Page:Blanchard on L. E. L.pdf/234

234 lady's personal acquaintance with L. E. L. commenced, in 1835, the circumstances of occasional intercourse have been peculiarly favourable for knowing and estimating her rightly. Little, indeed, as she remarks, can we judge of real character from the superficial views only which general society presents; least of all, of such beings as L. E. L.

"It was my privilege to associate with her in a circle comprising some among the few of her heart's chosen and trusted friends—those to whom she opened her inmost soul—those as she emphatically said, 'who loved her for her own sake, not admiring or flattering her because she was L. E. L.' The idea of being sought merely for her literary popularity ever roused her disdain; and she would speak in no measured terms of persons who considered themselves as patronizing literary characters, by inviting them as sources of amusement or objects of curiosity. 'What!' she would indignantly exclaim, quoting her own expressive lines— Be made the wonder of a night, As if the soul could be a sight." "By the friends referred to she was understood and appreciated in all her varying moods, literary or social. Their homes were the green and sunny spots where her spirit looked for rest when worn and wearied in the crowded highways of the world. Their generous kindness, and protecting care, were around her during the last few months she dwelt in her native land, securing her comfort, and shielding her from anxiety.

"How vividly does memory recall my first visit with L. E. L., that lonely morning room with its sweet garden prospect, its birds and flowers, its