,Henry
Sydney
?
"
"
The
most
fishy
thing
I
ever
saw
,
"
said
Henry
Sydney
.
"
Well
,
we
were
fairly
frightened
here
,
"
said
Sedgwick
.
"
The
first
report
was
,
that
you
had
gone
;
but
that
seemed
without
foundation
.
But
Coningsby
was
quite
given
up
.
Where
are
they
now
?
"
"
They
are
both
at
their
tutors
.
I
thought
they
had
better
keep
quiet
.
Vere
is
with
Millbank
,
and
we
are
going
back
to
Coningsby
directly
;
but
we
thought
it
best
to
show
,
finding
on
our
arrival
that
there
were
all
sorts
of
rumours
about
.
I
think
it
will
be
best
to
report
at
once
to
our
tutor
,
for
he
will
be
sure
to
hear
something
.
"
"
I
would
if
I
were
you
.
"
CHAPTER
X
.
What
wonderful
things
are
events
!
The
least
are
of
greater
importance
than
the
most
sublime
and
comprehensive
speculations
!
In
what
fanciful
schemes
to
obtain
the
friendship
of
Coningsby
had
Millbank
in
his
reveries
often
indulged
!
What
combinations
that
were
to
extend
over
years
and
influence
their
lives
!
But
the
moment
that
he
entered
the
world
of
action
,
his
pride
recoiled
from
the
plans
and
hopes
which
his
sympathy
had
inspired
.
His
sensibility
and
his
inordinate
self-respect
were
always
at
variance
.
And
he
seldom
exchanged
a
word
with
the
being
whose
idea
engrossed
his
affection
.
And
now
,
suddenly
an
event
had
occurred
,
like
all
events
,
unforeseen
,
which
in
a
few
brief
,
agitating
,
tumultuous
moments
,
had
singularly
and
utterly
changed
the
relations
that
previously
subsisted
between
him
and
the
former
object
of
his
concealed
tenderness
.
Millbank
now
stood
,
with
respect
to
Coningsby
,
in
the
position
of
one
who
owes
to
another
the
greatest
conceivable
obligation
;
a
favour
which
time
could
permit
him
neither
to
forget
nor
to
repay
.
Pride
was
a
sentiment
that
could
no
longer
subsist
before
the
preserver
of
his
life
.
Devotion
to
that
being
,
open
,
almost
ostentatious
,
was
now
a
duty
,
a
paramount
and
absorbing
tie
.
The
sense
of
past
peril
,
the
rapture
of
escape
,
a
renewed
relish
for
the
life
so
nearly
forfeited
,
a
deep
sentiment
of
devout
gratitude
to
the
Providence
that
had
guarded
over
him
,
for
Millbank
was
an
eminently
religious
boy
,
a
thought
of
home
,
and
the
anguish
that
might
have
overwhelmed
his
hearth
;
all
these
were
powerful
and
exciting
emotions
for
a
young
and
fervent
mind
,
in
addition
to
the
peculiar
source
of
sensibility
on
which
we
have
already
touched
.
Lord
Vere
,
who
lodged
in
the
same
house
as
Millbank
,
and
was
sitting
by
his
bedside
,
observed
as
night
fell
that
his
mind
wandered
.
The
illness
of
Millbank
,
the
character
of
which
soon
transpired
and
was
soon
exaggerated
,
attracted
the
public
attention
with
increased
interest
to
the
circumstances
out
of
which
it
had
arisen
,
and
from
which
the
parties
principally
concerned
had
wished
to
have
diverted
notice
.
The
sufferer
indeed
had
transgressed
the
rules
of
the
school
by
bathing
at
an
unlicensed
spot
,
where
there
were
no
expert
swimmers
in
attendance
,
as
is
customary
,
to
instruct
the
practice
and
to
guard
over
the
lives
of
the
young
adventurers
.
But
the
circumstances
with
which
this
violation
of
rules
had
been
accompanied
,
and
the
assurance
of
several
of
the
party
that
they
had
not
themselves
infringed
the
regulations
,
combined
with
the
high
character
of
Millbank
,
made
the
authorities
not
over-anxious
to
visit
with
penalties
a
breach
of
observance
,
which
,
in
the
case
of
the
only
proved
offender
,
had
been
attended
with
such
impressive
consequences
.
The
feat
of
Coningsby
was
extolled
by
all
as
an
act
of
high
gallantry
and
skill
.
It
confirmed
and
increased
the
great
reputation
which
he
already
enjoyed
.
"
Millbank
is
getting
quite
well
,
"
said
Buckhurst
to
Coningsby
a
few
days
after
the
accident
.
Henry
Sydney
and
I
are
going
to
see
him
.
Will
you
come
?
"
"
I
think
we
shall
be
too
many
.
I
will
go
another
day
,
"
replied
Coningsby
.
So
they
went
without
him
.
They
found
Millbank
up
and
reading
.
"
Well
,
old
fellow
,
"
said
Buckhurst
,
"
how
are
you
?
We
should
have
come
up
before
but
they
would
not
let
us
.
And
you
are
quite
right
now
,
eh
?
"
"
Quite
;
has
there
been
any
row
about
it
?
"
"
All
blown
over
,
"
said
Henry
Sydney
;
"
C
—
y
behaved
like
a
trump
.
"
"
I
have
seen
nobody
yet
,
"
said
Millbank
;
"
they
would
not
let
me
till
to-day
.
Vere
looked
in
this
morning
and
left
me
this
book
,
but
I
was
asleep
.
I
hope
they
will
let
me
out
in
a
day
or
two
.
I
want
to
thank
Coningsby
;
I
never
shall
rest
till
I
have
thanked
Coningsby
.
"
"
Oh
!
he
will
come
to
see
you
,
"
said
Henry
Sydney
.
"
I
asked
him
just
now
to
come
with
us
.
"
"
Yes
!
"
said
Millbank
,
eagerly
;
"
and
what
did
he
say
?
"
"
He
thought
we
should
be
too
many
.
"
"
I
hope
I
shall
see
him
soon
,
"
said
Millbank
,
"
some
how
or
other
.
"
"
I
will
tell
him
to
come
,
"
said
Buckhurst
.
"
Oh
!
no
,
no
;
do
n't
tell
him
to
come
,
"
said
Millbank
.
"
Do
n't
bore
him
.
"
"
I
know
he
is
going
to
play
a
match
at
fives
this
afternoon
,
"
said
Buckhurst
,
"
for
I
am
one
.
"
"
And
who
are
the
others
?
"
inquired
Millbank
.
"
Herbert
and
Campbell
.
"
"
Herbert
is
no
match
for
Coningsby
,
"
said
Millbank
.
And
then
they
talked
over
all
that
had
happened
since
his
absence
;
and
Buckhurst
gave
him
a
very
graphic
report
of
the
excitement
on
the
afternoon
of
the
accident
;
at
last
they
were
obliged
to
leave
him
.
"
Well
,
good
bye
,
old
fellow
;
we
will
come
and
see
you
every
day
.
What
can
we
do
for
you
?
Any
books
or
anything
?
"
"
If
any
fellow
asks
after
me
,
"
said
Millbank
,
"
tell
him
I
shall
be
glad
to
see
him
.
It
is
very
dull
being
alone
.
But
do
not
tell
any
fellow
to
come
if
he
does
not
ask
after
me
.
"
Notwithstanding
the
kind
suggestions
of
Buckhurst
and
Henry
Sydney
,
Coningsby
could
not
easily
bring
himself
to
call
on
Millbank
.
He
felt
a
constraint
.
It
seemed
as
if
he
went
to
receive
thanks
.
He
would
rather
have
met
Millbank
again
in
school
,
or
in
the
playing
fields
.
Without
being
able
then
to
analyze
his
feelings
,
he
shrank
unconsciously
from
that
ebullition
of
sentiment
,
which
in
more
artificial
circles
is
described
as
a
scene
.
Not
that
any
dislike
of
Millbank
prompted
him
to
this
reserve
.
On
the
contrary
,
since
he
had
conferred
a
great
obligation
on
Millbank
,
his
prejudice
against
him
had
sensibly
decreased
.
