Lord Longford told us of Colonel Hercules Pakenham, at the siege of Badajos, walking with an engineer. A bomb whizzed over their heads and fell among the soldiers, as they were carrying off the wounded. When the Colonel expressed some regret, the engineer said, "I wonder you have not steeled your mind to these things. These men are carried to the hospital, and others come in their place. Let us go to the depot." Here the engineer had his wheelbarrows all laid out in nice order, and his pickaxes arranged in stars and various shapes; but, just as they were leaving the depot, a bomb burst in the midst of them. "Oh, heavenly powers, my picks!" cried the engineer, with clasped hands, in despair. _To_ C. SNEYD EDGEWORTH, IN DUBLIN. EDGEWORTHSTOWN, _Feb. 10, 1813._ _Rokeby_ is, in my opinion--and let every soul speak for themselves--most beautiful poetry: the four first cantos and half the fifth are all I have yet read. I think it a higher and better, because less Scotch, more universal style of poetry than any Walter Scott has yet produced, though not altogether perfect of its kind. It has more discrimination of character, more knowledge of human nature, more generalised reflection, much more moral aim. * * * * * In March, Miss Edgeworth accompanied her father and stepmother to England. * * * * * MARIA _to_ MRS. MARY SNEYD. BANGOR FERRY, _March 31, 1813._ "I will go and write a few lines of a letter to my dear Aunt Mary." "Oh! why should you write now, my dear? You have nothing new to tell her." "Nothing new, but I love her, and wish to write to her; if I did not love her, I should be worse than Caliban." "Well, write only a few lines." "That is just what I mean to do, and go on with my letter at any odd place where we _stop the night._" You have heard of all we saw at Howth, so I go on from Holyhead. Breakfasted in company with Mr. Grainger: he has lived in very good company abroad, and told us a variety of entertaining anecdotes: Caulaincourt, now Due de Vincennes, was brought up in the family of the Prince de Condé, _l'enfant de la Maison_, the playfellow of the Due d'Enghien. Buonaparte employed Caulaincourt to seize the Due d'Enghien; the wretch did so, and has been repaid by a dukedom. We asked how the present Empress was liked in France. "Not at all by the Parisians; she is too haughty, has the Austrian scornful lip, and sits back in her carriage when she goes through the streets." The same complaint was made against Marie Antoinette. On what small things the popularity of the high and mighty depends!