench Map Givenchy June 1916

Peter Degville was born in 1883 so he was about 32 years old at the time of his death. He endured a hard life and probably suffered a hard death. I doubt whether the same pressures that caused him to enlist exist today's society. Yet we still seem to be troubled by our notions of class, sex, nation and race. The connections that exist between people, particularly in Europe and the United States, make such categorisations absurd.

In the line around them would have been troops from other parts of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) "Debt of Honour Register" is an online database of the 1.17 men and women of the Commonwealth forces and of the 67,000 Commonwealth civilians who died during the two world wars and the 23,000 cemeteries, memorials and other sites worldwide where they are commemorated and of the 67,000 Commonwealth civilians who died as a result of enemy action during the Second World War.

James Harvey d'Egville Shows His Playful Side

Charles Mathews (1776-1835)
by C. Turner (1825)

One morning at rehearsal, "His Innocence" (casually, of course) remarked, as Mr. Mathews left the room (who was, at this period of his life, the thinnest of human beings, and far from possessing even tolerable health), that "it was hardly to be credited, while looking at his slight form, what extraordinary muscular strength he possessed."

"What-what-what, Mathews!" cried Dowton— (for whom the snare was laid) startled by so transparent a fallacy, "why-why, he 's a poor weak creature !—what can you mean by strength ?—why, I 'd undertake to knock him down with my little finger." (Mr. Dowton piqued himself upon his really muscular frame.)

"Don't you be too sure of that" said Russell, coldly; "have you ever tried?"

"No," said Dowton ; " but I can venture to say that he has not the least muscular power—a poor, consumptive young man; poor fellow, without an atom of sinew or muscle in his whole composition."

"Well!" mildly, yet reprovingly, drawled Russell, "but you shouldn't speak, Dowton, without proof—now I have seen Mathews perform the most marvellous feats of strength, and therefore I know what he can do. Why, D'Egville (of course, D'Egville was promptly confederate in this trick), muscular and Herculean as is his frame, he would find Mathews more than his match, if they came to the test."

"Oh, nonsense and stuff!" said Dowton, impatient at the manifest folly of Russell's assertion; "don't make a fool of yourself;" and D'Egville, affecting also to laugh at the idea of his being overcome by Mathews in a trial of strength, Russell coolly expressed his convictions that "Mathews, in wrestling, would conquer D'Egville," and declared he would back his opinion with a five pound note; and just as he took it from his pocket, Mr. Mathews, (quite unconscious, of course, of what had been going on), returned. The sight of his spare figure seemed to stimulate Dowton's courage and opposition, and he hastily dived into his pocket, saying—" Well, for once, I-I-I-I will lay a wager, and get that-that-that eternal five pound note from you, for you deserve to be punished for your obstinacy; so, here, Barrymore, do you, do you hold the stakes." Hereupon, Russell calmly and confidently placed his note in Mr. Barrymore's hand, and Dowton began to count from his purse a similar sum; but as he was about to place the coin with the umpire, his metal was shaken at the tranquil and assured air of Russell, and he drew back his cash, declaring that he would not indulge Russell in the love of betting on every occasion—and recanted; at the same time repeating his conviction that "he should be robbing the foolish fellow of his money if he betted upon such an absurdity."

Mr. Mathews having however cheerfully consented to this proof of his superior strength, wrestled withD'Egville, who acted his part so well, that he frequently fell under his antagonist's extraordinary bodily power, and in fact, was so worsted in the struggle that he admitted with much apparent mortification, that he had no chance with him. At the same time, Dowton, pale with amazement, declared he would not have credited the fact had he not witnessed it, and ever after, while he could not withhold his wonder that a man of such apparently weak frame, could be capable of such vigorous energy, Mathews was ranked amongst the Athletes by his brother comedian.

