George Ticknor, Life, letters and journals of George Ticknor
George Hillard, Ed.

[368] Continent than they do here. Mignet spoke to me of you nearly every time I saw him, and he knows the value of your labors, for he has himself been employed several years on a history of the sixteenth century, which he evidently intends should be his opus magnum. And a great work it will be if he finishes it in a manner becoming so great a subject; but he gives no sign as to the time when it will be ready for the press, and his health is not strong, especially since the death of his mother last winter, which I hear had a very painful effect upon him. But I am at the end of my paper . . . Yours always,

G. T.

To Mrs. Ticknor.

London, July 13, 1857.

I worked at the British Museum till four o'clock, and had some talk there with Stirling, who comes there almost every day to work for his history of Don John of Austria. But the chief event of the morning for me was a long visit I made, by his invitation, to old Lord Aberdeen; and a very interesting talk I had with him about the politics of Europe and, to some extent, of the United States. I have talked with no man in England who seems to be, on such great matters, so able and wise as he is, or so calm and moderate. . . . .

In the afternoon Henry Taylor came and made me a long visit. He is only in town for the day, passing from Worcestershire to St. Leonard's, where he is to spend the next two months. He is grown quite gray, but otherwise is little changed. He was surprised to find Ellen a kinswoman of ours; and when I told him she was a niece of whom I have always been very fond, he answered instantly, ‘How could you help it? everybody is fond of her.’ This, indeed, is certainly the feeling of a very large, high, and intellectual society, which claims her as one of its ornaments. Godley, who knows a great many people of the best sort in the upper classes, told me the other day that he had never heard a word of anything but praise and love of her, since she had been here. One person, however, he added, objected to her, that she was ‘an admitted paragon, and that paragons were not to his taste.’

At half past 10 in the evening—nobody goes to a party earlier— we went to Lady Wensleydale's, she and Lord Wensleydale being among Ellen's great admirers. A good many people were there, but not a crowd. I talked chiefly with Milnes, Lord Belhaven,—a Scotch Lord,—and the Lord Chancellor and his wife, Lady Cranworth; the