In another letter
to his mother, shortly after the above date, he says: "I have not
heard from my father for the last fortnight. I am in very good
lodgings, at a boarding-house, not working hard, and have time to
cultivate some agreeable society. The landlady is all that can be
desired and more than could be expected--the company far above the
average. There is Mr. B., a barrister and Cambridge man, first
rate; and a nice old lady, Mrs. F., very intelligent and
good-natured. We three are great friends. Taking it altogether, the
house is so comfortable, that I did not go to the theatre once last
month." The mutual good opinion may be estimated by the following
introduction from the gentleman alluded to above, to the Colonial
Secretary at Perth, in the event of his explorations leading my son
to Western Australia:
"I pray your hospitality for Mr. W. J. Wills, for whom I have a
very high esteem and friendship. He makes me happy beyond flattery
by permitting me to think that I add something to his life. You
cannot fail to like him. He is a thorough Englishman, self-relying
and self-contained; a well-bred gentleman without a jot of
effeminacy.
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