Laetitia Pilkington  Laetitia Pilkington (born Laetitia van Lewen; "c." 1709 – 29 July 1750) was a celebrated Anglo-Irish poet. Her "Memoirs" are the source of much of what is known of the personalities and habits of Jonathan Swift and others. Laetitia was born of two distinguished families. Her father was a physician and obstetrician, eventually the president of the College of Physicians for Ireland, and her mother was the niece of Sir John Meade. She was born either in Cork, where her parents lived at their marriage, or Dublin, where they moved by 1711. While still in her teens she married Matthew Pilkington in 1725, a rising priest in the Church of Ireland, who bought to the marriage all of his worldly processions, a harpsichord, a cat and a owl. The couple were introduced to Jonathan Swift at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin in 1725. Swift enjoyed their company immensely, and he sought to benefit them in 1730 with the monies from a "Miscellany" of Irish wit that was never published. At that point, Swift already noted the literary skill of both Pilkingtons, calling them "a little young poetical parson, who has a littler young poetical wife" (Elias 322). Swift continued to try to help the Pilkingtons, and he got Matthew a position as chaplain to the Lord Mayor of London for 1732–1733. The assignment to London was a turning point for the couple. When Laetitia visited in 1733, she found her husband had become involved in numerous political schemes, been neglecting his clerical duties and also been enjoying the pleasures of the West End. He also claimed to be in love with a Drury Lane Theatre actress, a Mrs Heron. Eager to relieve himself of the burden of a wife, Matthew attempted to lure her in adultery by introducing her to James Worsdale, a painter and rake. Matthew organised a weekend visit to Windsor for his wife and Worsdale. Laetitia spent the carriage ride there fighting off Worsdale's hands and ended up barricading herself in her hotel room before after a morning sightseeing the next day she made it back to London with her honour intact. Her correspondence shows that she was introduced to the Grub Street hacks who made up the political and fashionable journalistic literary world, and she noted that Worsdale employed a number of worthy wits to furnish him with poetry that he could claim, including Henry Carey.