ere.

Atherstone was not far from Coventry. Mr. Bracebridge claimed descent
from Lady Godiva, and informed me that a descendant of Peeping Tom of
Coventry was still to be found in that place. He himself was lord of the
manor, but had neither son nor daughter to succeed him. He told me some
rather weird stories, one of which was that he had once waked in the
night to see a female figure seated by his fireside. I think that the
ghost was that of an old retainer of the family, or possibly an
ancestress. An old prophecy also had been fulfilled with regard to his
property. This was that when a certain piece of land should pass from
the possession of the family, a small island on the estate would cease
to exist. The property was sold, and the island somehow became attached
to the mainland, and as an island ceased to exist.

My two sisters accompanied Dr. Howe and myself in the round of visits
which I am now recording. They were young women of great personal
attraction, the elder of the two an unquestioned beauty, the younger
gifted with an individual charm of loveliness. They were much admired
among our new friends. Thomas Appleton followed us at one of the houses
in which we stayed. He told me, long afterwards, that he was asked at
this time whether there were many young ladies in America as charming as
the Misses Ward.

Mrs. Bracebridge in speaking to me of Florence Nightingale as a young
person likely to make an exceptional record, told me that her mother
rather feared this, and would have preferred the usual conventional life
for her daughter. The father was a pronounced Liberal, and a Unitarian.
While we were still at Atherstone, we received an invitation to pass a
few days with the Nightingale family at Emblee, and betook ourselves
thither. We found a fine mansion of Elizabethan architecture, and a
cordial reception. The family consisted of father and mother and two
daughters, both born during their parents' residence in Italy, and
respectively christened Parthenope and Florence, one having first seen
the light in the city whose name she bore, the other in Naples.

[Illustration: FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE

_From a photograph._]

Of the two, Parthenope was the elder; she was not handsome, but was
_piquante_ and entertaining. Florence, the younger sister, was rather
elegant than beautiful; she was tall and graceful of figure, her
countenance mobile and expressive, her conversation most interesting.
Having heard much of