The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-02-09

Dear Erlend-l send to the back door flor quiet
sakel for bulletin, and shall continue to do in
stead of coming so long quiet is necessary. Oh!
your news makes me so happy. Your little Christmas
rose! am glad it a clear, bright morning when
it began to blow! How happy your dear wife must be
only not too happy to sleep hope. My dear love
to her the next time YOU see her IA little hint of the
necessity for restl. Come here you know, much
you like and make any use Of me and mine. Yours
aifectionatey, H.M
The child, who was named after her. she never
forgot, but for many years continued to write to
her upon her birthday, always sending her some
book suited to her age. Here is one Of her notes
to her at six years old, when we were living in
Scotland:
Dear TINY am pleased to have your bools-marker;
shall use it every day and dare say shall think of
you every day. Only last night had to tear piece
OF paper to mark my place in big book am reading,
and am now going to put in your marker. is very
nicely worked, and | am much obliged to you. Here
is such beautiful day. hope you all going out
into the sunshine, if it is fine at Edinburg. We
have seen no lambs yet, and glad they have not
come out while the weather was so stormy A rela-
tive OF mine, who has farm, lost nine lambs and
their mothers in night, and forty more lambs
within week, though all possible care was taken of
them The lightning and the hail and the cold storms
killed the poor little lambs even in their house We
have no chickens yet but there many eggs that
dare say we shall have plenty by and by Maria
picks few pIimroses in the hedges now, and the
cuses in the garden look very gay.
So you are going to live in London, but you must
never forget Ednburg If you should live to be old,
you must still remember Arthur's Seat and the fair
city. Give your sisters each kiss for me, and be-
heve me your atfeetionate friend,
HARRIET MART1NEAU.
She could write this letter to a child though
her hands were at that time full of work and
her heart of sorrow.
tx has failed" she writes to me about the
same date There goes, suppose, a greatlump
of my earnings; but l can't care at present for
that, but only for him"
As regards money matters. [ suppose no woman
in the world ever regarded them from the same
point of view 1t is well known that pension
was offered to her by three Prime Ministers in
succession-Earl Grey, Lord John Russell, and
Mr. Gladstone-which Qike Cesar she ibid
thrice refuse it being against her principles to
burden the state with any such obligation. And
yet she was entirely dependent upon that reed
the pen for subsistence. She liked to have
things neat and comedy about her; but her tastes
were simple; she loved the country and its home
ly ways. IN writing about early book of
mine, called 'Melibeus in London" she speaks
of town life being very dreary" to her Rural
folk cannot, l am sure, be too thank
full for their particular privileges. l feel
this every day, long as it is since
| was Londoner and well as l liked my sort of
town life with st. Jamess park for gardon).
The least desirable suppose, is life in pro
vincial town, by which both sorts of privileges
are lost | would not for much be Londoner
now (April nor till after October
Nevertheless, as is evident from your letters
Londoners do not think their life dreary One of
the curious things about them is the way in which
old and sickly people go craving for the same
amusements that other people have | know an
old lady far above seventy eight, who cannot re-
member anything for an hour and can hardly
stand who is expecting her full share of pleasure
from the exhibition
This was written, of course in 1862 The date
of my first acquaintance with her must, l think,
have been 1890 For many summers afterward
l always spent month or two in her neighbor-
hood, as much from regard for her as for my
love fOr Lakeland and she became very init
mate with me and mine. Nevertheless, owing
to her keen intelligence, l found it difficult to
realize her extreme deafness, and used often to
address her when she was not prepared for it.
She never lost her sense of the absurdity of this
practice; and l can see the laughter in her kind
eyes now as she snatched up her trumpet. She
loved gOOd-natured pleasantly, even at her
own expense. On one occasion, when she was
bewailing her disability for music of which she
had been so intensely fond I reminded her that
she was better provided for in that way than
most people, having both drum and trumpet
always on her ear; and twenty years afterward |
note, i'll one of her letters, pleasant allusion to
this little joke.
The degree of deafness, as have said varied:
and she tried all sorts of remedies. No one who
knew her would suspect her of anything fast
or unfeminine but, under the advice of some
scientific person or another, she tried smoking.
l had the privilege of providing her privately
with some very mild cigars; and many and many
a summer night have we sat together for half an
hour or so in her porch at 1.-The Knolr smoking.
If some of the good people, her neighbors, had
known of that, it would, we agreed have really
given them something to talk about. She only
tried this remedy, if | remember right. for few
months; but she fanced it had beneficial effect
upon her hearing For my part enjoyed moth
ing so much as these evenings. 1t is nv fixed
opinion that the conversation of even a dullard
is mitigated and rendered tolerable by tobacco
he can't talk long without letting his cigar out
for one thing, and there is less temptation to
him, when he has a cigar in his mouth, to talk
at all. for another-whe all that is Thoughtful in
a man is brought to the surface by that benign
influence and one hears him at his best.
need not say, then, what a charming compan-
ion. under these favorable circumstances, was
Harriet Martineau.
1t was about this time, think, that CHANGING
to be in London, she consulted Mr.. Toynbee, the
aurist, upon her aiment He did her little or
no good but was very kind and gracious to her
which lit not being usual habit with him, as |
have heard made great impression upon her
She was so pleased, indeed, with the interest he
had taken in her case, that she resolved to leave
him, by testamentary bequest, her ears She
announced this intention in the presence of Mr.
Shepherd, who, to my infinite amazement, OBJ
served But, my dear madam. you can't do
that; it would make your other legacy worth
less The fact was, in the interests of science
Miss Martineau had already left her head to the
chronological society. l asked the doctor how
he came to know that. ooh" he said, ''she told
me so herself. She has left fl0 in her codici to
me for cutting it off"
There was nothing of course, improper in
such a bequest; but it was certainly very I'M
usual; and | never afterward felt quite comfort
able-even at cribbage-ln the society of the
testatriX and her doctor | don't think | could
play cribbage with lady upon whom | had I'M
dertaken to perform such an operation; but then
l am neither philosopher nor man of science
AS it happened, the doctor died before his pa
tent, who subsequently altered her intentions
altogether. l never heard, at least, of their be
ing carried out
Henry Clay's Last Visit to the House.
Ben: Perley Poore's "reminiscences.