2l8 



MY LIFE 



[Chap, 



the least fear, opened her arms, kissed the poor woman with 

 every indication of compassion and love, and spoke to her as 

 if she were an unfortunate and ill-used daughter or sister. 

 The woman was utterly disarmed by the reality of the 

 affection showed her, and burst into tears. She was taken 

 to the home of which the lady was the head, and at the time 

 Mr. Hughes was speaking had been there several years, and 

 was one of his most useful and earnest helpers. This 

 woman had not, for years, received a single word of real 

 sympathy or love. A similar marvellous effect was produced 

 by Mrs. Fry on the female prisoners in Newgate by her 

 intense sympathy and affection for them ; yet we still go on 

 with our crude, harsh system of prison discipline, which in- 

 evitably degrades and brutalizes the great majority of those 

 subject to it. And we dare call ourselves enlightened, 

 humane, civilized, and even Christian ! 



I also had some pleasant intercourse with Mr. Haweis, 

 and one day we spent a whole afternoon in a private room, 

 talking chiefly about spiritualism, of which he had a con- 

 siderable practical knowledge. He was one of the few 

 clergymen of the Church of England who not only acknow- 

 ledged his belief, but preached the doctrines of spiritualism 

 openly from his London pulpit. 



Dr. Lunn arranged for his party some amusement for 

 several evenings in each week, either a concert, lecture, or 

 conversazione. Mr. Le Gallienne gave a very interesting 

 lecture on "English Minor Poets," reading selections from their 

 works to illustrate their style. Among these he included 

 Grant Allen, better known as a delightful writer on nature- 

 study and a novelist, but who was also gifted with the true 

 poetic power; and, the lecturer thought, had he devoted 

 himself to developing his power he might have become a 

 major instead of a minor poet. As an example of his work, 

 a very agnostic and even atheistic poem was quoted. 



I cannot find this, as I remember it, in his little volume 

 of verse, The Lower Slopes ; " but there is one which 