Anecdotes of Actors: with other desultory recollections, Anne Mathews, 1844

James Harvey d'Egville: Before Super Injunctions

— Our libel law, under the auspices of the best of judges, and administered by most sapient juries, is making noble strides. M. D'Egville, the gentleman who deserves the thanks of all the saints on earth, for having cured the young men of the present day of the sinful taste for ballets, brought an action against The Age newspaper for this paragraph:—

"The ballet at the opera on Tuesday last was impudently asserted in the bills as the composition of M. D'Egville, Siege de Cythere, when it was originally composed and produced by M. Dubervalle.The only credit due to D'Egville is the extraordinary memory to have so closely followed the original in every scene, group, and action, unless he made memoranda at the time, which I presume was the case. The writer of this was in Dubervalle's ballet when first produced at the old Pantheon, and thinks D'Egville can only copy, not compose. For example, his previous ballet of Rose Blanche was originally performed at Odenot's two-penny theatre on the Boulevards, expressly for the revolutionary gentry of 1792, about the time of the martyrdom of the Princess Lambelle and others, when D'Egville was very conspicuous in Paris, and accused of being the bosom friend of the murderer that carried that unfortunate princess's head on a pole."

The first allegation is, that the ballet was not Mr. D'Egville's work, and it is therefore one for which he ought to be especially grateful. It would be well for him indeed, if his enemies would deprive him thus of the discredit of the different dull performances with which he has vexed our eyes. The second charge, if charge it can be called, which carries no imputation with it, is that monsieur was conspicuous in Paris, at the time of the Revolution. Being conspicuous is hardly in itself a crime, we presume. But lastly, he was accused of being the bosom friend of the murderer of the Princess Lambelle.

" The learned counsel (Mr. Phillips) said, that this was the libel for which the plaintiff sought compensation at the hands of the jury, and he believed that a more atrocious and unprovoked attack never was made on a respectable man. It was as false, too, as it was calumnious. The plaintiff, so far from being active in promoting the Revolution, was conspicuous in the ranks of loyalty, and had hazarded his life in the service of the unfortunate monarch who then filled the throne of France. He put it to the honour of the jury, as to what must be the feelings of the plaintiff when he saw himself represented as the bosom friend of the greatest monster and most blood-thirsty wretch that figured at that sanguinary period."

We are extremely glad to learn, that a more atrocious and unprovoked attack (than the above quoted) never was made on a respectable man. We rejoice to discover that respectable men, from the beginning of things down to the present time, from Adam to D'Egville, have had nothing worse to complain of. "But what," asks the counsellor, (Phillips,) "must be the feelings of the plaintiff, when he saw himself represented as the bosom-friend of the monster," &c. The inquiry is beside the question, simply because Monsieur D'Egville never saw himself represented as any such thing: the terms of the libel are, that he was accused of being the bosom friend, &c; and there is a wide difference between the representation of an accusation, and the representation of the fact, though it may escape the clear logical perception of an Irish orator.

" The Chief Justice [of the Common Pleas, be sure] summed up the case. To charge the plaintiff with being the intimate friend of a man concerned in one of the most sanguinary murders that was recorded in the history of modern times, was a gross libel, the defendant having admitted the falsehood of the statement by not pleading the truth of that statement. The jury would say what was a failcompensation to the plaintiff for the injury."

Again we observe that the libel did not charge; it merely alleged that the party was accused of an intimacy with a detested character. No defence was made; and the jury, under the circumstances, with the wisdom and moderation which now distinguish juries in libel cases, brought in a verdict of 150l. damages for the dancing master, who has not in the whole course of his professional life taken a more profitable step than this prosecution. In these remarks we are far from intending to justify the paragraph in The Age; it was of the customary complexion of that paper, which we have ourselves more than once described with the natural expressions of disgust; but we do contend that 150l. or a hundred and fifty shillings damages for it, is a sum utterly disproportioned to the injury. There was no defence, however, and the jury perhaps acted on that common principle which caused the chimney sweeper to be " thrown over" from the one shilling gallery, his abrupt ejection accompanied with the sound reason, "he ha'nt got no friends." Being in no degree better than the rest of the world, we should possibly not trouble ourselves much about this manner of disposing of chimney sweepers, were it not that we sit in the pit below, and we have our fears lest the fall of the chimney sweeper should touch our own heads. Therefore, though by no means partial to the chimney sweeper, we protest against throwing him over, even though he "ha'nt got no friends." He is a dirty sooty fellow by trade, but in punishing him beyond his offence, you may, most worthy jurors of the one-shilling gallery, lead to the injury of others who have not offended at all. You are encouraging, nay, actually rewarding a morbid sensitiveness which may be extended to the annoyance of you all. You begin with throwing over the chimney sweeper: well and good, we are all afraid of being befouled, and will not quarrel about him. But there is the baker, who is not an agreeable neighbour to the gentleman in black, and he will go over next; and there is the tallow chandler, who is not redolent of frankincense, who will follow; and the greasy butcher, and one man has a bad breath, and another's pores are too open, and another occupies more than a fair allowance of room, and another has a cough which interferes with your hearing; in short every one has some little annoying quality, and getting on from the greater nuisances to those next in degree, you will at last find that you yourself are in danger of suffering under the law you have put upon others. You say that you are safe, John, because you don't write; but you speak, man—great folly to be sure, but still speech, such indeed as it is ; and if calling a bailiff a bum is declared a wicked and malignant libel, according to the best doctrine, I should like much to know what may not be considered as calumny. There are actions for words as well as for letters.

