During his 1882 lecture tour of North America, he wrote this letter: “When I think of America I only remember someone whose lips are like the crimson petals of a summer rose, whose eyes are two brown agates, who has the fascination of a panther, the pluck of a tigress, and the grace of a bird. Darling Hattie, I now realise that I am absolutely in love with you, and for ever and ever …” Biographer Matthew Sturgis says he’s identified the likely Hattie – who was “bright, vivacious, beautiful and rich.”