Adolphe, Vicomte du Barry

"Buried in the church yard (St Nicholas Bathampton) is the body of the French aristocrat, Adolphe, Vicomte du Barry, a nephew-by-marriage and close personal friend of, Louis XV's legendarily beautiful mistress. The Vicomte had been living in nearby Bath when he was killed in a duel with an Irish adventurer, Captain Rice." - Wikipedia

Adolphe was the son of Jean-Baptiste DuBarry, comte du Barry-Cérès, vidame de Châlons-en-Champagne (1723 - 17 January 1794), a French nobleman. He is most notable as the lover and pimp of Jeanne Bécu (later better known as Madame du Barry, Louis XV's last official mistress), later becoming her brother-in-law by arranging a marriage-of-convenience between her and his younger brother Guillaume Dubarry at the église Saint-Laurent de Paris on 1 September 1768. Through that union, both the brothers benefited from royal largesse. 

Adolphe first met Jean Becu at age 14, when he joined his father in Paris after spending his early life with his mother. Jeanne and Adolphe seem to have enjoyed a close friendship from the start; she was only six years older than he.

Jean-Baptiste was determined to get his son installed as a page at the court of Versailles. To achieve this, he needed the backing of the all-powerful Duc de Richelieu. To achieve this, he was ready to sell Jeanne's "services" to the minister. 

Towards the end of 1765, there seems to have been a rift between Jean-Baptiste and Jeanne caused by his jealousy of the close relationship that had developed between his son and his mistress. However, they were soon reconciled, and Jean-Baptiste saw advantage in having his son, who had now been promoted to being a subaltern in the King’s infantry, explain court customs and the complicated protocols and etiquette of the court to Jeanne.

Once Jeanne was established at court, Adolphe's mother used the situation to try to secure an advantageous marriage for her son. After meeting considerable resistance to having a pimp and brothel operator as a father-in-law for their daughters, the Du Barrys had to satisfy themselves with a penniless, but beautiful, seventeen-year-old relation of the Prince Rahan de Soubise. 

Her name was Helene de Tournon, and she arrived in Paris totally ignorant of the background to her marriage. 

Adolphe du Barry was honoured to have his marriage witnessed by the entire Royal family. However, the Dauphine Marie Antoinette showed her disapproval by giving orders that effectively excluded Helene from her court. This left her trapped in the company of her husband’s aunt and the elderly women who formed her court. This experience explains why she quickly grew to detest both her husband and his family.

Following the king's death and his grandson's ascension to the throne as Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette had Jeanne exiled to the Abbey du Pont-aux-Dames.

As a young man with little to recommend him other than a handsome face, Adolphe now found himself without employment. He had inherited from his father a passion for and some skill at gambling. 
With the fall of his aunt, Adolphe had been forced to resign his commission and was forbidden to appear at court. This was the ultimate humiliation for his wife. 

Adolphe recognised he had no future in Paris and so decided to try his luck at the gambling tables of Spa. 
By 1777, Adolphe and his wife, building on their success in Spa, had moved to Bath, where they hired one of the largest houses in the Royal Crescent and kept open house for some of the smartest society in town. With them was an Irish adventurer, one Count Rice, whom they had met in the gambling houses of Spa. Rice was a soldier of fortune who had fought in the Imperial armies and had been given the title of Count by the Emperor. 

The Du Barrys seem to have used their seat address to run Faro tables. 

Faro houses were notorious for bilking their customers. Indeed, the odds of the game are such that the house could only ensure profits by cheating in some form.

The sort of money that could be made from this game by Faro house operators is illustrated by a court case reported in the Bath newspapers in 1787.

Gambling was always central to the entertainment that drew the Ton to Bath, and repeated attempts by the law to regulate it failed in the face of the Georgian obsession with gaming and the large sums of money to be made catering to it.

As the Bath Chronicle of 12th April 1787 reported:

"Yesterday Mr. John Twycross and Mr Richard Weternall were convicted before the Mayor, on several counts, of keeping a Faro and other Gambling Table and sentenced to pay, Twycross four hundred, and Wettenall fourteen hundred pounds"

The article goes on to say:
"Eighteen hundred pounds [approximately the equivalent £100,000 today] is a seemingly large sum; but when the various arts of seduction to support this Faro Table, and its immense profits, are considered, it will appear a mere trifle. Every allurement of expensive eating and the richest wines are ever speciously ready, to invite the convivial. The hounds are principally, if not solely, supported to take in country gentlemen; and the present culprits are only the ostensible members of a numerous co-partnership, amongst whom the money may be easily raised; and who, like the Syrens of old, are unceasingly employed to draw devoted victims into this dreadful vortex of destruction.”

