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that was her married name. She had two sons and was later
to have a daughter. Mister Taylor, kindly, complacent and
tolerant coped with the fact that John Stuart Mill practically
moved into the house, and for twenty years the social couple
of the residence was not Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, but Mrs.
Taylor and John Stuart Mill. Twenty years of what is
described as platonic courship, they took trips together,
had an active intellectual life. The Thomas Carlyles, that
is the famous man of letters and his wife, frequently
refer in their memoirs to their associations with Harriet
and John Stuart. In fact, Thomas Carlyle gave that couple
the only manuscript of large tome on the French
Revolution that he'd finished, when the Taylor maid found
it, thought it was junk and burned it. But the Carlyles
did not sever relations over that and were friends of the
couple until after Mr. Taylor died and into their marriage
which followed at a decent interval. Harriet was intellectual
as I said and possibly somewhat perculiar. I cite the
description of her found in the memoirs of Thomas Carlyle's
wife. She describes Mrs. Mill as a"peculiarly affected
individual, not easy unless she startles you with unexpected
sayings, if she was going to utter something kind and
affectionate she speaks in a hard stern voice. If she
wants to be alarming or uncivil she employs the most honeyed
and affectionate tones. "Come down and see us," she said
one day "you will be charmed with our house, it is so
full of rats." "Rats," cried Carlyle "do you regard them as

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