Sir Henry died without
issue, and was succeeded by his sister's son, John Maggott Twining, who
assumed the name of Elwes. He was the famous miser, and must have had
Hawthorne blood in him, through his grandfather, Gervase, whose mother
was a Hawthorne. It was to this Gervase that my ancestor, William
Hawthorne, devised some land in Massachusetts, "if he would come over,
and enjoy it." My ancestor calls him his nephew.
June 12th.--Barry Cornwall, Mr. Procter, called on me a week or more ago,
but I happened not to be in the office. Saturday last he called again,
and as I had crossed to Rock Park he followed me thither. A plain,
middle-sized, English-looking gentleman, elderly, with short, white hair,
and particularly quiet in his manners. He talks in a somewhat low tone
without emphasis, scarcely distinct. His head has a good outline, and
would look well in marble. I liked him very well. He talked
unaffectedly, showing an author's regard to his reputation, and was
evidently pleased to hear of his American celebrity. He said that in his
younger days he was a scientific pugilist, and once took a journey to
have a sparring encounter with the Game-Chicken. Certainly, no one would
have looked for a pugilist in this subdued old gentleman. He is now
Commissioner of Lunacy, and makes periodical circuits through the
country, attending to the business of his office. He is slightly deaf,
and this may be the cause of his unaccented utterance,--owing to his not
being able to regulate his voice exactly by his own ear.
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