> ' • 1 ( i < j ■. < ■ 1 * \ DISRAELI AND HIS DAY. DISRAELI AND HIS DAY BY Sir William Fraser, Baronet M.A. CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD AUTHOR OF "WORDS ON WELLINGTON" LONDON KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO., LxP 1891 The rights of translation a ?id of reproduction are reserved. < 1 t C c *. «■ ' 1 * * t, (^ «. *■ «. k. 1 I. « «. t c t ^i ^ * * c . . \- ,' c , . c c c c c «^ c * * » 1 t. ' DISRAELI. i^\NE OF THE FIRST questions that I put ^-^^ to Disraeli was "Which Passion gives Plea- sure the latest? The conventional idea is, of course, Avarice." He replied, " No ! Revenge. A man will enjoy that when even Avarice has ceased to please." Yet no one preached more persistently tlie Prudence of Forgiveness ; nor practised it more systematically, DISRAELI WAS A strong illustration of the ab- surdity of the Theory that Imagination and Judg- ment are not found in the same individual. Bril- liant as was the former quality ; thoroughly sound in him was the latter. On three occasions he con- ducted very complicated affairs to a wise termina- tion. In the first, the son of an old and most valued friend had committed a most serious offence in relation to money. Among others he had forged A 4-2tinH'\ 2 DISRAELI. his mother's name. I know that DisraeH under- took to save the wretched man, so far as it was possible. A criminal prosecution was avoided : and although he died a banished man, in a foreign and dismal country, no absolutely public scandal occurred. Travelling some years ago I stopped a day or two at S' Sebastian, in the north-east corner of Spain. Noticing on the door-posts of my bed- room some black seals bearing the British coat-of- arms I asked the reason. The landlord told me that an English gentleman had died there a week before : and that the British Vice-Consul had sealed up the door of the room which contained the dead man's little property. He did not remember the name ; but showed it to me in the book ; and said that the gentleman had come over for a few days' diversion from Bilbao. I found that it was the name of the miserable exile, whom I recollect among the handsomest and smartest men in London Society. In the second case Disraeli undertook to arrange so far as was possible the complicated and disas- trous condition of affairs in relation to the property of Lord S., who had from imprudence, and having been the dupe of several impostors, become very DISRAELI. 3 much reduced in circumstances. Nothing could be more generous than the pains which he took ; and nothing more prudent than the arrangements. At one of the many interviews relating to the busi- ness, a Solicitor of eminence, employed in the case, took Disraeli apart, and, intending to astonish Iiim by his own exceptional astuteness, whispered to him in relation to a gentleman in the room, " I cannot help thinking, Sir, that M' has at some time or other raised money for Lord S." Disraeli calmly looked at him : and per- fectly unimpressed, said, "So I assumed from the first ! " The third case was, if possible, more serious than the first ; it was of a character that cannot here be described : but the leading fact was that a lady absolutely refused to continue to cohabit with her husband. Both were persons by birth of high rank ; ;j and it was in every way desirable to avoid publicity. Disraeli most kindly undertook to arrange matters privately : so far from yielding to any sentimental feeling, he gave his decision in strict and peremp- tory terms ; one being that the couple should never live together again. From some motive, notwith- standing this wise decision, the matter was brought 4 DISRAELI. into Court ; but wjs tried in camera. The de- cision of the Judge was exactly and precisely the decision which DisraeH had come to. I should say that a more practical - minded man never existed. So far as regards his Imagina- « tion, his writings of Fiction are copious testi- monials. ON ONE OCCASION Disraeli was carrying the House of Commons with liim. M' K. H., now Lord B., at that time a Whig, was seated behind Lord John Russell : of course on the opposite side of the House to the orator. Roused to involuntary enthusiasm by Disraeli's eloquence, he cheered. Lord John leaned back, and said to his supporter in his very dry voice, " Don't do that ! " After Disraeli had finished his speech M' K. H. said to Lord John, " I could not help cheering : I admire his power so much." Lord John replied, "No reason that you should let him know it ! " SPEAKING TO ONE whom I know well, Disraeli said, " Do not let your mind dwell upon what you want, and what you have not got : always fix your mind upon what you have got." DISRAELI. 5 NOT LONG AFTER the fight which occurred at Six-Mile-Bridge, in Ireland, in which the British and Irish soldiers did their duty thoroughly; and which resembled in its incidents an affair which had occurred some years before at Dolly's Brae, a Member of the House of Commons whose career and life ended most sadly, determined to bring the case before the House ; and took great pains in mastering the facts. It was considered by the leaders of the Tory Party that it would be desir- able for a general attack by the whole line to be made : and that the leader of the attack should be their most accomplished General as regards Ire- land, M"" Whiteside ; afterwards Chief Justice. Con- sequently Lord Adolphus Vane had to yield : very reluctantly, and, at the personal request of Lord Derby, he gave way to the eloquent lawyer who began the debate. Whiteside's speech was a fine one. I remember his quoting with great effect from Hamlet. At the inquest the soldiers had been declared murderers : he gave the words of the grave-digger, " I am asked is this Law ? I reply aye ! marry is't ; Crowners-quest Law ! " After this weil-graced actor had left the stage the eyes of all were of course idly bent on those 6 DISRAELI. that followed. A Member returning to the House at ten o'clock found Lord Adolphus Vane, who naturally wished to speak on his own subject, ad- dressing the House: he said to Disraeli, "What, still at Six-Mile-Bridge?" He repHed, "Oh no! we have got over that: this is Dolly's bray!" MY FIRST SIGHT of Disraeh was in the "Crush- room" of the Opera. I recognised him at once from the caricatures. His face was then a mass of wrinkles; absolutely wizened. In later years it was much smoother. At this period he wore several gold chains on his waistcoat. I believe that in eariier days he was absolutely hung in them. The lady whom he paints as "Mrs. Felix Loraine" in "Vivian Grey," who was not Lady Caroline Lamb, asked him, while taking her down to dinner, " What is the meaning, Ben! of all these chains? Are you practising for Lord Mayor? or what?" The same lady said, " You have described me, Ben ! in your novel. I admit that I have committed all the crimes you mention, except one: I assure you that I never committed murder." I had this from one who was present, and who oudived •Disraeli. DISRAELI. 7 I ASKED HIM, whether the present generation could produce the Jesters of the middle-ages, who, as we know, attended at great men's feasts. He said, " Yes ! where there is a demand there is always a supply." His recollection of details was exceptional. When Lord Palmerston was Member for Tiverton, an insubordinate butcher gave him occasional trouble: the scene usually ended in his driving the Knight of the Blue Apron round the town in his carriage. Representing a neighbouring Borough, I naturally observed and remembered the name of the butcher. Many years afterwards speaking to Disraeli about Lord Palmerston, who was then Prime Minister, he said, " We must put him out : and have a 'Rowcliffe' Administration." Soon after Lord Palmerston became Premier I met Disraeli : in the course of conversation I said, " What is the history of Palmerston's success ? we know that he is not a first-rate man." Disraeli replied, "Impudence! Irish impudence!" LORD PALMERSTON presided at an annual dinner of the "Royal Literary Fund." I asked Monckton Milnes, afterwards Lord Houghton, how Palmerston got on at the dinner : he answered, " For 8 DISRAELI. a man who never read a book in his hfe, I think he did very well." Lord Palmerston might have led the House of Commons at thirty-five ; but de- clined : giving as his reason that *' his life would be a perpetual canvass," and that he could not endure it. Whether this were the real cause or not I do not know ; the reason of his ultimately achieving his position in Parliament was that he was twenty years older than any other leading man : that he knew the Country well : and that on one subject he knew a great deal, and no one else knew any- thing : Foreign Affairs. Lord Palmerston never was a good speaker : he had a hesitation which came in at the most in- appropriate times : a good voice ; but no art : in speaking he would constantly use an anti-climax : he would say, for instance, "The language of the honourable gentleman is unusual, unparliamentary, violent, discreditable, and ahem ! " — a pause — " to be deprecated." I never knew him rise to real eloquence : and on one occasion only did I hear him speak with great ability : this was on the Danish question. Everybody who at- tended to such matters, had been completely ])uzzled by the complicated affairs of Schleswig- DISRAELI. 