We have received letters from the workingmen, both in
Dundee and Glasgow, desiring our return to attend _soirees_ in
those cities. Nothing could give us greater pleasure, had we time or
strength. The next day we had a few calls to make, and an invitation
from Lady Drummond to visit classic Hawthornden, which, however, we
had not time to accept. In the forenoon, Mr. S. and I called on Lord
and Lady Gainsborough. Though she is one of the queen's household, she
is staying here at Edinburgh while the queen is at Osborne. I infer,
therefore, that the appointment includes no very onerous duties. The
Earl of Gainsborough is the eldest brother of the Rev. Baptist W.
Noel. It was a rainy, misty morning when I left my kind retreat and
friends in Edinburgh. Considerate as everybody had been about imposing
on my time or strength, still you may well believe that I was much
exhausted. We left Edinburgh, therefore, with the determination to
plunge at once into some hidden and unknown spot, where we might spend
two or three days quietly by ourselves; and remembering your Sunday at
Stratford-on-Avon, I proposed that we should go there. As Stratford,
however, is off the railroad line, we determined to accept the
invitation, which was lying by us, from our friend, Joseph Sturge, of
Birmingham, and take sanctuary with him. So we wrote on, intrusting
him with the secret, and charging him on no account to let any one
know of our arrival.
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