How
it
would
have
been
had
Millbank
saved
Coningsby
's
life
,
is
quite
another
affair
.
Probably
,
as
Coningsby
was
by
nature
generous
,
his
sense
of
justice
might
have
struggled
successfully
with
his
painful
sense
of
the
overwhelming
obligation
.
But
in
the
present
case
there
was
no
element
to
disturb
his
fair
self-satisfaction
.
He
had
greatly
distinguished
himself
;
he
had
conferred
on
his
rival
an
essential
service
;
and
the
whole
world
rang
with
his
applause
.
He
began
rather
to
like
Millbank
;
we
will
not
say
because
Millbank
was
the
unintentional
cause
of
his
pleasurable
sensations
.
Really
it
was
that
the
unusual
circumstances
had
prompted
him
to
a
more
impartial
judgment
of
his
rival
's
character
.
In
this
mood
,
the
day
after
the
visit
of
Buckhurst
and
Henry
Sydney
,
Coningsby
called
on
Millbank
,
but
finding
his
medical
attendant
with
him
,
Coningsby
availed
himself
of
that
excuse
for
going
away
without
seeing
him
.
The
next
day
he
left
Millbank
a
newspaper
on
his
way
to
school
,
time
not
permitting
a
visit
.
Two
days
after
,
going
into
his
room
,
he
found
on
his
table
,
a
letter
addressed
to
Harry
Coningsby
,
Esq.
Eton
,
May
—
,
1832.
"
Dear
Coningsby
,
"
I
very
much
fear
that
you
must
think
me
a
very
ungrateful
fellow
because
you
have
not
heard
from
me
before
;
but
I
was
in
hopes
that
I
might
get
out
and
say
to
you
what
I
feel
;
but
whether
I
speak
or
write
,
it
is
quite
impossible
for
me
to
make
you
understand
the
feelings
of
my
heart
to
you
.
Now
I
will
say
at
once
that
I
have
always
liked
you
better
than
any
fellow
in
the
school
,
and
always
thought
you
the
cleverest
;
indeed
I
always
thought
that
there
was
no
one
like
you
,
but
I
never
would
say
this
or
show
this
,
because
you
never
seemed
to
care
for
me
,
and
because
I
was
afraid
you
would
think
I
merely
wanted
to
make
a
pal
of
you
,
as
they
used
to
say
of
some
other
fellows
,
whose
names
I
will
not
mention
,
because
they
always
tried
to
make
a
pal
with
Henry
Sydney
and
you
.
I
do
not
want
this
at
all
,
but
I
want
,
though
we
may
not
speak
to
each
other
more
than
before
,
that
we
may
be
friends
;
and
that
you
will
always
know
that
there
is
nothing
I
will
not
do
for
you
,
and
that
I
like
you
better
than
any
fellow
at
Eton
.
And
I
do
not
mean
that
this
shall
be
only
at
Eton
,
but
afterwards
,
wherever
we
may
be
,
that
you
will
always
remember
that
there
is
nothing
I
will
not
do
for
you
.
Not
because
you
saved
my
life
,
though
that
is
a
great
thing
,
but
because
before
that
I
would
have
done
any
thing
for
you
;
only
for
the
cause
above
mentioned
,
I
would
not
show
it
.
I
do
not
expect
that
we
shall
be
more
together
than
before
;
nor
can
I
ever
suppose
that
you
could
like
me
as
you
like
Henry
Sydney
and
Buckhurst
,
or
even
as
you
like
Vere
;
but
still
I
hope
you
will
always
think
of
me
with
kindness
now
,
and
let
me
sign
myself
,
if
ever
I
do
write
to
you
,
Your
most
attached
,
affectionate
,
and
devoted
friend
,
Oswald
Millbank
.
"
CHAPTER
XI
.
About
a
fortnight
after
this
nearly
fatal
adventure
on
the
river
,
it
was
Montem
.
One
need
hardly
remind
the
reader
that
this
celebrated
ceremony
,
of
which
the
origin
is
lost
in
obscurity
and
which
now
occurs
triennially
,
is
the
tenure
by
which
Eton
College
holds
some
of
its
domains
;
the
waving
of
a
flag
by
one
of
the
scholars
on
a
mount
near
the
village
of
Salt
Hill
,
and
to
which
without
doubt
it
gives
the
name
,
since
on
this
day
every
visitor
to
Eton
,
and
every
traveller
in
its
vicinity
,
from
the
monarch
to
the
peasant
,
are
stopped
on
the
road
by
youthful
brigands
in
picturesque
costume
,
and
summoned
to
contribute
"
salt
,
"
in
the
shape
of
coin
of
the
realm
,
to
the
purse
collecting
for
the
Captain
of
Eton
,
the
senior
scholar
on
the
Foundation
,
who
is
about
to
repair
to
King
's
College
Cambridge
.
On
this
day
the
Captain
of
Eton
appears
in
a
dress
as
martial
as
his
title
:
indeed
,
each
sixth
form
boy
represents
in
his
uniform
,
though
not
perhaps
according
to
the
exact
rules
of
the
Horse
Guards
,
an
officer
of
the
army
.
One
is
a
marshal
,
another
an
ensign
.
There
is
a
lieutenant
,
too
;
and
the
remainder
are
sergeants
.
Each
of
those
who
are
intrusted
with
these
ephemeral
commissions
,
has
one
or
more
attendants
:
the
number
of
these
varying
according
to
his
rank
.
These
Servitors
are
selected
,
according
to
the
wishes
of
the
several
members
of
the
sixth
form
,
out
of
the
ranks
of
the
lower
boys
,
that
is
,
those
boys
who
are
below
the
fifth
form
;
and
all
these
attendants
are
arrayed
in
a
variety
of
fancy
dresses
.
The
senior
Oppidan
and
the
senior
Colleger
next
to
the
Captains
of
those
two
divisions
of
the
school
,
figure
also
in
fancy
costume
,
and
are
called
"
Saltbearers
.
"
It
is
their
business
,
together
with
the
twelve
senior
Collegers
of
the
fifth
form
,
who
are
called
"
Runners
,
"
and
whose
costume
is
also
determined
by
the
taste
of
the
wearers
,
to
levy
the
contributions
.
And
all
the
Oppidans
of
the
fifth
form
,
among
whom
ranked
Coningsby
,
class
as
"
Corporals
;
"
and
are
severally
followed
by
one
or
more
lower
boys
,
who
are
denominated
"
Polemen
,
"
but
who
appear
in
their
ordinary
dress
.
It
was
a
fine
bright
morning
;
the
bells
of
Eton
and
Windsor
rang
merrily
;
everybody
was
astir
,
and
every
moment
some
gay
equipage
drove
into
the
town
.
Gaily
clustering
in
the
thronged
precincts
of
the
College
might
be
observed
many
a
glistening
form
;
airy
Greek
,
or
sumptuous
Ottoman
,
heroes
of
the
Holy
Sepulchre
,
Spanish
Hidalgos
who
had
fought
at
Pavia
,
Highland
Chiefs
who
had
charged
at
Culloden
,
gay
in
the
tartan
of
Prince
Charlie
.
The
Long
Walk
was
full
of
busy
groups
in
scarlet
coats
,
or
fanciful
uniforms
;
some
in
earnest
conversation
,
some
criticising
the
arriving
guests
;
others
encircling
some
magnificent
hero
,
who
astounded
them
with
his
slashed
doublet
or
flowing
plume
.
A
knot
of
boys
,
sitting
on
the
Long
Walk
wall
with
their
feet
swinging
in
the
air
,
watched
the
arriving
guests
of
the
Provost
.
"
I
say
,
Townshend
,
"
said
one
,
"
there
's
Grobbleton
;
he
was
a
bully
.
I
wonder
if
that
's
his
wife
.
Who
's
this
?
The
Duke
of
Agincourt
.
He
was
n't
an
Eton
fellow
?
Yes
,
he
was
.
He
was
called
Poictiers
then
.
Oh
!
ah
!
his
name
is
in
the
upper
school
,
very
large
,
under
Charles
Fox
.
I
say
,
Townshend
,
did
you
see
Saville
's
turban
?
What
was
it
made
of
?
He
says
his
mother
brought
it
from
Grand
Cairo
.
