'Being,' he entered upon the tale, 'once introduced to Carlyle's company,
I think by Sir Richard Owen, it was my delight, during any spell in
London, to visit him at Chelsea. Perhaps, as the matter has been long
under review, I may remark that, to an outsider, no want of harmony was
apparent, in the relations between Carlyle and his wife. You were not
conscious of any element of that description; assuredly I was not, and I
prefer to cling to that impression. Carlyle would sit at the right side
of the fire, through an evening, I on his left, and we would talk on all
manner of topics. I should most accurately describe our talk by saying
that we philosophised. Or, we might read a little; he was a loving
reader.
'Carlyle believed, with truth, that I had been influenced by his
teachings, and if only for that reason he may have been rather fond of
me. We lift our hats, to ourselves, as reflected in somebody else. I had
a regard for him as a man, I gladly looked up to him, though that did not
block out differences of opinion; and altogether we got on admirably.
During one of those fireside talks, he detailed to me an incident, which
quite hurt his feelings.
'He had a horse then, and was in the habit of riding out for exercise,
almost every afternoon.
Pages:
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58