resumed, to the satisfaction at least of his wife and youngest daughter.
Twenty-two years' tenancy of Elmers End Cottage, a charming little abode in Kent, followed. The home here, though quiet and rural, was by no means secluded; pleasant society was always at hand, visits to other country places or to London frequently took place, and Louisa's lively letters to sister and friends exhibit plenty of interest in life, and even social joyousness of a fresh and simple kind. A change full of varied interest was made in 18513 by an eighteen months' residence in Paris and its neighbourhood. Frequent soirées of a cosmopolitan type introduced the family to delightful English and French society, and, above all, they made the valued acquaintance of Mr. and Mrs. Browning. These somewhat exciting experiences had their effect on Louisa's quiet mind, but she returned the same as ever to her simple but well-filled country life. About twenty-seven, her mind's natural and irrepressible growth, enlarged by many deep-lying human experiences, made the outlet of poetical utterance more than ever a necessity; and to this period
15
