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diff --git a/old/10980-8.txt b/old/10980-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..52c2047 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10980-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15343 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Lady John Russell, Edited by Desmond +MacCarthy and Agatha Russell + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Lady John Russell + +Editor: Desmond MacCarthy and Agatha Russell + +Release Date: February 7, 2004 [eBook #10980] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: iso-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LADY JOHN RUSSELL*** + + +E-text prepared by Charles Aldarondo, Keren Vergon, Susan Skinner, and the +Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 10980-h.htm or 10980-h.zip: + (http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/1/0/9/8/10980/10980-h/10980-h.htm) + or + (http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/1/0/9/8/10980/10980-h.zip) + + + + + +LADY JOHN RUSSELL + +A Memoir with Selections from Her Diaries and Correspondence + +EDITED BY + +DESMOND MACCARTHY AND AGATHA RUSSELL + +WITH TEN ILLUSTRATIONS, OF WHICH SIX ARE IN COLOUR + +SECOND EDITION + +1910 + + + + + + + +PREFACE + +The manuscripts which have supplied the material for a memoir of my mother +deal much more fully with the life of my father than with her own life. +Mr. Desmond MacCarthy has therefore linked into the narrative several +important incidents in my father's career. + +The greater part of the memoir is written by Mr. Desmond MacCarthy; the +political and historical commentary is almost entirely his work. The +impartial and independent opinion of one outside the family, both in +writing the memoir and in selecting passages from the manuscripts for +publication, has been of great value. + +My grateful thanks are due to His Majesty the King for giving permission to +publish letters from Queen Victoria. + +I am also grateful to friends and relations who have placed letters at my +disposal; especially to my brother, whose helpful encouragement throughout +the work has been most valuable. + +Mr. Justin McCarthy, who many years ago recorded his impressions of my +mother in his Reminiscences, has now most kindly contributed to this book a +chapter of Recollections. + +My cordial thanks are also due to Mr. George Trevelyan for reading the +proof sheets, and to Mr. Frederic Harrison for giving permission to publish +his Memorial Address at the end of this volume. + +AGATHA RUSSELL + +ROZELDENE, HINDHEAD, SURREY + +October, 1910 + + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER I. 1815-34 + +Early years--Paris--Lord Minto appointed Minister at Berlin-- +Germany--Return to Minto + +CHAPTER II. 1835-41 + +Lord Minto First Lord of the Admiralty--Life in London--Bowood--Mrs. +Drummond's recollections--Friendship with Lord John Russell--Putney +House--Minto--Admiralty--Her engagement + +CHAPTER III. 1841 + +Marriage--Sketch of Lord John's career before marriage--His conversation +with Napoleon--Moore's "Remonstrance" + +CHAPTER IV. 1841-45 + +Wilton Crescent--Endsleigh--Chesham Place--Birth of her eldest +son--Anti-Corn Law agitation--Her illness--Lord John's letter from +Edinburgh--He is summoned to Osborne--Attempts to form a Ministry + +CHAPTER V. 1846-47 + +Illness in Edinburgh--Letters between Lord and +Lady John--Repeal of the Corn Laws--Ireland and coercion--Lord John Prime +Minister + +CHAPTER VI. 1847-52 + +Pembroke Lodge--Difficulties of the Ministry--Revolution in France +--Chartism--Petersham School founded by Lord and Lady John--The Papal +Bull--Durham Letter--The Queen and Lord Palmerston--The _Coup +d'État_--Breach with Palmerston--Defeat of the Russell +Government--Literary friends + +CHAPTER VII. 1852-55 + +Lord Aberdeen Prime Minister--Lord John joins Coalition Ministry--Lady +John's misgivings--Gladstone's Budget--Death of Lady Minto--Samuel +Rogers--The Reform Bill--The Crimean War--Withdrawal of Reform--Roebuck's +motion--Lord John's resignation + +CHAPTER VIII. 1855 + +Defeat of Aberdeen Ministry--Lord John's Mission to Vienna--He accepts +Colonial Office in Palmerston Government--Vienna Conference--His +resignation--Lady John's diary and letters + +CHAPTER IX. 1855-60 + +Retirement and foreign travel--Palmerston and China--City election +--Reception at Sheffield--Orsini's attempt upon Napoleon III--Italy and +Austria--Lord John's share in the liberation of Italy--Lady John's +enthusiasm--Garibaldi at Pembroke Lodge + +CHAPTER X. 1859-66 + +Death of Lord Minto--Lord John accepts peerage--American Civil War--Death +of Lord Palmerston--Lord Russell Prime Minister--Reform Bill of 1866--Mr. +Lowe and the "Adullamites"--Defeat and resignation of the Russell +Government + +CHAPTER XI. 1866-70 + +Travel in Italy--Entry of Victor Emmanuel into Venice--Disraeli's Reform +Bill--Irish Church question--Gladstone Prime Minister--Winter at San +Remo--Paris--Dinner at the Tuileries--Return to England + +CHAPTER XII. 1870-78 + +Franco-German War--Renens-sur-Roche--Education question--Cannes--Herbert +Spencer--Letters from Queen Victoria--Herzegovina--Death of Lord +Amberley--Nonconformist deputation at Pembroke Lodge--Death of Lord Russell + +CHAPTER XIII. 1878-98 + +Lady Russell--Her love of children--Literary tastes--Friendships-- +Correspondence--Haslemere--Death of Tennyson--England and Ireland--Last +meeting of Petersham Scholars--Illness and death + +CHAPTER XIV + +Letters from friends--Funeral at Chenies--Poem on Death + +RECOLLECTIONS OF LADY RUSSELL. By JUSTIN MCCARTHY + +MEMORIAL ADDRESS BY FREDERIC HARRISON + +INDEX + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + +LADY JOHN RUSSELL AND HER ELDEST SON + +From a miniature by Thorburn. 1844 + +Frontispiece + +MINTO HOUSE, ROXBURGHSHIRE + +From a photograph + +THE COUNTESS OF MINTO, MOTHER OF LADY JOHN RUSSELL + +From a miniature by Sir William Ross. 1851 + +LORD JOHN RUSSELL + +From a portrait by G.F. Watts. 1852 + +PEMBROKE LODGE, EAST SIDE. FROM THE PARK + +From a water-colour drawing by W.C. Rainbow. 1883 + +PEMBROKE LODGE. FROM THE SOUTH LAWN + +From a photograph by Frida Jones. 1902 + +LADY JOHN RUSSELL AND HER DAUGHTER + +From a water-colour drawing by Mary Severn. 1854 + +WILD HYACINTHS, PEMBROKE LODGE. + +From a water-colour drawing by Fred Dixey. 1899 + +VIEW FROM THE WEST WALK, PEMBROKE LODGE + +From an oil painting by Samuel Helstead. 1896 + +THE DOWAGER COUNTESS RUSSELL + +From a photograph. 1884 + + + +LADY JOHN RUSSELL + + + +CHAPTER I + +1815-34 + + +On November 15, 1815, at Minto in Roxburghshire, the home of the Elliots, a +second daughter was born to the Earl and Countess of Minto. + +Frances Anna Maria Elliot, who afterwards became the first Countess +Russell, was destined to a long, eventful life. As a girl she lived among +those directing the changes of those times; as the wife of a Prime Minister +of England unusually reticent in superficial relations but open in +intimacy, in whom the qualities of administrator and politician overlay the +detachment of sensitive reflection, she came to judge men and events by +principles drawn from deep feelings and wide surveys; and in the long years +of her widowhood, possessing still great natural vitality and vivacity of +feeling, she continued open to the influences of an altered time, +delighting and astonishing many who might have expected to find between her +and them the ghostly barrier of a generation. + +She died in January, 1898. The span of her life covers, then, many +important political events, and we shall catch glimpses of these as they +affect her. Though the intention of the following pages is biographical, +the story of Lady Russell's life, after marriage, coincides so closely with +her husband's public career that the thread connecting her letters together +must be the political events in which he took part. Some of her letters, by +throwing light on the sentiments and considerations which weighed with him +at doubtful junctures, are not without value to the historian. It is not, +however, the historian who has been chiefly considered in putting them +together, but rather the general reader, who may find his notions of past +politics vivified and refreshed by following history in the contemporary +comments of one so passionately and so personally interested at every turn +of events. + +Another motive has also had a part in determining the possessors of Lady +Russell's letters to publish them. Memory is the most sacred, but also the +most perishable of shrines; hence it sometimes seems well worth while to +break through reticence to give greater permanence to precious +recollections. With this end also the following pages have been put +together, and many small details included to help the subject of this +memoir to live again in the imagination of the reader. For from brief and +even superficial contact with the living we may gain much; but the dead, if +they are to be known at all, must be known more intimately. + + * * * * * + +Minto House, where Lady Fanny was born, is beautifully situated above a +steep and wooded glen, and is only a short distance from the river Teviot. +The hills around are not like the wild rugged mountains of the Highlands, +but have a soft and tender beauty of their own. Her childhood was far more +secluded than the life that would have fallen to her lot had she been born +in the next generation, for her home in Roxburghshire, in coach and +turnpike days, was more remote from the central stir and business of life +than any spot in the United Kingdom at the present time. Lady Fanny used to +relate what a great event it was for the household at Minto when on very +rare occasions her father brought from London a parcel of new books, which +were eagerly opened by the family and read with delight. Those were not the +days of circulating libraries, and both the old standard books on the Minto +library shelves and the few new ones occasionally added were read and +re-read with a thoroughness rare among modern readers, surrounded by a +multiplicity of books old and new. + +They were a large, young family, five boys and five girls, ranging from the +ages of three years old to eighteen in 1830, when her diaries begin, all +eager, high-spirited children, and exceptionally strong and healthy. In her +early diaries, describing day-long journeys in coaches, early starts and +late arrivals, she hardly ever mentions feeling tired, and she enjoyed the +old methods of travelling infinitely more than the railway journeys of +later days, about which she felt like the Frenchman who said: "On ne voyage +plus; on arrive." Long wild country walks in Scotland and mountain-climbing +in Switzerland were particularly delightful to her. + +This stock of sound vitality stood her in good stead all her life; only +during those years which followed the birth of her eldest son does it seem +to have failed her. Her life was an exceptionally busy one, and her strong +feelings and sense of responsibility made even small domestic affairs +matters for close attention; yet in the diaries and letters of her later +life there are no entries which betray either the lassitude or the +restlessness of fatigue. She was not one of those busy women who only keep +pace with their interests by deputing home management to others. This power +of endurance in a deeply feeling nature is one of the first facts which any +one attempting to tell the story of her life must bring before the reader's +notice. + +There was much reading aloud in the fireside circle at Minto, and for the +boys much riding and sport. Many hours were spent upon the heather or in +fishing the Teviot. Lady Fanny herself cared little for sport, or only for +its picturesque side. Near the house are the rocks known as Minto Crags, +mentioned by Sir Walter Scott in the "Lay of the Last Minstrel," where many +and many a time Lady Fanny raced about on hunting days, watching the +redcoats with childish eagerness--intensely interested in the joyousness +and beauty of the sight, but in her heart always secretly thankful if the +fox escaped. Fox-hunting on Minto Crags must indeed have been a picturesque +sight, and there was a special rock overhanging a precipice upon which she +loved to sit and watch the wild chase, men and horses appearing and +disappearing with flashing rapidity among the woods and ravines beneath. +The pleasures of an open-air life meant so much to her that, in so far as +it was possible for one with her temperament to pine at all, she was often +homesick in the town, longing for the peace and freedom of the country. + +There were expeditions of other kinds too. + + "Gibby [1] and I," she writes towards the end of one October, "up a + little after five this morning and up the big hill to see the sun + rise. It was moonlight when we went out, and all so still and + indistinct--for it was a cloudy moon--that our steps and voices + sounded quite odd. It was mild enough, but so wet with dew that our + feet grew very cold. We waited some time on the top before he rose + and had a long talk with the Kaims shepherd. It was well worth + having gone; though there was nothing fine in the sky or clouds + compared to what I have constantly seen at sunrise. But what I + thought beautiful was the entire change that his rising made in + everything. All we were looking at suddenly became so bright and + cheerful, and a hum of people and noises of animals were heard from + the village." "I wish people," she adds impetuously, "would shake + off sleep as soon as the blushing morn does peep in at their + windows." + +[1] Her brother Gilbert. + +The entries in these early diaries show a quality of clear authentic +vision, which was afterwards so characteristic of her conversation. For +those who remember their own youthful feelings, even the stiff occasional +scraps of poetry she wrote at this time glow with a life not always +discernible in the deft writing of more experienced verse-makers. + +The household was a brisk, cheerful, active one, and ruled by the spirit of +order necessary in a home where many different kinds of things are being +done each day by its different inmates. The children were treated with no +particular indulgence, and the elder ones were taught to be responsible not +only for their own actions, but for the good behaviour, and, in a certain +measure, for the education of the younger ones. As a girl she writes down +in her diary many hopes and fears about her younger brothers and sisters, +which resemble those afterwards awakened in her by the care of her own +children. A big family in a great house, with all the different relations +and contacts such a life implies, is in itself an education, and Lady Fanny +seems to have profited by all that such experiences can give. If she came +from such a home anticipating from everybody more loyalty and consistency +of feeling than is common in human nature, and crediting everybody with it, +that is in itself a kind of generous severity of expectation which, though +it may be sometimes the cause of mistakes, helps also to create in others +the qualities it looks to find. + +The children had plenty of outlets for their high spirits. There are some +slight records left of the opening of a "Theatre Royal, Minto," and of a +glorious evening ending in an "excellent country bumpkin," with bed at two +in the morning; of reels and dances, too, and many hours laconically summed +up as "famous fun" in the diary. Then there were such September days as +this: + + "Bob'm [2] and I went in the phaeton to meet the boys. They were + very successful--about twelve brace. The heather was in full blow, + and in wet parts the ground white with parnassia. I never felt such + an air--it made me feel quite wild. The sunset behind the far hills + and reflected in the lonely little shaw loch most beautiful. When + we began our walk there was a fine soft wind that felt as if it + would lift one up to the clouds, but before we got back to the + little house it had quite fallen, and all was as still as in a + desert, except now and then the wild cry of the grouse and + black-cock. Bob'm mad with spirits, and talked nonsense all the way + home. Not too dark to see the beautiful outline of the country all + the way." + +[2] Her sister Charlotte, afterwards Lady Charlotte Portal. + +Such tired, happy home-comings stay in the memory; drives back at the end +of long days, when scraps of talk and laughter and the pleasure of being +together mingle so kindly with the solemnity of the darkening country; +drives which end in a sudden blaze of welcome, in fire-light and candles, +tea and a hubbub of talk, when everything, though familiar, seems to +confess to a new happiness. + +Here is another entry a few days later: + + "Beautiful day, but a very high, warm _real Minto_ wind. We + wandered out very late and sat under the lime, playing at being at + sea, feeling the stem rock above us as we lent against it and + hearing the roaring of the waves in the trees. No summer's day can + be better than such a day and evening as this--there was a cloudy + moon, too, above the branches. I wish I could express, but I never + can, the sort of feeling I have at times--now more than I ever had + before--which would sound like affectation if one talked of it. A + fine day, or beautiful country, or very often nothing but the sky + or earth or the singing of a bird gives it. One feels too much love + and gratitude and admiration, and something swells my heart so that + I do not know how to look or listen enough." + +There was another kind of romance, too, in her young life, destined in +future to be at times a source of pain and anxiety, though also of keen +gratification and permanent pride. What can equal the romance of politics +when we are quite young, when "politics" mean nothing but "serving one's +country" and have no other associations but that one, when politicians seem +necessarily great men? The love-dreams of adolescence have often been +celebrated; but among young creatures whose lives give plenty of play to +their affections in a spontaneous way, such dreams seldom vie in intensity +with the mysterious call of religion or with the emotion of patriotism. It +stands for an emotion which seems as large as the love of mankind, and its +service calls for enthusiasm and self-devotion. The Mintos were in the +thick of politics and the times were stirring times. "Throughout the last +two centuries of our history," says Sir George Trevelyan in his Life of +Macaulay, "there never was a period when a man, conscious of power, +impatient of public wrongs, and still young enough to love a fight for its +own sake, could have entered Parliament with a fairer prospect of leading a +life worth living and doing work that would requite the pains, than at the +commencement of the year 1830." Her father was not only the most genial and +kindest of fathers, but he was to her something of a hero too. His +political career had not begun during these days at Minto; still he was in +the counsel of the leaders of the day--Lord Grey, Lord John Russell, Lords +Melbourne and Althorp--great names indeed to her. And the new Cabinet was +soon to appoint him Minister at Berlin. + +The country was under the personal rule of the Duke of Wellington, who had +sorted out from his Cabinet any who were tainted with sympathy for reform; +but, as the election of July which resulted in his resignation showed, the +country, however one-sided its representation might have been in the House +of Commons, had been long in a state of political ferment. This state of +affairs, the gradual breaking up of the Tory party dating from the passing +of the Catholic Emancipation Bill, the brewing social troubles, and the +prospect of power crossing to the party which was determined on meeting +them with reform, made politics everywhere the most absorbing of themes. + +In a country house like Minto, which was in close communication with the +statesmen of the time, discussions were of course frequent and keen. The +guests were often important politicians; and long before Lady Fanny saw her +future husband, she frequently heard his name as one whom those she admired +looked up to as a leader. In a girl by nature very susceptible to the +appeal of great causes, whose active brain made her delight in the +arguments of her elders, these surroundings were likely to foster a +passionate interest in public affairs; while other influences round her +were tending to increase in her a natural sense of the delicacy and +preciousness of personal relations. In the course of telling her story +occasions may come for remarking again on what was one of the chief graces +of her character; but in a book of this kind the sooner the reader becomes +acquainted with the subject of it, the more he is likely to see in what +follows. So let it be said of her at once that in all relations in which +affection was complicated on one side by gratitude, or on her side by +superiority in education or social position, she was perfect. She could be +employer and benefactress without letting such circumstances deflect in the +slightest degree the stream of confidence and affection between her and +another. She had the faculty of removing a sense of obligation and of +forgetting it herself. Such a faculty is only found in its perfection where +the mind is sensitive in perceiving the delicacy of the relations between +people; and it must be added that like most people who possess that +sensitiveness, she missed it acutely in those who markedly did not. + +The life at Minto, with its many contacts, was a life in which such a +faculty could grow to perfection. The daughters, while sharing much of the +boys' lives at Minto, saw a great deal of the people upon the estate. + +The intercourse between the family at the House and the people of Minto +village was of an intimate and affectionate nature. Joys and sorrows were +shared in unvarying friendliness and sympathy, and to the end of her life +"Lady Fanny" remembered with warm affection the old village friends of her +youth. Kindly, true-hearted folk they were, with a sturdy and independent +spirit which she valued and respected. + +She only remembered seeing Sir Walter Scott on one occasion--when he came +to visit her parents. She was quite a child, and it was the day on which +her old nurse left Minto. She had wept bitterly, and when Sir Walter Scott +came she hardly dared even look at him with her tearful countenance. She +always remembered regretfully her indifference about the great man, whose +visit was ever after connected in her mind with one of the first sorrows of +her childhood. She regretted still more that in those days political +differences unhappily prevented the close and friendly intercourse which +would otherwise have undoubtedly existed between the Minto family and Sir +Walter Scott. + +A word or two must be said upon the religion in which she was brought up, +for from her childhood she was deeply religious. Like her love for those +nearest to her, it entered into everything that interested or delighted her +profoundly; into her interest in politics and social questions and into her +enjoyment of nature. + +The Mintos belonged to the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The doctrines +of this Church are not of significance here, but an indication of the +attitude towards dogma, history, and conduct which harmonizes with these +tenets is necessary to the understanding of her life. For this purpose it +is only necessary to say that this Church belongs to that half of +Protestantism which does not lay peculiar stress upon an inner conviction +of salvation. It differs from the evangelical persuasions in this respect, +and again from the Church of England in finding less significance in +ecclesiastical symbols, in setting less store by traditional usages, and in +a more constant and uncompromising disapproval of any doctrine which +regards the clergy as having spiritual functions or privileges different +from those of other men. In the latter half of her life she came gradually +to a Unitarian faith, which she held with earnestness to the last; and the +name "Free Church" became more significant to her through the suggestion it +carried of a religion detached from creeds and articles. Many entries occur +in her diaries protesting against what she felt as mischievous narrowness +in the books she read and in the sermons she heard. She sympathized +heartily with Lord John Russell's dislike of the Oxford movement. There are +many prayers in her diaries and many religious reflections in her letters, +and in all two emotions predominate; a trust in God and an earnest +conviction that a life of love--love to God and man--is the heart of +religion. Her religion was contemplative as well as practical; but it was a +religion of the conscience rather than one of mystical emotions. + +Of personal influences, her mother's, until marriage, was the strongest. +There are only two long breaks in the diary she kept, when she had no heart +to write down her thoughts; one occurs during the year of Lady Minto's long +and serious illness at Berlin, which began in 1832, and the other after +Lord John Russell's death in 1878. + +Lady Minto was not strong; bringing many sons and daughters into the world +had tried her; and her delicacy seems to have drawn her children closer +round her. Lady Fanny's references to her mother are full of an anxious, +protective devotion, as though she were always watching to see if any +shadow of physical or mental trouble were threatening her. So in imagining +the merry, active life of this large family, the presence of a mother most +tenderly loved, from whom praise seemed something almost too good to be +true, must not be forgotten. + +In November, 1830 (the year Lady Fanny's diaries begin), the Duke of +Wellington resigned, having emphatically declared that the system of +representation ought to possess, and _did_ possess, the entire +confidence of the country. He had gone so far as to say that the wit of man +could not have devised a better representative system than that which Lord +John Russell, in the previous session, had attempted to alter by proposing +to enfranchise Manchester, Leeds, and Birmingham. But the election which +followed the death of George IV on June 26th had not borne out the Duke's +assertion; it had gone heavily against him. Lord Grey, forming his Ministry +out of the old Whigs and the followers of Canning and Grenville, at once +made Reform a Cabinet measure. During the stormy elections of July the news +came from Paris that Charles X had been deposed, and unlike the news of the +French Revolution, it acted as a stimulus, not as a check, to the reforming +party in England. + +The next entry quoted from Lady Fanny's diary, begun at the age of +fourteen, is dated November 22, 1830; the family were travelling towards +Paris, matters having almost quieted down there. Louis Philippe had been +recognized by England as King of the French the month before, and the only +side of the revolution which came under her young eyes was the somewhat +vamped up enthusiasm for the Citizen King which followed his acceptance of +the crown and tricolor. It is said that any small boy in those days could +exhibit the King to curious sightseers by raising a cheer outside the +Tuileries windows, when His Majesty, to whom any manifestation of +enthusiasm was extremely precious, would appear automatically upon the +balcony and bow. But there were traces of agitation still to be felt up and +down the country, and over Paris hung that deceptive, stolid air of +indifference which is so puzzling a characteristic of crises in France. + +The Mintos travelled in several carriages with a considerable retinue, with +a doctor and servants, but not with a train which, in those days, would +have been thought remarkable for an English peer. + + MELUN, _November_ 22, 1830 [3] + + We left Sens at half past eight and did not stop to dine, but ate + in the carriage. We passed through Fossard, Monteran, and got here + about four. The doctor is quite grave about his tricolor and has + worn it all day. We have had immense laughing at him. He was very + much frightened at Sens, because Papa told him the people of the + hotel were for the Bourbons and were angry with him for wearing the + tricolor. A great many post-boys have it on their hats and all the + fleurs-de-lis on the mile-posts are rubbed out. + +[3] All extracts not otherwise specified are from Lady John Russell's +diary. + +By this date Charles X, surrounded by his gloomy, ceremonial little court +of faithful followers, was playing his nightly game of whist in the +melancholy shelter of Holyrood, where he was to remain for the next two +years, an insipid, sorrowful figure, distinguished by such dignity as +unquerulous passivity can lend to the foolish and unfortunate. Meanwhile, +Paris was attempting to vamp up some interest in her new King, who walked +the streets with an umbrella under his arm. + + PARIS, _December_ 23, 1830 + + We were in the Place Vendôme to-day, which was full of national + guards waiting for the King. We stopped to see him. It looked very + gay and pretty: the National Guard held hands in a long row and + danced for ever so long round and round the pillar, with the people + shouting as hard as they could. It looked very funny, but the King + did not come whilst we were there. We heard them singing the + Parisienne. The trial is over and the ministers are at Vincennes, + going to be put in prison. There have been several mobs about the + Luxembourg and the Palais Royal, but they think nothing more will + happen now. + +Who can hum now the tune of the "Parisienne"? It has not stayed in men's +memories like the "Marseillaise"; no doubt it expressed the prosaic, +middle-class spirit of the National Guard, which kept a King upon the +throne, in his own way just as determined as his predecessors to rule in +the interests of his family. + + PARIS, _February_ 5, 1831 + + Mama, Papa, Mary, Lizzy, [4] Charlie, Doddy [5] and I have been to + a children's ball at the Palais Royal. It was the most beautiful + thing I ever saw, and we danced all night long, but no big people + at all danced. We saw famously all the royal people; and Lizzy + danced with two of the little princes. The Duke of Orleans and M. + Duc de Nemours were in uniform and so were all the other gentlemen. + The King and Queen are nice-looking old bodies. [6] It was capital fun + and very merry indeed, the supper was beautiful. There was famous + galloping. + +[4] Her sisters Mary and Elizabeth, afterwards Lady Mary Abercromby and +Lady Elizabeth Romilly. + +[5] Her brothers Charles and George. + +[6] The next time she was to see the "old bodies" was on her own lawn at +Pembroke Lodge, where she heard from the King the unimpressive story of "ma +chute." + + PARIS, _February_ 15, 1831 + + This is _Mardi gras_, the last day of the Carnival. We were + out in the carriage this morning to see the masks on the + boulevards; there were a great many masks and crowds of people, + whilst there were mobs and rows going on in another part of the + town. The people have quite destroyed the poor Archbishop's house, + because on Sunday night the Duc de Bordeaux's bust was brought, and + Mass was said for the Duc de Berry. They have taken all his books, + furniture, and everything, and they wanted to throw some priests in + the Seine, and they are breaking the things in the churches and + taking down the crosses. All the National Guard is out. + +These disturbances were the last struggles of the party who had not been +satisfied by the spectacle of the son of Philippe Egalité, with the +tricolor flag in one hand, embracing the ancient Lafayette on the balcony +above the Place de Grève. Their animosity against the Church was the +ground-swell of the storm which had washed away Charles X himself. The +Sacrilege Law introduced in 1825 had revived the barbarous mediaeval +penalty of amputating the hand of the offender. Charles's attempt to +reintroduce primogeniture by declaring the French principle of the equal +division of property to be inconsistent with the principle of monarchy had +irritated the people less than the encouragement he had given to monastic +corporations which were contrary to law. The controversy which followed +between the ecclesiastics and their opponents was the cause of the repeal +of the freedom of the Press; and when he had stifled controversy his next +step was the suspension of Parliament. Whence followed the events which so +abruptly disturbed his evening rubber at St. Cloud on July 25th. + +These outbreaks of the republican anti-clerical party to which Lady Fanny +refers were soon calmed; a few weeks later the soldiers had no more work to +do, and a grand review was held in the Champ de Mars. + + PARIS, _March_ 27, 1831 + + We all went in the carriage to the heights of the Trocadéro and + there got out. It was very pretty to look down at the Champ de + Mars, which was quite full of soldiers, who sometimes ranged + themselves in lines and sometimes in nice little bundles and + squares. In front of the Ecole Militaire was a fine tent for the + Queen and Princesses. The King and the Duc de Nemours rode about, + and there were some loud cries of "Vive le Roi." Less than a year + ago in the same place we saw old Charles X reviewing his soldiers + and heard "Vive le Roi" shouted for him and saw white flags waving + about the Champs de Mars instead of tricolor. It seems so odd that + it should all be changed in so short a time, and spoils the "Vive + le Roi" very much, because it makes one think they do not care + really for him. + + + PARIS, _April_ 2, 1831 + + We had a long walk with Mama to the places where the people that + were killed in July were buried. There are tricolor flags over them + all, and the flowers and crowns of everlastings were all nicely + arranged about the tombs. Amongst them was the kennel of a poor dog + whose master was one of the killed, which has come every day since + and lain on his grave. The dog itself was not in. The poor Swiss + are buried there, too, but without flowers or crowns or railings, + or even stones, to show the place. + +She had been "wishing horridly for fields and trees and grass" for some +time past; on June 16, 1831, they were all back again in England. + + DOVER, _June_ 16, 1831 + + Everything seems odd here; pokers and leather harness, all the + women and girls with bonnets and long petticoats and shawls and + flounces and comfortable poky straw bonnets, and boys so nicely + dressed, and urns and small panes (no glasses and no clocks), + trays, good bread, and everybody with clean and fresh and pretty + faces. We have been walking this evening by the sea, and all the + English look very odd; they all look hangy and loose, so different + from the Paris ladies, laced so tight they can hardly walk, and the + men and boys look ten times better. + + + ROCHESTER, _June_ 17, 1831 + + We did not leave Dover till near twelve--the country has really + been beautiful to-day; all the beautiful gentlemen's places with + large trees, and the pretty hedges all along the road full of + honeysuckle and roses; clean cows and white fat sheep feeding in + most beautiful rich green grass; the nicest little cottages with + lattice windows and thatched roofs and neat gardens, and roses, + ivy, and honeysuckle creeping to the tops of the chimneys; + everybody and everything clean and tidy.... The cart-horses are + beautiful, and even the beggars look as if they washed their faces. + + + _October_ 9, 1831, BOGNOR + + We heard this morning of the loss of the Reform Bill, and we were + at first all very sorry, but in a little while rather glad because + it gives us a chance of Minto. When the people of Bognor heard it + was lost, they took the flowers and ribands off that they had + dressed up the coaches with, thinking it had passed, and put them + in mourning. + +Lord John Russell had introduced the first Reform Bill on March 1, 1831; +this was carried by a majority of one; but in a later division the +Government was defeated by a majority of eight, and Parliament was +dissolved. The elections resulted in an emphatic verdict in favour of +Reform, and on June 24th Lord John introduced the second Reform Bill, which +was carried by a large majority in the House of Commons. He had proposed to +disfranchise partially or completely 110 boroughs; a proposition which had +seemed so revolutionary that it was at first received with laughter by the +Opposition, who were confident no such measure could ever pass. Lord Minto +had returned from France to support this Bill in the Lords, which on his +arrival he found had been rejected by them in a division on the 8th of +October. The rejection of the Bill was followed by disturbances throughout +the country. Several members of the House of Lords were mobbed, Nottingham +Castle was burnt down, and there was fighting and bloodshed in the streets +of Bristol. Before the third Reform Bill was brought forward and carried by +a huge majority in the Commons, the whole Minto family were on their way +North. + +Lady Fanny announces the fact of her arrival at her beloved home with many +ecstatic exclamation marks. + + _November_ 2, 1831, MINTO !!!! + + Between Longtown and Langham we passed the toll that divides + England and Scotland. Harry and the coachman waved their hats and + all heads were poked out at window. + + The moment we got into Scotland it felt much finer, the sun shone + brighter and the country really became far prettier. We went along + above the Esk, which is a little rattling, rumbling, clear, rocky + river, prettier than any we ever saw in England.... + + As we drove into Langham we were much surprised by a loud cheer + from some men and boys at the roadside, who all threw off their + caps as we passed. While we were changing, a man offered to Papa + that they would drag him through the town; Papa thanked him very + much but said he would rather not; so the man said perhaps he would + prefer three cheers, which they gave as we drove off.... The whole + town crowded round the carriages. Just as we were setting off, + however, we were very much surprised to see numbers of people take + the pole of the little carriage and run off with Papa and Mama with + all their might. They spun all through the town at a fine rate, and + did not stop for ever so long. There was immense cheering as we + drove off, and the people ran after us ever so far.... The house + all looked beautiful, and this evening we feel as if we had never + left Minto. + +But she was not to stay there long, for early in 1832 they went to +Roehampton House, near London, and the same year Lord Minto was appointed +Minister at Berlin. + +At this time Berlin was not a capital of sufficient dignity to entitle it +to an embassy; but considering the state of European politics, the +appointment was one of some diplomatic importance. + +Germany was at the beginning of her task of consolidation. The revolution +of July had not been without its effect on her. In the southern States the +cause of representative government was not wholly powerless; but it had +been weakened by the reaction after 1815. Since the government was no +longer an undisguised tyranny and since the people themselves were growing +richer, a strong sentiment of personal loyalty to the sovereign began to +spread among them. Constitutional changes were therefore indefinitely +postponed. The great work of the next few years for Prussian statesmen was +the removal of commercial barriers between the various German States, and +the establishment of a _Zollverein_ between them. In this way the sway +of Austria was weakened, and though political union as an aim was carefully +kept in the background, the foundation for the subsequent consolidation of +the German Empire was securely laid. During the two central years of this +process, 1832-4, Lord Minto was at Berlin. The manners of the time were far +simpler and the life at the court far more informal than they were soon to +become. Law and custom still preserved some lingering barbarities: during +their stay at Wittenberg they heard of a man being broken on the wheel. + +They stopped at Brussels on the way. There is a characteristic entry in +Lady Fanny's diary describing a visit to the battle-field. + + NAMUR, _September_ 6, 1832 + + We coach-people left Brussels much earlier than the others that we + might have time to walk about Waterloo.... + + They showed us the house where the Duke of Wellington slept the + night before and the night after the battle and wrote home his + dispatches; then after a long and fierce dispute between a man and + woman which was to guide us, the man took us to the Church, where + we saw the monuments of immense numbers of poor common soldiers and + officers--then to the place where four hundred are buried all + together and one sees their graves just raised above the rest of + the ground. Then we drove to the field of battle, and the man + showed us everything; it was very nice and very sad to hear all + about, but as I shall always remember it, I need say nothing about + it. We are quite in a rage about a great mound that the Dutch have + put up with a great yellow lion on the top, only because the Prince + of Orange was wounded there, quite altering the ground from what it + was at the time of the battle. The monument to Lord Anglesea's leg + too, which we did not of course go to see, makes one very angry, as + if he was the only one who was wounded there--and only wounded too + when such thousands of poor men were killed and have nothing at all + to mark the place where they are buried; and I think they are the + people one feels most for, for though they do all they can, after + they are dead one never hears any more about them. + +Soon after their arrival at Berlin, Lady Minto fell dangerously ill. From +September, 1832, there is a long gap in Lady Fanny's diary, for she had no +heart to set anything down. This long stretch of anxiety coming when she +was sixteen years old, if it did not change her nature, brought to light +new qualities which were to mark her character henceforward. There is a +little entry written down eight years afterwards on the birthday of her +sister Charlotte which shows that she, as well as others, looked back on +this time as a turning-point in her life. + + Bob'm sixteen to-day, just the age I began to be unhappy, because I + began to think. Heaven spare her from the doubts and fears that + tormented me. + +During the months of her mother's gradual recovery she seems each day to +have been happier than on the one before. + + _June_ 6, 1833, POTSDAM + + At a little before eleven this morning, Mary, Ginkie, Henry, [7] + Mr. Lettsom [8] and I set off from Berlin in a very curious rickety + machine of a carriage, to leave Mama for a whole day and night, + which feels very impossible, and is the best sign of her (health) + that one could have. We were very happy and we thought everything + looking very nice. We were sorry to see no friends as we left + Berlin, for we looked so beautiful in our jolting little conveyance + with four horses and a post-boy blowing the old tune on his horn. + +[7] Her brother, afterwards Sir Henry Elliot. + +[8] The tutor. + +To escape the heat of Berlin they moved out to Freienwalde. + + _June_ 14, 1833, FREIENWALDE + + A beautiful morning, and at about 10 they all set off from Berlin, + leaving Mama, Papa, Bob'm and I to follow after in the coach. After + they went, there were two long hours of going backwards and + forwards through the empty rooms, then having said a sad good-bye + to Senden,[9] Hymen,[9] Mr. Lettsom and Fitz, though we know we + shall see them again soon, we got into the coach with the squirrel + in a bag and drove off. I could not help feeling very sorry to + leave it all, though it will be so very nice to be out of it, but I + knew we should never be all there again as we have been, and all + the misery we have had in that house makes one feel still more all + the happiness of the last month there. + + There is nothing to say of the country, for it is the same as on + all the other sides of Berlin; the soil more horrid than anything I + ever saw, and of course all as flat as water, but just now and then + some rather nice villages.... After about two hours there we came + on, first through nice, small Scotch fir woods, then quite ugly + again till near here, when we got into really pretty banks of oak, + beech, and fir, down a real steep road and along a nice narrow lane + till we got here, where they were all standing on the steps of our + mansion ready to receive us. Mama was carried to the drawing-room + ... before the house is a wee sort of border all full of weeds, but + nothing like a garden or place belonging to the house, but there + seem very few people; then there is a terrace, which is very nice + though it is public. Mama is not the least tired and quite pleased + with it all. It is very, very nice to be here, able to go out + without our things and expecting no company, and what at first one + feels more nice than everything, not having any carriages or noises + out of doors; for eight months and a half we have never been + without that horrid, constant rumbling in the streets. It is + _very_ odd to feel ourselves here; unlike any place I ever + lived in. The bath house is close by, but that is the only house + near us. + +[9] German friends at Berlin. + +There they lived all the summer the life that they liked best. They lost +themselves in the forest, they read aloud, and they enjoyed the rustic +theatre. The autumn brought visits to Teplitz and Dresden. + +They were back in Berlin for the winter and early spring, when she began to +take more part in society. + + April 1, 1834, BERLIN + + Stupid dinner of old gentlemen. Mary still being rather silly[10] did + not dine at table.... It was very awful to be alone, but at dinner + I was happy enough as Löven sat on one side of me. Humboldt was on + the other. Afterwards came Fitz for a moment and Deken and + Bismarck. + + + April 5, 1834, BERLIN + + I sat the second quadrille by my stupidity in refusing Bismarck. + +[10] Scotch for unwell. + +Early in May came "the hateful morning of good-byes" to friends in Berlin, +and at Marienbad. Lord Minto heard the news that Lord Grey had resigned +owing to Lord Althorp's refusal to agree to the Irish Coercion Bill. Lord +Melbourne succeeded him as Prime Minister. Lord Minto had not long returned +to England when the King summarily dismissed Lord Melbourne and a +provisional Government under the Duke of Wellington was patched together +until Sir Robert Peel should return from abroad. The governorship of Canada +had been offered meanwhile to Lord Minto, and the family started on their +home journey fearing they would have to leave England immediately for +Quebec. But this did not happen, and December found them at last once more +on the road to Minto. The girls wrote poems celebrating their return on the +journey, and tried every cure for impatience as the carriage rolled along. + + MINTO, Thursday, December 25, 1834 + + We left Carlisle about eight, and for the three first stages were + so slowly driven that our patience was nearly gone. To make it last + a little longer Mary read some "Hamlet" aloud between Longtown and + Langholme, and I had a nap.... As soon as we entered Hawick we were + surrounded by an immense crowd.... The bells rang, there were flags + hung all along the street, and fine shouting as we set off. Papa, + which we did not know at the time, had to make a little speech, and + contradict a shameful report of his having taken office. A few + minutes on this side of Hawick we met the two boys and Robert + riding to meet us, looking lovely. Our own country looked really + beautiful; rocks, hills, and Rubers Law all seemed to have grown + higher. We passed the awful ford in safety across our own lovely + Teviot, and soon found ourselves at Nelly's Lodge, where old Nelly + opened the gate to us.... The trees looked large and fine--in + short, everything perfect. Catherine, Mrs. Fraser, and Wales + received us at the door, and in a few minutes we were scattered all + over the house. We spent a most happy evening.... This has really + been a happy Christmas. It is wonderful to be here. + +At this point Lady Fanny's early girlhood may be said to end. Her life in +London society and the events which led to her marriage will be told in the +next chapter. + + + +CHAPTER II + +1835-41 + + +While the Minto family were still on their way home from Germany a +startling incident occurred in English politics. One morning a paragraph +appeared in the Times announcing the fact that the King had dismissed Lord +Melbourne. + +We have no authority (it ran) for the important statement which follows, +but we have every reason to believe that it is perfectly true. We give it +without any comment or amplification, in the very words of the +communication, which reached us at a late hour last night. "The King has +taken the opportunity of Lord Spencer's death to turn out the Ministry, and +there is every reason to believe the Duke of Wellington has been sent for. +The Queen has done it all." + +(The authority upon which the _Times_ was relying was that of the Lord +Chancellor.) + +So on coming down to breakfast that morning the Ministers, having received +no private communication whatever, read to their amazement that they had +been already dismissed. Brougham had surreptitiously conveyed the +information in order to embarrass the Court. The general trend of political +gossip at the time was expressed by Palmerston, who wrote: + +It is impossible to doubt that this has been a preconcerted measure and +that the Duke of Wellington is prepared at once to form a Government. Peel +is abroad; but it is not likely he would have gone away without a previous +understanding one way or the other with the Duke, as to what he would do if +a crisis were to arise. + +As a matter of fact there had been no concerted plan. It was the first and +last independent step William IV ever took, and a most unconstitutional +instance of royal interference. The Duke, summoned by the King, expressed +his willingness to occupy any position His Majesty thought fit, but +considering the Liberal majority in the House of Commons was two to one, +and it was but two years since the Reform Bill passed, he did his best to +dissuade the King from dismissing all his Ministers. During the interview +the King's secretary entered and called the attention of the King to the +paragraph in the _Times_ that morning, which concluded with the +statement that the Queen had done it all. "There, Duke, you see how I am +insulted and betrayed; nobody in London but Melbourne knew last night what +had taken place here, nor of my sending for you: will your Grace compel me +to take back people who have treated me in this way?" + +Thereupon the Duke consented to undertake a provisional Government, while +Mr. Hudson was sent off to Italy in search of Sir Robert Peel. He reached +Rome in nine days; at that time very quick travelling. "I think you might +have made the journey in a day less by taking another route," is said to +have been Peel's only comment upon receiving the Duke's letter. He returned +at once to England to relieve the temporary Cabinet, and formed a Ministry +in December. The same month Parliament was dissolved, and the Conservative +party went to the country on the policy of "Moderate Reform" enunciated in +Peel's Tamworth manifesto. "The shameful report" referred to by Lady Fanny +in the last chapter, and immediately contradicted by Lord Minto on his +return to Scotland, was that he had joined the Peel Ministry. + +Thus Lady Fanny came home to find the country-side preparing for a +mid-winter election. Her uncle, George Elliot, was standing for the home +constituency against Lord John Scott, whom he just succeeded in defeating. +In most constituencies, however, the Liberals triumphed more easily, and +when the new Parliament met they were in a majority of more than a hundred. +In April Lord John Russell carried his motion for the appropriation of the +surplus revenues of the Irish Church to general moral and religious +purposes, so Peel resigned. Melbourne again became Prime Minister, and in +the autumn of the same year, 1835, Lord Minto was appointed First Lord of +the Admiralty. + +This meant a great change in Lady Fanny's life; henceforward for the next +eight years more than half of every year was spent by her in London. There +is a change, too, in the spirit of her diaries. Her nature was the reverse +of introspective and melancholy, but at this time she was often unhappy and +dissatisfied for no definite reason; her diaries show it. It is not likely +that others were aware of this private distress. She was leading at the +time a busy life both at home and in society, and there were many things in +which she was keenly interested. The troubles confided to these private +pages were not due to compunction for anything she had done, nor were they +caused by any particular event; they expressed simply a general discontent +with herself and a kind of _Weltschmerz_ not uncommon in a young and +thoughtful mind. For the first time she seems glad of outside interests +because they distract her. + +The months in London were broken by occasional residence at Roehampton +House and by visits to Bowood. At Bowood with the Lansdowne family she was +always happy. There she heard with delight Tom Moore sing his Irish +melodies for the first time. There was much, too, in London to distract and +amuse her: breakfasts with Rogers, luncheons at Holland House, and +dinner-parties at which all the leading Whig politicians were present. But +society did not satisfy her; she wanted more natural and more intimate +relations than social gatherings usually afford. + + LONDON, _May_ 9, 1835 + + We went to Miss Berry's in the evening. I thought it very tiresome, + but was glad to see Lord John Russell and his wife. + + + BOWOOD, _December_ 26, 1835 + + The evening was very quiet, there was not much to alarm one, and + the prettiest music possible to listen to. Mr. Moore singing his + own melodies--it was really delightful, and a kind of singing I + never heard before. He has very little voice, but what he has is + perfectly sweet, and his real Irish face looks quite inspired. The + airs were most of them simply beautiful, and many of the words + equally so. + + + _January_ 31, 1836, ADMIRALTY + + I am reading "Ivanhoe" for the first time, and delighted with it, + but things cannot be as they should be, when I feel that I require + to forget myself in order to be happy, and that unless I am taken + up with an interesting book there never, or scarcely ever, is a + moment of real peace and quiet for my poor weary mind. What is it I + wish for? O God, Thou alone canst clearly know--and in Thy hands + alone is the remedy. Oh let this longing cease! Turn it, O Father, + to a worthy object! Unworthy it must now be, for were it after + virtue, pure holy virtue, could I not still it? Dispel the mist + that dims my eyes, that I may first plainly read the secrets of my + wretched heart, and then give me, O Almighty God, the sincere will + to root out all therein that beareth not good fruit.... + + + _February_ 4, 1836, ADMIRALTY + + The great day of the opening of Parliament. Soon after breakfast we + prepared to go to the House of Lords--that is to say, we made + ourselves great figures with feathers and finery. The day has been, + unfortunately, rainy and cold, and made our dress look still more + absurd. The King did not come till two, so that we had plenty of + time to see all the old lords assembling. Their robes looked very + handsome, and I think His Majesty was the least dignified-looking + person in the house. I cannot describe exactly all that went on. + There was nothing impressive, but it was very amusing. The poor old + man could not see to read his speech, and after he had stammered + half through it Lord Melbourne was obliged to hold a candle to him, + and he read it over again. Lord Melbourne looked very like a Prime + Minister, but the more I see him and so many good and clever men + obliged to do, at least in part, the bidding of anyone who happens + to be born to Royalty, the more I wish that things were + otherwise--however, as long as it is only in forms that one sees + them give him the superiority one does not much mind. After the + debate, several of Papa's friends came to dine here. Lord + Melbourne, Lord Lansdowne, Lord Glenelg, and the Duke of Richmond, + who has won my heart--they talked very pleasantly. + + + _March_ 9, 1836, ADMIRALTY + + I wonder what it is that makes one sometimes like and sometimes + dislike balls, etc. It does not always depend on whom one meets. I + am sure it is not, as most books and people seem to think, from + love of admiration that one is fond of them or else how should I + ever be so, when it is so impossible for anybody ever to admire my + looks or think me agreeable? I sometimes wish I was pretty. And I + do not think it is a very foolish wish: it would give me courage to + be agreeable. + +All through this year there are many troubled entries: + + _March_ 28, 1836, ADMIRALTY + + Youth may and ought to have--yes, I see by others that it + has--pleasures which surpass those of unthinking though lovely + childhood: but have I experienced them? ... What makes the same sun + seem one day to make all nature bright, and the next only to show + more plainly the dreariness of the landscape? Oh wicked, sinful + must be those feelings that make me miserable--selfish and + sinful--and I cannot reason them away, for I do not understand + them. Prayer has helped me before now, and I trust it will still do + so. O Lord, forsake me not--take me into Thy own keeping.... Mama + fifty to-day [March 30, 1836]. Oh the feelings that crowd into my + heart as if they must burst it when I look to this day three years + ago. I cannot write or think clearly of it yet. I can only + feel--but what, I do not myself know--at one moment agony, doubts, + and fears, as if it was still that fearful day; then joy almost too + great to bear. When I think of her as she now is, then everything + vanishes in one overpowering feeling of intense thankfulness. I + have several times to-day seen her eyes fill with tears--every + birthday of those one loves gives one a melancholy feeling, and the + more rejoicings there are the stronger that feeling is. + + + _June_ 27, 1836, ADMIRALTY + + It was decided that we should go to the Duchess of Buccleuch's + breakfast. My horror of breakfasts is only increased by having been + to this one, though I believe it was particularly pleasant. + Certainly the day was perfect, and the sight and the music pretty; + but I scarcely ever disliked people more or felt more beaten down + by shyness. My only thoughts from the moment we went in were: How I + wish it was over, and how I wish nobody would speak to me. + + + _September_ 6, 1836, ROEHAMPTON + + Mama and I went to dine at Holland House.... The rooms are just + what one would expect from the outside of the handsome old house, + with a number of good pictures in the library, where we sat, all + portraits. Lord Holland is perfectly agreeable, and not at all a + man to be afraid of, in the common way of speaking, but for that + very reason I always am afraid of him--much more than of her, who + does not seem to me agreeable. I was very sorry Lord Melbourne did + not come, as he would have made the conversation more general and + agreeable. + +The impression she made on others in her girlhood will be seen by this +passage in the "Reminiscences of an Idler," by Chevalier Wyhoff: "I had the +honour of dancing a quadrille with Lady Fanny Elliot, the charming daughter +of the Earl of Minto. Her engaging manners and sweetness of disposition +were even more winning than her admitted beauty." + +In July it was decided that her brother Henry should go out to Australia +with Sir John Franklin. The idea of parting troubled her extremely, and, +moreover, the project dashed all the castles in the air she had built for +him. August 21st was the day fixed for his sailing. The 20th came--"dismal, +dismal day, making things look as if they understood it was his last." Long +afterwards, whenever she saw the front of Roehampton House, where she said +good-bye to him, the scene would come back to her mind--the waiting +carriage and the last farewells. The autumn winds had a new significance to +her now her brother was on the sea. She was troubled too about religious +problems, but she found it difficult, almost impossible, to talk about the +thoughts which were occupying her. Writing of her cousin Gilbert Elliot, +afterwards Dean of Bristol, for whom she felt both affection and respect, +she says: "In the evening Cousin Gilbert talked a great deal, and not only +usefully but delightfully, about different religious sects and against the +most illiberal Church to which he belongs--but how could I be happy? The +more he talked of what I wished to hear, the more idiotically shy I felt +and the more impossible it became to me to ask one of the many questions or +make one of the many remarks (foolish very likely, but what would that have +signified?) which were filling my mind." + + _December_ 24, 1836, BOWOOD + + Mr. Moore sang a great deal, and one song quite overcame Lady + Lansdowne. At dinner I sat between Henry [11] and Miss Fazakerlie, + who told me that last year she thought me impenetrable. How sad it + is to appear to every one different from what one is. + + I like both her and Henry better than ever, but oh, I dislike + myself more than ever--and so does everybody else--almost. Is it + vain to wish it otherwise?