She had an ironic wit which gave point to the many society scandals she narrated, a happy knack of gossip, and a style so easy as to make reading a pleasure.
Some of the incidents which Lady Mary retails with so much humour may be accepted as not outraging the conventions of the early eighteenth century when it was customary to call a spade a spade; when gallantry was gallantry indeed, and the pursuit of it openly conducted.

What is not mentioned by those who have written about her is that she was possessed of a particularly unsavoury strain of impropriety which outraged even the canons of her age.

Some twenty years after her death, it was mentioned in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ that Dr.Young, the author of _Night Thoughts_, had a little before his death destroyed a great number of her letters, assigning as a reason of his doing so that they were too indecent for public inspection.

Only the other day I had confirmation of this from a distinguished man of letters who wrote to me: "I have somewhere hidden away a copy of a letter by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, which was sent to me by a well-known collector about thirty-five years ago, because he couldn't destroy it and wouldn't for worlds be found dead with it in his possession--so terrific is it in character.

I'll tell you about it some day when we meet: I can't write it.