9 Holstein. The clearest heads could make nothing of it : and the vast majority of the House of Commons did not attempt it. Lord Pahiierston made a speech admirable in its clearness. I could not have believed it possible that he could make such a speech. Solving the difficulties, and presenting the essential points of the question, to the appreciation and comprehension of the House. Disraeli, seeing the effect that had been produced, in his reply characterised the speech as "per- spicuous ; but not satisfactory." It was splendidly perspicuous. I was not in Parliament at the time of the cele- brated " Pacifico Speech : " nor up to this time have I been able to understand by reading it, the effect which it produced : but I may say that except on these two occasions Lord Palmerston never made a great speech. On horseback he appeared of middle height ; being long in the body, with short legs : he had a smart, spruce, look ; and was well represented in his numerous portraits in " Punch " : one of these was suggested to Leech, then the leading artist, by myself. Lord Palmerston had lately paid a visit to the Emperor of the Frencli at Compiegne : and 10 DISRAELI. Leech represented him at my suggestion in the Louis XV. hunting-dress worn there, three-cornered hat, high boots, etc., and tilting at a " quintain " bearing the word " Liberty." He substituted a " Cap of Liberty," which is hardly visible, for the word. Even the Garter Ribbon did not give him an aristocratic look. One of Lord Palmerston's aphor- isms was that "the best thing for the inside of a man is the outside of a horse " : he rode every day, unless prevented by press of business : and invariably took a long ride on Sunday. It was remarked of him that when in good health and spirits his whiskers were dyed of a bluish tint : when out of sorts he neglected this ornamentation. It is supposed that a laugh is indicative of character and feeling : I never heard a heartier laugh than Lord Palmerston's : very deep down, and musical. He gave you the impression of perfect good humour. I was presented to him by my mother at the first Ball to which I was invited in London ; a Ball given to the Queen by the Duchess of Sutherland at Stafford House. Passing into the great central Hall, we met Lord Palmerston, in his Civil Service dress, blue and gold; with the broad red ribbon DISRAELI. II of the Bath. He shook hands with me, and said something good-natured. I wore for the first time the uniform of the First Regiment of Life Guards, which I had just joined. A few minutes afterwards I heard a lady say to Lord Palmerston, "Who is that very splendid young gentleman ? " In a deep and singularly pleasing voice he answered, " I have not the remotest idea ! " The next occasion on which I saw him was at his own house in Carlton Gardens : I assume that he thought I was an attache to some Foreign Embassy. In those days no one but Cavalry Officers and foreigners wore moustaches. He addressed me in French ; and very bad French indeed. Many years have rolled by : but I have never forgotten his remark, " II est beau temps ! " On the last occasion on which I saw him I was passing through Westminster Hall from the House of Commons ; he had just dis- mounted from his horse. Thinking it would save the old boy trouble, I said, "The House is up, my Lord." He replied, " Thank you ! I am very much obleeged to you : how about Ayrton, and the Balance of Power?" I told him gently that nothing had been said on the subject. Lord Palmerston had a peculiarly flattering manner 12 DISRAELI. of leaning forward when you were addressing the House, standing opposite to him of course. As he did this to me on several occasions, I assume that he did the same to others. Once, however, he did his best to snub me : without ultimate effect. When the Ionian Islands were given up, the Order of S' Michael and S' George fell into desuetude ; it had been instituted at Lord Guild- ford's instigation on finding that the Members of the Ionian Parliament actually walked to S' Peters- burg, with a view to obtaining a decoration. It was necessary to counteract this : and S' George for England, and S' Michael as the leader of the celestial hierarchy, neither of whom were in any way connected with the Ionian Islands, were made the patrons of the new Order. The motto, "Auspicium melioris asvi," was and is singularly inappropriate : it should be changed to " Imperi Porrecta Majestas ! " Of course when the Islands were given up there was no longer a purpose in the Order. It occurred to me that it might be made most useful as a reward for Colonial Services : I brought forward the .question in the House of Commons. I had studied Lord Pal- merston carefully : and I felt quite certain that he DISRAELI. 13 would reply by telling the story, already an ancient one, that William IV. at Brighton complaining of the persecution by the Mayor of some large town, who pursued him even to his marine retreat, the King's son Lord Adolphus FitzClarence said, "I should 'Guelph' him, Sire, at once," another ver- sion being that the King said, " I shall have to Guelph him : " and Lord A. replied, " And serve him right! Sire"; that is, give him the Guelphic Order. So accurately had I taken Lord Palmer- ston's measure that, notwithstanding I had nar- rated this story, he said in his reply, "To repeat the story already told by the Honourable Baronet " ; and went through it again. I remember Sir James Douglas, at that time one of the few re- maining K.C.M.G.'s, giving tongue loudly, during my harangue : he did not want to be diluted. However the next year the Order was re-established on the lines suggested by myself: and I feel sure that the broad blue and red ribbon has made many an honest heart happy : and, to use the words of Falconbridgc, many a "Joan a Lady." LORD GEORGE BENTINCK, on several occa- sions, prompted probably by Disraeli, produced a 14 DISRAELI. sensation by appearing in the House of Commons in his top-boots and hunting garb : reminding the House, or at any rate those who knew something about Irish History, of "Tottenham in his boots." Another son of the Duke of Portland, Lord Henry Bentinck, was conspicuous as being almost, if not quite, the best whist-player in England : he was visiting Lord Jersey at Middleton Park in Oxfordshire. Lady Jersey told me that she hunted for and discovered the three best whist-players in the County ; and invited them specially to Middleton for the occasion. On the evening of Lord Henry's arrival, after dinner, the whist-party was made up. After half an hour or so Lady Jersey, approaching the table, said, "Lord Henry, how do you get on? How do they treat you ? " He turned to her and said, " Lady Jersey ! what do you call this game ? It is very amusing 1 " ONE OF THE most conspicuous Members of the Parliament of 1852 was Henry Drummond, Mem- ber for Surrey, his dry humour charmed the House. He wrote a pungent pamphlet on Bright. OF WILLIAM THE IV™'^ sons, I did not know DISRAELI. ' 15 the eldest, Lord Munster. I knew Lord Frederick, the General, and Lord Adolphus, the Admiral. Paying^ a visit to Admiral Capel, the Naval Com- mandant, at Portsmouth, and being introduced to Lord Frederick, who was then the Military Com- mandant, I being a sub-lieutenant in the First Life Guards, he took me by the arm and in a stage- whisper said, " I should like to take the oppor- tunity of your being here to ask you what you think of my troops. If it will suit your convenience I will have the Garrison out to-morrow on Southsea Com- mon." It is unnecessary to say that this was the weekly or fortnightly Parade ; and