--no, surely it is not. If my manner is + so bad must there not be some real fault in me that makes it so, + and ought I not to pray that it may be corrected? + +[11] Afterwards Lord Lansdowne and the father of the present Marquis. + +She read a great deal at this time; Jeremy Taylor, Milton, and Wesley, +Heber, Isaac Walton, Burnet; Burns was her favourite on her happiest days. +She thought that work among the poor of London might help her; but her time +was so taken up both with looking after the younger children and by society +that she seems to have got no further than wondering how to set about it. + +On June 20th, 1837, William IV died, and in July Parliament was dissolved. +On the 4th they were back again at Minto. + +Her uncle John Elliot was successful in his candidature of Hawick. +"Hawick," she writes, "has done her duty well indeed--in all ways; for the +sheriff's terrible riots have been nothing at all. Some men ducked and the +clothes of some torn off. We all felt so confused with joy that we did not +know what to do all the evening." These rejoicings ended suddenly: Lady +Minto was called to the death-bed of her mother, Mrs. Brydone. + + _August_ 19, 1837, MINTO + + I feel this time as I always do after a great misfortune, that the + shock at first is nothing to the quiet grief afterwards, when one + really begins to understand what has happened. + + I cannot help constantly repeating over and over to myself that she + is gone, and sometimes I do not know how to bear it and however to + be comforted for not having seen her once more. + +When the new Queen's Parliament met after the General Election the strength +of the Conservatives was 315 and of the Liberals 342. The Melbourne +Ministry was in a weaker position; they could only hold a majority through +the support of the Radical and Irish groups, and troubles were brewing in +the country. On the other hand, Peel's position was not an easy one; the +split among the Conservatives on Catholic Emancipation had left bitterness +behind, and in addition to this complication, his followers in the Commons +included both men like Stanley, who had voted for Parliamentary reform, and +its implacable opponents. But in spite of this flaw in the solidarity of +the Opposition, the Ministers were far from secure. There were the troubles +in Canada, which Lord Durham had been sent out to deal with (the Canadian +patriots had a great deal of Lady Fanny's sympathy), and in England the +grievances of the poor were in the process of being formulated into the +famous People's Charter. During the parliamentary sessions the Mintos +remained in London, with only occasional very short absences. + + ADMIRALTY, _December_ 26, 1837 + + People all seem pleased with the news from Canada because we are + beating the poor patriots--let people say what they will I must + wish them success and pity them with all my heart. + + + EASTBOURNE, _April_ 14, 1838 + + It is not only the out of doors pleasures, the sea, the air, etc., + that we find here, but the way of living takes a weight from one's + mind, of which one does not know the burden till one leaves London + and is freed from it. "I love not man the less" from feeling as I + do the great faults, to us at least, of our London society. It is + because I love man, because I daily see people whose thoughts I + long to share and profit by, that I am so disappointed in being + unable to do so. Oh, why, why do people not all live in the + country--or if towns must be, why must they bring stiffness and + coldness on everybody? + + + ADMIRALTY, _May_ 10, 1838 + + Court Ball.... Beautiful ball of beautiful people dancing to + beautiful music. Queen dancing a great deal, looking very happy. + + + ADMIRALTY, _June_ 22, 1838 + + Evening at a Concert at the Palace--all the good singers.... All + the foreigners there, Soult and the Duke of Wellington shaking + hands more heartily than any other two people there. + + + ADMIRALTY, _June_ 28, 1838 + + Day ever memorable in the annals of Great Britain! Day of the + coronation of Queen Victoria! ... We were up at six, and Lizzy, + Bob'm, and I, being the Abbey party, dressed in all our grandeur. + The ceremony was much what I expected, but less solemn and + impressive from the mixture of religion with worldly vanities and + distinctions. The sight was far more brilliant and beautiful than I + had supposed it would be. Walked home in our fine gowns through the + crowd; found the stand here well filled, and were quite in time to + see the procession pass back. Nothing could be more beautiful, the + streets either way being lined with the common people, as close as + they could stand, and the windows, house-tops, balconies, and + stands crowded with the better dressed. Great cheering when Soult's + carriage passed, but really magnificent for the Duchess of Kent and + the Queen. The carriages splendid. Did not feel in the Abbey one + quarter of what I felt on the stand. + + + MINTO, _November_ 4, 1838 + + This morning brought us the sad, sad news of the death of Lady John + Russell. God give strength to her poor unhappy husband, and watch + over his dear little motherless children. + +The only event of importance which occurred in the family during 1838 was +the marriage of the eldest daughter, Mary, to Ralph Abercromby, son of the +Speaker and afterwards Lord Dunfermline. It was a very happy marriage, but +Lady Fanny missed her sister very much, and her accounts of the wedding and +the last days before it are mixed with regrets. She speaks of it as "an +awful day," though it seems to have ended merrily enough in dancing and +rejoicings. + +In May, 1839, the Government resigned in consequence of the opposition to +the Jamaica Bill. The object of the Bill was to suspend the constitution of +Jamaica for five years, since difficulties had been made by the Jamaica +Assembly in connection with the emancipation of slaves. The Radicals voted +with the Conservatives against the Government and the Bill was lost. + + ADMIRALTY, _May_ 7, 1839 + + We are all out!!!! + + Papa was summoned to a Cabinet at twelve this morning. Mama and I + in the meantime drove to some shops, and when we came home found + him anxiously expecting us with this overpowering news. We bore, + and are still bearing it with tolerable fortitude; but we are all + very, very sorry, and every moment find something new to regret. + Mama, notwithstanding all she has said, is not better pleased than + the rest of us. Papa looks very grave, or else tries to joke it + off. + + + FRIDAY, _May_ 10, 1839, ADMIRALTY + + Agitating morning--one report following another every hour. Sir + Robert Peel refused to form a Ministry unless the Queen would part + with some of her household. To this she would not consent. To-day + she sent for Lord Melbourne.... We went to the first Queen's ball, + very anxious to see how she and other people looked, and to try to + foresee coming events by the expression of faces.... I spoke to + scarcely one Tory, but our Whig friends were in excellent + spirits--the Queen also seemed to be so. + + + TUESDAY, _May_ 14, 1839, ADMIRALTY + + Papa and Bill [12] came from the House of Lords quite delighted + with Lord Melbourne's speech in explanation of what has + passed--manner, matter, everything perfect. + +[12] Her brother, Lord Melgund, afterwards third Earl of Minto. + +Thus, within the week, the Whig Ministry had resigned and accepted office +again: this is what had happened. + +On his return from Italy to take office Sir Robert Peel requested the Queen +to change the ladies of her household, and on her refusal to do so, the +Melbourne Ministry had come in again. Their return to power has been +generally considered a blunder, from the party point of view; but their +action in this case was not the result of tactical calculations. The young +Queen was strange as yet to the throne, and she could not bear to be +deprived of her personal friends. When Peel made a change in her household +the condition of accepting office, she turned to the Whigs, who felt they +could not desert her. "My dear Melbourne," wrote Lord John, "I have seen +Spencer, who says that we could not have done otherwise than we have done +as gentlemen, but that bur difficulties with the Radicals are not +diminished...." + +They were, indeed, hard put to it to carry on the Government at all, and +they only succeeded in passing their Education Bill by a majority of two. + +On August 12th the Mintos were still kept in London. "Oh for the boys and +guns and dogs, a heathery moor, and a blue Scotch heaven above me!" she +writes. When they did get away home, they remained there until the +beginning of the new year. At home she seems to have been much happier. She +taught her young brothers and sisters, she visited her village friends, and +rambled and read a great deal. In short, it was Minto!--all she found so +hard to part from when marriage took her away. + +Many of the extracts from the diaries quoted in this chapter must be read +in the light of the reader's own recollections of the process of getting +used to life. They show that if Lady Russell afterwards attained a happy +confidence in action, she was not in youth without experience of +bewilderment and doubts about herself. Following one another quickly, these +extracts may seem to imply that she was gloomy and self-centred during +these years; but that was never the impression she made on others. Like +many at her age, when she wrote in a diary she dwelt most on the feelings +about which she found it hardest to talk. Her diary was not so much the +mirror of the days as they passed as the repository of her unspoken +confidences. "Looked over my journals, with reflections," she writes later; +"inclined to burn them all. It seems I have only written [on days] when I +was not happy, which is very wrong--as if I had forgotten to be grateful +for happy ones." + +Mrs. Drummond, Lord John Russell's stepdaughter (who was then Miss Adelaide +Lister), has recorded, in a letter to Lady Agatha Russell, her +recollections of the Minto family at that time. + + I think (she writes) my first visit to the Admiralty, where I was + invited to children's parties, must have been in the winter before + my mother's death. I have no distinct first impressions of the + grown-up part of the family, except perhaps of your grandmother, + Lady Minto. Although children exaggerate the age of their elders, + and seldom appreciate beauty except that of people near their own + age, I did realize her great good looks. She had very regular + features and a beautiful skin, with a soft rose-colour in her + cheeks. Her hair was brown, worn in loops standing out a little + from the face, and she always wore a cap or headdress of some kind. + Her manner was most kind and winning, and she had a pleasant voice. + I am sure she must have been very even-tempered; and as I recall + her image now, and the peace and serenity expressed in her + beautiful face, I think she must have had a happy life. I never saw + her otherwise than perfectly kind and gentle and quite unruffled by + the little contretemps, which must have befallen her as they do + others. With this gentleness there was something that made one feel + she was capable and reliable, that there was a latent strength on + which those she loved could lean and be at rest. But in speaking of + these things I am going far beyond the impressions of the small + child skipping about the large rooms of the Admiralty. + + There came a time when I not only went to parties and theatricals + at the Admiralty, but went in the afternoons to play with the + children. One great game was the ghost game. To the delightful + shudders produced by this was added some fear of the butler's + interference, for it took place on the large dining-room table. The + company was divided into two parties--the ghosts and the owners of + the haunted house. At four o'clock in the afternoon (so as to give + plenty of time to pile up the horror) the inmates of the house got + into bed--that is, on to the table. The ghosts then walked solemnly + round and round, while at intervals one of them imitated the + striking of the clock; as the hours advanced the ghosts became more + demonstrative and the company in bed more terror-stricken, and as + the clock struck twelve the ghosts jumped on to the table! Then + ensued a frightful scrimmage with ear-splitting squeals, and the + game ended. I imagine it was this climax which used to bring the + butler. We also had the game of giant all over the house. The yells + in this case sometimes brought Lady Minto on the scene, who was + always most good-natured. We were quieter when we got into + mischief; as when we made a raid on Lord Minto's dressing-room, and + each ate two or three of his compressed luncheon tablets and also + helped ourselves to some of his pills. This last exploit _did_ + rather disturb Lady Minto; but, as it happens, neither luncheons + nor pills took any effect on the raiders. + + There were often delightful theatricals at the Admiralty. The best + of the plays was a little operetta written by your mother, called + "William and Susan," in which Lotty and Harriet[13] sang + delightfully in parts; but this must have been later on than the + game period. + + I come now to my first distinct impression of your mother. It is as + clear as a miniature in my mind's eye, and it belongs to a very + interesting time. I think her engagement to Papa [14] must just + have been declared. She came with Lord and Lady Minto to dine with + him at 30, Wilton Crescent, the house he owned since his marriage + to my mother. As she passed out of the room to go down to dinner, + "Lady Fanny's" face and figure were suddenly photographed on my + brain. Her dark and beautiful smooth hair was most becomingly + dressed in two broad plaited loops, hanging low on the back of the + neck; the front hair in bands according to the prevailing fashion. + Her eyes were dark and very lustrous. Her face was freckled, but + this was not disfiguring, as a rich colour in her cheeks showed + itself through them. Her neck, shoulders, and arms were most + beautifully white, and her slim upright figure showed to great + advantage in the neat and simple dress then worn. Hers was of blue + and silver gauze, the bodice prettily trimmed with folds of the + stuff, and the sleeves short and rather full. I think she wore an + enamelled necklet of green and gold. Mama [15] long afterwards told + me that at this dinner she went through a very embarrassing moment; + Papa asked her what wine she would have, and she, just saying the + first thing that came into her head, replied, "Oh, champagne." + There was none. Papa was sadly disconcerted, and replied humbly, + "Will hock do?" I used to take much interest at all times in Papa's + dinner-parties, and sometimes suggested what I considered suitable + guests. I was much disappointed when I found my selection of Madame + Vestris and O'Connell did not altogether commend itself to Papa. + +[13] Lady Harriet Elliot, sister of Lady John Russell. + +[14] Lord John Russell. + +[15] The second Lady John Russell. + +Mrs. Drummond, in another letter to Lady Agatha Russell, alluding to a +visit to Minto before Lord John Russell's second marriage, writes: + + Mama [then Lady Fanny Elliot] was very kind to me even then, and I + took to her very much. I used to admire her bright eyes and her + beautiful and very abundant dark hair, which was always exceedingly + glossy, and her lovely throat, which was the whitest possible--also + her sprightly ways, for she was very lively and engaging. + +The winter of 1840 was spent between the Admiralty and Putney House, which +the Mintos had taken. Lady Fanny's description of Putney sounds to us now +improbably idyllic: + + Out almost till bedtime--the river at night so lovely, so calm, + still, undisturbed by anything except now and then a slow, + sleepy-looking barge, gliding so smoothly along as hardly to make a + ripple. The last few nights we have had a little crescent moon to + add to the beauty. Then the air is so delightfully perfumed with + azalea, hawthorn, and lilac, and the nightingales sing so + beautifully on the opposite banks, that it is difficult to come in + at all. + + + PUTNEY HOUSE, _April 30, 1840_ + + Finished my beloved "Sir Samuel Romilly." It is a book that + everybody, especially men, should immediately read and meditate + upon. + +It was during the summer of this year, 1840, that she began to see more of +Lord John Russell. She had met him a good many times at "rather solemn +dinner-parties," and he had stayed at Minto. She had known him well enough +to feel distress and the greatest sympathy for him when his wife died, +leaving him with two young families to look after--six children in all, +varying in age from the eldest Lister girl, who was fourteen, to Victoria, +his own little daughter, whose birth in 1838 was followed in little more +than a week by the death of her mother. Lord John was nearly forty-eight. +Hitherto he had been a political hero in her eyes rather than a friend of +her own; but, as the following entries in her diary show, she began now to +realize him from another side. + + _June 3, 1840,_ PUTNEY HOUSE + + Lord John Russell and Miss Lister [16] came to spend the afternoon + and dine. All the little Listers came. All very merry. Lord John + played with us and the children at trap-ball, shooting, etc. + +[16] Miss Harriet Lister was the sister of Lord John's first wife. + +The next time they met was at the Admiralty: "Little unexpected Cabinet +meeting after dinner. Lords John Russell and Palmerston, who talked _War +with France_ till bedtime. I hope papa tells the truth as to its +improbability." Two days later she writes: "Lord John Russell again +surprised us by coming in to tea. How much I like him." The next evening +she dined at his house: "Sat between Lord John and Mr. E. Villiers. Utterly +and for ever disgraced myself. Lord John begged me to drink a glass of +wine, and I asked for champagne when there was none!" + +On August 13th they left London for Minto: + + We had two places to spare in the carriage, which were taken by + Lord John Russell and little Tom [his stepson, Lord Ribblesdale]. + We had wished it might be so, though I had some fears of his being + tired of us, and of our being stupefied with shyness. This went off + more than I expected, and our day's journey was very pleasant. + + + MINTO, _August_ 14, 1840 + + Actually here on the second day! From Hawick we had the most lovely + moonlight, making the river like silver and the fields like snow. + Oh Scotland, bonny, bonny Scotland, dearest and loveliest of lands! + if ever I love thee less than I do now, may I be punished by living + far from thee. + + + MINTO, _August_ 30, 1840 + + A great party to Church. Many eyes turned on Lord John as we walked + from it. He was much amused by the remark of one man: "Lord John's + a silly [17] looking man, but he's smart, too!"--which he, of + course, would have understood as an Englishman. In the evening he + gave me a poem he had composed on the subject of my letter from + Lancaster to Mrs. Law [18] announcing ourselves for the next + day.... In the morning [September 1] Lord John begged to sit in our + sitting-room with us.... I told him the library would be more + comfortable, and we were established there (he very kindly reading + the "Lay" aloud), when two Hawick Bailiffs arrived to present him + with the freedom of the town.... After dinner, Miss Lister asked me + so many questions chiefly relating to marrying, that I began to + believe that Lord John's great kindness to us all, but especially + to me, meant something more than I wished. I lay awake, wondering, + feeling sure, and doubting again. + +[17] Delicate. + +[18] Housekeeper. + + + MINTO, _September_ 2, 1840 + + Lord John, Miss Lister, Addy and I went to Melrose Abbey and + Abbotsford.... It was his last evening, and in wishing me good-bye + he said quite enough to make me tell Mama all I thought.... I could + see that she was very glad I did not like him in that way. I am + sure I do in every other. + + + MINTO, _September_ 3, 1840 + + Lord John set off before seven this morning. I dreamed about him + and waked about him all night.... Mama gave me a note from Lord + John to me which he had left.... I wrote my answer immediately, + begging him not to come back; but also telling him how grateful I + feel. Had a long talk and walk with Miss Lister, whose _great_ + kindness makes it all more painful to me. + +Lady Fanny wrote to her sister, Lady Mary Abercromby: + + A proposal from Lord John Russell is at this moment lying before + me. I see it lying, and I write to you that it is there, but yet I + do not believe it, nor shall I ever.... Good, kind Miss Lister + positively worships him. + + + MINTO, _September_ 4, 1840 + + Went to the village with Mama and my darling Addy [Lord John's + stepdaughter], to whom I may show how I love her now that he is + away. + + + MINTO, _September_ 7, 1840 + + Received a very, very sad note from Lord John in answer to mine--so + kind, but oh! so sad. + +The note ran as follows: + + _September_ 5, 1840 + + DEAR LADY FANNY,--You are quite right. I deceived myself, not from + any fault of yours, but from a deep sense of unhappiness, and a + foolish notion that you might throw yourself away on a person of + broken spirits, and worn out by time and trouble. There is nothing + left to me but constant and laborious attention to public business, + and a wretched sense of misery, which even the children can never + long drive away. However, that is my duty, and my portion, and I + have no right to murmur at what no doubt is ordained for some good + end. So do not blame yourself, and leave me to hope that my life + may not be long. + + Yours truly, J. RUSSELL + +Miss Lister wrote to Lord John on September 9, 1840: + + Sad as your letters are, it is still a relief to have them. I + _will_ hope for you though you cannot for yourself.... I + cannot thank you as I wish and feel for all you are with regard to + the children, for all you have been to them. I never can think of + it without tears of gratitude.... You have been more than even an + own father could have been. And by your example--an example of all + that is good and pure and great in mind and conduct--you are doing + for them more than any other teaching can do. + +For a few days Lady Fanny seems to have felt that the matter was +irrevocably settled: "The more I think of what has happened, the more I +bewilder myself--I therefore do not think at all." + +But on the following day she writes: "Though I do not think, I dream. I +dreamt of him last night on some of Catherine's bride cake, and that Miss +Lister wrote to me of him as one whose equal could not be found in the +whole world." + +Of one thing she was certain, she did not want to leave her home: "The west +hills looking beautiful as we walked round the church. What a pleasure it +is to have a church in such a situation! One worships God the better from +seeing His beauty so displayed around.... Walked in the glen and wandered +about the burn and top of Mama's glen, wondering how anybody could ever ask +me to leave all that is so much too dear. + +"Yesterday [October 23] received a letter from Miss Lister. Tells me a +great deal about him--the way in which he first named me since, and his +keeping the book, and much more that is very, very touching; but I will not +sentimentalize even to my journal, for fear of losing my firmness again." + +Meanwhile, gossip was busy coupling her name with Lord John's, and the +Press published the rumour. + + _Lady Minto to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + MINTO, _November_ 9, 1840 + + ... You will see in the papers the report of Fanny's marriage to + Lord John Russell. It is very annoying to her, and I had a few + lines (very touching) from him begging me to have it contradicted, + which I had already done. If you ask me my reasons why, I cannot + tell you, but I have a sort of feeling that she will marry him + still. Gina says certainly not, and neither Lizzy nor I think her + opinions or feelings changed, but I feel it _in my skin_!!! + Still, these feelings are not infallible.... Will you tell me if + I wish it or not? For I have now thought so much about it I don't + know my own mind. If I knew that she would not marry _at all_, + if she did not marry _him_, then I should most miserably + lament that she refused him; but I also know as certainly, that if + she told me that upon second thoughts she had accepted him, I + should be too unhappy to be able to look as I ought to do. In + short, dearest Mary, I heartily wish it had never happened. I was + obliged to tell John [Elliot] of it, as the report was going to be + made a subject of joking, which would have been very unpleasant for + Fanny. He was very much surprised, and notwithstanding his great + dislike to disparity of years, he regretted her refusal deeply. He + is a great admirer of Lord John's, and was delighted with him when + he was here. He says that in spite of the drawbacks he is clearly + of the opinion that she has made a great mistake, and hopes that it + may take another turn still. You may fancy how I am longing to talk + to your Father about it. He says in his last letter that his eyes + were only just opened to Lord John's being an old man, when he + looked on him in this new light.... + + + MINTO, _November_ 15, 1840 + + My birthday--it frightens me to be twenty-five. To think how days, + months, and years have slipped away and how unfulfilled resolutions + remain to reproach me. Long walk with Papa--talked to me about Lord + John very kindly. Had a long letter from Miss Lister--tells me a + good deal about him, and the more I hear the more I am forced to + admire and like. Then why am I so ungrateful? Oh! why so obstinate? + I can only hope for the sake of my character that Dryden is right + that "Love is not in our choice but in our fate." + +At the beginning of the new year the family moved up to London. The next +entry, dated from the Admiralty, expressive in its brevity, runs: "A +surprising number of visitors, one very alarming, no less than Lord +John--and I saw him." Then, a week later, on February 8: "The agitation of +last Monday over again.... After all, perhaps he only wished to show that +he is friendly still. It is like his kindness, but he did not look merry." + +In March she wrote to her married sister, Lady Mary Abercromby, an account +of her feelings and perplexities. + + ADMIRALTY, _March_ 16, 1841 + + DEAREST MARY,--Tho' it is not nearly my day for writing, a long + letter from you to Mama, principally about myself, has determined + me to do so--and to do so this minute, while I feel that I have + courage for the great effort (yes, you may laugh, but it is a + terrible effort) of saying to you all that you have the best right + to abuse me for not having said before. If it was really + _saying_, oh how happy I should be! but there is something so + terribly distinct in one's thoughts as soon as they are on paper, + and I have longed each day a thousand times to have you by my side + to help me to read them and to listen to all my nonsense. I felt it + utterly impossible to write them, altho' I also felt that my + silence was most unfair upon you and would have made me, in your + place, either very suspicious or very angry. It _has_ made you + suspicious, but now let it only make you angry--as angry as you + please--for I have _not_ changed and I do not suppose I ever + shall. When we first came to town, nothing having taken place + between us since my positive refusal from Minto, except the + contradiction sent by us to the report in the papers, Miss Lister + asked me if I was the same as ever; and when I said yes, and + forbade her the subject for the future, she only begged that I + would see him and allow myself to know him better. I said I would + do so, provided she was quite sure he was ready to blame himself + alone for the consequences, which she said he would. Accordingly, + wherever we met I allowed him to speak to me. I begged Lizzy always + to join in our talk, if she could, as it made me much happier, but + this she has not done nearly as much as I wished. Whenever I knew + we were to meet him, I also took care to tell Lizzy that it would + be no pleasure to me, and that if it was at dinner, I hoped I + should not sit next to him. I said these things to her oftener than + I should naturally have done, because I saw that in her wish to + disbelieve them she really did so, and I wished to make her + understand me, in case either Papa or Mama or the boys should be + speaking of it before her. You will say, why did I not speak more + to Mama herself?--partly because I was afraid of bringing forward + the subject, partly because I knew what I had to say would make her + sorry, and partly because I was not at times so _very_ sure as + to have courage to say it must all come to an end. However, after a + dinner at Lady Holland's last week, when he was all the evening by + me, I felt I _must_ speak--that it would be very wrong to + allow it to go on in the same way, and that we had no right to + expect the world to see how all advances to intimacy, since we came + to town, have been made by him in the face of a refusal. I do not + despise the gossip of the world where there is so much foundation + for it, and I have felt it very disagreeable to know that busy eyes + were upon us several times. It must therefore stop, but do not + imagine that I have been acting without thought. I am perfectly + easy about _him_--I mean that he will blame nobody but + himself, as I have taken care never to understand anything that he + has said that he might mean to be particular, and the few times + that he ventured to approach the subject he spoke in so perfectly + hopeless and melancholy a way as to satisfy me. I am also easy + about Miss Lister, as only a week ago she said how sorry she was to + see that I was happier in society without than with him; but both + he and they must see that it cannot go on so. What a stone I + am--but it is needless to speak of that. Only when I think of all + his goodness and excellence, above all his goodness in fixing upon + me among so many better fitted to him, I first wonder and wonder + whether he really can be in earnest, then reproach myself bitterly + for my hardness--and then the children: to think of rejecting an + opportunity of being so useful--or at least of trying to be so! All + these thoughts, turned over and over in my mind oftener than I + myself knew before we left Minto, _did_ make me think that + perhaps I had decided rashly. Now do not repeat this, dear Mary; I + have said more to you than to anybody yet--but I am sorry it is + time to stop, I have so much more to say. I cannot say how grateful + I am to Papa and Mama for leaving me so free in all this, and to + you for writing. + + Ever your most affectionate sister, FANNY + +The day after this letter was written she saw Lord John again. "He called +and had a long conversation with Mama.... Mama liked him better than +ever." + + _Lady Minto to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + ADMIRALTY, _March_ 18, 1841 + + ... I must now return to _the_ subject. I told you of the + conversation I had with Fanny when she spoke so openly and so + sensibly of her feelings.... She said she was too old to think it + necessary to be what is called desperately in love, and without + feeling that his age was an objection or that the disparity was too + great, yet, she said, if he had been a younger man she would have + decided long ago. And that is the truth. It is his age alone that + prevents her at once deciding in his favour. It prevents those + feelings arising in her mind, without which it would be a struggle + to accept him, and this she never will do. She was therefore + desirous that he should know the state of her feelings, that she + might be again at her ease. He had seen her manner cold towards + him, and wrote to say that he would call upon me yesterday. I was + _horribly_ frightened, as I hate lovers, and you must allow + that it was a difficult task to go through.... However, he put me + so completely at my ease by his sensible, open, gentle manner, that + my task was less difficult than I expected--except that I fell in + love with him so desperately, he touched my heart so deeply that I + could scarcely refrain from promising him Fanny whenever he chose. + There is a depth of feeling and humility about him, and a candour + and generosity in his judgments, that I never saw so strongly in + anyone before, and every word that he spoke made me regret more and + more the barrier that prevents him from becoming one of us. I said, + of course, Fanny's wish and ours could only be for him to do what + he considered best for his own happiness, and that half-measures + did not answer; that he now knew the whole truth and it was for him + to judge how to act. He said then, "I cannot have a doubt; I will + visit you less frequently; I will speak very little to you in + public, but I cannot, unless you positively forbid me, renounce the + intimacy now established with your family." I said, of course, that + it would be a great happiness to us all not to lose him, but that I + was very doubtful of the wisdom of his decision, as it might only + be rendering himself more unhappy. "That," he said, "is my affair, + and I am willing to run the risk." ... Fanny, to whom I told + everything, says she is now quite happy, and her mind at ease. + +He seems, however, to have made up his mind to keep away from them for some +weeks. The next mention of him is on May 7th, more than a month later: + + Morning visit from Lord John. Said he had a great speech to make + this evening on sugar.... Billy came to dinner full of admiration + of the speech. Honest, noble, clever. Well, we shall go out with + honour. + +This speech on sugar was made at a crisis of particular difficulty. The +debate was the first important discussion in Parliament on the new +principle of Free Trade. Greville describes Lord John's speech as an +"extraordinarily good one," and Lord Sydenham [19] wrote from Canada: + + I have read your speech upon opening the debate on the sugar + question with feelings of admiration and pleasure I cannot + describe. The Free Traders have never been orators since Mr. Pitt + in early days. We have hammered away with facts and figures and + some argument, but we could not elevate the subject and excite the + feelings of the people. At last you, who can do both, have fairly + undertaken it, and the cause has a champion worthy of it. + +[19] Lord Sydenham said later, "Lord John is the noblest man it has ever +been my fortune to follow" (Spencer Walpole's "Life of Lord John Russell"). + +Mr. Baring, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, proposed to lower the import +duty on foreign and colonial timber and sugar. Lord John, before the Budget +speech, announced his intention of moving the House into a committee on the +Corn Laws. During the course of the eight days' debate he admitted that the +proposal of the Ministry would be a fixed duty of 8s. a quarter on wheat. +It was on the occasion of this proposal being discussed in the Cabinet that +Melbourne, at the close of the meeting, made his famous remark, "By the by, +there is one thing we haven't agreed upon; what are we to say? Is it to +make our corn dearer or cheaper, or to make the price steady? I don't care +which; but we had better all say the same thing." + +On June 4th, the very evening Lord John had intended to introduce his +measure, the Government was just defeated on Peel's motion of a want of +confidence: "Bill woke me at four this morning with the sad words, 'Beaten +by one! Oh dear, oh dear! To expect a triumph and see it won by the enemy. +Never mind; our friends deserve success if they cannot command it.... Party +at Lady Palmerston's. He was there." + +Four days later her hesitations came to an end, and they were engaged to be +married. + +Miss Lister wrote to Lord John on June 8th from Windsor Castle: + + Oh! I am happier than I can tell you. God knows you have deserved + all the good that may come to you, and I always felt it must be + because of that. I long to be with you and to see her. ... Oh! I am + so happy, but I can scarcely believe it yet. I hope Lady Fanny will + write and then I think I shall believe it. + + Ever yours affectionately, Harriet Lister + + * * * * * + + June 9, 1841 Could not write on Monday or Tuesday. Saw him on + Monday morning ... it was a strange dream all that day and is so + still.... As soon as he had left me Mama came in. Oh my own + dearest and best Mama, bless your poor weak but happy child. Then I + saw Papa. What good it did me to see his face of real + happiness!--then my brothers and sisters--I never saw William so + overcome. + + + ADMIRALTY, _June_ 10, 1841 + + Tried to be busy in the morning ... but nothing would do. Must + think and be foolish. He came in the afternoon and evening--brought + me an emerald ring.... Miss Lister came--both of us stupid from + having too much to say, but it was a great pleasure. Children + here to tea with ours (all but Victoria) and very merry and kind + to me. Dear precious children. + + + _Lady Minto to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + ADMIRALTY, June 11, 1841 + + You must be longing so ardently for post-day that I hate to think + of the uncomfortable letter this is likely to be; but as Fanny is + writing to you herself, my letter will be of less consequence. Oh + the volumes and volumes I could write and long to write and the wee + miserable things that I do write! I must at once begin by saying + that Fanny's happy face would, more than all I can write, convince + you how perfectly satisfied and proud she is of the position she + has put herself in; how it delights her to think of the son-in-law + she has given to your Father, and the friend she has given your + brothers. To me he is everything that my proudest wishes could have + sought out for Fanny. You know as well as me that it was not an + ordinary person that could suit her; and it really is balm to my + heart to see the way in which he treasures every word she says, and + laughs at the innocence and simplicity of her remarks, and looks at + her with such pride when he sees her keen and eager about the great + and interesting events of the day, which most girls would neither + know nor care about. I don't mean that he is absurd in his + admiration of her, but it is evident how fully he appreciates the + singular beauty of her character. In short, to sum up all I can say + of him, he is in many respects a counterpart of herself. She is + very open and at her ease with him, and I am quite as much at my + ease with him as I was with Ralph.... + + + _From Lady Mary Abercromby to Lord John Russell_ + + GENOA, _June_ 19, 1841 + + ... You will every day discover more the great worth of what you + have won. You cannot have known her long without admiring the + extreme truth and purity of her mind; it is sensitive to a degree + which those with more of worldly experience can scarcely + understand, yet I feel sure you will watch over it, for it has a + charm to those who can appreciate it which must make them dread to + see it disturbed. It is a great privation to me to be so little + acquainted with you, but believe me I cannot think of you as a + stranger now that you belong to my dearest Sister, and that I look + to you for her happiness. If you could think of me as a sister and + treat me as such it would be a delight to me. + + + ADMIRALTY, _June_ 18, 1841 + + Very happy day--every day now happier than the one before. Oh will + it--can it last? O God, enable me to thank Thee as I ought--to live + a life of gratitude to Thee. + + +CHAPTER III + +1841 + + +"He served his country well in choosing thee." [20] + +[20] From a sonnet to Lady John Russell by Lord Wriothesley Russel, written +after reading Lady Minto's ballad in which these words occur: "His country +and thee." + +Parliament had been dissolved soon after Peel's motion of a want of +confidence had been carried. In the election which followed Lord John was +returned for the City of London on June 30th. + + ADMIRALTY, _June_ 26, 1841 + + Day of nomination in the City. He says the show of hands was + greatly in his favour.... Mama says he looked so calm, in the midst + of the uproar. + + "True dignity is his, _his_ tranquil mind Virtue has raised + above the things below!" + + And whether storms may await us in our journey together, even to + the wreck of all earthly hopes, I know that he will rise superior + to them--and oh! to think that I may be by his side to support him + in adversity as well as to share in his prosperity and glorious + fate, for which God enable me to be rightly grateful. + +The family moved to Minto before the result was declared; from London Lord +John wrote the following letters: + + _Lord John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + WILTON CRESCENT, _June_ 25, 1841 + + Your letters have filled us all with joy and completed what was + wanting. I feel very grateful to you for the kindness with which + you express yourself.... The happiness of possessing her has + blinded me, I dare say, to her real interest; but when I find that + you all approve and feel conscious that I shall do all in my power + to make her life happy, I gain some confidence. Among many + anxieties, Lady Minto naturally felt that the charge of so many + children would be a very serious burthen to her, but the children + themselves are so good, so much disposed to love her, and their + health is at present so good, that I trust they will be to her as + they are to me, a daily comfort, making the house cheerful with + their merry and affectionate voices. The greatest fear perhaps is, + that her generosity and devotion to others may make her undertake + what is beyond her strength. + + + _Lord John Russell to Lady Fanny Elliot_ + + DOWNING STREET, _July_ 3, 1841 + + If I am sorry that Saturday is come, I am much more glad that + Tuesday is so near. I am not at all anxious for a merry party at + Minto--the quieter the better for me. But I can understand that + Lady Minto would like some gaiety to divert her spirits, when "Our + dear Fanny" is gone. I cannot say how much I think on the prospect + of finding you at Minto--and of Bowhill likewise. I hope I am not + unworthy of the heart you gave me ... and I trust every day will + prove how grateful I am to you. + + + WILTON CRESCENT, _July_ 4, 1841 + + I got your little note yesterday, after I had sealed my letter.... + My dearest Fanny, I am so happy at the thought of being soon at + Minto. If you believe that I feel the strongest devotion to you, + and am resolved to do all in my power to make you happy, you + believe what is true.... This will reach you soon after your + arrival. I can imagine how busy you will be ... and long to join + you. + +A few days later he reached Minto himself. Lady Fanny, writing to her +sister Mary, describes their days together, and adds: "They are all except +Gibby so much too respectful to Lord John. Not to me, for they take their +revenge upon me, and I am unsparingly laughed at, which is a great comfort. +I shall write once before it happens. I dare not think what I shall be when +you receive this." + + MINTO, _July_ 19, 1841 + + My last day as a child of Minto. How fast it flew. How quickly + good-night came--that sad, that dreaded good-night. But sadness may + be of such a kind as to give rise to the happiest, the purest + feelings--and such was this.... He and I sat in the Moss house. + Never saw the glen more beautiful; the birch glittering in the sun + and waving its feathery boughs; the burn murmuring more gently than + usual; the wood-pigeons answering one another from tree to tree. + Had not courage to be much with Mama. + +They were married on July 20th in the drawing-room at Minto, and set off +for Bowhill, which had been lent them for the honeymoon by the Duke of +Buccleuch. Never did statesman on his wedding-day take away a bride more +whole-heartedly resolved to be all a wife can be to him in his career. Her +mother was now perfectly happy about the marriage, though the disparity of +age, and fears about the great responsibility her daughter was undertaking +in the care of a young family--one boy and five girls--had undoubtedly made +her anxious. Lady Minto felt very deeply the parting with her dearly-loved +child, and after the wedding she sent her the following little ballad: + + A BORDER BALLAD + + AIR: "_Saw ye my father_" + + Oh saw ye the robber + That cam' o'er the border + To steal bonny Fanny away? + She's gane awa' frae me + And the bonny North Countrie + And has left me for ever and for aye. + + He cam' na wi' horses, + He cam' na wi' men, + Like the bauld English knights langsyne; + But he thought that he could fleech + Wi' his bonny Southron speech + And wile awa' this lassie o' mine. + + "Gae hame, gae hame + To your ain countrie, + Nor come o'er the March for me." + But sairly did she rue + When he thought that she spak' true + And the tear-drop it blinded her e'e. + + His heart it was sair + And he lo'ed her mair and mair, + For her spirit was noble and free; + "Oh lassie dear, relent, + Nor let a heart be rent + That lives but for its country and thee." + + And did she say him nay? + Oh no, he won the day, + Could an Elliot a Russell disdain? + And he's ta'en awa' his bride + Frae the bonnie Teviot-side, + And has left me sae eerie alane. + + Oh where's now the smile + Used to cheer me ilk morn, + Like a blink o' the sun's ain light; + And where the voice sae sweet + That aye gar'd my bosom beat + When sae saftly she bade me gude-night. + + Now lang, lang are the nights + And dowie are the days + That sae cheerie were ance for me. + And oh the thought is sair + That she'll mine be never mair, + I'm alane in the North Countrie. + + MARY MINTO, _July_, 1841 + +But before following the future, it will be well to look back. Lord John +himself must play so large a part in a biography of his wife that a sketch +of his life up to this point, and some reminders of the kind of man he was, +may interest the reader; not a review of his political achievements, but an +outline of the events which had left him at his second marriage a leader +among his countrymen. + +Lord John Russell, born in 1792, was the third son of John, sixth Duke of +Bedford. He was only nine years old when he lost his mother, whom he +remembered to the end of his life with tender affection. He always spoke +gratefully of the invariable kindness and affection of his father, who +married again in 1803, and of his stepmother, but he felt that the shyness +and reserve which often caused him to be misunderstood and thought cold +were largely due to the loss of his mother in his childhood. He was +educated at Westminster, but he was not robust enough to stand a rough +life, and it was decidedly rough. His education was continued at Woburn +under a tutor. He was a book-loving boy, and the earliest exercise of his +powers was in verses, prologues, and plays. Going to the play was one of +the chief enjoyments of his childhood, and he never lost his liking for the +drama. Travelling was also a great delight to him, either by coach in +England or in foreign countries, and this enjoyment, with a wonderfully +keen observation of all that he saw of different places and peoples, lasted +to old age. + +In 1835 Lord John married Lady Ribblesdale, widow of the second Lord +Ribblesdale. + +She had by her first husband four children; one son and three daughters. +[21] After her marriage with Lord John Russell she had two daughters, +Georgiana Adelaide, born in 1836, and Victoria, born in 1838. The marriage +had been a most happy one, and her death on November 1, 1838, was a severe +blow to Lord John. + +[21] Lord Ribblesdale, Adelaide Lister (Mrs. Drummond), Isabel Lister (Mrs. +Warburton), Elizabeth Lister (Lady Melvill). + +A slight sketch of the more public side of his career will be enough here. +A visit to Fox in June, 1806, was perhaps the first experience which turned +his interests and ambitions towards politics. All his life he looked up to +the memory of Fox. There was in Fox an element which made him more akin to +the Liberals, who succeeded him, than to the old Whig party. Lord John, as +different from Fox in temperament as a man could be, was the inheritor of +the spirit which leavened the old Whig tradition. In Lord John the +sentiments of Fox took on a more deliberate air. He was a more intellectual +man than his lavish, emotional, imposing forbear; and if it is remembered +that he had, in addition, the diffidence of a sensitive man, these facts go +far to explain an apparent contradiction in his character which puzzled +contemporaries. To the observer at a distance there seemed to be two John +Russells: the man who appeared to stand off coldly from his colleagues and +backers (he was certainly as incapable as the younger Pitt of throwing +round him those heartening glances of good-fellowship which made the +followers of Fox feel like a band of brothers); and again, the man who, to +the rapture of adherents, could lift debate at moments to a level where +passionate principles swept all hesitation away. It was surprising to find, +in one who commonly wore the air of picking his steps with care, the dash +and anger of the fighter. Bulwer Lytton has described such moments in "The +New Timon"-- + + "When the steam is on, + And languid Johnny glows to glorious John." + +His speeches, if they had not the animated, flowing reasonableness of +Cobden's, resembled them in this, that they belonged to that class of +oratory which aims at convincing the reason rather than at persuading the +emotions. Lord John had, however, one quality likely to make him widely +popular--his pluck; at bay he was formidable. If there was a trace of +injustice or unreasonableness in his adversaries, though their case might +be overwhelmingly plausible, it was ten to one he routed them in confusion. +He was ready in retort. One example of this readiness Gladstone was fond of +quoting: Sir Francis Burdett had made a speech against the Whigs, in which +he spoke of the "cant of patriotism." "There is one thing worse than the +cant of patriotism," retorted Lord John, "and that is the recant of +patriotism." Again, when the Queen once asked him, "Is it true, Lord John, +that you hold that a subject is justified, in certain circumstances, in +disobeying his sovereign?" his answer to this difficult question could not +have been better: "Well, speaking to a sovereign of the House of Hanover, I +can only say that I suppose he is." + +One more characteristic must be mentioned. Like most men scrupulous and +slow in determining what to do, his confidences often were withheld from +others till the last moment, and sometimes beyond the moment, when it would +have been wisest to admit his colleagues to his own counsel. In consequence +he often appeared disconcertingly abrupt in decision. + +In 1808 he accompanied Lord and Lady Holland to Spain and Portugal, and on +his return he was sent by his father to Edinburgh University, the Duke +having little confidence in the education then procurable at either Oxford +or Cambridge. At Edinburgh he took part in the proceedings of the +Speculative Society, read essays to them and debated; and he left the +University still tending more towards literature than politics. There is no +doubt that Edinburgh helped to form him. His mind was one naturally open to +influences which are summed up as "the academic spirit"; dislike of +exaggeration, impatience with brilliancy which does not illuminate, and +distrust of enthusiasm which is not prepared to show its credentials at +every step. His own style is marked by these qualities, and in addition by +a reminiscence of eighteenth-century formality, more likely to please +perhaps future than present readers; accurate, a little distant, it pleases +because it conveys a sense of modesty and dignity. When he speaks of +himself he does it to perfection. + +After leaving the University he served in the Bedford militia. In 1814 he +went to Italy, and crossed to Elba, where he saw Napoleon. Lord John was +always a most authentic reporter. His description of the Emperor, written +the next day, besides its intrinsic interest, is so characteristic of the +writer himself that it may be quoted here. It is as matter-of-fact as one +of Wellington's dispatches and as shrewd as a passage from one of Horace +Walpole's letters. + + PORTO FERRAJO, December 25, 1814 [22] + + At eight o'clock in the evening yesterday I went to the Palace + according to appointment to see Napoleon. After waiting some + minutes in the ante-room I was introduced by Count Drouet and found + him standing alone in a small room. He was drest in a green coat + with a hat in his hand very much as he is painted, but excepting + this resemblance of dress, I had a very mistaken idea of him from + his portrait. He appears very short, which is partly owing to his + being very fat, his hands and legs being quite swollen and + unwieldy; this makes him appear awkward and not unlike the whole + length figures of Gibbon, the historian. Besides this, instead of + the bold marked countenance that I expected, he has fat cheeks and + rather a turn-up nose, which, to bring in another historian, made + the shape of his face resemble the portraits of Hume. He has a + dusky grey eye, which would be called a vicious eye in a horse, and + the shape of his mouth expresses contempt and derision--his manner + is very good-natured, and seems studied to put one at one's ease by + its familiarity; his smile and laugh are very agreeable--he asks a + number of questions without object, and often repeats them, a habit + he has no doubt acquired during fifteen years of supreme + command--to this I should also attribute the ignorance he seems to + show at times of the most common facts. When anything that he likes + is said, he puts his head forward and listens with great pleasure, + repeating what is said, but when he does not like what he hears, he + looks away as if unconcerned and changes the Subject. From this one + might conclude that he was open to flattery and violent in his + temper. + + He began asking me about my family, the allowance my father gave + me, if I ran into debt, drank, played, etc. + + He asked me if I had been in Spain, and if I was not imprisoned by + the Inquisition. I told him that I had seen the abolition of the + Inquisition voted, and of the injudicious manner in which it was + done. + + He mentioned Infantado, and said, "II n'a point de caractere." + Ferdinand he said was in the hands of the priests--afterwards he + said, "Italy is a fine country; Spain too is a fine + country--Andalusia and Seville particularly." + + _F. R._ Yes, but uncultivated. + + _N._ Agriculture is neglected because the land is in the hands + of the Church. + + _F. R._ And of the Grandees. + + _N._ Yes, who have privileges contrary to the public + prosperity. + + _F. R._ Yet it would be difficult to remedy the evil. + + _N._ It might be remedied by dividing property and abolishing + hurtful privileges, as was done in France. + + _F. R._ Yes, but the people must be industrious--even if the + land was given to the people in Spain, they would not make use of + it. + + _N._ Ils succomberaient. + + _F. R._ Yes, Sire. + + He asked many questions about the Cortes, and when I told him that + many of them made good speeches on abstract questions, but that + they failed when any practical debate on finance or war took place, + he said, "Oui, faute de l'habitude de gouverner." He asked if I had + been at Cadiz at the time of the siege, and said the French failed + there. + + _F. R._ Cadiz must be very strong. + + _N._ It is not Cadiz that is strong, it is the Isle of + Leon--if we could have taken the Isle of Leon, we should have + bombarded Cadiz, and we did partly, as it was. + + _F. R._ Yet the Isle of Leon had been fortified with great + care by General Graham. + + _N._ Ha--it was he who fought a very brilliant action at + Barrosa. + + He