172 PRÆTERITA-I

educated, and fairly sensible women, all of them; refined beyond the average tone of their position,-and desirous, not vulgarly, of keeping themselves in the upper-edge circle of the middle class. Not vulgarly, I say, as caring merely to have carriages stopping at their door, but with real sense of the good that is in good London society, in London society’s way. They liked, as they did not drop their own h’s, to talk with people who did not drop theirs; to hear what was going on in polite circles; and to have entrée to a pleasant dance, or rightly given concert. Being themselves both good and pleasing musicians, (the qualities are not united in all musicians,) this was not difficult for them;- nevertheless it meant necessarily having a house in a street of tone, near the Park, and being nicely dressed, and giving now and then a little reception themselves. On the whole, it meant the total absorption of Henry’s salary, and of the earnings, in some official, or otherwise plumaged occupations, of two brothers besides, David and William. The latter, now I think of it, was a West-End wine merchant, supplying the nobility with Clos-Vougeot, Hochheimer, dignifiedly still Champagne, and other nectareous drinks, of which the bottom fills up half the bottle, and which are only to be had out of the cellars of Grand Dukes and Counts of the Empire. The family lived, to the edge of their means,-not too narrowly: the young ladies enjoyed themselves, studied German-and at that time it was thought very fine and poetical to study German;-sang extremely well, gracefully and easily; had good taste in dress, the better for being a little matronly and old-fashioned: and the whole family thought themselves extremely élite, in a substantial and virtuous manner.

199. When Henry Watson was first taken, (then, I believe, a boy of sixteen,) I know not by what chance, or on what commendation, into my father’s counting-house, the opening was thought by his family a magnificent one; they were very thankful and happy, and, of course, in their brother’s interest, eager to do all they could to please

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