But what will be the issue of the present blind rage against the press? Verdicts will encourage actions out of number, on slighter aud slighter provocations, till Mr. Bull grows weary of convicting libellers, and then a reaction will take place. A cold will succeed a hot fit, and after having found every thing libellous, our juries will find nothing libellous. The press will then, after a term of persecution, enjoy a term of tyranny. It will say and do what it likes with complete impunity. There are with John Bull fashions, in justice, as in all other things. It is the fashion just now to find verdicts of guilty in cases of alleged libel; it will be the fashion soon to give verdicts with a not before them. Reason has no voice in either decision. It is the mode—the mode, the mode's the thing!

In the report of M. D'Egville's action, it is said that a witness proved that Monsieur had produced, among other successful ballets, the Siege de Cythère. We certainly had not the slightest idea that the success of all or any of M. D'Egville's ballets could be proved in evidence. A pit more than half empty before the ballet is half over, was doubtless one of the facts instanced.

The London Magazine July 1827
Diary for the month of June (9th)

Serendipity In The Pages Of The London Gazette

The London Gazette is useful online resource for discovering all sorts of family information that is published in the public domain. I've found it invaluable when attempting to analyse the circumstances in which our ancestors lived.

Sometimes one discovers the unexpected. For example here is my grandmother, Gladys Elizabeth Degville, newly appointed as a telephonist in Birmingham (published 5 March 1929).

After the death of her parents my grandmother was brought up in a convent and had little contact with her extended family. Here The London Gazette is advertising her late father's estate so that it could be claimed by his kin. This process seems to have gone on for some time after the end of the First World War as this particular advert appeared on 4 May 1926.

When my grandmother fled the convent to live in the YWCA and avoided being resettled in Canada she would have thought £1.16 (and that is shillings not pence) a small fortune.

Gladys Elizabeth Kimberley nee Degville (1911-1991)
with my father John Kimberley

The Guillon LeThière Family

I'm now quite satisfied that the 'Baron Saint Leger' and Auguste Guillon LeThière (1796-1865), the husband of Adèle Sophie Bizet d’Egville, are the same person. His father was Guillaume Guillon LeThière (1760-1832) but I'm unsure of the identity of his mother. It wasn't the mother of Guillaume's youngest son Lucien, Marie-Joseph Honorée Vanzenne (1763-1832), as they didn't marry until 1799.

Guillaume Guillon supported the revolution and was a friend of Jaques-Louis David, who provides a tenuous connection to James Harvey d'Egville. Guillaume was renowned for his quick temper. When he believed some soldiers had insulted his moustache he drew his sword and several soldiers were killed in the brawl. Lucien Bonaparte intervened and as a result Guillaume was appointed director of the French Academy in Rome.

While in Rome members of the Guillon family were vividly portrayed in pencil by Jean Auguste Ingres. His draughtsmanship is crisp but Ingres' paintings almost breathe so it is great pity that none of this family became his subjects on canvas.

Guillaume Guillon LeThière

Madame Guillon LeThière

The Alexandre Guillon LeThière Family

Auguste Guillon LeThière

More Bizet Bankruptcy

Until the Debtors Act of 1869 insolvent debtors were regarded as criminals and could be imprisoned. For those without friends and relations or lenient creditors this could be a life sentence.

Insolvency was seen as the moral failure of a person to live within their means and the processes seem to have evolved to shame the debtor. Details of bankruptcy proceeding were published in the London Gazette for all to see.

Members of the extended d'Egville family were unable to avoid debt and insolvency in the nineteenth century. My working hypothesis is that where the families were clustered together in London, Brighton and Worcester there were just too many d'Egvilles and Michaus trying to make their livings as teachers. Of course being a good dancing teacher is not necessarily correlated with possessing good business sense.