wondered our officers should go into the Spanish and Portuguese + service. I said our Government had sent them with a view of + instructing their armies; he said that did well with the + Portuguese, but the Spaniards would not submit to it. He was + anxious to know if we supported South America, "for," he said, "you + already are not well with the King of Spain." + + Speaking of Lord Wellington, he said he had heard he was a large, + strong man, _grand chasseur_, and asked if he liked Paris. I + said I should think not, and mentioned Lord Wellington having said + that he should find himself much at a loss what to do in peace + time, and I thought scarcely liked anything but war. + + _N._ La guerre est un grand jeu, une belle occupation. + + He wondered the English should have sent him to Paris--"On n'aime + pas l'homme par qui on a été battu. Je n'ai jamais envoyé a Vienne + un homme qui a assisté à la prise de Vienne." He asked who was our + Minister (Lord Burghersh) at Florence, and whether he was + _honnête homme_, "for," he said, "you have two kinds of men in + England, one of _intrigans_, the other of _hommes très + honnêtes_." + + Some time afterwards he said, "Dites moi franchement, votre + Ministre à Florence est il un homme à se fier?" + + He had seen something in the papers about sending him (Napoleon) to + St. Helena, and he probably expected Lord Burghersh to kidnap + him--he inquired also about his family and if it was one of + consequence. + + His great anxiety at present seems to be on the subject of France. + He inquired if I had seen at Florence many Englishmen who came from + there, and when I mentioned Lord Holland, he asked if he thought + things went well with the Bourbons, and when I answered in the + negative he seemed delighted, and asked if Lord Holland thought + they would be able to stay there. I said I really could not give an + answer. He said he had heard that the King of France had taken no + notice of those Englishmen who had treated him well in + England--particularly Lord Buckingham; he said that was very wrong, + for it showed a want of gratitude. I told him I supposed the + Bourbons were afraid to be thought to depend upon the English. + "No," he said, "the English in general are very well received." He + asked sneeringly if the Army was much attached to the Bourbons. + + Talking of the Congress, he said, "There will be no war; the Powers + will disagree, but they will not go to war"--he said the Austrians, + he heard, were already much disliked in Italy and even at Florence. + + _F. R._ It is very odd, the Austrian government is hated + wherever it has been established. + + _N._ It is because they do everything with the baton--the + Italians all hate to be given over to them. + + _F. R._ But the Italians will never do anything for + themselves--they are not united. + + _N._ True. + + Besides this he talked about the robbers between Rome and Florence, + and when I said they had increased, he said, "Oh! to be sure; I + always had them taken by the _gendarmerie_." + + _F. R._ It is very odd that in England, where we execute so + many, we do not prevent crimes. + + _N._ It is because you have not a _gendarmerie_. + + He inquired very particularly about the forms of the Viceregal + Court in Ireland, the _Dames d'honneur_, pages, etc.; in some + things he was strangely ignorant, as, for instance, asking if my + father was a peer of Parliament. + + He asked many questions three times over. + + He spoke of the Regent's conduct to the Princess as very impolitic, + as it shocked the _bienséances_, by which his father had + become so popular. + + He said our war with America was a _guerre de vengeance_, for + that the frontier could not possibly be of any importance. + + He said, "You English ought to be very well satisfied with the end + of the war." + + _F. R._ Yes, but we were nearly ruined in the course of it. + + _N._ Ha! le système continental, ha--and then he laughed very + much. + + He asked who was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland at present, but made no + remark on my answer. + + I asked him if he understood English; he said that at Paris he had + had plenty of interpreters, but that he now began to read it a + little. + + Many English went to Elba about this time; the substance of their + conversations is still in my recollection--April 2, 1815. He said + that he considered the great superiority of England to France lay + in her aristocracy, that the people were not better, but that the + Parliament was composed of all the men of property and all the men + of family in the country; this enabled the Government to resist the + shock which the failure of the Duke of York's expedition was liable + to cause--in France it would have destroyed the Government. (This + is an opinion rather tinged by the Revolution, but it is true that + our House of Commons looks to final results.) They were strong, he + said, by "les souvenirs attachants à l'histoire"; that on the + contrary he could make eighty senates in France as good as the + present; that he had intended to create a nobility by marrying his + generals, whom he accounted as quite insignificant, notwithstanding + the titles he had given them, to the offspring of the old nobility + of France. He had reserved a fund from the contribution which he + levied when he made treaties with Austria, Prussia, etc., in order + to found these new families. "Did you get anything from Russia?" + + _N._ No, I never asked anything from her but to shut her ports + against England. + + He wished, he said, to favour the re-establishment of the old + families, but every time he touched that chord an alarm was raised, + and the people trembled as a horse does when he is checked. + + He told the story of the poisoning, and said there was some truth + in it--he had wished to give opium to two soldiers who had got the + plague and could not be carried away, rather than leave them to be + murdered by the Turks, but the physician would not consent. He said + that after talking the subject over very often he had changed his + mind on the morality of the measure. He owned to shooting the + Turks, and said they had broken their capitulation. He found great + fault with the French Admiral who fought the battle of the Nile, + and pointed out what he ought to have done, but he found most fault + with the Admiral who fought--R. Calder--for not disabling his + fleet, and said that if he could have got the Channel clear then, + or at any other time, he would have invaded England. + + He said the Emperor of Russia was clever and had "idées libérales," + but was a veritable Grec. At Tilsit, the Emperor of Russia, King of + Prussia, and N. used to dine together. They separated early--the + King of Prussia went to bed, and the two Emperors met at each + other's quarters and talked, often on abstract subjects, till late + in the night. The King of Prussia a mere corporal, and the Emperor + of Austria very prejudiced--"d'ailleurs honnête homme." + + Berthier quite a pen-and-ink man--but "bon diable qui servit le + premier, à me témoigner ses regrets, les larmes aux yeux." + + Metternich a man of the world, "courtisan des femmes," but too + false to be a good statesman-"car en politique il ne faut pas étre + _trop_ menteur." + + It was his maxim not to displace his Marshals, which he had carried + to a fault in the case of Marmont, who lost his cannon by + treachery, he believed--I forget where. The Army liked him, he had + rewarded them well. + + Talleyrand had been guilty of such extortion in the peace with + Austria and with Bavaria that he was complained against by those + Powers and therefore removed--it was he who advised the war with + Spain, and prevented N. from seeing the Duke d'Enghien, whom he + thought a "brave jeune homme," and wished to see. + + He said he had been fairly tried by a military tribunal, and the + sentence put up in every town in France, according to law. + + Spain ought to have been conquered, and he should have gone there + himself had not the war with Russia occurred. + + Lord Lauderdale was an English peer, but not of "la plus belle + race." England will repent of bringing the Russians so far: they + will deprive her of India. + + If Mr. Fox had lived, he thought he should have made peace--praised + the noble way in which the negotiation was begun by him. + + The Archduke Charles he did not think a man of great abilities. + "Tout ce que j'ai publié sur les finances est de l'Evangile," he + said--he allowed no _gaspillage_ and had an excellent + treasurer; owing to this he saved large sums out of his civil list. + + The conscription produced 300,000 men yearly. + + He thought us wrong in taking Belgium from France--he said it was + now considered as so intimately united that the loss was very + mortifying. Perhaps it would have been better, he said, to divide + France--he considered one great advantage to consist as I--(_End + of Journal_.) + +[22] This account is copied from the old leather-bound journal, in +which it was written by Lord John the day after the interview; +there is no gap in the account, but the last part appears to have +been written later, and is unfinished. + +During the session of 1813 Lord John was returned for the family borough of +Tavistock. He was obliged, however, principally owing to ill-health, to +retire from active life at the end of three years, during which time he +made a remarkable speech against the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. +It must have been at about this time that he thought of giving up politics +and devoting himself to literature, which brought the following +"Remonstrance" from his friend Thomas Moore: + +REMONSTRANCE + +(_After a conversation with Lord John Russell in which he had intimated +some idea of giving up all political pursuits_.) + + What! _thou_, with thy genius, thy youth, and thy name-- + Thou, born of a Russell--whose instinct to run + The accustomed career of thy sires, is the same + As the eaglet's to soar with his eyes on the sun. + + Whose nobility comes to thee, stamped with a seal, + Far, far more ennobling than monarch e'er set, + With the blood of thy race, offered up for the weal + Of a nation that swears by that martyrdom yet I + + Shalt _thou_ be faint-hearted and turn from the strife, + From the mighty arena, where all that is grand, + And devoted and pure, and adorning in life, + 'Tis for high-thoughted spirits like thine to command? + + Oh no, never dream it--while good men despair + Between tyrants and traitors, and timid men bow, + Never think, for an instant, thy country can spare + Such a light from her darkening horizon as thou. + + With a spirit as meek as the gentlest of those + Who in life's sunny valley lie sheltered and warm; + Yet bold and heroic as ever yet rose + To the top cliffs of Fortune and breasted her storm; + + With an ardour for liberty, fresh as in youth + It first kindles the bard and gives life to his lyre, + Yet mellowed even now by that mildness of truth + Which tempers, but chills not, the patriot fire; + + With an eloquence--not like those rills from a height, + Which sparkle and foam, and in vapour are o'er; + But a current that works out its way into light + Through the filtering recesses of thought and of lore. + + Thus gifted, thou never canst sleep in the shade; + If the stirrings of Genius, the music of fame, + And the charms of thy cause have not power to persuade, + Yet think how to Freedom thou'rt pledged by thy Name. + + Like the boughs of that laurel, by Delphi's decree, + Set apart for the Fane and its service divine, + So the branches that spring from the old Russell tree, + Are by Liberty _claimed_ for the use of her shrine. + + THOMAS MOORE. + +In spite of strong literary proclivities it would certainly have been a +wrench to Lord John to leave the stirring scenes of Parliamentary life, and +his feeling about it may be gathered from a letter written to his brother +in 1841: + + _Lord John Russell to the Duke of Bedford_ + + ENDSLEIGH, _October_ 13, 1841 + + Whatever may be said about other families, I do not think ours + ought to retire from active exertion. In all times of popular + movement the Russells have been on the "forward" side. At the + Reformation the first Earl of Bedford, in Charles the First's days + Francis the great Earl, in Charles the Second's William, Lord + Russell, in later times Francis Duke of Bedford--my + father--you--and lastly myself in the Reform Bill. + +At the General Election in 1818 Lord John was again elected for Tavistock, +and began to make the furtherance of Parliamentary Reform his particular +aim. In 1820 he became member for Huntingdonshire. Henceforward, whenever +the question of Reform came before the House, Lord John was recognized as +its most prominent supporter. As early as 1822 he moved that "the present +state of representation of the people in Parliament requires the most +serious consideration of the House." In 1828 he succeeded in carrying the +repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts. He was also an ardent supporter of +the Catholic Relief Bill. Thus in religious, educational, and parliamentary +questions he stood up stoutly for liberty. When Lord Grey succeeded the +Duke of Wellington, Lord John took a large part in drafting the famous +measure of Reform, and the Bill of 1831 was introduced by him; after which +speech he became the most popular man in England. Beaten in Committee, the +Reform party appealed to the country and returned with a larger majority. +On June 24, 1831. he introduced the Bill for the second time. + +This Bill, after being carried in the House of Commons, was rejected by the +House of Lords, and it was not till June, 1832. that the great Reform Bill +(the third introduced within twelve months) became the law of the land. +Lord John, who had been admitted to the Cabinet in 1831 during Lord Grey's +Government, became Home Secretary in Lord Melbourne's Government in 1835, +and in 1839 he was appointed Colonial Secretary, which office he held at +the time of his second marriage. Up to this point we have only followed his +career at a distance, but now through the letters and diaries of his wife +we shall be enabled to follow it more intimately to the end. + + + +CHAPTER IV + +1841-45 + + +Lord and Lady John Russell stayed at Bowhill till the 31st of July. They +had a grand reception at Selkirk on their way back to Minto--a procession +headed by all the magistrates, a band of music, and banners flying. Lord +John was given the freedom of the burgh, and was received with enthusiasm +by the inhabitants. After a short visit to Minto they went to London, to +his house in Wilton Crescent. + + BOWHILL, _July_ 29, 1841 + + I hardly know how to begin my journal again. I wrote the last page + as Fanny Elliot; I am now Fanny Russell.... Forgive me, Almighty + Father, for the manifold sins, errors, and omissions of my past + life, [a life] to which I look back with deep gratitude for its + countless blessings, especially for the affection of those with + whom I spent it, so far beyond what I deserved. Enable me to think + calmly of the Mother whom I have left.... I was, and still am, in a + dream; but one from which I hope never to wake, which I trust will + only grow sweeter as the bitter days of parting wear away, as I + become more and more the companion and friend of him whose heart is + mine as truly as mine is his, and in whom I see all the strength + and goodness that my weak and erring nature so much requires. + + This is a perfect place and the days have flown--each walk lovelier + than the last. Much as poets have sung Ettrick and Yarrow, they + have not, and cannot, sing enough to satisfy me.... I am so sorry + that to-morrow is our last day, though it is to Minto that we go, + but I feel as if a spell would be broken--a spell of such + enchantment. + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + 30, WILTON CRESCENT, _August_ 13, 1841 I say nothing of the + day we left Minto, which could not help being of that kind that one + hardly dares to look back to.... We were received with great + honours at Hawick--bells ringing, flags flying, and I should think + the whole population assembled to cheer us--it is very agreeable + that people should be wise enough to see his merits, particularly + as he does his best to avoid all such exhibitions of popular + feeling. I like to see his shy looks on such occasions, as it gives + him less right to abuse me for mine on many others. + + + WILTON CRESCENT, _August_ 14, 1841 + + We arrived here on Thursday evening. Lord John did all he could to + make it less strange to me; but how strange it was--and still is. + We had a visit from Papa and Henry; my first visitors in _my own + house_. The children arrived from Ramsgate all well. Oh, Father + in Heaven, strengthen me in the path of righteousness that I may be + a mother to these dear children. + + + WILTON CRESCENT, _August_ 15, 1841 + + Dear Baby a great deal with me. She and Georgy call me Mama. It was + too much--such a mixture of great happiness, anxiety, novelty, + painful recollections, longing to make him happy--impossibility of + saying all I so deeply feel from the fear of giving him pain. Oh! I + thought I should quite fail. + + Oh, what a weight seemed to be taken off my heart when at night, + after speaking about the children, he mentioned their mother. Now I + feel that the greatest bar to perfect confidence between us is + removed. God bless him for the effort. + +In August, soon after the meeting of Parliament, Lord Melbourne's +Government was defeated on the Address and resigned. + + WILTON CRESCENT, _August_ 28, 1841 + + Lord John dined at Lansdowne House--a last Cabinet dinner.... + Letter from the Queen to Lord John, which for a moment overcame + him--she does indeed lose a faithful adviser, and deeply does he + feel it for his country and her. Oh, I never loved him so well; his + mind rises with reverse. It is no small matter for a man whose + whole soul is intent on the good of his country to be stopt in his + high career--to be, apparently at least, rejected by that + country--but no, the people are still and will be more and more + with him, and his career will still be great and glorious.... And + to me he has never shone so brightly as now--so cheerful, so calm, + so hopeful for the great principles for which he falls--and yet, as + that moment showed, regretting the event so deeply. + +They went down to stay a few days with the Duke of Bedford, and she notes +in her diary: + + Continued to like Woburn better and better. Some people went and + others came, among the last, Lord Melbourne. Lord Melbourne did + not, I thought, appear to advantage; he showed little wish for + conversation with anybody, but seemed trying to banish the thoughts + of his reverse by talking nonsense with some of the ladies. + +The elections which followed the defeat of the Melbourne Ministry gave the +Tories a majority of over eighty seats. Peel was joined by Lord Ripon, Lord +Stanley, and others, who had supported Lord Grey during the Reform Bill. +The Whig Party were in a discomfited condition. They did not look back on +their past term of office with much satisfaction; they had been constantly +in a minority; and although such useful measures as Rowland Hill's Penny +Postage had been carried, nothing had been done to meet the most urgent +needs of the time. + +The Duke of Bedford had placed Endsleigh at Lord John's disposal, and next +month he travelled down with Lady John to Devonshire. Endsleigh is one of +the most beautiful places in Devonshire; it is near the little town of +Tavistock, where Drake was born. The house looks down from a height on the +lovely wooded slopes of the River Tamar. In letters to his brother Lord +John had said of Endsleigh, "It is the place I am most fond of in the +world." "I think no place so beautiful for walks and drives." He and Lady +John always retained the happiest memories of their life there. + + ENDSLEIGH, _October_ 22, 1841 + + Long delightful shooting walk with Lord John--delightful although + so many songs, poems, and sentiments of my greatest favourites + against shooting were running in my head to strengthen the horror + that I and all women must have of it. + + "Inhuman man--curse on thy barbarous art." + + Inhuman woman to countenance his barbarity! + + + ENDSLEIGH, _October_ 26, 1841 + + Such a day! White frost in the morning, sparkling in the brightest + sun, which shone all day. The trees looking redder and yellower + from the deep blue sky beyond--the different distances of the hills + so marked--the river shining like silver. Oh, what a day! We were + prepared for it by the beauty of last night--such that I could + scarcely bring myself to shut my window and go to bed. A snow-white + mist over all except the garden below my eyes and the tops of the + hills beyond, and a bright moon "tipping with silver every mountain + head." + + + ENDSLEIGH, _November_ 11, 1841 + + With Lord John to hear an examination of the School at Milton + Abbot. He gave prizes and made a little speech in praise of master + and boys, which made him and, I think, me more nervous than any of + the speeches I have heard from him in the House of Commons. I do + not know why it should have been affecting, but it was so.... Walk + with him in the dusk--his kindness, his tenderness are the joy of + my life. + +Her marriage had brought her greater happiness than she had thought +possible. Writing to her mother from Endsleigh on November 15th, she says: + + How little I thought on my last birthday how it would be before my + next. I looked in my journal to see about it and found it full of + _him_; but not exactly as I should write now--reproaching + myself for not returning the affection of one whose character I + admired and liked so much. I should have been rightly punished by + his thinking no more about me; but then, to be sure, I should not + have known what my loss was. He said a few days ago that he hoped + it would be a happy birthday--said it as humbly as he always speaks + of his powers of making me so--yet he must know that a brighter + could not have dawned upon me, and that he is the cause.... + + + _Lord John Russell to Lady Minto_ + + ENDSLEIGH, _November_ 23, 1841 + + Fanny's own letters will have given you the best insight into her + feelings since we came here. It has been the most fortunate thing + for us all. Fanny herself, Addy, Georgy, Miss Lister, and indeed + all of us, have had means of fitting and _cementing_ here, + which no London or visiting life could have given us. I never can + be sufficiently grateful for such a blessing as Fanny is to me; and + I only feel the more grateful that she reconciles herself so well + to the loss of the home she loved so well. Nor is this by loving + you or any one she has left at all the less--far from it, every day + proves her devotion to you and her anxiety for your happiness. + +They could not take a long holiday, although Lord John was now in +Opposition. Early in February the great Anti-Corn Law League bazaar was +held at Manchester, and a few days later Peel carried his sliding scale: +20s. duty when corn was 57s., 12s. when the price was 60s., and 1s. when it +reached 73s. Lord John proposed an amendment in favour of a fixed duty of +8s. + + CHESHAM PLACE, [23] _February_ 14, 1842 + + Beginning of Corn Law debate. Went to hear Lord John. He + began--excellent speech--attacked the measure as founded on the + same bad principle as the present corn laws; showed the absurdity + of any corn laws to make us independent of foreign countries; the + cruelty of doing nothing to relieve the distress of the + manufacturing districts; the different results of a sliding scale + and a fixed duty; the advantages of free trade, even with all + countries, especially with the United States, etc., etc.; was much + cheered. Answered by Mr. Gladstone, beside whose wife I was + sitting. + +[23] Lord John had built a house, 37, Chesham Place, which was henceforward +their London home. + +Lord John's amendment was lost by 123 votes; Villiers' and Brougham's +amendments in favour of total repeal by over three hundred. This measure of +the sliding scale did not embody Peel's real conviction at the time; its +object was to discover how much the agricultural party would stand. +Gladstone himself was in favour of a more liberal reduction in the sliding +scale; and it appears from his journal that he very nearly resigned the +Presidency of the Board of Trade in consequence of Peel's measure. Peel +asked Gladstone to reply to Lord John Russell. "This I did," he says, "and +with all my heart, for I did not yet fully understand the vicious operation +of the sliding scale on the corn trade, and it is hard to see how an +eight-shilling duty could even then have been maintained." + +During the next ten months Lord and Lady John were less at the mercy of +politics than they were destined to be for many years to come. They were +constantly together, either at Chesham Place or at Endsleigh. Lord Minto +was living near them in London. + + _Lord Minto to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + LONDON, _March_ 1, 1843 + + MY DEAR MARY,--I think you will be glad to have my report of Fanny + since I have been established almost next door to her, and the more + so as it will be so favourable. For whatever misgivings I may have + had from difference of age, or the cares of a ready-made nursery of + children, have entirely gone off. I really never saw anybody more + thoroughly or naturally happy, or upon a footing of more perfect + ease and confidence and equality. I forget if you know Lord John + well behind the scenes, but there is a simplicity and gentleness + and purity in his character which is quite delightful, and it + chimes in very fortunately with Fanny's. She has drawn prizes, too, + in the children, who are really as nice a little tribe as can be + imagined, and I reckon myself a good judge of such small stock. + They are very comfortably housed, much better than I ever hope to + be in London, and Fanny seems to govern her establishment very + handily. I don't know that she has yet quite brought herself to + believe that there is anybody in the world so wicked as really to + intend to cheat, or to overcharge, or to neglect her work for their + own pleasure, but I suppose she will make this discovery in + time.... + + Adieu, dearest Mary, I have such a craving to see you again that I + hardly know how I shall keep myself within bounds on this side of + the Channel. + + Your affectionate, + + MINTO + + + _Lady Minto to Lord John Russell_ + + MINTO, _March_ 5, 1842 + + You can now be pretty well aware of what my delight will be to see + my dear Fanny again, and to know her tolerably well; but you have + not lived with her five-and-twenty years, and therefore memory has + no place in your affection for her, and you cannot even now + comprehend the blank she makes to me. But you can well comprehend + the extent of my pleasure in reading her letters, which breathe + happiness in every line, and in hearing from everybody of her good + looks and cheerfulness. My only fear for her is an anxiety, natural + considering the great change, that her cares and occupations may + weigh at times too heavily upon her, and that she will not wish you + to see she feels it. This is the only thing she would conceal from + you; but as I know the sort of feelings she formerly endeavoured to + conceal from me, it is but too probable she has the same fault + still, and nothing but trying to extract her feelings from her will + cure her, or at least mitigate the evil. + +The next great event in their lives was the birth of their first-born son, +John, afterwards Lord Amberley. + + On the 10th of December, 1842, our dear little baby boy was born. + He has been thriving ever since to our heart's content. It has been + a happy, happy time to me, and to us all. And now I am a mother. + Oh, Heavenly Father, enable me to be one indeed and to feel that an + immortal soul is entrusted to my care. + +On the 10th of December, a year later, she expressed the same thought in +the following lines: + + Rough winter blew thy welcome; cold on thee + Looked the cold earth, my snowdrop frail and fair. + Again that day; but wintry though it be, + Come to thy Mother's heart: no frost is there. + What sparkles in thy dark and guileless eye? + Life's joyous dawn alone undimmed by care! + Thou gift of God, canst thou then wholly die? + Oh no, a soul immortal flashes there; + And for that soul now spotless as thy cheek-- + That infant form the Almighty's hand has sealed-- + Oh, there are thoughts a mother ne'er can speak; + In midnight's silent prayer alone revealed. + +After Lady John had recovered, they went down to Woburn, and later to stay +with Lord Clarendon at The Grove. At both houses large parties were +assembled, and Greville notes in his diary that Lord John was in excellent +spirits. "Buller goes on as if the only purpose in life was to laugh and +make others laugh," and he adds, "John Russell is always agreeable, both +from what he contributes himself and his hearty enjoyment of the +contributions of others." + +One of the principal events which had interested Lady John in the past year +had been the secession from the Scottish Church and the establishment of +the. Free Church of Scotland. Her feelings about it are expressed in this +letter to her sister, Lady Mary Abercromby: + + ENDSLEIGH, _September_ 11, 1842 The divisions in the Kirk + distress me so much that I never read anything about them now. It + is disagreeable to find people with whom one cannot agree making + use of the most sacred expressions on every occasion where their + own power or interests can be helped by them. You used not to be + much of a Kirk woman; but surely you would regret seeing many of + her children come over to the English. I have just been reading the + Thirty-nine Articles for the first time in my life, and am + therefore particularly disposed to prefer all that is simple in + matters of religion. They _may_ be true; but whether they are + so or not, is what neither I, nor those who wrote them, nor the + wisest man that lives, can judge; that they are presumptuous in the + extreme, all who read may see. In short, I hate theology as the + greatest enemy of true religion, and may therefore leave the + subject to my betters.... I need hardly tell you that we are + leading a happy life, since we are at Endsleigh and _alone_. + Did I ever tell you that we are becoming great botanists? I have + some hopes of equalling you before we meet, as I feel new light + breaks upon me every day, and every night too, for I try so hard to + repress my ardour during the day for fear of being tiresome to + everybody, that my dreams are of nothing else. John, of course, is + very little advanced as yet, but he finds it so interesting, to his + surprise, that I hope even Parliament will not quite drive it out + of his head. + +Early in February she was back again in London, where social and political +distractions, together with the care of a young family of stepchildren, +were soon to prove too much for her strength. + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + _February_ 7, 1843 + + ... How you must envy me and how I am to be envied for having my + own people within reach. I am hourly thankful for it.... Yet for + one thing I envy you--great lady as you are, you lead a quiet life; + how far from quiet mine is and always must be, and how intensely I + long that it could be more so, how completely worn out both mind + and body often feel at the end of a common day, none can imagine + but those who have become in one moment mother of six children, + wife of the Leader of the House of Commons, and mistress of a house + in London. You will suppose that I wish husband and children at the + world's end, and you will call me a sinful, discontented creature; + you will do anything but pity me, since my only complaint is that I + have not as much leisure as so much happiness requires to be + enjoyed. Well, say and think what you please; I must let you into + my secret follies, in the hope of curing myself in so doing. + London, hateful London, alone is at fault. Anywhere else my duties + and occupations would be light, and my _pleasures_ would be so + not in name only.... How _could_ I beg Mama, as I used to do, + to have more parties and dinners and balls! I cannot now conceive + the state of mind which made me actually wish for such things. Now + I have them in my power without number, and I detest them all. The + world has passed its judgment on me. I am reckoned cold, dull, and + unworthy of such a husband; and it is quite right, for I never + appear anything else. In short, I doubt my capacity for everything + except making husband and children happy--_that_ I have not + yet begun to doubt. When I do, I will instantly bid them all adieu + and "find out some peaceful hermitage." ... Darling Baby was + brought in to be seen in his christening dress, the gift of Mama, + and such a little love you never saw.... Papa is the best of + Grandpapas, as you may imagine from his love of babies, and I + delight in seeing him nurse it and speak to it.... + + Do not think this quite a mad letter. I wrote as the spirit, good + or evil, prompted me. I must do so or not write at all.... + + Ever, my dearest Mary, your most affectionate sister. + +Lady Minto was evidently afraid that her daughter was shutting herself up +too entirely with her family, and not amusing herself as much as was good +for her. + + "My dearest Mama," she answers (on July 5, 1843)--... I hope to + make you laugh at yourself for your fears about me, and to convince + you that the seclusion of Belgravia, though great, is not quite + like that of Kamschatka; that John's pleasure is not my pleasure, + that the welfare of the children is not my happiness, and that far + from constantly devoting my time to them, one whole afternoon this + week was devoted to the world and the fine arts in Westminster + Hall. I will name to you a few of the friends I met there, by all + of whom I was recognized, in spite of my long banishment, my + wrinkles, and my grey hair.... [Thirty names follow.] + + The evening before I had been _without_ John to a tea at Mr. + W. Russell's. To-night we are to dine with the Duke and Duchess of + Buccleuch; to-morrow to breakfast with the Duchess Dowager of + Bedford; on Thursday go to the Drawing-room and give our banquet; + and so on to the end of the session and season. Seriously, dear + Mama, if I had more of the pleasures of my age, I should dislike + them very much; those of a more tender age suit me better; and if + you do not think it unbecoming, I will have a swing and a + rocking-horse in our own garden. You ought rather to scold Papa for + shutting himself up; he has seen hardly anybody but ourselves, + which has been very agreeable for us--so agreeable that I do not at + all like his going away, tho' of course I do not try to keep him + longer when he so much wishes to go, and you so much wish to have + him.... + + You think I did not know what I was undertaking when we married, + and you are right. The hope, humble as it was, of lightening the + duties and cheering the life of one--the wish, God knows how + sincere, of being a mother to those who had none, outweighed all + other considerations. But if I did not know and have sometimes been + overpowered by the greatness of my duties, if I have sighed for the + repose and leisure with which marriage generally begins, neither + did I know the greatness of my rewards--so far beyond what I + deserve. The constant sympathy, encouragement, and approbation of + John can make everything easy to me; and these I trust I shall + always have; these will keep me young and merry, so do not distress + yourself about me, my own dear Mama, and believe me ever your most + affectionate child, + + FANNY RUSSELL + +The year 1843 was one of increasing difficulty for the Tories. Peel's +followers began to suspect more and more strongly that he was not sound on +the question of the corn taxes; outside Parliament, Cobden and Bright were +battering Protection at their great monthly meetings in Covent Garden +Theatre. The troubles in Ireland were growing acute, and the arrest of +O'Connell and the Repeal leaders made matters worse. The Government had +been forced to abandon their Bill for the education of factory children +through the bitter opposition of Dissenters and Radicals, who thought the +Bill increased the already too great influence of the Church. At the +beginning of the year the Government had been strong enough to throw out +Lord Howick's motion for a committee of inquiry into the causes of +distress, which would have entailed a division upon the Corn Laws; but the +strength of the Ministry was now seriously diminished. Parliament was +prorogued late in August; on the 5th Lord John left London, hoping that he +had done with politics till next year. The whole family moved down to +Endsleigh, where, soon afterwards, his eldest stepdaughter fell ill of a +fever. + +Lady John caught the infection. She had been living up to the limit of her +energies, and her case proved a grave one. They moved to Minto in October, +and never again used Endsleigh as their country house. By the beginning of +1844 she was sufficiently recovered to attend the House of Commons and to +hear her husband speak upon the Irish question. In this speech he declared +himself in favour of putting Catholics, Anglicans, and Dissenters on an +equality; not by disestablishing the English Church in Ireland, but by +endowing the Catholics. He summed up the political situation by saying: "In +England the government, as it should be, is a government of opinion; the +government of Ireland is notoriously a government by force." + + _February_ 15, 1844 + + O'Connell arrived from Dublin--much cheered by the crowd outside + and by the Irish and Radical members inside the House. John shook + hands with him. O'Connell said: "I thank you for your admirable + speech. It makes up to us for much that we have gone through." + +Lady John's next Diary was lost, and the first entry in her new Diary was +written after serious illness. + + LONDON, _February_ 2, 1845 + + I have found in illness even more than in health how much better I + am loved than I deserve to be. To say nothing of the unwearied care + and cheerful watching of my dearest John, the children have given + me such proofs of affection as gladdened many an hour of pain or + weariness. One day, while I was ill in bed, and Georgy by me, I + told her how kind it was of God to send illness upon us at times, + as warnings to repent of past faults and prepare for death. Upon + which she said: "But, Mama, _you_ can't have done anything to + be sorry for." No self-examination, no sermon, could have made me + feel more humble than these words of a little child. + +During the early part of the year, while Lord John was supporting in the +House of Commons the endowment of the Maynooth College for priests and the +establishment of colleges in other important Irish towns, Lady John was +living at Unsted Wood, near Godalming, a house they had taken for the year. + +Their constant separation was painful to both, and as soon as Parliament +rose they decided to go to Minto. There the state of her health became so +alarming that, to be within reach of medical advice, they moved to +Edinburgh. + +The distress of the poorer classes throughout the country during this +autumn was terrible. It was to meet this distress, unparalleled since the +Middle Ages, that Lord John wrote from Edinburgh his famous Free Trade +letter to his London constituents, urging them to clamour for the only +remedy, "to unite to put an end to a system which has proved to be the +blight of commerce, the bane of agriculture, the source of bitter divisions +among classes, the cause of penury, fever, mortality, and crime among the +people." + +Shortly afterwards he was called to London by the sudden death of his old +friend Lady Holland, and he had hardly returned when the news of Peel's +resignation reached him. Peel, thoroughly alarmed, had called a Cabinet +Council to consider the repeal of the Corn Laws. Lord Stanley, afterwards +Lord Derby, had strongly dissented, and carried several Ministers with him, +thus compelling Peel to resign. + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + EDINBURGH, _December_ 2, 1845 + + I wonder what Ralph and William will say to John's letter to his + electors. It is what I have long wished, and I am delighted that + the chief barrier between him and the Radical part of the Whig + party should be knocked down by it. In short, _patriotically_ + I am quite pleased, but _privately_ far from it; I dread its + being a stepping-stone to office, which, not to mention myself, + would kill him very soon. He has already quite as much work as his + health can stand, so what would it be with office in + _addition?_ However, I do not torment myself with a future + which may never come, or which, if it does, I may never see. I + forget whether I have written since poor Lady Holland's death, + which John felt very much. It is sad that her death should have + startled one as only that of a young person generally does; but, + old as she was, she never appeared so, and she belonged as much to + society as she ever did. Poor woman, it is a comfort that she died + so calmly, whatever it was that enabled her to do so. + +Lord John had hardly returned to Edinburgh when the event which she had +been trying to think remote and unlikely was upon them. + + EDINBURGH, _December_ 8, 1845 + + Evening of utter consternation. A message from the Queen requiring + John's attendance at Osborne House immediately.... John set out at + ten this morning (December 9th) on his dreary and anxious journey, + leaving a dreary and anxious wife behind him. Baby not well towards + evening. Sent for Dr. Davidson. Oh, Heavenly Father, preserve to me + my earthly treasures, and whatever be my lot in life, they will + make it a happy one. Forgive me for such a prayer. The hope of + happiness is too strong within me. + + + _Lord John to Lady John Russell_ + + LONDON, _December_ 10, 1845 + + It is very sad, this moment, when many will think me at the height + of my ambition. But when I think of you and your many trials, and + the children with their ailments to disturb you, when I cannot + share your anxieties--it is all very sad. I doubt, too, of the will + of the country to go through with it--and then I shall have done + mischief by calling upon them. I saw Mr. Bright at one of the + stations. He spoke much of the enthusiasm. God save and preserve us + all. + + + _Lord John to Lady John Russell_ + + OSBORNE HOUSE, _December_ 11th, 1845 + + Well, I am here--and have seen Her Majesty. It is proposed to me to + form a Government, and nothing can be more gracious than the manner + in which this has been done. Likewise Sir Robert Peel has placed + his views on paper, and they are such as very much to facilitate my + task. Can I do so wild a thing? For this purpose, and to know + whether it is wild or not, I must consult my friends.... There end + politics--I hope you have not suffered from anxiety and the + desolation of our domestic prospects.... I stay here to-night, and + summon my friends in London to-morrow--Ever, ever affly., with love + to all, + + J.R. + + + _Lady John to Lord John Russell_ + + EDINBURGH, _December_ 13, 1845 + + I have just read your note which I so anxiously expected from + Osborne House. No, my dearest, it is not a wild thing. It is a + great duty which you will nobly perform; and, with all my + regrets--with the conviction that private happiness to the degree + we have enjoyed is at an end if you are Prime Minister--still I + sincerely hope that no timid friend will dissuade you from at least + trying what you have yourself called upon the country to help you + in. If I liked it better, I should feel less certain it was a duty. + If you had not written that letter you might perhaps have made an + honourable escape; but now I see none. + +She wrote again on the 14th: + + I am as eager and anxious lying here on my sofa--a broken-down, + useless bit of rubbish--as if I were well and strong and in the + midst of the turmoil. And I am proud to find that even the prospect + of what you too truly call the "desolation of our domestic + prospects," though the words go to my very heart of hearts, cannot + shake my wish that you should make the attempt. My mind is made + up.... My ambition is that you should be the head of the most moral + and religious government the country has ever had. + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + EDINBURGH, _December_ 14, 1845 + + DEAREST MARY,--All you say of your dreams for me in days gone by is + like yourself. You were always thinking more of my happiness than + your own. What a strange world it is, where the happiest and + saddest events are so often linked together--for instance, the + marriage and absence of those one would wish to have always by one. + I certainly never wish either of our marriages _undone;_ but + "Seas between us braid hae roared sin auld Lang-syne" more than + either of us could have borne to look forward to. If ever I did + wish myself freed from my husband, it has been for the last five + days, since the highest honour in the land has been within his + reach. Oh dear! how unworthy I am of what to many wives would be a + source of constant pride, not only for their husband's sake, but + their own; whereas, proud as I _am_ of so public a mark of his + country's good opinion, and convinced as I am that he ought not to + shrink from the post, still to myself it is all loss, all + sacrifice--every favourite plan upset--London, London, London, and + London in its worst shape--a constant struggle between husband and + children, constant anxiety about his health and theirs, added to + that about public affairs. But I will not begin to count up the + countless miseries of office to those who have, I will not say a + love, but a passion for quiet, leisure, and the country. + + As I said before, I am so convinced that he ought to make the + trial, unless the difficulties are much greater than I have wisdom + to see, that I should be positively disappointed if I found he had + given it up. + + Besides, I see many bright sides to it all. You will think I have + lost all my old patriotism, but it is not so; and the prospect of + seeing my husband repeal the Corn Laws, and pacify and settle + Ireland, is one that repays me for much private regret. You see, if + he does undertake to govern, I expect him to do it successfully, + and this in spite of many a wise friend. He went off looking so + miserable himself that I long to hear from somebody else how he + looks now. You cannot think what a thunderbolt it was to us both. + We were reading aloud, about an hour before bedtime, when the + messenger was announced--and he brought the Queen's fatal letter. + Oh! how difficult I found it not to call the man every sort of + name! The next morning John was off, and though he flattered + himself he would be able to come back to me in any case, _I_ + flatter myself no such thing. + + Poor baby made his resolution falter that morning--he would not + leave him for a moment, clinging round his neck and laying his + little cheek on his, coaxing him in every possible way. He does not + conceal either from himself or me how entire the sacrifice must be + of private happiness to public duty, of which this parting was the + first sample; and he writes of the desolation of domestic prospects + in so sad a way that I am obliged to write like a Spartan to him. + +What her feelings were at this time the above letter shows. What was +happening in London may be gathered from Lord John's letters and the +following letter from Macaulay to his sister: [24] + + "... Lord John has not consented to form a Ministry. He has only + told the Queen that he would consult his friends, and see what + could be done. We are all most unwilling to take office, and so is + he. I have never seen his natural audacity of spirit so much + tempered by discretion, and by a sense of responsibility, as on + this occasion. The question of the Corn Laws throws all other + questions into the shade. Yet, even if that question were out of + the way, there would be matters enough to perplex us. Ireland, we + fear, is on the brink of something like a civil war--the effect, + not of Repeal agitation, but of severe distress endured by the + peasantry. Foreign Politics look dark. An augmentation of the Army + will be necessary. Pretty legacies to leave to a Ministry which + will be in a minority in both Houses. I have no doubt that there is + not a single man among us who would not at once refuse to enlist, + if he could do so with a clear conscience. Nevertheless, our + opinion is that, if we have reasonable hope of being able to settle + the all-important question of the Corn Laws in a satisfactory way, + we ought, at whatever sacrifice of quiet and comfort, to take + office, though only for a few weeks. But can we entertain such a + hope? This is the point; and till we are satisfied about it we + cannot positively accept or refuse. A few days must pass before we + are able to decide. + + "It is clear that we cannot win the battle with our own unassisted + strength. If we win it at all, it must be by the help of Peel, + Graham, and their friends. Peel has not seen Lord John; but he left + with the Queen a memorandum, containing a promise to support a Corn + Bill founded on the principles of Lord John's famous letter to the + electors of London." + +[24] Trevelyan's "Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay." + + + _Lord John to Lady John Russell_ + + CHESHAM PLACE, _December_ 14, 1845 + + Well, my friends agreed with me that, unless I could have a very + good prospect of carrying a grand measure about corn, I had better + decline the Queen's Commission. So we are to have all the old + Cabinet men here on Tuesday, and try to ascertain whether we are + agreed on a measure, and whether Sir Robert Peel would support such + a measure as we should propose. On Wednesday evening, or Thursday, + I hope the matter will be cleared up, and if you ask me what I + think, I should say it is most probable that we shall be made into + a Ministry. How very strange and incomprehensible it seems; and + much as I have had to do with public affairs, I feel now as if I + knew nothing about them, and was quite incompetent to so great an + office--to rule over such vast concerns, with such parties. With so + many great things and so many little things to decide it is quite + appalling. + + Many of our friends say I ought to decline; but I feel that to do + so would be mean and dastardly while I have a prospect of such + great good before me--possible if not probable, but I think even + probable. It would seem that most of the Cabinet thought I should + have a better chance of preventing bitter attacks than Peel would. + This may be so, or not. + + + _Lord John to Lady John Russell_ + + CHESHAM PLACE, _December_ 17, 1845 + + I want a security that I shall be able to carry a total repeal of + the Corn Laws without delay, and that security must consist in an + assurance of Sir Robert Peel's support. Unless I get this, I give + up the task. + + + _Lady John to Lord John Russell_ + + MINTO, _Sunday, December_ 21, 1845 + + It is difficult to write while our suspense lasts.... It does not + seem unlikely that Lord Grey [25] will have yielded, and all be + smooth, or _smoother,_ again. Papa tells me not to wish it + even on public grounds. On private ones I certainly do not; but I + should be ashamed if at such a time my anxieties were not chiefly + for you as a _statesman,_ not as my husband, and for my + country more than for myself. If it turns out that the interests of + the statesman and the country and the wife agree, why then let us + be thankful; if not, why then let us be thankful still that we can + make some sacrifice to duty. You see that my "courage mounteth with + occasion"; and though I have low and gloomy fits when I think of my + ill-health and its probable consequences, I am sure that, on the + whole, I shall not disgrace you. Oh, what a week of toil and + trouble you have had, and how gladly I would have shared them with + you to more purpose than I can do at this _terrible_ + distance.... It is so pleasant to write to you. When I have + finished my letter I always grow sad, as if I was really saying + good-bye to you. How have you been sleeping? and eating? and have + you walked every day? ... Good-bye, Heaven bless you, my dearest + love. I trust that this has been a day of rest to you, and that God + hears and accepts our prayers for one another. + +[25] Third Earl Grey, son of the Prime Minister. + +Lord John wrote daily to his wife, and the following three letters to her +show what he felt during this anxious time: + + CHESHAM PLACE, _December_ 19, 1845 + + It is all at an end. Howick [Lord Grey] would not serve with Lord + Palmerston as Foreign Secretary, and it was impossible for me to go + on unless I had both. I am very happy ... at the result. I think + that for the present it will tend much to our happiness; and power + may come, some day or other, in a less odious shape. + + + CHESHAM PLACE, _December_ 20, 1845 + + I write to you with a great sense of relief on public affairs. Lord + Grey's objection to sitting in a Cabinet in which Palmerston was to + have the Foreign Office was invincible. I could not make a Cabinet + without Lord Grey, and I have therefore been to Windsor this + morning to resign my hard task. The Queen, as usual, was very + gracious.... I have left a paper with her in which I state that we + were prepared to advise free trade in corn without gradation and + without delay; but that I could support Sir Robert Peel in any + measure which he should think more practicable. + + + CHESHAM PLACE, _December_ 21, 1845 + + The desponding tone of your letter, yesterday, although I do not + believe it was otherwise than the effect of weakness, makes me + rejoice at my escape a thousand times more than I should otherwise + have done. I reflect on the misery I should have felt with every + moment of my time occupied here in details of appointments, while + my thoughts were with you.... The Queen and the Prince have behaved + beautifully throughout. + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + MINTO, _December_ 24, 1845 + + You will not be surprised that a great deal of the time which I + meant to devote to you this morning has run away in talk to my + husband. You will see by the _Times_ what the _cause_ of + the failure is: Lord Grey's refusal to belong to the Ministry if + Lord Palmerston was at the Foreign Office--a most unfortunate + cause, we must all agree, but in the opinion of Papa and many other + wise people, a most fortunate occurrence on the whole, as they + considered it next to impossible that such a Ministry as John could + have formed would have been strong enough to be of use to the + country. + + My husband, who is no coward, sees it differently, and thinks that + with a united Cabinet he _might_ have gone on successfully and + carried not only Corn Law Repeal, but other great questions; though + the probability was that they would only have carried that and then + gone out. But even that would have been something worth doing, and + better and more naturally done by Whigs than Tories. One good thing + is that John has returned in excellent spirits. _All_ his + personal wishes and feelings were so against taking office at + present, and the foretaste he had of it in this lonely and most + harassing fortnight was so odious to him that his only feeling at + first when he gave it all up was pure delight; and he slept, which + he had not been able to do before. It certainly was a terrible + prospect to us both--one immovable in Edinburgh, the other equally + immovable in London--and it required all my patriotism to wish the + thing to go on. + +If it had gone on, the name of Lord John Russell would be now more often on +men's lips. Peel's popular fame rests upon the abolition of the Corn Laws, +Lord John's upon the first Reform Bill. It was but an accident--Lord Grey's +objection to Palmerston at the Foreign Office--which prevented the name of +Lord John Russell from being linked with those of Cobden and Bright, and +imperishably associated with both the great measures of the nineteenth +century. + + + +CHAPTER V + +1846 + + +After Lord John's failure to form a Ministry, Peel returned to power; +Gladstone replaced Stanley at the War and Colonial Office, and Stanley +became the acknowledged leader of the protectionist Opposition. Having Lord +John's assurance that the Whigs would support anti-Corn Law legislation, +Peel set about preparing his famous measure. But before it could be +discussed in Parliament, the usual explanations with regard to resignation +and resumption of office had to be gone through. In his speech on this +occasion, Lord John tried to shield Lord Grey as far as possible from the +unpopularity which he had incurred by refusing to work with Palmerston in +the same Cabinet. Feeling on both sides of the House was against Lord Grey; +for both Free Traders and Protectionists thought that Repeal ought to have +come from the Whigs, and that it was Lord Grey who had made this +impossible. + +Lady John remained in Edinburgh, too ill to move. While her husband was +helping Peel at Westminster, the following letters passed between them: + + _Lord John to Lady John Russell_ + + LONDON, _January 23,_ 1846 + + I did not write to you last night, as I thought I could give you a + clearer account to-day. Sir Robert Peel gave up Protection + altogether on the ground that he had changed his opinion.... I dine + with the Fox Club [to-day?] and at Lansdowne House to-morrow. I + have rather startled Lord Lansdowne this morning by some of my + views about Ireland. + + + _Lady John to Lord John Russell_ + + EDINBURGH, _January_ 25, 1846 + + I never doubted that you were as noble by nature as by name; and I + am now more happily convinced of it than ever. Your whole speech + was plain and excellent, but the part that I dwell upon with the + greatest pleasure is that about Lord Grey.... I generally think + your speeches a curious contrast to Sir Robert's, and it does not + fail on this occasion. His humble confession of former errors, his + appeal to our sympathies, and his heroic tone at the close, all got + rather the better of my reason while I read; but the more I think + over his conduct, the less becomes the effect of his words. Yours, + on the contrary, as usual, only gain in force the more they are + reflected on, simply because they are true. And now, having + congratulated you quite as much as is good for your vanity, I must + praise myself a little for the way in which I have hitherto borne + your absence. What with its present pain, the uncertainty as to + when it may end, and my varying and wearying state of health, I + have many a time been inclined to lie and cry; and if ever I + allowed myself to dwell in thought on the happy days which sad + memory brings to light, I _should_ lie and cry; those days + when neither night nor day could take me from your side, and when + it was as difficult to look forward to sickness or sorrow as it now + is to believe that health and happiness--such happiness as + that--are in store for us. But I do _not_ dwell upon past + enjoyments, but upon present blessings, and I _do_ lie and + talk and read and write and think cheerfully and gratefully. + + Dearest, I know you cannot see much of the children, but when you + do, pray be both Papa and Mama to them. Do not let their little + minds grow reserved towards you, or your _great_ mind towards + them. Help them to apply what they hear you read from the Bible to + their own little daily pleasures and cares, and you will find how + delightfully they take it all in. + + God bless you, my dearest. Pray go out every day, and take Isabel + and Bessy or one of the small ones with you sometimes to enliven + you. + + + _Lady John to Lord John Russell_ + + EDINBURGH, _January_ 26, 1846 + + Your mention of the dreams which you had had of happiness for + Ireland made me sad, and you know how I shared in those dreams.... + I like the way in which politics are talked here, it is far enough + from the scene of action for them to lose much of their + personality, and for all the little views to be lost in the + greater--and yet the interest is as great as in London. + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + EDINBURGH, _January 28_, 1846 + + Well, I wonder what you will say to the debate or rather the + explanations in Parliament. Are not John's and Sir Robert's + speeches a curious contrast? and is not John a generous man? and is + not Sir Robert a puzzling one? and was there ever such a strange + state of parties? What an unhappy being a real Tory must be, at + least in England, battling so vainly against time and tide, and + doomed to see the idols of his worship crumbled to dust one after + another. In _your_ benighted country [Italy] their end is + further off; but still it must come. I am reading a book on Russia + that makes my blood boil at every page. It is called "Eastern + Europe and the Emperor Nicholas," and I am positively ashamed of + the reception we gave that wholesale murderer in our free country. + + + _Lord John to Lady John Russell_ + + CHESHAM PLACE, _February_ 1, 1846 + + The Ministry will carry their Corn Measure, but will hardly last a + month after it. What next? I think the next Government will be + Whig, as the Protection party have no corps of officers in the + House of Commons. So that their only way of avenging themselves + upon Peel is to bring in a Liberal Ministry. + + + _Lady John to Lord John Russell_ + + MINTO, _February_ 7, 1846 + + I am glad you have a satisfactory letter from the doctor. A + volunteered letter from him, as this was, must be a good sign.... I + shall all my life regret not having been with you at this most + interesting period in our political history; for the longest + letters can but barely make up for the loss of the hourly chats + upon each event with all its variations which are only known in + London. Then, I think how sad it is for you to have nobody to care, + as I should care, whether you had spoken well or ill. But all this + and much more we must bear as cheerfully as we can; and I am glad + to think that though _one wife_ is far from you, your other + wife, the House of Commons, leaves you little time to spend in + pining for her. I think you quite right in your intention of voting + for Sir Robert's measure as it is, in preference to any amendment + which would not be carried, and might delay the settlement of the + question. Not, as you well know, because I am not heart and soul a + Free Trader, but because I think it a more patriotic, as well as a + more consistent, course for you to take. Then if you come into + office, as seems probable, you may make what improvements you like, + and especially put an end to the miserable trifling about + slave-grown sugar; a question in which I take a sentimental + interest, as your first gift to me was your great sugar speech in + 1841. + + + _Lord John to Lady John Russell_ + + HOUSE OF COMMONS, _February_ 9, 1846 + + Here I am in the House of Commons, on the important night of Corn, + having just introduced Morpeth as a new Member. It all makes me + very nervous--I mean to speak to-night, and I must take care not to + join in the bitterness of the Tories, and at the same time to avoid + the praise of the Ministry, which I see is the fashion. ... I am + glad you all take such interest in the present struggle--it would + be difficult not to do so. Our majority will, I hope, be eighty. As + matters stand at present no one feels sure of the Lords. + + + _Lord John to Lady John Russell_ + + CHESHAM PLACE, _February_ 16, 1846 + + The events of the last few days have been remarkable. There has + been no move, no agitation in the counties; but wherever a contest + is announced the Protection party carry it hollow.... In London the + Protectionists have created in a fortnight a very strong and + compact party, from 220 to 240, in the Commons, and no one knows + how many in the Lords--thus we are threatened with a revival of the + real old Tory party. Of course they are very civil to us, and they + all say that we ought to have settled this question and not Sir + Robert. But how things may turn out no one can say. + + + _Lord John to Lady John Russell_ + + CHESHAM PLACE, _February_ 21, 1846 + + I trust the feelings you have, and the enjoyment you seem to take + in the flowers and buds of the garden, show that you have before + you the opening Paradise of good health. + + Baby's letter is very merry indeed. I long to see his little face + and curly locks again. + + I am going to have a meeting at twelve and of twelve on the affairs + of Ireland. It is a thorny point, and vexes me more than the Corn + Laws. Lord Bessborough and Lansdowne are too much inclined to + coercion, and I fear we shall not agree. But on the other hand, if + we show ourselves for strong measures without lenitives, I fear we + shall entirely lose the confidence of Ireland. + + + _February_ 22, 1846 + + We are much occupied with the affairs of Ireland--I am engaged in + persuading Lansdowne to speak out upon the affairs of that unhappy + country, where a Bill called an Insurrection Act seems the ordinary + medicine. + + + _Lady John to Lord John Russell_ + + Minto, _February_ 23, 1846 + + You were quite right to send the children out in spite of the + remains of their coughs, but how hard it is for you to have all + those domestic responsibilities added to your numerous public ones. + It is more than your share, while I linger away my hours on the + sofa, without so much as a dinner to order for anybody. Your + Coercive measures for Ireland frighten me. I do not trust any + Englishman on the subject except yourself, and you cannot keep to + your own opinion in favour of leniency and act upon it. I often + think how unfortunate it is that there should be that little + channel of sea between England and Ireland. It prevents each + country from considering itself a part of the other, and a bridge + across it would make it much more difficult for Orange or Repeal + bitterness to be kept up. I send you Lord William's [26] letter. + But first I must tell you that in a former letter from him he + compared you to Antony throwing away the world for Cleopatra.... I + read one of Lord Campbell's Lives aloud yesterday evening--Sir + Christopher Hatton--a short and entertaining one; but from which it + would appear that a man can make a respectable Lord Chancellor + without having seriously studied anything except dancing.... + +[26] Lord John Russell's brother. + + + _Lord William Russell to Lady John Russell_ + + Genoa, _February_ 12, 1846 + + My dear Sister--I thank you much for your letter of the 4th from + Minto, but regret to find my letters make you not only angry, but + very angry. If I was within reach I should have my ears well + cuffed, but at this distance I am bold.... You will not have to get + into a towering passion in defending your husband from my + accusation of loving you too much and dashing the world aside and + bid it pass, that he might enjoy a quiet life with his Fanny. I + begin by obeying you and asking pardon and saying you did quite + right not to think me in earnest, and to "know that I often write + what I do not mean," a fault unknown to myself, and one to be + corrected, for it is a great fault, if not worse. The letter just + received pleases me much, for I find in it a high tone of moral + rectitude, a noble feeling of devotion to your husband's calling, + an unselfish determination to fulfil your destiny, an abnegation of + domestic comfort, a latent feeling of ambition tempered with + resignation, such as becomes a woman, that do you the highest + honour.... I think the crisis we are going through in England very + alarming ... a frightful system of political immorality is + stalking through the land--the Democracy is triumphant, the + Aristocracy is making a noble and last effort to hold its own, + unfortunately in so bad, so unjust, so selfish, so stupid a cause, + that it must fall covered with shame.... The hero of the day, + Cobden, is a great man in his way, the type of an honest + manufacturer, but for the moment all-powerful. I am domiciled with + your brother and sister, [27] under the same roof, dine daily at + their hospitable table, sit over the fire and cose and prose with + them, sometimes alone with your sister, who thinks and talks very + like you, that is, not only well but very well. + + I am very affectionately yours, + + W.R. + + P.S.--You say it would be unworthy of John to _pine_ for + office. I think the difficulties of a Prime Minister so great and + the toil so irksome that the country ought to be full of gratitude + to any man that will undertake it. I am full of gratitude to Sir + Robert Peel for having sacrificed his ease and enjoyment for the + good of his country, and to enable us to sit in the shade under our + own fig-trees. Glory and gratitude to Peel. + +[27] Lady Mary Abercromby. + + + _Lord John to Lady John Russell_ + + CHESHAM PLACE, _February_ 15, 1846 + + I have been to St. Paul's to-day. Mr. Bennett enforced still + further obedience to the Church, and what was strange, he said + Papists and Dissenters were prevented by the prejudices of + education from seeing the truth--as if the same thing were not just + as true of his own Church. I do not see how it is possible to be + out of the Roman Catholic pale and not use one's own faculties on + the interpretation of the Bible. That tells us that our Saviour + said, he who knew that to love God with all our soul and to love + our neighbour as ourself were the two great commandments, was not + far from the kingdom of God. This surely can be known and even + followed without a priest at all. + + + _Lady John to Lord John Russell_ + + MINTO, _February_ 27, 1846 + + You seem to have had a very pleasant dinner at the Berrys, and I + wish I had been at it. I wonder sometimes whether the social + enjoyments of life are for ever at an end for me: and in my hopeful + moods I plan all sorts of pleasant little _teas_ at Chesham + Place--at home from nine to eleven on certain days, in an easy way, + without smart dressing and preparation of any sort beyond a few + candles and plenty of tea. I feel and always have felt ambitious to + establish some more popular and rational kind of society than is + usual in London. But the difficulty in our position would be to + limit the numbers: however, limiting the hours would help to do + this; and I do not think one need be very brilliant or agreeable + oneself to make such a thing succeed well. But what a foolish + presumptuous being I am, lying here on my sofa, not even able to + share in the quiet amusements of Minto, making schemes for the + entertainment of all the London world! However, these dreams and + others of a more serious nature as to my future life, if God should + restore me to health, help to while away my hours of separation + from you, and make me forget for awhile how long I have been + debarred from fulfilling my natural duties, either to you, the + children, or the world. This, believe me, is the hardest of the + many hard trials that belong to illness, or at least, such an + illness as mine, in which I have mercifully but little physical + suffering. + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + MINTO, _March_ 1, 1846 + + What pleasant times we live in, when the triumph of right + principles brings about one great and peaceful change after another + in our country; each one (this from Free Trade in a great degree) + promising an increase of happiness and diminution of war and + bloodshed to the whole world. No doubt, however, its good effects + will be but slowly perceived, and I fear there is much + disappointment in store for the millions of poor labourers, who + expect to have abundance of food and clothing the moment the Bill + becomes a law. Poor creatures, their state is most deplorable and + haunts me day and night. The very best of Poor Laws must be quite + insufficient. Indeed, wherever there is a necessity for a Poor Law + at all there must be something wrong, I think; for if each + proprietor, farmer and clergyman did his duty there would be no + misery, and if they do _not_, no Poor Law can prevent it. You + cannot think how I long for a few acres of _our own_, in order + to know and do what little I could for the poor round us. It would + not lessen one's deep pity for the many in all other parts of the + country, but one's own conscience would be relieved from what, + rightly or wrongly, I now feel as a weight upon it; and without a + permanent residence one does not become really acquainted with poor + people in their prosperity as well as adversity; one only does a + desultory unsatisfactory sort of good. I have not seen Dickens's + letter about the ragged schools of which you speak. What you say of + the devotion of the Roman Catholic priests to the charities of + religion reflects shame on ours of a purer faith, but is what I + have always supposed. The Puseyites are most like them in that as + well as in their mischievous doctrines; but then a new sect is + always zealous for good as well as for evil. + + + _Lord John to Lady John Russell_ + + CHESHAM PLACE, _March_ 3, 1846 + + I am so happy to find you have had a good night and are stronger in + feeling. If you had not told me how weak and ill you have been I + should have been beyond measure anxious; but, as it is, and with + your letters, I have been very unhappy and exceedingly + disappointed. For my hopes are often extravagant, and I love to + look forward to days of health and happiness and gratitude to God + for His blessings.... Need I say after all I have suffered on your + account that while I am conducting my campaign in Italy [28] my + thoughts are always with you? ... I cannot bear your absence. The + interest of a great crisis, and the best company of London cannot + make me tolerably patient under the misfortune of your being away; + and it is you, and you alone who could inspire me with such deep + love. + +[28] An allusion to Napoleon's letters to Josephine from Italy, which she +had been reading. + +Peel had taken the first step towards feeding the poor at home. He had also +done his best to relieve the immediate distress of Ireland. Shiploads of +Indian corn had been landed, and public works for the help of the destitute +established up and down the country. But the chief grievance of the Irish, +which was at the bottom of half the agrarian crime, had not been remedied. +The House of Lords, by having thrown out Peel's Bill for compensating +outgoing tenants for improvements their own money or exertions had created, +was largely responsible for the violence and sedition now threatening life +and property throughout Ireland. The true remedy having been rejected by +the Lords, the Government had to meet violence by violence. No sooner had +the Corn Bill been passed in the House of Commons than Peel brought in a +stringent Sedition Bill for Ireland. Lord John and the Whigs disliked the +Bill because it was extremely harsh. + + _Lady John to Lord John Russell_ + + EDINBURGH, _March_ 12, 1846 + + Nothing that I read in the speeches in favour of the Coercion Bill + convinced me that it would do the slightest good.... It must + embitter the Irish against England, for which there is no need. + Nothing can be more shocking than the continual outrages and + murders in Ireland; but it is the penalty we pay for a long course + of misgovernment, and from which nothing but a long course of mild + and good government can set us free; certainly not severe + indiscriminate measures which mark out Ireland still more as an + unhappy conquered province, instead of a part of the nation. Such + are my sentiments, dearest, on this subject, which always makes my + blood boil.... I read the "Giaour" two nights ago to Addy--it has + as great and as numerous beauties as any poem Byron ever wrote--but + I find I am not old enough, or wise enough, or good enough to + _bear_ Byron, and left off feeling miserable, as he always + contrives to make one; despair is what he excels in, and he makes + it such beautiful despair that all sense of right or wrong is + overwhelmed by it. I said to Addy that one always requires an + antidote after reading Byron, and that she and I ought instantly to + go and hem pocket-handkerchiefs, or make a pudding--and that is + what she has illustrated in the newspaper I send. + + + _Lord John to Lady John Russell_ + + HOUSE OF COMMONS, _March_, 1846 + + Your views about the Irish Coercion Bill are very natural; but + Bessborough, who is the best authority we have about Irish matters, + thinks it will tend to stop crime--and especially the crime of + murder. I should be loath to throw out a Bill which may have this + good effect; but I shall move a resolution which will pledge the + House to measures of remedy and conciliation. This may lead to a + great debate.... The little girls look very nice, but Toza [29] is, + if possible, thinner than ever. However, she laughs and dances like + a little fairy. I dined with Mrs. Drummond yesterday. Macaulay [30] + was there--entertaining, and not too much of a monopolist--I mean + of talk--which, like other monopolies, is very disagreeable. + +[29] Victoria. + +[30] Lord John had written to his wife in April, 1845: "Macaulay +made one of his splendid speeches again last night.... He is a +wonderful man, and must with the years before him be a great +leader." + + + _Lady John to Lord John Russell_ + + EDINBURGH, _March_ 19, 1846 + + After dinner we drove to Portobello sands and there got out and + walked for an hour; the sea was of the brightest blue, covered with + sails; Inchkeith and the opposite coast so clear that every + inequality of hill or rock was seen; Arthur's Seat, grand and + snowy, was behind us, and the glittering sands under our feet--the + whole beautiful far beyond description and beyond what I have yet + seen it in any weather; for the east wind and bright sun are what + it requires. How I did wish for you! I need not say that I only + half enjoyed it, as I only half enjoy anything without you. My + comfort in your absence is to think that you are not taken from me + for nothing, but for your country's service; and that even if we + could have foreseen four years ago all the various anxieties and + trials that awaited us, we should have married all the same. As it + was, we knew that ours could not be a life of quiet ease; and it + was for me to decide whether I was able to face the reverse--and I + _did_ decide, and I _am_ able-- + + "Io lo cercai, fui preso + Dall' alta indole sua, dal suo gran nome; + Pensai dapprima, oh pensai che incarco + E l'amor d'un uomo che a gli' altri e sopra! + Perchè allor correr, solo io nol lasciai + La sua splendida via, s' io non potea + Seguire i passi suoi?" + + Now I am sure you do not know where those lines are from. They are + a wee bit altered from Manzoni's "Carmagnola"; and they struck me + so much, when I read them to-day, as applicable to you and me, and + made me think of your "splendida via" and all its results. + + + _Lady John to Lord John Russell_ + + EDINBURGH, _March_ 23, 1846 + + Thanks for your precious letter of Saturday. You need not grieve at + having brought cares and anxieties ... upon me. You have given me + a love that repays them all; and such words as you write in that + letter strengthen me for all that our "splendida via" may entail + upon us, however contrary to my natural tastes or trying to my + natural feelings. What a delightful hope you give of your getting + away on the 2nd--but I am too wise to build upon it. + + + _Lady John to Lord John Russell_ + + EDINBURGH, _March_ 25, 1846 + + .... There is a calmness and fairness and _depth_ in + conversation here which one seldom meets with in London, where + people are too much taken up by the present to dwell upon the past, + or look forward to the future--and where consequently passion and + prejudice are mixed up with most that one hears. Dante, and Milton, + and Shakespeare, etc., have little chance amid the hubbub of the + great city--but with all its faults, the great city is the place in + the world I most wish to see again.... At poor Lady Holland's one + _did_ hear the sort of conversation I find here, and surely + you must miss not only her but her house very much. + + + _Lord John to Lady John Russell_ + + _April_ 3, 1846 + + At all events pray do not distress yourself with the reflexion that + you will not be a companion to me during my political trials. You + have been feeling strong, ... that strength will, I trust, return. + I see no reason why it should not--and there is no one in existence + who can think so well with my thoughts and feel so truly with my + feelings as yourself. So in sickness and in sorrow, so in joy and + prosperity, we must rely on each other and let no discouraging + apprehensions shake our courage. + +Meanwhile in Parliament the Irish Coercion Bill was dragging on. Lord +Bessborough and other Whig peers had changed their mind about its value, +and Lord John, instead of proposing an amendment, definitely opposed it. +The Protectionists, eager to revenge themselves upon Peel, who, they felt, +had betrayed them, caught at the opportunity and voted with the Whigs. The +Government was defeated by a large majority on the very day the Repeal of +the Corn Laws passed the House of Lords, and the Queen sent for Lord John, +who became Prime Minister in July, 1846. + +This time, beyond the usual troubles in the distribution of offices, he had +no difficulty in forming a Ministry; but when formed it was in an unusually +difficult position. They were in power only because the Protectionists had +chosen to send Peel about his business, and the Irish problem was growing +more and more acute. The potato crop of 1846 was even worse than that of +1845, and Peel's system of public works had proved an expensive failure, +more pauperising than almsgiving. The Irish population fell from eight +millions to five, and those who survived handed down an intensified hatred +of England, which lives in some of their descendants to this day. + +In the autumn of 1846 Lord John, little thinking that a home would soon be +offered to him by the Queen, bought a country place, Chorley Wood, near +Rickmansworth. + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + CHORLEY WOOD, RICKMANSWORTH, _December_ 12, 1846 + + About the 10th January we all go back to town for good, as John + must be there some time before the meeting of Parliament. Oh that + meeting of Parliament! It is so different from any I have ever + looked forward to; and though it has always been awful, this is so + much _more_ so. I shall then first really feel that John is + Minister, and find out the _pains_ of the position, having as + yet little experience of anything but the pleasures of it. Then + will come the daily toil beyond his strength, the daily abuse to + reward him, and the daily trial to us both of hardly meeting for a + quarter of an hour between breakfast and bedtime. In short, I had + better not begin to enumerate the evils that await us, as they are + innumerable. However, I feel very courageous and that they will + appear trifles if he succeeds; and if he is turned out before the + end of the session, I shall never regret that he has made the + attempt. It is a fearful time to have the government in his hands; + but for that very reason I am glad that _he_ and no other has + it. The accounts from Ireland are worse and worse, and what with + the extreme misery of the unfortunate poor and the misbehaviour of + the gentry, he is made very miserable. As he said this morning, at + times they almost drive him mad. + +During Lady John's long illness in Edinburgh, Francis Lord Jeffrey had been +one of her kindest friends, and had helped to brighten many a weary hour by +his visits and conversation. + + _Lord Jeffrey to Lady John Russell_ + + EDINBURGH, _December_ 21, 1846 + + It is very good in you to remember my sunset visits to you in the + hotel. I never pass by its windows in these winter twilights + without thinking of you, and of the lessons of cheerful magnanimity + (as well as other things) I used to learn by the side of your + couch. The Murrays and Rutherfords are particularly well; the + latter will soon be up among you, and at his post for the opening + of a campaign of no common interest and anxiety. For my part, I am + terribly frightened--for the first time, I believe I may say, in my + life. Lord John, I believe, does not know what fear is! _sans + peur_ as _sans reproche_. But it would be a comfort to know + that even he thinks we can get out of the mess in Ireland without + some dreadful calamity. And how ugly, in fact, do things look all + round the world! + +One of the first acts of Lord John's Government was to vote £10,000,000 for +the relief of Ireland. In July, 1847, Parliament was dissolved. When it met +again Lord John was reluctantly compelled to ask for its votes in support +of an Irish Bill resembling the one on which the Liberals had defeated Peel +the year before. + +A bare enumeration of the difficulties which beset the new Prime Minister +brings home a sense of his unenviable position. Ireland was on the verge of +starvation and revolt; everywhere in Europe the rebellions which culminated +in 1848 were beginning to stir, seeming then more formidable than they +really were in their immediate consequences; in England the Chartist +movement was thought to threaten Crown and Constitution; and, in addition, +the country had taken alarm at the weakness of its military defences. +Lastly, for power to meet all these emergencies Lord John was dependent, at +every juncture, upon the animosity between the Protectionists and Peelites +proving stronger than the dislike which either party felt for the +Government. There were 325 Liberals in the House; the Protectionists +numbered 226; the Conservative Free Traders 105; so the day Protectionists +and Peelites came to terms would be fatal to the Government. Such were the +troubles of the Prime Minister, who was a man to take them hard. As for his +wife, her diaries and letters show that, however high her spirit and firm +her principles, her nature was an intensely anxious one. + +In December, 1846, they both went down for a short holiday to Chorley Wood, +where, on the last night of the year, they held a "grand ball for children +and servants. All very merry. John danced a great deal, and I not a little. +Darling Johnny danced the first country dance, holding his Papa's hand and +mine." + + + +CHAPTER VI + +1847-52 + + +On January 1, 1847, Lady John wrote in her diary that the year was +beginning most prosperously for her and those dearest to her. "Within my +own home all is peace and happiness." About a month later she became +dangerously ill in London. + + LONDON, _February_ 21, 1847 + + I have been very ill since I last wrote.... I felt that life was + still dear to me for the sake of those I love and of those who + depend on me.... I saw the look of agony of my dearest husband; I + thought of my heart's treasure--my darling boy; I thought of my + other beloved children; I thought of those still earlier loved--my + dear, dear Papa and Mama, brothers and sisters. But I was calm and + ready to go, if such should be God's will.... Dr. Rigby has been + not only the most skilful doctor, but the kindest friend. + +In the spring of this year, 1847, the Queen offered Pembroke Lodge to the +Prime Minister. He accepted with thankfulness, and throughout life both he +and Lady John felt deep gratitude to the Queen for their beautiful home. + +Pembroke Lodge is a long, low, irregular white house on the edge of the +high ground which forms the western limit of Richmond Park. Added to and +altered many times, it has no unity of plan, but it has kept a character of +its own, an air of cheerful seclusion and homely eighteenth-century +dignity. On the eastern side it is screened from the road by shrubs and +trees; on the other side, standing as it does upon the top of the steep, +wooded ridge above the Thames Valley, its windows overlook a thousand +fields, through which the placid river winds, now flowing between flat open +banks, now past groups of trees, or by gardens where here and there the +corner of an old brick house shows among cedars. The grounds are long +rather than wide, and comprise the slope towards the valley and the stretch +along the summit of the ridge, where beech, oak, and chestnut shade with +their green and solemn presences a garden of shorn turf and border flowers. +Walking beneath them, you see between their stems part of some slow-sailing +cloud or glimpses of the distant plain; as you descend, the gardens, +village, and river near below. There is a peculiar charm in these steep +woods, where the tops of some trees are level with the eye, while the +branches of others are overhead. As the paths go down the slope they lose +their garden-like trimness among bracken and brambles. An oak fence +separates the grounds of Pembroke Lodge from the surrounding park. + +It was indeed a perfect home for a statesman. When wearied or troubled with +political cares and anxieties, the fresh breezes, the natural beauties, and +the peace of Pembroke Lodge often helped to bring calm and repose to his +mind. What better prospect can his windows command than the valley of the +Thames from Richmond Hill, the view Argyll showed Jeanie Deans, which drew +from her the admission "it was braw rich feeding for the cows," though she +herself would as soon have been looking at "the craigs of Arthur's Seat and +the sea coming ayont them, as at a' that muckle trees." Certainly no home +was ever more appreciated and loved than Pembroke Lodge, both by Lord and +Lady John Russell and their children. Long afterwards Lady John wrote: + + In March, 1847, the Queen offered him Pembroke Lodge for life, a + deed for which we have been yearly and daily more grateful. He and + I were convinced that it added years to his life, and the happiness + it has given us all cannot be measured. I think it was a year or + two before the Queen offered us Pembroke Lodge that we came down + for a few days for a change of air for some of the children to the + Star and Garter. John and I, in one of our strolls in the park, sat + under a big oak-tree while the children played round us. We were at + that time often in perplexity about a country home for the summer + and autumn, to which we could send them before we ourselves could + leave London.... From our bench under the oak we looked into the + grounds of Pembroke Lodge, and we said to one another that would be + the place for us. When it became ours indeed we often thought of + this, and the oak has ever since been called the "Wishing Tree." + [31] ... From the time that Pembroke Lodge became ours we used only + to keep the children in town from the meeting of Parliament till + Easter, and settle the younger ones at Pembroke Lodge, and we + ourselves slept there Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays with as + much regularity as other engagements allowed. This obliged us to + give up most dinner engagements in London, and we regretted the + consequent loss of society. At the same time he always felt the + need of those evenings and mornings of rest and change and country + air (besides those welcome and blessed Sundays) after Parliamentary + and official toil, rather than of heated and crowded rooms and late + hours; and he had the happy power of throwing off public cares and + giving his whole heart to the enjoyment of his strolls in the + garden, walks and rides in the park, and the little interests of + the children. [32] + +[31] When Pembroke Lodge was offered to them they remembered--with surprise +and delight at its fulfilment--the wish of that day, known to themselves +alone. + +[32] Appendix at end of chapter. + +The short Whitsuntide holiday was spent in settling in at Pembroke Lodge. + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _October_ 29, 1847 + + ... You would not wonder so much at his [Lord John's] silence + lately, if you knew what nobody but English Ministers' wives + _can_ know or conceive, how incessantly either his mind or + body or both have been at work on financial affairs. + + He has gone to town every morning early, Sunday included; worked + hard the whole day in Downing Street, writing long letters and + seeing one man and one deputation after another, on these most + difficult and most harassing subjects--only returning here for tea, + and with no time for any other correspondence but that between tea + and bed, when a little rest and amusement is almost necessary for + him--then waking in the night to think of bullion and Exchequer + Bills till time to get up. Now this great anxiety is partly over; + for when once he has taken a resolution, after all the reflection + and consideration he can give to a subject, he feels that he has + done his best, and awaits its success or failure with comparative + ease of mind. + +The difficulties of this Ministry have been briefly stated at the close of +the last chapter; working with a precarious majority, they had to cope with +starvation and revolt in Ireland, Chartism in England, and disturbances +abroad. + +In December, 1847, they passed their Irish Coercion Bill. [33] The passing +of this Bill was one of the few occasions on which Lady John could not +convince herself that her husband's policy was the wisest one. + +[33] "The state of Ireland was chaotic, and Lord Clarendon (Lord +Lieutenant) was demanding a stringent measure of coercion. He did not get +it.... The two Bills [Sir Robert Peel's in 1846 and the Bill of 1847] were +so entirely different that to call them by a common name, though perhaps +inevitable, is also inevitably misleading" ("History of Modern England," +Herbert Paul, vol. i, chap. iv. See also Walpole's "Life of Lord John +Russell," vol. i, chap, xvii.) + +Subsequently, during the enforcement of the Act, the bitterness of the +attacks upon her husband, who, she knew, wished Ireland well, and the sight +of his anxiety, made her for a time less sympathetic with the Irish; but +she did not, and could not, approve of the Government's action at the time. +Among Irishmen, a Government which had first opposed a Tory Coercion Bill, +and when in power proposed one themselves, might well excite indignation. +Ireland was already in a state so miserable that the horrors of a civil war +with a bare chance of better things beyond must have seemed well worth +risking to her people, now the party which had hitherto befriended them had +adopted the policy of their oppressors. + +On February 26, 1848, the news that Louis Philippe had been deposed reached +the House of Commons. "This is what would have happened here," said Sir +Robert Peel, "if these gentlemen [pointing to the Protectionists] had had +their way." The astonishment was great, and the fear increased that the +Chartist movement and Irish troubles would lead to revolution at home. + +The immediate cause of the revolution in France had been Louis Philippe's +opposition to electoral reform; only one Frenchman in about a hundred and +fifty possessed a vote under his reign. "Royalty having been packed off in +a hackney coach," the mildest of Parisian mobs contented itself with +smashing the King's bust, breaking furniture, and firing at the clock of +the Tuileries that it might register permanently upon its face the +propitious moment of his departure. He had embarked the next day for +England, shaven and in green spectacles, and landed upon our shores under +the modest pseudonym of "William Smith." England did not welcome him. His +Spanish marriage intrigues had naturally not made him a favourite, and his +enemy, Palmerston, was at the Foreign Office. Two days afterwards Louis +Napoleon Bonaparte left England to pay his respects to the Provisional +Government. "I hasten," he wrote in memorable words, "I hasten from exile +to place myself under the flag of the Republic just proclaimed. Without +other ambition than that of being useful to my country, I announce my +arrival to the members of the Provisional Government, and assure them of my +devotion to the cause which they represent." He was, however, courteously +requested to withdraw from France, since the law banishing the Napoleon +family had not yet been repealed, a circumstance which enabled him to +return to England in time to enrol himself in the cause of law and order as +a special constable at the Chartist meeting. + + LONDON, _February_ 26, 1848 + + We and everybody much taken up with the startling and in some + respects terrible events in France. The regency of the Duchess of + Orleans rejected by the Chambers, or rather by the Côté Gauche, and + a republic proclaimed. Sad loss of life in Paris--the King and + Queen fled to Eu--Guizot, it is said, to Brussels. We dined at the + Palace, and found the Queen and Prince, the Duchess of Kent, Duke + and Duchess of Saxe Coburg, thinking of course of little else--and + almost equally _of course_, full of nothing but indignation + against the French nation and Guizot, nothing but pity for the King + and Queen and royal family, and nothing but fears for the rest of + Europe from the infection of such an example. I sat next the Duke + of Coburg, who more particularly took this _class_ view with + very little reasoning and a great deal of declamation. Said he + should not care if Guizot lost his head, and much in the same + spirit. The Queen spoke with much good sense and good feeling, if + not with perfect impartiality. + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + LONDON, _March_ 3, 1848 + + How anxious you must be as to the effect which the extraordinary + events in France will have upon Italy. They have been so rapid and + unexpected that all power of reasoning upon them has been lost in + wonder. Some pity must inevitably be felt for any man "fallen from + his high estate"; but if, as I trust, the report of Louis + Philippe's safety and arrival in England is true, his share of it + will be as small as ever fell to the lot of a King in misfortune; + for the opinion that he has deserved it is general. It is seldom + that history gives so distinct a lesson of retribution. You know + what London is in a ferment of exciting events, and can therefore + pretty well imagine the constant succession of reports, true and + false, from hour to hour, the unceasing cries of the newsmen with + 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th editions of all the newspapers, the running + about of friends to one another's houses, the continual crossing of + notes in the streets, each asking the same questions, the hopes and + fears and the conjectures one hears and utters during the course of + the day, and the state of blank, weary stupidity to which one is + reduced by the end of it. What _I_ mind most in it all is the + immense additional anxiety and responsibility it brings upon my + poor husband, who feels it even more than he would have done any + other year from being still, I grieve to say, less strong and well + owing to his influenza still hanging about him. + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Minto_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _March_ 29, 1848 + + John returned to dinner, but some hours later than I expected him, + which in times like these, when each hour may bring an account of a + _new_ revolution _somewhere_, or worst of all, of a + rebellion in Ireland, is a trial to a Minister's wife. However, the + reason was simply that Prince Albert had detained him talking. ... + Of course we talked a great deal with our visitors of France, + Italy, Germany, and Ireland; but happily, engrossing as these + topics are, the bright sun and blue sky and shining river and + opening leaves and birds and squirrels _would_ have their + share of attention, and give some rest to our minds. + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _March_ 31, 1848 + + The preparations for rebellion in Ireland are most alarming, and + John's usually calm and _hopeful_ spirit more nearly fails him + on that subject than any other. The speeches and writings of the + Young Ireland leaders are so _extravagantly_ seditious, and so + grossly false as to the behaviour of England generally, and the + present Ministry in particular to Ireland, that I cannot but hope + they may defeat their own objects.... Poor people, the more deeply + one feels for the starving and destitute millions among them and + admires their patience and resignation, and the more bitterly one + resents the misgovernment under which the whole nation suffered for + hundreds of years, the fruits of which we are now reaping, the less + one can excuse those reckless ones who are now misleading them, who + must and _do_ know that the present Ministers have not looked + on with indifference and let famine and fever rage at will; that + the subject of Ireland is _not_ one to which the Houses of + Parliament never give a day's or an hour's thought, but that on the + contrary, _her_ interests and happiness are daily and nightly + the object of more intense anxiety and earnest endeavours on the + part of her rulers than any portion of the Empire. We have had a + week of such real spring with all its enjoyments, and to-day is so + much finer and milder than ever, that the notion of streets and + smoke and noise is odious. However, we have enough to go for, + private and public. May God prosper the good cause of peace and + freedom all over Europe. + +The European revolutionary movement of 1848 did not prove serious in +England. What actually took place was a mild mass meeting on Kennington +Common, well kept within the bounds of decorum by an army of citizen +police. In Ireland, a rough-and-tumble fight between Smith O'Brien's +followers and the police was all that came of the dreaded rebellion. But +before these events took place the future looked ominous, especially to +those responsible for what might happen. + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + _April_ 8, 1848 + + John had a late night in the House, and made two speeches on the + unpleasant subjects of the Chartist meeting next Monday and Sir + George Grey's "Security of the Crown" Bill; both of which ought to + do good, from their mild and _whiggish_ tone, in spite of the + sadly _un_-whiggish nature of the topics; the very, last to + which one would wish a Whig Government to have to turn its + attention. All minds are full of next Monday, and at this moment we + have not a manservant in the house, as they are summoned to a + meeting to learn their duties as special constables for that day. I + find it difficult to be in the least frightened, and I trust I am + right. The only thing I dread is being long without knowing what + John is about, and as he would be equally unwilling to know nothing + about me, in case of any march upon this house or any other + disagreeable demonstration against the Prime Minister, we have + arranged that I am to go to Downing Street with him in the morning + and remain all day there, as that is the place he will most easily + come to from the House of Commons. My spirits have been much + lowered about the whole thing this morning, as Mr. Trevelyan has + been here and persuaded John that it would be madness for me either + to remain in this house or go to Downing Street, both of which + would be _marks_ in case of a fight. + + Mr. Trevelyan is very seriously alarmed, and talks of the effect + the sound of the _cannon_ might have upon me, and has + persuaded Lady Mary Wood to go to his house on Clapham Common. I do + not yet know what the other Ministers' wives are going to do, but I + _do_ know that I think Milton quite right in saying: + + "The wife, where danger or dishonour lurks, + Safest and seemliest by her husband bides." + + However, I must do as I am bid, or at least I must do what makes + _him_ easiest. + + + LONDON, _April_ 9, 1848 + + Hardly knew how much I had been thinking of to-morrow till I had to + read aloud the prayers for Queen, country, and Parliament. + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + DOWNING STREET, _Monday_, 3 _o'clock_ + + Well, here we are after all, Lady Grey, Lady Mary Wood, and I, with + much easier minds than we have had for many days. + + Everything has ended quietly; the meeting has dispersed at the + persuasion of its leaders, who took fright. Fergus O'Connor + especially has shown himself the most abject blusterer, and came + pale and haggard and almost crying to speak to Sir George Grey--and + told him how anxious he was that all should come to a peaceable + end. + + It seems too good to be true, after the various alarming reports + and conjectures. Of course there will still be _some_ anxiety + until the night is well over, and till we see whether the Chartist + spirit rises again after this failure. To begin at the beginning, I + ought to tell you that hearing a great clattering at six this + morning I got up, and looked out, and saw immense numbers of + Lancers ride from the West into Belgrave Square, which they left to + go to their destination somewhere about Portland Place, after + performing many pretty manoeuvres which I did not understand. Many + foot soldiers passed by. I admired the sight, but silently prayed + that their services might not be required. We packed the brougham + full of mattresses and blankets, as it seemed likely that we should + have to sleep here. Now we have little doubt of getting home. + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + LONDON, _April_ 12, 1848 + + Yesterday was chiefly spent in receiving visits and congratulations + without end, and very welcome they were. John and I had also a good + long walk to freshen him up for a hard day in the House of + Commons.... + + + _April_ 13, 1848 + + Again many notes and visits of congratulation and mutual rejoicing + yesterday. God grant that this triumph of the good cause may have + some effect on unhappy, misguided Ireland; there is the weight that + almost crushes John, who opens Lord Clarendon's daily letters with + an uneasiness not to be told. + + + _Queen Victoria to Lord John Russell_ + + OSBORNE, _April_ 14, 1848 + + The Queen has received Lord John Russell's letter of yesterday + evening. She approves that a form of prayer for the present time of + tumult and trouble be ordered. She concludes it is for _peace_ + and _quiet_ GENERALLY, which indeed we _may well_ pray + for. A thanksgiving for the failure of any attempts like the + proposed one last Monday, the Queen would not have thought + judicious, as being painful and unlike thanksgiving for + preservation from _foreign war_. + + Our accounts from Germany yesterday, from different quarters, were + very distressing and alarming. So much fear of a _total_ + subversion of _all_ existing things. But we must not lose + courage or hope. + +In the midst of these troubles and forebodings, on the day that the Queen +wrote the above letter to Lord John, their second son, George William +Gilbert, was born. + +Lady John was touched by the following letter from Dr. James Simpson (the +eminent physician, later Sir James Simpson), under whose medical care she +had been in Edinburgh some years before. + + EDINBURGH, _March_, 1848 + + I heard from two or three different sources that your Ladyship was + to be blessed by an addition to your family.... + + I _once_ made a pledge, that I would gladly leave all to watch + and guard over your safety if you desired me. I have not forgotten + the pledge, and am ready to redeem it--but not for fee or + recompense, only for the love and pleasure of being near you at a + time I could possibly show my gratitude by watching over your + valued health and life.... With almost all my medical brethren here + I use chloroform in all cases. None of us, I believe, could now + feel justified in _not_ relieving pain, when God has bestowed + upon us the means of relieving it. + + + _May_ 16, 1848 + + With a thankful heart I begin my diary again. Another child has + been added to our blessings--another dear little boy. John was with + me. Oh! his happiness when all was safely over. This child has done + much already to restore his health and strength. Summer weather and + the success of all his political measures for the last anxious + months have also done much. + +But the Irish troubles were by no means over; on July 21st Lord John +introduced a Bill for the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act in Ireland. +His case rested on Lord Clarendon's evidence that a rebellion was on the +point of breaking out, and circumstances seem to have justified this +precautionary measure. The Bill was passed without opposition and with the +support of all the prominent men in Parliament. + + _July_ 21, 1848 + + Irish news much the same. A Cabinet at which it was determined to + propose suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. John accordingly gave + notice of it in the House. I had hoped that a Whig Ministry would + never be driven to such measures. I had hoped that Ireland would + remember my husband's rule for ever with gratitude. + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + LONDON, _July_ 28, 1848 + + I have another letter to thank you for. You really must not + describe the beauties of that place to me any more. It must so + perfectly satisfy the longing for what, after some years of such a + life as ours, seems the height of happiness--repose. I struggle + hard against this longing, but I doubt whether I should do so + successfully without that blessed Pembroke Lodge, from which I + always return newly armed for the turmoil. After all, I am much + more afraid of my husband being overpowered by this longing than + myself. He can so much seldomer indulge in it. He is so much older, + and it is so much more difficult for him to portion out his + employments with any regularity, which is his best preservative + against _fuss_. Yesterday was a most trying day for him, and + the more so as he had looked forward to it as one of rest and + enjoyment. It was Baby's christening-day, and we meant to remain at + Pembroke Lodge after the ceremony to luncheon; but just as we were + going to church came a letter from Sir George Grey with news of the + whole South of Ireland being in rebellion, with horrible additions + of bloodshed, defection of the troops, etc. As it has, thank God, + turned out to be a hoax, a most wicked hoax, of some stockjobbing + or traitorous wretch at Liverpool, I shall not waste your time and + sympathies by telling you of the anxious hours we spent till seven + in the evening, when the truth was made out. + + And now let us trust that real rebellion may not be in store. It is + dreadful to think of bloodshed, of loss of life, of the desolation + of one's country and of the many, many imaginable and unimaginable + miseries of civil war; but one thing I feel would be more dreadful + still, weak and womanly as I may be in so feeling--to see one's + husband unable to prevent the miseries, perhaps accusing himself of + them, and sinking, as I know mine _would_, by degrees under + his efforts and his regrets. Let us trust and pray, then, that we + are not doomed to see the reality of so gloomy a picture. It is + always difficult to me to look forward to great political failures + and national misfortunes, perhaps because I have never known any; + but the alarm of yesterday has made them seem more possible. + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + LONDON, _August_ 3, 1848 + + ... I do not care for my country or my husband's success a bit more + than is good for me, and I often wonder at and almost blame myself + for not being more disturbed about them. + + I know that he does his best, and that is all I care very deeply or + very permanently about; though there may now and then be a more + than commonly anxious day. If I thought him stupid, or mean, or + ignorant, or thoughtless, or indifferent in his trade, I should not + be satisfied with his doing his best even; but as I luckily think + him the contrary of all these things, I am both satisfied and calm, + and his own calm mind helps me to be so. Sometimes I think I care + much more about politics at a distance than when I am mixed up in + them. The fact is that I care very much for the questions + themselves, but grow wearied to death of all the details and + personalities belonging to them, and consequently of the + conversation of lady politicians, made up as it is of these details + and personalities. And the more interested I am in the thing + itself, the more angry I am with the nonsense they talk about it, + and had rather listen to the most humdrum domestic twaddle. Mind, I + mean the regular hardened lady politicians who talk of nothing + else, of whom I could name several, but will not. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _November_ 24, 1848 + + We have just had a visit from Louis Philippe. He spoke much of + France--said that his wishes were with Louis Bonaparte rather than + with Cavaignac for the presidency. + + John expressed some fear of war if Louis Bonaparte should be + elected; the King said he need have none, that France had neither + means nor inclination for war. His account of the dismissal of + Guizot's Ministry was that he said to Guizot "What's to be + done?"--that Guizot gave him three answers: "Je ne peux pas donner + la Réforme. Je ne peux pas laisser dissoudre la garde nationale. Je + ne peux pas laisser tirer les troupes sur la garde nationale." Upon + this he had said to Guizot that he must change his Ministry: "Cela + l'a peut-être un peu blessé--ma foi, je n'en sais rien. Il a dit + que non, que j'étais le maitre." + + When he heard that the National Guard said, if the troops fired on + the mob, _they_ would fire on the troops, he knew that "la + chose était finie," and when he went out himself among the National + Guard, to see what the effect of his presence would be, La + Moricière called out to him, "Sire, si vous allez parmi ces gens-là + je ne réponds pas de votre vie. Ils vont tirer sur vous." He + answered whatever might come of it he would "parler à ces braves + gens"; but they surrounded him, grinning and calling out "La + Réforme, nous voulons la Réforme," pointing their bayonets at him + and even over his horse's neck. + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + WOBURN ABBEY, _December_ 10, 1848 + + The great question of the French Presidency is decided, whether for + good or for evil to other countries none can foresee, but certainly + to the disgrace of their own. For here is a man, known only by a + foolish attempt to disturb France, to whom no party gives credit + for either great or good qualities, raised to the highest dignity + in the new Republic, one of the advantages of which was to be that + men should rise by their own merits alone. The common language of + Frenchmen, or at least of French Royalists on the subject, is that + they consider his election as a step to the restoration of + Monarchy--but it is a shabby way of making the step, or it may + prove a false one. You know we have had Louis Philippe and his + family as near neighbours at the Star and Garter for some weeks, + and we have seen him several times, to thank us for our inquiries + after the poor Queen and Princes while they were so ill. Only think + how strange to see this great King, this busy plotter for the glory + of his own family and the degradation of England, taking refuge in + that very England, and sitting in the house of one of those very + Ministers whom he had been so proud of outwitting, giving the + history of "ma chute." This he did with great bitterness; + representing the whole French nation as a mass of place-hunters, + without patriotism and without gratitude, and with no tenderness to + Guizot. There is nothing noble and touching in his manner or + conversation, or I am sure he would have inspired me with more pity + in his fallen state, in spite of many faults as a King. [34] + +[34] In later years Lord and Lady John had much friendly intercourse with +the Due d'Aumale, son of Louis Philippe, and with the Comte de Paris and +the Due de Chartres (grandsons of the King), who were neighbours and +welcome visitors at Pembroke Lodge. + +During the earlier part of 1849, Lord John suffered from the effects of +overwork, and like most tired statesmen he began to think of taking a +peerage. On July 11th their third son, Francis Albert Rollo Russell, was +born at Pembroke Lodge. The parliamentary recess was an easier period than +they had known since taking office, and they had time to attend to other +projects, although the difficulties with Palmerston at the Foreign Office +were meanwhile coming to a climax. + +In August Lord and Lady John founded a school at Petersham, over which she +watched with unflagging interest till her death. They were amused by the +remark of an old gentleman in the neighbourhood, who said that to have a +school at Petersham "would ruin the aristocratic character of the +village"--education and aristocracy being evidently, in his eyes, opposing +forces. + +The classes were held at first in a room in the village; the present +building was not erected till 1852. + +On August 32nd Lady John wrote in her diary: + + Our little school, which had long been planned, was opened in a + room in the village the day before Baby's birthday, July 10th, and + goes on well. We celebrated John's birthday last Saturday by giving + the school-children a tea under the cedar, and a dance on the lawn + afterwards, and very merry they were. + +In August and September the Prime Minister spent some weeks at Balmoral, +and wrote as follows on his last day there: + + _Lord John Russell to Lady John Russell_ + + BALMORAL, _September_ 6, 1849 + + I leave this place to-morrow.... No hostess could be more charming + or more easy than the Queen has been--or more kind and agreeable + than the Prince, and I shall leave this place with increased + attachment to them. + +The Queen had been to Ireland in August, and Lord Dufferin wrote an +interesting account of her visit in a letter to Lady John. + + _Lord Dufferin to Lady John Russell_ + + _September_ 10, 1849 + + As the newspaper reporters have already described all, nay more + than was to be seen on the occasion of the Queen's visit to + Ireland, I need not trouble you with any of my own experiences + during those auspicious days--suffice it to say that the people + were frantic with loyalty and enthusiasm. Indeed, I never witnessed + so touching a sight as when the Queen from her quarter-deck took + leave of the Irish people. It was a sweet, calm, silent evening, + and the sun just setting behind the Wicklow mountains bathed all + things in golden floods of light. Upon the beach were crowded in + thousands the screaming bother-headed people, full of love and + devotion for her, her children, and her house, surging to and fro + like some horrid sea and asking her to come back quick to them, and + bidding her God-speed.... It was a beautiful historical picture, + and one which one thought of for a long time after Queen and ships + and people had vanished away. I suspect that she too must have + thought of it that night as she sat upon the deck and sailed away + into the darkness--and perhaps she wondered as she looked back upon + the land, which ever has been and still is, the dwelling of so much + wrong and misery, whether it should be written in history + hereafter, that in _her_ reign, and under _her_ auspices, + Ireland first became prosperous and her people contented. Directly + after the Queen's departure, I started on a little tour round the + West coast, where I saw such sights as could be seen nowhere else. + The scenery is beautiful and wild.... But after one has been + travelling for a little while in the far West one soon loses all + thought of the scenery, or the climate, or anything else, in + astonishment at the condition of the people. I do most firmly + believe that in no other country under the sun are there to be + found men so wretched in every respect.... All along the West + coast, from North to South, there has been allowed to accumulate on + land utterly unable to support them a dense population, the only + functions of whose lives have been to produce rent and children. + Generation after generation have grown up in ignorance and misery, + while those who lived upon the product of their labours have + laughed and rioted through life as though they had not known that + from them alone could light and civilization descend upon these + poor wretches. I had often heard, as every one has, of the evils of + absenteeism, but till I came and saw its effects I had no notion + how great a crime it is.... They [the absentee landowners] thought + only of themselves and their own enjoyments, they left their people + to grow up and multiply like brute beasts, they stifled in them by + their tyranny all hope and independence and desire of advancement, + they made them cowards and liars, and have now left them to die off + from the face of the earth. Neither can any one living at a + distance have any notion of the utter absence of all public spirit + among the upper classes.... Legislation can do nothing when there + is nothing for it to act upon. Parliament to Ireland is what a + galvanic battery is to a dead body, and it is in vain to make laws + when there is no machinery to work them. A people must be worked up + to a certain point in their dispositions and understandings before + they can be affected by highly civilized legislation.... It is only + individual exertions, and the personal superintendence of wise and + good men, that can ever drill the Irish people into a legislatable + state.... One or two things, however, seem to me pretty certain-- + + 1. That under proper management the Irish peasant can be made + anything of. + + 2. That, generally speaking, the present class of proprietors must + and will be swept from off the surface of the earth. + + 3. That in the extreme West the surface is overcrowded, but not at + all so a few miles inland. + + 4. That reclaiming waste lands and bogs at present is to throw + money away. + + I begin to fear I have written a strange rigmarole, but still I + will send it, for though Irish matters cannot interest you as they + do me, yet still a letter is always a pleasant thing to receive, + even only that one may have the satisfaction of looking at the + Queen's head and breaking the seal. + +The next entry from Lady John's Diary is dated October 9, 1849. + + After tea John told me that he had informed the Cabinet of his plan + for the extension of the suffrage--to be proposed next session. All + looked grave. Sir Charles Wood and Lord Lansdowne expressed some + alarm.... To grant an increase of weight to the people of this + country when revolutions are taking place on all sides, when a + timid Ministry would rather seek to diminish that which they + already have, is to show a noble trust in them, of which I believe + they will nobly prove themselves worthy. + +Lord John's determination to carry through this measure himself, rather +than to leave it in the hands of others, was afterwards the cause of the +first defeat of the Whig Government. + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + LONDON, _February_ 19, 1850 + + The weeks are galloping past so much faster even than usual that + there is no keeping pace with them. + + I neither read, write, teach, learn, nor do anything--unless indeed + revising visiting books and writing invitations is to be called + something. I want to be with my Mama, to be with my husband, to be + with my children, to be with friends, and to be alone, all at the + same time. I want to read everything, and to write to everybody, + and to walk everywhere, in no time at all. And what is the result? + Why, that I lose the very _power_ not only of _doing_, but + of _thinking_, to a degree that makes me seriously uneasy and + unfits me to be a companion to anybody older or wiser than Wee-wee, + or Baby, whose capacities exactly suit mine. All this sounds as if + I led a life of bustle, which I do _not_--but it is _too + full,_ and there is an end of it. I dare say it is mistaken + vanity to suppose that if it was emptier I should do anything + worthier of record in the political, literary, or educational + line--and at all events it would be hard to find a happier or, I + trust, more thankful heart than mine, my troubles being in fact the + result of many blessings. + +The next session opened with the Greek crisis, which Greville described as +"the worst scrape into which Palmerston has ever got himself and his +colleagues. The disgust at it here is universal with those who think at all +about foreign matters: it is past all doubt that it has produced the +strongest feelings of indignation against this country all over Europe, and +the Ministers themselves are conscious what a disgraceful figure they cut, +and are ashamed of it." + +Palmerston had ordered the blockade of the Piraeus to extort compensation +from the Greek Government on behalf of Mr. Finlay (afterwards the historian +of Greece), whose land had been commandeered by the King of Greece for his +garden, and on behalf of Don Pacifico, a Maltese Jew (and therefore a +British subject), whose house had been wrecked by an Athenian mob. The +Greek Government had been prepared to pay Compensation in both cases, but +not the figure demanded, which turned out, indeed, on investigation, to be +in gross excess of fair compensation. Palmerston's action nearly threw +Europe into war; Russia protested, and France, who had offered to mediate, +was aggravated by a diplomatic muddle to the verge of breaking off +negotiations. A vote of censure was passed by the Opposition in the House +of Lords, which had the effect of making Lord John take up the cause of +Palmerston in the Commons. The question was discussed in a famous four +days' debate. "It contained," says Mr. Herbert Paul, "the finest of all +Lord Palmerston's speeches, the first great speech of Gladstone, the last +speech of Sir Robert Peel, and the most elaborate of those forensic +harangues, delivered successively at the Bar, in the Senate, and on the +Bench, by the accomplished personage best known as Lord Chief Justice +Cockburn." Lord John, who was always good at a fighting speech, spoke also +with great force. Mr. Roebuck's motion of confidence in the Ministry was +carried, but this success was largely due to the fact that a coalition +between the Peelites and the Protectionists seemed impossible. Had it not +been carried the Whigs would have resigned, and neither of the other two +parties feeling strong enough to succeed them, they did not oppose in force +the motion of confidence. + +The day after Peel made his speech he was thrown from his horse on +Constitution Hill, and on July 2nd he died. + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + _June_ 20, 1850 + + ... Day of great political excitement. After dinner I took John to + the House and have utterly regretted since that I did not go up to + hear him--for he made what I am quite sure you and Ralph will agree + with me and all whom I have yet spoken to, was a most perfect + answer; and I should have dearly liked to hear the volleys of + cheering which he so well deserved. Now we shall either go out with + honour or stay in with triumph--welcome either. + + + _Lord Charles Russell [35] to Lady John Russell_ + + _July_ 13, 1850 + + As you were not here to hear John move the monument [of Sir Robert + Peel], I must tell you that he succeeded in the opinion of all. + Dizzy has just, in passing my chair, said, "Well, Lord John did + that to perfection. My friends were nervous, I was not; it was a + difficult subject, but one peculiarly fitted for Lord John. He did + as I was sure he would, and pleased all those who sit about me." + +[35] Lord John's stepbrother. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _July_ 17, 1850 + + For the first time since the session began John spent a whole + weekday here, and such a fine one that we enjoyed it thoroughly. + Our roses are still in great beauty, but it is a drying blaze. In + the evening we cried over "David Copperfield" till we were ashamed. + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Melgund_ + + MINTO, October 5, 1850 + + This whole morning having been spent fox-hunting, and the afternoon + doing something else, I do not exactly remember what, I am obliged + to write to you at the forbidden time (after dinner), instead of + making myself agreeable. What a quantity I have to say to you, and + what a pity to say it all by letter, or, rather, to say a very + small part of it by letter, instead of having you here, as I had + hoped and looked forward to, enjoying daily _gloomy_ talks + with you, such as we always find ourselves indulging in when we are + together.... Though I have scarcely walked a step about the place + from obedience to doctors, I have driven daily with Mama--and such + lovely drives! Oh! the place is in such beauty. I think its + greatest beauty--the trees red, yellow, green, brown, of every + shade, so that each one is seen separately, and the too great + thickness on the rocks is less perceived. This was one of the + brightest mornings, and you know what a hunt is on the rocks when + the sun shines bright, and the rocks look whiter against a blue + sky, and men and horses and hounds place themselves in the most + picturesque positions, and horns and tally-hos echo all round, and + everybody, except the fox, is in spirits. The gentlemen had no + sport, but the ladies a great deal, and I saw more foxes than I had + ever seen before.... + + Our time here is slipping away fearfully fast--there are so many + impossibilities to be done. I am hungry to see every brother and + sister comfortably and alone, and hungry to be out all day seeing + every old spot and old face in the place and village, and hungry to + be always with Papa and Mama, and hungry to read all the books in + the library--and none of these hungers can be satisfied. We are all + much pleased with Mr. Chichester Fortescue. He is agreeable and + gentlemanlike and good, and Lotty and Harriet got on very well with + him, which is more than I am doing with my letter, for they are + singing me out of all my little sense--"Wha's at the window" was + distracting enough, but "Saw ye the robber" ten times worse. + +In September the Papal Bull dividing England into Roman Catholic sees threw +the country into a state of needless excitement. The year had been a very +critical one for the Church of England. The result of the Gorham case, +which marked the failure of the High Church clergy to get their own way +within the Church, hastened the secession to Rome of Manning, James Hope, +and other well-known men. Lord John's letter to the Bishop of Durham, in +which he expressed his own strong Protestant and Erastian principles, +increased his popularity; but it was unfortunate in its effect. It +encouraged the bigoted alarmist outcries which had been started by the +Papal Bull, although his own letter differed in tone from such protests. +The Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, which the Government brought forward in +response to popular feeling, seems to have been one of the idlest measures +that ever wasted the time of Parliament. It remained a dead-letter from the +day it passed, yet at the time no Minister had a chance of leading the +country who was not prepared to support it. + +The Budget made the Ministry unpopular at the beginning of the session; and +in February Mr. Locke King succeeded in passing, with the help of the +Radicals, a measure for the extension of the franchise, in spite of +opposition from the Government. Lord John had a measure of his own of a +similar nature in view, as we have seen; but, in spite of his assurance +that he would introduce it during the following year, the Radicals voted +against him on Mr. King's motion, and on February 20th he resigned. + +The state of parties was such that no rival coalition was possible. Lord +Stanley was for widening the franchise, but being a Protectionist he could +not work with the Peelites; while Lord Aberdeen would not consent to the +Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, and was impossible as a leader so long as the +anti-Catholic hubble-bubble continued. Lord John was therefore compelled to +resume office. + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _November_ 22, 1850 + + I am very glad you and Ralph liked John's letter to the Bishop of + Durham. It was necessary for him to speak out, and having all his + life defended the claims of the Roman Catholics to perfect + toleration and equality of civil rights with the other subjects of + the Queen, I should hardly have expected that they would take + offence because he declares himself a Protestant and a despiser of + the superstitious imitation of Roman Catholic ceremonies by + clergymen of the Church of England. Such, however, has not been the + case: and Ireland especially, excited by her priests, has taken + fire at the whole letter, and most of all at the word "mummeries." + The wisest and most moderate of them, however, here, and in Ireland + with Archbishop Murray I hope at their head, will do what they can + to put out the flame. No amount of dislike to any creed can, + happily, for a moment shake one's conviction that complete + toleration to every creed and conviction, and complete charity to + each one of its professors, is the only right and safe rule--the + only one which can make consistency in religious matters possible + at all times and on all occasions. Otherwise it _might_ be + shaken by the new proofs of the insidious, corrupting, + anti-truthful nature and effects of the Roman Catholic belief. + + They have shown themselves for ages past in the character and + conditions of the countries where it reigns, and now the Pope's + foolish Bull is the signal for double-dealing and ingratitude among + his spiritual subjects--and consequently for anger and intolerance + among Protestants--wrong, but not quite inexcusable. + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _November_ 29, 1850 + + Far from wondering at your vacillations of opinion about John's + letter, both he and I felt, on the first appearance of Wiseman's + pastoral letter, that the whole scheme was so ridiculous, the + affectation of power so contemptible, the change of Vicars + Apostolic into Bishops and Archbishops, so impotent for evil to + Protestants, while it might possibly be of use to Roman Catholics, + that ridicule and contempt were the only fit arms for the occasion. + But when he came to consider the chief cause of the measure--that + is, the great and growing evil of Tractarianism--of an established + clergy becoming daily less efficient for the wants of their + parishioners, and more at variance with the laity and with the + spirit of the Church to which they outwardly belong; when the whole + Protestant country showed its anger or fear; when such a man as the + Bishop of Norwich (Hinds), a man so tolerant as to be called by the + intolerant a latitudinarian, came to him to represent the necessity + for some expression of opinion on the part of the Government, and + the immense evils that would result from the want of such an + expression; when, after a calm survey of the state of religion + throughout the country, he thought he saw that it was in his power + to prevent the ruin of the Church of England, not by assuming + popular opinions, but merely by openly avowing his own--then, and + not till then, he wrote his letter--then, and not till then, I felt + he was right to do so. + + It has quieted men's fears with regard to the Pope, and directed + them towards Tractarianism. And we are told that a great many (I + think one hundred) of the clergy omitted some of their "mummeries" + on the following Sunday. That word was perhaps ill-chosen, and he + is willing to say so--but I doubt it. Suppose he had omitted it, + some other would have been laid hold of as offensive to men sincere + in their opinions, however mistaken he may think them. + + The letter was a Protestant one, and could not give great + satisfaction to Roman Catholics, except such as Lord Beaumont, who + prefers the Queen to the Pope. John has all his life showed himself + a friend to civil and religious liberty, especially that of the + Roman Catholics--and would gladly never have been called upon to + say a word that they could take as an insult to their creed. But it + was a moment in which he had to choose between a temporary offence + to a part of their body and the deserved loss of the confidence of + the Protestant body, to which he heart and soul belongs. He could + scarcely declare his opinion of the Tractarians, who remain in a + Church to which they no longer belong, without indirectly giving + offence to Roman Catholics. But it is against their practices that + his strong disapprobation is declared, and of the mischief of those + practices I dare say you have no idea. I believe many of them, most + of them, to be as pious and excellent men as ever existed; but + their teaching is not likely to make others as pious and excellent + as themselves; and their remaining in the Church obliges them to a + secrecy and hesitation in their teaching that is worse than the + teaching itself, which would disappear if they became honest + Dissenters. I could write pages more upon the subject but have no + time, and I will only beg you not to confound John's letter with + the bigotry and intolerance of many speeches at many meetings. I am + keeping the collection of letters, addresses, etc., that he has + received on the subject--a curious medley, being from all ranks and + degrees of men, some really touching, some laughable. + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + LONDON, _February_ 11, 1851 + + I wonder what you will think of John's speech last Friday. I am + quite surprised at the approbation it meets with here--not that I + do not think it deserved, for surely it was a fine high-minded one, + and at the same time one at no word of which a Roman Catholic, as + such, could take offence--but so many people thought more ought to + be done, and so many others that nothing ought to be done, that I + expected nothing but grumbling. However, the _speech_ is by + most persons distinguished from the _measure_. I have not yet + quite succeeded in persuading myself, or being persuaded, that we + might not have let the whole thing alone; treating an impertinence + _as_ an impertinence, to be met by ridicule or indignation as + each person might incline, but not by legislation. This being my + natural and I hope foolish impulse, I rejoice that the Bill is so + mild that nobody can consider it as an infringement of the + principle of religious liberty, but rather a protest against undue + interference in temporal affairs by Pope, Prelate, or Priest of any + denomination. Lizzy and I went to the House last night. I never + heard John speak with more spirit and effect. Do not you in your + quiet beautiful Nervi look with amazement at the whirl of politics + and parties in which we live? I am sometimes ashamed of the time I + consume in writing invitations and other matters connected with + party-giving--quite as much as John takes to think of speeches, + which affect the welfare of so many thousands. But after all it is + a part of the same trade, one which, though most dangerous to all + that is best in man and woman, may, I trust, be followed in safety + by those who see the dangers. I am sure I see them. God grant we + may both escape them. + +In a letter written to Lady Mary Abercromby, more than two years before, +she had expressed her feelings with regard to religious ceremonies. It is +interesting that the word _mummeries_, which excited so much +indignation in Lord John's Durham letter, occurs in this letter. + +On January 13, 1848, she wrote: + + Many thanks to you for the interesting account of the great + ceremony on Christmas Day in St. Peter's, and of your own feelings + about it. I believe that whatever is _meant_ as an act of + devotion to God, or as an acknowledgment of His greatness and + glory, whether expressed by the simple prayer of a Covenanter on + the hill-side or by the ceremonies of a Catholic priesthood, or + even by the prostrations of a Mahometan, or by the self-torture of + a Hindoo, may and ought to inspire us with respect and with a + devout feeling, at least when the worshippers themselves are pious + and sincere. Otherwise, indeed, if the _mummery_ is more + apparent than the solemnity, I do not see how respect can be felt + by those accustomed to a pure worship, the words and meaning of + which are clear and applicable to rich and poor, high and low.... + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + LONDON, _April_ 11, 1851 + + I wonder what you will do with regard to teaching religion to + Maillie when she is older. I am daily more and more convinced of + the folly, or worse than folly, the mischief, of stuffing + children's heads with doctrines some of which we do not believe + ourselves (though we may think we do), others which we do not + understand, while their hearts remain untouched.... Old as Johnny + is, he does not yet go to church. I see with pain, but cannot help + seeing, that from the time a child begins to go to church, the + truth and candour of its religion are apt to suffer.... Oh, how far + we still are from the religion of Christ! How unwilling to believe + that God's ways are not our ways, nor His thoughts our thoughts! + How willing to bring them down to suit not what is divine, but what + is earthly, in ourselves! Yet, happily, we do not feel or act in + consistency with all that we repeat as a lesson upon the subject of + our faith--for man cannot altogether crush the growth of the soul + given by God--and I trust and believe a better time is coming, when + freedom of thought and of word will be as common as they are now + uncommon. + +In May Lady John writes of a dinner-party in London where she had a long +conversation with the Russian Ambassador (Baron Brunow) on the Governments +of Russia and England; she ended by hoping for a time "when Russia will be +more like this country than it is now, to which he answered with a start, +and lifting up his hands, 'God forbid! May I never live to see Russia more +like this country! God forbid, my dear Lady _Joan!'"_ + +To follow the events which led to the fall of the Ministry it is necessary +to look abroad. The power of the Whigs in the House of Commons, such as it +was, was the result of inability of Tories to combine, owing to their +differences concerning Free Trade. The strength of Lord John's Ministry in +the country depended largely upon the foreign policy of Palmerston, who was +disliked and mistrusted by the Court. While Palmerston was defending his +abrupt, highhanded policy towards Greece in the speech which made him the +hero of the hour, a war was going on between Denmark and +Schleswig-Holstein, in which the Prince Consort himself was much +interested. It was a question as to whether Schleswig-Holstein should be +permitted to join the German Federation. Holstein was a German fief, +Schleswig was a Danish fief; unfortunately an old law linked them together +in some mysterious fashion, as indissolubly as Siamese twins. Both wanted +to join the Federation. Holstein had a good legal claim to do as it liked +in this respect, Schleswig a bad one; but the law declared that both must +be under the same government. Prussia interfered on behalf of the duchies; +England, Austria, France, and the Baltic Powers joined in declaring that +the Danish monarchy should not be divided. + +The Prince Consort had Prussian sympathies, and he therefore disapproved of +the strong line which Palmerston took up in this matter. It was not only +Palmerston's policy, however, but the independence with which he was +accustomed to carry it out, which annoyed the Court. He was a bad courtier; +he domineered over princelings and kings abroad, and his behaviour to his +own Sovereign did not in any way resemble Disraeli's. He not only "never +contradicted, only sometimes forgot"; on the contrary, he often omitted to +tell the Queen what he was doing, and consequently she found herself in a +false position. + +At last the following peremptory reproof was addressed to him: + + _Queen Victoria to Lord John Russell,_ [36] + + Osborne, _August_ 12, 1850 + + ... The Queen requires, first, that Lord Palmerston will distinctly + state what he proposes in a given case, in order that the Queen may + know as distinctly to what she has given her royal sanction; + secondly, having once given her sanction to a measure, that it be + not arbitrarily altered or modified by the Minister. Such an act + she must consider as failing in sincerity towards the Crown, and + justly to be visited by the exercise of her constitutional right of + dismissing that Minister. She expects to be kept informed of what + passes between him and Foreign Ministers before important decisions + are taken, based upon that intercourse: to receive foreign + dispatches in good time; and to have the drafts for her approval + sent to her in sufficient time to make herself acquainted with + their contents before they must be sent off. The Queen thinks it + best that Lord John Russell should show this letter to Lord + Palmerston. + +[36] "Letters of Queen Victoria," vol. ii, chap. xix. + +Palmerston apologized and promised amendment, but he did not resign, nor +did the Prime Minister request him to do so. His foreign policy had +hitherto vigorously befriended liberty on the Continent, and although the +Queen and Prince Consort never strained the constitutional limits of the +prerogative, these limits are elastic and there was a general feeling among +Liberals that the Court might acquire an overwhelming influence in +diplomacy, and that certainly at the moment the Prince Consort's sympathies +were too largely determined by his relationship to foreign royal families. +It is clear, however, that as long as the Crown is an integral part of the +Executive, the Sovereign must have the fullest information upon foreign +affairs. Palmerston had gone a great deal too far. + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + LONDON, _March_ 14, 1851 + + We have now heard from you several times since the _crisis_, + [37] but not since you knew of our reinstatement in place and + power, toil and trouble.... I should hardly have thought it + possible that Ralph, hearing constantly from Lord Palmerston, had + not discovered the change that has come over him since last year, + when he took his stand and won his victory on the principles that + became a Whig Minister, of sympathy with the constitutionalists and + antipathy to the absolutists all over Europe. Ever since that great + debate he has gradually retreated from those principles.... I am + not apt to be politically desponding, but the one thing which now + threatens us is the loss of confidence of the House of Commons and + the country.... + +[37] The defeat of the Government on Mr. Locke King's motion for the +equalization of the county and borough franchise. + +She was not right, however, in her estimate of the dangers which threatened +the Ministry; they came from the Foreign Office and the Court, not from the +Commons. + +Kossuth, the leader of the Hungarian Revolution, had been received in +England with great enthusiasm. He made a series of fiery speeches against +the Austrian and Russian Governments, urging that in cases in which foreign +Powers interfered with the internal politics of a country, as they had done +in the case of the Revolution in Hungary, outside nations should combine to +prevent it. This was thoroughly in harmony with Palmerston's foreign +policy. He wished to receive Kossuth at his house, which would have been +tantamount to admitting to a hostile attitude towards Austria and Russia, +who were nominally our friends. Lord John dissuaded him from doing this; +but he did receive deputations at the Foreign Office, who spoke of the +Emperors of Austria and Russia as "odious and detestable assassins." The +Queen was extremely angry. + + Windsor Castle, _November_ 13, 1851 + + The Queen talked long with me about Lord Palmerston and about + Kossuth. + + After accusing Lord Palmerston of every kind of fault and folly, + public and private, she said several times, "I have the very worst + opinion of him." I secretly agreed with her in much that she said + of him, but openly defended him when I thought her unjust. I told + her of his steadiness in friendship and constant kindness in word + and deed to those he had known in early life, however separated + from him by time and station. She did not believe it, and said she + knew him to be quite wanting in feeling. This turned out to mean + that his political enmities outlasted the good fortune of his + enemies. She said if he took the part of the revolutionists in some + countries he ought in all, and that while he pretended great + compassion for the oppressed Hungarians and Italians, he would not + care if the Schleswig-Holsteiners were all drowned. I said this was + too common a failing with us all, etc. I allowed that I wished his + faults were not laid on John's shoulders, and John's merits given + to him, as has often been the case--and that it was a pity he + sometimes used unnecessarily provoking language, but I would not + grant that England was despised and hated by all other European + countries. + +The Kossuth incident was soon followed by a graver one. On December 1, +1851, Louis Napoleon carried out his _coup d'état._ The Ministry +determined to maintain a strict neutrality in the matter, and a short +dispatch was sent to Lord Normanby instructing him "to make no change in +his relations to the French Government." When this dispatch was shown to +the French Minister, he replied, a little nettled no doubt by the +suggestion that England considered herself to be stretching a point in +recognising the Emperor, that he had already heard from their Ambassador in +London that Lord Palmerston fully approved of the change. In a later +dispatch to Lord Normanby, which had not been shown either to the Queen or +to the Prime Minister, Palmerston repeated his own opinion. Now this was +precisely the kind of conduct for which he had been reproved: in +consequence he was asked to resign. When it came to explanations before +Parliament, Palmerston, to the surprise of everybody, made a meek, halting +defence of his independent conduct. But he bided his time, and when the +Government brought in a Militia Bill, intended to quiet the invasion scare +which the appearance of another Napoleon on the throne of France had +started, he proposed an amendment which they could not accept, and carried +it against them. Lord John Russell resigned and Lord Derby undertook to +form a Government. + +Lady John wrote afterwards the following recollections of this crisis: + + The breach between John and Lord Palmerston was a calamity to the + country, to the Whig party, and to themselves. And although it had + for some months been a threatening danger on the horizon, I cannot + but feel that there was accident in its actual occurrence. Had we + been in London, or at Pembroke Lodge, and not at Woburn Abbey at + the time, they would have met and talked over the subjects of their + difference. Words spoken might have been equally strong, but would + have been less cutting than words written, and conciliatory + expressions on John's part would have led the way to promises on + Lord Palmerston's to avoid committing his colleagues in future, as + he had done in the case of the coup d'état, and also to avoid any + needless risk of irritating the Queen by neglect in sending + dispatches to the Palace. It was characteristic of my husband to + bear patiently for a long while with difficulties, opposition, + perplexities, doubts raised by those with whom he acted, listening + to them with candour and good temper, and only meeting their + arguments with his own; but, at last, if he failed to convince + them, to take a sudden resolution--either yielding to them entirely + or breaking with them altogether--from which nothing could shake + him, but which, on looking back in after years, did not always seem + to him the best course. My father, who knew him well, once said to + me, half in joke and half in earnest: "Your husband is never so + determined as when he is in the wrong." It was a relief to him to + have done with hesitation and be resolved on any step which this + very anxiety to have done with hesitation led him to believe a + right one at the moment. This habit of mind showed itself in + private as in public matters, and his children and I were often + startled by abrupt decisions on home affairs announced very often + by letter. + +In the case of the dismissal of Lord Palmerston, there was but Lord +Palmerston himself who found fault. The rest of the Cabinet were unanimous +in approbation. But there was not one of them whose opinions on foreign +policy were, in John's mind, worth weighing against those of Lord +Palmerston. He and John were always in cordial agreement on the great lines +of foreign policy, so far as I remember, except on Lord Palmerston's +unlucky and unworthy sanction of the _coup d'état_. + +They two kept up the character of England as the sturdy guardian of her own +rights against other nations and the champion of freedom and independence +abroad. They did so both before and after the breach of 1851, which was +happily closed in the following year, when they were once more colleagues +in office. On matters of home policy Lord Palmerston remained the Tory he +had been in his earlier days, and this was the cause of many a trial to +John. Indeed, it was a misfortune to him throughout his public career that +his colleagues almost to a man hung back when he would have gone forward; +and many a time he came home dispirited from a Cabinet at which he had been +alone--or with only the support of my father, who always stood stoutly by +him while he remained Cabinet Minister--in the wish to bring before +Parliament measures worthy of the Whig banner of Civil and Religious +Liberty, Progress and Reform. Nothing could exceed John's patience under +the criticisms of his colleagues, who were, most of them, also his friends, +some of them very dear friends--nothing could exceed his readiness to admit +and listen to difference of opinion from them; but it was trying to find +the difference always in one direction, and that a direction hardly +consistent with the character of a Whig Ministry. + +The spirit which pervaded the foreign policy of Lord John Russell is shown +in a letter from him to Queen Victoria dated December 29, 1851 [38]: + + The grand rule of doing to others as we wish that they should do + unto us is more applicable than any system of political science. + The honour of England does not consist in defending every English + officer or English subject, right or wrong, but in taking care that + she does not infringe the rules of justice, and that they are not + infringed against her. + +[38] "Letters of Queen Victoria," vol. ii, chap. xx. + +Lord and Lady John often regretted that the duties of political life +prevented them from having fuller intercourse with literary friends. There +are short entries in her diaries mentioning the visits of distinguished men +and women, but she seldom had time to write more than a few words. Her +diaries--like her letters--were written with marvellous rapidity, and were, +of course, meant for herself alone. In March, 1852, she writes: "Thackeray +came to read his 'Sterne' and 'Goldsmith' to us--very interesting quiet +evening." And a little later at Pembroke Lodge: "Dickens came to luncheon +and stayed to dinner. He was very agreeable--and more than agreeable--made +us feel how much he is to be liked." Rogers they also saw occasionally, and +the letter which follows is a reply to an invitation to Pembroke Lodge. The +second letter refers to a volume of poems in manuscript, written by Lady +John and illustrated by Lord John's stepdaughter, Mrs. Drummond. He had +lent it to Rogers. + + MY DEAR LADY JOHN,--Yes! yes! yes! A thousand thanks to you both! I + need not say how delighted I shall be to avail myself of your + kindness. I would rather share a crust with you and Lord John in + your Paradise then sup in the Apollo with Lucullus + himself--yes--though Cicero and Pompey were to be of the party. + + Yours most sincerely, + + SAMUEL ROGERS + + + _Mr. Samuel Rogers to Lord John Russell_ + + _April_ 15, 1852 + + MY DEAR FRIEND,--How could you entrust me with anything so + precious, so invaluable, that when I leave it I run back to see if + it is lost? The work of two kindred minds which nor time nor chance + could sever, long may it live a monument of all that is beautiful, + and long may _they_ live to charm and to instruct when I am + gone and forgotten. + + Yours ever, + + S.R. + +The next entry from Lady John's diary is dated March 14, 1852: + + Yesterday John read a ballad in _Punch_ giving a very + unfavourable review of his conduct in dismissing Lord Palmerston, + in bringing forward Reform--indeed, in almost all he has done in + office. He felt this more than the attacks of graver and less + independent papers, and said, "That's hard upon a man who has + worked as I have for Reform"; but the moment of discouragement + passed away, and he walked up and down the room repeating Milton's + lines with the spirit and feeling of Milton: + + "Yet hate I not a jot of heart or hope, + But steer right onward." + + + +PEMBROKE LODGE + +APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI + +My brother and I have here added a few recollections of our old home. + +A.R. + + +Pembroke Lodge, an old-fashioned house, long and low, surrounded by thickly +wooded grounds, stood on the ridge of the hill in Richmond Park overlooking +the Thames Valley and a wide plain beyond. It was approached by a drive +between ancient oaks, limes, and evergreens, and at the entrance was a +two-roomed thatched cottage, long occupied by a hearty old couple employed +on the place, so careful and watchful that an amusing incident occurred one +day when our father and mother were away from home. A lady and gentleman +who were walking in the Park called at the Lodge, and asked for permission +to walk through the grounds. The old lodge-keeper refused, saying she could +not give access to strangers during the absence of the family. The lady +then told her they were friends of Lord and Lady John, but still the old +guardian of the place remained suspicious and obdurate; till, to her +surprise and discomfiture, it came out that the visitors to whom she had so +sturdily refused admission were no other than Queen Victoria and Prince +Albert walking incognito in the Park. + +Just outside the Lodge the Crystal Palace on the height of Sydenham could +be seen glittering in the rays of the setting sun. In front of the house, +eastward, were two magnificent poplars, one 100 feet, the other about 96 +feet high, rich and ample in foliage, and most delicately expressive of +every kind of wind and weather. They could be seen with a telescope from +Hindhead, about thirty miles south-west. Grand old oaks, of seven hundred +to a thousand years, grew near the house and made plentiful shade; +southwards the grass under them was scarcely visible in May for the +glorious carpet of wild hyacinths, all blue and purple in the chequered +sunlight. Nearly every oak had its name and place in the affection of young +minds. There were also many fine beech-trees in the grounds. On the western +slopes were masses of primroses and violets, also wild strawberries. West +and south, down the hill, was a wilderness, the delight of children, +untended and unspoiled, where birds of many kinds built their nests, where +squirrels, rabbits, hedgehogs, weasels, snakes, wood-pigeons, turtle-doves, +owls, and other life of the woods had never been driven out, and where +visitors hardly ever cared to penetrate. Outside, in Petersham Park, was a +picturesque thatched byre where the cows were milked. Petersham Park was +then quiet and secluded, before the time came for its invasion by London +school treats. + +East of the house was a long lawn, secluded from the open Park by a +beautiful, wildly growing hedge of gorse, berberis, bramble, hawthorn, and +wild roses. Further north was a bowling-green, surrounded by hollies, +laburnums, lilacs, rhododendrons, and forest trees; at one end was a +rose-trellis and a raised flower garden. The effect of this bright flower +garden with its setting of green foliage and flowering shrubs, and majestic +old trees surrounding the whole, was very beautiful. At one end, shaded by +two cryptomereas, planted by our father--said by Sir Joseph Hooker to be +among the finest in England--was a long verandah where our mother often sat +in summer with her basket of books, and in winter spread oatmeal for the +birds, which grew very tame and would eat out of her hand. Close by was a +picturesque old thatched summer-house, covered with roses; on each side +were glades of chestnut, hornbeam, and lime trees, and looking westward +Windsor Castle could be seen on the far horizon. + +Near the house was a noble cedar, with one particularly fine bough under +the shade of which the Petersham School children and the "Old Scholars" had +their tea on festive occasions, followed by merry games in the grounds. The +view from the house and the West walk, and also from King Henry's Mount, +was most beautiful, especially in the spring and autumn, with the varied +and harmonious tints of the wooded foreground fading away into the soft +blue distance. + +It was a glorious Park to live in. The great oaks, the hawthorns, the tall +dense bracken, the wide expanses of grass, the herds of red and fallow +deer, not always undisturbed, made it a paradise for young people. The boys +delighted in the large ponds, full of old carp and tench, with dace and +roach, perch, gudgeons, eels, tadpoles, sticklebacks, and curious creatures +of the weedy bottom. There was the best of riding over the smooth grass in +the open sunny expanses or among the quiet and shady glades. Combe Wood, a +little south of the Park, was then an island of pure country, quite +unfrequented, and an occasional day there was a treat for all. + +Pembroke Lodge, the house, was entered by a porch overhung with wistaria; +the walls on each side were covered with laburnums and roses; a long +trellised arch of white roses led to the south lawn, which was sheltered +from the east by holly, lilacs, and a very fine crataegus. From here was +one of the loveliest views in the place, for our mother had made a wide +opening under the arched bough of a fine elm-tree which stood like a grand +old sentinel in the foreground. The bow room on the south side of the house +was occupied by our father during his later years. Here stood the statue of +Italy given by grateful Italians and the silver statuette given by the +ladies of Bedford in recognition of Reform. The West room next the +dining-room had been our father's study during many of his most strenuous +years of office. The floor was heaped high with pyramids of despatch-boxes. +One day some consternation was caused by our pet jackdaw, who had found his +way in and pulled off all the labels, no doubt intending, in mischievous +enjoyment, to tear to shreds despatches of European importance. + +Above the bow room was our mother's bedroom; the view from here was +exceedingly beautiful, both near and far, and she was never tired of +standing at the open window looking at the loveliness around her, and +listening to the happy chorus of birds--and to the nightingales answering +each other, and singing day and night, apparently never weary of trying to +gladden the world with their glorious melody. + +It was indeed impossible to have a happier or more perfect home; the +freedom, the outdoor life, the games and fun, in which our father and +mother joined in their rare moments of leisure; the hours of reading and +talk with them on the high and deep things of life--all this, and much more +that cannot be expressed, forms a background in the memory of life deeply +treasured and ineffaceable. + + + +CHAPTER VII + +1852-55 + + +Although the Russell Ministry had been defeated upon the Militia Bill ("my +tit-for-tat with John Russell," as Palmerston called it), the victors were +very unlikely to hold office for long. In spite of Disraeli's praise of +Free Trade during the General Election, a right-about surprising and +disconcerting to his colleagues, the returns left the strength of parties +much as they had been before. The Conservatives did not lose ground, but +they did not gain it; they remained stronger than any other single party, +but much weaker than Whigs, Peelites, and Irish combined. When Parliament +met it was obvious that they would soon be replaced in office by some kind +of coalition. Defeat came on Disraeli's Budget. The question remained, who +could now undertake to amalgamate the various political groups, which, +except in Opposition, had shown so little stable cohesion? Since the +downfall of the Derby Government had been the work of a temporary alliance +between Peelites and Whigs, the Queen sent for representatives of both +parties; for Lord Aberdeen as the leader of Peel's followers and for Lord +Lansdowne as the representative of the Whigs. Naturally she did not wish to +summon Palmerston after what had happened; and to have charged Lord John, +the other Whig leader, with the formation of a Ministry would have widened +the discrepancies within the Whig party itself; for Lord John was unpopular +with the Protestant Nonconformist section of the party, who were indignant +with him for not strictly enforcing the Ecclesiastical Titles Act, and he +had alienated the numerous believers in Palmerston by having forced him to +resign. Lord Lansdowne was universally respected, and since he belonged to +the rear-guard of the Whig party there seemed a better chance of his +coalescing with the Conservatives. When he declined, pleading gout and old +age, the task devolved upon Lord Aberdeen, who accepted the Queen's +commission knowing that Palmerston was willing to take office and work +_with_, though never again (he said) _under_, [39] Lord John. It +was most important that both the leaders of the Whig party, Palmerston and +Russell, should come into the Cabinet; for if either stayed outside a +coalition, which by its Conservative tendencies already excluded Radicals +of influence like Cobden and Bright, it could not have counted upon steady +Whig support. Would Lord John consent to take office? Upon his decision +depended, in Lord Aberdeen's opinion, the success or failure of the +coalition. He had some talk with Lord John before accepting the Queen's +commission, which persuaded him that he could rely upon Lord John's +consent; but it is clear that at that time Lord John did not consider the +matter decided. + +[39] Although he asserted at the time that he would never serve under Lord +John again, yet it appears that he was the only one of Lord John's +colleagues who was willing to serve under him, when Lord John attempted to +succeed Lord Aberdeen. Morley's "Life of Gladstone," vol. i, p. 531. + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + LONDON, _December_ 24, 1852 + + God grant our present good accounts may continue. [Lady Minto had + been and was then alarmingly ill.] The two last letters have made + me as little unhappy as is possible, considering how much there is + still to dread. + + Whenever my thoughts are not with Mama, they are wearying + themselves to no purpose in threading the maze of ravelled + politics, or rather political arrangements, in which we are living. + Since I have been in _public life_, I never spent a week of + such painful _public anxiety_. When I say that the possibility + of John taking office under Lord Aberdeen was always an odious one + to me, and one which seemed next to an impossibility, don't for one + moment suppose that I say so on the ground of personal claims and + personal ambition, which I hold to be as wrong and selfish in + politics as in everything else. And I shall feel a positive + pleasure, far above that of seeing him _first,_ in seeing him + give so undoubted a proof of disinterestedness and patriotism as + consenting to be _second_, if that were all. But oh, the + danger of other sacrifices--sacrifices as fatal as that one would + be honourable to his name--and oh, the infinite shades and grades + of want of high motives and aims which, at such a time, one is + doomed to find out in the buzzers who hover round the house--while + the honest and pure and upright keep away and are silent. At times + I almost wish I could throw away all that is honest and pure and + upright, as useless and inconvenient rubbish of which I am half + ashamed. I never felt more keenly or heavily the immeasurable + distance between earth and heaven than now, when after the day has + been spent in listening to the plausibilities of commonplace + politicians, I open my Bible at night. It is going from darkness + into light. + + And now you have had enough of my grumpiness, and I shall only add + that all has not been pain and mortification. On the contrary, some + men have come out bright and true as they were sure to do, and have + shown themselves real friends to John and the country, and redeemed + the class of politicians from a sweeping condemnation which would + be most unjust. + +After much hesitation Lord John determined to serve under Lord Aberdeen. He +was persuaded to do so, in spite of strong misgivings, by the Queen, who +was anxious to avoid the last resort of calling in Palmerston; her request +was backed by the appeals of his most trusted political friends. + + _Queen Victoria to Lord John Russell_ + + OSBORNE, _December_ 19, 1852 + + The Queen has to-day charged Lord Aberdeen with the duty of forming + an Administration, which he has accepted. The Queen thinks the + moment to have arrived when a popular, efficient, and durable + Government could be formed by the sincere and united efforts of all + parties professing Conservative and Liberal opinions. The Queen, + knowing that this can only be effected by the patriotic sacrifice + of personal interests and feelings to the public, trusts that Lord + John Russell will, as far as he is able, give his valuable and + powerful assistance to the realization of this object. + +Lord John's hesitation seems to have been not unnaturally interpreted by +many contemporaries as the reluctance of an ex-Prime Minister to take a +subordinate position, and some records of this impression have found their +way into history. We have Lady John's assurance that "this never for one +moment weighed with him," and that his hesitation was entirely due to "the +improbability of agreement in a Cabinet so composed, and therefore the +probable evil to the country." His true feeling was shown by a remark made +at that time by Lady John, that her husband would not mind being "shoeblack +to Lord Aberdeen" if it would serve the country. [40] + +[40] Stuart Reid's "Life of Lord John Russell," p. 205. + +It may be pointed out in corroboration that three years later Lord John was +willing to serve under Palmerston himself, both in the House of Commons and +the Cabinet, though the latter had thwarted him at every turn in the +previous Ministry, and hardly hoped for such generous support. A man in +whom scruples of pride were strong emotions would have found far greater +cause for standing out then, than at this juncture. Indeed, such an +interpretation of his motives does not agree with the impression which Lord +John's character leaves on the mind. From his reserved speech, shy manner, +and uncommunicative patience under criticism, from the silent abruptness of +his decisions, his formidable trenchancy in self-defence when openly +attacked, and his aloofness from any attempts to curry favour with the +Press, it may be inferred that his character was a dignified one; but he +was dignified precisely in the way which makes such actions as taking a +subordinate political position particularly easy. He foresaw that his +position would be one of extreme difficulty, but not--here lay his +error--that it would prove an impossible one. It must be remembered that by +subordinating himself he was also in a certain measure subordinating his +party. The Whigs were contributing the majority of votes in the House of +Commons, and they demanded that they should be proportionately powerful in +the Cabinet. He was therefore forced to arrogate to himself an exceptional +position in the Cabinet as the leader and representative of what was in +fact a separate party. The Whigs kept complaining that he did not press +their claims to office with sufficient importunity, while the Peelites +reproached him with refusing to work under his chief like every other +Minister. Whenever he subordinated the claims of the Whigs for the sake of +working better with Lord Aberdeen, he laid himself open to charges of +betraying his followers, and when he pressed their claims, he was accused +of arrogance towards his chief. This, however, was a dilemma, the vexations +of which wore off as places were apportioned and the Ministry got to its +work; there was a more fatal incongruity in his position. He was +technically a subordinate Minister, pledged to reform (as Prime Minister he +had opposed a Radical Reform Bill on the ground that he would introduce his +own), and the representative of the strongest party, also pledged to +reform, in a coalition Cabinet anxious for the most part to seize the first +excuse to postpone it indefinitely. In ordinary circumstances, if thwarted +by his colleagues he would have resigned; but as it turned out, their +excuse for thwarting him was at the same time the strongest claim on his +loyalty. They made Crimean difficulties at once an excuse for postponing +reform and for urging him to postpone his resignation. + +At first, however, as far as those who were not behind the scenes could +see, all went smoothly with the Coalition. The work of the session was +admirably carried out. Lord John entered the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary; +but as the duties of that office combined with the leadership of the House +of Commons were too much for one man, he resigned, remaining in the Cabinet +without office until 1854, when he became Colonial Secretary. The great +event of the session was Gladstone's famous first Budget. + + _Lord John to Lady John Russell_ + + _April_ 19, 1853 + + Gladstone's speech was magnificent, and I think his plan will + do.... I think we shall carry this Budget, as Gladstone has put it + so clearly that hardly a Liberal can vote with Disraeli to put him + in our place. It rejoices me to be party to a large plan, and to + have to do with a man who seeks to benefit the country rather than + to carry a majority by concessions to fear. + + + _Lady John to Lord John Russell_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _April_ 20, 1853 + + I am delighted with Gladstone's Budget. I don't pretend to judge of + all its details, but such of its proposals as I understand are all + to my mind, and the spirit and temper of the whole speech + admirable; so bold, so benevolent, so mild, so uncompromising. I + read it aloud to Lizzy and the girls, and we were in the middle of + it when your letter came telling us how fine it had been.... Surely + you will carry it? I feel no fear, except of your allowing it to be + damaged in the carrying. + + + _Mrs. Gladstone to Lady John Russell_ + + _April_, 1853 + + MY DEAR LADY JOHN,--I thank you heartily for your very kind note. + You know well from your own experience how happy I must be now. + + We have indeed great reason to be thankful: the approbation of such + men as your husband is no slight encouragement and no slight + happiness. I assure you we have felt this deeply. After great + anxiety one feels more as if in a happy dream than in real life and + you will not laugh at the relief to me of seeing him well after + such an effort and after such labour as it has been for weeks.... + + We have often thought of you in your illness and heard of your + well-doing with sincere pleasure. + + Once more thanking you, believe me, dear Lady John, + + Yours sincerely, + + CATHERINE GLADSTONE + + I must tell you with what comfort