had no more to do with my visit to Portsmouth than would have been the case if I had visited the Moon. Lord Frederick was a good-natured man, who posed for George IV. He put up a monument to the Duke of Wellington on Southsea Common. It is a good deal to say that it was the very worst of the num- berless images of that distinguished warrior : but I honestly say that I never saw one which approached it as a caricature. On the plinth of the statue was naturally inscribed the name of Lieutenant-General Lord Frederick FitzClarence, G.C.H. It has since happily been removed. As to its present locality I 1 6 DISRAELI. have no idea. Lord Adolphus, the sailor, was a man of pecuHar appearance. Having one eyelid droop- ing, he held his head at a particular angle. I should say that he must have been not very unlike his father : also a jovial tar. On one occasion at a great Masked Ball at the Opera-House in Paris, I arrived there before the dancing had begun. I found a crowd of two hundred persons at the least collected, looking at two heads in the upper pros- cenium box. I enquired what they were staring at : and was told by a French lady in a very pretty cos- tume vhat the cheering which occasionally broke out was to show their appreciation of two English masks of exceptional grotesqueness. I discovered that the supposed masks were Lord Adolphus FitzClarence, and his life-long friend the late Sir George Womb- w^ell. They were not in the least disguised : and appeared much diverted at the excitement they created. Thackeray's vignette, " Roguy and Poguy," in " Punch " is not unlike them. Lord Adolphus FitzClarence commanded the Royal Yacht ; and conveyed Her Majesty on the visit which she paid to King Louis Philippe at the Chateau d'Eu. The King's sons were there ; Lord Adolphus was placed next the Prince de DISRAELI. 17 Joinville, a good sailor, an Admiral in the P>ench Service. The Prince had become con- spicuous from bringing the remains of Napoleon from S' Helena : an ill-judged action of his father : on the voyage home he affected to believe that England and France were about to come to blows. The Prince was said to have "beat to quarters," and prepared for action against a possible English man-of-war. He said to Lord Adolphus in a friendly manner, "You, my Lord, and I are sea- men ; I have had one dream in life ; to command a smart French frigate, and to lay my own along- side of an English ship of the same strength for twenty minutes. Lord Adolphus replied in a perfect spirit of courtesy ; and with the quickness of his family ; " I think. Sir, that ten would be enough." SOON AFTER I KNEW him, Disraeli said to me, "You have chosen the only career in which a man is never old : a Statesman can feel and inspire interest longer than any other man. I have seen Metternich in love ; some thought it sublime ; I thought it absurd : but, as a States- man, I felt the greatest reverence for him to the last." B l8 DISRAELI. I may say as an illustration of the truth of this that I waited on one occasion over seven hours at the bar of the House of Lords, with no seat, and nothing but a spike to lean on, in order to hear Lord Lyndhurst address the House for an hour, when he was past ninety ; I was well re- paid. I may say more of him elsewhere : if ever the term " old man eloquent " was applicable to an orator, it was to him. I MAY BE pardoned for inserting a story told as to Metternich. Talleyrand was asked if he did not see a resemblance between Metternich and Mazarin ? The Bishop of Autun replied, " Yes ! Mazarin never told lies, but always deceived you : now Metternich always tells lies, and never de- ceives you." SPEAKING TO Disraeli on the subject of the House of Commons, he said, "Never trouble your head as to criticism. You know when you sit down after a speech precisely its value. A man does not deceive himself: he knows to the value of a shilling what his speech has been worth." In former years there was an impression among the DISRAELI. 19 uninitiated that " Hansard " had a special reporter ; and took down the words uttered in ParUament precisely. This was by no means the case. Han- sard's Debates are the result of honestly collating the various versions in the daily papers : and of course do not represent anything beyond the general sense of what was expressed. AT AN AFTERNOON party given by the Duke d'Aumale, when resident at Orleans House, Twick- enham, the Duke, who it is unnecessary to say gave the whole entertainment "en Prince," had sent to Paris for the Company of Actors of the Palais-Royal. They acted some vaudevilles on a theatre erected on the lawn. Disraeli said to me, " This is too much : all you want is Music, as an accompaniment to the Conversation." DISRAELI'S FACE to the last had those peculiar semi-circular wrinkles on either side of his mouth which I have often noticed in humorous actors. Dickens had them very conspicuously. AMONG THE GREAT men of Society in my early days the late Duke of Beaufort was conspicuous. 20 DISRAELI. He was supposed to be the best-mannered man in London, of the " vieille cour " : nothing could be more dignified nor more suave than his manner. It may have been a Httle artificial ; but, like all real politeness, thoroughly good-natured. He is credited with a saying worthy of record. He was asked whether he preferred an open or close carriage. He said, "A close carriage, for these reasons; when the weather is cold, I am warm; when it is hot, I am cool ; when it is wet, I am dry ; when it is dry, I am clean." DISRAELI IN HIS youth was an admirer of Lady X., a person of exceptional beauty, who introduced him to Lord Lyndhurst. The popular idea was, on the publication of " Henrietta Temple," that the heroine of the story was a portrait of the Lady in question : she may have been so as regards appear- ance, but certainly in no other respect. I never saw her : but those who have unite in saying that she was a most beautiful woman : I knew her sister well : she also I believe was handsome in her youth. Being at a public ball in a remote county, I heard the name of Lady X. mentioned. I had read not long before, for the first time, "Henrietta Temple:" DISRAELI. 21 and having an opportunity of seeing the supposed heroine, of whose history I knew nothing at the time, my curiosity was naturally very great. Find- ing a relation, in whose house I was staying, he told me that he knew the lady; I begged him to point her out : and after much searching, he in- dicated a lady of mature years, of commanding person, and a look of unflinching determination. I could discern no trace of Beauty : I do not re- member ever to have met with so great a disen- chantment. I gazed at her with absolute wonder : that this was what remained of the lovely creation ; a creation not to be surpassed in fiction ; that this had been the object of Disraeli's impassioned love ; that this thoroughly respectable old lady had roused the wild enthusiasm of the young Poet and States- man ! Never shall I forget that evening. I may tell of the lady whom I saw, that, her husband being painted in hunting costume, the painter asked her ladyship to procure a pair of his old boots ; so that the realism of the portrait should be complete. She endeavoured to obtain them from her spouse : He replied, " No, my lady ; you've worn the breeches long enough ! I'll be damned if you shall have the boots ! " I had this from the painter. 22 DISRAELI. It was not until many years had rolled by that I discovered that the disenchantment was itself an illusion : the innamorata of Disraeli's early days was a totally different person ; bearing the same name ; who had long been dead. ONE OF THE finest effects which Disraeli pro- duced was at the time when conspiracies against the life of Napoleon III. were the topic of con- versation : and when considerable political excite- ment on the subject existed. Disraeli made a speech of some length, and not of a very lively kind, in relation to this subject. Letters ad- dressed to London, not unconnected with these conspirators, had come to light : and consider- able scandal had been created on the subject. When, after speaking for half an hour, Disraeli used the words "mysterious correspondents," M' S., M.P. for Halifax, who had not long been a Mem- ber of the House, and had never seen Disraeli put forth his powers, imprudently, leaning across the table, said in a whisper which few could hear, "What correspondents?" DisraeH instantly turned upon him : and shouted at the very top of his voice, "What correspondents? says the Member for DISRAELI. 