88 A Century of Family Letters [CHAP, vi 



came here with his opinion, which was so far against our 

 going that we wrote immediately to Sismondi to give it up. 

 Madame Constant is the only charming woman we first 

 found here who has retained her charms, and in my eyes 

 they are very much increased by the sweet manner in 

 which she entered into this business of ours, so delicate and 

 so full of feeling. Both Jessie and I felt the giving up the 

 Italian scheme a very great disappointment. As to Fanny 

 one of her wayward degouts was on her, and I believe she 

 found it a relief when the prospect of being shut up with 

 Sismondi for a fortnight in a carriage was removed, but 

 Jessie felt the disappointment of this, her favourite scheme, 

 so much that at first I was disposed to feel as much for her 

 in being obliged to give it up as for him. However, by good 

 fortune, she was engaged that night to a ball and supper 

 where she had more dancing and merrier dancing than any 

 she has had before at Geneva, and Sismondi and the Italian 

 scheme was quite forgotten till the next morning, when 

 he came with the hope of changing our purpose, but in 

 vain. Now Jessie has discovered the report of her going 

 to marry him is strong enough to make her dislike the 

 idea of going with him, and now she is a little afraid he 

 will manage to get some married lady to join our party 

 and we shall have no excuse for not going with him. He 

 is the kindest, best, tenderest friend in the world, but for a 

 lover, heaven defend him from thinking of it. I hardly 

 ever saw anyone less calculated to excite the tender passion 

 than himself. To do him justice, however, he is far from 

 professing the lover ; indeed his professions are all against 

 it, but I often doubt whether his feelings are. His anxiety 

 for our going with him may be all the want of society, 

 which he feels particularly at Pescia and therefore is eager 

 to get us there to help him out with his nine months' visit 

 to his mother. An Englishman with half his store of mind 

 would feel himself tolerably independent of society, but 



despotic acts, and he travelled with her in Germany and Italy. 

 Three years after this time he became leader of the Liberal party 

 in the French Chamber. 



