1855-56 DEATH OF HIS SISTER GRACE 17 



the great hall. All went off satisfactorily. The 

 only cloud is the news of sister Grace's serious 

 illness.' 



As soon as Owen was able, he went to Lan- 

 caster, and spent some time with his sister ; but 

 she never rallied, and her death occurred soon 

 afterwards. He had the greatest affection for all 

 his sisters, and deeply felt the loss of this one, 

 who was the youngest. He had a portrait of her 

 painted, and in his last illness it was placed where 

 he could easily see it, and he then would often 

 talk about her. He was, however, not able to 

 stay long in Lancaster, but was obliged to hurry 

 back to London to lecture at the Royal Institution 

 on May 2 ' On the Original Cattle of Great 

 Britain,' and also to give a lecture at Richmond 

 on the 5th of that month. 



On May 22, 1856, Owen writes to his wife, 

 who was travelling in Germany with their son, 

 that he had a seat on the Judge's bench for 

 one day of the Palmer trial. He says : 'His 

 advocate, Serjeant Shee, began at half-past ten, 

 and I left him speaking at half-past three ; he did 

 not conclude his address till half-past six ! A 

 course of lectures rolled into one ! The main 

 points were an attempt to show that the prisoner 

 had no motive for killing his friend, but the 

 reverse ; and that the deceased had died of 

 ordinary convulsions. Some parts of the speech 

 '" able ; a few, touching and eloquent. He has a 



VOL. II. C 



