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4 February 1882 — 3 Savile Row | |
Saturday. 4th February [1882]. In the morng Mr Burton came to see my knee & prescribed a plaister for it which I was not to put on till Tuesday. Monty returned home for good for the Parliamentary session. At 3 o’cl Henry & I drove out. We went to see his aunt Mrs Austen whom we found wonderfully well & she seemed to know us. Seeing her so well Henry wrote down several to him interesting questions to see if she remembered about Disraeli’s writing Vivien Gray & she did remember it. He asked her if she wrote it herself at wh she said Oh no! when he had written a bit of it he used to bring it to read over to me & I used to suggest a word here & there if I thought it wd be better to change it. Henry then asked her if she had not been in the secret as to who wrote “Tremaine” at which she nodded smiled & said—Yes & I helped P. Ward more than I did Disraeli—& turning to me “What a memory he has! but he did not require me to help him with his book he was clever ano’ to write his himself.” Henry next wrote down to ask her if she knew my name– She said she had forgotten & begged him write it. When he had done so she said “Enid oh of course,” now write your own name down under it.” When she read Austen Henry L. she turned to me—pointed to the first name—a pained look came over her face & she asked me if that was true– Her memory had lost the thread & the intelligent gleam faded away. It was sad to see. We took leave of her & went our ways. Henry walked & I went to call on Lady Eastlake who was not well eno’ to see me—then to see my mother who was in, to Blanche’s & Susan Hambro’s & not finding them went home. Mr Wylde & Arthur Burr came in at T time. We had Jerry up to see Mr Wylde who has experience in the matter of slave trade & he says that Jerry must have come from somewhere in the interior of Africa & not from Madagascar as he says– The fog came on again this evening but was not so very dense & we found our way to Audley Square to dine with the Arthur Russells. We met Mr Chenery (Editor of the Times) a short stout little man with thick eyebrows & bleary eyes. Mr & Mrs Thomson Hankey & Mr & Mrs Jeune. Miss Mary Gladstone was expected but did not turn up & by the end of the eveng Lady Arthur got a telegram to say the density of the fog in Downing St had prevented her leaving home. Lord Arthur took me to dinner & I sat next to Mr Thomson Hankey. We had a pleasant dinner. Lord Arthur asked me if I had heard that the Govt was supposed to have sent Mr Goschen on a political mission to Berlin but that it was not likely that Ld Ampthill wd be thus superceded—& Mr Goschen had only gone to see his family in Germany. He spoke very highly of Mr Goschen & said he thought he had a future before him & that before long the country would want rest under a moderate Liberal Govt & would look to him. He said that when the present Govt had got thro’ all the difficult questions that were now uppermost there would be a moment of quiet & calm– I was surprised at his admitting so much as I know him to be a rabid Gladstonian. Some one set talking of old habits & old costumes. Lord Arthur said he had heard his mother say she had gone to Court in the days when hoops were still part of Court dress & she had to go in her carriage while her husband went in another—there being only room for a lady & her hoop in a carriage. Mr Thomson Hankey said he remembered hoops being worn & that they continued part of English Court dress till 1820. We got home tonight without any difficulty the fog being much less. | |
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