The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-09-29


can hardly bring myself to believe l shall
not meet him again in some of his accus-
toned haunts. / have so often known him
absent for longer period and turn up again
as bright, cordial and kindly as ever. He
has taken his seat, of course, but it is
curious thing that he never once spoke in
the house of lords That golden chamber
never once heard the sound of the new
peers voice, any more than it did that of
his illustrious rival, Macaulay, the picked
lfterateur of the Wings. They were anx-
ious TO get Lord Lytton sup on the ques-
ton of the disestabshment of the Irish
church, but he contrived to evade the scent
of the "whip," who sought him in vain,
both at Kncbworth and in Grosvenor
square.
The hoi poHoi were not very familiar with
Lord Lytton's presence. lie was not often
seen in the parks or other places of public
resort; but in that part of Oxford street
bounded at one end by Marble Arch and
the other by the Regent Circus, he was
well known, and many hat went off in
silent greeting as he passed on his way, his
brougham generally following him, to the
| Portland club; there he spent a couple of
hours, every afternoon in the season. 1t
was in this locality met him, two days,
think after his name appeared in the Gag
ette In later life lie was generally deaf;
but | said "Good morning, my lord" lie
heard me. and, laughing, replied was the
| first person who had called him by his new
| title
The last time | met this distinguished
man was at st. Leonard's, where | had
gone for a short holiday. i came quite sud-
| denly upon him, one wet, stormy Novem-
Der evening, and not far from the archway
| hv tt,a hot I
a gale of wind and his slender figure wa
vered and reeled almost as he tried to make
head against the blast. He had no overcoat,
and that which he did wear looked, /
thought, faded and shabby. l was trying
to slip past him unobserved, for he never
met me without stopping to say a few kind
words; but be recognized me at a glance,
caught hold of my arm, and asked me to
come home with him to the Queens hotel
at Hastings. where he was staying, and
dine. lie was without any umbrella, the
rain fell in torrents, and l covered him as
well as | could with. l found he occupied
apartments on the ground floor at the hotel.
| They seemed in sad state of confusion.
The floor was strewed with litter of books
and papers, and copiously sprinkled with
| Turkish tobacco, an odor of which prevail
ed the air. The table was laid with covers
for three, but only myself and the host sat
down. He ate, | observed, but sparingly,
and drank nothing but water, with dash
of sherry in it. In the evening, as was
taking my departure, | came upon the Ger
man waiter who had attended at table, and
limited that the room might be kept in lit
tie better order.
"Bless you, SIR" said the waiter, ''the
| place has not been swept or busted for
tortnight that gent is outrageous like if
book or a paper is touched. The manager
wants to get him 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 disoblige him."
"Waiter," l 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 solcmnity of my
tone.
"That is Lord Lytton,' | said, 'the great
est man in all England. If 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 weather without
any great coat, and won't even take an UNI
brella; then he never examines his bills,
but scribbles off check on any scrap of
paper that comes on hand. twas only the
day before yesterday, a poor woman came
with one of them bits of paper. She said
the outlandish looking gent who lived in
our house had given 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 fisherman who was drown
ed in the last gale, lay there dead. He
wrote it on the back of an old letter. and
Il l,.,I I =
can't think of the poor woman's surprise
when brought her back ten sovereigns,
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 Il faithful diary of his lordships
proceeding; but when | returned to the ho
tel, about two weeks afterward, / found
that he, like the poor fisherman, had been
drowned in storm, and left nothing be-
hind him but q small boy his son, who had
been sent to 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 ev-
cry day, it is surprising the amount of work
he contrived to get through. lie never had
at any time during my acquaintance with
him anything like good health he was al
ways placing himself under the care Of
some physician, and if he heard of any
new remedy which he thought might be APP
plicable to his own case, he was sure to
avail himself of it, Like his brother the
distinguished diplomatist, he became in
later life nearly a confirmed hypochondrac
although his intellectual power did not
seem in any way diminished.
l was on visit to Sudbrook Park, near
Richmond about twenty years ago. 1t was
then hydropathic establishment, presided
over by physician of emineHce. To my
surprise | met Lord Lytton stroling up the
avenue one morning, carrying his pipe in
one hand and small traveling-bag in the
other. The London season was at its height
and parliament sitting but he remained for
at least month, taking his meals at the
public 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 incessant use of it
must have been highly injurious to nerves
so finely st ung as his. He seemed to me
to have scarcely any appetite for food; at
breakfast he seldom ate more than q mouth
full of toast and, having swallowed cup of
tea, flew off to the solace of his beloved
pipe. There was | remember, space of
tangled brushwOod Immediately behind the
house, where have seen him sit and saun-
ter about for hours together, apparently alb
sorbed in thought; and no one, although
the house was full of people, ever thought
of interrupting his solitude. lie arrived
without any servant, and never had visi-
tor during the whole period of his sojourn.
AT Knebworth, which is the hereditary seat
of the Lyttons, his mothers family, the nov
elist did not, in his later life, reside much
A friend of mine, the late Lady Murray,
lived at Andlebury, only a few miles dis.
tant, and while on visit there had fire.
quent opportunities Of hearing of her IA
nous neighbor. He was extremely popular
and beloved by the lower orders in ali that
part of the country, and his hospitality was
apparently without a limit. People came
from all parts of the world, especially from
America, to see him. The house at Kneb-