25 Halifax : You know better than me, I suspect ! What correspondents ? says the Member for Halifax : The assassins of Europe ! What correspondents ? says the Member for Halifax : those who have pointed their daggers at the breast of our dearest ally ! " Cicero's denunciation of Catiline cannot have been finer. MANY OF THE SARCASMS and invectives, which Disraeli poured out upon Sir Robert Peel, have become part of the British language : I do not repeat them ; I am unwilling to vex any member of a family from whom I have received life-long kindness : but there is one so good, and so com- pletely within the rules of Parliamentary satire, that I must quote it. It was on the evening on which Sir Robert Peel announced his change of views on the Corn Laws : he prudently made a very long speech : exhausted the House : and by the time he made his announcement the atmosphere had become loaded : and the House fatigued. Disraeli, however, roused them by a few words ; amidst loud, vociferous cheering. The words were these. "What has occurred to-night reminds me, 24 DISRAELI. Sir, of what occurred in the late war between Turkey and Russia : if I err in my facts the gallant Admiral opposite (Sir Charles Napier) will correct me. An expedition against Russia was projected : the grandest fleet ever manned by the Turks floated on the waters of the Bosphorus : the Sultan reviewed the fleet : he gave the command of it to his favourite Vizier : a man to whose hands the destiny of Turkey had been entrusted for years. The fleet set sail, amidst the enthusiasm of the Turks : the Muftis of Constantinople prayed for its success; as the Muftis of England did at the last General Election. What was the dismay of the Turks ! What was the horror of the Sultan ! When his favourite Vizier led the fleet straight into the enemies' port ! (loud laughter). He too was maligned : he too was called a traitor : but he said, No ! his political opinions had changed : and his conscience would no longer permit him to remain in the service of the Sultan ! " I HAVE RELATED, in the beginning of this volume, that Disraeli said to me that the Passion which gave pleasure longest was Revenge. No man, in his career, deprived himself of this enjoyment more than he did : with boundless opportunities, he DISRAELI. 25 rarely used them : as his Forgiveness was the result of Policy, so was his Vindictiveness. A striking incident occurred on the night on which Sir Robert Peel sat for the last time as Prime Minister : the subject was the Irish Arms Bill, on which he was defeated. The last words which he heard before yielding power, came from the lips of the man, of whom, a few years before, he might easily have made an energetic, if not an enthusiastic supporter. I do not believe that Disraeli ever committed him- self to the extent of asking Sir Robert Peel for Office : that was not in his nature : but he gave Sir Robert Peel every opportunity of knowing how clever, how energetic, how tenacious he was. Had Sir Robert Peel read character, he would have employed Disraeli ; he need not have trusted him. If, by his own temperament of mind, he intuitively mistrusted the ringletted youth, who wished to win his favour, Prudence should have told him that to silence this ambitious aspirant would be wise. By placing him in a subordinate position in his Govern- ment he could have tried him : he might gradually have promoted him ; or he might have given him employment abroad : he might, also, after a time, had he found that he were untrustworthy, have left 26 DISRAELI. him to his own resources. My behef is that, had Disraeli been employed by Sir Robert Peel, he would never have betrayed him. I believe that he would have done his utmost to deserve the position, in which he had been placed : not from any en- thusiastic admiration of Sir Robert Peel, although he did him more justice than is supposed in his " Life of Lord George Bentinck " ; but because he would have felt that, once in the groove of Office, his fortune was made. With the marvellous capacity, which he knew himself to possess, he also knew that, should he retain his seat in the House, his career was certain : and he would not have jeopardised that career by mutiny against so power- ful a master. Nothing can have exceeded the depression of feeling of Disraeli, as a young man, when the pros- pect of doing justice to his own great talents appeared hopeless. To be conscious of the power in his brain, and in his heart; of the Sagacity and Determination which were part of his nature ; to know his great superiority to his fellow men ; and yet to feel, day after day, and year after year, that those great gifts were, so far as their fruition was concerned, utterly thrown away. The young. DISRAELI. 27 man, whom Sir Robert Peel had treated with hardly disguised contempt, in fifteen years hurled him from Power : It must have been with no ordinary delight that he pronounced the epitaph on the great Minister's political life. Looking at Sir Robert Peel, Disraeli ended his speech in these words : " 'Tis Nemesis inspires this Debate ! and stamps with the stigma of Parliamentary reprobation the catastrophe of a sinister career!" I BELIEVE THAT THE exact circumstances of Sir Robert Peel's death were not known at the time. Two young ladies who were walking with their governess in the Green Park, at a very short distance from Constitution Hill, observed a gentle- man, as they said, tipsy on horseback. Sir Robert was noticed to reel in his saddle several times. His horse, a steady, and surefooted animal, was walking : I have no doubt that he fell from the horse in a fit : and not by a false step in the animal. Being a man of very tall and bulky person, falling in that manner, he injured him- self: but the fatal wound was received by the well-meaning, but imprudent, act of placing him in a closed carriage, which was brought from (Jros- 28 DISRAELI. venor Place. This caused the points of the fractured ribs to penetrate the lungs : and this was the immediate cause of his death : had he been carried home on a shutter, he might have lived. It is singular that Sir Robert fell pre- cisely on the spot where he is depicted by Lord Lytton in "The New Tinion." A GOOD JUDGE, and in this case an im- partial one ; for he was the person attacked ; said that the finest effect he had ever seen in the House of Commons was Disraeli's speech on the following subject • he added that it was the only occasion on which he had seen Dis- raeli really in a passion. It was in the Session during which the tide of " Empress of India " was added to that of "Queen," not "of Great Britain and Ireland," as it is carelessly written, and generally by foreigners, but "Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland." I was much struck by the marvellous caution, and care, with which Disraeli conducted this measure through the House of Commons. There had been much talking, and wonder, and curiosity : some approved : some disapproved : at last, the evening DISRAELI. 29 arrived when the Question was to be introduced. DisraeH spoke with consummate tact : He gave no one the slightest idea as to what would be the title. The Measure proposed that Her Majesty should be allowed to choose such title as she might think fit as Sovereign of India. After an opening of some ten minutes, or more, Disraeli said, " A number of Titles have been suggested by various persons ; not one of whom had any means of knowing : and not one of which has the slightest Authenticity." He then, speak- ing very slowly, and watching the effect of each word, added, " I have heard a title mentioned ; the title of 'Empress of India'." He then paused for about four seconds, and said, " I have no reason to suppose that this may have the prefer- ence over any other. I have heard others suggested." Now, after the words " Empress of India," had the House shown any disposition to disapprove, he might easily, for the time, have gone to another topic : but he put the words in such a manner that he was enabled to ascertain the feeling of the House, without committing himself in the slightest degree as to what the Queen's future title should be. I never saw 30 DISRAELI. more discernment, and more delicacy displayed than was shown by him. That the title of "Empress of India" was wisely assumed ; and with excellent effect upon the native Princes, whether subordinate to us, or independent, I had no doubt whatever at the time : and I have none now. We know that the term "Emperor," as assumed by Julius Caesar in the word " Imperator," meant, as he told the Romans, merely the command of the armies of the Roman Republic : but he knew very well, and they very soon found out, that it meant a great deal more : and, in modern times, although I believe technically there is no difference in the rank of Emperor, and King, it has, from several circumstances, including the vast extent of do- minion ruled over by existing Emperors, become, in some respects, a higher title : and is so esteemed by the Princes of Hindostan. Not long after this, The Right Hon. Robert Lowe found himself among his constituents at East Retford : and he was there imprudent enough, and as a Privy Councillor wrong enough, to say that, whereas the Queen had for long wished to assume this title, and her successive advisers had refused DISRAELI. . 