peace which Christ told His friends He gave, and
the world gives not, neither takes away. Let dear B---- come and see me;
I shall like to look on her bright, courageous face again. Give my
affectionate love to Lord Dacre, and believe me

Ever gratefully and affectionately
Your grandchild,
FANNY.

UPPER GROSVENOR STREET, May 3rd, 1843.

Thank you, dearest Hal, for Sydney Smith's letter about Francis Horner:
it is bolder than anything I had a notion of, but very able and very
amiable, and describes charmingly an admirable man. There is one
expression he--Sydney Smith--applies to Horner that struck me as
strange--he speaks of "important human beings" that he has known; and, I
cannot tell why, but with all my self-esteem and high opinion of human
nature and its capabilities in general, the epithet "important" applied
to human beings made me smile, and keeps recurring to me as comical. It
must have appeared much more so to you, I should think, with your
degraded opinion of humanity.

You ask how our second party went off. Why, very well. It was much
fuller than the other, and in hopes of inducing people to "spread
themselves" a little, we had the refreshments put into my drawing-room;
but they still persisting in sticking (sticking literally) all in the
room with the piano, which rather annoyed me, because I hate the
proximity of "important human beings," I came away from them, and had a
charming quiet chat in the little boudoir with Lord Ashburton and Lord
Dacre, during which they discussed the merits of Channing, and awarded
him the most _unmitigated_ praise as a good and great man. It is curious
enough that in America the opponents of Dr. Channing's views perpetually
retorted upon him that he was a clergyman, a mere man of letters, whose
peculiar mode of life could not possibly admit of his having large or
just, or, above all, practical political knowledge and ideas, or any
opinions about questions of government that could be worth listening to;
whereas these two very distinguished Englishmen spoke with unqualified
admiration of his sound and luminous treatment of such subjects, and,
instancing what they considered his best productions, mentioned his
letter to Clay upon the annexation of Texas, even before his moral and
theological essays.

Our company stayed very late