"Fate steals along with silent tread, Most dangerous when least we dread; Now, don't you believe me low spirited; few people ever had such uniformly good spirits. Did I tell you I had saved Murphy * from the general wreck? and that Mr. Watson Taylor wrote after me to beg him for £157 10s.; but I am no longer poor, and when I was, there ought surely to be some difference made between fidelity and unkindness. When B's (Burneys) were treacherous and Baretti boisterous against poor unoffending H. L. P., dear Murphy was faithful found, among the faithless faithful only he: "He, like his muse, no mean retreating made, But followed faithful to the silent shade." Equally attached to both my husbands, he lived with us till he could in a manner live no longer; and his portrait is now on the easel, with that of Mr. Thrale, coming to Bath; my mother, whom both of them adored, keeping them company. Let us, however, bid you farewell, assuring you how much I am, yours, H. L. P. To Sir James Fellowes. Bath, Tuesday, 9 July, 1816. Not yet forgotten by dear Sir James Fellowes, his old friend hastens to inform him that she does mend, slowly and heavily; but yet she feels climbing up, rather than sliding down, the hill. So Sheridan is going, and Mrs. Jordan gone, -in want both of them, though perhaps not actually of want either of them. Shocking enough! and Mary Mayhew dying; and Miss Katherine Griffith dead. Equo pede pulsat the old enemy Death: Le Pauvre en sa cabane où le chaume le couvre Est sujet à ses Loix: Et la garde qui veille à la porte du Louvre, N'en défend pas nos Rois. * Portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds, painted for the library at Streatham. The Misses here are all reading "Glenarvon,"* 66 a monstrous tale of things impossible," at least one hopes so. I have finished it at last, though not comprehended it; and can only say with King Lear: "An ounce of civet, good Apothecary, Your dear father and mother, meanwhile, are happier than the very poets could dream for them, if Miss would but get quite well, I think this world has no more to give them. You, dear Sir, must present them my truest regards, and accept every good wish from yours ever, H. L. P. I feel sorry the Parliament is broken up; for, laugh as one may, in that house does reside the united wisdom of the nation. Wisdom," says Solomon, "crieth in the streets, but no man heareth." I think in London streets the horn blowers and the flowers in blow contrive to drown his voice. To Miss Fellowes. Bath, 18 July, 1816. YOUR letter, dear Miss Fellowes, came to my hand late last night. I do not, this morning, believe this the last day of our foolish and wicked world, but I think it the worst day I ever saw at this season of the year. All are uneasy about the ruin it is causing, and though nothing impels English people into church but a famous preacher, many feel alarm at the effect this extraordinary weather will have on the hay and corn.† Meanwhile our friends here at pretty T- i would be happy but for the necessity of fires in July, and the oddity of living enveloped with cold mist, unable to enjoy their beautiful spot, or see fifty yards from it. Death still holds a court for himself here in New King Street; whence poor old Colonel Erving will be carried to Walcot in a * A novel by Lady Catherine Lamb; the two principal characters were supposed to be intended for Lord Byron and herself. On the 18th July, 1860, the weather and its apprehended consequences were the same. day or two I shook hands with him on Monday morning, and passed him in a chair, going out. On Wednesday morning, much earlier than that hour, he was a corpse; without any previous illness, except mere old age. Dr. Fellowes remembers him in America. Have you read "Glenarvon," and its key? I hope some newer fooling has taken up the Londoners' attention by now. We Bath folks are content to admire Lady Loudon and Moira's beautiful Asiatic, not having Lady H- —'s atheist to stare at;* but anything will do. But I am detaining you with questions concerning people and things by this time wholly forgotten among your folks. Distance between friends produces that certain vexation: one talks to them on worn-out subjects always, and that is the grand cause of letters being generally insipid, unless they tell of one's health; and I think yours and mine have long been absent from their owners; yours only mislaid, I hope; but lost, and of no value to those who find it, is the once very strong and active constitution of your truly faithful and obliged friend, H. L. P. To Sir James Fellowes. Bath, Monday, 22 July, 1816. Such a thunder-storm on the 18th as I have seldom seen in England. B. J——'s observed the fire ball in the street, and report soon told us the frightful effects left behind it at poor Windsor's here in James Street. You must remember to have copper, not iron, bell-wires; nothing else saved the lives of those pretty children: I live to the fields, you know, and escaped all the wonders, nor could quite believe till Mrs. Windsor shewed me her floor, burned in places, her wall pushed in, and her plate-warmer in the kitchen perforated very curiously indeed; and all this on a cold rainy day. HERE's terrifying weather indeed. Worse storms tear the atmosphere to pieces in Italy every summer evening, yet I never but once heard of any life lost or endan *The late Mr. Allen, who lived with Lord and Lady Holland as a member of the family, was called Lady Holland's pet atheist. gered; but then they have no newspapers, so much may happen without one's hearing of it. Miss Ws showed me a letter from Lady e that says, M- M- -w is getting quite well by taking the juice of red nettles!! I never heard of red nettles before; and make no doubt but a few pebble-stones boyled in milk would be just as efficacious. But Hope is drawn with an anchor always, and common sense is never strong enough to weigh it up. The mischief is, we seldom drop or cast it in the proper harbor; it would then keep steady, and deserve the name the Romans gave it, anchora sacra. I shall probably not live to see you in the happy character of father; but remember my words, or rather those of old Archbishop Leighton; when speaking of education, he said, "Fill you the bushel with good wheat yourself; because then fools and foes will have less room to cram in chaff." Nothing better has ever been said upon the subject. Adieu ! you well know how to get more such stuff when you wish it, from dear Sir, your old and faithful friend, To Sir James Fellowes. H. L. P. Bath, Wednesday, 18 September, 1816. The best scraps I could pick up, you will read over leaf. They were written in imitation of the Greek verses by Metrodorus, or Posidippus (which was it?) for "Life against Life." I read them long ago, translated in the "Adventurer;" but cannot recollect what number they are in, besides that I sess not the book. FOR LONDON. Can we through London streets be led Whilst charity her arm extends, pos Musick prolongs our festive nights, AGAINST LONDON. Can London streets by man be trod Where nobles, whelmed in shame or debt, After a good dose of London, and then Awill read these verses con amore. -y, I think you F F We and I THE promptness with which I answer dear Sir J— is the surest proof of my rejoicing in his letters. had a delightful day at F, where Mr. Hhad no little talk upon the subject you recommended to my consideration, and which is surely now the most interesting of all subjects. My private opinion is, that the person who leads the Hebrews on, against their old oppressor, the Sultan, is one of the false, the Pseudo-Christs, against whom our Lord warns his disciples; first, in the 24th chapter of St. Matthew, 4th and 5th verses; then in the same chapter 23d and 24th verses. The first of these impostors arose very soon after Christ's Ascension, Barchochebas by name, and he vomited fire, and led astray multitudes. Dositheus was another; I think "Retrospection" mentions one or |