Elizabeth
Wadsworth:Lily of the Valley (continued)
Lord Charles MurrayIt was another
visiting nobleman who ultimately captured Elizabeth's heart. In 1834 Lord Charles
Augustus Murray from the ancient Scottish House of Dunmore arrived in the Genesee
Country on his North American tour. A recent Oxford graduate, Lord Charles, 28,
planned a final adventure before serving his queen: He would explore the American
frontier on horseback.
Long distance horsemanship was no hardship for
his lordship. A renowned athlete, he had completed the 120-mile round-trip from
Oxford to London in one day. So it was with ease that this young lord rode into
Geneseo and into the heart of Elizabeth.
The couple took long rides
surveying the Wadsworth domain. They picnicked at Fall Brook and other romantic
sites. They sat by the Homestead fireplace reading Gray's poignant "Elegy
Written in a Country Church Yard." Everyone expected an early engagement.
Everyone, that is, except James Wadsworth. James did not wish to see his
youngest daughter transplanted to England, and he ordered Murray to leave. To
Elizabeth's chagrin, Charles meekly packed his saddle bags and resumed his adventurous
western tour.
Murray spent a few months living with the Pawnee Indians.
This experience inspired Murray to write a romantic novel "The Prairie Bird
" in which Elizabeth served as the thinly disguised model for the heroine.
Letters of undying love were exchanged.
2
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