Did'nt
he
just
look
like
the
Saracen
's
Head
!
Here
are
some
Dons
.
That
's
Hallam
!
We
'll
give
him
a
cheer
.
I
say
,
Townshend
,
look
at
this
fellow
.
He
does
not
think
small
beer
of
himself
.
I
wonder
who
he
is
!
The
Duke
of
Wellington
's
valet
come
to
say
his
master
is
engaged
.
Oh
!
by
Jove
he
heard
you
.
I
wonder
if
the
Duke
will
come
.
Wo
n't
we
give
him
a
cheer
!
"
"
By
Jove
,
who
is
this
?
"
exclaimed
Townshend
,
and
he
jumped
from
the
wall
,
and
followed
by
his
companions
rushed
towards
the
road
.
Two
britskas
,
each
drawn
by
four
grey
horses
of
mettle
,
and
each
accompanied
by
outriders
as
well
mounted
,
were
advancing
at
a
rapid
pace
along
the
road
that
leads
from
Slough
to
the
College
.
But
they
were
destined
to
an
irresistible
check
.
About
fifty
yards
before
they
had
reached
the
gate
that
leads
into
Weston
's
yard
,
a
ruthless
but
splendid
Albanian
,
in
crimson
and
gold
embroidered
jacket
,
and
snowy
camese
,
started
forward
,
and
holding
out
his
silver-sheathed
yataghan
commanded
the
postilions
to
stop
.
A
Peruvian
Inca
on
the
other
side
of
the
road
gave
a
simultaneous
command
,
and
would
infallibly
have
transfixed
the
outriders
with
an
arrow
from
his
unerring
bow
,
had
they
for
an
instant
hesitated
.
The
Albanian
Chief
then
advanced
to
the
door
of
the
carriage
,
which
he
opened
,
and
in
a
tone
of
great
courtesy
,
announced
that
he
was
under
the
necessity
of
troubling
its
inmates
for
'
salt
.
'
There
was
no
delay
.
The
Lord
of
the
equipage
with
the
amiable
condescension
of
a
"
grand
monarque
,
"
expressed
his
hope
that
the
collection
would
be
an
ample
one
,
and
as
an
old
Etonian
,
placed
in
the
hands
of
the
Albanian
his
contribution
,
a
magnificent
purse
furnished
for
the
occasion
and
heavy
with
gold
.
"
Do
n't
be
alarmed
,
ladies
,
"
said
a
very
handsome
young
officer
laughing
,
and
taking
off
his
cocked
hat
.
"
Ah
!
"
exclaimed
one
of
the
ladies
,
turning
at
the
voice
,
and
starting
a
little
.
"
Ah
!
it
is
Mr.
Coningsby
.
"
Lord
Eskdale
paid
the
salt
for
the
next
carriage
.
"
Do
they
come
down
pretty
stiff
?
"
he
inquired
,
and
then
pulling
forth
a
roll
of
bank-notes
from
the
pocket
of
his
pea-jacket
,
he
wished
them
good
morning
.
The
courtly
Provost
,
then
the
benignant
Goodall
,
a
man
who
though
his
experience
of
life
was
confined
to
the
colleges
in
which
he
had
passed
his
days
,
was
naturally
gifted
with
that
rarest
of
all
endowments
,
the
talent
of
reception
;
and
whose
happy
bearing
and
gracious
manner
—
a
smile
ever
in
his
eye
,
and
a
lively
word
ever
on
his
lip
—
must
be
recalled
by
all
with
pleasant
recollections
,
welcomed
Lord
Monmouth
and
his
friends
to
an
assemblage
of
the
noble
,
the
beautiful
,
and
the
celebrated
,
gathered
together
in
rooms
not
unworthy
of
them
,
as
you
looked
upon
their
interesting
walls
breathing
with
the
portraits
of
the
heroes
of
whom
Eton
boasts
—
from
Wotton
to
Wellesley
.
Music
sounded
in
the
quadrangle
of
the
College
in
which
the
boys
were
already
quickly
assembling
.
The
Duke
of
Wellington
had
arrived
,
and
the
boys
were
cheering
a
hero
who
was
also
an
Eton
field-marshal
.
From
an
oriel
window
in
one
of
the
Provost
's
rooms
,
Lord
Monmouth
,
surrounded
by
every
circumstance
that
could
make
life
delightful
,
watched
with
some
intentness
the
scene
in
the
quadrangle
beneath
.
"
I
would
give
his
fame
,
"
said
Lord
Monmouth
;
"
if
I
had
it
,
and
my
wealth
—
to
be
sixteen
.
"
Five
hundred
of
the
youth
of
England
,
sparkling
with
health
,
high
spirits
,
and
fancy
dresses
,
were
now
assembled
in
the
quadrangle
.
They
formed
into
rank
,
and
headed
by
a
band
of
the
Guards
,
thrice
they
marched
round
the
court
.
Then
quitting
the
College
,
they
commenced
their
progress
'
ad
Montem
.
'
It
was
a
brilliant
spectacle
to
see
them
defiling
through
the
playing
fields
;
those
bowery
meads
;
the
river
sparkling
in
the
sun
;
the
castled
heights
of
Windsor
,
their
glorious
landscape
;
behind
them
,
the
pinnacles
of
their
College
.
The
road
from
Eton
to
Salt
Hill
was
clogged
with
carriages
;
the
broad
fields
as
far
as
eye
could
range
were
covered
with
human
beings
.
Amid
the
burst
of
martial
music
and
the
shouts
of
the
multitude
,
the
band
of
heroes
,
as
if
they
were
marching
from
Athens
or
Thebes
or
Sparta
to
some
heroic
deed
,
encircled
the
mount
;
the
ensign
reaches
its
summit
,
and
then
amid
a
deafening
cry
of
"
Floreat
Etona
,
"
he
unfurls
,
and
thrice
waves
the
consecrated
standard
!
"
Lord
Monmouth
,
"
said
Mr.
Rigby
to
Coningsby
,
"
wishes
that
you
should
beg
your
friends
to
dine
with
him
.
Of
course
you
will
ask
Lord
Henry
and
your
friend
Sir
Charles
Buckhurst
;
and
is
there
any
one
else
that
you
would
like
to
invite
?
"
"
Why
there
is
Vere
,
"
said
Coningsby
hesitating
,
"
and
—
"
"
Vere
!
What
Lord
Vere
?
"
said
Mr.
Rigby
.
"
Hum
!
He
is
one
of
your
friends
is
he
?
His
father
has
done
a
great
deal
of
mischief
,
but
still
he
is
Lord
Vere
.
Well
,
of
course
,
you
can
invite
Vere
.
"
"
There
is
another
fellow
I
should
like
to
ask
very
much
,
"
said
Coningsby
,
"
if
Lord
Monmouth
would
not
think
I
was
asking
too
many
.
"
"
Never
fear
that
;
he
sent
me
particularly
to
tell
you
to
invite
as
many
as
you
liked
.
"
"
Well
then
,
I
should
like
to
ask
Millbank
.
"
"
Millbank
!
"
said
Mr.
Rigby
a
little
excited
,
and
then
he
added
:
"
Is
that
a
son
of
Lady
Albinia
Millbank
.
"
"
No
;
his
mother
is
not
a
Lady
Albinia
,
but
he
is
a
great
friend
of
mine
.
His
father
is
a
Lancashire
manufacturer
.
"
"
By
no
means
,
"
exclaimed
Mr.
Rigby
quite
agitated
.
"
There
is
nothing
in
the
world
that
Lord
Monmouth
dislikes
so
much
as
Manchester
manufacturers
,
and
particularly
if
they
bear
the
name
of
Millbank
.
It
must
not
be
thought
of
,
my
dear
Harry
.
I
hope
you
have
not
spoken
to
the
young
man
on
the
subject
.
I
assure
you
it
is
quite
out
of
the
question
.
It
would
make
Lord
Monmouth
quite
ill.
It
would
spoil
everything
;
quite
upset
him
.
"
It
was
,
of
course
,
impossible
for
Coningsby
to
urge
his
wishes
against
such
representations
.
