4 July 1864 – 10 July 1864

Breakfast at Lord Houghton's, sixteen guests. He introduces me to Captain Hamilton Aide, who lives at Lyndhurst. Bishop W^ilberforce, Swin- burne, Vambery the Hungarian traveller, Hon. Mr. Stanley (of Alderley), supposed Mohammedan. Vam- bery speaks, in beautiful English with a slight foreign accent, of his travels in Central Asia disguised as a Dervish. If discovered he would have been tortured to death. A Dervish, he said, must observe the cere- monies and fasts more strictly than an ordinary Mohammedan, but he sometimes procures a relaxation in this way : the Holy Man announces one morning that he has had a dream^ in which permission has been given to him to eat, drink, sleep, amuse himself as he likes, for a certain number of days ; and he does so accordingly, and is considered to be more holy than ever. The Bishop of Oxford inquired, in his exquisitely bland tones, ' Is it permitted to an ordinary Mussulman to have a dream of this nature ? ' To which Vambery replied, with the grave politeness which characterises him, ' He might dream, my lord, but no one would pay attention to it : one must be a Holy Man to have this privilege,' — at which there was a good deal of laughter. Vambery's account of his strange experiences was made the more interesting by frequent interruptions from Mr. S., who put questions, sometimes in a tone of no very good breeding, with the view of making him appear inaccurate, but Vambery always answered with good temper as well as perfect success. He is going back to Central Asia. * I hope ' (Lord H. said to me after breakfast) ' S. won't get him murdered.' I thought this breakfast very amusing ; Swinburne found it dreadfully dull.

Lunch with Browning : tell him of the pseudo-Dervish and the English Mohammedan, which amuses him. He wishes he had been at the breakfast ; it seems he had an invitation, but too late. Mr. Robert Lytton comes in — ' Joachim ; Tennyson ; Browning's new poem in blank verse.' Out with B.

To Gabriel's, where are Madox Brown and Webb.

D. G. Rossetti and 1 dine at Hotel de Provence, Leicester Square, then to Opera, where Taylor has promised us places for ' Mirella.' Gabriel, who detests music, soon went away ; I remained.

E. B. Jones and I to Woolwich by rail, return by river. Evening, Highgate : The Howitts, friendly, walk back.