The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-12-17

verted has she been by the training and humoring incident to her social position, that question if in her whole life she has ever done as much for her fellow creatures as my mother in one year--or whether she will ever break through the cobwebs she is entangled in so as to be anything other than the most amusing and most graceful woman of her time."
 From one woman of another. this Is i a praiseful presentation! Later, Mrs. Carlyle was moved to speak, with a growing touch of scorn, of Lady Har- riet. The grand lady. who 1t seems ents, and good intentions, to be other than idle to death."
 Even Carlyle in one of his sad little comments on this letter. says: Idle ness 1t must be owned did sadly pre- vail--sadly. and even tragically. as sometimes thought in considering our hostess and chief lady there and her noble talents. natural tendencies and as- pirations--'buried under gold thrones, | as Richter says"
 The Grange was a delightful place | to visit as Mrs. Carlyle makes plain in her letters--a beautiful county house | rich in the appointments and luxury wealth seconded by taste had arranged. It was there Macanlay mef Carlyle who was so woefully bored by the topic of Macaulay's discourse-"the ir- | re sistible proofs for Sir Philip Fran cis." AS if," said Carlyle, 'it could matter the value of brass farthing to any known being. who was the au- | thor of Junius"
 cle at ease In the same sphere, Is known. Macaulay and Carlyle were no excep- tions If Carlyle had possessed the idea of the Irresistible proofs" for Sir Philip Francis--and had been interested in the subject he would have talked 1t as in- exhaustibly as Macaulay. More so! He
 would have slain his listeners and spared not. Lady Harriet on one occa- sion arohly designated him as "Boreas''
 in reference to his strength of dictton and indomitable, energetic use of 1t.
 GIimpses of Lady Harriet are very de- Iightful in their revelation of her charm. One regrets they are only glimpses' and that no memoir has presented her attractive personality in more detail.
 She was quite frank to say what she
 thought--as witness a speech to Mrs. | Carlyle:
 .'she said," writes Mrs. Carlyle, my
 picture was the horridest thing she had
 ever seen, Like but so disagreeably
 like! exactly reminding one of poor
 old starved rabbit"
 This was being a little too frank! | She tells Mrs. Carlyle of the grey span
 Ish horse she has purchased-she has
 a new riding habit and beaver and Is
 going to ride quick now"
 When they went up to London from
 The Grange. she rode the Spanish
 horse and Mir. Barring one. of the car
 riage horses. He" (Mr. Baring). said
 Lady Harriet, rode half the way on
 that. and then the helper came up on
 MuR (the pony) and Mir. Barring got on
 Mun and rode him the rest of the
 way"
 Good. MT. Baring" comments Mrs. Carlyle, to whose minds eye the idea of Lady Harriet on the Spanish horse, riding quick now" and Mfr. Barring on Nun. the pony, made an ironic tableau. Lady Harriet's brilliant life closed suddenly at Nice in 1S57, and her death was a heavy blow to her many devoted friends and q loss to English society. Carlyle said: ''The most queen.like wo- man I had ever known or seen. In no society, English or other, had ever known or seen the equal of this great lady who was gone."
 It is hardly necessary to note how rich storehouse the. gossipy memoirs and chronicles of charming women have been to novelists. Mrs. Num- phrey Ward following the lead of the Goneourts. who reclothed for our pleasure so many personages of his tory took the originals of her hsroines