Page:Hannah More (1887 Charlotte Mary Yonge British).djvu/175

Rh To his sister, Mrs. Stephen, Wilberforce writes:—

"You must have been greatly entertained at Barley Wood if your nerves were equal to the encounter, but you would miss the eldest sister. There was a place assigned to every one of the sisterhood, and not one of them could be spared without creating a void."

Certainly such testimony from one accustomed to the choicest circles in London, confutes what Madame Bunsen hastily says, namely, that Hannah More's powers deteriorated, "and were narrowed by being confined to the society of Mrs. Patty, Mrs. Betty and the rest." In fact, they were women of intelligence fully equal to her own, and quite as agreeable, Sally being always, even in old age, the liveliest and most amusing of the family, and Patty being, as ever, Hannah's other self.

The summer of 1814 was a quieter one than usual, for, as Hannah wrote in June, "Our friends from all quarters being met in one common centre, Emperor-hunting." She took advantage of the leisure to work up an Essay on the Character and Writings of St. Paul, a life study with her, on which she had concentrated all her research into authorities. She was interrupted by a letter from Cadell informing her she had outlived her copyright in her Sacred Dramas, in the 18th edition, and that other publishers were bringing out editions, to his injury, so that he begged her to make some additions to the work for his benefit. Accordingly she wrote an additional scene for her drama of