The bankrupt George Harvey d'Egville relocated from Worcester to Edinburgh where he seems to have avoided the courts. His uncle, George Harvey d'Egville, spent the second half of his life in Atherstone where he never had to endure the ignominy of Bankruptcy.

This is not to say that these two gentlemen were not in debt. Despite the shame associated with bankruptcy credit was a driving economic force among the middle classes. A household would have relied on informal credit arrangements with local traders for its day to day operation. Then, as now, it was a fine line between successfully those managing credit arrangements and falling into insolvency.

London Gazette 20 February 1863

London Gazette 9 May 1873

The Baron Writes His Last Words From Italy

The Sardegna Digital Library has a collection of letters in the matter of the Baron Guillon Saint Leger. This extends to over 500 pages of manuscript in both French and Italian.

Their Baron shares his name with Roma Guillon LeThière's father and also has a daughter who is named in one letter as Madame Lescot. Guillaume Guillon LeThière's son Auguste had a naturel daughter named Ea (1821-1902) who married Charles René Lescot in 1840.

Helen C. Black in Pen, Pencil Baton and Mask: Biographical Sketches by Helen C. Black (1896) describes Roma's father as a civil engineer. The Sardegna collection has much correspondence referring to a mining venture. So there seems to be some correlation between this Baron and the man who married Adèle Sophie Bizet d’Egville.

The legend that Adèle's husband was the son Guillaume Guillon LeThière is increasingly credible. While the letters have at least one reference to Madame Lescot's health there is no obvious concern expressed for his wife and daughter. But I still have some hundreds of pages of manuscript to read.

What is certain is the Baron suffered an attack of paralysis and his associates had to contribute towards the cost of his care. In the twenty five years that have elapsed since his imprisonment as a debtor nothing much has changed.

The Baron's final signature included in a letter dated 11 March 1864

Roma's Skeletons Commence Their Fandango

When Roma Guillon Lethière told Helen C. Black (Pen, Pencil Baton and Mask: Biographical Sketches by Helen C. Black, 1896) that she never let her skeletons dance in public she couldn't have predicted that a little over a century later her secrets would begin to be revealed through a global computer network.

In October 1837, only two years after his marriage to Adèle Sophie Bizet d’Egville and around the time of Roma's birth, August Guillon St. Leger was languishing in gaol. The London Gazette (27 October 1837) published notice of his petition to the Court for Relief of Insolvent Debtors which was due to take place on Monday 20 November.

Even then Auguste's names seem to have caused some confusion. Guillaume Guillon Lethière also seems to have been known as Guillon St. Leger. In an article reproduced in several different works (Revue du Monde Catholique: Volume 12 (1865), Bulletin Historique et Monumental de l'Anjou: Volume Volume 8 (1866) Guillaume is described as the son of the Comte Guillon de Saint-Léger.

An index card in the Paris archives records the birth of an Auguste Louis Leger Guillon called Lethière on 11 June 1796. Due to Guillaume's chaotic private life this may or may not be Roma's father.

The Legend of Roma Guillon Lethière

Roma Guillon Lethière

I was once an enthusiastic reader of John le Carré’s novels. A crucial element of the plot of Smiley’s People (1979) is the creation of a ‘legend’ or cover story for a girl by the Soviet spymaster Karla which ultimately enables the eponymous antihero to force his opponent to defect.

In the past months I have become increasingly frustrated and obsessed by the legends created by our ancestors. What once was known of the truth has moved from whispers into oblivion as the generations have passed.

These legends seem to have had two functions. On one hand they created personae for the theatre which were perhaps very different from reality. These emphasise or enhance the truth and build memorable publicity for the performer.

This is no different from what happens today and to a certain extent we all do it. The social processes of constructing family histories select a handful of ancestors which will be remembered while thousands are entirely forgotten or are no more than a name printed on a genealogical diagram.

On the other hand, it was important that the legends of the d’Egvilles and the Michaus should not be a hindrance to them as they moved and marketed themselves among the upper echelons of British society.

