Authors, American -- 19th century -- Biography; Feminists -- United States -- Biography; Howe, Julia Ward, 1819-1910
So much and no more of the conversation Dr. Howe repeated to me. We soon
heard that Miss Florence was devoting herself to the study of her
predilection; and when, years after this time, the Crimean war broke
out, we were among the few who were not astonished at the undertaking
which made her name world famous.
Just before our final embarkation for America, we passed a few days with
the same friends at Lea Hurst, a pretty country seat near Malvern. There
we met the well-known historian, Henry Hallam, celebrated also as the
father of Tennyson's lamented Arthur. "Martin Chuzzlewit" had recently
appeared, and I remember that Mr. Hallam read aloud with much amusement
the famous transcendental episode beginning, "To be introduced to a
Pogram by a Hominy." Mr. Hallam asked me whether talk of this sort was
ever heard in transcendental circles in America. I was obliged to
confess that the caricature was not altogether without foundation.
Soon after reaching London for the second time, we were invited to visit
Dr. and Mrs. Fowler at Salisbury. The doctor was much interested in
anthropology and kindred topics, and my husband found in him a congenial
friend. The house was a modest one, but the housekeeping was generous
and tasteful. As Salisbury was a cathedral town, the prominent people of
the place naturally belonged to the Anglican Church. At the Fowlers'
hospitable board we met the bishop, the dean, the rector, and the
curate.
I attended several services in the beautiful cathedral, and enjoyed very
much a visit to Stonehenge, which we made in company with our hosts, in
a carriage drawn by two small mules. I inquired why they used mules in
preference to horses, and was told that it was to avoid the tax imposed
upon the latter. Stonehenge was in the district of Old Sarum, once a
rotten borough, as certain places in England were termed which, with
little or no population, had yet the right to be represented in
Parliament. Dr. Fowler was familiar with the ancient history of the
place, which, as we saw it, contained nothing but an area of desolate
sand. The wonderful Druidical stones of Stonehenge commanded our
attention. They are too well known to need description. Our host could
throw no light upon their history, which belongs, one must suppose, with
that of kindred constructions in Brittany.
Bishop Denison, at the time of our visit, was still saddened by the loss
of a beloved wife. He invited us to a dinner at which his sister, Miss
Denison, presided. The dean and his wife were present, the Fowlers, and
one or two other guests. To my surprise, the bishop gave me his arm and
conducted me to the table, where he seated me on his right. Mrs. Fowler
afterwards remarked to me, "How charming it was of the bishop to take
you in to dinner. As an American you have no rank, and are therefore
exempt from all questions of precedence."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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