laced under his tuition forthwith.

This was the first time I ever saw the woman who holds the most exalted
position in the world, the Queen of England, who has so filled that
supreme station that her name is respected wherever it is heard abroad,
and that she is regarded by her own people with a loyal love such as no
earthly dignity but that of personal worthiness can command.

JAMES STREET, BUCKINGHAM GATE.
DEAREST H----,

The kind exertion you made in writing to me so soon after leaving
London deserved an earlier acknowledgment; but when I tell you that
every day since Christmas I have fully purposed writing to you, and
have not been able to do so before to-day, I hope you will excuse
the delay, and believe me when I assure you that not only the
effort you made in going to the theater, but your seeing me at all,
are appreciated by me as very strong marks of your affection for
me.

Now let me say something to you about Lady C---- L----'s criticism
of my performance. In the first place, nothing is easier than to
criticise by comparison, and hardly anything much more difficult
than to form a correct judgment of any work of art (be it what it
may) upon the foundation of abstract principles and fundamental
rules of taste and criticism; for this sort of analysis is really a
study. Comparison is the criticism of the multitude, and I almost
wonder at its being resorted to by a woman of such ability as Lady
C----. I only say this by the way, for to be compared with either
Mrs. Siddons or Miss O'Neill is above my expectation. They were
both professional actresses, which I can hardly yet claim to be;
women who had for years studied the mechanical part of their art,
and rendered themselves proficients in their business; while
although I have certainly had many advantages, in hearing the stage
and acting constantly, tastefully, and thoughtfully discussed, I am
totally inexperienced in all the minor technical processes, most
necessary for the due execution of any dramatic conception. As to
my aunt Siddons--look at her, H----; look at her fine person, her
beautiful face; listen to her magnificent voice; and supposing that
I were as highly endowed with poetical dramatic imagination as she
was (which I certainly am not), is it likely that there