Roma Guillon LeThière (c1837-1903) was a prominent actress in her day and her artistic antecedents are carefully cited. In Pen, Pencil Baton and Mask: Biographical Sketches by Helen C. Black (1896),

Roma Guillon Le Thiere is the daughter of the late Guyon Le Thiere, formerly in the Imperial Guard at Waterloo, afterwards a civil engineer. Her grandfather, Captain Augustus Bizet who was shot in the retreat from Moscow was Member of the Paris Institute and Director of the French Academy at Rome, in which glorious city she was born. His widow one of the Harve D'Egvilles re-married, and was the celebrated Madame Michau of Brighton, ballet ' master,' teacher of dancing, and mistress of the ceremonies to Kings George IV. and William. Roma Le Thiere was brought up by her mother from whom she inherits her artistic talents in strict Evangelican doctrines. On the death of her father, pecuniary circumstances made it necessary that the young girl should do something to provide for herself and her beloved mother. Her first step was to write to a valued friend, Mr. George Augustus Sala, and ask his advice. He replied, 'Go on the stage,' to which she answered, ' Have you lost your wits ? I know nothing about it.' The journalist knew better. ' Go on the stage,' he reiterated ; ' if I know you aright, you will make your way

Perhaps because of her ‘Evangelican’ principles Roma lives a full life; her spare time is spent knitting woollens for the poor and persuading them to swear off the booze,

Although a strict Churchwoman, she makes no distinctions, and the warm, tender heart is open to all alike ; but her aid is given in a methodical and practical manner. She wins the confidence and affection of these humble friends, and speaks with joy of their many proofs of appreciation, such as in the case of habitual drunkards, when several took the pledge on her birthday ' because it was the only present we could give you, miss.' 'And they kept it, too,' says Miss Le Thiere impressively, while the good, earnest face beams with interest. ' My visits to my district have often comforted me in my own troubles, but I never let my skeletons dance in public. I keep them to perform their little fandangos in strict privacy at home,' she adds,laughing.

The bones of this biography are to be found in George Augustus Sala’s 1895 autobiography, The Life and Adventures of George Augustus Sala written by himself,

Her [Madame Michau’s] eldest daughter, Sophie Bizet, married a son of the celebrated historical painter, Baron Le Thiere, who, under the First Empire was Director of the French Academy at Rome; and she had a daughter, who still lives to be admired and respected by the members of that dramatic profession which she has for some years past adorned.

Guillaume Guillon known as LeThière (1760-1832) was born in Guadeloupe to Pierre Guillon, a French official, and a ‘mulatto’ mother. LeThière (meaning ‘the third’) became a painter in the neoclassical style, was awarded the Légion d’Honneur and was a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts. Guillaume married at least twice and at least one of his sons was born out of wedlock.

LeThière’s three known sons were Alexandre, Auguste and Lucien; either Alexandre or Auguste was his natural son. Adèle Sophie Bizet d’Egville’s marriage lines from 30 July 1835 give her groom’s name as ‘Auguste Guillon Saint Leger’ and then the writing becomes difficult to decipher, but his surname appears to be LeThière.

So Roma’s legend did not start with her theatrical biography but in the previous generation. Which skeletons would have performed an embarrassing public dance?

Firstly, although I found other references to the Baron LeThière I haven’t yet found it recorded that he was created a Baron de l’Empire. Secondly, I have found no references to a Bizet who was secretary to Napoleon. This might be entirely due to the sources to which I have access for the purposes of blogging. Thirdly, if Roma’s father is Auguste LeThière then she would have had two illegitimate sisters as he is known to have fathered two natural daughters. Finally, as a Victorian lady in the public eye would she feel able to declare that her grandfather was black?

A Sad Story Of Colonial Life

I don't know what year James Harvey d'Egville went out to India. It was probably circa 1820 (+/- 1) and his arrival in Calcutta will have been recorded in the Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British India and its Dependencies. This is the repository of news of all daily life; a divertisement for those enduring the harsh conditions.

I can't even say where James originates but if I do find him I predict that the young mariner was born in either Portsea or Ipswich. He is already a skilled and brave navigator which suggests that he went to sea at an early age.

In 1821 his wife Maria dies during a traumatic birth. Most British women would not now contemplate motherhood at twenty years of age and can expect many other opportunities in a long life.

Within twelve months James has found another woman to share his life. She becomes yet another Sophia d'Egville.

Then just two years after the death of his first wife James dies from fever, his age is unrecorded in the Journal, all the promise he has shown is brought to an untimely end. He leaves behind a "widow far advanced in pregnancy."

