He was very kindly appreciative of my
own productions, as was also his wife, next to whom I sat at dinner. She
talked to me about the author of "Adam Bede," whom she has known
intimately all her life. . . . . Miss Evans (who wrote "Adam Bede") was
the daughter of a steward, and gained her exact knowledge of English
rural life by the connection with which this origin brought her with the
farmers. She was entirely self-educated, and has made herself an
admirable scholar in classical as well as in modern languages. Those
who knew her had always recognized her wonderful endowments, and only
watched to see in what way they would develop themselves. She is a
person of the simplest manners and character, amiable and unpretending,
and Mrs. B------ spoke of her with great affection and respect. . . . .
Mr. B------, our host, is an extremely sensible man; and it is remarkable
how many sensible men there are in England,--men who have read and
thought, and can develop very good ideas, not exactly original, yet so
much the product of their own minds that they can fairly call them their
own.
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