31 a measure on the subject, Her Majesty had at last found "a pHant Minister," who had yielded to her wishes. An allusion to the personal opinions of the Sovereign is strictly forbidden in Parliament. I had remained in the House from four until a quarter past ten ; having an intuitive anticipation, that Disraeli would be splendid. My highest hopes were more than realised. Grand as I had always thought his style, and wondrous as his power, I never, on any occasion, knew him approach the effect produced on that evening. He spoke briefly. Occasionally it seemed as if he could not articulate ; his passion was so great. He leant with his left hand heavily upon the table : and the words, which I most clearly recollect, were, " A pliant Minister ! A pliant Minister ! If it were true, to utter such things here were in- famous ! False ! False ! False ! as those words are, nothing. Sir, that I dare utter in your presence can characterize what I think of them ! " The words " pliant Minister " seemed literally to choke him. The effect of his words upon the House was electrical. I SAW LORD ABERDEEN, the Trime Minister, for the first time in the Church at Stanmore, in 32 DISRAELI. Middlesex. He was staying for the Sunday at the house of Lord Wicklow, his near relation. I dined with Lord Wicklow that evening. Lord Aberdeen seemed to me a very heavy old gentle- man ; of a very unconciliatory manner : and I was filled with astonishment at the position which he then occupied, Secretary for Foreign Affairs. I should say that two Ministers with less pleasing manners than Lord Aberdeen and Lord John Russell seldom existed. On one occasion, two Members of Parliament, one in Office at the time under Lord John Russell, paid a visit to his brother, the Duke of Bedford's, place, Woburn Abbey, at Whitsuntide. After seeing the house, they crossed the Park, and met Lord John Russell, then Prime Minister, in a narrow pathway : So far from taking the slightest notice of them, he simply returned their salute : and said not one word to either. Lord Lytton alludes to this affectation in his "New Timon." He says of Lord John in a clumsy line, " He wants your Votes, but your Affection not ; " and adds, " So cold a climate plays the deuce with votes ! " DISRAELI. 33 I HAVE OFTEN THOUGHT that Disraeli's character resembled in many ways that of the first Napoleon : while speaking to him, I could completely realise the fascination which the Emperor exercised over his followers. It seems extraordinary that a man who never gave a thought to any human being but himself; who sacrificed thou- sands, and tens of thousands, without remorse, to his own ambition, should still have retained the hold which he did over the French people ! What may be the mysterious gift by which men controul others there is not space here to consider : l)ut the feelings which I have heard others ex- press, and which I certainly had very strongly when speaking to Disraeli, must have been of the same peculiar character, that Napoleon I. inspired. '^One, who was originally on the Whig side, to whom Disraeli gave Office, told me that he had never met with any human being with such power to charm ; and this was the effect which he pro- duced upon all who possessed either brains or heart. One characteristic of Napoleon I. Disraeli was without. The Sovereigns, the \'iceruys, the Mar- shals, and Princes, of Napoleon's Empire, were c 34 DISRAELI. the soldiers who had helped him to the Throne. Nothing of the kind took place with Disraeli : no rewards awaited those who had sacrificed every- thing in their support of him : no thought was given to them : they had served their purpose : and, except personal courtesy, they received no recompense of any sort or kind. One single excep- tion, and it is a very minute one, I am glad to give : He offered to recommend Lord Exmouth to Her Majesty as a Lord-in-Waiting. Lord Ex- mouth was poor, and had no influence : he had, in his youth, been a personal friend of Disraeli. Sitting on Disraeh's side of the House, an M.P. stepped forward ; and, turning towards the Govern- ment Bench, and shaking his closed right hand at Disraeli, said, " For faithless men are ever faith- less still ! " I never saw such a scene : nor do I suppose had any other Member. Very shortly after this scene Disraeli gave this individual office. THE FOLLOWING FACTS of Disraeli's family are authentic. They are taken from the Register of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, Bevis Marks. Benjamin d'Israeli, the Grandfather of the late Earl of Beaconsfield, was born in the year 1 730. DISRAELI. 35 He was twice married. In the year 1756, to Rebecca, daughter of Gaspar and Abigail Mendes Furtado ; who died in the year 1765. His second wife was Sarah Siprout de Gabay. Benjamin d'lsraeh died on the 28'" of November 1816. Isaac D'lsraeh, his son, father of the Earl, was born on the 18"' of May 1766. The Register of Births gives the following : — • Benjamin, son of Isaac and Maria D'Israeli, Born ai"*' December 1804. Naphtali, son of Isaac and Maria D'Israeli, Born ^th November 1807. Raphael (Ralph), son of Isaac and Maria D'Israeli, Born 9'" May 1809. Jacob (James), son of Isaac and Maria D'Israeli, Born 24"' June 18 13. Isaac D'Israeli, Lord Beaconsfield's father, with- drew from Membership of this Synagogue in the Year 1817. The cause assumed of Isaac D'Israeli, the Trime Minister's father, ceasing to be a Member of the Synagogue was that, having been a subscriber, he was asked to become a Warden ; a position not, I believe, unlike that of an Elder of the Scotch 36 DISRAELI. Established Church. This Ofifice, as in the case of our High Sheriffs, was occasionally avoided by payment of a fine of forty pounds. Isaac DTsraeli, who cared for none of these things, he seems to have I:)een a Gallio, withdrew at this time from the Membership : and did not visit the Synagogue subsequently. His son, who was then thirteen, does not appear after this period, to have taken part in, nor attended the ceremonies of the Jewish Church. Disraeli was formally admitted, with the usual ceremonies, to the Jewish Church on the 29"' of December 1804. Eight days after his birth. MANY STORIES have been told in relation to Disraeli's dress. I have lately seen one who perfectly remembers being with him in a box at the King's Theatre, Haymarket, the Opera- House of that day. He said that Disraeli wore a black velvet coat, waistcoat, and trousers. Whether this was from an independence of taste ; or from a wish to appear unconventional, or to attract notoriety, my readers may determine for themselves. SIR ROBERT PEEL produced considerable effect upon the House, by quoting the lines from DISRAELI. 