98 A MISTAKEN MINISTER 1861 At Eden was told the story of the Scots minister in a church where it was the habit to give out the psalms to be sung line by line from the pulpit, but who on a particular occasion desired to excuse himself from so doing, as his sight was temporarily impaired. So he said: "My eyes are dim, I cannot see," on which the precentor and congregation, taking it for the first line of a psalm or hymn, sang "My eyes are dim, I cannot see." The minister, rather disconcerted, and trying to explain, said “I meant to make apology," which was again sung by the congregation. The minister, getting angry, said "I only said my eyes were dim,” again taken up and repeated in singing by the congregation. bawled out The minister, exasperated, "I did not mean to give a hymn," sung again by the congregation, and so on. There was also mentioned a Scots minister's prayer for the British navy: "Lord, be as a wall of fire round the ships! Be as a great 1861 LORD BROUGHAM AT BROUGHAM 99 rock in the midst of them! May they be as immovable as iron!" Not long afterwards I found "the great rock in the midst" in the original Joe Miller of 1730, in which a similar story is told, but of an English bishop, which illustrates at once the adaptability and the permanence of jokes. Cælum non animum mutant. From Carlton Hall I went to pay my respects to Lord Brougham at Brougham. I was told that his hours were uncertain, and that his attendance at the family meals was irregular, but that my best chance of seeing him would be to try to fall in with him on his return from service in the family chapel to the house. this I succeeded, and I think he remembered me; but he seemed very feeble, his face was of ashen gray, and he said only a few words. He looked like a shadow of the past. In 11th December.-I was appointed a trustee of the Soane Museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields. It came about in this way. Among other curious provisions made by Sir John Soane in bequeathing his house and collections to the nation, it was prescribed that the curator should be an architect who had won a medal at the Royal Academy, and that he should be 100 BONOMI 1861 chosen by that body and presented to the trustees of the museum by the Royal Academy. The Academy very wisely appointed Bonomi, the well-known Egyptologist, who seemed made for the place and the place for him; but the trustees had refused to induct him on the ground that he did not fulfil the condition of being an architect, never having actually practised his profession, or done anything but design a park lodge for a personal friend. Things were at a dead lock; there had been a strong feeling in the matter among the trustees, and one or two of them had resigned. At this juncture Hardwick, the architect, asked me to help him and the others who were in favour of accepting Bonomi's appointment by becoming a trustee, and I consented. The opinion was then taken of Sir Roundell Palmer, who advised that there was no legal definition of the status of an architect, and that Bonomi's professional education and competence to act as such gave him a sufficient qualification for the office of curator. Accordingly he was duly admitted, and the affairs of the trust went on as quietly as ever. The house cannot be altered, and the collections cannot be in any way increased; 1861 SOANE MUSEUM ΙΟΙ all that can be done is to take the best means for their preservation, and the house, if left intact, will some day, although with many peculiar arrangements, be a valuable specimen of a London dwelling-house of the period. The library and art collections are extremely interesting. Among the books are a very fine copy of the Landino Dante of 1481, with all the engravings; and copies of the first four folios of Shakespeare, and some finely illuminated MSS. The museum also contains Hogarth's Rake's Progress and Election pictures, a good Turner, and a large Canaletto, with other pictures of mark. In my time as a trustee the most important pictures were put under glass-a sad necessity for works of art in London-and much was done otherwise for the due preservation of the various objects in the museum, including the placing of the great Belzoni sarcophagus in a glass case. It would be wrong to destroy the Museum as it exists by transferring its contents to other public collections, as much of its interest would be destroyed by such a step; and it is now made easily accessible for the public, and is always open to students. 102 DEATH OF PRINCE CONSORT 1861 59 MONTAGU SQUARE, 22d December 1861. MY DEAR E.-I am writing at the close of the saddest day I ever saw in London. The signs of general grief have been everywhere seen and heard; all the public offices have been closed; nearly all shops shut; all faces wear an air of sorrow and concern. The occasion is indeed one to justify every expression of admiration, regret, and sympathy for the Queen and her children; and the general sadness contrasts strangely with the preparations for Christmas festivities, which, however, have been, in consequence, much abridged. Posthumous praise has never been so well deserved as in the case of all the encomiums which have been written on the Prince Consort. He had himself told Dr. Jenner that he knew he would not be appreciated until after his death; and there was truth in this, although for many years past the unreasonable attacks upon him had subsided, and all persons whose opinions were of value had learned to recognise his excellent conduct on all occasions, his great abilities, and his patient devotion to his duties. From the beginning of the illness the physicians thought badly of it, but it was not until the Friday in last week that people in general became anxious. Indeed, except in London circles with some special information, I suppose that the fatal termination must have taken all the world by surprise. Saturday was a time of intense anxiety. I suppose the name was omitted in the prayers in all London churches on the Sunday, and that gave the first information to many. The accounts of the Queen have been good from the beginning. At the end of two days she sent for the Cabinet boxes, and began to read papers and think of public work again. Poor lady! No union in private life was distinguished by more entire confidence, mutual reliance, and affection. Yours affectionately, W. F. P. |