He
was
disappointed
—
rather
amazed
;
but
Madame
Colonna
having
sent
for
him
to
introduce
her
to
some
of
the
scenes
and
details
of
Eton
life
,
his
vexation
was
soon
absorbed
in
the
pride
of
acting
in
the
face
of
his
companions
as
the
cavalier
of
a
beautiful
lady
,
and
becoming
the
cicerone
of
the
most
brilliant
party
that
had
attended
Montem
.
He
presented
his
friends
,
too
,
to
Lord
Monmouth
,
who
gave
them
a
most
cordial
invitation
to
dine
with
him
at
his
hotel
at
Windsor
,
which
they
most
warmly
accepted
.
Buckhurst
delighted
the
Marquess
by
his
reckless
genius
.
Even
Lucretia
deigned
to
appear
amused
;
especially
when
on
visiting
the
upper
school
,
the
name
of
Cardiff
,
the
title
Lord
Monmouth
bore
in
his
youthful
days
,
was
pointed
out
to
her
by
Coningsby
,
cut
with
his
grandfather
's
own
knife
on
the
classic
panels
of
that
memorable
wall
in
which
scarcely
a
name
that
has
flourished
in
our
history
,
since
the
commencement
of
the
eighteenth
century
,
may
not
be
observed
with
curious
admiration
.
It
was
the
humour
of
Lord
Monmouth
that
the
boys
should
be
entertained
with
the
most
various
and
delicious
banquet
that
luxury
could
devise
,
or
money
could
command
.
For
some
days
beforehand
,
orders
had
been
given
for
the
preparation
of
this
festival
.
Our
friends
did
full
justice
to
their
Lucullus
;
Buckhurst
especially
,
who
gave
his
opinion
on
the
most
refined
dishes
with
all
the
intrepidity
of
saucy
ignorance
,
and
occasionally
shook
his
head
over
a
glass
of
Hermitage
or
Côte
Rôtie
with
a
dissatisfaction
which
a
satiated
Sybarite
could
not
have
exceeded
.
Considering
all
things
,
Coningsby
and
his
friends
exhibited
a
great
deal
of
self-command
;
but
they
were
gay
,
even
to
the
verge
of
frolick
.
But
then
the
occasion
justified
it
,
as
much
as
their
youth
.
All
were
in
high
spirits
.
Madame
Colonna
declared
that
she
had
met
nothing
in
England
equal
to
Montem
;
that
it
was
a
Protestant
Carnival
;
and
that
its
only
fault
was
that
it
did
not
last
forty
days
.
The
Prince
himself
was
all
animation
,
and
took
wine
with
every
one
of
the
Etonians
several
times
.
All
went
on
flowingly
until
Mr.
Rigby
contradicted
Buckhurst
on
some
point
of
Eton
discipline
,
which
Buckhurst
would
not
stand
.
He
rallied
Mr.
Rigby
roundly
,
and
Coningsby
,
full
of
Champagne
,
and
owing
Rigby
several
years
of
contradiction
,
followed
up
the
assault
.
Lord
Monmouth
,
who
liked
a
butt
,
and
had
a
weakness
for
boisterous
gaiety
,
slily
encouraged
the
boys
,
till
Rigby
began
to
lose
his
temper
and
get
noisy
.
The
lads
had
the
best
of
it
;
they
said
a
great
many
funny
things
,
and
delivered
themselves
of
several
sharp
retorts
;
whereas
there
was
something
ridiculous
in
Rigby
putting
forth
his
"
slashing
"
talents
against
such
younkers
.
However
,
he
brought
the
infliction
on
himself
by
his
strange
habit
of
deciding
on
subjects
of
which
he
knew
nothing
,
and
of
always
contradicting
persons
on
the
very
subjects
of
which
they
were
necessarily
masters
.
To
see
Rigby
baited
was
more
amusement
to
Lord
Monmouth
,
even
than
Montem
.
Lucian
Gay
,
however
,
when
the
affair
was
getting
troublesome
,
came
forward
as
a
diversion
.
He
sang
an
extemporaneous
song
on
the
ceremony
of
the
day
,
and
introduced
the
names
of
all
the
guests
at
the
dinner
,
and
of
a
great
many
other
persons
besides
.
This
was
capital
!
The
boys
were
in
raptures
,
but
when
the
singer
threw
forth
a
verse
about
Doctor
Keate
,
the
applause
became
uproarious
.
"
Good
bye
,
my
dear
Harry
,
"
said
Lord
Monmouth
,
when
he
bade
his
grandson
farewell
.
"
I
am
going
abroad
again
;
I
cannot
remain
in
this
radical-ridden
country
.
Remember
,
though
I
am
away
,
Monmouth
House
is
your
home
,
—
at
least
as
long
as
it
belongs
to
me
.
I
understand
my
tailor
has
turned
Liberal
,
and
is
going
to
stand
for
one
of
the
metropolitan
districts
;
a
friend
of
Lord
Durham
;
perhaps
I
shall
find
him
in
it
when
I
return
.
I
fear
there
are
evil
days
for
the
NEW
Generation
!
"
END
OF
BOOK
I
.
BOOK
II
.
CHAPTER
I
.
It
was
early
in
November
,
1834
,
and
a
large
shooting
party
was
assembled
at
Beaumanoir
,
the
seat
of
that
great
nobleman
,
who
was
the
father
of
Henry
Sydney
.
England
is
unrivalled
for
two
things
—
sporting
and
politics
.
They
were
combined
at
Beaumanoir
;
for
the
guests
came
not
merely
to
slaughter
the
Duke
's
pheasants
,
but
to
hold
council
on
the
prospects
of
the
party
,
which
,
it
was
supposed
by
the
initiated
,
began
at
this
time
to
indicate
some
symptoms
of
brightening
.
The
success
of
the
Reform
Ministry
on
their
first
appeal
to
the
new
constituency
which
they
had
created
,
had
been
fatally
complete
.
But
the
triumph
was
as
destructive
to
the
victors
as
to
the
vanquished
.
"
We
are
too
strong
,
"
prophetically
exclaimed
one
of
the
fortunate
cabinet
,
which
found
itself
supported
by
an
inconceivable
majority
of
three
hundred
.
It
is
to
be
hoped
that
some
future
publisher
of
private
memoirs
may
have
preserved
some
of
the
traits
of
that
crude
and
short-lived
Parliament
,
when
old
Cobbett
insolently
thrust
Sir
Robert
from
the
prescriptive
seat
of
the
chief
of
opposition
,
and
treasury
understrappers
sneered
at
the
"
queer
lot
"
that
had
arrived
from
Ireland
,
little
foreseeing
what
a
high
bidding
that
"
queer
lot
"
would
eventually
command
.
Gratitude
to
Lord
Grey
was
the
hustings-cry
at
the
end
of
1832
,
the
pretext
that
was
to
return
to
the
new-modelled
House
of
Commons
none
but
men
devoted
to
the
Whig
cause
.
The
successful
simulation
,
like
everything
that
is
false
,
carried
within
it
the
seeds
of
its
own
dissolution
.
Ingratitude
to
Lord
Grey
was
more
the
fashion
at
the
commencement
of
1834
,
and
before
the
close
of
that
eventful
year
,
the
once
popular
Reform
Ministry
was
upset
,
and
the
eagerly
sought
Reformed
Parliament
dissolved
!
It
can
scarcely
be
alleged
that
the
public
was
altogether
unprepared
for
this
catastrophe
.
Many
deemed
it
inevitable
;
few
thought
it
imminent
.
The
career
of
the
Ministry
,
and
the
existence
of
the
Parliament
had
indeed
from
the
first
been
turbulent
and
fitful
.
It
was
known
from
authority
,
that
there
were
dissensions
in
the
cabinet
;
while
a
House
of
Commons
which
passed
votes
on
subjects
not
less
important
than
the
repeal
of
a
tax
,
or
the
impeachment
of
a
judge
on
one
night
,
and
rescinded
its
resolutions
on
the
following
,
certainly
established
no
increased
claims
to
the
confidence
of
its
constituents
in
its
discretion
.
