17 
*855-56 DEATH OF HIS SISTER GRACE 
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 
s e never rallied, and her death occurred soon 
a terwards. He had the greatest affection for all 
IS sisters, and deeply felt the loss of this one, 
w ho 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 
ack 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, 
*■ 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 
ad no motive for killing his friend, but the 
reverse ; and that the deceased had died of 
or inary convulsions. Some parts of the speech 
n 0 , a few, touching and eloquent. He has a 