I hope that they survived - but they may well now lie in a weed-choked Calcutta cemetery. In these post-colonial times one feels that none of these people should have been there, both enduring and inflicting misery.

A Portrait of Madame Michau

I have been scouring the web for a portrait of Madame Michau but with no success. As a person who advertised herself to society she must have had a likeness produced. Maybe these have now washed away from her descendants over the sands of time and her portrait graces somebody's wall, never to be identified.

We do at least have some idea of her appearance and in older age she didn't have a dancer's physique.

Debra Teachman, in her book understanding Jane Eyre, quotes from the diary of Frances power Cobbe, writing of her experience of taking dancing classes essential to the all round education of young ladies, in her expensive school in Brighton.

The famous old Madame Michaud (sic) and her husband both attend us constantly,and we danced to their direction in our large play room till we had learned not only all the dances in use in England in that anti polka epoch, but also almost the every national dance in Europe, the minuet, the Gavotte, the Mazurka, and the Tarantella. To see the stout old lady in her heavy green velvet dress, with furbelow a foot deep of sable, was a sight not to be forgotten.

Ritual, Rapture and Remorse: A study of tarantism and pizzica in Salento

by Jerri Dabo 2010

George Augustus Sala (1895) tells us that, "Madame, who albeit, short in stature and somewhat pursy, was a model of grace and refinement in manner, and had been over and over again complimented on her gracefulness by George IV."

If you know of a portrait of Madame Michau or any of her offspring then please get in touch.

Tarantism

Tarantella 1850, signed T.M.R.

Gill has commented on the posting Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin and suggested that the Mme or Mlle Degville is identified as Sophie d'Egville, daughter of Pierre d'Agueville and Sophia Anselme. I hadn't eliminated Sophie from being identified as this woman; it is rather that Sophie or Sophia has left a confusing trail.

In 1797 Sophia was dancing at Drury Lane with George and Fanny where all were payed at the same rate of £2. One source gives the year of 1793 for Sophia's birth and while children younger than five years old appeared on stage it is likely that she would have been identified as 'infant d'Egville' rather than appearing on the roll and payed in her own right.

I have always assumed this woman is Madame Michau who died in 1859. Her age is given as seventy six in a death notice which would push her birth date back to 1783. A Sophie d'Egville was performing at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin from at least as early as November 1803 which is more plausible if she and Madame Michau are the same person.

One source states that Louis Francois Bonaventure Michau was born about 1801 in France but this is far too late. The Life and Adventures George Augustus Sala Written By Himself (1895) provides a brief sketch of Madame Michau,

Her first husband had been a M. Bizet, originally one of the private secretaries of Napoleon the Great; and at his death she married a French gentleman named Michau, who was especially distinguished for his highly cultivated gastronomic taste and his skilled culinary capacity. Indeed, in addition to his connection with the Terpsichorean art, he was a cook of the first water.

In the 1841 Census an Augustus Michau born circa 1811 is a resident of Brighton. We know that Sophie Degville is in Paris at this time and Augustus' father could be either of her two husbands.
This supports an explanation of why Sophie Degville remains settled in France during the Napoleonic Wars. I do not yet know when she returned to England but by 1820 Madame Michau was a practicing dance teacher in London and was promoting herself to the Court.

Sophie went on to publish a book on deportment and is still remembered for her form of the Tarantella,

Dance masters and manuals gave instruction as to how to perform these dances in the correct way, removing them from the streets and popular festivals into the indoor arena of palaces and ballrooms. One example of the notation of the tarantella in this way was by the dance teacher Madame Michau, born as Sophie D'Egville into a dynasty of dance instructors. Her version of the tarantella was seen in London in 1844 and published in 1860, and became the established form of the dance.

Ritual, Rapture and Remorse: A study of tarantism and pizzica in Salento

by Jerri Dabo 2010 

The Tarantella when danced solo was a supposed therapy for a spider bite and could last for hours or even days. It has even been suggested that the origins of the dance lie in Bacchanalian rites. This seems to resonate more with Sophia's voluptuous dance of great energy of expression in 1805 and her life which at that time seems distant from being mistress of ceremonies at the court.

Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin



Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin



The yearbook Mémorial Drâmatique ou Almanach Théatral pour l'an 1808 has an entry for the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin.