37 Canning's admirable poem, " The New Morality : " It was believed by many that Canning's death was owing to the persecution which he had met with from Sir Robert Peel, and other of his former friends : " Give me the avowed, the erect, the manly foe ! Straight I may meet : perchance may turn his blow. But of all plagues that Heaven in wrath may send, Save ! Save ! Oh save me from a candid friend ! " Disraeli replied, "The Scene the House of Commons ! the Poet M' Canning ! the Orator the Right Hon. Baronet ! I congratulate him upon his retentive Memory ! and his courageous Con- science ! " DISRAELPS POIJTICAP career was affected partly by his restheticism. Pleased, as he may latterly have been, by his popularity, in his writings, his speeches, and his conduct, a pre- ference for the high and the brilliant in Society, is always indicated. I do not suppose that, at any time, notwithstanding "\'i\ian (ircy," he ])layc'd the sycophant: the consciousness of inklkctual supe- riority would guard him in a great measure from 38 DISRAELI. this : but he Hked to have Dukes, and Marquesses, in his Cabinet : and with a feeling of refinement, which usually accompanies a high intellect, he dis- liked the socially sordid, and the mean. ONE OF THE earliest comic effects which I witnessed in the House was in the Spring of 1853. William Ewart was one of those men about whom the House had not quite made up its mind : his speeches had a certain amount of effect, from his apparent earnestness : he sat for Liverpool. He was a short, narrow-shouldered man, with a reddish-purple face : not by any means the result of intemperance. He spoke in a deep voice, frequently on subjects of Benevolence ; and occasionally of Religion : in short he was esteemed one of the serious Members of the House. Joseph Hume, who sat below him, wore a hat with a rather broad brim ; the hat had a long nap ; and was a peculiar head-covering : it appeared to be too large for his very large head. His aspect was that of intense solemnity, and almost supernatural honesty. I believe that after Hume's death it was found that his economical strictures on the Government of the day, which were never ceasing, had resulted DISRAELI. 39 in an endless succession of petty jobs, done for him by them. On the occasion to which I refer, Ewart had made an effective speech : he had appealed to all that was great, and noble, on the earth : he raised his eyes to Heaven : he asked posterity to do him justice, etc., etc., etc. Unfor- tunately, having moved the House by his harangue, while emphasizing the very last sentence he brought his right fist down with crushing violence upon Hume's hat. The effect was instantaneous, the large hat descended below Hume's chin, and his heavy, unintelligent, features were completely ob- scured. The House roared with laughter : and the pious orator sat down ; looking, as well he might, considerably abashed. Hume's appearance at no time resembled the classic Roman bust, placed, why I know not, in the Library of the House of Commons. A scene not altogether dissimilar occurred, many years afterwards, when a certain Edwin James, Q.C., obtained a seat for the Borough of Maryle- bone. He was a farceur of the most unequivocal description. At that time Lord John Russell, who had seceded from the ^^'hig Party, invari- ably sat on the end seat of the lower bench, 40 DISRAELI. next to and below the gangway on the Opposi- tion side. Edwin James's face, being the most blustering and brow-beating of advocates when in Court, was ghastly in the extreme : a very florid man, his countenance usually flushed, on this occasion was deadly pale : and his nervous- ness painful to see even by an enemy. He had arranged a carefully prepared maiden speech : a more complete fiasco the House never beheld. He began in a highly declamatory style; threw his arms about with great vehemence ; and went so near to striking Lord John Russell's hat, that that noble- man, obviously, to our extreme merriment, became much alarmed. Leaving his seat would indicare desertion of his supporter. Repeatedly Edwin James' right hand went close to Lord John's head, who was affecting to listen to him with great inte- rest ; his dodgings to avoid the fist were exquisite ; but he was unprepared for the crushing blow that fell, not on his hat, but on Edwin James's Parlia- mentary prospects. As everyone knows, you ad- dress the Speaker, not the Members. In a very unconstitutional apostrophe Edwin James shouted to Lord John the words, " No, My Lord ! I tell you " What he was about to tell Lord John we DISRAELI. 41 shall never know. The House had been laughing during this speech : it now burst into a roar ; in the midst of which the bully collapsed. A CONSPICUOUS character during Disraeli's epoch was Francis first Earl of Ellesmere. His career in the House of Commons was not remark- able. Inheriting the vast fortune of the last Duke of Bridgewater : and being himself a man above the average in intellectual culture, he played an important part in the great fiscal change inaugu- rated by Sir Robert Peel. At one time a Tory of Tories, he seceded from the party on the occasion of the change in the Corn Laws. I stayed occa- sionally at his villa on Saint George's Hill, in Surrey, and took several interesting walks with him. Lord Ellesmere had served in his youth in the First Regiment of Life Guards : and had re- ceived, together with Lord Francis Conyngham, after- wards 2'' Marcjuess of Conyngham, from George IV, the privilege of wearing the splendid uniform of that Regiment for the rest of his life. He was a tall and singularly handsome man, of extreme gravity of demeanour. In many conversations on Shakspere, I remember his (luoling that most 42 DISRAELI. beautiful passage from the ghost's speech in Hamlet, ignorantly and stupidly omitted in modern representations ; *' I find thee apt : And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed That roots itself at ease on Lethe's wharf" ; and adding, " That is an image from another world ! " He told me a most interesting fact in relation to the Duke of Wellington : one of the Duke's most intimate friends, one who deserved to be so, was Lady Charlotte Greville, whose daughter Lord Ellesmere married. His brother-in-law, M' Algernon Greville, at that time a subaltern in the Army, dined with the Duke on the evening of the day of the great battle. He did not, of course, presume to address the Duke during the meal. The latter preserved complete silence, with this exception; he twice said, "Thank God I have met him ! " M' Algernon Greville became, some years after- wards. Private Secretary to the Duke. I knew his mother. Lady Charlotte Greville, when an old lady : and never met a more intelligent or delight- ful person. Lord Ellesmere wrote several books, DISRAELI. 43 including a poetical description of an excursion to the Holy Land, in which he speaks of his wife as "She the Herminia of this new Crusade." Lord Ellesmere gave me a copy of the following lines : written by himself. BALACLAVA. "They thought we were coxcombs; they said we were born In the sunshine of peace-time like insects to fly : The Jester and Novelist made us their scorn : And lecturing Hypocrites joined in the cry. They said we were heroes best fitted to shine In the Barrack, and Ball-room, the Ring, and Parade ; That the source of what courage we boasted was Wine ; And Woman the prize of what conquests we made. That Slander has melted like mists from the sun : It veils not the grave where its objects repose : On the limber of many a Muscovite gun They have scored its rebuke in the blood of their foes. 44- DISRAELI. Ere their own was exhausted. Alas ! for the number, Too scanty to conquer; too many to fall; Of those whom no trumpet can wake from their slumber ; No leader can rally : no signal recall : Not even that Leader, in whose gallant bearing, As he rose in the saddle the mandate to give. None could mark, as he gave it, one symptom declaring That none could accomplish that order, and live. It was hopeless ! all knew it : yet onward they bounded, With the order, and speed, of some festival day : When, with Kings to behold them, by gazers sur- rounded. They mimicked the semblance of Battle's array. Oh ! well may the remnant, that shattered, and broken, Returned from that onset, accept of the fame, Which, whenever the word Balaclava be spoken, Shall join its sad glories to Cardigan's name. DISRAELI. 