Julia Ward Howe, 1819-1910Richards, Laura Elizabeth Howe
History
Julia Ward Howe, 1819-1910
Richards, Laura Elizabeth Howe
Authors, American -- 19th century -- Biography; Feminists -- United States -- Biography; Howe, Julia Ward, 1819-1910
The end of July found the party once more in England. The following
letter tells of the unlucky visit to Wordsworth which our mother (after
forty-six years) describes from memory in her "Reminiscences" in
slightly different terms.
_To her sister Louisa_
July 29.
... I am very glad to be out of Ireland and Scotland, where we had
incessant rains--even the beautiful Loch Katrine would not show herself
to us in sunshine. We crossed in an open boat, and had a pony ride of
five miles, all in as abominable a drizzle as you would wish to see. The
Cumberland Lakes, among which we sought the shrine of Wordsworth, were
almost as unaccommodating--in driving to Windermere we got wetted to the
skin, and dashed down the steep mountain road in a thick mist, with a
pair of horses, so unruly that I supposed the miseries of wet garments
would soon be cancelled by that of a broken neck. I prayed to Saint
Crispin, Saint Nicholas, and the three kings of Köln, and got through
the danger--in the evening we visited Wordsworth, a crabbed old sinner,
who gave us a very indifferent muffin, and talked repudiation with Chev.
As he had just lost a great deal of money by Mississippi bonds, you may
imagine that he felt particularly disposed to be cordial to
Americans--and not knowing, probably, that New York is not in the heart
of Louisiana, he was inclined no doubt to cast part of the odium upon
us. Accordingly Mrs. Wordsworth and her daughter sat at one end of the
room, Annie and I at the other. Incensed at this unusual neglect, I made
several interjections in a low tone for Annie's benefit (my husband
allows me to swear once a week)--at length, good Townsend-on-Mesmerism
came to my relief, and kindly talked with me for an hour or more--he is
a charming person, and rides other people's horses as well as his own
hobby. He dislikes England, and lives principally in Germany. Kind
Heaven, at the termination of the evening, sent me an opportunity of
imparting a small portion of the internal pepper and mustard which had
been ripening in my heart during the whole evening. The mother and
daughter beginning to whine to me about their losses, I told them that
where one Englishman had suffered, twenty Americans were perhaps ruined.
They replied, it was hard they should suffer for the misfortunes of
another country. "And why," quoth I, "must you needs speculate in
foreign stocks? Why did you not keep your money at home? It was safe
enough in England--you knew there was risk in investing it so far from
you--if we should speculate in yours, we should no doubt be ruined
also." This explosion, from my meek self, took the company somewhat by
surprise--they held their tongues, and we departed....
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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