1859] WORK IN SOUTHERN COUNTIES 519
real mother, to visit her at Beckett near Shrivenhain. I had seen so little then of any members of my real family,, that I went to Beckett with more shyness and misgivings than I have ever taken to any other place; but I soon became deeply attached to my dear cousin Lady Barrington, who began from the first to show an interest in me, which was more that of a tenderly affectionate aunt than of any more distant relation. Lord Barrington, the very type of a courteous English nobleman., was also most kind. Of their daughters, two were unmarried — Augusta, who was exceedingly handsome, brimful of very accurate information, and rather alarming on first acquaintance 3 and Adelaide, who was of a much brighter, gentler nature. I thought at this time, however, that Lina, Lady Som-erton, was more engaging than either of her sisters. I often found her at Beckett with her children, of whom the little Nina — afterwards Countess of Clarendon — used to be put into a large china pot upon the staircase when she was naughty. Beckett was a very large luxurious house in the Tudor style, with a great hall, built by Thomas Liddell, Lady Barring-ton's brother. The park was rather flat, but had a pretty piece of water with swans, and a picturesque summer-house built by Inigo Jones. Much of the family fortune came from Lord Barrmgton's uncle, Shute Barrington, Bishop of Durham, who used to say he was the only licensed poacher in England. — " I Shute, by the grace of God," &c. This old bishop, when his nephew brought his bride to visit him — a wedding visit — at Mongewell, filled all the trees with rare cockatoos and parrots, in the hope that when she