Note 56b — JOURNAL TO STELLA (continued 2)

Steele’s “dear Prue,” Mary Scurlock, whom he married as his second wife in 1707, was a lady of property and a “cried-up beauty.” She was somewhat of a prude, and did not hesitate to complain to her husband, in and out of season, of his extravagance and other weaknesses. The other lady to whom Swift alludes is probably the Duchess of Marlborough.