of FitzGerald's yacht;
the second, a book, "made up," like so many others, by FitzGerald, and
comprising this one, three French plays, a privately printed article on
Moore, and the first edition of 'A Little Dinner at Timmins's.' Then
with Mr Barrett, the Ipswich bookseller, who likewise knew FitzGerald, I
had two chance meetings; and last but not least, I spent a most pleasant
day at Colchester with Mr Frederick Spalding, curator now of the museum
there.

Sitting in his alcove, hewn out of the massy wall of the Norman keep, he
poured forth story after story of FitzGerald, and showed me his memorials
of their friendship. This was a copy of Miss Edgeworth's 'Frank,' in
German and English, given to FitzGerald at Edgeworthstown (_cf._
'Letters,' p. 74); and that, FitzGerald's own school copy of Boswell's
'Johnson,' which he gave Mr Spalding, first writing on the fly-leaf--"He
was pleased to say to me one morning when we were alone in his study,
'Boswell, I am almost easier with you than with anybody' (vol. v. p.
75)." Here, again, was a scrap-book, containing, _inter alia_, a long
and interesting unpublished letter from Carlyle to FitzGerald about the
projected Naseby monument, and a fragment of a letter from Frederic
Tennyson, criticising the Laureate's "Welcome to Alexandra." Not being a
short-hand reporter or American interviewer, I am not going to try to
reproduce Mr Spalding's discourse (he must do that himself some day); but
a letter of his in the 'East Anglian' of 8th July 1889 I will reprint:--

The fishing Lugger built at Lowestoft was named the "Meum and Tuum,"
commonly called by the fishermen there the "Mum and Tum," much to Mr
FitzGerald's amusement; and the ship alluded to by Mr Gosse was the
pretty schooner of 15 tons, built by Harvey, of Wyvenhoe, and named
the "Scandal," after "the main staple of Woodbridge." My friend, T.
N., the skipper, gave a different account of the origin of the name. I
was standing with him on the Lowestoft Fish Market, close to which the
little "Scandal" was moored, after an early dive from her deck, when
Tom was addressed by one of two ladies: "Pray, my man, can you tell me
who owns that very pretty yacht?" "Mr Edward FitzGerald of
Woodbridge, ma'am," said Tom, touching his cap. "And can you tell us
her name?" "The 'Scandal,' ma'am." "Dear me! how came he to select
such a very peculiar name?" "Well, ma'am, the fact is, all the other