The good Natured Man
I found this story in a book written about Beau Nash (Master of Ceremonies in Bath during the 18th Century). It's the story of a girl called Miss Sylvia who came to Bath aged 19 in the 1720s. She had it all – she was extremely beautiful, witty, kind - and very rich. She was a massive draw for people to come to the assemblies she visited; a bit of an ‘It girl’. She was however quite rash and lacked judgement which would be her downfall.
She had a large crowd of suitors, among them was a man known as ‘The Good Natured Man’ who on the surface was kind and a good person but he was very flaky and followed his passions easily and fell to lots of vices, building up lots of debt.
Miss Sylvia fell for him in a big way – he meanwhile, liked her affections but was never in love with her. He strung her along for a while until his debts finally caught up with him and he was due to go to prison. Miss Sylvia – against all judgement (including that of Beau Nash) – used all her fortune to pay off the debts and became poor herself. Needless to say the relationship didn’t last and she was alone.
In a really vulnerable state and still very young, she was taken in by ‘Dame Linsdey’ who ran a Games Room (like a dodgy casino) who charmed her and offered her money to remain at the Games room – lots of people still came to see her, but because of her fallen status, she was now like the equivalent of a Z-list celebrity making appearances at a nightclub – more of a figure of fun and ridicule.
Beau Nash managed to get her out of her situation and arranged lodging with John Wood (the famous Bath architect). She was lost without the company of the assemblies and social life, and ended taking her life by hanging herself in her bedroom while Nash was away on business. She carved her final words into the dining room windowpane with a diamond ring.
In the last period of her life, she’d accrued big debts of her own. All of her friends had deserted her and refused to help her with finances; after taking her life all of her belongings were sold to clear the debts. Most were bought by her “friends” who wanted mementos to remember her by and paid inflated prices – John Wood observed that maybe she might not have taken her life if they’d have offered their support before
I found out later that Oliver Goldsmith (who wrote the book on Nash where I found this story), turned the story of the Good Natured Man in to a play – however, it was more of a comedy-farce focussing on him as a bit of a hopeless and hapless fellow and didn’t mention him as a darker element in this Lady’s story.
Lyrics:
I heard she was born to riches
Of land and of gold and of fame
But richest she was in the good of her soul
With beauty and wit to her name
She came to the fanfare and fashion
Held in the highest regard
With gentlemen forming an orderly line
At the door that would lead to her heart
But she turned them away for the good natured man
She only had eyes for the good natured man
She pinned all her hopes on the good natured man
She gave up her life for the good natured man
She fell for the man without question
Blind to his vice and excess
She wanted him forever part of her soul
He wanted her under her dress
As time carried on they grew deeper
Her into love, him arrears
When truth finally came of the debt to his name
She paid with her purse and her tears
She turned them away for the good natured man
She only had eyes for the good natured man
She pinned all her hopes on the good natured man
She gave up her life for the good natured man
Since he was gone I had nothing
Drawn to the place I had left
In time taken in by a mistress of sin
I fell to the games and the bet
Then luck seemed to change, I escaped them
Landed a master and home
But haunted I was by the choices I made
Destined to sink as a stone
I turned them away for the good natured man
I only had eyes for the good natured man
I pinned all my hopes on the good natured man
I gave up my life for the good natured man
I may have been born to riches
Of land and of gold and of fame
But I’ll die in a room with a rope and a song
With only my words to my name
I’ll die in a room with a rope and a song
With only my words to my name
She had a large crowd of suitors, among them was a man known as ‘The Good Natured Man’ who on the surface was kind and a good person but he was very flaky and followed his passions easily and fell to lots of vices, building up lots of debt.
Miss Sylvia fell for him in a big way – he meanwhile, liked her affections but was never in love with her. He strung her along for a while until his debts finally caught up with him and he was due to go to prison. Miss Sylvia – against all judgement (including that of Beau Nash) – used all her fortune to pay off the debts and became poor herself. Needless to say the relationship didn’t last and she was alone.
In a really vulnerable state and still very young, she was taken in by ‘Dame Linsdey’ who ran a Games Room (like a dodgy casino) who charmed her and offered her money to remain at the Games room – lots of people still came to see her, but because of her fallen status, she was now like the equivalent of a Z-list celebrity making appearances at a nightclub – more of a figure of fun and ridicule.
Beau Nash managed to get her out of her situation and arranged lodging with John Wood (the famous Bath architect). She was lost without the company of the assemblies and social life, and ended taking her life by hanging herself in her bedroom while Nash was away on business. She carved her final words into the dining room windowpane with a diamond ring.
In the last period of her life, she’d accrued big debts of her own. All of her friends had deserted her and refused to help her with finances; after taking her life all of her belongings were sold to clear the debts. Most were bought by her “friends” who wanted mementos to remember her by and paid inflated prices – John Wood observed that maybe she might not have taken her life if they’d have offered their support before
I found out later that Oliver Goldsmith (who wrote the book on Nash where I found this story), turned the story of the Good Natured Man in to a play – however, it was more of a comedy-farce focussing on him as a bit of a hopeless and hapless fellow and didn’t mention him as a darker element in this Lady’s story.
Lyrics:
I heard she was born to riches
Of land and of gold and of fame
But richest she was in the good of her soul
With beauty and wit to her name
She came to the fanfare and fashion
Held in the highest regard
With gentlemen forming an orderly line
At the door that would lead to her heart
But she turned them away for the good natured man
She only had eyes for the good natured man
She pinned all her hopes on the good natured man
She gave up her life for the good natured man
She fell for the man without question
Blind to his vice and excess
She wanted him forever part of her soul
He wanted her under her dress
As time carried on they grew deeper
Her into love, him arrears
When truth finally came of the debt to his name
She paid with her purse and her tears
She turned them away for the good natured man
She only had eyes for the good natured man
She pinned all her hopes on the good natured man
She gave up her life for the good natured man
Since he was gone I had nothing
Drawn to the place I had left
In time taken in by a mistress of sin
I fell to the games and the bet
Then luck seemed to change, I escaped them
Landed a master and home
But haunted I was by the choices I made
Destined to sink as a stone
I turned them away for the good natured man
I only had eyes for the good natured man
I pinned all my hopes on the good natured man
I gave up my life for the good natured man
I may have been born to riches
Of land and of gold and of fame
But I’ll die in a room with a rope and a song
With only my words to my name
I’ll die in a room with a rope and a song
With only my words to my name