Sunny Memories Of Foreign Lands, Volume 1Stowe, Harriet Beecher
History
Sunny Memories Of Foreign Lands, Volume 1
Stowe, Harriet Beecher
Europe -- Description and travel
This morning Mrs. Follen called, and we had quite a long chat together.
We are separated by the whole city. She lives at West End, while I am
down here in Walworth, which is one of the postscripts of London; for
London has as many postscripts as a lady's letter--little suburban
villages which have been overtaken by the growth, of the city, and
embraced in its arms. I like them a great deal better than the city, for
my part.
Here now, for instance, at Walworth, I can look out at a window and see
a nice green meadow with sheep and lambs feeding in it, which is some
relief in this smutty old place. London is as smutty as Pittsburg or
Wheeling. It takes a good hour's steady riding to get from here to West
End; so that my American friends, of the newspapers, who are afraid I
shall be corrupted by aristocratic associations, will see that I am at
safe distance.
This evening we are appointed to dine with the Earl of Carlisle. There
is to be no company but his own family circle, for he, with great
consideration, said in his note that he thought a little quiet would be
the best thing he could offer. Lord Carlisle is a great friend to
America; and so is his sister, the Duchess of Sutherland. He is the only
English traveller who ever wrote notes on our country in a real spirit
of appreciation. While the Halls, and Trollopes, and all the rest could
see nothing but our breaking eggs on the wrong end, or such matters, he
discerned and interpreted those points wherein lies the real strength of
our growing country. His notes on America were not very extended, being
only sketches delivered as a lyceum lecture some years after his return.
It was the spirit and quality, rather than quantity, of the thing that
was noticeable.
I observe that American newspapers are sneering about his preface to
Uncle Tom's Cabin; but they ought at least to remember that his
sentiments with regard to slavery are no sudden freak. In the first
place, he comes of a family that has always been on the side of liberal
and progressive principles. He himself has been a leader of reforms on
the popular side. It was a temporary defeat, when run as an
anti-corn-law candidate, which gave him leisure to travel in America.
Afterwards he had the satisfaction to be triumphantly returned for that
district, and to see the measure he had advocated fully successful.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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