76 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 



(the historian's) house, and as there was only one 

 other man at dinner, I had a grand opportunity of 

 hearing him converse, and he was very agreeable. 

 He did not talk at all too much ; nor indeed could 

 such a man talk too much, as long as he allowed 

 others to turn the stream of his conversation, and this 

 he did allow. 



Lord Stanhope once gave me a curious little proof 

 of the accuracy and fulness of Macaulay's memory : 

 many historians used often to meet at Lord Stanhope's 

 house, and in discussing various subjects they would 

 sometimes differ from Macaulay, and formerly they 

 often referred to some book to see who was right ; 

 but latterly, as Lord Stanhope noticed, no historian 

 ever took this trouble, and whatever Macaulay said 

 was final. 



On another occasion I met at Lord Stanhope's 

 house, one of his parties of historians and other 

 literary men, and amongst them were Motley and 

 Grote. After luncheon I walked about Chevening 

 Park for nearly an hour with Grote, and was much 

 interested by his conversation and pleased by the 

 simplicity and absence of all pretension in his manners. 



Long ago I dined occasionally with the old Earl, 

 the father of the historian ; he was a strange man, 

 but what little I knew of him I liked much. He was 

 frank, genial, and pleasant. He had strongly marked 

 features, with a brown complexion, and his clothes, 

 when I saw him, were all brown. He seemed to 

 believe in everything which was to others utterly in- 

 credible. He said one day to me, " Why don't you 



