He occupied an exceptional position, inasmuch as he had made his house
a centre towards which intellectual London gravitated. When he had
done this, that, and the other to make his bachelor days memorable to
a host of friends, he wound up by marrying one of England's fairest
women, our great actress, Kate Terry. It was in those early days that
Ellen, the débutante, was introduced to the dramatic world as "Kate
Terry's sister." Since then Kate, having elected to rest on her
laurels, is proud to be referred to by the younger generation as
"Ellen Terry's sister."

In early life Lewis had various roads open to him. Born, as he was,
with the capacity of a man of business, the means and opportunities of
a man of leisure, and the talents of an artist, he managed to follow
the three roads at the same time, and they all led to well-deserved
success. He was to be found at his desk in Regent Street, at his easel
in the studio, or on the threshold of that big billiard and reception
room which he had built to entertain his friends. Himself an artist,
and for many years a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy, he was on
terms of close friendship with the men who had made their mark in the
art-world, and with many who were destined to become famous. He was
a Mæcenas of the right sort, knowing a good thing when he came across
it, and frequently acquiring it before the sleepy world awoke to its
merits.

I well recollect the enthusiasm with which he welcomed the first
pictures Joseph Israels exhibited in England in 1862. Neither in
the English nor in the Dutch department of the Exhibition could he
ascertain whether these two pictures, "The Drowned Fisherman" and
"Washing the Cradle," were for sale. But luck would have it that he
was introduced to Israels at the Academy _soirée_, and the artist,