The Portland daily press., 1874-08-21
TERMS $500 PER ANNUM IN ADVANCE.

came upon the German waiter who had at
tended at table, and limited that the rooms
might be kept in a little better order.
BLESS yon, sir" said the waiter, 'the place
has not been swept or busted for a fortnight;
that gent is outrageous like if a book or pa
per is touched. The manager wants to get
MIN away, but he has taken the rooms for
month, and won't go; and he is such good
pay that our governor don't like to disoblee
him.''
''Waiter,'' said sternly, edo you know
who that 'ere gent as you call HIM, is ?''
''Yiz, sir-no, sir" replied the waiter in .
breath, puzzled by the soiemnity of my tone.
''fhat is Lord Lytton," L said, ''the great
est man in all England. II you see much of
him and note down carefully what he does
and what he says, you may become second
Boswell
''Lor, SIR" said the waiter, ''you don't say
so! Our manager thinks this gent is cracked;
he goes out in all weathers without any
great coat, and won't even take an umbrella;
then he never examines his bills, but scrib-
bles off check on any scrap of paper that
comes to hand. 1t was only the day before
yesterday, poor woman came with one of
those bits OF paper. She said the outlandish-
looking gent who lived in our house had Civ
en- it to her, and she did not know what to
do with it. He had come into her cabin TO
light his pipe, while her husband, poor fish
erman who was drowned in the last gale, lay
there dead. HE wrote it on the back of an
old letter, and said he hoped it would do her
good. You can't think of the woman's sur
prise when L brought her ba'k ten sover-
egns which the manager gave me when he
saw the paper. "Surely, sir, the gent can
not be all right here" and the waiter signif-
cantly touched his forehead. He promised
to preserve faithful diary of his lordships
proceedings; but when / returned to the ho-
tel. about two weeks afterward, L found that
he, like the poor fisherman, had been drowned
in storm, and left nothing behind him but
small boy, his son, who had beer sent 20
school at the expense of the hotel company,
with view of educating him for the onerous
situation of page.
Considering Lord Lytton only occupied
himself in composition for four hours every
day, i; is surprising the amount of work he
contrived to get through. He never had any
time during my acquaintance with him any
thing like good health he was always placing
bimsef under the care of some physician,
and if he heard OF any new remedy which he
thought might be applicable to his own case
he was sure to avail himself of it. Like his
brother, the distinguished diplomatist, he be-
came. in later life, nearly confirmed hypo-
chondriac, although his intellectual power
did not seem in any way diminished.
| was on a visit to Sudbrook Park. near
Richmond, about twenty years ago. 1t was
then a hydropathic establishment, presided
over by phi ysician of eminenee. To my
surprise me Lord LyttOn strolling up the
avenue, one m OrniDg, carrying his pipe in
one hand and small travelling-bag in the
other. The London season was at its height
and Parliament sitting; bu the remained for
at least month, taking his meals at the pub
lie table, walking much in Richmond Park,
and occupying himself with his papers and
his pipe. The tobacco he smoked was not
very strong, but the iucessant use of it must
have been highly injurious to nerses so finely
strung as his. He seemed to me to have
scarcely any appetite tor food; at breakfast
he seldom ate more than a mouthful OF toast,
and, having swallowed cup of tea, flew Off
TO the solace of his beloved pipe. There
was, remember, space of tangled brush
wood Immediately behind the house, where
have seen him sit and saunter about for
hours together, apparently absorbed in
thought; and no one, although the house
was full of people, ever thought of Interrupt
ting his solitude. He arrived without any
servant, and never had a visitor during the
whole period of his sojourn, AT Knebworth,
which is the hereditary seat of the Lyttons,
his mothers family, the novelist did not, in
his later life, reside much. A friend of niue,
the late Lady Murray, lived at Andlebury,
only few miles Distant, and while on a visit
there | had frequent opportunities Of hearing
of her famous negbbor. He was extremely
popular and beloved by the lower order in all
that part of the country, and his hospitality
was apparently without limit. People came
from all parts of the world, especially from
America, to see him. The house OF Kueb-
worth was often full, but / don't think the
host always knew who his guests Were.