Page:The life and letters of Sir John Henniker Heaton bt. (IA lifelettersofsi00port).pdf/87



HEN the Duke of Wellington was asked his opinion of the English climate he is reported to have said: "For six months in the year the English climate is the best in the world, and for the other six I'm damned if I know a better."

This was a very favourite quotation of H. H.'s, and he could speak with some authority, having tried the climate of most countries in the world. Although he thought so highly of the health-giving properties of the English air, the fact remains that he never willingly spent a winter in England if he could possibly be anywhere else. His friends accused him of "Spending his week-ends in Japan"—a not unfair comment on his meteor-like journeys across the world.

H. H. and Lady Heaton, who shared a devoted love of the sea, spent a good deal of time on the Sussex coast. The gorse country round Bexhill and the picturesque old Sussex villages added greatly to the affection they had for the neighbourhood. The crystal-clear air and the invigorating breezes would send H. H. back to work with renewed life.

Rest, as other people understand the word, was unknown to him. The only relaxation he found was in travelling about at full speed, meeting fresh people 57