Nevertheless
there
existed
at
this
period
a
prevalent
conviction
,
that
the
Whig
party
by
a
great
stroke
of
state
,
similar
in
magnitude
and
effect
to
that
which
in
the
preceding
century
had
changed
the
dynasty
,
had
secured
to
themselves
the
government
of
this
country
,
for
,
at
least
,
the
lives
of
the
present
generation
.
And
even
the
well
informed
in
such
matters
were
inclined
to
look
upon
the
perplexing
circumstances
to
which
we
have
alluded
,
rather
as
symptoms
of
a
want
of
discipline
in
a
new
system
of
tactics
,
than
as
evidences
of
any
essential
and
deeply-rooted
disorder
.
The
startling
rapidity
,
however
,
of
the
strange
incidents
of
1834
;
the
indignant
,
soon
to
become
vituperative
,
secession
of
a
considerable
section
of
the
cabinet
,
some
of
them
esteemed
too
at
that
time
among
its
most
efficient
members
;
the
piteous
deprecation
of
"
pressure
from
without
,
"
from
lips
hitherto
deemed
too
stately
for
intreaty
,
followed
by
the
Trades
'
Union
thirty
thousand
strong
,
parading
in
procession
to
Downing
Street
;
the
Irish
negociations
of
Lord
Hatherton
,
strange
blending
of
complex
intrigue
and
almost
infantile
ingenuousness
;
the
still
inexplicable
resignation
of
Lord
Althorp
,
hurriedly
followed
by
his
still
more
mysterious
resumption
of
power
,
the
only
result
of
his
precipitate
movements
being
the
fall
of
Lord
Grey
himself
,
attended
by
circumstances
which
even
a
friendly
historian
could
scarcely
describe
as
honourable
to
his
party
or
dignified
to
himself
;
latterly
,
the
extemporaneous
address
of
King
William
to
the
bishops
;
the
vagrant
and
grotesque
Apocalypse
of
the
Lord
Chancellor
;
and
the
fierce
recrimination
and
memorable
defiance
of
the
Edinburgh
banquet
;
all
these
impressive
instances
of
public
affairs
and
public
conduct
had
combined
to
create
a
predominant
opinion
that
,
whatever
might
be
the
consequences
,
the
prolonged
continuance
of
the
present
party
in
power
was
a
clear
impossibility
.
It
is
evident
that
the
suicidal
career
of
what
was
then
styled
the
Liberal
party
,
had
been
occasioned
and
stimulated
by
its
unnatural
excess
of
strength
.
The
apoplectic
plethora
of
1834
was
not
less
fatal
than
the
paralytic
tenuity
of
1841.
It
was
not
feasible
to
gratify
so
many
ambitions
,
or
to
satisfy
so
many
expectations
.
Every
man
had
his
double
;
the
heels
of
every
placeman
were
dogged
by
friendly
rivals
ready
to
trip
them
up
.
There
were
even
two
cabinets
;
the
one
that
met
in
council
,
and
the
one
that
met
in
cabal
.
The
consequence
of
destroying
the
legitimate
opposition
of
the
country
was
,
that
a
moiety
of
the
supporters
of
government
had
to
discharge
the
duties
of
Opposition
.
Herein
then
we
detect
the
real
cause
of
all
that
irregular
and
unsettled
carriage
of
public
men
,
which
so
perplexed
the
nation
after
the
passing
of
the
Reform
Act
.
No
government
can
be
long
secure
without
a
formidable
Opposition
.
It
reduces
their
supporters
to
that
tractable
number
which
can
be
managed
by
the
joint
influences
of
fruition
and
of
hope
.
It
offers
vengeance
to
the
discontented
and
distinction
to
the
ambitious
;
and
employs
the
energies
of
aspiring
spirits
,
who
otherwise
may
prove
traitors
in
a
division
,
or
assassins
in
a
debate
.
The
general
election
of
1832
abrogated
the
Parliamentary
Opposition
of
England
,
which
had
practically
existed
for
more
than
a
century
and
a
half
.
And
what
a
series
of
equivocal
transactions
and
mortifying
adventures
did
the
withdrawal
of
this
salutary
restraint
entail
on
the
party
which
then
so
loudly
congratulated
themselves
and
the
country
,
that
they
were
at
length
relieved
from
its
odious
repression
!
In
the
hurry
of
existence
one
is
apt
too
generally
to
pass
over
the
political
history
of
the
times
in
which
we
ourselves
live
.
The
two
years
that
followed
the
Reform
of
the
House
of
Commons
are
full
of
instruction
on
which
a
young
man
would
do
well
to
ponder
.
It
is
hardly
possible
that
he
could
rise
from
the
study
of
these
annals
without
a
confirmed
disgust
for
political
intrigue
;
a
dazzling
practice
,
apt
at
first
to
fascinate
youth
,
for
it
appeals
at
once
to
our
invention
and
our
courage
,
but
which
really
should
only
be
the
resource
of
the
second-rate
.
Great
minds
must
trust
to
great
truths
and
great
talents
for
their
rise
,
and
nothing
else
.
While
,
however
,
as
the
autumn
of
1834
advanced
,
the
people
of
this
country
became
gradually
sensible
of
the
necessity
of
some
change
in
the
councils
of
their
Sovereign
;
no
man
felt
capable
of
predicting
by
what
means
it
was
to
be
accomplished
,
or
from
what
quarry
the
new
materials
were
to
be
extracted
.
The
Tory
party
,
according
to
these
perverted
views
of
Toryism
unhappily
too
long
prevalent
in
this
country
,
was
held
to
be
literally
defunct
,
except
by
a
few
old
battered
crones
of
office
crouched
round
the
embers
of
faction
which
they
were
fanning
,
and
muttering
"
re-action
"
in
mystic
whispers
.
It
cannot
be
supposed
,
indeed
,
for
a
moment
,
that
the
distinguished
personage
who
had
led
that
party
in
the
House
of
Commons
previously
to
the
passing
of
the
act
of
1832
,
ever
despaired
in
consequence
of
his
own
career
.
His
then
time
of
life
,
the
perfection
,
almost
the
prime
,
of
manhood
;
his
parliamentary
practice
,
doubly
estimable
in
an
inexperienced
assembly
;
his
political
knowledge
;
his
fair
character
and
reputable
position
;
his
talents
and
tone
as
a
public
speaker
,
which
he
had
always
aimed
to
adapt
to
the
habits
and
culture
of
that
middle
class
from
which
it
was
concluded
the
benches
of
the
new
Parliament
were
mainly
to
be
recruited
—
all
these
were
qualities
,
the
possession
of
which
must
have
assured
a
mind
,
not
apt
to
be
disturbed
in
its
calculations
by
any
intemperate
heats
,
that
with
time
and
patience
the
game
was
yet
for
him
.
Unquestionably
,
whatever
may
have
been
insinuated
,
this
distinguished
person
had
no
inkling
that
his
services
in
1834
might
be
claimed
by
his
Sovereign
.
At
the
close
of
the
session
of
that
year
he
had
quitted
England
with
his
family
and
had
arrived
at
Rome
,
where
it
was
his
intention
to
pass
the
winter
.
The
party
charges
that
have
imputed
to
him
a
previous
and
sinister
knowledge
of
the
intentions
of
the
Court
,
appear
to
have
been
made
not
only
in
ignorance
of
the
personal
character
,
but
of
the
real
position
,
of
the
future
minister
.
It
had
been
the
misfortune
of
this
eminent
gentleman
when
he
first
entered
public
life
,
to
become
identified
with
a
political
connexion
,
which
having
arrogated
to
itself
the
name
of
an
illustrious
historical
party
,
pursued
a
policy
,
which
was
either
founded
on
no
principle
whatever
,
or
on
principles
exactly
contrary
to
those
which
had
always
guided
the
conduct
of
the
great
Tory
leaders
.
The
chief
members
of
this
official
confederacy
were
men
distinguished
by
none
of
the
conspicuous
qualities
of
statesmen
.
They
had
none
of
the
divine
gifts
that
govern
senates
and
guide
councils
.
They
were
not
orators
;
they
were
not
men
of
deep
thought
or
happy
resource
;
or
of
penetrative
and
sagacious
minds
.
Their
political
ken
was
essentially
dull
and
contracted
.
