her the grand coroneted bed, which had been as a hot
gridiron to me, was intended for any particular person, she informed
me it was for a Russian nobleman, Baron Nicholay, a much respected
friend of Mr. Penn's, who sometimes visited Stoke, and who, being used
to a bed of down in the cold climate of his own country, Mr. Penn,
with his characteristic kindness and attention, had it prepared for
the baron's especial comfort. She added that the reason why Mr. Penn
had all his life remained a bachelor, was in consequence of an early
attachment which he had formed for the baron's sister; that they were
to have been married, but in driving the lady in a _drouschky_, or
sledge, on the ice of the Neva, at St. Petersburg, by some fatality
the ice gave way, and notwithstanding the most strenuous exertions of
her lover, and the servant who stood behind the sled, the lady, by the
force of the current, was swept away under the ice, and never
afterward seen. That this shocking accident had such effect on Mr.
Penn's mind, as well it might, he never could think of any other
woman, but remained true and constant to his first love, mourning her
tragic end all his life.

This was exactly the case with that most amiable and gifted man, the
late Sir Thomas Lawrence, who being engaged and about to be married to
a daughter of the celebrated Mrs. Siddons, the young lady was suddenly
snatched from him by a rapid consumption; and Sir Thomas remained
faithful to her beloved memory, wearing mourning during his life, and
ever after used black wax in sealing his letters, as the writer can
prove by many, many received from him during a series of years until
his lamented death.

On asking my intelligent companion if she knew any particulars
respecting Gray, she replied she did know a great deal regarding him;
that Mr. Penn idolized his memory, and had made collections respecting
him and the personages mentioned in the Long Story. At my pressing
solicitation she was good enough to say she would write out all the
particulars--a promise which she faithfully kept; and they may
hereafter appear in some shape.

The morning proving foggy and damp, the time (instead of going to
church) was passed in the library--a magnificent room, nearly two
hundred feet long, extending the whole length of the building, and
filled with books from floor to ceiling.

In one of the principal rooms, mounted upon a pedestal, there is a
large piece of the identical tree under t