XXX11 MEMOIR. 



humanity, that of the abolition of all castes, and the re- 

 cognition of the divine rights of every human soul." On 

 that May morning, in the library, I remember the conver- 

 sation, drifting from subject to subject, touched an essay 

 upon " Manners/' by Mr. Emerson, then recently pub- 

 lished ; and in the few words that Mr. Downing said, lay 

 the germ of what I gradually discovered to be his feeling 

 upon the subject. This hauteur was always evident in his 

 personal intercourse. In his dealings with workmen, with 

 publishers, with men of affairs of all kinds, the same feel- 

 ing, which they called "stiffness," coldness," "pride," 

 " haughtiness," or " reserve," revealed itself. That first 

 morning it only heightened in my mind the Spanish im- 

 pression of the dark, slim man, who so courteously wel- 

 comed us at his door. 



It was May, and the magnolias were in blossom. Un- 

 der our host's guidance, we strolled about his grounds, 

 which, although they comprised but some five acres, were 

 laid out in a large style, that greatly enhanced their appar- 

 ent extent. The town lay at the bottom of the hill, be- 

 tween the garden and the water, and there was a road just 

 at the foot of the garden. But so skilfully were the trees 

 arranged, that all suspicion of town or road was removed. 

 Lying upon the lawn, standing in the door, or sitting under 

 the light piazza before the parlor windows, the enchanted 

 visitor saw only the garden ending in the thicket, which was 

 so dexterously trimmed as to reveal the loveliest glimpses of 

 the river, each a picture in its frame of foliage, but which 

 was not cut low enough to betray the presence of road or 

 town. You fancied the estate extended to the river ; yes, 

 and probably owned the river as an ornament, and in- 

 cluded the mountains beyond. At least, you felt that 

 here was a man who knew that the best part of the land- 



