"I hope thee will see the wonderful prophet of the Bramo Somaj,
Mozoomdar, before he leaves the country. I should have seen him in
Boston but for illness last week. That movement in India is the
greatest event in the history of Christianity since the days of Paul.
"So the author of 'Christie Johnstone' is dead. I have read and
re-read that charming little story with ever-increasing admiration.
I am sorry for the coarseness of some of his later writings; but he
was, after all, a great novelist, second only in our times to George
Eliot, Dickens, and Thackeray.... I shall be glad to hear more about
Mr. Wood's and Mrs. ----'s talks. Any hint or sign or token from the
unseen and spiritual world is full of solemn interest, standing as I
do on the shore of 'that vast ocean I must sail so soon.'...
"You will soon have Amelia Edwards again with you. I am sorry that I
have not been able to call on her. Pray assure her of my sincere
respect and admiration."
And again: "Have thee seen and heard the Hindoo Mohini? He seems to
have really converted some people. I hear that one of them has got a
Bible!"
The phrase that he is "beset by pilgrims" occurs frequently in his
letters, contrasted with pleased expressions, and descriptions of
visits from Phillips Brooks, Canon Farrar, Governor and Mrs. Claflin,
and other friends whose faces were always a joy to him.
I have turned aside from the narrative of every-day life to mention
these friends; but it is interesting to return and recall the earlier
years, when he came one day to dine in Charles Street with Mr.
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