His allusions to Mirliton and to the Bishop
frequently mystified Madame Novikoff's guests. For he loved to
talk in cypher. Canon Warburton, kindly searching on my behalf his
brother Eliot's journals, tells me that he and Kinglake, meeting
almost daily, lived in a cryptic world of jokes, confidences,
colloquialisms, inexplicable to all but their two selves.
He cordially disliked "The Times" newspaper, alleging instances of
the unfairness with which its columns had been used to spite and
injure persons who had offended it, chuckling over Hayward's
compact anathema,--"'The Times,' which as usual of late supplied
its lack of argument and proof by assumption, misrepresentation,
and personality." He thought that its attacks upon himself had
helped his popularity. "One of the main causes," he said in 1875,
"of the interest which people here were good enough to take in my
book was the fight between 'The Times' and me. In 1863 it raged,
in 1867 it was renewed with great violence, and now I suppose the
flame kindles once more, though probably with diminished strength.
In 1863 the storm of opinion generally waxed fierce against me, but
now, as I hear, 'The Times' is alone, journals of all politics
being loud in my praise.
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