#Charles Muller

[random-brushstrokes]

Charles Muller (French, 1815 - 1892) - The Chemist

[oldpaintings]

Charles-Louis-Lucien Müller (French, 1815--1892)

[diioonysus]

women + portraits

[gay-aunt-jackie]

my head if they made inside out

[john-laurens]

Francis Kinloch & Miss Stephens

I've long been curious about a "Miss Stephens" mentioned in the September 30, 1776 letter from John Laurens to Francis Kinloch:

You seem to be in such high spirits at [Wr]iting the name of fair Miss Stephens, that I have a notion there is a Liaison de Coeur in question, if so I congratulate you both with all my Heart, I have not seen her a great while but shall see her with more pleasure than ever if she is to be yours_ … As the fair Lady abovementioned is advised to go to Italy for her Health, you will probably leave Genevé sooner than you intended; in case this does not arrive in time for your perusal at Genthod, I have directed Mr Hammond to find out your Address, and forw[ard] it to you_ present my best Respects to our Country woman and believe me yours. JL.

From this brief section, we can gather a few pieces of information about the mysterious Miss Stephens:

She was American and potentially from South Carolina ("our Country woman"). At this time, each of the American colonies were often thought of and acted more like individual countries rather than a unified group of states, so it's possible that Laurens meant that Miss Stephens was from Laurens and Kinloch's shared home colony of South Carolina.

She knew both Kinloch and Laurens (whether she met them in America or Europe is impossible to say).

She had some sort of health issue that seems to have prompted her (and Kinloch's) trip to Italy.

The relationship between her and Kinloch was so serious/passionate that Laurens was under the impression that the two would be married.

Of the surviving Kinloch-related letters from this time period, this is the only mention of Miss Stephens by name. I've searched through The Papers of Henry Laurens for any mention of a woman with the last name of Stephens/Stevens, but I haven't found anything substantial. I did learn that John Stevens, the deputy postmaster of Charleston, had a daughter named Eunice, but she was married to William Brisbane in 1768.

Interestingly, there is no surviving mention of Miss Stephens in the Johannes von Müller letters that discuss Kinloch's impending Italy trip. Müller implies that he was also planning on traveling with Kinloch to Italy, had circumstances allowed it:

I must ask you for advice. You know my destination for the summer. Next winter, either Italy or, without a doubt, Genthod. - Johannes von Müller to Karl Victor von Bonstetten, 1776 My friend K is going to Italy. It is difficult; but the North American war and my work, which would be too disrupted, prevent me from accompanying him. - Johannes von Müller to his father, October 10, 1776

Müller does make reference to a matter that delayed Kinloch's travels - this delay may have been due to uncertainties around finances and the recently started American Revolutionary War:

Letters from England have convinced Mr Kinloch to move his planned journey forward to the autumn. - Johannes von Müller to his brother, June 1776

Müller later makes a reference to Kinloch leaving in the fall, which aligns more with the Laurens-Kinloch letter:

Kinloch is leaving, when? I do not know, but certainly before the 10th October, for three days to Iverdun; I am not going with him. - Johannes von Müller to Karl Victor von Bonstetten, September 18, 1776

Even in these various mentions of Kinloch's Italy trip, there is no mention of the possibility of Kinloch meeting up with a woman or even rearranging his departure due to the health of a woman. I have wondered if this could be a sort of avoidant behavior on Müller's part. Müller seems to have experienced same-sex attraction, as made particularly clear by a fake love letter scandal (a former student put on a fake male identity and exchanged passionate letters with Müller in an attempt to defraud him). Müller also clearly expressed a deep love for Kinloch, so it's possible that Müller was jealous of or saddened by the possibility of Kinloch seriously courting a woman. Interestingly, there are a couple likely mentions of Miss Stephens in some letters from Kinloch to Müller, written after Kinloch's trip to Italy:

Mon americaine, as you are pleased to style the Lady I saw at Florence, n'est point de tout mon fait_ She "altius tendit," now whenever I marry, it w[ill] be some Woman who thinks She could not possibly have done better_ besides I know a poor man who is desperately in love with the Lady in question_ - Francis Kinloch to Johannes von Müller, May 16, 1777 If ever I marry any Woman, this will be my choice; for as to the Americaine I saw at Florence, il n’en est pas question_ - Francis Kinloch to Johannes von Müller, May 30, 1777

Here are English translations of the French and Latin (French translations provided by @my-deer-friend):

My American, as you are pleased to style the Lady I saw at Florence, it is not of my doing_ She "aims higher," now whenever I marry, it w[ill] be some Woman who thinks She could not possibly have done better_ besides I know a poor man who is desperately in love with the Lady in question_ - Francis Kinloch to Johannes von Müller, May 16, 1777 If ever I marry any Woman, this will be my choice; for as to the American I saw at Florence, there's no question of it_ - Francis Kinloch to Johannes von Müller, May 30, 1777

