io8 A Century of Family Letters [CHAP, vin 



plenty of time to think of you, my own dearest, tenderest, 

 best of wives. I have no doubt I shall be at home on 

 Thursday. Kiss the dear children for me. . . . 



Many thanks for all your very nice letters and your 

 amusing one this morning. We all here understand why so 

 many laurels must be dug up, perhaps you would like the 

 Azalea and one of the Deodars for Elizabeth. My dearest, 

 I kiss you from my heart. Won't you dig up a few of the 

 apple trees in the orchard ? Are they not too thick ? 



Fanny Allen to her niece Elizabeth Wedgwood. 



PERRYSTONE, Sept. 2nd [1847]. 



... I found W. Clifford on Thursday at the turnpike 

 gate with the little carriage and his man George. On 

 Friday, Mr Cornewall Lewis 1 and Lady Theresa and her 

 3 children (Listers) came here, and remain till to-morrow, 

 we had also the Dean of St Asaph. Lady Theresa is quite 

 charming so gay and happy, easy and natural, and I think 

 very clever. She has a good loud voice, and she carries on 

 a lively conversation with Mr Clifford without much effort. 

 If all ladies of quality were like her I should say they were 

 very superior to the run of ladies in our rank. Her son is 

 a nice lad at Harrow, who charms W. Clifford by the sweet- 

 ness of his countenance; the two girls also are nice little 

 tilings. He enjoyed himself very much talking nonsense 

 to Lady Theresa last night, and she responded with great 

 gaiety. His love for Violet was the theme. Mr Lewis is 

 a sensible man, rather cold, but he enjoys his wife's spright- 

 liness and laughed very heartily when she took him off ; they 

 seem a thoroughly happy family. I thought he criticised 

 Macaulay well and justly this morning he said he thought 

 he lost sight of truth occasionally from his love of painting 

 strong scenes and saying striking things, but never from 



1 Sir George Cornewall Lewis, Poor Law Commissioner. He was 

 author of the saying "life would be tolerable but for its amuse- 

 ments." He married Maria Theresa (1803 1865), grand-daughter 

 of the 1st Earl of Clarendon, and widow of Thomas Henry Lister. 



