From the exceptional animus displayed by Eliza Haywood in describing her colleague in the school for scandal, one may suspect that the lightning had struck fairly near home.  One is almost forced to believe that Savage’s well-wisher, the writer of the little satire, “To the Ingenious Riverius, on his writing in the Praise of Friendship,” was none other than Eliza herself.[14] Exactly what injury she had sustained from him and his Siren is not known, but although he still stood high in her esteem, she was implacable against that “worse than Lais” whom in a long and pungent description she satirized under the name of Gloatitia.

“Behold another ... in every thing as ridiculous, in some more vile—­ that big-bone’d, buxom, brown Woman....  Of all the Gods there is none she acknowledges but Phoebus, him she frequently implores for assistance, to charm her Lovers with the Spirit of Poetry....  She pretends, however, to have an intimate acquaintance with the Muses—­ has judgment enough to know that ease and please make a Rhyme, and to count ten Syllables on her Fingers.—­This is the Stock with which she sets up for a Wit, and among some ignorant Wretches passes for such; but with People of true Understanding, nothing affords more subject of ridicule, than that incoherent Stuff which she calls Verses.—­She bribed, with all the Favours she is capable of conferring, a Bookseller [Curll] (famous for publishing soft things) to print some of her Works, ["The Amours of Clio and Strephon,” 1719] on which she is not a little vain:  tho’ she might very well have spared herself the trouble.  Few Men, of any rank whatsoever, but have been honour’d with the receipt of some of her Letters both in Prose and Measure—­few Coffee-Houses but have been the Repository of them."[15]

The student of contemporary secret history does not need to refer to the “key” to discover that the woman whose power to charm Savage was so destructive to Eliza’s peace of mind was that universal mistress of minor poets, the Mira of Thomson, the Clio of Dyer and Hill, the famous Martha Fowke, who at the time happened to have fixed the scandal of her affections upon the Volunteer Laureate.[16] That the poet’s opinion of her remained unchanged by Mrs. Haywood’s vituperation may be inferred from some lines in her praise in a satire called “The Authors of the Town,” printed soon after the publication of “Memoirs of a Certain Island."[17]

  “Clio, descending Angels sweep thy Lyre,
  Prompt thy soft Lays, and breathe Seraphic Fire. 
  Tears fall, Sighs rise, obedient to thy Strains,
  And the Blood dances in the mazy Veins!.... 
  In social Spirits, lead thy Hours along,
  Thou Life of Loveliness, thou Soul of Song!”

But not content with singing the praises of her rival, Savage cast a slur upon Mrs. Haywood’s works and even upon the unfortunate dame herself.

  “First, let me view what noxious Nonsense reigns,
  While yet I loiter on Prosaic Plains;
  If Pens impartial active Annals trace,
  Others, with secret Histr’y, Truth deface: 
  Views and Reviews, and wild Memoirs appear,
  And Slander darkens each recorded year.”