Presumably, this woman is Miss Stephens, as she is American and met up with Kinloch in Italy (both of these points were noted in the Laurens-Kinloch letter). This presents a very different picture of the Stephens-Kinloch relationship than the one presented in the Laurens-Kinloch letter. Kinloch traveled to various cities across Italy during his trip, and he seems to have only briefly met with Miss Stephens in Florence. It does not appear here that he made the trip to Italy with a large focus on Miss Stephens or her health, as Laurens's letter suggested. Additionally, there is finally an acknowledgement of Miss Stephens by Müller - and he seems to have perhaps encouraged Kinloch's relationship with Miss Stephens (or teased him about it). In the May 16, 1777 letter, Kinloch writes that the "Mon americaine" nickname given to Miss Stephens was not his idea but rather Müller's. Perhaps Müller had met her in Geneva prior to her move to Italy. And most importantly, we finally have an answer as to why Kinloch never married the Miss Stephens he was supposedly courting - she rejected him! Kinloch was apparently a little bitter about it. He quickly deflects by making a reference to his family's motto (altius tendo - aim higher) and is in disbelief that Miss Stephens could find a better partner than him. He also notes that there is some other "poor man" who loves Miss Stephens and may marry her - clearly he sees this man as a step down from himself. My opinion? Miss Stephens 1000% could have done better than Kinloch and was right to reject him. Way to dodge that bullet, girl. I hope you lived a happy, fulfilling life without him. Me in 2024 reading about Kinloch getting rejected ~250 years ago:

While we may never know much more about the mysterious Miss Stephens, it was great to finally get some closure about her relationship (or lack thereof) with Kinloch. Thanks to @my-deer-friend for help with the German and French translations!

[constanzarte]

Odalisque, Charles Louis Müller

[vassalor]

Friend: I dare you for another fanfic!

Me: * counting the ones whom already started* yes?

Friend: Resident evil otome game version.

Me: which part?

Friend: All.

Me:

[camillasgirl]

King Charles III and Queen Camilla visit the M and S Bank Arena, the host venue of this year's Eurovision Song Contest, to reveal this year's staging and tour the arena, meeting the creative team, presenters, and this year's UK contestant, Mae Muller. Their Majesties also meet the presenters of the TV show 'Blue Peter', Liverpool, 26.04.2023

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Herta Müller. L.M. Montgomery. Charles Perrault. Milan Kundera. Jack London. Betty Smith. Erich Maria Remarque. Jean de La Fontaine. Günter Wilhelm Grass. François de La Rochefoucauld. Wisława Szymborska. Elfriede Jelinek.

[portraituresque]

Charles Louis Lucien Muller - Self Portrait

[huariqueje]

Montmartre, rue Muller    -    Charles Malle 

French, b.  1935  -

Oil on canvas ,    65 x 81 cm.      25.6 x 31.9 in

[therunwayarchive]

Soren Muller for Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, Fall 2022

[biblioklept]

Riff on some books I'm reading, have read, and should really review

Hurricane Milton passed far enough south last night to leave our city relatively untroubled. There were power outages here but not the expected flooding. Most of my anxiety was focused on my family in the Tampa Bay area, all of whom are safe; we’re just not sure about the material conditions of the things they left behind. Milton seemed to suck the summer air out of Northeast Florida; when I got…

[secretary-ian]

day 6-7: golden-drip

this is a funny crossover thing lol

[eurovision-facts]

Eurovision Fact #358:

Yesterday, April 26th, King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla took part in a ceremony to unveil the Liverpool stage to the public.

After the unveiling, the pair toured the facility and spoke with many of the people who help to make Eurovision possible such as set, sound, and lighting designers. They also met some of the event's hosts and UK representative Mae Muller.

[Source]

'King Charles and the Queen Consort unveil the Liverpool 2023 stage,' Eurovision.tv.

[john-laurens]

Francis Kinloch, the scion and heir of a leading Carolina family, was like many of his class sent to England for his schooling. After Eton he went to Geneva for further education. There he found a small group of young Charleston aristocrats. He also formed intense friendships with the deist philosopher Claude Bonnet and especially with his tutor, the historian Johannes von Müller. After leaving Geneva, Kinloch wrote frequent, affectionate, frank, and discursive letters to Müller all his life, and it is from these letters that we know most about his own views and tastes. Clever and cosmopolitan and something of a dilettante, Kinloch found himself in London during the early years of the Revolutionary War. Though he was heir to a substantial estate at home, he could get only limited funds from his London merchant, so he tried hard to get an appointment from Lord North. He moved in London partly in a society of American exiles and had connections on both sides of the struggle. He also enjoyed fully the gaieties of the city. "I have been rather unchaste since my arrival. I am however very prudent, & can I think ensure Noses to my posterity. …"

From The Enlightenment in America by Henry F. May

My immediate inclination had been to interpret "Noses" in the euphemistic way, but substituting "penises" into the sentence really doesn't make much sense. The best interpretation that I could come up with is that Kinloch was literally referring to noses - particularly to the fact that that syphilis could destroy the cartilage of the nose. He was likely being careful about the number or type of sexual partners he had so that he could avoid contracting or spreading the disease.

This quotation also gives a little bit more info on the Kinloch-Lord North situation. I have more to discuss about that based on some findings from a Johannes von Müller biography - it will be in another post.