45 And in Beaudeserl's Hall, when the yule-log is lighted, And the tale of high deeds makes its round by that fire. They shall tell how a son of that house has re- quited The lessons of valour he learned from his Sire. Oh ! would he had lived one short year to have noted. When the red tide of slaughter foamed over that plain. Above it the plume of a Paget that floated ! It was Anglesey charged in his offspring again ! " DISRAELI in writing the Life of Lord George Bentinck followed, to some extent, the example of Lord Bolingbroke in his "Patriot King." He seems to have idealized Lord George, as the type of what the British race of the present day would admire. One incident however Disraeli has not related. Disraeli, and Lord F., were staying at Wynyard Park, Lord Londonderry's seat in Dur- ham. Disraeli had taken a solitary walk : and returned to the house late in the afternoon. Lord 46 DISRAELI. F. met him in the entrance-hall. While hanging up his hat, he asked Lord F. "Are the news- papers come ? Is there any news ? " Lord F. re- plied, " I am sorry to say, very bad news ! " Dis- raeli looked at him ; and said, " What is it ? " Lord F, replied, " Lord George is dead." He told me that Disraeli's face underwent such a change that he thought he was going to expire. He watched him for a few moments to see if he was falhng : then pulled forward a hall-chair, in which Disraeli sat down. He said nothing : and in a few minutes Lord F. left him. Lord George Bentinck's death must have been, for the time, an annihilation of his hopes. THE -AURAL effect of loud cheering in the House of Commons is peculiar. If you are fortu- nate enough to hear it during your speech the effect on the ear is completely different from that produced upon it when you are sitting among the cheerers. When sitting down, the noise is very great. When standing up it more resembles a very rapid vibration of the air than sound. I can only compare this to the appearance of the heated air, quivering over a meadow in summer. The great DISRAELI. 47 triumph of all triumphs to a speaker is the abso- lute, and breathless, silence of his audience. If you can reduce them to a condition of fearing to laugh, or to cheer, lest they should miss a good thing, you may sit down satisfied with yourself: and remember Herod. A VERY LITTLE man indeed was an M.P. during the Parliament of 1 874-1880. His name D' O'Leary : he was not much above five feet in height, if at all. Disraeli told me that this little man was the very image of Moore, the Poet : that he never saw such a likeness : he said, " If you wish to see Moore, come to life again, you can do it now : he is exactly what Moore was." MY BELIEF IS that Disraeli knew nothing of Art; and cared little for it. He purchased how- ever one picture, which, for the following reason, interests me. I had never bid for a picture, ancient, or modern, at Christie's. I happened to be at the sale-room in King Street : the crowd was considerable. A picture was on the easel for sale : I did not know the name of the painter : the subject, " The Nativity," of the pre- 48 . DISRAELI. Rafifaelite School. I was so charmed with it : that I bid up to two thousand pounds. I then felt that I could not trust my judgment further : that 1 might be mistaken : and that the picture might be "run up" for trade purposes. It was bought for ^^2,415. A few days afterwards I met M"" C. : having noticed him in the crowd, I said, "Do you happen to know who bought that ' Francesca '" ? " I did. Disraeli told me to buy it for the National Gallery." It is now to be seen there, in a place of honour. I have no doubt that Disraeli acted on wise and official advice. HENRY CONSTANTINE, First Marquess of Normanby, was a character of the day that always delighted me. Made up latterly as an old dandy, with a curly wig, velvet-faced coat, many chains, and an elaborate costume, he had a charming manner. When I was a boy, my step-father having a house in Eastern Terrace, Brighton, I used not unfrequently to be invited to dinner at the house of Margaret, nee Shaw-Stewart, Duchess of Somerset, who lived at N°- 9, in the Ter- race. I remember one evening Lord Normanby dined there; after dinner he was sitting on a DISRAELI. 49 sofa, talking to M" A., afterwards Marchioness of D. Lady Normanby came later in the even- ing. Her ladyship, who had in her youth played Juliet to admiration, in private theatricals at Florence, had become inordinately stout : M''^ A. turning to Lord Normanby said, as Lady Nor- manby entered, " Good gracious ! who can this fat woman be ? " Lord Normanby with the most perfect manner replied quietly, "That is Lady Normanby ; to whom I am most anxious to pre- sent you." When staying at Dessin's Hotel at Calais, now closed, I peeped into the window, on the ground-floor, of the next apartment. Boy as I was, it astonished me to see Lord Normanby playing at Ecarte with his own wife ! He may however have been rehearsing " Mantalini : " a name by which he was known. When Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Normanby said, or it was said for him, that his wish, and intention, were to make his Court resemble that of Charles n. I saw him in Dublin taking his afternoon ride, of course in plain clothes, between his two A.D.C.'s, both in undress uniform, but wearing their cocked-hats and plumes. Meeting him one day ^ at dinner at Fulham, the subject of Women's D JO DISRAELI. appreciation of Aristocratic Simplicity came up. The ladies of course declared that there was nothing they admired so much. After listening for some time, Lord Normanby said, "I totally disagree with you : I believe that women have no appreciation of simplicity in dress, nor in anything else. I believe that the more a man bedizens himself with velvet, satin, gold chains, rings on his fingers, and varnished boots, the more they admire him." This, of course, was followed by cries of " Oh, Uncle Normanby ! you don't really think so ! " etc. etc. He calmly replied, " I have said what I believe to be the case. For example, for seven years I carried a cane which I felt was a degradation to me. It was a brown cane : the 'Poire' (upper part) was made entirely of tur- quoises; it was a most disreputable cane. It was given to me. So long as I carried that cane I was all powerful. Every woman succumbed the moment she saw that cane ; they felt there was wealth, splendour, etc. I lost it. From that hour my power ceased : and I have never regained it." I perfectly recollect the cane; and used to wonder how any gentleman could carry such a thing ; many of the turquoises had become, as is their DISRAELI. 51 habit, discoloured. It was a cane that the poorest "Walking Gentleman" on the stage would have despised. Lord Normanby obtained, it is said, everything he wished. As a young man the Governorship of Jamaica; G.C.H. and G.C.B. ; Home Secretaryship ; Embassies ; the Lord Lieu- tenancy of Ireland and a Marquessate. He wore more British Stars than the Great Duke himself. The Garter, S' Patrick, the Grand Cross of the Bath, and of the Guelphic Order of Hanover ; and, in his old age, satisfied his conscience by becoming a Tory. I HAVE NAMED Margaret, Duchess of Somer- set, a Lady whose sudden rise, although of ancient family, must have excited the spleen of spinsters, old and young, throughout the United Kingdom. Somewhat advanced in years, and known in her own circle as " Maggie Stewart," she was married by Edward, eleventh Duke of Somer- set ; and became the Premiere Duchess of the Kingdom ; there being no Duchess of Norfolk at the time. She appeared as such at the Coronation of Her present Majesty. When she was living in Eastern Terrace, Brighton, The Count de Cham- 52 DISRAELI. bord, the son of the Duke de Berri, for many years the legitimate heir to the throne of France, used frequently to call in the afternoon, and I, who at the time was very ill, used to observe from my window the thoroughly Royal Honours with which the Duchess received the Prince. Within two minutes of his carriage stopping at the door, the Duchess, crossing the pavement, embraced him : and proceeded to conduct him up the staircase. MEETING DISRAELI within a few days of his first Premiership, an old friend congratulated him upon his triumph: "Yes!" repHed he, "I have climbed to the top of the greasy pole ! " I HAVE SUPPOSED, that DisraeH bore some resemblance, as a young man, to the great actor Edmund Kean ; and I have a belief that his style of utterance was not unlike his ; in fact may have been founded upon it. I think, also, that Disraeli must have been affected by the grand style of Gibbon. He certainly shows the influence of his father's early manner. ONE EVENING, seated at dinner next but one to Disraeli, Lady C. V., for whom he had an DISRAELI. 