French Society. 189 



party at dinner. Mr. Fenimore Cooper, the Ameri- 

 can novelist, with his wife and daughter, were 

 among the guests. I found him extremely amiable 

 and agreeable, which surprised me, for when I knew 

 him in England he was so touchy that it was 

 difficult to converse with him without giving him 

 offence. He was introduced to Sir Walter Scott by 

 Sir James Mackintosh, who said, in presenting him, 

 " Mr. Cooper, allow me to introduce you to your 

 great forefather in the art of fiction " ; " Sir," said 

 Cooper, with great asperity, " I have no forefather." 

 Now, though his manners were rough, they were 

 quite changed. We saw a great deal of him, and 

 I was frequently in his house, and found him per- 

 fectly liberal; so much so, that he told us the 

 faults of his country with the greatest frankness, 

 yet he was the champion of America, and hated 

 England. 



None were kinder to us than Lord and Lady 

 Granville. Lady Granville invited us to all her 

 parties ; and when Somerville was obliged to return 

 to England, she assured him that in case of any dis- 

 turbance, we should find a refuge in the Embassy. 

 I went to some balls at the Tuileries with Madame 

 de Lafayette Lasteyrie and her sister. The Queen 

 Amelie was tall, thin, and very fair, not pretty, 

 but infinitely more regal than Adelaide, Queen of 



