All the world has been, as I suppose you have read, crazy about Jenny Lind.... Spedding's cool blood was moved to hire stalls several times at an advanced rate.... I have never yet heard the famous Jenny Lind, whom all the world raves about. Spedding is especially mad about her, I understand: and, after that, is it not best for weaker vessels to keep out of her way? Night after night is that bald head seen in one particular position in the Opera house, in a stall; the miserable man has forgot Bacon and philosophy, and goes after strange women. His health, however, had been giving some cause for anxiety at this time to his old friend, who writes to Carlyle: Thank you for your account of Spedding: I had written however to himself, and from himself ascertained that he was out of the worst. But Spedding's life is a very ticklish one. Hitherto Spedding had been working in his own way at Bacon's life and letters without any idea of contributing to a complete edition of his works, but rather with the object of defending him against what he believed to be the injustice done him by Macaulay in his famous _Essay_. But in 1847 Mr. Leslie Ellis had been preparing an edition of Bacon's philosophical works which was offered for publication to Messrs. Longman, and Spedding acted as intermediary. "Better, I think," he writes to Thompson, "to be with the publishers than against them so long as one keeps the reins. Therefore I have written to Longman, reporting Ellis's proposition, and recommending them to treat immediately with him upon those terms; for that if they get the philosophical works alone so edited, their edition will command the market, even if they do nothing but reprint the rest as they are. Whereas, if any other publisher should engage Ellis's services for that portion, their trade edition would be worthless for ever. All which I believe to be true, and I hope will be conclusive. When that point is fixed there will be time enough to consider what else may be done. If they refuse the opportunity, I think I shall decline further connexion with the enterprise. My own project, as I never counted upon anything but expense from it, will not be much affected either way." The result, as is well known, was a complete edition of Bacon's works, in which Mr. Leslie Ellis undertook the philosophical, Mr. Douglas Heath the legal and professional, and Spedding the literary and miscellaneous, to which he afterwards added the life and letters. In the meantime he wrote, but never published, for his own satisfaction and that he might gather the opinions of his friends, _Evenings with a Reviewer_, the reviewer being Macaulay and the review his Essay on Bacon. In sending a copy to Dr. Whewell he says: