Stanley exercised in the Commons, before he was transplanted to the Lords as Lord Stanley (his father's second title), are shown by an incident which occurred in connection with O'Connell, a few years later than the scene just mentioned. For any speaker to give the House of Commons twenty lines of Shakespeare, not only without exciting its murmurs or contempt, but with great effect, was an achievement possible only to such a speaker as Stanley himself. The circumstances under which the incident occurred are thus described by Mr. Lecky: "When Lord Melbourne came into power, O'Connell gave his Ministry the whole weight of his support. His opponents Lord Grey and Mr. Stanley were no longer in the Ministry... The Melbourne Ministry exhibited the rare spectacle of a government opposed by the majority of the English members in the House of Commons, and by the great majority of the House of Lords, and at the same time unpopular with the country, but kept in power by the votes of the Irish members. O'Connell supported it very loyally, and, although in his position there was perhaps no great merit in not being a place-hunter, it is worthy of notice how cheerfully he acquiesced in his exclusion from a Ministry of which he was for some time the mainstay. On questions of persons and offices the Ministers found him uniformly moderate and conciliatory, and in this respect his attitude formed a marked contrast to that of Lord Brougham. In 1838 he refused one of the highest legal positions in Ireland—that of Chief Baron. The Repeal cry at this time was suffered to sink, and in Ireland as in England O'Connell steadily and powerfully supported the Ministry. There can, however, be no question that his support was ultimately a source of weakness.

. It would have been impossible to give O'Connell a place in it without shattering it, and there was no taunt against Ministers more applauded than their alleged subserviency to the agitator. The House of Commons seldom rang with more enthusiastic plaudits than when Mr. Stanley, in one of his attacks upon the Government, quoted these lines from Shakespeare:—

'But shall it be that you, that set the crown

Upon the head of this forgetful man,

And for his sake wear the detested blot

Of murderous subornation-shall it be

That you a world of curses undergo,
Being the agents, or base second means,
The cords, the ladder, or the hangman rather ?
O, pardon me that I descend so low

To show the line and the predicament

Wherein you range under this subtle king.
Shall it for shame be spoken in these days,
Or fill up chronicles in time to come,
That men of your nobility and power
Did 'gage them both in an unjust behalf,
As both of you-God pardon it!-have done?
And shall it be, in more shame, further spoken,
That you are fooled, discarded, and shook off
By him for whom these shames ye underwent ?'"

A Slip.-We remember (says the writer of a biographical notice of Lord Derby) to have heard Lord Macaulay say that no one ever attempted to catch Lord Stanley tripping, and to interrupt him in his speech, without coming by the worst in the encounter. He might well say so, for he was himself an example of the truth of his words. On one occasion, in the full rush and torrent of his eloquence, Lord Stanley used the expression "mutually suicidal." It was, perhaps, not strictly defensible, and the slip was too much for the "book in breeches," who was then sitting on the front bench in opposition, to pass over. Half rising from his seat, and removing his hat with well-affected courtesy, he repeated the words in an inquiring tone, " Mutually suicidal?" Lord Stanley checked himself for an instant, looked his antagonist full in the face, and, without attempting to justify the expression, contemptuously replied, "The right honourable gentleman is a great verbal critic." The cheers of the House showed the retort had told.

"The Rupert of Debate."-This well-known epithet was applied to Lord Stanley by Lord Lytton in his poem, "The New Timon." The following is the passage in which it occurs :

"The brilliant chief, irregularly great,

Frank, haughty, rash-the Rupert of Debate.
Nor gout nor toil his freshness can destroy,
And time still leaves all Eton in the boy.
First in the class, and keenest in the ring,
He saps like Gladstone, and he fights like Spring.
Ev'n at the feast his pluck pervades the board,
And dauntless game-cocks symbolise their lord.
Lo where atilt at friend-if barr'd from foe-
He scours the ground and volunteers the blow,
And, tired with conquest over Dan and Snob,
Plants a slight bruiser on the nose of Bob.
Decorous Bob, too friendly to reprove,
Suggests fresh fighting in the next remove,
And prompts his chum, in hopes the vein to cool,
To the prim benches of the Upper School.

Yet who not listens with delighted smile

To the pure Saxon of that silver style?

In the clear style a heart as clear is seen,

Prompt to the rash-revolting from the mean."

Mr. Disraeli, however, appears to have originated the expression. The "New Timon" was first published in 1846; but in April, 1844, Mr. Disraeli thus alluded to Lord Stanley, in a discussion on some charges brought by Mr. Ferrand against Sir James Graham: "The noble lord in this case, as in so many others, first destroys his opponent, and then destroys his own position afterwards. The noble lord is the Prince Rupert of Parliamentary discussion; his charge is resistless; but when he returns from the pursuit he always finds his camp in the possession of the enemy."

A New Crop of Statesmen.-Shortly after the formation of his first Ministry, in 1852, Lord Derby and the rest of the members of the

Government were entertained by the Goldsmiths' Company. Alluding in his speech to the efforts he had made to form a Cabinet, he illustrated them by a reference to the recent gold discoveries, and said: "It was supposed that the crop of statesmen was one of very limited amount, for which, if you were disposed to search, you must dig in certain favoured localities, and confine yourself to searching for them there. I am happy to think, gentlemen, that to some extent I have been instrumental in dispelling that illusion. A fortunate adventurer, I have boldly opened a new mine, and I am happy to say that in the opinion of competent judges, so far as it has been yet worked, the ore that has been raised contains among it as large a proportion of sterling metal, with as little admixture of dross, as any that was ever drawn from the old and exclusive mines to which we were formerly confined."

A Candid Confession.-Writing to Lord Derby (then Prime Minister) in 1858, the Prince Consort informed him incidentally that Prince Alfred had just passed his examination as a naval cadet and received his appointment, and said: "I send you Prince Alfred's examination papers, which may, perhaps, interest you. He solved the mathematical problems almost all without fault, and did the translations without a dictionary." In his reply, after thanking the Prince for sending him the papers, Lord Derby wrote: "As I looked over them, I could not but feel very grateful that no such examination was necessary to qualify her Majesty's Ministers for their offices, as it would very seriously increase the difficulty of framing an administration."

The Democratic Tide.-It was often imputed to the Earl of Derby that he had said he considered it his mission to "stem the tide of democracy." The exact phrase did not proceed from his own mouth, but was founded on a passage in a speech he delivered on the 15th of March, 1852. Replying to a question from Lord Beaumont as to the intentions of the new Government with respect to duties on corn, Earl Derby said: "We are threatened with far more serious consequences than could result from the imposition of a 4s., 58., or 78. duty on foreign corn. The question before us is, whether the Government of this country can be carried on, and as to the principles on which it is to be carried on. And when I appeal to the country it will be on these grounds: Will you, Protectionists and Free Traders, all you who desire the advantage of all the interests of the country, place your confidence in, and give your support to, a Government which, in the hour of peril, did not hesitate to take the post of danger when the helmsman had left the helm? Will you support a Government which is exerting itself to protect the country against any hostile attack, to maintain the peace of the world, to maintain and uphold the Protestant institutions of the country, to give, to the utmost of its power, religious and moral education throughout the land; and which will exert itself moreover, I don't hesitate to say, to stem with some opposition, to supply some barrier against the current of that continually increasing and encroaching democratic influence in this nation, which is bent on throwing the whole power and authority of the Government nominally into the hands of the masses, but practically and really

into those of demagogues and republicans, who exercise an influence over those unthinking masses-will you, I say, support a Government which is determined to resist that noxious and dangerous influence, and to preserve inviolate the prerogatives of the Crown, the rights of your lordships' House, and the liberties of a freely-elected and freely-represented House of Commons? These, my lords, are the questions on which, when I go to the country, I make my appeal, on behalf of myself and of my colleagues; and, in the words which are placed in the mouths of the meanest felons that stand in the prisoner's dock, but which are not unworthy of the mouth of the first minister of the first country in the world, I say, 'I elect that we shall be tried by God and our country.'"-(Hansard's Report.)

"Meddle and Muddle."-Lord Derby made use of this expression in February, 1864, to characterise the policy then being pursued by Earl Russell as Foreign Minister: "The foreign policy of the noble earl (said he), as far as the principle of non-intervention is concerned, may be summed up in two truly expressive words-meddle' and 'muddle.' During the whole course of his diplomatic correspondence, wherever he has interfered-and he has interfered everywhere-he has been lecturing, scolding, blustering, and-retreating."