and interest I watched Lord + John's countenance during the speech. + +On March 28, 1853, Lady John's daughter, Mary Agatha, was born at Pembroke +Lodge. Lady Minto was well enough to write a bright and happy letter of +congratulation on the birth of her granddaughter, but her health was +gradually failing, and on July 21st she died at Nervi, in Italy. + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _August_ 3, 1853 + + The world is changed to me for ever since I last wrote. My dear, + dear Mama has left it, and I shall never again see that face so + long and deeply loved. Tuesday, July 26th, was the day we heard. + Thursday, July 21st, the day her angel spirit was summoned to that + happy home where tears are wiped from all eyes. I pray to think + more of her, glorious, happy and at rest, than of ourselves. But it + is hard, very, very hard to part. O Mama, Mama, I call and you do + not come. I dream of you, I wake, and you are not there. + + + _Lord John to Lady John Russell_ + + MINTO, _August_ 10, 1853 + + You will feel a melancholy pang at the date of the place from which + I write. It is indeed very sorrowful to see Lord Minto and so many + of his sons and daughters assembled to perform the last duties to + her who was the life and comfort of them all.... The place is + looking beautiful, and your mother's garden was never so lovely. It + is pleasant in all these sorrows and trials to see a family so + united in affection, and so totally without feelings or objects + that partake of selfishness or ill-will. + +The old poet Rogers, who had been attached to Lady John since her earliest +days in London society, now wrote to her in her sorrow. His note is worth +preserving. He was past his ninetieth year when he wrote, and it reveals a +side of him which is lost sight of in the memoirs of the time, where he +usually appears as saying many neat things, but few kind ones. Mrs. Norton, +in a letter to Hayward, gives an authentic picture of him at this time. She +begins by saying that no man ever _seemed_ so important who did so +little, even said so little: + + "His god was Harmony," she wrote; "and over his life Harmony + presided, sitting on a lukewarm cloud. He was _not_ the 'poet, + sage, and philosopher' people expected to find he was, but a man in + whom the tastes (rare fact!) preponderated over the passions; who + defrayed the expenses of his tastes as other men make outlay for + the gratification of their passions; all within the limit of + reason. + + "... He was the very embodiment of quiet, from his voice to the + last harmonious little picture that hung in his hushed room, and a + curious figure he seemed--an elegant pale watch-tower, showing for + ever what a quiet port literature and the fine arts might offer, in + an age of 'progress,' when every one is tossing, struggling, + wrecking, and foundering on a sea of commercial speculation or + political adventure; when people fight over pictures, and if a man + does buy a picture, it is with the burning desire to prove it is a + Raphael to his yielding enemies, rather than to point it out with a + slow white finger to his breakfasting friends." + + + _Mr. Samuel Rogers to Lady John Russell_ + + _August_ 13, 1853 + + MY DEAR FRIEND,--May I break in upon you to say how much you have + been in my thoughts for the last fortnight? But I was unwilling to + interrupt you at such a moment when you must have been so much + engaged. + + May He who has made us and alone knows what is best for us support + you under your great affliction. Again and again have I taken up my + poor pen, but in vain, and I have only to pray that God may bless + you and yours wherever you go. + + Ever most affectionately yours, + + SAMUEL ROGERS + +In the autumn of 1853 Lord John took his family up to Roseneath, in +Scotland, which had been lent them by the Duke of Argyll. They had been +there some weeks, occasionally making short cruises in the _Seamew_, +which the Commission of Inland Revenue had placed at their disposal, when +threatening complications in the East compelled Lord John to return to +London. The peace of thirty-eight years was nearly at an end. + + ROSENEATH, _September_ 2, 1853 + + My poor dear John set off to London, to his and my great + disappointment. The refusal of the Porte to agree to the Note + accepted by the Emperor makes the journey necessary. + +Lady John soon followed him. + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Elizabeth Romilly_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _October_ 21, 1853 + + MY DEAREST LIZZY,--... I have never ceased rejoicing at my sudden + flight from Roseneath, though its two causes, John's cold and the + Czar's misdeeds, are unpleasant enough--but his presence here is so + necessary, so terribly necessary, that neither he nor I could have + stayed on in peace at Roseneath.... What he has accomplished is a + wonder; and I hope that some day somehow everybody will know + everything, and wonder at his patience and firmness and + unselfishness, as I do.... I trust we may be very quiet here for + some time, and then one must gather courage for London and the + battle of life again. Our quiet here will not be without + interruption, for there will be early in November a week or so of + Cabinets, for which we shall go to town, and at the end of November + Parliament may be obliged to meet.... + + Your ever affectionate sister, + + FANNY RUSSELL + + + _Lady John to Lord John Russell_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _December_ 9, 1853 + + Your letter just come, dearest ... I don't think I am tired by + colds, but indeed it is true that I think constantly and uneasily + of your political position, _never, never_, as to whether this + or that course will place you highest in the world's estimation. I + am sure you know all I care about is that you should do what is + most right in the sight of God. + +It may be well to remind the reader at this point of the diplomatic +confusions and difficulties which led to the Crimean War. The Eastern +Question originally grew out of a quarrel between France and Russia +concerning the possession of certain holy places in Palestine; both the +Latin and the Greek Church wanted to control them. The Sultan had offered +to mediate, but neither party had been satisfied by his intervention. In +the beginning of 1853 it became known in England that the Czar was looking +forward to the collapse of Turkey, and that he had actually proposed to the +English Ambassador that we should take Crete and Greece, while he took the +European provinces of Turkey. In Russia, hostility to Turkey rose partly +from sympathy with the Greek Church, which was persecuted in Turkey, and +partly from the desire to possess an outlet into the Mediterranean. The +English Ministers naturally would have nothing to do with the Czar's +proposal to partition Turkey. Russia's attitude towards Turkey was +attributed to the aggressive motive alone. Nicholas then demanded from the +Sultan the right of protecting the Sultan's Christian subjects himself, and +when this was refused, he occupied Moldavia and Wallachia with his troops. +England's reply was to send a fleet up the Dardanelles. + +A consultation of the four great Powers, England, France, Austria, and +Prussia, for the prevention of war, ended in the dispatch of the "Vienna +Note," which contained the stipulation that the Sultan should protect in +future all Christians of the Greek Church in his kingdom. The Czar accepted +the terms of the Note, but the Sultan, instigated by Sir Stratford Canning, +the British Ambassador at Constantinople, refused them. The Czar then +declared war, and though the Turks were successful on the Danube, he +succeeded in destroying the Turkish fleet at Sinope. This success produced +the greatest indignation in England and France, and in March, 1854, they +declared war upon Russia together. + +Before these events Palmerston had resigned on the ground that the attitude +of the Government towards Russia was not sufficiently stiff and peremptory; +for, from the first, Lord Aberdeen had never contemplated the possibility +of war with Russia. But before the month was out Palmerston had resumed +office. It will be seen from the following letter, written by Lord John's +private secretary, Mr. Boileau, that disapproval of the Government's +negotiations with Russia was not the only motive attributed by Whigs to +Palmerston in resigning. Lord John had joined the Ministry on the condition +that he should bring forward his measure of reform; from the first most of +his colleagues were very lukewarm towards it, but Palmerston was +definitely, though covertly, antagonistic, + + _Mr. John Boileau to Lady Melgund_ + + FOREIGN OFFICE, _December_ 19, 1853 + + You will be glad to know something about Pam's resignation and the + _on dits_ here--if, as I hope, you are safely arrived at + Minto.... His own paper, the _Morning Post_, will do him more + harm than good, I think. It will not allow that Reform has anything + to do with his resignation--swears he is an out-and-out + Reformer--and that his differing from the policy of the Cabinet on + the Eastern Question is the only reason. Now this, in my humble + judgment, I believe not to be the case. I feel certain, in fact I + feel sure, that he goes out solely on the question of Reform, + having been opposed to it _in toto_ from the first moment of + the discussion on it in the Cabinet, and though he went on with + them for a time, they came to something that he could not swallow. + As to the question of the East, if he does differ from the Cabinet + it is no more than Lord John or several others might say if they + went out to-morrow.... The _Times_ of to-day has a very severe + article against him. The _Daily News_ is very sensible and + implies great confidence in Lord John. The _Chronicle_ is calm + in its disapprobation of Pam--the _Morning Advertiser_, of all + papers! is the most in favour, and is crying Pam up for Prime + Minister already, and gives extracts from county papers to show how + popular he is. The _Morning Herald_ is silent on the subject. + I send you these flying remarks, as I dare say you will see nothing + at Minto except perhaps the _Times_, and any news in the + country goes a great way.... London is very cold and painfully dull + without 24 Chester Square, and you must write to me very often. You + see _I_ have begun very well.... + +Lord John, however, insisted on bringing forward his Bill in spite of +opposition from his colleagues and many of the Government's supporters. He +felt that the party was bound to keep its promise to the country, while his +colleagues urged that the House of Commons was so much occupied by the war +that they had no time to consider such a Bill. As the House of Commons was +not conducting the war itself the excuse was shallow. Lord John threatened +to resign unless he was allowed to introduce his measure, for he considered +the honour of the Ministry and his own honour at stake. From the following +letters it will be seen how hard he fought for this measure, and with what +poignant regret he found himself compelled at last to choose between +letting it drop and resignation. His resignation would have meant a serious +shock to a Ministry already in disgrace through their mismanagement of the +war; rather than embarrass them further at such a crisis he chose the +lesser evil of abandoning his Bill. But by yielding to the urgent appeals +of his colleagues and continuing in office, his position became from day to +day increasingly difficult. Finally, he resigned abruptly, for reasons +which have been interpreted unfavourably by almost every historian who has +written upon this period. + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + LONDON, _February_ 14, 1854 + + I remember almost crying in Minto days, when you were twelve, + because I thought it past the prime of life. What shall I do now + that you are striking forty-three? I believe you have long ago made + up your mind to the changing and fading and ending of all things + here below, joys as well as sorrows, childhood, youth and age, hope + and fear and doubt, and that you have learnt to look forward rather + than back; but to me this is often a struggle still; and when the + struggle ends the wrong way, how much there is to make my heart + sink within me! Chiefly, as you may guess, the deepening lines on + the face of the dearest husband that ever blessed a home, and the + comparison of him as he now is with him as he was when we married. + + Yesterday was a great day to us; the Reform Bill was brought in. I + suppose I should be better pleased if there was more enthusiasm. I + should certainly have a better opinion of human nature, if those + who have cried out most loudly for Reform did not set their + cowardly faces against it now; but at the same time there is a + happy pride in seeing John's honest and patriotic perseverance in + what he is convinced is right, through evil report and good report, + in season and out of season. + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Elizabeth Romilly_ + + _February_ 28, 1854 + + DEAREST LIZZY,--To get out of my difficulty as to which of my other + three correspondents to write to, I give my half-hour to you this + morning. I must begin by thanking you all with all my heart for + your most welcome congratulations on all that John has said and + done since Parliament met, and especially his great speech in + answer to Layard. It is indeed a happiness to hear such praise from + people whose praise is worth having; but I have now learned, if I + had not long ago, how worthless many of the congratulations are, + which I receive after a good speech which has set the Ministers + firmer in their seats. It may be right the week after to make one + which has a contrary effect, and then the congratulators become + revilers. I knew when I began to write that I should be + disagreeable, but had hoped not to be so as early as the second + page. However, having got into the complaining mood, I will not + hurry out of it; and I shall be surprised if you do not admit that + I have some reason for my complaints. + + For the last ten days John has been urged and pressed and + threatened and coaxed and assailed by all the various arts of every + variety of politician to induce him to give up Reform! Mind, + _I_ say give up, where _they_ say put off, because I know + they mean give up; though cowards as they are in this as in + everything else, they _dare_ not say what they mean. Will you + believe that the language poured into my pained and wounded and + offended but very helpless ears, day after day, by official + friends, is to the effect that the country is apathetic on Reform, + and that therefore it should not be proceeded with; that Reform is + a measure calculated to produce excitement, conflict, disturbance + in the country, and therefore it should not be proceeded with; that + John having given a pledge was bound, "oh yes, certainly," to + redeem it, and that all the world will agree he _has_ most + nobly redeemed it, if he lets his Bill fall on the floor of the + House of Commons to-morrow, never to be picked up again; that if he + proceeds with it, he will be universally reproached for allowing + personal hostility to Lord Palmerston to influence him to the + injury of the country; that his character is so high that if he + gave it up, it would be utterly impossible for any creature to + raise a doubt of his sincerity in bringing it forward; that + dissolution or resignation are revolution and ruin and disgrace; + that the caballers are wrong, quite wrong, but that we must look at + the general question and the possible results (a hackneyed + expression which may sound wise but of which I too well know the + drift); that it may often be very honourable to abandon friends and + supporters with whom we agree, to conciliate the shabbies with whom + we differ; that, of course, they would be too happy to be out of + office, but people must not consult their own wishes; that I must + be aware that Lord John is supposed sometimes to be a little + obstinate, etc. In short, it all comes to this, that many M.P.'s + are afraid of losing their seats by a dissolution, and many others + whose boroughs are disfranchised hate the Reform Bill, and many + more are anti-Reformers by nature, and all these combine to stifle + it.... And to tell Lord John that really he has such a quantity of + spare character that it can bear a little damaging! I am ashamed + and sick of such things, and should think my country no longer + worth caring for, but for those brave men who have gone off to + fight for her with a spirit worthy of themselves, and but for those + lower classes in which Frederick [41] tells me to put my faith.... + I must stop, not without fear that you may think me blind to the + very real evil and danger of dissolution or resignation at the + beginning of a great war. Indeed I am not--but those who see + nothing but these dangers are taking the very way to lead us into + them.... Lord Aberdeen is firm as a rock; it is due to him to say + so. How shall I prevent my boys growing up to be cowards and + selfish like the rest? You see what a humour I am in.... I never + _let out_ to anybody. When my friends give all this noble + advice I sit to all appearance like Patience on a monument, but not + feeling like her at all--keeping silence because there is not time + to begin at the first rudiments of morality, and there would be no + use in anything higher up. Good-bye, poor Lizzy, doomed to suffer + under my bad moods. God bless you all. + + Yours ever, F.R. + +[41] Colonel Romilly, husband of Lady Elizabeth Romilly, and son of +Sir Samuel Romilly. + + + _Lord Granville to Lady John Russell_ + + _February_ 28, 1854 + + I have just heard that Lord John has consented to put off Reform + till after Easter. It must have been a great personal sacrifice to + him, but I am delighted for his own sake and the public cause that + he has done it. There is no doubt but that nearly all who cry for + delay are at bottom enemies to Reform. Reform is not incompatible + with war, and it is not clear that a dissolution would be dangerous + during its continuance, but an enormous majority of the House of + Commons have persuaded themselves of the contrary. + + In all probability the apathetic approved of the Reform Bill only + because it was out of the question for the present. Newcastle + agrees with me in thinking that a wall has been built which, at + present, could not have been knocked down by the few who really + desire Reform. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _April_ 8, 1854 + + Painfully anxious day. Cabinet to decide on Reform or no Reform + this session. + + Came here early with the children, wishing to be cheerful for + John's sake, and knowing how much power Pembroke Lodge and the + children have to make me so. Found this place most lovely; the day + warm and bright as June; the children like larks escaped from a + cage. At half-past seven John came looking worn and sad--no Reform, + and no resignation! Not a man in the Cabinet agreed with him that + it would be best to go on with Reform; though several would have + consented had he insisted, but he did not. Not one would hear + either of his resignation or of Lord Palmerston's. In short--the + present Ministry at any price. John dissatisfied with his + colleagues, and worse with himself. May God watch over him and + guide him. + + + LONDON, _April_ 11, 1854 + + The great day is over, and thank God John has stood the trial, and + even risen, I believe, in the estimation of his followers and of + men in general. The regrets, disapprobation, despair, reproaches + that assailed him from the various sections of his party, on the + rumours of his resignation, were of a kind that would have made it + wrong in him to persist; for they proved that the heartiest + reformers were against it, and would uphold him in remaining in the + Government. + + There was deep silence when he rose. It was soon plain that the + disposition of his supporters was good; and throughout his noble, + simple, generous, touching speech he was loudly cheered by them, + and often by all sides. + + At the close there were a few words about his own position: he said + that the course he was taking was open to suspicion from those who + supported him--that if he had done anything--Here his voice failed + him, and there burst forth the most deafening cheers from all parts + of the House, which lasted for a minute or two, till he was able to + go on. If he had done anything for the cause of Reform he still + hoped for their confidence. If not, his influence would be weakened + and destroyed, and he could no longer lead them. This was the + substance--not the words. It was a great night for him. He risked + more than perhaps ought to be risked, but he has lost nothing, I + trust and believe, and I hope he has gained more than the + enthusiasm of a day. May God ever guide and bless him. + + + _Mr. George Moffatt, M.P., to Lady John Russell_ + + 103 EATON SQUARE, _April_ 12, 1854 + + DEAR LADY JOHN RUSSELL,--Pardon my saying one word upon the + touching event of last evening. A parliamentary experience of nine + years has never shown me so striking an instance of respectful + homage and cordial sympathy as was then elicited. I know that the + unbidden tears gushed to my cheeks, and looking round I could see + scores of other careless, worldly men struck by the same + emotion--and even the Speaker (as he subsequently admitted to me) + was affected in precisely the same manner. The German-toy face of + the Caucasian was of course as immovable as usual, but Mr. Walpole + wept outright. I sincerely trust that the kindly enthusiasm of this + moment may have in some measure compensated for the vexations and + annoyances of the last two months. + + Believe me, your faithful servant, + + GEO. MOFFATT + + + _Mr. John Boileau to Lady Melgund_ + + LONDON, _April_ 12, 1854 + + I wish I could write you a long letter giving an account of last + night in the House of Commons.... I would not have missed last + night for the world. It was a melancholy instance of what a public + servant in these days may have to go through, at the same time such + a noble example of patriotism and self-sacrifice as I believe there + is not another man in England capable of giving--and though I + cannot yet resign my feeling that it would have been better in the + end both for Lord John and the Liberal party had he resigned, at + present I have nothing to do but to admire, love, and respect more + than ever the man who could, for the sake of his country and what + he believes in his judgment to be the best for her, go through as + painful a struggle as he has.... The scene in the House itself I + shall never forget--the sudden pause when he began to speak of + himself and his position--the sobs, and finally the burst of tears, + and the almost ineffectual attempt to finish the remaining + sentences, and at last obliged to give it up and sit down exhausted + with the protracted struggle and the strain of nerve. He was loudly + cheered from both sides of the House. + + + _Lord John Russell to Mr. John Abel Smith_ [42] + + _April_ 12, 1854 + + DEAR SMITH,--As I find some rumours have been mentioned to Lady + John, false in themselves and injurious to me, I beg to assure you + that it has been the greatest comfort to me to find that I received + from her the best encouragement and support in the course which I + ultimately adopted. She could not fail to perceive and to + sympathize in the deep distress which the prospect of abandoning + the Reform Bill caused me, and it was my chief consolation during a + trying period to find at home regard for my fame and reputation as + a sincere and earnest reformer. That regard has now been shown by + the House of Commons generally, but there is no man in that House + on whose friendship I more confidently rely, and with good reason, + than yourself. + + Yours ever truly, + + J. RUSSELL + +[42] Lord John's election agent. + + + _Lord Spencer to Lady John Russell_ + + LEAMINGTON, _April_ 14, 1854 + + DEAR LADY JOHN,--I cannot resist giving you the trouble to read a + few lines from me on Lord John's speech the other night. + Remembering the conversation we had on the subject of the proposed + Reform Bill, when I ventured, perhaps too boldly and too roundly, + to let out my unworthy opinion in a contrary sense, I think I ought + to tell you that I had arrived some time ago at the same conclusion + which Lord John announced to the House of Commons the other night, + and I really believe if I had not, his reasons would have made me. + I never read a more convincing speech, and I never read so + affecting a one. No man living, I believe, could have made that + speech but your husband, and it gives me great pleasure to offer + you my heartfelt congratulations upon it.... Pray forgive me, dear + Lady John, for intruding thus on your time, and believe me, + + Very faithfully yours, + + SPENCER + + + _Lady John Russell to Lord Minto_, + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _April_ 24, 1854 + + MY DEAREST PAPA,--... I must dash at once into my subject, having + only a quarter of an hour to spend on it. It is that of John's + position; he has, I believe, raised his character in the country by + the withdrawal of the Reform Bill. His motives are above suspicion + and unsuspected; whereas, owing to the singular state of the public + mind, it seems pretty sure that they _would_ have been, though + most unjustly, suspected, had he persisted in his resignation. But + in the Cabinet I do _not_ think his position improved, rather + the reverse. The policy of the timid and the shabby and the + ambitious and the cunning and the illiberal triumphed; and all + experience teaches me that John, having made a great sacrifice, + will be expected to make every other that _apparent + expediency_ may induce his colleagues to require. He will always + be pressed and urged and taunted with obstinacy, etc., and told + that he will ruin his reputation, if for the sake of one question + on which he may happen to differ with them, he exposed his country + to the awful danger of a change of Ministry.... It is for the + avowed purpose of carrying on the war with vigour that Reform and + other things are thrown aside. The Ministry has not asked the House + of Commons or the country to declare, but has declared itself + indispensable to the country, and the only possible Ministry + competent to carry on the war. But if it has already proved, and if + it daily goes on to prove, itself incompetent in time of peace to + carry on measures of domestic improvement, and more specially + incompetent either to prepare for or prosecute a great war, has + John done right, has he done what the welfare of the country + requires, in lending himself so long as its indispensable prop? It + is not incompetent from want of ability, but of unity.... He is + considered by them to have wedded himself to them for better for + worse more closely than ever by the withdrawal of Reform.... The + wretched fears and delays and doubts which have, I firmly believe, + first produced this war, and then made its beginning of so little + promise, have had no effect as warnings for the future.... There + will probably soon be great pressure put upon him to take + office.... Nothing but the fact of his having no office, of his + only part in the Government being _work,_ has made him + struggle along a very dangerous way unattacked and unhurt.... With + his opinion of Lord Aberdeen's Ministry he would be _doing + wrong,_ though from no worse motives than excess of deference to + those with whom he acts, were he, after giving up Reform, to give + up the degree of independence which he now has.... You can now + partly conceive how doubtful I feel (and he does too) whether the + withdrawal of Reform will ultimately be an advantage, though it is + obvious that a break-up on that was more to be deprecated than on + almost any other subject. John said this morning of his own accord + that he feared he had been wrong in ever joining this Ministry. I + wake every morning with the fear of some terrible national disaster + before night, of disasters which could be borne if they were + unavoidable, but will be unbearable if they could have been + avoided. Do _not,_ pray, think me a croaker without good + reason for croaking. The greatness of the occasion is not + understood. + + Ever, my dearest Papa, + + Your affectionate child, + + F.R. + +Matters were coming to a crisis in the Cabinet. The autumn and early winter +of 1854 brought the victories of Alma, Balaclava, and Inkerman. As the +country grew prouder of its soldiers its indignation at the way the civil +side of the war had been organized increased. The incompetence of the War +Office made the Government extremely unpopular, and a motion was brought +forward in the House of Commons charging them with the mismanagement of the +war. Directly after Mr. Roebuck had given notice of a motion for a +Committee of Inquiry, Lord John wrote to Lord Aberdeen that since he could +not conscientiously oppose the motion, he must resign his office. The view +which most historians have taken of this step is that it was an act of +cowardly desertion on his part. As a member of the Government, he was as +responsible as his colleagues for what had been done, and by resigning he +was admitting that they deserved disgrace. Quotations from two important +historical books will show the view which has been generally taken of his +action. + +Lord Morley, in his "Life of Gladstone," says: + + ... When Parliament assembled on January 23, 1855, Mr. Roebuck on + the first night of the session gave notice of a motion for a + Committee of Inquiry. Lord John Russell attended to the formal + business, and when the House was up went home, accompanied by Sir + Charles Wood. Nothing of consequence passed between the two + colleagues, and no word was said to Wood in the direction of + withdrawal. The same evening, as the Prime Minister was sitting in + his drawing-room, a red box was brought in to him by his son, + containing Lord John Russell's resignation. He was as much amazed + as Lord Newcastle, smoking his evening pipe of tobacco in his + coach, was amazed by the news that the battle of Marston Moor had + begun. Nothing has come to light since to set aside the severe + judgment pronounced upon this proceeding by the universal opinion + of contemporaries, including Lord John's own closest political + allies. That a Minister should run away from a hostile motion upon + affairs for which responsibility was collective, and this without a + word of consultation with a single colleague, is a transaction + happily without precedent in the history of modern English + Cabinets. [43] + +[43] Morley's "Life of Gladstone," vol. i, p. 521. See also Lord Stanmore's +"Earl of Aberdeen," chap. X. + +Mr. Herbert Paul, in his brilliant "History of Modern England," gives a +version of this occurrence, which, on the whole, is hardly less harsh +towards Lord John. + +Well might Lord Palmerston complain of such behaviour as embarrassing. It +was crippling. It furnished the Opposition with unanswerable arguments. +"Here," they could say, "is the second man in your Cabinet, in his own +estimation the first, knowing all that you know, and he says 'that an +inquiry by the House is essential. How then can you deny or dispute it?'" +In a foot-note he adds, "Lord John offered to withdraw his resignation if +the Duke of Newcastle would retire [from the War Office] in favour of +Palmerston. It had been settled before Christmas between Lord Aberdeen and +the Duke that this change should be made. But no one else was aware of the +arrangement, and Lord Aberdeen, though he had assented to it, declined to +carry it out as the result of a bargain with Lord John." + +Now both these versions leave out an important fact in the private history +of the Aberdeen Cabinet. Lord John had on two occasions at least, +subsequent to giving way upon the question of the Reform Bill, tried to +resign. Only the entreaties of the Queen and his colleagues had induced him +to remain in the Ministry; and then, it was understood, only until some +striking success of arms should make his resignation of less consequence to +them. But Sevastopol did not fall, and Lord John hung on, urging in the +meantime, emphatically and repeatedly, that the efficiency of the war +administration must be increased, that the control must be transferred from +the hands of the two Secretaries of War to the most vigorous Minister, +Palmerston. At the Cabinet meeting of December 6th, Lord John desisted from +pressing this particular change, owing to Palmerston having written to him +that he thought there were "no broad and distinct grounds" for removing the +Duke of Newcastle, and confined himself, after criticizing the general +conduct of the war, to announcing his intention of resigning in any case +after Christmas. When it was objected that such an announcement was +inconsistent with his remaining leader of the House of Commons till then, +he offered to resign at once. He would have gladly done so had they not +implored him to remain. On December 30th he drew up a memorandum of his +criticisms upon the conduct of the war; and on January 3rd he wrote to Lord +Aberdeen: "Nothing can be less satisfactory than the result of the recent +Cabinets. Unless you will direct measures for yourself, I see no hope for +the efficient prosecution of the war...."[44] + +[44] For a full account of these incidents the reader must be referred to +Sir Spencer Walpole's "Life of Lord John Russell," chap. xxv. + +When, therefore, on January 23rd, the Opposition demanded an inquiry, he +was in a very awkward position. He had either to bar the way to changes he +had been urging himself all along, or he was obliged to admit openly that +he agreed with the critics of the Government. Had he chosen the first +alternative he would have been untrue to his conviction that a change of +method in conducting the war was absolutely essential to his country's +success; yet in choosing the second he was turning his back on his +colleagues. No doubt the custom of the Constitution asks either complete +acceptance of common responsibility from individual Ministers or their +immediate resignation. Lord John had protested and protested, but he had +_not_ resigned; he was therefore responsible for what had been done +while he was in the Cabinet. He had not resigned because he thought it bad +for the country that the Government should be weakened while the war was at +its height, and he had hoped that by staying in the Cabinet he would be +able to induce the Ministry to alter its methods of conducting the war. +When he discovered that, in spite of reiterated protests, he could not +effect these all-important changes from within, and when the House of +Commons began to clamour for them from without, he decided that no +considerations of loyalty to colleagues ought to make him stand between the +country and changes so urgently desirable. It may be said that since he had +acted all along on the ground that in keeping the strength of the +Government intact lay the best chance of helping to bring the war to a +successful and speedy conclusion, he was inconsistent, to say the least, in +deserting his colleagues at a juncture which made their defeat inevitable. +But the inconsistency is only superficial; when he once had lost hope that +the Government could be got to alter their methods of conducting the war, +their defeat and dissolution, which he had previously striven to prevent, +became the lesser of two evils. It was not an evil at all, as it turned +out, for the dissolution brought the right man--Palmerston--into power. +Lord John's mistake was in thinking that his long-suffering support of a +loose-jointed, ill-working Ministry, like the Aberdeen Ministry, could have +ever transformed it into a strong one. + +Lord Wriothesley Russell, [45] whom Lady John wrote of years before as "the +mildest and best of men," sent her a letter on February 8, 1855, containing +the following passages: + + It is impossible to hear all these abominable attacks in silence. + It makes me sad as well as indignant to hear the world speaking as + if straight-forward honesty were a thing incredible--impossible. A + man, and above all a man to whom truth is no new thing, says simply + that he cannot assent to what he believes to be false, and the + whole world says, What can he mean by it--treachery, trickery, + cowardice, ambition, what is it? My hope is that our statesmen may + learn from John's dignified conduct a lesson which does not appear + hitherto to have occurred to them--that even the fate of a Ministry + will not justify a lie. We all admire in fiction the stern + uprightness of Jeanie Deans: "One word would have saved me, and she + would not speak it." ... Whether that word would have saved them is + a question--it was their only chance--and he would not speak it; + that word revolted his conscience, it would have been false. I know + nothing grander than the sublime simplicity of that refusal. + +[45] Lord John's stepbrother. + +Nearly two years later, Lord John Russell, in a letter to his brother, the +Duke of Bedford, said: + + ... The question with me was how to resist Roebuck's motion. I do + not think I was wrong in substance, but in form I was. I ought to + have gone to the Cabinet and have explained that I could not vote + against inquiry, and only have resigned if I had not carried the + Cabinet with me. I could not have taken Palmerston's line of making + a feeble defence. + +How absurd it is to suppose that cowardice could have dictated Lord John's +decision at this time, his behaviour in circumstances to be recounted in +the next chapter shows. Unpopular as his resignation made him with +politicians, it was nothing to the storm of abuse which he was forced to +endure when he chose, a few months later, to stand--now an imputed +trimmer--for the sake of preserving what was best in a policy he had not +originally approved. + +The troubles and differences of the Coalition Ministry did not lessen Lord +John's regard for Lord Aberdeen, of whom he wrote in his last years: "I +believe no man has entered public life in my time more pure in his personal +views, and more free from grasping ambition or selfish consideration." + +Mr. Rollo Russell, on the publication of Mr. John Morley's "Life of +Gladstone," wrote the following letter to the _Times_ in vindication +of his father's action with regard to Mr. Roebuck's motion: + + DUNROZEL, HASLEMERE, SURREY, _November,_ 1903 + + SIR,--In his admirable biography of Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Morley has + given, no doubt without any intention of injury, an impression + which is not historically correct by his account of my father's + resignation in January, 1855, on the notice of Mr. Roebuck's motion + for a Committee of Inquiry. I do not wish to apply to his account + the same measure which he applies by quoting an ephemeral + observation of Mr. Greville to my father's speech, but I do + maintain that "the general effect is very untrue." + + Before being judged a man is entitled to the consideration both of + his character and of the evidence on his side. In the chapter to + which I allude there is no reference to the records by which my + father's action has been largely justified. There is no mention, I + think, of these facts: that my father had again and again during + the Crimean War urged upon the Cabinet a redistribution of offices, + the more efficient prosecution of the war, the provision of proper + food and clothing for the Army, which was then undergoing terrible + privations and sufferings, a better concert between the different + Departments, and between the English and French camps, and, + especially, the appointment of a Minister of War of vigour and + authority. "As the welfare of the Empire and the success of the + present conflict are concerned," he wrote at the end of November to + the head of the Government, "the conduct of the war ought to be + placed in the hands of the fittest man who can be found for the + post." He laid the greatest stress on more efficient + administration. + + The miseries of the campaign increased. On January 30, 1855, Lord + Malmesbury wrote: "The accounts from the Crimea are dreadful. Only + 18,000 effective men; 14,000 are dead and 11,000 sick. The same + neglect which has hitherto prevailed continues and is shown in + everything." + + He held very strong views as to the duty of the House of Commons in + regard to these calamities. "Inquiry is the proper duty and + function of the House of Commons.... Inquiry is at the root of the + powers of the House of Commons." + + He had been induced by great pressure from the highest quarters to + join the Cabinet, and on patriotic grounds remained in office + against his desire. He continually but unsuccessfully advocated + Reform. Several times he asked to be allowed to resign. + + When, therefore, Mr. Roebuck brought forward a motion embodying the + opinion which he had frequently urged on his colleagues, he could + not pretend the opposite views and resist the motion for inquiry. + + The resignation was not so sudden as represented. On the 6th of + December, 1854, when the Cabinet met, he declared that he was + determined to retire after Christmas; after some conference with + his colleagues, he wrote on December 16th to Lord Lansdowne: "I do + not feel justified in taking upon myself to retire from the + Government on that account [the War Office] at this moment." It is + not the case that a severe judgment was pronounced upon these + proceedings by the "universal" opinion of his contemporaries. His + brother. Lord Wriothesley Russell, wrote: "It makes one sad to hear + the world speaking as if straightforward honesty were a thing + incredible, impossible." And the Duke of Bedford: "My mind has been + deeply pained by seeing your pure patriotic motives maligned and + misconstrued after such a life devoted to the political service of + the public." But the whole world was not against him. Among many + letters of approval, I find one strongly supporting his action with + regard to the Army in the Crimea and his course in quitting the + Ministry, and quoting a favourable article in _The Examiner;_ + another strongly approving, and stating: "I have this morning + conversed with more than fifty gentlemen in the City, and they + _all_ agree with me that in following the dictates of your + conscience you acted the part most worthy of your exalted name and + character.... We recognize the importance of the principle which + you yourself proclaimed, that there can be no sound politics + without sound morality." Mr. John Dillon wrote: "To have opposed + Mr. Roebuck's motion and then to have defended what you thought and + knew to have been indefensible would have been not a fault but a + crime." + + Another wrote expressing the satisfaction and gratitude of the + great majority of the inhabitants of his district in regard to his + "efforts to cure the sad evils encompassing our brave countrymen;" + and another wrote: "The last act of your official life was one of + the most honourable of the sacrifices to duty which have so + eminently distinguished you both as a man and a Minister." + + There was no doubt a common outcry against the act of resignation + at the time, but the outcry against certain Ministers of the + Peelite group was still louder, and their conduct, as Mr. Morley + relates, was pronounced to be "actually worse than Lord John's." + "Bad as Lord John's conduct was," wrote Lord Malmesbury on February + 22, 1855, "this [of Graham, Gladstone, and Herbert] is a thousand + times worse." + + The real question, however, is not what the public thought at the + time, but what a fuller knowledge of the facts will determine, and + I contend that my father's dissatisfaction with the manner in which + the war was conducted, and his failure to induce the Cabinet to + supply an effective remedy, justified if it did not compel his + resignation. + + Mr. Roebuck's motion accelerated a resignation which the Prime + Minister knew had been imminent during the preceding ten weeks. + + My father himself admitted that he made great mistakes, that for + the manner of his resignation he was justly blamed, and that he + ought never to have joined the Coalition Ministry. He had a deep + sense, I may here say, of Mr. Gladstone's great generosity towards + him on all occasions. At this distance of time the complication of + affairs and of opinions then partly hidden can be better estimated, + and the conduct of seceders from the Government cannot in fairness + be visited with the reprobation which was natural to + contemporaries. The floating reproaches of the period in regard to + my father's action seem to imply, if justified, that he ought to + have publicly defended the conduct of military affairs which he had + persistently and heartily condemned. It appears to me that not only + his candid nature, but the story of his life, refutes these + reproaches, as clearly as similar reproaches are refuted by the + life of Gladstone. + + Yours faithfully, + + ROLLO RUSSELL + + +CHAPTER VIII + +1855 + + +The debate upon Roebuck's motion of inquiry lasted two nights, and at its +close the Aberdeen Ministry fell, beaten by a majority of 157. Historians +have seen in this incident much more than the fall of a Ministry. + +Behind the question whether the civil side of the Crimean campaign had been +mismanaged lay the wider issue whether the Executive should allow its +duties to be delegated to a committee of the House of Commons. "The +question which had to be answered," says Mr. Bright in his "History of +England," "was whether a great war could be carried to a successful +conclusion under the blaze of publicity, when every action was exposed not +only to the criticism and discussion of the Press, but also to the more +formidable and dangerous demands of party warfare within the walls of +Parliament." + +After both Lord John and Lord Derby had failed to form a Government, the +Queen sent for Lord Palmerston. + +Lady John, when her husband was summoned to form a Government, wrote to him +from Pembroke Lodge on February 3, 1855: + + All the world must feel that the burden laid upon you, though a + very glorious, is a very heavy one.... Politics have never yet been + what they ought to be; men who would do nothing mean themselves do + not punish meanness in others when it can serve their party or + their country, and excuse their connivance on that ground. That + ground itself gives way when fairly tried. You are made for better + days than these. I know how much better you really are than me.... + You have it in your power to purify and to reform much that is + morally wrong--much that you would not tolerate in your own + household.... "Whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are + lovely, whatsoever things are honest," on these things take your + stand--hold them fast, let them be your pride--let your Ministry, + as far as in you lies, be made of such men, that the more closely + its deeds are looked into, the more it will be admired.... Pray for + strength and wisdom from above, and God bless and prosper you, + dearest. + +But Lord John failing to find sufficient support, Lord Palmerston became +Prime Minister. His first Cabinet was a coalition. It included, besides +some new Whig Ministers, all the members of the previous Cabinet with the +exception of Lord John, Lord Aberdeen, and the Duke of Newcastle. But on +Palmerston accepting the decision of the last Parliament in favour of a +Committee of Inquiry, Gladstone, Sidney Herbert, and Sir James Graham +resigned; their reason being that the admission of such a precedent for +subordinating the Executive to a committee of the House was a grave danger +to the Constitution. + +It looked as though the Ministry would fall, when Lord John, who had +previously refused office, to the surprise and delight of the Whigs, +accepted the Colonies. His motives in taking office will be found in the +following letters. He had already accepted a mission as British +Plenipotentiary at the Conference of Vienna, summoned by Austria to +conclude terms of peace between the Allies and Russia. He did not therefore +return at once to take his place in the Cabinet, but continued on his +mission. Its consequences were destined to bring down on him such a storm +of abuse as the careers of statesmen seldom survive. When Gladstone and the +Peelites resigned, Palmerston's Ministry ceased to be a coalition and +became a Whig Cabinet. The fact that Lord John came to Palmerston's rescue, +that he accepted without hesitation a subordinate office and served under +Palmerston's leadership in the Commons, shows that Lord John's reluctance +to serve in the first instance under Lord Aberdeen could not have been due +to a scruple of pride; nor could his obstinate insistence upon his own way +inside the Cabinet, of which the Peelites had complained in the early days +of Lord Aberdeen's Ministry, have been caused by a desire to make the most +of his own importance. + + _Lord John to Lady John Russell_ + + PARIS, _February_ 23, 1855 + + I have accepted office in the present Ministry. Whatever objections + you may feel to this decision, I have taken it on the ground that + the country is in great difficulty, and that every personal + consideration ought to be waived. I am sure I give a Liberal + Government the best chance of continuing by so acting. When I come + home, I shall have weight enough in the Cabinet through my + experience and position. In the meantime I go on to Vienna.... I + shall ascertain whether peace can be made on honourable terms, and + having done this, shall return home. + + The office I have accepted is the Colonial; but as I do _not_ + lead in the Commons, it will not be at all too much for my health. + + + _Mr. John Abel Smith to Lady John Russell + + February_ 24, 1855 + + I received this morning, to my great surprise, a letter from Lord + John announcing his acceptance of the Seals of the Colonial + Department.... I believe it to be unquestionably the fact that by + this remarkable act of self-sacrifice he has saved Lord + Palmerston's Government and preserved to the Liberal party the + tenure of power.... I never saw Brooks's more thoroughly excited + than this evening, and some old hard-hearted stagers talking of + Lord John's conduct with tears in their eyes. + + + _Lord John to Lady John Russell_ + + BRUSSELS, _February 25,_ 1855 + + The wish to support a Whig Government under difficulties, the + desire to be reunited to my friends, with whom when separated by + two benches I could have had no intimate alliance, the perilous + state of the country with none but a pure Derby Government in + prospect, have induced me to take this step. No doubt my own + position was better and safer as an independent man; but I have + thrown all such considerations to the winds.... I am very much + afraid of Vienna for the children; but if you can arrive and keep + well, it will be to me a great delight to see you all.... I have + just seen the King, who is very gracious and kind. He thinks I may + make peace. + + + _Lady John to Lord John Russell_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _February 26,_ 1855 + + Mr. West called yesterday, and was full of admiration of the + magnanimity of your conduct, but not of its wisdom. J.A. Smith + writes me a kind letter telling me of the delight of your late + calumniators at Brooks's. Frederick Romilly says London society is + charmed. He touched me very much. He spoke with tears in his eyes + of the generosity of your motives, and of the irreparable blow to + yourself and the country from your abandonment of an honourable and + independent position for a renewal of official ties.... Papa is + very grave and unhappy, doing justice of course to your motives, + but fearing that in sacrificing yourself you sacrifice the best + interests of the country. + + + _Lord John to Lady John Russell_ + + BERLIN, _March 1,_ 1855 + + It was necessary in order to have any effect to decide at once on + my acceptance or refusal of office. I considered the situation of + affairs to be a very serious one. I had hoped that Lord Palmerston, + with the assistance of the Peelites, might go through the session. + Suddenly the secession took place, producing a state of affairs + such as no man ever remembered. Confidence in the Government was + shaken to a very great extent by the mortality and misery of our + Army in the Crimea. I could not resist inquiry; but having yielded + that point, it seemed dastardly to leave men, who had nothing to do + with sending the expedition to the Crimea, charged with the duty of + getting the Army out of the difficulty. Yet it was clear that Lord + Palmerston's Government without my help could hardly stand, and + thus the Government of 1854 would have been convicted of deserting + the task they had undertaken to perform. There remained the + personal difficulty of my serving under Palmerston in the House of + Commons; for my going to the House of Lords would have been only a + personal distinction to me and would not have helped Palmerston in + his difficulty. In the circumstances of the case I thought it right + to throw aside every consideration of ease, dignity, and comfort. + If I had not been responsible for the original expedition to the + Crimea, I would certainly not have taken the office I have now + accepted. Still, it brings the scattered remnants of the Liberal + party together and enables them to try once more whether they can + govern with success.... Lord Minto is now satisfied that I have + followed a public call; for public men must sacrifice themselves in + a great emergency. It was not a time to think of self.... We had an + account of the serious illness of the Emperor of Russia. If he + should die, I should have good hopes of peace.... + + March 2nd. News come of the Emperor's death. I hope it may be a + good event for Europe, but it makes me sad at present. "What + shadows we are and what shadows we pursue" constantly occurs to my + mind.... My mission may perhaps be more successful in consequence, + but no one can say. At all events you will come to Vienna.... + + Poor little boys and poor little Agatha! I should feel more + responsible with those children on a journey than with my mission + and the Colonies to boot. + +In Paris his conversations with the Emperor confirmed his previous opinion +that the best hope of peace lay in winning Austria over to the policy of +the Allies. + +Lady John joined him at Vienna early in March. In order to understand the +following extracts it is necessary to recall the history of the whole +negotiation. + +Lord John had been dispatched with vague general instructions, and it must +not be forgotten that Palmerston was privately much more in favour of +continuing the war than Lord John appears to have understood at the time. +Palmerston, like Napoleon III, wished to take Sevastopol before making +peace; Lord John did not therefore receive during his negotiations the +backing he ought to have had from the Government at home. A hitch occurred +at the outset of the negotiations owing to the delay of instructions from +the Sultan. This delay was engineered by Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, who +was determined that Russia should be still further humiliated, and felt +sure of Palmerston's sympathy in doing everything that tended to prolong +the war. Lord John might complain justly that he was being hindered; but +the English Ambassador at Constantinople, who knew Palmerston's mind, felt +safe in ignoring Lord John's remonstrances. The first two Articles which +formed the subject of discussion dealt with the abolition of the Russian +Protectorate over Servia and the Principalities, and with the question of +the free navigation of the Danube. These Articles were accepted by Russia. +On the third Article, which concerned the Russian power in the Black Sea, +the representatives of the Western Powers could not agree. Gortschakoff, +the Russian emissary, admitted that the Treaty of 1841 would have to be +altered in such a way as would prevent the preponderance of the Russian +power off the coast of Turkey. This could have been secured in two ways: + + 1. By excluding Russian vessels from the Black Sea altogether; + 2. By limiting the number of warships Russia might be permitted to keep + there; + +but to neither of these methods would Russia at first agree. + +Two other alternative proposals were then made by the Austrian Minister, +Count Buol. The first was based on the principle of counterpoise, which +would give the Allies the right to keep as many ships as Russia in the +Black Sea. The second was a stipulation that Russia should not increase her +fleet there beyond the strength at which it then stood. + +The representatives of the Allies were instructed from home not to accept +the proposal of counterpoise. So the second alternative of the Austrian +Chancellor was the last remaining chance of Austria and the Allies agreeing +upon the terms to be offered to Russia. Lord John wrote to the Government +urging them to accept this compromise; for in his opinion the only chance +of peace lay in the Allies acting in concert with Austria. At this juncture +he received a telegram from home saying that the Government were in favour +of a proposal, which had reached them from Paris, for neutralizing the +Black Sea. + +Prince Gortschakoff at once pointed out that such a plan would leave Russia +disarmed in the presence of Turkey armed. Lord John considered this a +perfectly just objection on the part of Russia, while the proposal had the +unfortunate effect of detaching Austria from the Allies, who considered +neutralization to be out of the question. M. Drouyn de L'Huys, the French +representative, held the same opinion as Lord John, and when his advice was +not accepted by the Emperor, he sent in his resignation. Lord John likewise +wrote to Lord Clarendon, then Foreign Secretary, tendering his own. + + _March 31,_ 1855, VIENNA + + Private letters from Lord Clarendon and Lord Lansdowne full of + distrust and disapprobation of the proceedings here, though not + openly finding fault with John. Lord Clarendon's more especially + warlike, and anti-Austrian and pro-French; the very reverse of + every letter he wrote in the days of Lord Aberdeen. + + + _April 1,_ 1855, VIENNA + + More letters and dispatches making John's position still worse; + representing him as ready to consent to unworthy terms, whereas he + was endeavouring to carry out what had been agreed on by the + Government. No doubt Lord Clarendon's present tone is far better + than his former; but that is not the question. John naturally + indignant and talked of giving up mission and Colonies. This I + trust he will not