They
expended
some
energy
in
obtaining
a
defective
blundering
acquaintance
with
foreign
affairs
;
they
knew
as
little
of
the
real
state
of
their
own
country
as
savages
of
an
approaching
eclipse
.
This
factious
league
had
shuffled
themselves
into
power
by
clinging
to
the
skirts
of
a
great
minister
,
the
last
of
Tory
statesmen
,
but
who
,
in
the
unparalleled
and
confounding
emergencies
of
his
latter
years
,
has
been
forced
,
unfortunately
for
England
,
to
relinquish
Toryism
.
His
successors
inherited
all
his
errors
without
the
latent
genius
,
which
in
him
might
have
still
rallied
and
extricated
him
from
the
consequences
of
his
disasters
.
His
successors
did
not
merely
inherit
his
errors
;
they
exaggerated
,
they
caricatured
them
.
They
rode
into
power
on
a
spring-tide
of
all
the
rampant
prejudices
and
rancorous
passions
of
their
time
.
From
the
King
to
the
boor
their
policy
was
a
mere
pandering
to
public
ignorance
.
Impudently
usurping
the
name
of
that
party
of
which
nationality
,
and
therefore
universality
,
is
the
essence
,
these
pseudo-Tories
made
Exclusion
the
principle
of
their
political
constitution
,
and
Restriction
the
genius
of
their
commercial
code
.
The
blind
goddess
that
plays
with
human
fortunes
has
mixed
up
the
memory
of
these
men
with
traditions
of
national
glory
.
They
conducted
to
a
prosperous
conclusion
the
most
renowned
war
in
which
England
has
ever
been
engaged
.
Yet
every
military
conception
that
emanated
from
their
cabinet
was
branded
by
their
characteristic
want
of
grandeur
.
Chance
,
however
,
sent
them
a
great
military
genius
,
whom
they
treated
for
a
long
time
with
indifference
;
and
whom
they
never
heartily
supported
until
his
career
had
made
him
their
master
.
His
transcendent
exploits
and
European
events
,
even
greater
than
his
achievements
,
placed
in
the
manikin
grasp
of
the
English
ministry
—
the
settlement
of
Europe
.
The
act
of
the
Congress
of
Vienna
remains
the
eternal
monument
of
their
diplomatic
knowledge
and
political
sagacity
.
Their
capital
feats
were
the
creation
of
two
kingdoms
,
both
of
which
are
already
erased
from
the
map
of
Europe
.
They
made
no
single
preparation
for
the
inevitable
,
almost
impending
,
conjunctures
of
the
East
.
All
that
remains
of
the
pragmatic
arrangements
of
the
mighty
Congress
of
Vienna
is
the
mediatisation
of
the
petty
German
Princes
.
But
the
settlement
of
Europe
by
the
pseudo-Tories
was
the
dictate
of
inspiration
compared
with
their
settlement
of
England
.
The
peace
of
Paris
found
the
government
of
this
country
in
the
hands
of
a
body
of
men
,
of
whom
it
is
no
exaggeration
to
say
that
they
were
ignorant
of
every
principle
of
every
branch
of
political
science
.
As
long
as
our
domestic
administration
was
confined
merely
to
the
raising
of
a
revenue
,
they
levied
taxes
with
gross
facility
from
the
industry
of
a
country
too
busy
to
criticise
or
complain
.
But
when
the
excitement
and
distraction
of
war
had
ceased
,
and
they
were
forced
to
survey
the
social
elements
that
surrounded
them
;
they
seemed
,
for
the
first
time
,
to
have
become
conscious
of
their
own
incapacity
.
These
men
,
indeed
,
were
the
mere
children
of
routine
.
They
prided
themselves
on
being
practical
men
.
In
the
language
of
this
defunct
school
of
statesmen
,
a
practical
man
is
a
man
who
practises
the
blunders
of
his
predecessors
.
Now
commenced
that
Condition
of
England
Question
,
of
which
our
generation
hears
so
much
.
During
five-and-twenty
years
every
influence
that
can
develop
the
energies
and
resources
of
a
nation
had
been
acting
with
concentrated
stimulation
on
the
British
Isles
.
National
peril
and
national
glory
;
the
perpetual
menace
of
invasion
,
the
continual
triumph
of
conquest
;
the
most
extensive
foreign
commerce
that
was
ever
conducted
by
a
single
nation
;
an
illimitable
currency
;
an
internal
trade
supported
by
swarming
millions
,
whom
manufactures
and
inclosure
bills
summoned
into
existence
;
above
all
,
the
supreme
control
obtained
by
man
over
mechanic
power
;
these
are
some
of
the
causes
of
that
rapid
advance
of
material
civilization
in
England
,
to
which
the
annals
of
the
world
can
afford
no
parallel
.
But
there
was
no
proportionate
advance
in
our
moral
civilization
.
In
the
hurry-skurry
of
money-making
,
men-making
and
machine-making
,
we
had
altogether
outgrown
,
not
the
spirit
,
but
the
organization
,
of
our
institutions
.
The
peace
came
;
the
stimulating
influences
suddenly
ceased
;
the
people
,
in
a
novel
and
painful
position
,
found
themselves
without
guides
.
They
went
to
the
ministry
;
they
asked
to
be
guided
;
they
asked
to
be
governed
.
Commerce
requested
a
code
;
trade
required
a
currency
;
the
unfranchised
subject
solicited
his
equal
privilege
;
suffering
labour
clamoured
for
its
rights
;
a
new
race
demanded
education
.
What
did
the
ministry
do
?
They
fell
into
a
panic
.
Having
fulfilled
during
their
lives
the
duties
of
administration
,
they
were
frightened
because
they
were
called
upon
,
for
the
first
time
,
to
perform
the
functions
of
government
.
Like
all
weak
men
,
they
had
recourse
to
what
they
called
strong
measures
.
They
determined
to
put
down
the
multitude
.
They
thought
they
were
imitating
Mr.
Pitt
,
because
they
mistook
disorganization
for
sedition
.
Their
projects
of
relief
were
as
ridiculous
as
their
system
of
coercion
was
ruthless
;
both
were
alike
founded
in
intense
ignorance
.
When
we
recall
Mr.
Vansittart
with
his
currency
resolutions
;
Lord
Castlereagh
with
his
plans
for
the
employment
of
labour
;
and
Lord
Sidmouth
with
his
plots
for
ensnaring
the
laborious
;
one
is
tempted
to
imagine
that
the
present
epoch
has
been
one
of
peculiar
advances
in
political
ability
,
and
marvel
how
England
could
have
attained
her
present
pitch
under
a
series
of
such
governors
.
We
should
,
however
,
be
labouring
under
a
very
erroneous
impression
.
Run
over
the
statesmen
that
have
figured
in
England
since
the
accession
of
the
present
family
,
and
we
may
doubt
whether
there
be
one
,
with
the
exception
,
perhaps
,
of
the
Duke
of
Newcastle
,
who
would
have
been
a
worthy
colleague
of
the
councils
of
Mr.
Percival
,
or
the
early
cabinet
of
Lord
Liverpool
.
Assuredly
the
genius
of
Bolingbroke
and
the
sagacity
of
Walpole
,
would
have
alike
recoiled
from
such
men
and
such
measures
.
And
if
we
take
the
individuals
who
were
governing
England
immediately
before
the
French
Revolution
,
one
need
only
refer
to
the
speeches
of
Mr.
Pitt
,
and
especially
to
those
of
that
profound
statesman
and
most
instructed
man
,
Lord
Shelburne
,
to
find
that
we
can
boast
no
remarkable
superiority
either
in
political
justice
or
in
political
economy
.
One
must
attribute
this
degeneracy
,
therefore
,
to
the
long
war
and
our
insular
position
,
acting
upon
men
naturally
of
inferior
abilities
,
and
unfortunately
,
in
addition
,
of
illiterate
habits
.
In
the
meantime
,
notwithstanding
all
the
efforts
of
the
political
Panglosses
who
,
in
Evening
Journals
and
Quarterly
Reviews
,
were
continually
proving
that
this
was
the
best
of
all
possible
governments
,
it
was
evident
to
the
Ministry
itself
that
the
machine
must
stop
.
