"Southey himself lived at Greta Hall, a much finer place, for many
years, but he never owned it, and the gentleman who bought it will
permit no one to see it.
"Miss Southey's house is overgrown with climbing plants, has windows
opening to the ground, and is really a summer residence, not a good
winter home.
"When Southey, in his decline, married a second wife, the family
scattered, and this daughter, the only unmarried one, left him.
"We were shown into a pleasant parlor comfortably furnished, especially
with books and engravings, portraits of Southey, Wordsworth, and others.
"Miss Southey soon came down; she is really pretty, having the fresh
English complexion and fair hair. She seems to be a very simple,
pleasant person; chatty, but not too much so. She is much engrossed by
the care of three of her brother's children, an old aunt, and a servant,
who, having been long in the family, has become a dependant. Miss
Southey spoke at once of the Americans whom she had known, Ticknor being
one.
"The old aunt asked after a New York lady who had visited Southey at
Greta Hall, but her niece reminded her that it must have been before I
was born!
"Miss Southey said that her father felt that he knew as many Americans
as Englishmen, and that she wanted very much to go to America. I told
her that she would be in danger of being 'lionized;' she said, 'Oh, I
should like that, for of course it is gratifying to know how much my
father was valued there.
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