186 LIFE OF BENJAMIN SILLIMAN. 



Listen) both retained the kindest recollections of their 

 American residence, and Mrs. Liston cherished a small 

 American garden devoted to our trees, shrubs, and plants ; 

 and into this garden she admitted nothing that was not of 

 transatlantic origin. I looked with peculiar interest to 

 these natives of my country. We found these interesting 

 people living in all the simplicity and retirement of rural 

 life. Their house, a neat stone cottage, was of one story, 

 with a thatched roof, and had a few handsome rooms. It 

 was situated in the midst of a farm which Mr. Liston cul- 

 tivated, not without personal toil. His person was tall and 

 dignified, his manners presented a model of graceful sim- 

 plicity, and his conversation was highly intelligent, instruc- 

 tive, and agreeable. We took breakfast in a small octag- 

 onal apartment resembling a ship's cabin, and lighted from 

 above. Mrs. Liston did the honors of the occasion with 

 much dignity and affability. Their sentiments on the 

 United States and its affairs, its government, and the pros- 

 pect of the permanency of its institutions, were highly 

 favorable. Mr. Liston was now in retirement, and ap- 

 peared to be past sixty years of age. A revolution of par- 

 ties having recently taken place, and the party of Mr. Fox 

 having come into power, allusion was made to that fact, and 

 to the probability that he, Mr. Liston, would soon be called 

 again into public life, when he replied, " If they want me, 

 they know where to find me ; " and I believe he was soon 

 after sent on some foreign mission. Mr. Liston, while re- 

 siding in Philadelphia as minister from the Court of Lon- 

 don, was constantly assailed by " The Aurora," the leading 

 Democratical paper of that day. At breakfast he remarked 

 to us pleasantly, that finding one morning that his name did 

 not appear in " The Aurora " sheet as usual, he was led to 

 inquire whether he had done any base act that day or re- 

 cently to entitle him to favor from " The Aurora." He 

 remarked that the editor, Duane, was a renegade English- 

 man, and Callender was another base instrument also, an 