do unless there is absolute loss of character in + remaining, for another breach with Lord Palmerston, who is far less + to blame than Lord Clarendon, would be a great misfortune--besides, + it might lead to the far greater evil of a breach with France. I + rejoice therefore that John has resolved to wait for Drouyn de + L'Huys and do his utmost to bring matters to a better state. + +On April 5, at Vienna, when he wished to resign, she wrote: "Anxious he +should delay this step till he hears again from home, as he might repent +it, in which case either retracting or abiding by it would be bad. Having +regretted his acceptance of office it seems inconsistent to discourage +resignation, but is not really so. His reputation cannot afford a fresh +storm, and he must show that he did not lightly consent to belong to a +Ministry of which he knew the materials so well." + +At the end of April they came back to England. + + _May 5,_ 1855, LONDON + + After all the Emperor rejects the plan [the proposal to limit the + Russian fleet in the Baltic to its strength at the close of the + war] on the plea that the army would not bear it. John disturbed + and perplexed. + + + _May 6,_ 1855, _Sunday_ + + John went to town for a meeting at Lord Panmure's on Army + Reform--found here on his return a letter from Lord Clarendon + telling him that the Emperor had sent a telegram through Lord + Cowley and the Foreign Office to Walewski, offering him Foreign + Affairs and asking whether the Queen would agree to Persigny as + French Ambassador. Thus the dismissal or resignation of Drouyn + obliged John to resolve on his own resignation unless the Cabinet + should accept his own view. + + + _Lord John Russell to Lord Clarendon_ [46] + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _May_ 6, 1855 + + MY DEAR CLARENDON,--I was at Panmure's when your box arrived here, + and did not get back till past eight. I am very much concerned at + the removal or resignation of Drouyn. I cannot separate myself from + him; and, having taken at Vienna the same view which he did, his + resignation entails mine. I am very sorry for this, and wished to + avoid it. But I have in some measure got Drouyn into this scrape, + for at first he was disposed to advise the Emperor to insist on a + limitation of ships, and I induced him not to give any advice at + all to the Emperor. Afterwards we agreed very much; and, if he had + stayed in office there, I might have gulped, though with + difficulty, the rejection of my advice here. However, I shall wait + till Colloredo has made a definite proposal, and then make the + opinion I shall give upon it in the Cabinet a vital question with + me. It is painful to me to leave a second Cabinet, and will injure + my reputation--perhaps irretrievably. But I see no other course. Do + as you please about communicating to Palmerston what I have + written. I fear I must leave you and Hammond to judge of the papers + to be given.... But I hope you will not tie your hands or those of + the Government by giving arguments against what the nation may + ultimately accept. I hold that a simple provision, by which the + Sultan would reserve the power to admit the vessels of Powers not + having establishments in the Black Sea, through the Straits at his + own pleasure at all times, ... and a general treaty of European + alliance to defend Turkey against Russia, would be a good security + for peace. If the Emperor of the French were to declare that he + could not accept such a peace, of course we must stick by him, but + that does not prevent our declaring to him our opinion. Walewski + spoke to me very strongly at the Palace in favour of the Austrian + plan, but I suppose he has now made up his mind against it. + + I remain, yours truly, + + J. RUSSELL + +[46] Spencer Walpole's "Life of Lord John Russell," chap, xxvi. + +Lord Clarendon replied: + + GROSVENOR CRESCENT, May 7, 1855 + + MY DEAR LORD JOHN,--... I am very sorry you did not come in just + now, as I wanted most particularly to see you. I now write this + _earnestly to entreat_ that you will say nothing to anybody at + present about your intended resignation. The public interests and + your own position are so involved in the question, and so much harm + of every kind may be done by a hasty decision, however honourable + and high-minded the motives may be, that I do beg of you well to + weigh _all_ the points of the case; and let me frankly add + that you will not act with fairness, and as I am sure you must wish + to act, towards your colleagues, if you do not hear what some of + them may have to say. + + As you allowed me to do as I pleased about informing Palmerston, I + did not think it right to leave him in the dark upon a matter which + seems to me of vital importance. I need not tell you that your + intention causes him the deepest regret, and he feels, as I do, how + essential it is that nothing should be known of it at present. We + are not even in possession of the facts that led to Drouyn's + resignation. + + Yours sincerely, + + CLARENDON + +"Moved by this appeal," says Sir Spencer Walpole, "and by Lord Palmerston's +personal entreaties, thrice repeated, Lord John withdrew his resignation. +Its withdrawal, however convenient it may have seemed to the Government at +the time, was one of the most unfortunate circumstances of Lord John's +political career. It directly led to misunderstandings and to obloquy, such +as few public men have ever encountered." + + LONDON, May 8, 1855 + + John given up thoughts of resignation. Glad of it, since he can + honourably remain. I know how his reputation would have + suffered--not as an honest man, but as a wise statesman. + +This was the second time in Lord John's career that his loyalty to the Whig +party involved him in a false position. On May 24th Disraeli proposed a +vote of censure on the Government for their conduct of the war and +condemning their part in the negotiations at Vienna. Lord John made, in +reply to Gladstone and Disraeli, an extremely forcible speech, urging that +the limitation of the number of Russian ships in the Black Sea did not give +sufficient guarantee to the safety of Turkey. Shortly afterwards the +Austrian Chancellor, Count Buol, published the fact that Lord John had been +in favour of this very compromise, which Austria had proposed at the +Congress. He was at once asked whether this was true, and he admitted that +it was. He could not explain that he had taken a different line on his +return because, had he stuck to his opinion, the French alliance would have +been endangered. The Emperor was persuaded that the fall of Sevastopol was +necessary to the safety of his throne. Marshal Vaillant had said to him, "I +know the feelings of the Army. I am sure that if, after having spent months +in the siege of Sevastopol, we return unsuccessful, the Army will not be +satisfied." [47] Since this was the case, Lord John had had to choose +between resigning on the strength of his own opinion that the Austrian +terms were good enough, thus bringing about the fall of the Ministry and a +possible breach with France, or relinquishing his own opinion and defending +the view of the Government and the Emperor in order to preserve a good +understanding with the French. Of course, to all the world it looked as +though, for the sake of office, he had belied his own convictions. Seldom +has any Minister of the Crown been placed in a more painful position. The +Cabinet knew the true circumstances of the case, and the reason why he +could give no explanation for his inconsistency: but many of his friends +did not. A motion of censure was proposed against him, and now that his +presence in the Ministry had ceased to be a support, and had actually +become a source of weakness through the condemnation passed on him by the +country at large, he offered to resign. + +[47] Kinglake, "Invasion of the Crimea," vol. iii, p. 348. + + _Lady John to Lord John Russell_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _June_ 8, 1855 + + All is more beautiful than ever this morning. I am on my pretty red + sofa looking out from my middle window in lazy luxury at oak, ivy, + hawthorn, laburnum, and blue sky; not very much to be pitied, am I? + except, my dearest, for the weary, weary separation that takes away + the life of life--and for my anxiety about what is to be the result + of all this, which, however, I do not allow to weigh upon me. We + are in wiser hands than our own, and I should be a bad woman indeed + if so much leisure did not give some good thoughts that I trust + nothing can disturb.... Pray tell dear Georgy not to think any but + cheerful thoughts of me, and that she can do a great deal for me by + asking my friends--Cabinet and ex-Cabinet and all sorts--to visit + me whenever they are inclined for a drive into the country and + luncheon or tea among its beauties. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _July_ 5, 1855 + + John to town and back. He is so much here now that my life is quite + different, and as I know he neglects no duty for the sake of + coming, I may also allow myself to enjoy it as he does. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _July_ 7 + + Read John's speech and the bitter comments of Cobden and Roebuck. + Whether he was right or wrong in his views of peace, or in not + resigning when they were rejected by the Cabinet, he has nobly told + the simple truth without gloss or extenuation. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _July_ 10 + + John writes that he saw Lord Palmerston and told him that he had + thought the Austrian proposals ought to be accepted at the time; + but that he did not think they ought now, after the late events of + the war. He proposed resignation if it would help the Government. + Lord Palmerston of course begged him to remain, which he will do. + The subject is more painful to me the more I think of it. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _July_ 12 + + An anxious parting with John. He was to go straight to Lord + Clarendon, to find out what portion of the dispatches Lord + Clarendon was prepared to give. His explanation to be made to-night + of a sentence in his Friday's speech, by which some of his + colleagues understood him to declare his opinion to be that he + thought the Austrian proposal ought _now_ to be accepted. He + did _not_ say so, and such an explanation is much to be + lamented. His position is very painful, and my thoughts about him + more so than they have ever been, because now many of his best and + truest friends grieve and are disappointed. God grant he may have + life, strength, and spirit to work on for his country till he has + risen again higher than ever in her trust, esteem, and love. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _July_ 13 + + A very anxious morning, thinking of my dear and noble husband, + doomed to suffer so much for no greater fault than having committed + himself too far without consultation with his colleagues to a + scheme which higher duties persuaded him not to abide by when he + failed to convince them. Anxiety to know his determination and the + state of his spirits made me send a note up to town early, to which + I received his answer about four, that he had written his + resignation last night and sent it to Lord Palmerston this morning. + + + _Lady John to Lord John Russell_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _July_ 13, 1855 + + We are all well, but I am too anxious to be all day without hearing + from you; besides, and chiefly, I want to cheer you up and beseech + you not to let all this depress you more than it ought. Don't + believe the _Daily News_ when it says you have committed + political suicide--that need not be a bit more true than that there + was _trickiness_ or _treachery_ in your course, which it + also asserts. Depend upon it, it is in your power and it is + therefore your duty to show that you can still be yourself. You + will rise again higher than ever if you will but think you can--if + you will but avoid for the future the rocks on which you have + sometimes split. There is plenty to do for your country, plenty + that you can do better than any other man, and _you must not + sink._ You made, I believe, a great mistake in surrendering your + own judgment to that of those who surrounded you at Vienna; but who + can dare to say you were favouring any interest of your own, or + what malice or ingenuity can pretend to find the shadow of a low or + unworthy motive? Remember Moore's lines: + + "Never dream for a moment thy country can spare + Such a light from her darkening horizon as thou." + + As to your immediate course, what have you resolved? Surely your + own resignation is the most natural--you might persuade your + colleagues, if they require persuasion, to let you go alone, as you + alone are responsible, that you think a change of Ministry would be + a misfortune, and that you would be unhappy to find that added to + your responsibility.... The feeling that the Ministry may be + sacrificed to you is a very painful one, and I earnestly hope your + wisdom may find some means of averting this.... Now, my dearest, + farewell--would that I could go to you myself. I am told that the + expectation of the Whips is that you will be beat. Tell me as much + as you can and God speed you.... Good-bye, and above all keep up a + good heart for your country's sake and mine. + +Lord Palmerston replied to his offer to resign in the following terms [48]: + + PICCADILLY, _July_ 13, 1855 + + MY DEAR LORD JOHN,--I have received, I need not say with how much + regret, your letter of this morning, and have sent it down to the + Queen. But, whatever pain I may feel at the step you have taken, I + must nevertheless own that as a public man, whose standing and + position are matters of public interest and public property, you + have judged rightly. The storm is too strong at this moment to be + resisted, and an attempt to withstand it would, while unsuccessful, + only increase irritation. But juster feelings will in due time + prevail. In the meantime I must thank you for the very friendly and + handsome terms in which you have announced to me your + determination. + + Yours sincerely, PALMERSTON + +[48] Spencer Walpole's "Life of Lord John Russell." + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _July_ 15, 1855 + + John and I agreed that we felt almost unaccountably happy--there + is, however, much to account for it--much that cannot be taken from + us. + + + _Lady John Russell to the Duke of Bedford_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _July_ 16, 1855 + + MY DEAR DUKE,--You will like to hear how John has borne his new + trouble, and I am very glad to tell you that he is in good spirits, + and as calm as a clear conscience can make him. The week before his + resignation was a very anxious one, reminding me of that sad and + anxious day at Woburn when he determined to dismiss Lord + Palmerston, and of that other when he resolved not to speak to any + of his colleagues before sending his resignation to Lord Aberdeen. + Those occasions were so far like this that it was impossible even + for me, though unable to judge of the questions politically, not to + foresee painful consequences in the altered relations of old + friends, and therefore not to lament his decisions; though he had, + as he was sure to have, high and generous reasons in both cases. + Here again, there has been much to lament in all that led to his + resignation and fresh separation from many with whom he has acted + during half his political life, many so highly valued in public and + private. One cannot but feel all this, nor do I pretend + indifference to what is said of him, for I do think the next best + thing to deserving "spotless reputation" is possessing it. But + there are many comforts--first and foremost, a faith in him that + nothing can shake; then a firm hope that the country will one day + understand him better--besides, the relief was immense of finding + that he would be allowed to resign without breaking up the + Government. In short, we agreed yesterday that after all our pains + and anxieties we both felt strangely and almost unaccountably + happy. Of course, seeing him so was enough to make me so, and + perhaps there is something too in the unexpected freedom of body + and soul which loss of office has given him. This state of mind, in + which he has just left me for London, gives me good hope that he + will get well through his hard task to-night.... + + Ever yours affectionately, + + FANNY RUSSELL + + + _Lady John Russell to Lord Minto_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _July_ 18, 1855 + + MY DEAREST PAPA,--I feel very guilty in not having written to you + since all these great events occurred, but you are pretty well able + to guess what I felt about them ... and the newspapers are much + better chroniclers of facts, though not of motives, than I can + be.... Of course, he proposed resignation immediately after he had + made his speech, but it was not then thought the Ministry would be + beat on Bulwer's motion, and Lord Palmerston and the rest begged + him to remain. Very soon, however, there was no doubt left as to + what would be the result of the motion, and as neither John nor + Doddy, the only other person I saw, had a hope that any fresh + resignation would be accepted, we had the painful prospect of the + destruction of the Ministry by his means.... But the surprise was + great as the relief when we found that not one man had the + slightest difficulty in making up his mind, ... and that one and + all felt it a paramount duty "not to shrink from the toils and + responsibilities of office." ... His _spirits_ have not sunk + and his _spirit_ has risen, and the feeling uppermost in his + mind is thankfulness that he is out of it all, and has regained his + freedom, body and soul.... There is plenty left for him to do, and + I trust he will do it as an independent member of Parliament, and + in that position regain his lost influence with the country. I am + most anxious he should not think his political life at an end, + though his official life may go forever without a sigh.... I ought + to add that he is on perfectly friendly terms with all his late + colleagues, ... anxious to help them when he can, but pledged to + nothing.... + + Ever, dearest Papa, + + Your affectionate child, + + F.R. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _July_ 23, 1855 + + Thunderstorm during which I sat in the Windsor summer-house writing + and thinking many sad thoughts; chiefly of my own ill-performance + of many duties on which my whole heart and soul were bent. Had I + but known when we married as much of the world as I know now, + though I should have been far, far less happy, I should have done + better in many ways.... Came in; went to my room with Georgy and + took Baby on my lap. Baby looked at me, saw I had been sad, and + said gravely, "Poor Mama," adding immediately, "Where is Papa?" as + if she thought my sadness must have to do with him. On my + answering, "He is gone to London," she put her dear little arms + round my neck and kissed and coaxed me, repeating over and over, + "Never mind, never mind, my dear Mama," and again, "Never mind, my + poor Mama." + +The state of Lady John's health prevented her from leaving home, but Lord +John left Pembroke Lodge with two of the children on August 9th, for a much +needed holiday in Scotland. + + _Lord John to Lady John Russell_ + + EDINBURGH, _August_ 10, 1855 + + We got here safely yesterday an hour after time, which made about + fourteen hours from Pembroke Lodge.... Dearest, it is a very + melancholy journey; without you to comfort me I take a very gloomy + view of everything; but I hope the Highland air will refresh me + with its briskness.... I have a letter from Lord Minto, disturbed + at my not coming sooner, and supposing I shall be abused for my + Italian speech, in which he is quite right; but I may save some + poor devil by my denunciation of his persecutors. + + + _Lady John to Lord John Russell_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _August_ 12, 1855 + + It grieves me to have to write what will grieve you, but it would + be wrong and useless to hide it from you--I was taken ill suddenly + yesterday.... What I bear least well is the thought of you. I did + so hope that after all your political troubles you might be spared + anxieties of a worse kind; but it was not to be.... I hope, + dearest, you will not hurry home immediately. I should be so sorry + to think you only had the fatigue of two long journeys, instead of + some weeks of Highland air. I know how sadly your enjoyment will be + damaged, but do not--I beg you, dearest--do not let your spirits + sink. Nothing would make your poor old wife so sad. Georgy is the + best and dearest of children and nurses; I am so sorry for her. + Yesterday she was quite upset, far more than I was, but to-day she + has taken heart. God bless you. Think what happy people we still + are--happy far beyond the common lot--in one another and all our + darlings. + +When Lord John heard of her illness, he wrote that he could not be a moment +easy away from her, and came home at once. + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _September_ 8, 1855 + + Thank God! though in bed, I have generally been able to read and + talk, and for the last two days have given Johnny and the little + boys their lessons.... Cannot but hope I am a little less impatient + of illness, a little less unreasonably sorry to be debarred from + air and liberty and all I care for most in this world, than I used + to be.... I pray with my whole heart for the true faith and + patience that can never fail. I pray that, since I cannot teach my + children how to _do,_ I may teach them how to _bear,_ so + that even in illness I may not be wholly useless to them. + + +CHAPTER IX + +1855-60 + + +During the next four years Lord John remained out of office. He devoted +much time to literary work. Besides writing his "Life of Fox" and editing +the papers of his friend Thomas Moore, he delivered three important +addresses. The first was a lecture on the causes which have checked moral +and political progress. As will be seen from Lady John's diary, he was +still so unpopular that she felt some dread of its reception at the hands +of a large public audience. + + LONDON, _November_ 13, 1855 + + Great day well over.... At-half-past seven set out for Exeter Hall. + John well cheered on his entrance, but not so warmly as to make me + quite secure for the lecture. It was, however, received exactly as + I hoped--deep attention, interrupted often by applause, sometimes + enthusiastic, and generally at the parts one most wished applauded. + A few words from Montague Villiers [49](in asking for a vote of + thanks), his hope that the whole country would soon feel as that + audience did towards a man whose long life had been spent in the + country's service, brought a fresh burst, waving of hats and + handkerchiefs, etc. Went to bed grateful and happy. + +[49] Afterwards Bishop of Durham. + +In 1855, Lord John bought a country estate, Rodborough Manor, near Stroud +in Gloucestershire, as he wished to have a place of his own to leave to his +children. It was in the parish of Amberley, from which he afterwards took +his second title and his eldest son, Lord Amberley, made Rodborough his +home for some years after his marriage. + + _Lady John Russell to Lord Dufferin_ + + RODBOROUGH MANOR, STROUD, _November_ 16, 1855 + + DEAR LORD DUFFERIN,--Thanks for your letter. I began to think you + meant to disclaim all connection with your fallen chief. We have + just been, he and I alone, spending a week in London. In that + little week he underwent various turns of fortune--hissed one night + (though far less than the papers said), cheered the next day by + four thousand voices, while eight thousand hands waved hats and + handkerchiefs. I was not at Guildhall, but was at Exeter Hall, + which was just as it should be; for, in spite of a great many noble + and philosophical sentiments, which I always keep in store against + the hissing days, and find of infinite service, I prefer being + present on the cheering days. I hope you will think his lecture + deserved its reception. His squiredom agrees with him uncommonly. + He rides and walks, and drinks ale and grows fat. As for me, I have + not been at all strong since I came here, but I hope I am reviving + now, and shall soon be able thoroughly to enjoy a life happy and + pleasant beyond expression--such peace of mind and body to us both, + such leisure to enjoy much that we both do enjoy with all our + hearts and have been long debarred from, are blessings of no small + value, and when people tell me, by way of cheering me up under a + temporary disgrace, that he is sure to be in office again soon, + they little know what a knell their words are to my heart. However, + _che sara, sara_, and in the meantime we are very happy. + Yesterday I required some excitement, I must say, to carry me + through the day, for alas! I struck forty! Accordingly the children + had provided for it unknown to me, and acted Beauty and the Beast + with rapturous applause to a very select audience. ... We are much + pleased with our new home, green and cheerful and varied and pretty + outside, snug and respectable inside. + + Ever sincerely yours, + + F. RUSSELL + + P.S.--I hear you are going to be married to a great many people; + please let me know how many reports are true. + +In 1856 Lady John and the children went abroad. They visited Lady Mary +Abercromby, whose husband was British Minister at the Hague, and later on +they joined Lord John at Antwerp. Thence they travelled to Switzerland, +where they remained till the end of September in a villa beautifully +situated above the Lake of Geneva, near Lausanne. The early part of the +winter was spent in Italy, where Lord John came into personal contact with +Cavour and many other Italian patriots, whose cause he so staunchly +supported during the next few years. The Villa Capponi, where they lived at +Florence, became the meeting-place of all the Liberal spirits in Tuscany; +and the Tuscan Government, who thought that Lord John had come to Florence +to estimate the probable success of the revolutionaries, set spies upon his +visitors. + + _Lord John Russell to Lady Melgund_ + + VILLA CAPPONI, _December_ 19, 1856 + + We have passed our time here very agreeably. Besides the + Florentines and their acute sagacity, we have had here many of + those whose wits were too bright or their hearts too warm to bear + the Governments of Naples and Rome.... As for the French + newspapers, it is the custom at Paris and Vienna to let the + newspapers attack everything but their own Government, which is + their notion of the liberty of the Press! + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + VILLA CAPPONI, FLORENCE, _January_ 1, 1857 + + MY DEAREST MARY,--You have my first date for the New Year.... God + grant it may be a happy one to us all. We began it merrily. Mrs. E. + Villiers, who, with her daughter, is spending the winter here, gave + a little dance. Twelve struck in the middle of a quadrille, which + was accordingly interrupted by general shaking of hands among + chaperons, dancers, and all. There is a cordiality and ease in + society abroad, the charm of which goes far with me to make up for + the absence of some of the merits of society in England. The + subjects of conversation among men are queer, no doubt; but what + people have in them is much easier to get at--and to me it is a + relief not to hear all the ladies talking politics, or rather + talking political personalities, as they do in London. + + _January_ 2.--I am afraid, after having been abused as + unworthy of Italy (not so much, however, by you as by Lotty and + Lizzy) you will now charge me with the far worse sin of being a bad + Briton--but _that,_ depend upon it, I am not, whatever + appearances may say--on the contrary, a better one than ever, only + grieving that with such materials as we have at home we do not + manage to make social life pleasanter.... Yesterday we had our + usual Thursday party; and before more than five or six had come, I + went into the girls' sitting-room, which opens out of the + drawing-room, and played reels while the girls and two young + Italians danced--but they had not danced long before our frisky + Papa followed with Count Ferretti, and not only joined in a reel, + but _asked_ for a waltz, and whirled round and round with + Georgy and then with me, and made the old Count do the same. It all + reminded me of our Berlin evenings, except that Papa, though + twenty-four years younger then, was not inspired by the German as + he is by the Italian atmosphere, and never, to my recollection, + joined us in our many merry unpremeditated dances. It was hardly + less a wonder to see Henry follow the example yesterday, and add to + the confusion of the most confused "Lancers" I ever saw danced.... + It is impossible to say how this letter has been interrupted.... + The weather being too bright and beautiful to allow us to spend the + morning indoors, the first interruption was a drive to San Miniato, + where there is one of the finest views of Florence, and since we + came home I have been jumping up every five minutes from my + writing-table to receive one visitor after another--whereas many an + afternoon passes without a single one--and since they all + disappeared I have been called upon to help in a rehearsal for a + second representation of our "Three Golden Hairs," [50] which is to + take place to-morrow on purpose for Lady Normanby.... The gaiety + and noise of the rehearsals, the fun of the preparations, and the + shyness, which effectually prevents any good acting, all reminds me + of our dear old Minto plays. How very, very long ago all that + seems! Not long ago in time only, but the changes in everybody and + everything make the recollection almost like a dream. I was sorry + to say good-bye to poor old fifty-six, for though not invariably + amiable to us he has been a good friend on the whole, and one + learns to be more than grateful for each year that passes without + any positive sorrow, and leaves no blanks among our nearest and + dearest. God bless you, dearest Mary; pray attribute blots and + incoherences to my countless interruptions. + + Yours ever affectionately, + + F.R. + +[50] A children's play written by herself. + +On his return, Lord John continued to give independent support to the +Ministry until circumstances arose which forced him to oppose Palmerston's +foreign policy. In March Cobden brought forward a motion condemning the +violent measures resorted to against China. Palmerston had justified these +measures on the ground that the British flag had been insulted and our +treaty rights infringed by the Chinese authorities at Canton. A small +coasting vessel called _The Arrow_ (sailing under British colours, but +manned by Chinamen, and owned by a Chinaman) had been boarded while she lay +in the river, and her crew carried off by a party from a Chinese warship in +search of a pirate, who they had reason to think was then serving as a +seaman on board _The Arrow_. Sir John Bowring, Plenipotentiary at +Hong-Kong, demanded that the men should be instantly sent back. It was true +that _The Arrow_ had at the time of the seizure no right to fly the +British flag, for her licence to trade under British colours had expired +the year before; but he argued that since the Chinese could not have known +this when they raided the vessel, they had deliberately insulted the flag +in doing so, and afterwards infringed the extradition laws by refusing to +restore the crew immediately. Upon the British fleet proceeding to bombard +the forts, the men were released, but the apology and indemnity demanded in +addition were not forthcoming. More forts were then bombarded and a number +of junks were sunk. The real motive of these aggressive proceedings lay in +the fact that the English traders had not yet been able to get a free +entrance into Canton, in spite of treaties permitting them to trade there. +Sir John Bowring made the refusal of apologies an excuse for forcing the +Chinese to admit them. Not unnaturally the Chinese retaliated by burning +foreign factories and cutting foreign throats. Meanwhile Palmerston at home +characteristically supported Sir John Bowring through thick and thin, and +the upshot was a long war with China. + +Lord John detested aggressive and violent proceedings of this kind. His +speech on Cobden's motion was one of his finest. The following passage from +it expresses the spirit in which later on he conducted the foreign policy +of England himself: + + We have heard much of late--a great deal too much, I think--of the + prestige of England. We used to hear of the character, of the + reputation, of the honour of England. I trust, sir, that the + character, the reputation, and the honour of this country are dear + to us all; but if the prestige of England is to be separated from + those qualities ... then I, for one, have no wish to maintain it. + To those who argue, as I have heard some argue, "It is true we have + a bad case; it is true we were in the wrong; it is true that we + have committed an injustice; but we must persevere in that wrong; + we must continue to act unjustly, or the Chinese will think we are + afraid," I say, as has been said before, "Be just and fear not." + +Palmerston was defeated by sixteen votes, and went to the country on a +"Civis Romanus" policy, or, as we should say now, with a "Jingo" cry, which +was immensely popular. Its popularity was so great that there seemed no +chance that Lord John would retain his seat for the City. Even Cobden and +Bright were defeated in their constituencies, and the country returned +Palmerston with a majority of seventy-nine. Unpopular since his apparent +change of front regarding the Vienna treaty, it would have been small +wonder if Lord John had taken the advice of his committee and retired from +the contest; but he was bent on taking his one-to-hundred chance, and, as +it turned out, his courage won the seat. + + LONDON, _March_ 7, 1857 + + J.A. Smith called on me to know whether John had determined what + to do. Said I thought he meant to fight the battle. He looked most + woeful, and said, "As sure as I stand here, he will not be the + member for the City." + + I said I believed he thought it best at all events to stand. "Ah, + that's all very well if he had seen a chance of a tolerable + minority--but if he has only _two or three_ votes!" He also + said John had as much chance of being Pope as of being M.P. for the + City. + +Although a lack of the faculty which conciliates individuals was one of the +criticisms most constantly brought against Lord John as a political leader, +he certainly possessed the power of overcoming the hostility of a popular +audience, without abating one jot of his own independence or dignity. A +bold, good-tempered directness is always effective in such situations. He +never lacked the tact of an orator. In this election the Liberal Committee, +on the first rumour of his resignation, without verifying it, or notifying +their intentions to Lord John, substituted Mr. Raikes Currie, late member +for Northampton, as their Liberal candidate. Lord John at once called a +meeting to protest against the action of the committee. The following +passage in his speech was received with enthusiastic applause, and did much +to secure a favourable hearing for his anti-Palmerstonian views during the +campaign. It must be remembered that he had represented the City for +sixteen years. + + "If a gentleman were disposed to part with his butler, his + coachman, or his gamekeeper, or if a merchant were disposed to part + with an old servant, a warehouseman, a clerk, or even a porter, he + would say to him, 'John, I think your faculties are somewhat + decayed; you are growing old, you have made several mistakes; and I + think of putting a young man from Northampton in your place.' I + think a gentleman would behave in that way to his servant, and + thereby give John an opportunity for answering. That opportunity + was not given to me. The question was decided in my absence; and I + come now to ask you, and the citizens of London, to reverse that + decision." + +His success won back for him some of the general admiration which he had +forfeited by his loyalty to the Ministers in 1855. Many of the best men in +England rejoiced in his triumph; among them Charles Dickens wrote his +congratulations. + + _Lord John Russell to Lady Melgund_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _April_ 1, 1857 + + ...The contest has brought out an amount of feeling in my favour + both from electors and non-electors which is very gratifying. ...It + is the more pleasant, as all the merchant princes turned their + princely backs upon me, and left me to fight as I could (the two + Hankeys alone excepted)....Fanny has not been very well since the + election ... but this blessed place will, I hope, soon restore her. + + + _Lady John Russell to Lord Minto_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _April_ 4, 1857 + + The City election engrossed my thoughts for many days, and made it + difficult to write to anybody who cared as much about it as you + till it was over. I have since spent my life in answering letters + and receiving visits of congratulation, most of them very hearty + and sincere, and accordingly very pleasant. I thought my days of + caring for popular applause were over, but there was something so + much higher than usual in the meaning of the cheers that greeted + John whenever he showed himself, that I was not ashamed of being + quite delighted. There was obviously a strong feeling among the + electors and non-electors, in Guildhall and in the streets, that + John had been unfairly and ungratefully set aside, which far + outweighed the effect of his unpopular opinions on ballot and + church rates. Altogether there was a good tone among the people (by + which I don't mean only one of attachment to John) which made me + proud of them. Next to the pleasure of seeing and hearing with my + own eyes and ears how strong his hold upon his countrymen still is, + was the pleasure I was wicked enough to feel at the reception which + greeted the unfortunate Raikes Currie. + + The repose of Pemmy Lodge, which I hope you will by and by share + with us, is very welcome after our noisy triumph. + + + _Mr. Charles Dickens to Lady John Russell_ + + _May_ 22, 1857 + + DEAR LADY JOHN,--Coming to town yesterday morning out of Kent, I + found your kind and welcome note referring to the previous day. I + need not tell you, I hope, that although I have not had the + pleasure of seeing you for a long time, I have of late been + accompanying Lord John at a distance with great interest and + satisfaction. Several times after the City election was over I + debated with myself whether I should come to see you, but I + abstained because I knew you would be overwhelmed with + congratulations and I thought it was the more considerate to + withhold mine. + + I am going out of town on Monday, June 1st, to a little + old-fashioned house I have at Gad's Hill, by Rochester, on the + identical spot where Falstaff ran away, and as you are so kind as + to ask me to propose a day for coming to Richmond, I should very + much like to do so either on Saturday the 30th of this month or on + Sunday the 31st. + + I heard of you at Lausanne from some of my old friends there, and + sometimes tracked you in the newspapers afterwards. I beg to send + my regard to Lord John and to all your house. + + Do you believe me to remain always yours very faithfully, + + CHARLES DICKENS + + + _Lady John Russell to Lord Minto_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _September_ 27, 1857 + + John's reception at Sheffield equalled anything of the kind I had + ever seen in our "high and palmy" days. So little had we expected + _any_ reception, that when we arrived at the station and saw + the crowds on the platform I could not think what was the matter, + and it was not till there was a general rush towards our carriage + and shouts of John's name that I understood it was meant for him. + From the station we had to drive all through the town to Alderman + Hoole's villa; it was one loud and long triumph. John and Mr. Hoole + and I were in an open carriage, the children following in a closed + one. We went at a foot's pace, followed and surrounded by such an + ocean of human beings as I should not have thought all Sheffield + could produce, cheering, throwing up caps and hats, thrusting great + hard hands into the carriage for John to shake, proposing to take + off the horses and draw us, etc. Windows and balconies all thronged + with waving women and children, and bells ringing so lustily as to + drown John's voice when, at Mr. Hoole's request, he stood up on the + seat and made a little speech. All this honour from one of the most + warlike towns in the kingdom will surprise you, no doubt; indeed, I + am not sure that you will quite approve. + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _December 25, 1857_ + + A bright and lovely Christmas.... Sat more than an hour in the + sunny South summer-house, listening to birds singing and boys and + little May [51] talking and laughing.... Dear, darling children, + how I grudge each day that passes and hurries you on beyond blessed + childhood.... I am too happy--there can hardly be a change that + will not make me less so.... A glorious sunset brought the glorious + day to an end. + +[51] Mary Agatha. + + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Charlotte Portal_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _December_ 26, 1857 + + I cannot remember a happier Christmas than ours has been, and I am + sure nobody can remember a milder or brighter Christmas sky. I sat + more than an hour yesterday in the sunny South summer-house, + listening to the songs of the blackbirds and thrushes, who have + lost all count of the seasons, and to the merry voices of the boys + and little May, and thinking of many things besides, and wishing I + could lay my hand on old Father Time and stop him in his flight, + for he _cannot_ bring me any change for the better, and he + must very soon take away one of the best joys of my daily life, + since he must take away childhood from my bairnies. + + In the meantime I know I am not ungrateful, and when the little + boys in their evening prayer thanked God for making it "such a + happy Christmas," oh! how I thanked Him too. We have had a + Christmas-tree, and for many days before its appearance the + children were in a state of ungovernable spirits, full of + indescribable fun and mischief, and making indescribable uproar. + John has been by no means the least merry of the party, and seeing + a game at "my lady's toilet" going on yesterday evening, could not + resist tacking himself to its tail and being dragged through as + many passages and round as many windings as Pemmy Lodge affords. + +Although the Palmerston Ministry seemed firmly seated in power and were +certainly capable of carrying out the spirited and aggressive foreign +policy on which they had so successfully appealed to the country, an +unexpected event occurred during the recess of 1857 which led to their +downfall. On the night of January 14th some Italian patriots threw three +bombs under Napoleon's carriage as he was driving to the Opera. The Emperor +and Empress had a narrow escape, and many spectators were killed or +wounded. The outrage was prompted by a frantic notion that the death of +Napoleon III was an indispensable step towards the freedom of Italy. +Orsini, the leader of the conspirators, was not himself of a crazy criminal +type. He was a fine, soldier-like fellow, who had fought and suffered for +his country's independence, and he had many friends in England among lovers +of Italy who never suspected that he was the kind of man to turn into an +assassin. When it was discovered that the plot had been hatched in London +and the bombs made in Birmingham, a feverish resentment seized the whole +French Army. Addresses were sent by many regiments congratulating Napoleon +on his escape, in which London was described as _ce repaire +d'assassins_ and much abusive language used. The Press, of course, on +both sides, fanned the flame, and for some days the two nations were very +near war. The French Ambassador requested the Government to make at once +more stringent laws against refugee aliens, and in answer to this request +Palmerston brought in a Conspiracy to Murder Bill. Lord John informed the +Government that he, for his part, would oppose any such measure as an +ignominious capitulation to a foolish outcry. + + _Lady John Russell to Lady Mary Abercromby_ + + LONDON, _February_ 4, 1858 + + I have never seen John more moved, more mortified, more indignant, + than on reading a letter from Sir George Grey yesterday announcing + the intention of the Ministry to make an alteration in the + Conspiracy Laws under the threats of an inconceivably insolent + French soldiery. He had heard a rumour of such an intention, but + would not believe it. He thinks very seriously of the possible + effects of debates on the measure, and feels the full weight of his + responsibility; but he is nevertheless resolved to oppose to the + utmost of his power what he considers as only the first step in a + series of unworthy concessions. . . . + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _February_ 20, 1858 + + John woke me at two with the news of a majority for the amendment + (234 to 215)--the country spared from humiliation, the character of + the House of Commons redeemed. But, privately, what will become of + our victory? Lay awake with the nightmare of coming office upon + me--went to sleep only to dream that John was going to the scaffold + (being interpreted, the Treasury Bench). + +Although the division was taken in a very small house, as the above figures +show, Palmerston resigned, and after some hesitation the Queen charged Lord +Derby with forming a Government. This was the second time Lord Derby had +attempted to govern with a majority against him in the House of Commons. +The first task of the new Ministry was to patch up the quarrel with France, +and, thanks to the good sense and dignity of the Emperor, it was managed in +spite of the scandalous acquittal by an English jury of the Frenchman, Dr. +Bernard, who had manufactured Orsini's bombs. The Duc de Malakoff, whose +conduct in the Crimea made him a popular hero in England, replaced M. +Persigny at the French Embassy. His presence helped to remind Englishmen +that it was not many years since they had fought side by side with French +soldiers, and resentment against the Emperor's army died away. + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _October_ 30, 1858 + + Dinner at Gunnersbury. Met Malakoffs, D'lsraelis, Azeglio. Never + before had opportunity for real conversation with D'lsraeli--a sad + flatterer and otherwise less agreeable than so able a man of such + varied pursuits ought to be. + +Although these years of comparative leisure had been welcome to them both, +the issues at stake in Europe were so important that Lord John could not +help wishing he again had an opportunity of directly influencing events. + +He writes to his wife on December 15, 1858: + + When I reflect that a Reform Bill and the liberation of Italy are + "looming in the distance," it gives me no little wish to be in + office; but when I consider what colleagues I should have, I am + cured of any such wish. I can express my own opinions in my own + way. + +He feared that he would not have hearty support from his colleagues in his +views on Italy and Reform, which accounts for the above allusion. + +In March the Ministry were defeated on Disraeli's Reform Bill, and +Parliament was dissolved. Meanwhile Italy's struggle against Austria was +exciting much deeper interest than franchise questions. On June 24, 1859, +the battle of Solferino was fought. Although the Austrians were beaten, the +cost of victory to the Italians and French was very heavy. The fortunes of +the whole campaign, indeed, had hitherto been due more to the incompetence +of Austrian generalship than either to the strength of the allies or to the +weakness of the Austrian position. Though Solferino was the fifth victory, +the others had been also dearly bought, and the allies still remained +inferior in numbers. Besides, should Austria go on losing ground there was +more than a chance that Prussia would invade France, when the prospects of +Italy would have been at an end, and England too, in all probability, +involved in a general war. Napoleon, who knew the unsoundness of his own +army, dreaded this contingency himself; though the English Court +supposed--and continued to suppose, strangely enough--that to provoke a war +with Prussia was the ultimate end of his policy. Generally speaking, the +English people were enthusiastically Italian, while the Court and +aristocracy were pro-Austrian. "I remarked," wrote Lord Granville to Lord +Canning at this time, "that in the Lords, whenever I said anything in +favour of the Emperor or the Italians, the House became nearly sea-sick, +while they cheered anything the other way, as if pearls were dropping from +my lips." + +The elections did not strengthen Lord Derby sufficiently, and in June he +resigned. + + "Lord Derby's Government was beaten this morning," writes Lord + Malmesbury, [52] "by a majority of 13.... The division took place + at half-past two, and the result was received with tremendous + cheers by the Opposition. D'Azeglio (the Piedmontese Minister) and + some other foreigners were waiting in the lobby outside, and when + Lord Palmerston appeared redoubled their vociferations. D'Azeglio + is said to have thrown his hat in the air and himself in the arms + of Jaucourt, the French attaché, which probably no ambassador, or + even Italian, ever did before in so public a place." + +[52] "Memoirs of an Ex-Minister." + +It was not easy to choose Lord Derby's successor, since the Liberal party +was divided; but its two leaders, Palmerston and Lord John, agreed to +support each other in the event of either of them being charged with the +formation of the new Government. The Queen, either because she was +reluctant to distinguish between two equally eminent statesmen, or because +she did not know of their mutual agreement, or more likely because she did +not wish the foreign policy of England to be in the hands of Ministers with +professed Italian sympathies, commissioned Lord Granville to make the +attempt, who, though he felt some sympathy for the patriots, considered the +peace of Europe far more important than the better government of Italy. +After he had failed she sent for Palmerston, under whom Lord John became +Foreign Secretary. This change of Government had a happy and instant effect +upon the prosperity of the Italian cause. Technically, England still +maintained her neutrality with regard to the struggle between Austria and +Victor Emmanuel, backed by his French allies; but the change of Ministry +meant that instead of being in the hands of a neutral Government with +Austrian sympathies, the international negotiations upon which the union +and freedom of Italy depended were now inspired by three men--Palmerston, +Russell, and Gladstone--who did all in their power, and were prepared, +perhaps, to risk war, in order to forward the policy of Victor Emmanuel and +Cavour. + +Lady John unfortunately lost her diaries recording events from May, 1859, +to January, 1861; but it is known that she was in close sympathy with her +husband's policy, and she looked back upon the part he played in the +liberation of Italy with almost more pride than upon any other period of +his career. Italian patriots and escaped prisoners from the Papal and +Neapolitan dungeons found a warm welcome at Pembroke Lodge. She was never +tired of listening to their stories, and she felt an enthusiastic ardour +for their cause. + + PEMBROKE LODGE, May 9, 1859 + + Farewell visit from Spaventa and Dr. Cesare Braico, [53] who goes + to Piedmont Wednesday. Spaventa full of eager but not hopeful talk + on Neapolitan prospects, Dr. Braico very quiet, crushed in spirits, + but not in spirit. + + "For me the illusions of life are past," he said. "I have given the + flower of my youth to my country in prison--what remains to me of + life is hers." + + In answer to some commonplace of mine about hope he replied, "To + those who have suffered much the word hope seems a lie.... While I + was in prison my mother died--my only tie to life." Said he left + England with regret, and should always gratefully remember the + sympathy he had found here. Told him I thought there was not + enough. "More than in my own country. We passed through four + villages on our way to the port after leaving the prison; not one + person looked at us or gave us a word of kindness; not a tear was + in any eye; not one blessing was uttered." I wondered. I supposed + the people (the Neapolitans) were _avilis_. "More than + _avilili--sono abbruttati_." All these sad words, and many + more, in beautiful Italian, would have touched any heart, however + shut to the great cause for which he and others have given their + earthly happiness, and are about to offer their lives. As I looked + at that fine countenance, so determined, so melancholy, and + listened to the words that still ring in my ear, I felt that, + though he did not say so, he meant to die in battle against + tyranny. He gave me some verses, written with a pencil at the + moment, to little May, who ran into the room while he was here. + Farewell, brave, noble spirit. May God be with thee! + +[53] Spaventa and Braico had been prisoners in Italy for about ten years. + +To get clear what Lord John's share was in the creation of Italy, we must +remember what hampered him at home and what difficulties he contended with +in the councils of Europe. + +The Palmerston Cabinet, as far as ability went, was exceptionally strong. +Lord Granville, himself a member of it, had failed in his own attempt, +because Lord John had stipulated that he should lead the Commons, and that +foreign affairs should be in no other hands but Palmerston's; while +Palmerston, who was as necessary as Lord John to any strong Whig +Government, had declined to serve unless he led the Commons. The motive of +Lord John's demand that Palmerston should be Minister for Foreign Affairs +is clear; he did not trust Lord Granville where Italy was concerned. He +thought extremely well of his qualifications as Foreign Minister--he had +previously appointed him his own Foreign Secretary--but Lord Granville had +objected shortly before to Lord Clarendon's dispatch to Naples, in which +Ferdinand II's misrule had been condemned in terms such as might have +preceded intervention. This dispatch had had Lord John's ardent sympathy, +while Lord Granville had disapproved of it on the grounds that in diplomacy +threatening language should not be addressed to a small State which +prudence would have moderated in dealing with a powerful one, and that the +whole tenor of the dispatch was calculated to draw on a European war. + +It was these views upon Italian questions--namely, that peace was +all-important and that little kingdoms, however corrupt and despotic, +should not be browbeaten, which made Lord Granville so acceptable to the +Court. Throughout the next two years he was the principal agent through +whom the Queen and the Prince Consort attempted to mitigate the pro-Italian +policy of Lord John and Palmerston. The Cabinet itself was divided on the +subject; the "two old gentlemen," as Sidney Herbert called them, were for +stretching England's "neutrality" to mean support of every kind short of +(and even at the risk of) committing us to intervention; while the rest of +the Cabinet, with the important exception of Gladstone, were more or less +in favour of abstaining from any demonstration on one side or the other. +When Palmerston came into power the matters stood thus: Austria, after +losing the battle of Solferino, was securely entrenched within her four +strong fortresses of Verona, Mantua, Peschiera, and Legnago, but her +Emperor was already disheartened and disgusted by the fighting. + +Napoleon, too, on his side was anxious for peace--most anxious, in fact, to +extricate himself as soon as possible from the dangerous complications in +which his alliance was likely to land him. On the eve of Solferino he had +heard that Prussia, ready for war, was concentrating at Coblenz and +Cologne, and he knew well there was no army in France capable of much +resistance. He began, too, to realize that success pressed home might lead +to the formation on the south-east border of France of a new--and perhaps +formidable--Italian power; a possibility he had not considered when he +planned with Cavour at Plombières their secret alliance against Austria. +The war was now becoming unpopular with far-sighted Frenchmen precisely +because its success plainly tended towards this issue; and, in addition, +the formation of such a kingdom, by implying the confiscation of the Papal +territories, was most distasteful to his Catholic subjects, with whom +Napoleon already stood badly and wished to stand better. After a brief +armistice, he proposed terms of peace to Austria, which were signed at +Villafranca on July 9th. They ran as follows: + +Lombardy was to be surrendered to France and then handed over to Italy; the +Italian States were to be formed into a Federation under the honorary +presidency of the Pope (this was intended to soothe French Catholics); +Venetia, while remaining under Austrian rule, was to be a member of the +Federation, and the Dukes of Tuscany and Modena were to resume their +thrones. Napoleon wished to add a further stipulation that neither side +should use their armies to secure this latter object, but over this there +rose so much haggling that the outcome was only an understanding between +the two Emperors (not committed to paper) that Austria would not oppose the +establishment of constitutional government in those States, should they +themselves desire it, but at the same time she retained by her silence her +right to interfere for other reasons; while France on her side asserted +that she would neither restore the Dukes by force of arms herself nor--and +here lay a point of great importance--allow Austria to interfere should she +act upon the right she had reserved. + +As may be imagined, to men who had set their hearts on a free united Italy, +such a treaty was exasperating. However aware Victor Emmanuel might be that +he owed much to France, he could not but be bitterly disappointed by +Napoleon withdrawing his help when the struggle had just begun and when the +freedom of Lombardy alone had been won. Cavour resigned in a passion