Memoirs of William Hazlitt Author:William Carew Hazlitt Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER HI. 1821-1822. Mr. Walter, tailor and lodging-house keeper, 9, Southampton Buildings — His daughter Sarah—History of the 'Liber Amoris'—Correspo... more »ndence with Patmore and K Mrs. Hazlitt's diary. In the year 1820 Mr. Hazlitt had first taken apartments at No. 9, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane. His landlord was a Mr. Walker, a tailor by trade, and a lodging-house keeper. Walker was Mr. J. P. Collier's tailor. Whether he was Mr. Hazlitt's tailor also, and it was thus he was led to go there, I know not. He had two daughters, Sarah and Betsy; and it happened on the 16th August, 1820, that Mr. Hazlitt saw Sarah Walker for the first time, and was smitten by her personal attractions. Betsy Walker afterwards married a gentleman named Eoscoe, and made him an excellent wife, it is said. To him Sarah Walker was perfect loveliness. He was infatuated. He thought that he saw in her features a likeness to the old paintings of the Madonna. The girl herself must have been, at any rate, of somewhat superior breeding, if not looks. She felt, or pretended 22 A CONVERSATION. to feel, an interest in Mr. Hazlitt's works, of some of which she had copies, given to her by himself. He gave her other books, but she said that his own were those she chiefly prized! She admired a statuette of Napoleon which he possessed, and he gave that to her. But she declined to receive it, and returned it to him afterwards, with the remark that she fancied he only meant she was to take care of it while he was away. In one of his conversations with Miss Walker, Mr. Haz- litt took occasion to describe to her the nice points of difference between the French, English, and Italian characters, and Miss W. pretended to feel an interest in the subject, and to express a wish to see foreign countri...« less