d, and "carry out his
instructions." To the goodness--the sweetness--of her character we
have several times paid tributes. We have spoken of the devotion to her
husband which surrounds her with a lambent glory; but we have also shown
that she was indiscreet, illiterate, [647] superstitious and impulsive;
and that she was possessed of a self-assurance that can only be
described as colossal. We have also shown that her mind was unhinged by
her sad trouble. Such, then, was the woman and such the condition of the
woman upon whom devolved the duty of considering the manuscripts of
one of the most original men of the 19th century. Which of them were
valuable and which mere lumber she was quite incapable of judging. Her
right course would have been to call in some competent person; but she
thought she was competent.

At Lady Burton's request, Mr. Albert Letchford and Miss Letchford had
come to stay with her "for the remembrance of the love her husband bore
them." It fell to Miss Letchford to sort Sir Richard's clothes and to
remove the various trifles from his pockets. She found, among other
things, the little canvas bags containing horse-chestnuts, which, as we
have already noticed, he used "to carry about with him against the Evil
Eye--as a charm to keep him from sickness."

Lady Burton now commenced with the manuscripts--and let it be conceded,
with the very best intentions. She would have nobody in the room but
Miss Letchford. "I helped Lady Burton to sort his books, papers,
and manuscripts," says Miss Letchford. "She thought me too young and
innocent to understand anything. She did not suspect that often when
she was not near I looked through and read many of those MSS. which I
bitterly repent not having taken, for in that case the world would not
have been deprived of many beautiful and valuable writings. I remember
a poem of his written in the style of 'The House that Jack built,' the
biting sarcasm of which, the ironical finesse--is beyond anything I have
ever read. Many great people still living found their way into these
verses. I begged Lady Burton to keep it, but her peasant confessor
said 'Destroy it,' so it was burnt along with a hundred other beautiful
things." She destroyed valuable papers, [648] she carefully preserved
and docketed as priceless treasures mere waste paper. [649]

There now remained only the manuscript of The Scented Garden and a
few other papers. By this time Lady Burton had discovered that M