One is tempted to see parallels with the card parties that Adolphe’s father ran in his notorious 
Parisian home and his use of the beautiful Jeane Becu, then known as Madam de Vaubernier, to lure young men to lose their money at his Faro tables. Certainly, the beautiful Helene and her fifteen-year-old sister were reported to have been seen at every ball in town.

It is unclear what sparked the dispute that led Rice and Du Barry to fight a duel, but possible causes include disagreements over the allocation of funds and the treatment of Du Barry’s wife and sister-in-law.
The local newspaper reported on the duel which took place on Claverton Down as follows:

‘On arriving at the ground the Viscount gave Count Rice his sword, which he had brought with his own; and previous to his firing declared, that let what would happen he would neither give nor take quarter; he rested his pistol on his sword, fired first at Count Rice, at the distance of thirteen yards and shot him through the upper part of the thigh. Count Rice was almost brought to the ground, but soon recovered and fired at the same distance. 

A letter published in Aris’s Birmingham post recounts the Dual as follows.

“They came to the Tuns, 'with their two Seconds, Capt. R-- and Mr. T--, about two o'clock in the Morning. Capt. R. ordered a Post-Chaise and Four, drove to Claverdon , where they all dismounted, and ordered the Drivers to wait behind a Wail, beside which a Clump of Firs stood between this spot and the Ground on which the fought. The Surgeon declined accompanying them to the spot, saying, he should within call if wanted; buy the Boys having secured their Horses, got within the Firs, and saw the whole. They were between two and three hours upon the the Down waiting for daylight, and just about seven o’clock the ground was marked (eight paces) and each was provided with four brace of pistols; they each discharged their first shot as nearly together as possible. Count Rice missed his aim, but Du Barry lodged his ball in Rice’s groin, or rather thigh, which made him stagger, and as he was about to drop, he took the pistol out of his left hand, levelled it and the ball entered Du Barry’s body just below the right breast, when he gave a most extraordinary spring into the air, fell down and expired immediately. The two seconds called the surgeon to the assistance of Count Rice; but what is most extraordinary, left him while while they made the best of their way to Bath. The body of the Count Du Barry lay all day unnoticed and unguarded by his friends, and scarce a man or boy in Bath; who had time of curiosity, but what listed the handkerchief of his face, opened his waistcoat, and fingered the wound. Count Rice lies at York House, and they say is now out of danger. The two seconds are off, and Cadby the Surgeon, refuses to say a word till called upon at trial if their should be one. It is very strange, that though this fatal affair was very publicly talked of in Bath as early as between seven and eight in the Morning, Count Barry’s Lady heard nothing of it till near one o’clock, when she was told of it by the Duke of Northumberland’s chaplain, which occasioned a distress easier to be conceived than described. The cause of this unhappy quarrel is said to be gaming and jealousy.”

The trial of Count Rice for the death of Viscount Du Barry started with the prosecution making the case for his conviction for the murder of Du Barry. Rice, in response, made the following statement:

‘My acquaintance with Viscount Du Barry originated in Paris in the year 1774. His family were then soliciting some favour at Vienna, and my connexion at that Court, which he thought might be serviceable to him, engaged his attention to me. We lived from that period, till the day before his death, in an intercourse of mutual good offices and civility. An expensive line of life, and considerable losses at play, frequently involved him in difficulties, to extricate himself from which he often borrowed large sums of money of me. I have in my possession letters which I shall now produce, acknowledging the receipt of various sums of money, as well as bills and notes of hand, to the amount of some thousand pounds still unpaid, and which from the embarrassed state of his affairs, I must look on as a total loss.

