2o6 SIR WILLIAM FLOWER 



CHAP. 



house, where he smoked, and we had a long talk before we went 

 to bed. Tennyson never comes down to breakfast with his 

 family, but takes it in his library to avoid fatigue and to get 

 more time to himself. But he gets up early, and while I was 

 dressing I saw him pacing about the garden, stick in hand, and 

 with cloak and broad -brimmed hat on. . . . After our return 

 from church at Haslemere we found the Poet Laureate, the 

 Duke, and Hallam sitting in a summer arbour near the entrance 

 to the grounds, talking most interestingly of poetry and of various 

 criticisms on his (Tennyson's) writings, about which he seemed 

 very sensitive, and asked our opinion as to whether they were 

 just. The Duke talked much about birds, taking minute notice 

 of every one he saw. Observation of natural objects around him 

 is evidently a keen source of interest to him, and he has con- 

 siderable general knowledge of such subjects. Tennyson also 

 talked of natural history ; the former geological changes of the 

 world and the succession and extinction of animal life and 

 evolution have a great fascination for him. He was very 

 anxious for my opinions as to these questions, and their relation 

 to belief in God's creation of, and providence in, ruling the 

 world. These questions are touched upon in the new poems 

 (not then published), which he showed us, and read some of 

 (this was in the afternoon). He spoke very severely of those 

 who tried to shake religious faith in others by irreverent treat- 

 ment of sacred subjects, especially referring to some recent 



utterances of our friend . But the subject which they 



both (the poet and the Duke) seemed to feel most keenly, and 

 to which they constantly referred, was the political decadence of 

 Mr. Gladstone, and the state he was bringing the country into 

 by his action. They had evidently both been greatly attached 

 to him in former times, and therefore felt the change which had 

 come over him more acutely. 



After luncheon the poet retired upstairs, and Hallam showed 

 us a very fine phonograph which Edison had sent as a present to 

 them, and from which he reproduced in a wonderful echo of the 

 poet's voice several of the shorter poems, "The Splendour falls 

 on Castle Walls" and "The Charge of the Light Brigade." 



Later in the afternoon we found Lord and Lady Tennyson in 