Ce Théâtre, supprimé par le décret impérial du 8 Août 1807, avait fait son ouverture le 27 Septembre 1802. On y jouait le Mélodrame, la Comédie et la Pantomime mêlée de danse.

The building from this period was destroyed in the flames of the Paris Commune but in 1871 the theatre was rebuilt and over the years has seen many premieres that we regard as synonymous with the French theatre (Cyrano de Bergerac etc).

Napoleon's decree of 1807 had reduced the number of theatres in Paris to seven and ended a period of expansion. I'm uncertain what impact this had on the employment opportunities for dancers but 1808 is unlikely to have been a boom year.

So in 1808 a M. and Mme. Degville were fortunate not to be resting and they are listed among the principal dancers. But this spartan entry raises many questions.

The spelling is that adopted by Jame's Harvey d'Egville's generation but obviously lacks the apostrophe. The absence of forenames makes it almost impossible to identify precisely whom these dancers are.

The name d'Egville and the family's contribution to the theatre was well known on the French side of the Channel. The press published dispatches of English productions and the usual gossip that dominates the news of today so it is not impossible that these names were adopted as a homage. Though it is unlikely because the ballet master was Eugène Hus.

Eugène Hus was the psuedonym of Pierre-Louis Stapleton (1758-1823) who was the stepson of Jean-Baptiste Hus. In 1762 Jean-Baptiste became ballet master in Brussels where Pierre d'Aigueville's Ballet Turc would be performed in 1767.

James and George Harvey d'Egville are unlikely candidates for M. Degville as they appear to have been employed in England at this time. Louis Harvey d'Egville was settled in Worcester with a growing family.

These Degvilles may have been living in Paris for some time by 1808. Théâtre choisi de G. De Pixerécourt 1841 gives us some detailed descriptions and notices for a production of Robinson Crusoé [in London, Robinson Crusoe seems to have been part of the standard repertoire by 1805]:

Journal de Paris. 3 Octobre 1805

Parmi les danses qui couronnent le dénoftmeot, on voudra revoir souvent celle du Chiea, danse voluptueuse , s'il en fût, et que Robillon et Mlle Degville exécutent avec une grande énergie d'expression.

Courrier des Spectacles 4 Octobre 1805

On a remarqué les beaux développements de Itérante, la légèreté de Morand et la danse grotesque de Robillon et de madame Degville dans un pas de nègres.

If these were Degvilles who had settled in the United Kingdom then through what circumstances did they find themselves in Paris just weeks before the Battle of Trafalgar? And is Mlle Degville a misprint or is there a small family living there? We know that a Jean-Pierre Degville died in Paris in the first quarter of the nineteenth century.

In the Annuaire Dramatique for the year 1813 under the entry of the Théâtre de la Gaîté, Boulevard du Temple  the name Sophie Degville appears and her address is given as the 'rue des Martyrs'. If she were Pierre d'Aigueville's wife she would be almost eighty years old and one wonders what sort of roles would have been open to her. I doubt whether she would have been capable of a voluptuous dance of great energy of expression less than a decade earlier but if she had I would like to have seen it.

Mrs Samuel Dies At Her Newphew's Great Marlborough Street Home

The Gentleman's Magazine, April 1817

Insinuation

Mr. James Harvey D'egville is the eldest son of Mr. PeTer D'egville. The family root is French, but this branch of it pullulated first in England. He owes his education, which, if at all philosophical, was peripatetic, that is, relating to the foot, principally to his father and Mr. Dauberval of Paris. He married Miss Berry of the Opera-House. In 1796 he was engaged at Drury-Lane theatre, when he got up a pantomima called Alexander the Great, and he did the same favour to the pantomimicry of Pizarro, Caractacus, &c. He is now ballet-master at the Opera-House, where he gives considerable satisfaction, although he is with some taste and invention, far from abounding in knowledge and judgment. We must remember, however, that his business is almost exclusively with the legs, to "teach lavoltat high and swift corantos," and it is not a question that he has produced several very good ballet-dancers. But as we like the treason, though we hate the traitor; so we delight in the dancing of his pupils, while we detest the original cause of it—the avarice and depravity of the parents. See some just remarks on this subject, signed H. R. in the Examiner, Feb. 26. "In addition to these shadows, Mr. D'Egville has," says this writer, " a numerous troop of infants, that are brought forward in the ballet, for no purpose that I can imagine, unless it is to shew that children can be kept awake till twelve or one o'clock, and that rouge will artificially supply the colour, of which want of rest has deprived them."

