Excerpt from Harriet Martineau's Autobiography, Vol. 3

There was some fear that the strong political interests of the spring of 1848 would interfere With the literary prosperity of the season. Whether they did or not, I do not know. For my own part I cared more for newspapers than books in that excit ing year 5 but my own book had an excellent sale. The re membrance of the newspaper reading of those revolutionary times recalls a group of circumstances in my own experience Which may be worth recording, - to show how important a work it is to give an account of the constitution and politics of a foreign nation. - Ten years before this, (i think it was the year before my long illness began) a gentleman was brought to a soiree at my mother's house, and introduced to me by a friend, who intimated that the stranger had a message to deliver to me. The gentleman had been for some time resident in Sweden, where he was intimately acquainted with the late Prime Minister. The Crown Prince Oscar of that day (the pres ent King) was earnestly desirous of introducing constitutional reforms on a large scale, many of which, as we all know, he has since achieved. The retired Prime Minister desired my guest of that evening to procure an introduction to me, and to be the bearer of an invitation to me to spend a Swedish summer at the Minister's country-house, where his lady and family would make me welcome. His object was, he said, to discuss some political topics of deep interest to Sweden 5 and he conceived that my books on America showed me to be the person whom he wanted 5 - to be capable, in fact, of understanding the work ing of the constitutions of foreign nations. He wanted to talk over the condition and prospects of Sweden in the light of the experiments of other countries. I could not think of going 5 and I forgot the invitation till it was recalled to memory by an incident which happened in April 1839. I was then going to Switzerland with three friends, and our passage to Rotterdam was taken, when a friend of my family, the English representa tive of an Irish county, called on me with an earnest request that I would suspend my scheme, for reasons which he would assign in a few days. I explained that I really could not do so, as I was pledged to accompany a sick cousin. In a day or two.

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