Hitherto our work has consisted for the most part of details of important facts: it may, therefore, be well for a time to digress, and to string together some of the minor incidents of Panizzi’s life, without which this could scarcely claim to be a faithful biography. To recount such small traits of character may be deemed simply gossip; yet, on reflection, it is not so, as it is thus that true light is brought to bear on the man’s character, and, by these details, an opportunity is given of judging disposition and intentions, which could not otherwise have been afforded. In presenting the following items, therefore, to our readers, accompanied as our observations are by original correspondence, we simply perform the duty which should be fulfilled by every honest biographer. In a life like Panizzi’s, much importance is attached to what, at first, may appear insignificant, relating in a great degree to the society of which he was a member. [Illustration: Sydney Smith] The name of Holland House has long been notable as the headquarters of one of the most delightful of London _coteries_, not only for the celebrity in the world of letters of its immediate frequenters, but also for the eminence in political life of many more who resorted thither. Whether or no the Church was adequately represented in the person of that wittiest, and most genial of ecclesiastics, Sydney Smith, certain it is that the society of the place would have been greatly the loser by his absence. Here Panizzi, who, in proportion to the sterling worth of his company, appears ever to have been a welcome guest, very soon after his arrival in London established a footing; and at the time of her marriage, in 1833, the present Lady Holland found him already an _habitué_ of Holland House, in company with such distinguished individuals as Lord Grey, Lansdowne, and Brougham, Moore, Jeffrey, and Allen. Speaking from personal knowledge of Panizzi, we are inclined, in a great measure, to ascribe his remarkable social successes to that innate and subtle quality with which so few men comparatively are endowed—perhaps happily so; for want of a better term, let us call it personal influence. In this respect he has always seemed to suggest to us a comparison of him with the late Dr. Arnold. The latter was apparently a man of great mental powers and amiable disposition; still, in his own peculiar sphere, many of his contemporaries may have equalled, and some even surpassed him.