The
class
of
Rigbys
,
indeed
,
at
this
period
,
one
eminently
favourable
to
that
fungous
tribe
,
greatly
distinguished
themselves
.
They
demonstrated
in
a
manner
absolutely
convincing
,
that
it
was
impossible
for
any
person
to
possess
any
ability
,
knowledge
,
or
virtue
,
any
capacity
of
reason
,
any
ray
of
fancy
or
faculty
of
imagination
,
who
was
not
a
supporter
of
the
existing
administration
.
If
any
one
impeached
the
management
of
a
department
,
the
public
was
assured
that
the
accuser
had
embezzled
;
if
any
one
complained
of
the
conduct
of
a
colonial
governor
,
the
complainant
was
announced
as
a
returned
convict
.
An
amelioration
of
the
criminal
code
was
discountenanced
because
a
search
in
the
parish
register
of
an
obscure
village
proved
that
the
proposer
had
not
been
born
in
wedlock
.
A
relaxation
of
the
commercial
system
was
denounced
because
one
of
its
principal
advocates
was
a
Socinian
.
The
inutility
of
Parliamentary
Reform
was
ever
obvious
since
Mr.
Rigby
was
a
Member
of
the
House
of
Commons
.
To
us
,
with
our
"
Times
"
newspaper
every
morning
on
our
breakfast
table
,
bringing
on
every
subject
which
can
interest
the
public
mind
a
degree
of
information
and
intelligence
which
must
form
a
security
against
any
prolonged
public
misconception
,
it
seems
incredible
that
only
five
and
twenty
years
ago
the
English
mind
could
have
been
so
ridden
and
hoodwinked
,
and
that
too
by
men
of
mean
attainments
and
moderate
abilities
.
But
the
war
had
directed
the
energies
of
the
English
people
into
channels
by
no
means
favourable
to
political
education
.
Conquerors
of
the
world
,
with
their
ports
filled
with
the
shipping
of
every
clime
,
and
their
manufactories
supplying
the
European
continent
,
in
the
art
of
self-government
,
that
art
in
which
their
fathers
excelled
,
they
had
become
literally
children
;
and
Rigby
and
his
brother
hirelings
were
the
nurses
that
frightened
them
with
hideous
fables
and
ugly
words
.
Notwithstanding
,
however
,
all
this
successful
mystification
,
the
Arch-Mediocrity
who
presided
,
rather
than
ruled
,
over
this
Cabinet
of
Mediocrities
,
became
hourly
more
conscious
that
the
inevitable
transition
from
fulfilling
the
duties
of
an
administration
to
performing
the
functions
of
a
government
could
not
be
conducted
without
talents
and
knowledge
.
The
Arch-Mediocrity
had
himself
some
glimmering
traditions
of
political
science
.
He
was
sprung
from
a
laborious
stock
,
had
received
some
training
,
and
though
not
a
statesman
,
might
be
classed
among
those
whom
the
Lord
Keeper
Williams
used
to
call
"
statemongers
.
"
In
a
subordinate
position
his
meagre
diligence
and
his
frigid
method
might
not
have
been
without
value
;
but
the
qualities
that
he
possessed
were
misplaced
;
nor
can
any
character
be
conceived
less
invested
with
the
happy
properties
of
a
leader
.
In
the
conduct
of
public
affairs
,
his
disposition
was
exactly
the
reverse
to
that
which
is
the
characteristic
of
great
men
.
He
was
peremptory
in
little
questions
,
and
great
ones
he
left
open
.
In
the
natural
course
of
events
,
in
1819
there
ought
to
have
been
a
change
of
government
and
another
party
in
the
state
should
have
entered
into
office
;
but
the
Whigs
,
though
they
counted
in
their
ranks
at
that
period
an
unusual
number
of
men
of
great
ability
and
formed
indeed
a
compact
and
spirited
opposition
,
were
unable
to
contend
against
the
new
adjustment
of
borough
influence
which
had
occurred
during
the
war
,
and
under
the
protracted
administration
by
which
that
war
had
been
conducted
.
New
families
had
arisen
on
the
Tory
side
that
almost
rivalled
old
Newcastle
himself
in
their
electioneering
management
;
and
it
was
evident
that
unless
some
re-construction
of
the
House
of
Commons
could
be
effected
,
the
Whig
party
could
never
obtain
a
permanent
hold
of
official
power
.
Hence
,
from
that
period
,
the
Whigs
became
Parliamentary
Reformers
.
It
was
inevitable
,
therefore
,
that
the
country
should
be
governed
by
the
same
party
;
indispensable
that
the
ministry
should
be
renovated
by
new
brains
and
blood
.
Accordingly
,
a
Mediocrity
,
not
without
repugnance
,
was
induced
to
withdraw
,
and
the
great
name
of
Wellington
supplied
his
place
in
council
.
The
talents
of
the
Duke
,
as
they
were
then
understood
,
were
not
exactly
of
the
kind
most
required
by
the
cabinet
,
and
his
colleagues
were
most
careful
that
he
should
not
occupy
too
prominent
a
post
;
but
still
it
was
an
impressive
acquisition
,
and
imparted
to
the
ministry
a
semblance
of
renown
.
There
was
an
individual
who
had
not
long
entered
public
life
,
but
who
had
already
filled
considerable
,
though
still
subordinate
,
offices
.
Having
acquired
a
certain
experience
of
the
duties
of
administration
and
distinction
for
his
mode
of
fulfilling
them
,
he
had
withdrawn
from
his
public
charge
;
perhaps
because
he
found
it
a
barrier
to
the
attainment
of
that
parliamentary
reputation
for
which
he
had
already
shown
both
a
desire
and
a
capacity
;
perhaps
,
because
being
young
and
independent
,
he
was
not
over
anxious
irremediably
to
identify
his
career
with
a
school
of
politics
of
the
infallibility
of
which
his
experience
might
have
already
made
him
a
little
sceptical
.
But
he
possessed
the
talents
that
were
absolutely
wanted
,
and
the
terms
were
at
his
own
dictation
.
Another
and
a
very
distinguished
Mediocrity
who
would
not
resign
,
was
thrust
out
;
and
Mr.
Peel
became
Secretary
of
State
.
From
this
moment
dates
that
intimate
connexion
between
the
Duke
of
Wellington
and
the
present
First
Minister
,
which
has
exercised
a
considerable
influence
over
the
career
of
individuals
and
the
course
of
affairs
.
It
was
the
sympathetic
result
of
superior
minds
placed
among
inferior
intelligences
:
and
was
,
doubtless
,
assisted
by
a
then
mutual
conviction
,
that
the
difference
of
age
,
the
circumstance
of
sitting
in
different
houses
,
and
the
general
contrast
of
their
previous
pursuits
and
accomplishments
,
rendered
personal
rivalry
out
of
the
question
.
From
this
moment
,
too
,
the
domestic
government
of
the
country
assumed
a
new
character
,
and
one
universally
admitted
to
have
been
distinguished
by
a
spirit
of
enlightened
progress
and
comprehensive
amelioration
.
A
short
time
after
this
,
a
third
and
most
distinguished
Mediocrity
died
;
and
Canning
,
whom
they
had
twice
worried
out
of
the
cabinet
,
where
they
had
tolerated
him
for
some
time
in
an
obscure
and
ambiguous
position
,
was
recalled
just
in
time
from
his
impending
banishment
,
installed
in
the
first
post
in
the
lower
House
and
intrusted
with
the
seals
of
the
Foreign
Office
.
The
Duke
of
Wellington
had
coveted
them
,
nor
could
Lord
Liverpool
have
been
insensible
to
his
Grace
's
peculiar
fitness
for
such
duties
;
but
strength
was
required
in
the
House
of
Commons
,
where
they
had
only
one
Secretary
of
State
,
a
young
man
already
distinguished
,
yet
untried
as
a
leader
and
surrounded
by
colleagues
notoriously
incapable
to
assist
him
in
debate
.
The
accession
of
Mr.
Canning
to
the
cabinet
,
in
a
position
too
of
surpassing
influence
,
soon
led
to
a
further
weeding
of
the
Mediocrities
,
and
among
other
introductions
to
the
memorable
entrance
of
Mr.