It is said that he was, when in Paris, a furious democrat, but if we have little to do with the learning of a ballet-master, we have certainly still less to do with his politics. On this, however, and many other points, we might have afforded the reader more lights, had Mr. D'Egville, as he promised, furnished as with his lanthorn. We are now indeed more than half persuaded that he meditated a sort of suicide— he would have deprived himself of this Life, which our philanthropy has preserved.

The Monthly Mirror, March 1809.

Scurrilous Gossip

La Journée mémorable de Versailles, le lundi 5 Octobre 1789

THE
SCOURGE;
OR
MONTHLY EXPOSITOR,
OF
IMPOSTURE AND FOLLY

Mr. D'Egville has resumed his situation at the Opera-house: this gentleman is, we believe, particularly intimate with the man who bore in triumphant exhibition through the streets of Paris, the heart of the Princess de Lamballes.

The Scourge, 1 February 1811

Marie Louise de Lambelle
attributed to Henri Pierre Danloux (c 1791)

Mr. D'EGVILLE.

Sir,

 In your second number you have asserted that Mr. D'Egville is intimately acquainted with the man who carried on a pike the heart of the Princess de Lamballes through the streets of Paris. Such assertions as these had been frequently made long before the appearance of the Scourge: Mr. D'Egville, however, conscious that they could not injure him with those who knew him, and unwilling to obtrude in his private character on the attention of the public, suffered them to die away uncontradicted ; and it was not till in the dispute with Mr. Goold they were brought forward to prejudice the court itself against him, that he thought it necessary to give them a serious refutation. For this purpose he obtained in 1802 a certificate from those who had the best opportunities of knowing him at the time of the revolution, declarative of his peaceful and gentlemanly conduct during the whole of that unhappy period, and expressive of their knowledge that any aspersions of the kind alluded to must be unjust. This document I have seen, and it is now in Mr. D'Egville's possession. It is signed by the elder Vestris, Laborie, and most of the respectable performers attached to the Opera at Paris. From the liberality by which even your severest productions are distinguished, I trust that as an act of justice to a much injured individual you will insert this letter.

I remain, Sir, with respect,

your obedient servant,

ACHITES

London,

March 27th, 1811.

The Scourge, 1 April 1811

Le massacre de la princesse de Lamballe

Wild and Crazy Moments

Gill, aged 7 months.

From an early age I was always into ballet. Dad used to listen to Opera and Friday Night's Music Night and have a few beers.

He used to say to us girls, go dance like Little Fairies. So on went the plastic sandals. Posh word for them now (Jellie Beans).

And did we dance!! But when dad used to go spend a penny we all used to have a drink of his beer and then resume dancing as if nothing had happened. Dad used to shout, "Who's been drinking my beer?"

All in unison we used to say, "It's not us!!!"

We used to put plays on too. And we always had to have a Circus, all our friends' pets were the animals.

Everyone had a starring role. Mine was the Clown. I always had to be the Clown.

We had a very large garden so we used to have a Circus ring on the bottom lawn. On would come the acts and strut their stuff.

My prop for the Clown was a pair of step ladders, face painted and dressed. On I went...

Whilst climbing the step ladders they broke. It got laughs. How I did not kill my self I do not know!!

Yes, even back then the Degvilles were in our blood.

When Gran told me about the Degvilles being Fencing Masters, in my Wild and Crazy moments I fenced my way a round the house with anything that could pass for a sword.

Gill

The Huguenot Society

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries French protestants were persecuted for their faith. These protestants appear to have become known as Huguenots from an old German word for an oath but the word became an epiphet used by their enemies. The conflict became open civil warfare during the French Wars of Religion (1562-98).

The protestant Henri IV effectively ended the war by converting to Catholicism and established rights for protestants by the Edict of Nantes. Unfortunately, the peace was not secure and civil war broke out again in the 1620s. Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685 and in the succeeding years it is estimated that 400,000 protestants left France.

In the United Kingdom they settled in London, but also in many provincial cities such as Norwich, Canterbury, Bristol and Plymouth. The Huguenot Socity of London was founded in the nineteenth century to publicize information about these emigrees and to "create a bond of fellowship".

Their website has excellent resources for those researching their family history among Huguenot communities and some information that anyone reading French registers will find helpful.