1855-56 DOMESTIC EXPERIENCES 11 



about how her uncle loved me and how she loved 

 you, and, when I asked her some professional 

 questions, said she would speak the truth. I 

 assured her I had not doubted it ; but when she 

 said she had taken nothing but a drop of tea, I 

 thought it had left a most uncommon odour of 

 gin and peppermint. Thereupon I gave her a 

 composing draught and took away her candle, 

 and of course she is quite well this morning. . . .' 

 1 She took herself off last night,' he says in a letter 

 of the 15th, 'with a restoration of robustness and 

 voice which would have been miraculous if the 

 prostration and pangs of the previous evening 

 had been real.' 



In September, Owen had another visit from 

 Prince C. L. Bonaparte, who brought with him 

 his daughter and son-in-law, the Comte and 

 Comtesse di Campello. In this month an entry 

 in the diary states that Owen made the acquaint- 

 ance of Staunton, the famous chess-player, with 

 whom he played several games of chess, ' at 

 which he came off with some credit, considering.' 



On October 2, 1855, Owen writes to his 

 sister Eliza : — 



' I dined yesterday at St. Bartholomew's on 

 the occasion of the opening of the Medical 

 Session. I was placed at the right hand of the 

 chairman at the dinner, and on that of the Pre- 

 sident of the Hospital in the grand old hall at 

 the introductory address, and was called upon to 