A gouty humour, which fell upon his bowels and legs last summer, induced some English Physicians he met at Spa to recommend the use of Bath waters. Determined as it appears by these letters written a few days before he set off for England, to play no more, and to regulate his affairs with prudence; he resolved upon this excursion in order to attend to his health and restore his peace of mind. He frequently solicited me to accompany him, to which I at last consented; and accordingly we came to England together, at mutual and proportional expense. We took a house in Bath; and lived there upon the same terms. For some weeks we continued to live in our former and accustomed intimacy; and, though the Viscount Du Barry was a man of impetuous temper, without any material disagreement till the unfortunate dispute which terminated in the loss of his life, and the imminent hazard of mine. It is needless here to enter into the origins of that dispute, or impute blame to the deceased who can no longer vindicate his conduct.”
The Count, after some pathetic observation on the suffering he had undergone from his wound, concluded by referring to the evidence already given, as some reasons, he said prevented his calling the Seconds before the Court with propriety, and committed himself with confidence into the hands of his Jury; persuaded, to use his own words, that in order to determine justly upon his conduct in the crime imputed to him, they would put themselves in his situation, and adopt those feelings by which he was necessarily actuated on the unfortunate occasion. 

Mr Justice Nares addressed the jury in an affecting speech; remarked to them in particular the unusual backwardness the prisoner had shown in this transaction, and his humanity to the unfortunate Viscount after his fall, and directed a verdict for manslaughter.

How to walk

 Kellom Tomlinson's dancing manual The Art of Dancing Explained (London, 1735).

Of WALKING.   

WALKING consists of Motion and a Change of Place, by transferring the Weight or Poise of the Body from one Foot to the other, by stepping or advancing the disengaged Foot (whichsoever it be) from the first Position to the fourth advanced, and so alternately, concluding as at first, but always on the contrary Foot In order to walk  gracefully, it is to be observed, that, during the Step or Motion made by the disengaged Foot, as above, the-whole Weight of the Body shall rest on the fame Foot as at commencing it, until the stepping Foot is advanced its due Length of Step; and, on its receiving the Poise or Weight on the Ball or full Part of the Heel, upon fetting it to the Ground or Floor, the now disengaged Foot, which at first fupported the Weight, becoming by this means released, attends the Poise in a gentle and easy Motion, until it arrive in its former Position; but on the contrary Foot for the Step next ensuing, which is made in like Manner, and so on; for if, inftead of the Body's waiting or attending the Motion of the stepping Foot, as above described, it should either go before or along with it, the Grace that ought to accompany our Steps, in walking,  is lost, because the Foot must constantly go before the Body, to receive it, other wise it will always reprefent the Body in a falling Posture.     

And it is farther to be noted, that, in  Walking with a good Grace, Time and Harmony must be observed, as well as in  Dancing.  For Example, the setting down or receiving the Poise, at the End of the Step, is upon  One;  the taking up the disengaged Foot, by a gentle and easy raising the Heel and pointing the Toe, in one intire Motion, which is the Manner of taking up the Foot to step, is upon  Three;  and Two is in the coming up of the disengaged Foot after the Step has been made, which may be continued faster or slower, but must always be in one certain Time, counting  One, Two,  and  Three,  as in Music. And, by this Method, the Body with a good Grace resting or landing, 'till two Thirds of the Three we count, must necessarily add great Beauty to our to our walking, which is the Case under Consideration; for the Step is made upon  One, the Preparation or Taking up the Foot, to make the Step,  Three,  and Two is in the coming up of the released Foot, to continue our walking.        

And, as to the Motion of the Arms in  Walking,  they will naturally have their due Course or Swing, in a continual Contrast or Opposition to the Feet; for, when the right Foot steps forward wards, the left Arm advances, in Contradi&ion, as the right Ann does, when the left Foot ileps forwards (g), and fo alter* nately; and the like in  Walking backwards, in Relation to the Contrail, but not with Refpe& to the Arms, beeaufe, in  Waiting backwards, the Contradi&on is between the fame Arm and Foot; for, when the right Foot ileps back (h), the right Arm advances in Oppofitioh, as, when the left Foot ileps backwards (i), the left Arm advances, as aforefaid, and fo on, if continued. Having, I hope, offered what will prove satisfactory

Miss Hobson Conductress of the Quadrilles

Miss Hobson who, according to the Bath Directory of 1819,  lived at 13 River Street was a teacher of dancing and Conductress of the Quadrilles at the Upper Assembly Rooms.

Before the 19th century no other dances required a conductor. So what made the quadrille different? The minuet had emerged as a court dance for the upper eschelons of society people for whom mastering this dance was part of their job as courtiers and this largely explain its demise over the course of the Geogian period. Country dances had an effective system where inactive couples waiting to dance would observe the dance several times before it reached them, so they would know the figure by the time they danced it. The cotillion only had one short figure to memorize. The set of "changes" of the cotillion were always the same changes and thus relatively easily memorised.