53 honest admiration, sitting between us, I was speaking to my neighbour on the other side, and I heard Disraeh say, "Ah! there is a subject! a stupendous one ! " So soon as I could de- cently turn to my left, I asked what this stupendous subject was. " Woman ! " replied he ; then louder, " woman ! there's a Tremendous Topic." I regret that I did not, on some other occasion, ask what he thought on this interesting, but obscure, subject. I doubt, how- ever, whether he, more than the wisest men who have lived, ever obtained a glimpse behind the mysterious curtain between Man and Woman ; which has never been lifted. ON THE SAME evening, when the ladies had left the dining-room, he said, " You are well up in Eng- lish Poetry ! " " Yes." " I can puzzle you." " A rash boast ! " "I can." " Try ! " " Who wrote this line, * Small by degrees ; and beautifully less ' ? " I answered at once, "Nobody." He said, "Oh! I have met my master at last." I added, "There is a line something like it in Prior's Poem " Henry and Emma ; " which, by the way, you 54 DISRAELI. quote in "Henrietta Temple." He said, "Oh I collapse ! I give up altogether ! you know every- thing ! I assure you that is the test that I have applied all my life. I give you my word that I have never got the right answer before." I may add that a year or two after Disraeli's death I told this story to the present, John, Duke of Rutland. He said, "I remember perfectly forty years ago Disraeli put that question at my father's house, at Belvoir, and floored us all." AT AN OFFICIAL dinner, where none but men were present, Disraeli quoted to me the lines, "Is this a Banquet? this a genial room? No ! 'tis an Altar, and a Hecatomb ! " He added, "A man's dinner-party, in middle life, is horrible." MAJOR VIVIAN made a more or less successful speech on the subject of the War Office, and was complimented by Lord John Russell in a some- what fulsome manner. Disraeli said, "The Honour- able member for Truro appears to be elated at having, for the first time, carried a Motion. Every- DISRAELI. 55 one, sooner or later, carries his first Motion. 1 can see nothing more to be proud of than a hen feels when she has laid her first egg. She always appears to be satisfied : and cackles over it a good deal." The peculiar features of Major Vivian added point to this. I ONCE DISCUSSED the incidents of a bull-fight with DisraeH : and remarked that there is one sub- lime moment ; and one only ; He at once replied, " Yes ! when the bull first comes in." THERE WAS NOTHING that Disraeli hated more than commonplace : and there was nothing that he made more use of. The impression that nothing went down with the House of Commons but solemn twaddle grew upon him. Towards the end of his career no one appeared to win his favour except those possessing this gift. Brilliant himself, he felt deeply that to shine was not to succeed ; the position which he achieved was in spite of his exceptional qualities ; not on account of them. THE FIRST CLUB to which I belonged in Lon- 56 DISRAELI. don was in Albemarle Street: "the alfred," a sort of minor "Athenaeum." It was suggested to me by my grand-uncle, M' Henry Holland, who had been at one time Lord Grey's Secretary, and Member for his father's pocket borough, Okehampton. The Club no longer exists. The name by which it was usually known was the "Half-Read Club;" and from the following anec- dote it must have deserved its raame. One even- ing, during the short period of M' Canning's Premiership, at a house-dinner, the company was delighted by the presence of a fluent, and most amusing, and bald-headed, member, well acquainted with the politics of the day, with Art, Literature, in short all that an educated gentleman ought to know. He excused himself for leaving the com- pany somewhat early ; and they were unanimous as to the merits of the departed. They agreed that each should give an opinion as to who he might be. Various names were written down ; and it was found that the majority pronounced him to be Sir Thomas Lawrence, President of the Royal Academy. Subsequent investigation, outside the Club, enabled them to ascertain that the amusing stranger was the Prime Minister, M' Canning. DISRAELI. 57 I HEARD DISRAELI in a speech in the House of Commons tell the story of M'' Canning having been invited to a dinner at a Club : wishing to surprise him, the Committee chose some very special Champagne of a dry quality, then a novelty. The dinner passed off well : but at the end some incautious member asked the Prime iMinister whether he liked the Champagne. M"" Canning re- plied, " A man who says that he likes that wine will say anything." " Now, M' Speaker," added Disraeli, "I can only say that any member of this House who declares that he approves of this motion would say" — he paused — "that he liked dry Cham- pagne." DISRAELI had a party staying with him at Hughenden : he had not been well previous to their visit : and one day his symptoms caused great anxiety. The guests conferred ; and determined to send to London for his physician, D' K. In the meantime their host became conspicuously better : and a difficulty arose to account for the Phy- sician's presence. At last some lady broke it to him. He absolutely refused to see D' K. ; but ordered that dinner should be prepared ; and con- 58 DISRAELI. veyed to the Doctor's apartment. After dinner he said, addressing the company, " Will none of you go and visit the Prisoner ? " The hint was taken : but D' K. departed the next day, without seeing his patient. SOME GOOD SAYINGS have been recorded of Lord Alvanley : here is one that has not. Dining frequently at the mess of the i^' Life Guards, he noticed that when "the cloth was removed," as it was in those days, sundry notes were brought in to the Officers : each " Note was written upon gilt-edged paper With a neat little crow-quill, slight and new." On the next occasion when this took place, Lord Alvanley turned to the mess-waiter, and said, " Bring me one ! " • THE WISH expressed by Disraeli that every peasant in Bucks should have a Pont and a Tank was in allusion to the not unfrequent water-famines which occur in his part of the county. He most liberally lent his own horses and carts on these occasions. LORD LAMINGTON, better known as Baillie Cochrane, said two things worthy of being men- DISRAELI. 59 tioned here : he remarked that, in the House of Commons, anyone who intended to speak should be there at the opening of the House : and that unless his nervous system were sufficiently sensitive to catch the tone of the day, and each day varies, he would not make a successful speech. The other was this : He asked me if I knew much of Mentone, on " The Riviera." I told him that I had passed a day or two there. Lord Lamington said, "I am told that it is a place where you must have resources in yourself. I know what that means ; that you wish to hang yourself twice a day ! " I asked Lord Lamington in what part of France the Monastery of La Trappe was; he replied, "I have not the remotest idea " : " But," I .said, " I read lately a most heartrending account of your visit ; you describe beautifully the Sun rising over the mountains ; and your approach to the living tomb : you saw the brothers pass each other with- out speaking: one of them digging his grave, etc., etc. It was enough to wring tears from a statue." He quietly said, " I never was there in my life." "Do you mean to say that you did not write that article which is ^published 6o DISRAELI. with your name ? " " Oh ! I remember now : I did : I wrote it from something that I saw in ' Galignani's Messenger.' I have no idea where the place is." THERE WAS NO MEMBER of London society at the time I speak of for whom I had a greater respect and regard than Lady Essex. I never knew her until she was far advanced in age. Having been in her youth, as Miss Stephens, a most brilliantly successful singer, she married Lord Essex, when an old man. Her hospitality in Belgrave Square was not only great, but refined. No one better understood the art of collecting pleasant and clever people ; and no one ever played the hostess with more dignity, nor more true kindness : nor had more excellent Cham- pagne. MR. HENRY BARING, known as "the Major," he had served in the i'' Life Guards, for many years M.P. for Marlborough, said to me, "The House of Commons is a pleasant place, provided you don"t work at it," meaning the drudgery of Railway Committees. I always have had a great DI-SRAELI. 6i craving for work. On one occasion, M' Moffatt, who was listened to by the House on a particular subject, namely, the Tea-duties,- and who had an invariable habit of omitting the letter H, was be- coming prolix : he had repeatedly used the word 'ouse : " I 'ope the 'ouse : and per aps the 'ouse," etc M' Henry Baring, at a time when the Members were listening attentively, said across the House, in a stage-whisper, addressing the orator, "No! no! don't go on saying 'ouse: say House." DURING A DIVISION M"" M., one of the "Mountain," who had for two years been howl- 'm