Reminiscences and letters of Joseph and Arnold Toynbee / edited by Gertrude Toynbee.

  • Toynbee, Joseph, 1815-1866.
Date:
[1910]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Reminiscences and letters of Joseph and Arnold Toynbee / edited by Gertrude Toynbee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    Rev. Percival Graves, Perpetual Curate of Winder- mere, who had known Wordsworth intimately and Harriet Martineau and the Arnolds and other mem- bers of the literary circle at the Lakes. He was a charming person, refined and gentle and gracious, with poetic and intellectual tastes. He came to see us at Wimbledon after my father’s death and corresponded with me, as did Miss Napier. Miss Napier was a distinguished-looking lady with a quantity of waving snow-white hair and a noble presence. She was very literary in her tastes and broad and generous in her sympathies. We also met another friend of Miss Napier’s there, Mrs. Pear- son ; she and her husband had both known Words- worth and his family, and she afterwards gave me some of Wordsworth’s hair and letters from Dorothy, Dora and Mary Wordsworth. She was a thought- ful and interesting lady, and she became a great friend of mine and we corresponded for years. She was a patient of my father’s and reverenced him. After his death she came to see me at Wimbledon, and I took her to see his grave and she was very much touched. Miss Arnold said the social inter- comse in their valley had been unique in its char- acter, on such a high plane and absolutely free from gossip and littleness. Mr. Graves told us that one day when Harriet Martineau was writing her daily article for the Daily News she found her brain did not work quite as quickly as usual, and so she at once sent in her resignation to the editor. Not long before his sudden death my father made a collection of beautiful water-colours which were a great joy to him, and he had pleasant inter-