Fifty-One Years of Victorian Life

4 till, I believe, his death. Once when I was sitting near him at dinner, we were discussing ghost stories. He said that without gi

murdered, and that his dead body was being carried out of the city, covered with straw, by a certain gate. The man roused himself, told the police, the body was duly found and the murderers arrested. "Well," said I, "I think I have

uthor, equal

ale of dreams

o Lord Cairns, who answered (June 25th, 1883): "It is Madame Bernstorff's story to the letter! It was most kind of you to send it to

BURY'S GH

kfast next morning he said to the master of the house-I suppose jokingly-"If you did come in my room last night I think you might have answered when I spoke to you." Both his hosts looked embarrassed, and then his friend said, "Well, to tell you the truth, that room is considered to be haunted; but it is our best room, and my wife thought that a hard-headed lawyer would not be liable to be disturb

her's house in London. I think it was a little old woman, I canno

n evidence of a genuine apparition seen by two witnesses who would both bear such testimony as would stand cross-examination by a barrister. This was most sensible, as one person may honestly believe in an appearance, which may be an hallucination caused by circumstances, and affected by his own mental or bodily condition, but it is hardly possibl

OSTLY

his paper. The judge, to get rid of him, gave some answer that satisfied him, and the man departed. Next day the judge learnt that a reporter had been present who was taken ill and died before the conclusion of the trial, and he was convinced that this was his ghostly visitor. The weak point, said Mr. Knowles, was that the narrators would not allow themselves to be cross-examined by a barrister. They were very old, and nervous about the publication of the story in print, and the thought of cross-examination was quite too much for them. However, Mr. Knowles and the other investigators were fully satisfied as to their bona fides, and the tale duly appeared in an arti

ses by Mr. Lionel Ashley, younger son of the great Lord Shaftesbury and a friend of my husband's and mine of long standing. Lady Galloway and I used to call him "the Bard," as he was fond of makin

found, I have h

han in Castles

the Palace of

ms of suburb

Osterley Gard

to look on

my memory fo

with its wisdo

e church a grave

ved Christi

in heaven a pla

ee seat in

·

uestion, in

made easy

m content, witho

hod was not

·

ew Lieutenant, wi

ent, for now

ers in Oxfordshi

her a glori

·

yone of th' il

he same excelle

he names, but t

ach 'Child' and

nd, as already mentioned, bore the name for the three weeks between his grandfather's and father's death, but our elder son was alwa

ILEE

d that in the days of George III's Jubilee "there was an old king and a ma-ad king. How would you have liked that?" And he continued to tell us of the death at that perio

d her daughter Betty, Col. Charles Edgcumbe, my sister Cordelia, and my brother-in-law Reginald Villiers, to whom my husba

not make up his mind to start with us, though we had hopes (which proved vain) that he might join us later. Our families were somewhat excited on learn

sisted on presenting each of us with a small revolver and box of cartridges. I forget what Mary did with hers, but my one object was to conceal the weapon from possible brigands. I regarded them rather like wasps, who are supposed not to sting

finding that we could get berths on a Messageries boat we ultimately carried out our original intention though we did not really m

highly of his kindness. The Greek Ministers were deeply impressed by the fact that Lady Galloway was (half) sister to the English Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, and laid themselves out to make everything pleasant and delightful. Greece was still almost unknown to Cook's tourists. I think there was a Cook's Office, but I do not recall seeing any of his clients about

RA

with the scenery through which we passed and with the silent, desolate field where the battle had been waged, with wild flowers growing on the hillock pointed out as the soldiers' grave. Whether it still keeps its impressive solitude I know not. It is useless to attempt description of Greece, so well known to a

n various other occasions: King George had much of the charm of his sister Queen Alexandra and was a distinctly astute monarch. As far as one could judge, he really liked his quaint little kingdom, and I remember his asserting with energy that they were a good people. The Queen, a Russian, was a kindly, pious woman and apparently happy with her children,

ountries is commonly called "Society" was in Athens mainly composed of the Ministers, the Corps Diplomatique, and one or two rich merchants-particularly one ca

ements and formulated our opinions for us said that when we visited the Academy "both ladies were enthusiastic at the sight of the building. They confessed that they never expec

He was undoubtedly a man of great ability and judgment, and was devoted to Engla

TRI

ung in my bedroom at Middleton. She also knew my grandmother and my mother's elder sisters. Whenever Parliament was sitting she sat at home from one o'clock in the afternoon till any hour of the night to which the debates happened to continue. Any of her brother's supporters, no matter of what rank, could come into th

woman-I saw her again on our subsequent visit to Athens, and after that used to correspond for nearly thirty years. She wrote most interesting letters, though after her brother's death she lived mainly in r

upi embodied all his ideals of woman in his capable and devoted sister, and had very advanced Woman Suffrage views, more uncommon then than a quarter of a century later. He was all in favour of the appointment of women not only as Members of Parliament, but also as Ministers of the Crown. One day he and Theotoki were taking us somewhere by sea when a discussion arose on this point.

