“William and I visited the Bishop at his house at Eton, so as to be present at the farewell dinner given by Mr. Coleridge the day before his farewell sermon at Windsor. There were forty present. I sat between Judge Patterson and Dr. Hawtrey. Afterwards Mr. Coleridge proposed the health of the Bishop in a touching speech, for which the Bishop returned thanks. Devoted to the service of his God, he is able to feel the step he has taken not as a sacrifice but as a privilege; he unites unusual tenderness of feeling to great manliness of character. The scene was an extraordinary one. Casting the eye down a long dinner-table, most of the guests were in tears, men and women sobbing, poor old Dr. Keate (to-day was my first introduction to him), his head upon the table, his face buried in his pocket-handkerchief.[54] I never witnessed such devotion. His sermon (_i.e._ the Bishop’s) the following day was striking and affecting; a crowded congregation, there was not even standing room. Evidently he is not allowing himself to have any idea of returning to live in England.” “_December 20, 1841._--I find London very empty. William is absent from twelve to seven in the daytime,[55] and works hard all the time he is at home, but I am greatly relieved to be with him again, though it is a little dreary sometimes in the day. I have been reading Hook’s _Sermons_, and I have finished _Ten Thousand a Year_,[56] which, although vulgar, is clever and interesting. I sat an hour at his office at the Board of Trade. “_January 1, 1842._--A new year is always an awful thing. God give me grace to become better in the future! I feel acutely how little good I do--but to feel is not enough. “_January 6._--I am thirty to-day--a terrible thought. We had a dinner-party for Mr. Grenville (Uncle Tom).[57] He sat nearly an hour with me in the afternoon. As he walked from Hamilton Place and back this was pretty well for eighty-seven. “_January 17._--William dined in the city to meet Prince Albert. Peel spoke well, and the Prince was evidently affected in alluding to his dear ties which bind him to England. Elizabeth Fry sat between the Prince and Sir Robert Peel. “_January 20._--William dined at Putney with Lord and Lady Ripon. He liked her extremely, and she was particularly thoughtful in wishing me to come there for country air. “_January 22._--Dined with the Barings to meet Lord and Lady Stanley, Lady Granville, etc., Lord Stanley[58] taking me in to dinner. I was very shy, he was in great spirits, full of fun and jokes. At all events _he_ can shake off the cares of office. I was interested, but relieved when we went upstairs, where I got on with both the ladies well.