I was soon convinced that I saw also his
wife and another little son,--and all this proved true. It was
charming to watch the group. Mrs. Tennyson had a sweet face, and the
very sweetest smile I ever saw; and when she spoke to her husband or
listened to him, her face showered a tender, happy rain of light. She
was graceful, too, and gentle, but at the same time had a slightly
peasant air. . . . The children were very pretty and picturesque, and
Tennyson seemed to love them immensely. He devoted himself to them,
and was absorbed in their interest. In him is a careless ease and a
noble air which show him of the gentle blood he is. He is the most
romantic-looking person. His complexion is _brun_, and he looks in ill
health and has a hollow line in his cheeks. . . . Allingham, another
English poet, told Mr. Hawthorne that his wife was an admirable one
for him,--wise, tender, and of perfect temper; and she looks all this;
and there is a kind of adoration in her expression when she addresses
him. If he is moody and ill, I am sure she must be a blessed solace
to him. When he moved to go, we also moved, and followed him and his
family faithfully. By this means we saw him stop at his own
photograph, to show it to his wife and children; and then I heard them
exclaim in sweet voices, "That is papa!" Passing a table where
catalogues were sold, . . . his youngest son stopped with the maid to
buy one, while Tennyson and his wife went on and downstairs. So then I
seized the youngest darling with gold hair, and kissed him to my
heart's content; and he smiled and seemed well pleased.
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