Saturday. Decr. 10th.
Wrote to Mr. Boyd a long letter, to give him an account of the tongues & politics.[1] I told him not to answer it, unless he felt inclined to do so—will he feel inclined?
Bummy has been speaking to Papa. She will not tell me exactly what was said—but two things are clear—that we shall go—& that we shall not go immediately.
1. For the letter, see BC, 2, 333–335. “The tongues” refer to the much-discussed occurrences in October at the Regent’s Square church, London, during sermons by the Rev. Edward Irving (1792–1834). Sundry members of the congregation purported to have been inspired to speak in an unknown tongue by the Holy Spirit, and this sparked off a storm of theological argument. These two lines, taken from a “magnificent burst” quoted in the Kentish Gazette, 1 November 1831, illustrate the “gift” claimed by 15 of Irving’s flock: “Hippo—gerosto—hippo—booros—senoote / Foorime Oorin Hoopo Tanto Noostin—”
