1. “Of course I went,” Davidson recorded. “The only other guests besides the Poet-Laureate were Mr. Carlyle's brother and a young
man whose name I did not gather.” They discussed “whether they would accept titles if offered. Tennyson was disposed to decline
such honours for himself and said no title could excel the simple name of ‘Thomas Carlyle.’ … I noticed that when Carlyle
was at a loss for a poetical quotation, Tennyson promptly supplied it. Referring to the Life of Frederick … Tennyson said,
‘At this crisis, Peter the Great would have been a better subject.’ Carlyle agreed, and added, ‘And it would have been better for me.’ Alluding to the state of Europe … Tennyson remarked, ‘The world is looking for the coming man.’ I said, ‘The coming Man
has already come, and they crucified Him.’ Carlyle said emphatically, ‘I quite agree with you.’ … Carlyle said, ‘If I had
to govern a country, I would take the Bible as my rule, and if it involved the occasional cutting off of a head, I should
not mind.’ He told Mr. Tennyson about my plan for night firing, and his knowledge of mathematics enabled him to describe it
correctly” (300–301).
