Basis of agreement in so far as radical
ideas of practical morality and religion are concerned; and I am
increasingly certain that there is a foundation for a lasting unity
between the two countries which shall increase constantly, as the
increasing facilities of communication lessen the distance between us.
Lady Russell inquired with a good deal of interest after Prescott, our
historian, and expressed the pleasure which she and Lord John had
derived from his writings.
We left early, after a most agreeable evening. The next day at eleven
o'clock we went to an engagement at Lambeth Palace, where we had been
invited by a kind note from its venerable master, the Archbishop of
Canterbury. Lambeth is a stately pile of quaint, antique buildings,
rising most magnificently on the banks of the Thames. It is surrounded
by beautiful grounds, laid out with choice gardening. Through an
ancient hall, lighted by stained-glass windows, we were ushered into
the drawing room, where the guests were assembling. There was quite a
number of people there, among others the lady and eldest son of the
Bishop of London, the Earl and Countess Waldegrave, and the family
friends of the archbishop.
The good archbishop was kind and benign, as usual, and gave me his arm
while we explored the curiosities of the palace.