UP

cted an excellent programme to enable us to visit Nauplia and Argos and Myken?. I wrote an account of this to my mother which she kept, so I may as well transcribe it,

whence we heard coughs and groans, presumably because he had found a clean dwelling such a ghastly thing, and we were waited on by a very smart individual (who was a Parisian doctor of law!) and a small Greek girl. When we woke up next morning we found by way of variety that the ground was covered with snow and the coachman said he could not possibly go to Epidaurus-however, Bakhméteff sent for the Prefect of Police, who told him he must, so with four horses in front and one trotting behind we went a perfectly lovely drive through splendid mountain country looking even more beautiful from the snow on the hills. Perhaps you don't know about Epidaurus-an ancient temple of ?sculapius is there, and near it has lately been discovered the most perfect theatre in Greece, which could seat twenty-five thousand people. Hardly a stone is out of place-we went up to the top row, and an unfortunate 'Ephor of Antiquities' who had also been ordered up from

wife did and did not find, and also to describe the "Lion Gate" and the "Agora"-b

e at M. Syngros', the other at the Austrian Legation. After

s who are receiving the hospitality of our town for some days now has revived in him dormant feelings and reminiscences. M. Tricoupi passed the years of his youth in England, and it was with the English ladies that he enjoyed the sweet pleasure of dancing. This evening he dances also

y post. Like many of his compatriots he had no real religious belief, but regarded religious observance as quite a good thing for women; he told me that a man looked rather ridiculous kneeling, but it was a becoming attitude for women-the folds of her dress fell so nicely! But he assured

AURIU

ked in classical times. We stayed the night at the house of the manager, M. Cordella. He and his wife were most kindly hosts, and everyone contributed to our enjoyment. One little domestic detail amused us. As we entered the substantial and comfortable h

than quote the words of the N ea Ephemeris, one of the pa

own country and were delighted at it in Greece which they loved so much. They had no words to express their satisfaction to the true man possessed with the spi

s, and occasionally one of them would hold up to contempt a wretched Delyannis

dd a few lines describing the general appearance of the people at that time, also

a different shape-near Eleusis the people are Albanians and wear Albanian costumes, which are very bright with many colours. Almost all the natives outside the towns wear costumes which mak

I PE

ut's novel Le Roi des Montagnes. Hadji Petros was supposed to be quite illiterate, but he could sign his name, as he did so on a case of chocolate which he gave me. Anyway, "by royal permission" he took us over the Palace and

the Gulf of Corinth to Pyrgos. We went in a Government boat (the Salaminia, I believe), and

e spot, where Alpheus runs into the sea in full view of the Acroceraunian mountains where "Arethusa arose from her couch of snows." In addition to one or two officials we were guarded by a delightful gendarme and were introduced to a bare-legged giant in an oil-skin coat whose duty was to look after the fish in a kind of stew or watercourse running out of a lake. Whether the poachers had been busy lately I know not, but the efforts of the custodian, the gendarme, and the rest of the party to give us a fishing entertainment were singularly abortive. Their object appeared to be to capture a mullet, and at length a dead one was landed by the joint throwing of a small net and poking with Lady Galloway's parasol. With dauntless courage they returned to the charge, and when another small fish was seen the gendarme drew his sword and vainly tried to stab it. Ultimately the professional fishermen did catch it and gave it to the gendar

PIA-

, but I am very glad to recall Olympia, as we saw it in the wilds with ruins of temples and the newly excavated Gymnasium undisturbed by eager tourists. The Museum, containing the beautiful statue of Hermes with the Infant Bacchus, had not long been erected on the lines of a G

where we spent Sunday. I wrote to my mother

wers just like the Pre-Raphaelite pictures. A little higher up you could see the sea on both sides. Cephalonia in one distance and the Acroceraunian mountains in the other. This island is, as y

as yet unconcluded-of two rival families. The father of one married his daughter to a young man, whereas the other family wanted her and attacked the bridal party on the wedding day. I forget ex

ident. There seemed to be a good many people who still r

ce by train to Naples. There we found Lord Rowton and dined with him and one or two friends. We also spent a day with him