among other things, he did not call me a rebel.' Then, taking off his
court coat, which, after carefully folding and laying upon the sofa, he
stroked, he muttered, 'Lie there now; you'll see better days yet.'"

Being asked if he had ever seen Daniel Webster, Landor replied, "I once
met Mr. Webster at a dinner-party. We sat next each other, and had a
most agreeable conversation. Finally Mr. Webster asked me if I would
have taken him for an American; and I answered, 'Yes, for the best of
Americans!'"

Landor had met Talma, "who spoke English most perfectly,"--had been in
the society of Mrs. Siddons, "who was not at all clever in
private,"--had conversed with Mrs. Jordan, "and a most handsome and
agreeable woman she was; but that scoundrel, William IV., treated her
shamefully. He even went so far as to appropriate the money she received
on her benefit nights." Malibran, too, Landor described as being most
fascinating off the stage.

"I never studied German," he remarked at another time. "I was once in
Germany four months, but conversed with the professors in Latin. Their
Latin was grammatical, but very like dog-Latin for all that. What an
offence to dogs, if they only knew it!" Then, lowering his voice, he
laughingly added, "I hope Giallo did not hear me. I would not offend him
for the world. A German Baroness attempted to induce me to learn her
language, and read aloud German poetry for my benefit; but the noise was
intolerable to me. It sounded like a great wagon banging over a
pavement of boulders. It was very ungrateful in me not to learn, for my
fair teacher paid me many pretty compliments. Yes, Giallo, _Padrone_ has
had pleasant things said to him in his day. But the greatest compliment
I ever received was from Lord Dudley. Being confined to his bed by
illness at Bologna, a friend read aloud to him my imaginary conversation
between the two Ciceros. Upon its conclusion, the reader exclaimed, 'Is
not that exactly what Cicero would have said?' 'Yes, if he could!' was
Lord Dudley's answer. Now was not that a compliment worth having?"

One day when I was sitting with Landor, and he, as usual, was
discoursing of "lang syne," he rose, saying, "Stop a bit; I've something
to show you,"--and, leaving the room for a moment, returned with a small
writing-desk, looking as old as himself. "Now I want you to look at
something I have here," he continued, seating himself and opening the
desk. "There, what do you think of that?" h