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[94]
He asked what I had seen in London so far. I replied that I had recently visited the House of Lords, whereupon he remarked:—
‘Mrs. Howe, your English is excellent.
I have only heard you make one mispronunciation.
You have just said “House of Lords.”
We say “House of Lards.”
’ Some one near by said, ‘Oh, yes!
the house is always addressed as “ my luds and gentlemen.”
’
When I repeated this to Horace Mann, it so vexed his gentle spirit as to cause him to exclaim, ‘House of Lords?
You ought to have said “House of Devils.”
’
I have made several visits in London since that time, one quite recently, and I have observed that people now speak of receptions, and not of routs.
I think, also, that the pronunciation insisted upon by Sydney Smith has become a thing of the past
I think that Mrs. Sydney Smith must have called or have left a card at our lodgings, for I distinctly remember a morning call which I made at her house.
The great wit was at home on this occasion, as was also his only surviving son. An elder son had been born to him, who probably inherited something of his character and ability, and whose death he laments in one or more of his published letters.
The young man whom I saw at this time was spoken of as much devoted to
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