Huskisson
.
In
this
wise
did
that
cabinet
,
once
notable
only
for
the
absence
of
all
those
qualities
which
authorize
the
possession
of
power
,
come
to
be
generally
esteemed
as
a
body
of
men
,
who
for
parliamentary
eloquence
,
official
practice
,
political
information
,
sagacity
in
council
,
and
a
due
understanding
of
their
epoch
,
were
inferior
to
none
that
had
directed
the
policy
of
the
empire
since
the
Revolution
.
If
we
survey
the
tenour
of
the
policy
of
the
Liverpool
Cabinet
during
the
latter
moiety
of
its
continuance
,
we
shall
find
its
characteristic
to
be
a
partial
recurrence
to
those
frank
principles
of
government
which
Mr.
Pitt
had
revived
during
the
latter
part
of
the
last
century
from
precedents
that
had
been
set
us
,
either
in
practice
or
in
dogma
,
during
its
earlier
period
by
statesmen
,
who
then
not
only
bore
the
title
,
but
professed
the
opinions
,
of
Tories
.
Exclusive
principles
in
the
constitution
and
restrictive
principles
in
commerce
have
grown
up
together
;
and
have
really
nothing
in
common
with
the
ancient
character
of
our
political
settlement
,
or
the
manners
and
customs
of
the
English
people
.
Confidence
in
the
loyalty
of
the
nation
,
testified
by
munificent
grants
of
rights
and
franchises
,
and
favour
to
an
expansive
system
of
traffic
,
were
distinctive
qualities
of
the
English
sovereignty
,
until
the
House
of
Commons
usurped
the
better
portion
of
its
prerogatives
.
A
widening
of
our
electoral
scheme
,
great
facilities
to
commerce
,
and
the
rescue
of
our
Roman
Catholic
fellow-subjects
from
the
Puritanic
yoke
,
from
fetters
which
have
been
fastened
on
them
by
English
Parliaments
in
spite
of
the
protests
and
exertions
of
English
Sovereigns
;
these
were
the
three
great
elements
and
fundamental
truths
of
the
real
Pitt
system
—
a
system
founded
on
the
traditions
of
our
monarchy
,
and
caught
from
the
writings
,
the
speeches
,
the
councils
,
of
those
who
,
for
the
sake
of
these
and
analogous
benefits
,
had
ever
been
anxious
that
the
Sovereign
of
England
should
never
be
degraded
into
the
position
of
a
Venetian
Doge
.
It
is
in
the
plunder
of
the
Church
that
we
must
seek
for
the
primary
cause
of
our
political
exclusion
,
and
our
commercial
restraint
.
That
unhallowed
booty
created
a
factitious
aristocracy
,
ever
fearful
that
they
might
be
called
upon
to
re-gorge
their
sacrilegious
spoil
.
To
prevent
this
they
took
refuge
in
political
religionism
,
and
paltering
with
the
disturbed
consciences
or
the
pious
fantasies
of
a
portion
of
the
people
,
they
organized
them
into
religious
sects
.
These
became
the
unconscious
Proetorians
of
their
ill-gotten
domains
.
At
the
head
of
these
religionists
,
they
have
continued
ever
since
to
govern
,
or
powerfully
to
influence
,
this
country
.
They
have
in
that
time
pulled
down
thrones
and
churches
,
changed
dynasties
,
abrogated
and
remodelled
parliaments
;
they
have
disfranchised
Scotland
,
and
confiscated
Ireland
.
One
may
admire
the
vigour
and
consistency
of
the
Whig
party
,
and
recognise
in
their
career
that
unity
of
purpose
that
can
only
spring
from
a
great
principle
;
but
the
Whigs
introduced
sectarian
religion
,
sectarian
religion
led
to
political
exclusion
,
and
political
exclusion
was
soon
accompanied
by
commercial
restraint
.
It
would
be
fanciful
to
assume
that
the
Liverpool
Cabinet
,
in
their
ameliorating
career
,
was
directed
by
any
desire
to
recur
to
the
primordial
tenets
of
the
Tory
party
.
That
was
not
an
epoch
when
statesmen
cared
to
prosecute
the
investigation
of
principles
.
It
was
a
period
of
happy
and
enlightened
practice
.
A
profounder
policy
is
the
offspring
of
a
time
like
the
present
,
when
the
original
postulates
of
institutions
are
called
in
question
.
The
Liverpool
Cabinet
unconsciously
approximated
to
these
opinions
,
because
from
careful
experiment
they
were
convinced
of
their
beneficial
tendency
,
and
they
thus
bore
an
unintentional
and
impartial
testimony
to
their
truth
.
Like
many
men
,
who
think
they
are
inventors
,
they
were
only
reproducing
ancient
wisdom
.
But
one
must
ever
deplore
that
this
ministry
,
with
all
their
talents
and
generous
ardour
,
did
not
advance
to
principles
.
It
is
always
perilous
to
adopt
expediency
as
a
guide
;
but
the
choice
may
be
sometimes
imperative
.
But
these
statesmen
took
expediency
for
their
director
,
when
principle
would
have
given
them
all
that
expediency
insured
,
and
much
more
.
This
ministry
,
strong
in
the
confidence
of
the
sovereign
,
the
parliament
,
and
the
people
,
might
,
by
the
courageous
promulgation
of
great
historical
truths
,
have
gradually
formed
a
public
opinion
,
that
would
have
permitted
them
to
organize
the
Tory
party
on
a
broad
,
a
permanent
and
national
basis
.
They
might
have
nobly
effected
a
complete
settlement
of
Ireland
,
which
a
shattered
section
of
this
very
cabinet
was
forced
a
few
years
after
to
do
partially
,
and
in
an
equivocating
and
equivocal
manner
.
They
might
have
concluded
a
satisfactory
re-construction
of
the
third
estate
,
without
producing
that
convulsion
with
which
from
its
violent
fabrication
our
social
system
still
vibrates
.
Lastly
,
they
might
have
adjusted
the
rights
and
properties
of
our
national
industries
in
a
manner
which
would
have
prevented
that
fierce
and
fatal
rivalry
that
is
now
disturbing
every
hearth
of
the
United
Kingdom
.
We
may
therefore
visit
on
the
laches
of
this
ministry
the
introduction
of
that
new
principle
and
power
into
our
constitution
which
ultimately
may
absorb
all
—
Agitation
.
This
Cabinet
then
,
with
so
much
brilliancy
on
its
surface
,
is
the
real
parent
of
the
Roman
Catholic
Association
,
the
Political
Unions
,
the
Anti-Corn
Law
League
.
There
is
no
influence
at
the
same
time
so
powerful
and
so
singular
as
that
of
individual
character
.
It
arises
as
often
from
the
weakness
of
the
character
as
from
its
strength
.
The
dispersion
of
this
clever
and
showy
ministry
is
a
fine
illustration
of
this
truth
.
One
morning
the
Arch-Mediocrity
himself
died
.
At
the
first
blush
,
it
would
seem
that
little
difficulty
could
be
experienced
in
finding
his
substitute
.
His
long
occupation
of
the
post
,
proved
at
any
rate
that
the
qualification
was
not
excessive
.
But
this
cabinet
with
its
serene
and
blooming
visage
had
been
all
this
time
charged
with
fierce
and
emulous
ambitions
.
They
waited
the
signal
,
but
they
waited
in
grim
repose
.
The
death
of
the
nominal
leader
,
whose
formal
superiority
,
wounding
no
vanity
and
offending
no
pride
,
secured
in
their
councils
equality
among
the
able
,
was
the
tocsin
of
their
anarchy
.
There
existed
in
this
Cabinet
two
men
,
who
were
resolved
immediately
to
be
prime
ministers
;
a
third
who
was
resolved
eventually
to
be
prime
minister
,
but
would
,
at
any
rate
occupy
no
ministerial
post
,
without
the
lead
of
a
House
of
Parliament
;
and
a
fourth
,
who
felt
himself
capable
of
being
prime
minister
,
but
despaired
of
the
revolution
which
could
alone
make
him
one
;
and
who
found
an
untimely
end
when
that
revolution
had
arrived
