THE AUTHOR OF "THE FAIRCHILD FAMILY." ITo flu Eorroz or
THE "Semmes."' Sia,—One is often tempted to wonder why The Fairchild Family is not relegated to the limbo of forgotten things, and why Mrs. Sherwood herself can still claim so many admirers in spite of the misconception which exists with regard to her theological opinions. It is, I believe, largely due to her knowledge of human nature— that touch which makes the whole world kin—and to the sympathy and humour which sustained her through no many painful and difficult experiences. Because of this continued interest in her, I send a few hitherto unpublished extracts from her diary which illustrate the frankness, and directness with which she describes people and incidents, and her youthful enjoyment of the simple pleasures of life which remained with her to the end.
In 1831 else describes visits to her publisher:—
" My kind and most excellent husband accompanied me in several of these visits, until 1 actually entreated him to let me go alone, for he invariably drew behind use when he entered a publisher's house and never uttered a word, making me, who am appear like the veriest independent wife. and himself en the most submissive husband that ever was blessed with such a wife. Ile even allowed good Mr. Hatchard to address me as a widow in his presence; in one house be was taken for my son, so, being angry, I begged him to pay my future literary visits by myself, telling him that if he must needs act Jerry Sneak I would not appear with him as Mrs. Sneak, especially where I knew I was closely examined. Whereupon he laughed, and I laughed, and he asked me cabal he had to do with my booksellers. Whereupon I should have grown wroth again could I have refrained from laughing, and so it was neither the Captain or I were framed to be distinguished members of the Bas Bleu Society."
" March, DM—During this month a Mr. Newton, a hard, tall, ungainly American, called to see me from New York and rated me soundly for my Universalist principles, as he termed them. He drank tea with us and attacked us all round and made himself superlatively disagreeable. . . . It must be allowed that when persons make interest to see curious animals they ought not in common civility to insult their keepers. And now being on this subject, I remember that being at Wick a lady came from London and located herself at about three miles distant from me, quite on the other side of Worcester, from which place she sent me word that she had long wished to see me and that she hoped I would be so obliging as to come and call upon her. My answer was saucy enough. Tell the lady, I said, that as the lady wishes to see me. and I do not particularly desire to see her, the least she can do is to take the trouble which is needed to bring us together and not require me to do so."
"April, 1840.—Poor Mrs. Greawold called to give me a long lecture. She had been reading ' The Indian Orphans,' and said she was convinced that I had once been a good woman, but that I had grievously fallen. i know not whether the distressed me or not; I do not say in my diary that else did, but I find the follow- ing passage immediately after the mention of this dear lady's
jobation—' I had a very uneasy night; I thought I beard bells ringing mournful changes during all my sleeping hours.'" "August, 1834.—In the evening we all went to bear Dr. Malan preach at Mr. Lake's for the benefit of the Penitentiary. . . . There was an unfortunate little circumstance which compelled every one who possessed a risible muscle to use it, whether he would or not. Poor Mr. Lake, as the custom of that chapel is, gave out the hymns, and when he stood up and, with that pom- posity of manner which was a part of himself, he delivered these words—' Pity me, a Magdalen,' which words, when one looked at the excellent man with his band and cassock and high bald forehead, was too ranch, and one was forced to laugh, note. coleits."
In November, 1834, she records a short visit to the Methuens at Malvern, whose acquaintance she had made at Nice, and who had since that time left the Church of England and become Plymouth Brethren. She finds assembled at the house a large religious party :—
" We dined at 5 and read and discussed the Bible till night. . . . There was a young gentleman whose waist one might hare spanned with apparent ease, who descanted on the•5duty of fasting, and was not only a professor, but evidently a practicer of abste- miousness and spare living, and a young lady who laughed at his and all our singularities, saying, 'Well, it most be acknowledged that we are a peculiar people.' . . . The party had chosen the plagues of Egypt for the discussion after tea, and we were all in the very midst of these plagues; we had all agreed, right or wrong I say not, in considering them typical of the troubles which were to come upon the Church of Christ in after ages, and I was going to show some examples of my typical learning, when I was utterly shocked and astounded by an assertion of our lean young gentleman, who insisted that Pharaoh was a type of God the Father. The truth was we were all out of our depth."
" June 18th, 1850.—Recovering after an illness at Twickenham. . . . There had been rain in the night, and it was sweetly cool, and I went in the evening with Sally Bird [one of her Indian orphans) to see Pope's Villa, which looked very like a Chinese toy. I thought of my own dear love, who went there in the autumn and had his poor, little innocent joke about it in consequence of Gouldtlsorms (his man) calling it The Pope's Villa, and sometimes as now my heart seems to sink and die away and I am ready to wish to be with those who are gone before."
Before another year was ended her wish was fulfilled, and she had joined her " dear love " and their five children (two of whom, a Lucy and Little Henry, had died in India), and her body was laid to rest with his in the old churchyard at Twickenham, and the tombstone hears this inscription "Sacred to the Memory of Henry Sherwood, Esq., of Tower Wick, in the County of Worcester, formerly Captain in H.M..'s 53rd Regiment, and late Captain in the Brunswick Hussars, who died in this parish on the 6th of December, 1849, in the 73rd year of his age. Also Mary Martha, his widow, who died in this parish on the 22nd day of September, 1851, aged 70. The above named was authoress of 'Little Henry and His Bearer.'"
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