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-1878

MARRIAGE

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mother regularly spent part of their holiday every year-a visit which he always enjoyed and which did him much good.

and heir of Thomas Strangways Horner of Mells Park by his wife, Susannah, daughter and co-heir of Thomas Strangways of Melbury, Dorset.

It was in consequence of this marriage that the Earl of Ilchester assumed the name of Strangways.

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CHAPTER III

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1878-82

COMMONPLACE BOOK-AN EVENING WITH SWINBURNE-INTERVIEW WITH CARLYLE-IMPRESSION OF MILLAISAN EVENING AT SIR WILLIAM SMITH'S-SWINBURNE ON ANCIENT AND MODERN CLASSICS-INTERVIEW WITH ABRAHAM HAYWARD-LETTERS FROM SWINBURNE

SHALL now let my father's own memoirs speak for themselves. His habit was to jot them down in a big book-his " place book "-in any order, opening the volume at haphazard.

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The first entry is dated 1878, but only refers to a consultation with Sir James Paget, the famous physician, and it is not till 1880 that a real beginning is made.

Had to-day, Saturday, Feb. 20th, 1880, an interview with Septimus Rivington the publisherhe was very keen for me to write a work for them. Offered £200 down and royalty for a History of Queen Anne's Reign to be in three or four volumes. Offered to publish any other book of mine and take the risk. I am getting on, I think.

About this time Swinburne moved into his new house and wrote him the following letter:

-1882 SWINBURNE'S HOUSE-WARMING

THE PINES, PUTNEY HILL, S.W.,
April 24th [1880].

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MY DEAR COLLINS,-Ages and empires-to say nothing of æons and dynasties-have risen and fallen since I saw or heard from you. Now I purpose to give a reading of some new poems on Wednesday evening next at 8 sharp, when I hope you will be able to attend my house and verse-warming. There are frequent trains direct from Waterloo on the S.W. line and also there is the Metropolitan, which has trains direct from Charing Cross at the hour and half-hour-should you come from the north side of London by the Metropolitan there are trains to Putney from High Street, Kensington, every half hour, and again there is another set of trains from Gloucester Road to Putney every half hour. Pray let me have the pleasure of seeing you, by one of these hooks or crooks.-Ever yours sincerely,

A. C. SWINburne.

He went and thus records the evening:

April 28, 1880.

I must jot down this. This evening I went by invitation to hear Swinburne read his new volume of poems. There were present, Theodore Watts, Austin Dobson, Arthur O'Shaughnessy, William Rossetti, and Philip Marston. He read almost all the volume with the exception of the long ode to Victor Hugo. Returned by 11.30 train with O'Shaughnessy, Rossetti and Marston. We talked of Walt Whitman in the train. I walked with Rossetti from Waterloo almost to the

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