From 1860 to 1874 Borrow lived at Brompton, and perhaps because he wrote few letters these years seem to have been more cheerful, except at the time of his wife's death. He is seen at "The Star and Garter" in 1861 entertaining Murray and two others at dinner, in a heavy and expensive style. He is still an uncomfortable, unattractive figure in a drawing- room, especially with accurate and intelligent ladies, like Miss Frances Power Cobbe, who would not humour his inaccurate dictatorship. Miss Cobbe was his neighbour in Hereford Square. She says that if he was not a Gypsy by blood he ought to have been one; she "never liked him, thinking him more or less of a hypocrite," but nevertheless invited him to her house and tried to console him in his bereavement by a gentle tact which was not tact in Borrow's case: "Poor old Borrow is in a sad state. I hope he is starting in a day or two for Scotland. I sent C--- with a note begging him to come and eat the Welsh mutton you sent me to-day, and he sent back word, 'Yes.' Then, an hour afterwards, he arrived, and in a most agitated manner said he had come to say 'he would rather not. He would not trouble anyone with his sorrows.' I made him sit down, and talked to him as gently as possible, saying: 'It won't be a trouble, Mr. Borrow, it will be a pleasure to me.' But it was all of no use. He was so cross, so _rude_, I had the greatest difficulty in talking to him. I asked him would he look at the photos of the Siamese, and he said: 'Don't show them to me!' So, in despair, as he sat silent, I told him I had been at a pleasant dinner-party the night before, and had met Mr. L---, who told me of certain curious books of mediaeval history. 'Did he know them?' 'No, and he _dared say_ Mr. L--- did not, either! Who was Mr. L---?' I described that _obscure_ individual (one of the foremost writers of the day), and added that he was immensely liked by everybody. Whereupon Borrow repeated at least twelve times, 'Immensely liked! As if a man could be immensely liked!' quite insultingly. To make a diversion (I was very patient with him as he was in trouble) I said I had just come home from the Lyell's and had heard . . . But there was no time to say what I had heard! Mr. Borrow asked: 'Is that old Lyle I met here once, the man who stands at the door (of some den or other) and _bets_?' I explained who Sir Charles was (of course he knew very well), but he went on and on, till I said gravely: 'I don't think you meet those sort of people here, Mr. Borrow--we don't associate with Blacklegs, exactly.'" A cantankerous man, and as little fitted for Miss Cobbe as Miss Cobbe for him. {picture: Francis Power Cobbe. (Reproduced by kind permission of Messrs. Miller, Taylor and Holmes.): page313.jpg}