A similar sentiment was expressed by a
Mrs Cornish of
Eton, apparently (about whom I can find nothing but that she was a generation earlier than the novelist
A.C. Benson, 1862-1925). When under the
stresses of life she is reported to have drawn herself up to her full height and
consoled herself with the reflection that
I am an Englishwoman;
I was born in wedlock;
I am on dry land.
Source for the name of Mrs Cornish: http://www.johnsandoe.com/review_2161.htm. I have known the expression for a long time, but this is the only reference to it I can find on the Web.