MELVILL : DIARY OF MR. LOVELL REEVE. 353 



SELECTIONS FROM CORRESPONDENCE. 



Southampton, Sept. 14th, 1846. 

 My dear E — : 



Having despatched a hurried letter this morning to Frederic, 1 with 

 instructions to shew it you as a notification of my lonely yet tumult- 

 ous existence, I now sit down in order to have a sort of electro- 

 magnetic chat with my cava sposa. First, let me look over your note, 

 which I have read over a good many times in the absence of a second 

 edition to see what 'quaeres' elicit any reply before I commence giving 

 you any analysis of my time in Southampton. 



* * * * * -* 



The next subject that you touch upon is devotional ; believe me, 

 my dear E — , the pleasures of scientific enquiry in my case are not 

 those which allure the enquirer away from the Author and Finisher of 

 these objects. My enthusiasm is one of moderation; the greater the 

 amplitude of thought induced by such a multiplicity of subjects as are 

 now associated in this locality, the more I halt to consider the in- 

 significance of my own knowledge of things, and the profound 

 adaptation and immensity of the source from which they have 

 emanated. I had already arranged to cross over by the Isle of Wight 

 packet to Cowes, and spend a quiet Sunday with Mr. Bates, the 

 Secretary of the Royal Yacht Club, a devout and excellent man, who 

 seemed really as much pleased with my coming as I was with my 

 visit. We attended service morning and evening, and I returned by 

 the Mail Packet which did not sail till nine o'clock. I walked up to 

 Osborne House, and was fortunate enough to meet with three of the 

 royal children : one, a girl, I conclude the Princess Royal, on a pony, 

 alone, a groom leading the other two, face to face in a pair of 

 panniers hung with red cloth, one of these, the Prince of Wales, was 

 laughing and playing most obstreperously. I must, however, retro- 

 grade a little ; on Friday we had a most interesting discourse from 

 Mr. Owen, which elicited a discussion in the end upon the subject of 

 England having formerly constituted a portion of the European con- 

 tinent. This was again agitated to-day, arising from a paper read in 

 the presence of Prince Albert, who walked about the room as 'one of 

 us,' by Prof. Forchammer, from Copenhagen ; the detail of these 

 observations I will relate to you in brief when I return. On Saturday 

 we assembled about two hundred strong on board the good ship 

 Lady de Sanmarez ; the weather has been one unclouded sunshine 

 throughout the meeting, and a more agreeable excursion than this was 

 cannot be imagined. Imagine the learning of the world, as illustrated 



1 Mr. Frederic Reeve. 



