THOMAS CARLYLE. 353 



replied aloud, "that's Spedding." He had no notion 

 of tolerating a confidential whisper. The subject of 

 homoeopathy was introduced. Carlyle's appreciation of 

 the relation of cause and effect was as sharp and clear 

 as that of any physicist; and he thought homoeopathy 

 an outrageous defiance of the proportion which must 

 subsist between them. I sought to offer an explanation 

 of the alleged effects of " infinitesimals," by reference 

 to the asserted power of the Alpine muleteer's bell to 

 bring down an avalanche. If the snow could be loosened 

 by a force so small, it was because it was already upon 

 the verge of slipping. And if homoeopathic globules 

 had any sensible effect, it must be because the patient 

 was on the brink of a change which they merely precipi- 

 tated. Carlyle, however, would Listen to neither defence 

 nor explanation. He deemed homoeopathy a delusion, 

 and those who practised it professionally impostors. 

 He raised his voice so as to drown remonstrance; while 

 a " tsh ! " with which Mrs. Carlyle sometimes sought 

 to quiet him, was here interposed. Casting homoeo- 

 pathy overboard, he spoke appreciatively of George III. 

 The capacity of the King was small, but he paid out 

 conscientiously the modicum of knowledge he possessed. 

 This was illustrated by the way in which he collected 

 his library, always seeking the best advice and pur- 

 chasing the best books. Carlyle's respect for conscien- 

 tiousness and earnestness extended to all things. We 

 once went together to an exhibition of portraits at 

 South Kensington. Pausing before the portrait of 

 Queen Mary (Bloody Mary, as we had been taught to 

 call her), he musingly said, "A well-abused woman, 

 but by no means a bad woman rather, I should say, a 

 good woman acting according to her lights." He 

 ought, perhaps, to have extended the same tolerance to 

 Ignatius Loyola, whom he abhorred and scathed. In the 