A Charity Ball in Bath in 1801

We learn from the Annuls of Bath from 1801 that "The Battle of Copenhagen had been fought, and, while all who were blest with the means, had been recently straining every nerve to relieve their famished townsmen, yet they were not unmindful of those brave fellows who had fought and suffered in their country's cause, before the walls of that city.

A Ball, suggested by Her Royal Highness the Duchess of York, (then a visitor in this city,) was given at the Upper Assembly Rooms for the benefit of the brave men who were wounded, and the widows and families of those who fell on that occasion. The notice was short, but the cause was patriotic, and found immediate way to every grateful British bosom. The room was crowded with all that was noble, loyal, and beautiful in the city. The amount of the clear profits was £536, which sufficiently indicates the number and liberality of the company who attended. One of the most heartfelt pleasures of the evening resulted from the presence of the venerable father of Nelson. His dress and demeanour were as unassuming as the bravery of his noble son was conspicuous, and it is needless to say he claimed and received every mark of respect and veneration."

The Battle of Copenhagen of 1801, also known as the First Battle of Copenhagen to distinguish it from the Second Battle of Copenhagen in 1807, was a naval battle in which a British fleet fought and defeated a smaller force of the Dano-Norwegian Navy anchored near Copenhagen on 2 April 1801. The battle arose over British fears that the powerful Danish fleet would ally with France and a breakdown in diplomatic communications on both sides.

The Duchess of York started life as Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia, the eldest daughter of King Frederick William II. She became the wife of Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, second son of King George III.

The marriage was not a happy one, after three years, it had become apparent that the Duke and Duchess of York would have no issue. Frederica Charlotte and Frederick separated. The Duchess retired to Oatlands Park, Weybridge, where she lived until her death in 1820. Their relationship after separation appears to have been amicable, but there was never any question of reconciliation.

She is described as: "clever and well-informed; she likes society and dislikes all form and ceremony, but in the midst of the most familiar intercourse she always preserves a certain dignity of manner", and :"probably no person in such a situation was ever more really liked." In 1827 (after her death), she was called: "a harmless but an eccentric little woman, with an extraordinary fondness for cats and dogs, some indications of the German severity of family etiquette, which gave her household the air of Potsdam, and but a slight share of those attractions which might retain the regards of a husband—young, a soldier, and a prince." High-stakes gambling is reported to have taken place at Oatlands. Frederica kept many dogs and was apparently very devoted to monkeys.

In a letter in May of 1801, Jane Austen shared her hope that with the Duchess's departure from Bath, food would become cheaper, particularly fish.

Nelson's father was the Reverend Edmund Nelson a Norfolk Rector from an old Norfolk family. He regularly wintered in Bath often sharing accommodation with Nelson, Nelson's wife Fanny and one of Nelson's sisters. Edmund would die the next year 1802.

Countess of Moira’s Lilt

"A Selection of Elegant & Fashionable Country Dances Reels Waltzes &co for the ensuing season 1808 including those much admired Neapolitan & Maltese Pandean Airs, arranged for the Piano Forte or Harp also Flute or Patent Flageolet, with an accompaniment for the piano forte or harp by August Voigt" included the dance the Countess of Moira's Lilt.

A Lilt was a Scottish term for a cheerful tune.

Elizabeth Rawdon, Countess of Moira in the Peerage of Ireland (23 March 1731 – 11 April 1808), was a literary patron and antiquarian; she also held five English peerages in her own right. She was born at Donington Park, Leicestershire, England and died in Moira, County Down, Ireland.

Born as Elizabeth Hastings, she was the daughter of Theophilus Hastings, 9th Earl of Huntingdon and Selina Shirley, founder of the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion religious denomination. Elizabeth was 16th Baron Botreaux and 15th Baron Hungerford, in her own right (suo jure), inheriting the titles on the death of her brother Francis Hastings, 10th Earl of Huntingdon. She was the third wife of John Rawdon, 1st Earl of Moira.

Her husband was the Earl of Moira and Baron Rawdon of Moira, in the Irish Peerage; as his wife, she was Countess of Moira and Baroness Rawdon. She also inherited five English baronies from her brother Francis Hastings, 10th Earl of Huntingdon: Baroness Botreaux, Baroness Hungerford, Baroness de Moleyns, Baroness Hastings of Hastings and Baroness Hastings of Hungerford.

