It must have been before the year 1842 that I made the acquaintance of Mrs. Somerville Wood, receiving a general invitation to her afternoon receptions on Sundays, and a certain week day—Tuesdays, I think. To her evening “at homes” guests were specially invited, and to several of them I went. I never met Charles Dickens or any of his family at her parties, but I have often wondered if, by any chance, she suggested the character of Mrs. Leo Hunter. She had, however, many amiable traits, that, so far as I remember, are not portrayed in the novelist's famous caricature.

I am afraid she too often confounded notoriety with fame; hence, in seeking to make her drawing-room the rendezvous of celebrities, she occasionally gathered about her a very incongruous set, so that her house was nick-named the “Menagerie.” Personages of excellent repute, and eminent in art, literature, or science, were undoubtedly her guests, but often jostled against strange companions—especially foreigners. Exiles with mysterious antecedents she found interesting; and, being something of a latitudinarian, and a great phrenologist, she laid the faults of people very often on their unfortunate organization. I remember one evening asking a lady, who was seated near me, if she knew who a distinguished-looking man on the opposite side of the room was, and she called him a Greek count, adding, “No doubt he has committed three or four murders.”