Lot Essay
Mary Bellenden was the third daughter of John Bellenden, 2nd Lord Bellenden (c.1660-1706), and Mary, Dowager Countess of Dalhousie (c.1669-1726). Famed for her beauty and high spirits, she featured in a number of poems and plays by Alexander Pope and John Gay, including Gay's 'Damon and Cupid' and 'Mr Pope's Welcome from Greece', and Pope's 'The Court Ballad'. Lord Hervey recalls Bellenden as 'the most likable woman of her time'. The Prince of Wales attempted to woo her, before she secretly married Colonel John Campbell of Mamore (c.1693-1770) in 1720.