Edward L. Pierce, Memoir and letters of Charles Sumner: volume 1

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Chapter 13: England.—June, 1838, to March, 1839.—Age, 27-28.

Sumner arrived in London on the evening of May 31, and remained in England nearly ten months. He came by the way of the Thames, and was a guest temporarily at the Tavistock Inn,¹ Covent Garden. He soon took permanent lodgings at 2 Vigo Street, near Charing Cross and the Strand, and within ten minutes walk of Westminster Hall and the Abbey. Leaving cards with Earl Fitzwilliam, John Stuart Wortley, and Mr. Justice Vaughan, he soon found himself embarrassed by conflicting invitations, and his time taken up by society. He was admitted as a foreign visitor,—a qualified membership,—to four clubs;² the Garrick, Alfred, Travellers', and Athenaeum. He was present in court dress at the coronation of Queen Victoria in the Abbey, receiving the courtesy of two tickets,—one from Lord Lansdowne, and the other from Sir Charles Vaughan. He attended the sessions of the courts and the debates in Parliament, reserving till the London season was over the remarkable sights,—the Tower, Tunnel, British Museum, and Abbey. He sat on the bench at Westminster Hall, and dined with the judges at the Old Bailey, where he spoke at the call of the Lord Mayor. Following the plan of his journey, he observed with the keenest interest ‘men, society, courts, and parliament.’

Having been invited to many country-seats, he was well provided with facilities for visiting different parts of England, as also of Scotland and Ireland. He left London, July 24, to