half an hour; and the Chancellor, who thought this a certain proof of
their absence (the Commons also being very impatient to enter), gave
order for the opening of the door, upon which they all rushed in, pushed
aside their competitors, and placed themselves in the front rows of the
gallery. They stayed there till after eleven, when the House rose; and
during the debate gave applause, and showed marks of dislike, not only
by smiles and winks (which have always been allowed in these cases), but
by noisy laughs and apparent contempts; which is supposed the true
reason why poor Lord Hervey spoke miserably. I beg your pardon, dear
madam, for this long relation; but 'tis impossible to be short on so
copious a subject; and you must own this action very well worthy of
record, and I think not to be paralleled in history, ancient or modern."


Lady Mary, however, was less concerned with "the open door" for women in
politics: her primary desire was that a woman should have the right,
within reason, to live her own life, and not merely be a chattel of her
husband. There is the conduct of her own married life to prove her
sincerity.

Her view of the Turkish woman has already been given, as also has her
opinion that marriages should be for the limited period of seven years.
Now, she gave her opinion of the woman question in Italy, and it would
seem that, realising that her own marriage has been anything but
satisfactory to either party, she wrote from her heart.


"I cannot let pass in silence the prodigious alteration, since Misson's
writing, in regard to our sex. This reformation (or, if you please,
depravation) began so lately as the year 1732, when the French overran