In 1780, Lady Moira archaeologically investigated the remains of a bog body found on her husband's land and published her findings in 1785 in the periodical Archaeologia. It was the first documented scientific investigation of a bog body ever.

After she died in 1808, her son inherited the baronies and proved his right to be Baron Hastings - he had also taken the family name of Rawdon-Hastings according to his uncle's will.

Augustus Voigt was a German composer who lived in London early in the nineteenth century. He composed many popular tunes, but he was better known for his skill in improving an existing melody. 

He was born in Germany and was said to have been a musical prodigy. He found himself in London in July 1803, just as the French took possession of Hanover. He decided to remain in London and worked as a jobbing composer and arranger. Over time, he built a substantial reputation in the world of dance music and collaborated with a number of the leading music publishers of the period.

A Derby rematch in Bath in 1780

Starting on the 19th of September 1780, there was a four-day race meeting on Claverton Down.

The first day started with a race for a £50 plate, which only attracted two runners.

The next race was a 50 Guinea sweepstakes for four-year-olds, which was cancelled.

This was followed by a race for three-year-olds over a 2-mile course. The entries advertised before the race were:

His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland’s colt Polydore, by Eclipse out of a Spectator Mare

The Duke of Cumberland

Mr Luttrell’s bay colt Tetrarch, by Herod, dam by Careless

Mr R. Brereton’s chestnut colt by Lycurgus, out of an unknown mare

Mr. Davis’s chestnut colt by Conundrum, dam by Chrysolite

Sir John Lade’s brown filly Lady Ann, by Eclipse, dam by Snap

Mr. C Pigott’s bay filly by Cardinal Puff, out of Duenna’s dam

Mr O’Kelly’s colt Budroo by Eclipse, out of a Sweeper mare

Dennis O'Kelly, gambler, pimp, horse breeder 
and dealer

Mr Parker’s brown colt by Matchem, out of an Old England mare

Mr Brereton, Mr Davis, Sir John Lade, and Mr Pigott decided to pay a forfeit and withdraw their horses from an impressive entry.

In fact, Budroo and Polydore had competed in the Epsom Derbyfirst running of, Polydore coming 6th and Budroo coming 2nd out of a field of nine.

On this day, Budroo won, and Polydore came last.

The following year, Budroo beat the winner of the first Derby, Sir Charles Bunbury's Diomed,  at a 300-guinea rematch at Newmarket.

Budroo and Polydore were both the progeny of Eclipse, a remarkable animal who changed racehorse breeding and from whom most modern thoroughbreds are descended. Eclipse also connects O'Kelly, who owned him, with the Duke of Cumberland, whose uncle bred him.

Another Dancer Sparks a Riot

 The theatres of the eighteenth century often suffered from audience riots, and popular dancers failing to appear was often the trigger event.

An example is recounted in the 'Life of Mr James Quin', [1] Quin was a well-known actor-manager who retired to Bath.

"A new pantomime brought out at Drury Inne Theatre, which was to end with a grand dance; Madam Chateauneuf, the head dancer at that time was to have been the principal performer; but she being taken ill, the dance was necessarily set aside, though the managers published her name three successive nights, without making any apology for the omission.  The first night the audience remained pretty quiet: the second, they only hissed; but on the third night, they ushered out the ladies and began demolishing the house. The first motion that was made, and by a noble marquis, was to fire it, but that being carried in the negative, they began with the orchestra, broke the harpsichord and bass viols, together with the looking glasses, scenes and chandeliers, pulled up the benches in the pit, broke down the boxes, and even the royal arms."

Madame Chateauneuf was born in France on 15 April. 1721, and was orphaned while very young. She was adopted and brought up by a dancer named Chateauneuf, who later married her.

She first appeared in London under the name "Mlle" Chateauneuf, dancing in the French company managed by Francisque Moylin, which played at the Little Theatre in the Haymarket about 116 times from 26 October 1734 through 3 June 1735. How many times Mlle Chateauneuf danced that season is not recorded

1. Quin, James. The Life of Mr. James Quin, Comedian, with the History of the Stage from His Commencing Actor to His Retreat to Bath, Illustrated with Many Curious and Interesting Anecdotes of Several Persons of Distinction, Literature and Gallantry. To Which Is Added a Supplement of Original Facts and Anecdotes Arranged from Authentic Sources Together with His Trial for the Murder of Mr. Bowen. London: Reader, 1887. Print.