[79] the difference between England and America were startling; one moment she exclaimed, how like England! and the very next, how unlike! She compendiously said that England had further advanced in civilization. I would repeat this, if I did not fear being misunderstood. The true pride of America is in her middle and poorer classes,—in their general health and happiness, and freedom from poverty; in their facilities for being educated, and in the opportunities open to them of rising in the scale. Charles Buller was best pleased with all below the ‘silk-stocking classes.’ Seeing what I have in England, I am not surprised at this. I fear that I have been repeating what I have already written you. But you must pardon any such inadvertencies; for I write at snatches of time, and hardly remember what I have sent you before.1
To Lord Morpeth.
Sunday evening, March 10, 1839.my dear Morpeth,—I have just received an invitation from Lord Holland2 to dine with him on Wednesday next, and have accepted it. This added kindness I owe to you, I doubt not. Lord Holland's is the only house in England where I have not been, and where I have had a desire to go. I parted with so many people yesterday who have been kind to me that I am quite sad. I seem to be quitting home and country a second time. You I have left with feelings of sincere regret; and believe me that I cherish for you an attachment which will make me ever observe your career with the interest of the strongest personal friendship. But I will say no more upon this. As ever, your sincere friend,
To George S. Hillard.
Wednesday, March 13.3 You would hardly suppose that, after what I had written, I should be again induced to venture out; but I could not resist an invitation from Lord Holland. I have just come from dining with him. There was a very pleasant party,—Rogers, Macaulay, Hallam, Milnes, Allen, Colonel Gurwood4 (the editor of ‘Wellington's Despatches’), Sir Henry Ellis,5 Lord Aberdeen, Lord Hatherton, and Lord Seaford. During a long evening a variety
This text is part of:
1 For continuation of letter on March 13, see below.
2 Henry Richard Vassall Fox, 1773-1840, third Lord Holland, the nephew of Charles James Fox, was a Liberal statesman, a friend of scholars, and a kindly host. See sketch in Brougham's ‘Autobiography,’ Vol. III. p. 298. There is a reference to Lady Holland's career in ‘Life of Lord Denman,’ Vol. II. p. 119. Macaulay, a welcome and frequent guest at Holland House, commemorated its hospitality in the ‘Edinburgh Review,’ July, 1841.
3 Continuation of previous letter, ante, Vol. II. p. 66.
4 Colonel John Gurwood, 1791-1845; private secretary to the Duke of Wellington.
5 1777-1869; Librarian of the British Museum.
Cambridge, MA. Press of John Wilson and Son. 1877.
Tufts University provided support for entering this text.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.