The "Leap in the Dark.”—On the third reading of the Reform Bill in the House of Lords, August 6th, 1867, the Earl of Derby said: "No doubt we are making a great experiment and taking a leap in the dark,' but I have the greatest confidence in the sound sense of my fellowcountrymen, and I entertain a strong hope that the extended franchise which we are now conferring upon them will be the means of placing the institutions of this country on a firmer basis, and that the passing of the measure will tend to increase the loyalty and contentment of a great portion of her Majesty's subjects."

"Dishing the Whigs."-Lord Derby's style was always dignified in debate, but in conversation with his colleagues he was often extremely colloquial and idiomatic. An example has been given in his brief remark to Sir James Graham on the downfall of the Grey Ministry, "Johnny's upset the coach." Another famous saying must be instanced. Replying to an old associate who thought the Reform Bill of the Derby-Disraeli Cabinet had gone too far in a popular direction, the Earl of Derby is said to have contented himself with the remark, “We have dished the Whigs!" as a complete justification of his policy.

BENJAMIN DISRAELI, EARL OF BEACONSFIELD.

(1805.)

His Early Candidatures.-The future leader of the Conservative party first became a candidate for Parliament under Radical auspices, presenting himself at High Wycombe in 1832, with recommendations from Hume and O'Connell, Being repeatedly unsuccessful here, in 1835 he offered himself for Taunton, and on this occasion spoke against O'Connell. The latter shortly after made a characteristic reply, in which he declared of his opponent that "he possessess just the qualities of the

impenitent thief who died upon the cross, whose name, I very believe, must have been Disraeli." Smarting under this onslaught, Mr. Disraeli challenged the son of the Irish demagogue to perform "the vicarious duty of yielding satisfaction for the insults which your father has too long lavished with impunity on his political opponents;" for O'Connell, after his fatal combat with D'Esterre (p. 256), had vowed not to fight a duel again. Mr. Morgan O'Connell on a similar occasion had offered to meet Lord Alvanley, but he now declined; and Mr. Disraeli thereupon wrote to the father a letter in which he said, "With regard to your taunts as to my want of success in my election contests, permit me to remind you that I had nothing to appeal to but the good sense of the people. No threatening skeletons canvassed for me;" with more to the same effect, concluding with the words, "We shall meet at Philippi.”

A Forecast.-Melbourne and Disraeli.—Mr. Disraeli, before he entered Parliament, was asked by Mr. and Mrs. Norton to meet at dinner Lord Melbourne, then Home Secretary. The interview is thus related by Mr. Torrens in his "Memoirs of Melbourne: "-" Young Disraeli was not long returned from his travels in the East, with traits of which he had interested Mrs. Norton on the occasion of their first acquaintance. He had just then been defeated in an attempt to get into Parliament for the borough of Wycombe, where he attributed his failure to the want of support by the Whigs. Mrs. Norton presented him after dinner to the Home Secretary, who had the power, she said, of retrieving the disappointment if he chose; and whose frank and open manner led to a long conversation, in which Mr. Disraeli mentioned the circumstances of his late discomfiture, dwelling on each particular with the emphasis which every young man of ambition since Parliament was invented is sure to lay upon the broken promises and scandalous behaviour of his victorious foes. The minister was attracted more and more as he listened to the uncommonplace language and spirit of the youthful politician, and thought to himself he would be well worth serving. Abruptly, but with a certain tone of kindness which took away any air of assumption, he said, 'Well now, tell me,-what do you want to be?' The quiet gravity of the reply fairly took him aback-'I want to be Prime Minister.' Melbourne gave a long sigh, and then said very seriously: 'No chance of that in our time. It is all arranged and settled. Nobody but Lord Grey could perhaps have carried the Reform Bill; but he is an old man, and when he gives up, he will certainly be succeeded by one who has every requisite for the position, in the prime of life and fame, of old blood, high rank, great fortune, and greater ability. Once in power, there is nothing to prevent him holding office as long as Sir Robert Walpole. Nobody can compete with Stanley. I heard him the other night in the Commons, when the party were all divided and breaking away from their ranks, recall them by the mere force of superior will and eloquence: he rose like a young eagle above them all, and kept hovering over their heads till they were reduced to abject submission. There is nothing like him. If you are going into politics and mean to stick to it, I dare say you will do very well, for you have ability and enterprise; and if you are careful