of +resentment that Victor Emmanuel should have countenanced such a peace. +"Siamo traditi" was the cry at Milan and Turin. Yet Napoleon had already +done much for the union of Italy; in fact, he had done more than he knew, +and far more than he ever intended. Though no one at first fully realized +it, the stipulation that Austria should not attempt to use force to restore +the fugitive Dukes, and that France should abstain from similar +interference, really opened a path for the union of Italy. This was the +first important juncture at which Lord John brought valuable assistance to +the cause of "Italy for the Italians," since he kept Napoleon to his +promise, after he had good reasons to regret it, and bent the whole weight +of England's influence towards persuading reluctant Austria to accept on +her side the principle of complete non-intervention. + +It must be remembered that the terms of Villafranca, in so far as the +question of armed intervention was concerned, had never been finally +ratified; and it was Napoleon's wish that the European Powers should form a +Congress at Zürich, at which the Convention would acquire the stability of +a European treaty, and the nature of the proposed Italian Federation be +finally defined. Lord John and Palmerston, while protesting against the +clause of the treaty which, by including Venice in the Federation, still +left Austria a preponderating influence in Italian affairs, refused to take +part in this Congress unless Napoleon promised beforehand to withdraw his +army from Italy as soon as possible, and to join England in insisting that +no Austrian troops should be allowed in future to cross the borders of +their own Venetian territory. + +At home the English Court did its best to prevent its Ministers exacting +these promises. It was the Queen's strong wish that the Federation of Italy +and the restoration of the Dukes of Parma and Modena should stand as +Austria's compensation for yielding Lombardy to Italy, and that the +Congress at Zürich should insist upon these conditions forming part of the +ultimate European treaty. She objected to the pressure which Lord John was +applying to France, on the ground that in making England's presence +conditional upon an assurance that Napoleon would consider terms more +favourable to Italian independence than those already signed at +Villafranca, her Ministers were abandoning neutrality and intervening +deliberately upon the side of Victor Emmanuel. The contest between the +Court and the Foreign Office was obstinate on both sides; at one time it +seemed likely that Palmerston and Lord John would be forced to resign. Lord +John succeeded, however, in obtaining a favourable assurance from Napoleon +to the effect that if it should prove impossible to construct an Italian +Federation in which Austria _could_ not predominate, he would accept a +proposal for an Italian Federation from which Austria was excluded +entirely. On these terms England consented to appear; but after all these +intricate delays the Congress, dated to meet in January, 1860, never sat. +In December a pamphlet, inspired by Napoleon himself, entitled "Le Pape et +le Congrès," had appeared, which advocated the Pope's abandonment of all +territory beyond the limits of the patrimony of St. Peter, and declared +that the settlement of this important matter should lie not with the +Congress, but in the hands of Napoleon himself. If these were the Emperor's +own views, Austria pronounced that she could take no part in the Congress; +for she would then be denied a voice in decisions very near her interests +as a Catholic Power and the first enemy of Italian union. The Congress +consequently fell through. + +Meanwhile events had been moving rapidly in Italy. Relieved from the +immediate fear of Austrian coercion, the Tuscan Assembly had voted their +own annexation to the kingdom of Piedmont, and the duchies of Modena and +Parma and the Romagna soon followed suit. The question remained, could +Victor Emmanuel venture to accept these offers? He had the moral support of +England on his side, and in his favour the threat of Napoleon that should +Austria advance beyond her Venetian territory, the French would take the +field against her; but on the other hand, Austria declared that if the King +of Piedmont moved a single soldier into these States she would fight at +once, and Napoleon, while he threatened Austria, did not wish Victor +Emmanuel to widen his borders. Cavour was now again at the head of the +Piedmontese Government, and the problem of British diplomacy was to propose +terms so favourable to Italian liberty that Cavour would not be tempted to +provoke another war as a desperate bid for a united Italy, and yet of a +kind that France and Austria would accept. The terms Lord John offered +were: (1) that Austria and France should both agree to abstain from +intervention, except at the invitation of the five Great Powers; (2) that +another vote should be taken in those States which had desired to +amalgamate with Piedmont before the King should be free to enter their +territories. The other provisions dealt with the preservation of the +_status quo_ in Venetia and the withdrawal of the French troops from +Rome and Northern Italy. + +It will be seen that the first clause was merely a reiteration, a +reinforcement with Europe to back it, of the clause which Napoleon, blind +to its results, had attempted to induce the Emperor of Austria to put upon +paper at Villafranca. Having failed then, he had contented himself with +announcing that he would not interfere himself, nor allow Austria to +interfere, by force of arms in Italy, a promise to which English diplomacy +had from that moment firmly held him. We have seen, too, that before Lord +John had consented to take part in the Zurich Congress, he had exacted from +Napoleon an assurance that he would consider, as an alternative to the +Federation proposed at Villafranca, the formation of an Italian Federation +in which Venice (or in other words Austria) should have no part whatever. +Such a Federation would not have been very different from the amalgamation +with Piedmont which the other States had just proposed of their own accord; +and consequently the Emperor of the French could not well protest against +Lord John's proposals without repudiating all his earlier negotiations. +Thus England and Italy now held France on their side, an unwilling ally in +diplomacy, and Austria, on whom Lord John had endeavoured all along to +force the principle of non-intervention, at last gave way. She refused, +however, to commit herself for the future, or to admit that she had not the +right to interfere at any time in Italy's affairs; but she let it be known +that, for the present, reluctance to renew war with France and Piedmont +would determine her actions. Of course the people of the States confirmed +their vote in favour of annexation, and on April 2, 1860, the first +Parliament representing Piedmont and Central Italy met at Turin. + +This was the first stage in the making of Italy. When it was completed +there remained only three independent Powers (excluding Austrian Venice) +dividing the peninsula among them--in the north the new kingdom of +Piedmont; in the centre the diminished Papal States; in the south the +kingdom of Naples. Lord John, as the spokesman of England, by playing off +Napoleon, who was no friend to Italian unity, against Francis Joseph, who +was the prime enemy of Italian freedom, had secured for Italy an +opportunity to work out her own salvation. He and Cavour together had +forced Napoleon to prevent Austria from checking what Napoleon himself +would have liked to prevent. + +Subsequently it came to light that Napoleon's surprising readiness in +agreeing to the annexation of Central Italy in April had been due to a +private arrangement between him and Cavour in the previous month. It was +agreed between them in March that Savoy and Nice should be handed over to +France as the price of her acquiescence. In the secret treaty of +Plombières, Napoleon's reward for helping the Piedmontese, should the war +leave Venice, Lombardy, and the Romagna in Victor Emmanuel's hands, had +been fixed as the cession of these territories to France. But since +Napoleon had withdrawn and made peace when, as yet, only Lombardy had been +wrested from Austria, he had waived his claim upon Nice and Savoy at +Villafranca, and claimed in exchange a contribution towards his expenses in +the war. But the moment Piedmont proposed to annex Tuscany, the Romagna and +the Duchies, he returned to his original claim. His action had two +important results: one which immediately added to the complication of +Italian politics, and one which affected the diplomatic relations of the +Great Powers for the next eleven years. In Italy his demand made a lasting +breach between Cavour and Garibaldi. The latter never forgave the cession +of Nice, his native town, to France, and never could be convinced that the +sacrifice of Italian territory was a necessary step towards uniting Italy. +In his eyes the agreement with Napoleon had been a kind of treason on the +part of Cavour. Among the European Powers, on the other hand, Napoleon's +action created an impression, which was never effaced, that he was a +predatory and treacherous power. + +In England the news was received with the greatest indignation. Lord John +was extremely angry, and practically threatened war. He, like Garibaldi, +did not realize that Cavour was driven to the concession, nor that Napoleon +was, in truth, compelled on his side to demand what he did. The following +letter from Sir James Hudson, the English Minister at Turin--"uomo +italianissimo," as Cavour called him--is particularly interesting, because, +though addressed to Lady John, it reads as though it were also intended for +the eyes of the Foreign Secretary, from whom indignation had temporarily +concealed the truth that this sacrifice was the only compensation which +would have induced Napoleon to look on quietly while the new kingdom of +Italy was consolidating on his frontier. The last event Cavour desired was +a war between the two Powers whose unanimity forced neutrality upon +Austria. Napoleon on his side was practically obliged to demand Savoy and +Nice as a barrier against Italy, and because the acquisition of territory +alone could have prevented his subjects from feeling that they had lost +their lives and money only to further the aims of Victor Emmanuel. + + _Sir James Hudson to Lady John Russell_ + + TURIN, _April_ 6, 1860 + + MY DEAR LADY JOHN,--I have seen Braico--Poerio brought him to me + after I had offered my services to him in your name, and we have + combined to dine together and to perform other feats, besides + gastronomic ones, in order to cheer him whilst he resides in these + (to a Parthenopean) Boeotian regions. + + You mention in your letter the name of that scandal to royalty, + Louis Napoleon. What can I say of him? Hypocrite and footpad + combined. He came to carry out an "idea," and he prigs the silver + spoons. "Take care of your pockets" ought to be the cry whenever he + appears either personally or by deputy. + + But do not, I beg of you, consider and confound either the King of + Sardinia or Cavour as his accomplice. Think for a moment on the + condition of Sardinia, who represents the nascent hope of Italy. + Think of the evil that man meant--how he tried to trip up the heels + of Tuscany, establish a precarious vicarial existence for the + Romagna, and plots now at Naples. Not to have surrendered when he + cried "stand and deliver" would have been to have risked all that + was gained--would have given breathing time to Rome, reinforced and + comforted Rome's partisans in the Romagna--have induced doubt, + fear, and disunion throughout Italy. Judging by the experience of + the last eight years, I must say I saw no means of avoiding the + rocks ahead save by a sop to Cerberus. But do not lose confidence + in the National party--Cavour or no Cavour, Victor Emmanuel or + another, that party is determined to give Italy an Italian + representation. I regret that the Nizzards (who have a keen eye to + the value of building lots) are wrenched from us by a French + _filou_; but I cannot forget that the Savoyards have + constantly upheld the Pope, and have been firm and consistent in + their detestation of Liberal Government in Sardinia. _I am not + speaking of the neutral parts_, please remember. + + Your most devoted servant, + + JAMES HUDSON + +Meanwhile the reign of Francis II of Naples and the Two Sicilies, who had +succeeded Ferdinand, was proving if anything worse than his father's. Early +in 1860 insurrections began to break out in Sicily, and on May 5th +Garibaldi, on his own initiative, set sail from Genoa to help the rebels. +"I go," he said, "a general without an army, to fight an army without a +general." His success was extraordinarily rapid. At the end of May he had +taken Palermo from 24,000 regular troops with his volunteers and some +Sicilian help, thus making the dictatorship of Sicily, which he had +declared on landing, a reality. It soon became known that he intended to +recross to the mainland to free the people of Naples itself. Piedmont, of +course, wished Garibaldi to succeed in this further undertaking. His cause +was her cause. Though this action was entirely independent, his +dictatorship had been avowed as a preliminary step to handing over the +island to Victor Emmanuel. The King could not, therefore, oppose him nor +prevent him re-embarking for Naples without separating himself from the +cause of United Italy and making an enemy of almost every patriot in the +country; but both he and Cavour were afraid either that Garibaldi might +fail, in which case the union of Italy would have been postponed for many +years, or that the pace at which changes were coming would lead France or +Austria to interfere again. + +France, of course, was most anxious to stop the further increase of the +power of Piedmont, and therefore to check Garibaldi. Napoleon's idea of +"United Italy" was a federation of separate States under the presidency of +the Pope, who in his turn would be under the influence of France. He at +once put pressure upon Cavour and Victor Emmanuel, compelling the latter to +write to Garibaldi, telling him to stop in Sicily. Thus, in spite of her +desire that Garibaldi should sail and succeed, Piedmont was compelled +publicly to express disapproval of his intention. In England it was +supposed that Cavour meant what he made the King say in his letter to +Garibaldi, and in addition Palmerston, who was glad enough to see the old +Governments of the little States tumbling to the ground, was rather alarmed +at the prospect of a United Italy, which would also be a Mediterranean +Power. Hitherto the honour of assisting Italy had belonged equally to him +and to Lord John. Henceforward, however, Lord John, who had been brought up +in the Fox tradition, and whose Italian sympathies had been fortified by +his wife's enthusiasm, definitely took the lead in determining England's +policy. + +The aim of Cavour was to help the revolution as much as possible without +making it obvious to Europe that he was doing so; but, like everybody else, +Lord John had taken him at his word, and thought that the liberation of +Italy might be retarded by Garibaldi's departure from Sicily for the +mainland, till information reached him that in reality Piedmont was most +anxious nothing should hinder Garibaldi's attack upon Naples. It reached +him apparently in the following manner. + +Cavour determined to appeal to the Russells personally through a secret +agent. With this object Mr. Lacaita [afterwards Sir James Lacaita], who had +been exiled from Naples for having helped Gladstone to write his famous +letters upon the state of the Neapolitan prisons, which Lacaita knew from +inside, was instructed to call upon Lord John in London and to tell him +that in spite of her official declaration, Piedmont was desperately anxious +that Garibaldi should drive the King of Naples from the throne; for +Garibaldi's extraordinary success in Sicily had made his failure on the +mainland far less likely, and Cavour was now certain that there was not +much power of resistance left in the Neapolitan kingdom. Lacaita, though +ill in bed, got up and went to deliver his message. He was told that Lord +John was closeted with the French and Neapolitan ambassadors and could not +see him. Lacaita guessed that Lord John was at that very moment talking +over the means of preventing Garibaldi's expedition, and he immediately +decided to ask for Lady John. When informed that she was seriously ill, he +insisted upon being taken up into her bedroom, and adjured her for the love +of Italy to get Lord John away from the ambassadors at once. A scribbled +note begging her husband to come to her immediately brought him upstairs in +some alarm. And there he learnt from Lacaita that Victor Emmanuel's letter +of July 25th was a blind, that united Italy must be made now or never, and +that he would never be forgiven if England stopped Garibaldi. + +This incident is recorded by several persons to whom Mr. Lacaita told the +story. [54] It explains the sudden right-about of English diplomacy at this +juncture, which, as Persigny shows in his memoirs, puzzled and astonished +him. For Lord John having received this information, refused to act with +France in preventing Garibaldi from crossing the Straits of Messina. This +he accordingly did, and marched straight on to Naples, where he was +welcomed as a deliverer; the royal troops deserted or retreated to Capua, +and Garibaldi made his entrance into Naples, as was said in the House of +Commons, "a simple traveller by railway with a first-class ticket." Before +the end of October the King of Sardinia and Garibaldi met near Teano and +Garibaldi saluted Victor Emmanuel as King of Italy. + +[54] Lady John's diaries of 1860 being lost, this incident is given here on +the sole authority of the late Sir James Lacaita. + +On October 27, 1860, Lord John wrote a dispatch, in which he said that-- + + Her Majesty's Government can see no sufficient grounds for the + severe censure with which Austria, France, Prussia, and Russia have + visited the acts of the King of Sardinia. Her Majesty's Government + will turn their eyes rather to the gratifying prospect of a people + building up the edifice of their liberties and consolidating the + work of their independence.... + +Lord John also quoted from "that eminent jurist Vattel" the following +words: "When a people from good reasons take up arms against an oppressor, +it is but an act of justice and generosity to assist brave men in the +defence of their liberties." + + _Mr. Odo Russell to Lord John Russell_ + + ROME, _December_ 1, 1860 + + MY DEAR UNCLE,--Ever since your famous dispatch of the 27th, you + are blessed night and morning by twenty millions of Italians. I + could not read it myself without deep emotion, and the moment it + was published in Italian, thousands of people copied it from each + other to carry it to their homes and weep over it for joy and + gratitude in the bosom of their families, away from brutal + mercenaries and greasy priests. Difficult as the task is the + Italians have now before them, I cannot but think that they will + accomplish it better than we any of us hope, for every day + convinces me more and more that I am living in the midst of a + _great_ and _real_ national movement, which will at last + be crowned with perfect success, notwithstanding the legion of + enemies Italy still counts in Europe. + + Your affectionate nephew, + + ODO RUSSELL + +Such was the second important juncture at which the British Ministry came +to the rescue of the Italian nationalists. If after Villafranca the +negotiations which secured the safety of Italy were the work of three men, +Palmerston, Lord John, and Gladstone, contending against an indifferent and +timid Cabinet and the opposition of the Court--it is clear that when the +success or failure of Italian unity was a second time at stake, the +decision and initiative were Lord John's. + +After his retirement, when he was travelling with his family in 1869, they +took a villa at San Remo. The ceiling of the _salon_ was decorated +with those homely frescoes so common in Italy, which in this case consisted +of four portraits--Garibaldi, Cavour, Mazzini, and--to their surprise--Lord +John himself. Next to the national heroes he was associated closest in the +minds of the people with the achievement of their independence. + +When Garibaldi came to England in the spring of 1864, and received a more +than royal welcome, Pembroke Lodge was, naturally, one of the first houses +he visited. On April 21, 1864, Lady John writes in her diary: + + All looked anxiously to the sky on getting up--all rejoiced to see + it bright. Sunshine the whole day. Garibaldi to luncheon at + Pembroke Lodge. Our school children, ranged alongside of approach + with flags, cheered him loudly. All went well and pleasantly. + + John gave him a stick of British oak. Garibaldi gave John his own + in exchange. + + Agatha gave him a nosegay of green, red, and white--he kissed her + on the forehead. Much interesting conversation with him at + luncheon. Told him he would be blamed by many for his praise of + Mazzini yesterday. He said that he and Mazzini differed as to what + was best for Italy, but Mazzini had been his teacher in early + youth--had been unjustly blamed and was _malheureux_. "Et j'ai + cru devoir dire quelque chose," and that he (Garibaldi) had been in + past years accused of being badly influenced by Mazzini: "Ceux qui + ont dit cela ne me connaissent pas." That when he acts it is + because he himself is convinced he ought. Inveighed bitterly + against Louis Napoleon, whom he looks upon as _hors la loi_. + Simple dignity in every word he utters. + + Park full of people. Richmond decorated with flags. + + +CHAPTER X + +1859-66 + + +Since only political events in which Lady John was herself deeply +interested or those which affected her life through her husband's career +are here to the purpose, the other international difficulties with which +Lord John had to deal as Secretary for Foreign Affairs in this Government +may be quickly passed over. And for the same reason the domestic politics +of these years require only the briefest notice. Palmerston's Ministry +produced very little social legislation, and the fact that Lord John was at +the Foreign Office, while the Prime Minister led the Commons, increased the +legislative inactivity of a Government which, with Palmerston at its head, +would in any case have changed little in the country. Gladstone's budgets +and Cobden's Free-Trade Treaty with France were the important events. +Between 1860 and 1864 the taxation of the country was reduced by twelve +millions, the National Debt by eleven millions, and the nation's income +increased by twenty-seven millions, while foreign trade had risen in two +years by seventy-seven millions. These were the most splendid results a +Chancellor of the Exchequer has ever been able to show; but the changes by +which it had been achieved had been far from welcome to Palmerston himself. +It had required great resolution on Gladstone's part to carry the Prime +Minister with him. + +Many comments have been made on the indifference which the country showed +to domestic reform during these years of Liberal Government; but it is not +very surprising. It is a familiar fact that when foreign affairs are +exciting the people are not eager about social or political reform, a fact +upon which Governments have always been able to count. And foreign affairs +had been very exciting. Under Lord John and Palmerston our own foreign +policy had been bold and peremptory; the policy of France was directed by +Napoleon, whose head, as Palmerston said, was as full of schemes as a +rabbit-warren is of rabbits; and the quarrel of 1852 between Prussia and +Denmark had arisen again in a far acuter form. It was, therefore, natural +that popular attention should be constantly turned abroad. + +The deaths of those who linked Lady John with her childhood now came +quickly. Her father, Lord Minto, died a month after Lord John had taken +office. He had been ailing for some time. + + LONDON.--PEMBROKE LODGE, _May_ 2, 1859 + + John at 7 a.m. to Huntingdon to propose Mr. Heathcote at + nomination; back to Pembroke Lodge about five, having been very + well received, but chiefly by the _ill-dressed_. Papa + surprisingly well--saw him on my way out of town; far the happiest + sight I had yet had of him. Dear Papa, he looked so pleased, smiled + so brightly when he saw me. "Ah, dear Fanny! How glad I am to see + you! How fresh and well you look." Held my hand all the time I was + with him.... I said I hoped in his place I should be as + patient--that he was an example to us all, as he always had + been.... Said few daughters could look back at my age without being + able to remember having heard from their father one word but of + love and kindness.... + +He died on July 31, 1859. His keen interest in public questions continued +to the end, with a firm belief in the ultimate triumph of good. "Magna est +veritas et prevalebit" were almost the last words he spoke on his +death-bed. + +During the autumn of 1860 Lord John accompanied the Queen to Coburg, where +boar-shooting with the Prince Consort and Court-life (he never liked its +formalities) failed to console him for absence from wife and children. + + _Lady John to Lord John Russell_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _October_ 11, 1860 + + I found two letters from you here.... So you are fairly on your + journey and safe so far. And here I am with my large detachment, + all well and merry, and all at dear beloved home again after our + wanderings. I am so thankful, and I hope to be still more so in + five days, when I am no longer doomed to sing "There's nae luck + about the house," as I have done daily for three weeks.... That you + should have killed a wild boar is all but incredible, and makes me + expect to see you with a long moustache and green _Fäger_ + costume. + +In April, 1861, Lord John's second daughter, Victoria, married Mr. +Villiers, son of the Bishop of Durham. Lady John wrote some verses to her +on her marriage which are published in Walpole's "Life of Lord John +Russell." + +In May the Duke of Bedford died. The Duke had been Lord John's close +friend, and had often advised him at the beginning of his career. He was +one of those influential noblemen who watch politics with unflagging +interest, but without the smallest desire to take an active part in them. +It was his pride and pleasure to know the ins and outs of a situation +perhaps even better than some of the principal actors in it, and his +judgment was always at his brother's service. On his death Lord John +inherited the Ardsalla estate in Ireland. The loss of his brother +precipitated perhaps an intention he had considered for some time of saving +his strength by accepting a peerage, and exchanging the strenuous life of +the House of Commons for the lighter work of the House of Lords. The +exchange was effected in July, when Lord John became Earl Russell. + + "Very dismal about the peerage," writes Lady John in her diary, + "and seeing only the sad side of it.... John made a fine speech on + Sardinia, perhaps his last in the House of Commons." + + + _Lady Minto [55] to Lady John Russell_ + + _July_ 20, 1861 + + ...It is impossible not to feel _very sad_ in parting with a + name which has so long been the rallying point of the Liberal + party, the watchword of all those who in our day have fought the + good fight, and, whatever name he may bear, it will never carry to + English ears the same sound as "Lord John." People older than + ourselves had looked to it with hope; and in our time, whenever + Liberty has been in danger, or truth or justice or the national + honour has been attacked, the first question which rose to men's + lips was, "What will Lord John do?"....I remember his first speech + on the China War in 1856. How empty the House was when he rose, how + rapidly it filled to overflowing; then the intense silence which + followed the rush, and lastly the overpowering cheers from all + sides as he went on. To leave the scene where he has so long + wielded at will the, alas! _not fierce_ "democracie" (and it + will be milder still without him!) must require immense + self-control and self-denial. + +[55] Formerly Lady Melgund. Her husband had now succeeded his +father as third Earl of Minto. + + + _Lord John Russell to Lady Minto_ + + LONDON, _July_ 23, 1861 + + MY DEAREST NINA,--It seems very bad of us not to have explained + duly and deliberately that I have the project resolved upon and + decided of accepting a peerage. But there have been many changes in + my mind before the final leap was resolved upon. Forty-seven years + of the House of Commons are enough for any man, and imply a degree + of wear and tear which those who read the speeches listlessly at + the breakfast table have little conception of. A reply which is to + go to Paris, Petersburg, Turin, and Washington requires much + presence of mind, and often much previous thought, work, etc. A + calmer atmosphere will suit better my old age, but I could not + leave my companions on the Treasury Bench while any change was + impending, and if I were to wait till 1862 I might again find the + ship in a storm, and be loath to take to the boat. About a title + for Johnny there is still some doubt, but I shall be Earl Russell, + and make little change in the signature of + + Your affectionate brother, + + J. RUSSELL + +In August Lord and Lady Russell and their children went to Abergeldie +Castle, which had been lent to them for several successive autumns. Their +free and happy life in the Highlands was delightful to them all. In October +Lady Russell writes: "Left our beautiful Highland home.... Very very +thankful for all our happy Abergeldie days." + +In the April of this year the American Civil War had broken out, and the +Ministry had been obliged to decide the question whether England should +recognize the Southerners as "belligerents" or accept the Northern view of +them as "rebels." The touchiness of the Northerners, and the fact that in +England many people sympathized loudly with the South, made it difficult +for the Ministry to maintain the attitude of neutrality, which, while +recognizing the Southern Confederacy as a belligerent Power, they had +officially declared in May. In November two Commissioners, sent by the +Confederacy to put the case of the South before the Courts of Europe, were +forcibly seized on board the _Trent_, an English, and therefore a +neutral, vessel. This was a breach of international law, and the resentment +it provoked in England was increased by the truculent attitude of the North +in the face of our demand for the restoration of the Commissioners. The +Congress, instead of apologizing, proceeded to pass a vote of thanks to +Captain Wilks for having intercepted the _Trent_. + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ [56] + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _December_ 13, 1861 + + When the account of the seizure of the Southern Commissioners first + reached us I was afraid of the effect on John's health and spirits, + as you may well believe; but, as you say, he could not but feel + that there had been no fault on our side, that not a word had been + spoken, not a deed done by him but what showed the friendliest + feeling to the United States, and the strongest wish to remain at + peace with them. I wish the newspapers were blameless; but there + was a sneering, exulting tone in many of them after the military + disasters of the North which was likely to irritate. Mr. Motley + said long ago that the _Times_ would, if possible, work up a + war between the two countries, and though I can't speak from my own + knowledge, as I have seldom looked at its articles, I have no doubt + from what John and others say that he was right.... There can be no + doubt that we have done deeds very like that of Captain Wilks--not + exactly like, because no two cases ever are so--but I wish we had + not done them, and I suppose and hope we shall admit they were very + wrong. It is all terrible and awful, and I hope and pray war may be + averted--and whatever may have been the first natural burst of + indignation in this country, I believe it would be ready to + execrate the Ministry if all right and honourable means were not + taken to prevent so fearful a calamity. + +[56] Her husband, Mr. Ralph Abercromby, was now Lord Dunfermline. + + + _December_ 19, 1861 + + John to town to see Mr. Adams [57].... John's interview with Mr. + Adams encouraging. Mr. Adams showed him a dispatch from Mr. Seward + declaring Government to be quite uncommitted as to opinion on + seizure of Commissioners. + +[57] American Minister in London. + +In December the Prince Consort died. Almost his last public act was to +modify the dispatch sent in reply to the vote in Congress, so that it +offered the North an opportunity of relaxing with dignity their +uncompromising attitude. + + _Lady Russell to Lady Charlotte Portal_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _December_ 24, 1861 + + I know you, like everybody, must have been thinking much of our + poor desolate Queen. Her anguish, her loneliness of heart on that + pinnacle of human greatness, must weigh on all who have known how + happy she was; but to us who have often seen that lost happiness, + it is almost like a grief of our own. I don't believe I have ever + seen her take his arm without the thought crossing my mind: "There + is the real blessing of your life--that which alone makes you as + happy a woman as others in spite of your crown." Everybody must + have been full of dread of the effect upon her, but she has borne + up nobly--or rather, she has bowed humbly to God's will, and takes + comfort in her children. It must be soothing to her that his rare + worth is now fully acknowledged and gratefully felt by the whole + nation. + + + _January_ 7, 1862 + + John to town at twelve, back at half-past six; dispatches and + letters from Lord Lyons of December 26th discouraging, cabinet + still considering our demands. Surrender possible, but in Lord + Lyons's opinion very unlikely. + + + _January_ 8, 1862 + + Telegram to John at 6 p.m. Commissioners surrendered! Thank God. + General rejoicing in the House. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _January_ 13, 1862 + + Well, what do you say to our American triumph? It ought to go far + to cure you all. It is long since any political event has given me, + my particular self, such unmixed pleasure. For my country, for my + husband, and for the other country too, with all its sins, I + rejoice with all my heart and soul. John is delighted. He was very + anxious up to the last moment. + + ...We "Plodgians" were all so delighted that it has been a surprise + to us to hear of the very tempered joy, or rather the ill-concealed + disappointment, of _London society_; but John says London + society is always wrong, and I believe the country to be all right. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + LONDON, _February_ 10, 1863 + + You ask me about Kinglake's book--everybody except ourselves is + reading or has read it.... With regard to the sleepy Cabinet dinner + at Pembroke Lodge he has from what we hear fallen into great + inaccuracy.... John says that the despatch, having been circulated + in the Cabinet before that dinner, was already well known to them + all. As far as he remembers none but Sir William Molesworth went to + sleep. I remember perfectly how several of them told me afterwards + about Sir William sleeping and falling from his chair, and we have + often laughed about it, but I do not remember being told of anybody + else going to sleep. I suppose I shall read the book, but I cannot + tell you how I shrink from anything that must recall and make one + live over again those terrible months of vacillation and weakness, + the consequence of a Coalition Cabinet, which "drifted" us into a + most terrible war--a war from which consistency and firmness would + have saved us. A thoroughly Aberdeen Ministry would have maintained + peace. A thoroughly Russell or Palmerston Ministry would have + maintained peace and honour too. + + + _Lord Russell to Lady Minto_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _July_ 9, 1863 + + Parliament is coming to an end, most people being tired of talking + and everybody of listening.... Lord Chelmsford says in honour of + the House of Lords: "The Commons have a great deal to do and they + don't do it--the Lords have nothing to do and they do it." + +In 1863 relations between England and America were again strained. English +vessels were perpetually running the blockade to bring cotton to England +and goods to the Southern ports--a risky but highly profitable business. +They were often captured by Northern cruisers and forfeited. There were +complaints on our side that the Federal courts were not always careful to +distinguish in their decisions between cases of deliberate blockade-running +and legitimate trading with ports beyond the Southern frontier. The North, +besides blockade-running, had a further cause of complaint. The +Confederates were getting cruisers built for them in neutral ports. The +most famous case of the kind was that of the _Alabama_, which was +built in the Mersey. The English Government had information of its +destination, but failed to prevent it sailing--a failure which eventually +cost us an indemnity of £3,000,000. The speech referred to in the following +letter was made in the midst of these troubles. It was a defence of +England's good faith in the matter of the _Alabama_ and an assertion +that Americans should be left to settle their own difficulties without +European mediation. At this time the French Government and a strong party +in England were in favour of European intervention. By securing the +independence of the South, they hoped to diminish the power of the United +States in the future. Such an idea could only be entertained while the +struggle between North and South seemed evenly balanced. The next year +showed the hopelessness of such a project and vindicated the wisdom of the +English Government in having refused to attempt to divide America into two +independent Powers. + + _Mr. William Vernon Harcourt (later Sir William) to Lady + Russell_ + + _September_ 28, 1863 + + I hope you will excuse my taking the liberty to write you a line of + admiration and satisfaction at Lord Russell's speech at Meiklour + [in Scotland], which I have just read. I take so deep and lively an + interest in the great American question and all that concerns it + that I looked forward to the authorized exposition of English + policy by the Foreign Secretary with the greatest anxiety. Lord + Russell's speech, will, I am sure, be of immense service both to + Europe and to America. It has the _juste milieu_, and withal + does not suppress the sympathy which every good man must feel for + the cause of freedom, in a manner which more than ever justifies + the Loch Katrine boatman's opinion of his "terrible judgment." + + I cannot help feeling that this speech has for the first time + publicly placed the position of England in its true light before + the world, and I with many another one am very grateful for it. + Among all Lord Russell's many titles to fame and to public + gratitude, the manner in which he has steered the vessel of the + State through the Scylla and Charybdis of the American War will, I + think, always stand conspicuous.... Now I am going to ask a great + favour. I saw at Minto a copy of verses written for the + summer-house at Pembroke Lodge, of which I formed the highest + opinion. May I have a copy of them? I should really be most + sincerely grateful and treasure them up amongst the things I really + value. + +These are the lines referred to by Mr. Harcourt: + + To J.R. PEMBROKE LODGE, _June_ 30, 1850 + + Here, statesman, rest, and while thy ranging sight + Drinks from old sources ever new delight + Unbind the weary shackles of the week, + And find the Sabbath thou art come to seek. + Here lay the babbling, lying Present by, + And Past and Future call to counsel high; + To Nature's worship say thy loud Amen, + And learn of solitude to mix with men. + Here hang on every rose a thorny care, + Bathe thy vexed soul in unpolluted air, + Fill deep from ancient stream and opening flower, + From veteran oak and wild melodious bower, + With love, with awe, the bright but fleeting hour. + Here bid the breeze that sweeps dull vapours by, + Leaving majestic clouds to deck the sky, + Fan from thy brow the lines unrest has wrought, + But leave the footprint of each nobler thought. + Now turn where high from Windsor's hoary walls, + To keep her flag unstained thy Sovereign calls; + Now wandering stop where wrapt in mantle dun, + As if her guilty head Heaven's light would shun, + London, gigantic parent, looks to thee, + Foremost of million sons her guide to be; + On the fair land in gladness now gaze round, + And wish thy name with hers in glory bound. + With one alone when fades the glowing West, + Beneath the moonbeam let thy spirit rest, + While childhood's silvery tones the stillness break + And all the echoes of thy heart awake. + Then wiser, holier, stronger than before, + Go, plunge into the maddening strife once more; + The dangerous, glorious path that thou hast trod, + Go, tread again, and with thy country's God. + + F.R. + + + WOBURN ABBEY, _August_ 18, 1864 + + My dear, dear husband's birthday. [He was seventy-two.] I resolved + not to let sad and untrustful thoughts come in the way of gratitude + for present happiness, and oh! how thankfully I looked at him with + his children around him. They made him and me join them in a match + at trap-ball that lasted two hours and a half. He, the boys, Johnny + and Agatha rode, Mademoiselle and I drove in the same direction. He + and his cavalcade were a pleasant sight to me. He looked pleased + and proud with his three sons and his little daughter galloping + beside him. The day ended with merry games. + +In September, 1864, came the news of Lord Amberley's engagement to Lord +Stanley of Alderley's daughter. He was at that time only twenty-one. Lady +Russell's feeling about it is shown in the following letter: + + _Lady Russell to Lady Georgiana Russell_ + + NORTH BERWICK, _September_ 21, 1864 + + MY DEAREST GEORGY,--Your long and dear letters were a great + pleasure to me, showing how you are thinking and feeling with us + about this event, so great to us all. Whatever pangs there may be + belonging to it, and of course there are some, are lost and + swallowed up to me in great joy and gratitude. We might have wished + him to marry a little later, to have him a little longer a child of + home. But, on the other hand, there is something to me very + delightful in his marrying while heart and mind are fresh and + innocent and unworldly, and I even add inexperienced--for I am not + over-fond of experience. I think it just as often makes people less + wise as more wise. There is more real truth in their "Ideale" than + in what follows.... God bless you, dear child. + + Your very loving MAMA + +In July, 1865, Parliament was dissolved, the Ministry having held office +for six years. They had lost prestige over the Schleswig-Holstein +negotiations. Lord Derby, with justification, denounced their policy as one +of "meddle and muddle," and Palmerston only escaped a vote of censure in +the Commons by being able to point to the prodigious success of the +Ministry's finance. His personal popularity and ascendancy, however, were +as great as ever; the Liberals were returned by a majority of sixty-seven. +Although this majority must have been more than they looked for, the +election disappointed Lord Russell in two respects: Gladstone lost his seat +at Oxford and Lord Amberley was beaten at Leeds. Before Parliament met +Palmerston fell seriously ill. + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _October_ 19, 1865 + + Letter from the Queen at Balmoral to John telling him she means to + ask him to carry on the Government in case of Lord Palmerston's + death. Dearest John very calm and without the oppressed look and + manner I always dread to see. + +On the 18th of October Palmerston died. Had he taken the precautions usual +at the age of eighty, he might have lived longer, but in private as in +public life, he despised caution. He was one of those statesmen whom modern +critics, on the watch for the partially obsolete and with the complexity of +present problems always before them, tend to depreciate. He had the first +quality which is necessary for popularity: he was readily intelligible. In +addition he was prompt, combative, and magnanimous; shrewd, but never +subtle; sensible, but not imaginative. He had no ideas which he wished to +carry out; he did not like ideas. He wanted England to dominate in Europe +and to use her power good-naturedly afterwards; to be, in fact, what a +nobleman may be in his home-country, where he is universally looked up to +and ready to take immense trouble to settle fairly disputes between +inferiors. Opposition from a direction making it savour of impertinence he +stamped upon at once, without imagining the provocation or ideas from which +it might possibly spring; he could not understand, for instance, that there +might be two sides to the Chinese War. It is probable, too, that had not +the Prince Consort intervened to soften the asperity of the Government's +protest against the seizure of the Confederate emissaries on board the +_Trent_, we should have had war with the Northern States. This +menacing, peremptory attitude in diplomacy served him well, till Bismarck +crossed his path. In the encounter between the man with a great idea to +carry out, who had taken the measure of the forces against him, and the man +who had only, as it were, a dignified attitude to support in the eyes of +Europe, the odds were uneven, and Palmerston was beaten. + +Lord Russell, though he must have been among the few who knew the Prime +Minister had been failing lately, writes that his death came with a shock +of surprise, he was so full of heart and health to the last. + +Lord Russell now became Prime Minister, and Lord Clarendon took his place +at the Foreign Office. + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _November_ 2, 1865 + + John to town at twelve, back at half-past five, having taken leave + of the dear old Foreign Office and left Lord Clarendon there. + Happy, happy days, so full of reality--the hours of work so + cheerfully got through, the hours of leisure so delightful. + Sometimes when I walk with my dear, dear husband and see my lovely + Agatha bounding along with sparkling eyes and rosy cheeks, and the + bright sun shining on the red and yellow trees, I can only feel the + sunshine of life and forget its autumn leaves. Or when we sit + together by our evening fire and talk, as our moods or fancies lead + us, of things grave or gay, trifling or solemn, my heart seems to + leap within me from the sense of happiness, and I can only utter + silent and humble thanks to the Almighty Giver. It must end, oh, + fearful thought!--parting and death must come; fearfully yet not + despairingly I think of that end. Come when or how it will, it + cannot take all away--this happiness, this unutterable gratitude is + not for time only, but is mine for ever. + +The succession of Lord Russell to Palmerston's place at the head of the +Government implied a change in its character and policy. It was not merely +a continuation of an old, but practically the formation of a new +Government. Lord Russell was bent upon introducing a Reform Bill, and thus +closing his career in forwarding the cause in which he had won his earliest +and most famous laurels, and for which he had on two other occasions +striven without success. But though the country was now in a mood for such +measures, and Gladstone's speeches in favour of an extension of the +franchise had been well received, the party which had been elected in +support of Palmerston was largely composed of men who shared his +indifference, if not his dislike, to all such proposals. In all probability +the Ministry was therefore doomed to a short life. "Palmerston," wrote Lord +Clarendon to Lord Granville, "held a great bundle of sticks together. They +are now loosened and there is nobody to tie them up." [58] In any case such +a Bill would require very careful steering. The first ominous sign of a +split occurred when it became necessary to fill the vacancy caused by the +retirement of Sir Charles Wood. A place in the Cabinet was offered to Mr. +Lowe, but he refused on the ground that he could not support Reform. Lord +Russell, with characteristic abruptness and without consulting his +colleagues, then offered the place to Mr. Goschen, who was quite unknown to +the public; he had only been three years in Parliament, and held a +subordinate office. [59] The choice was an admirable one, but to those who +had not read Mr. Goschen's book upon Foreign Exchanges the appointment +might well seem inexplicable. + +[58] "Life of Lord Granville," by Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice. + +[59] Promotion so rapid has only occurred once or twice in Parliamentary +history. See note, Morley's "Life of Gladstone," vol. ii, p. 156. + + LONDON, _February_ 3, 1866 + + Sir Charles Wood [60] called--wished to see me alone--chiefly in + order to talk about John, his occasional sudden acts without + consulting colleagues, and the bad effect of so acting. He gave + some instances, in which he was quite mistaken, some in which he + was right. The subject was a difficult one for me--but his + intentions were very kind, and as I heartily agree with him in the + main, we got on very well, and as a wife I was glad to have the + opportunity of saying some things of my dearest, dearest John, who + is not always understood. Sir Charles took my hand, kissed it, and + said: "God bless you." + +[60] Sir Charles Wood retired with the title of Lord Halifax. + +Early in March Lady Russell writes to her son Rollo, at Harrow, of a very +agreeable evening at Chesham Place, when Mr. Froude and Mr. Bright were +among her guests. + + _Lady Russell to Mr. Rollo Russell_ + + _March_ 1, 1866 + + I wish you had been here at the Friday dinner.... It was such a + pleasant little dinner. Bright was between Johnny and me; ... his + conversation is interesting; he is warm hearted and very much in + earnest. We talked of Milton, Shakespeare, and poetry in general; + he has intense admiration for Milton, as a man and as a poet, as he + ought to have; but agreed with me that it is less improbable that + the world should produce another Milton than another Shakespeare. + He said reading poetry was the next to the greatest pleasure he had + in life--the greatest was little children. These refined and + amiable tastes are not what the common world would attribute to + Bright, who is better known for determination and pugnacity. + +Although Lord Russell and Lord Derby were the two leaders of their +respective parties, they were no longer the principal men on either side. +The centre of interest lay in the House of Commons, and Gladstone and +Disraeli were now the antagonists whom everybody watched. On March 12th the +Government's Reform Bill was introduced in a speech by Gladstone, which was +chiefly remarkable for lacking his usual fervour. The cause of this want of +ardour on his part lay in the nature of the Bill itself. In order to +conciliate the apathetic or hostile section of the party, the Cabinet, +against the advice of Lord Russell and the inclinations of Gladstone had +separated the franchise question from their redistribution scheme, which +ought to have been an integral part of any Reform Bill capable of meeting +the needs of the country. The grievances which such a Bill would aim at +mitigating, although less gigantic than those which called for removal at +the time of the first Reform Bill, were still serious enough. In 1865 +"there was not one elector for each four inhabited houses, and five out of +every six adult males were without a vote." [61] But in addition to this +the large increase in population had been very unevenly distributed, with +the result that large towns like Liverpool were palpably under-represented. +The franchise had been fixed by the first Reform Bill at £10 a year rental. +The Bill which Gladstone brought forward in the Commons proposed to reduce +the county franchise from £50 to £14, and the borough franchise from £10 to +£7 rental. Gladstone wished to make the payment of rates qualify a man for +a vote; but this change was thought to be too radical, and any lowering of +the qualifying sum of £7 rental would, it was found, place the +working-classes in command of a majority in the towns--a result which the +Cabinet was not ready to face. Moderate as the measure was, it was received +with bitter hostility, while its half-heartedness roused little enthusiasm +among the keener Liberals of the party. The debates upon the first and +second readings were remarkable for energy of attack from the disaffected +section of the old Palmerstonian party, nicknamed the "Adullamites." Mr. +Lowe's speeches from "the cave of Adullam," "to which every one was invited +who was distressed, and every one who was discontented," are still [62] +remembered as among the most eloquent ever delivered in the House of +Commons. The second reading passed by so narrow a majority that the +Government thought it prudent to rally their reliable supporters, and meet +just criticisms upon the inadequacy of their Bill, by bringing forward a +redistribution measure and incorporating it with their franchise proposals. +For a time this served to help them. By declaring that they would also +stand or fall by the redistribution clauses of their Bill, they at any rate +showed a better front to the Opposition. Towards the end of June, however, +they were beaten in committee by eleven; their defeat being principally due +to the attacks and manoeuvres of Mr. Lowe and Mr. Horsman, who had been +Irish Secretary in Palmerston's first Ministry. + +[61] Spencer Walpole, "The History of Twenty-five Years." + +[62] John Bright's speech. + + + _Lady Russell to her two sons at Harrow_ + + _March_ 15, 1866 + + ...Horsman and Lowe are both Liberals; Horsman used, I think, to be + reckoned Radical. But both have taken a violent dislike to + Parliamentary Reform, and certainly one would not guess by their + speeches that they were liberal in anything. Mr. Lowe's was a very + clever speech; Bright's very clever too, and very good. Of course + the Bill does not satisfy him; but his honest support of it, being + all in the right direction, is creditable to him and very useful to + the measure. Your Papa is much pleased with the whole debate, + thinking it a very good one (excellent speeches for and against the + measure), and the result probably favourable to it. As to the + likelihood of its passing, opinions vary. I hear that Lord Eversley + (the late Speaker) says he would take a good big bet that it won't + pass. Your Papa says he is ready to bet against him that it will. + Will Ministers dissolve Parliament if beaten? To that I must answer + I don't know. I heard Mr. Gladstone's speech. As Willy says, the + latter part was very eloquent. It was all good; but the details of + a Suffrage Act are tiresome, and the apparent indifference, or even + apathy, of our side of the House allowed even the striking passages + with which the speech was interspersed to fall dead. The passages + were striking, but nobody seemed to be struck. I don't believe the + real feeling is one of dislike to Reform; but that, of course, they + don't like to show, as the greater part of them, in spite of + dislike, will support it. Your classical hearts must have enjoyed + Mr. Gladstone's "ligneus equus" quotation; but I am afraid Mr. + Lowe's continuation was better. I never, or seldom, like quotations + that merely illustrate what the subject of discussion does + _not_ resemble--they are forced and without much point; but + when Mr. Lowe _likens_ our Reform Bill to the "monstrum + infelix," and hopes it will not succeed in penetrating the "muros" + of the Constitution (isn't that pretty nearly what he said?) there + is wit and point in the quotation. [63] + +[63] Gladstone, in his apologetic introductory speech, had declared that no +one could regard the Bill as a Trojan horse, which the Government was +introducing surreptitiously within the citadel of the Constitution. "We +cannot say: + + "'Scandit fatalis machina muros + Foeta armis.'" + (The fated engine climbs our walls, big with arms.) + +Mr. Lowe retorted: + + "That was not a very apt quotation; but there was a curious + felicity about it which he [Mr. Gladstone] little dreamt of. The + House remembers that, among other proofs of the degree in which + public opinion is enlisted in the cause of Reform, is this--that + this is now the fifth Reform Bill which has been brought in since + 1851. Now, just attend to the sequel of the passage quoted by the + right honourable gentleman: + + "'O Divum domus Ilium et inclyta bello + Mcenia Dardanidum! Quater ipso in limine portae + Sustitit, atque utero sonitum quater arma dedere.' + (O Troy, house of gods and Dardanian city famous in war! four times in + the very gateway it stood, and four times the clash of arms sounded + in its womb.) + + "But that is not all: + + "'Instamus tarn en immemores, caecique furore, + Et monstrum infelix sacrata sistimus arce.' + (Yet we, thoughtless and blind with enthusiasm, urged it on, and in our + hallowed citadel stationed the ill-omened monster.)" + + + _Mr. Charles Dickens to Lady Russell_ + + GLASGOW, _April_ 17, 1866 + + MY DEAR LADY RUSSELL,--...In sending my kindest regards to Lord + Russell, let me congratulate you on the culminating victory before + him, and on the faith and constancy with which the country carries + him in its great heart. I have never felt so certain of any public + event as I have been from the first that the national honour would + feel itself stung to the quick if he were in danger of being + deserted.... + + Dear Lady Russell, + + Ever faithfully yours, + + CHARLES DICKENS + + + LONDON, _April_ 19, 1866 + + Political prospects not brightening. John and his Ministry will be + in such an honourable position, whether they stand or fall, that no + serious danger threatens the country if they fall. My only anxiety + is lest John should be disappointed and depressed; and it was with + a sense of relief of which he was little aware that I heard him say + yesterday of his own accord, as he looked out of window at the + bright sunshine, "I shall not be very sorry--it's such fine weather + to go out in." + + + LONDON, _June_ 19, 1866 + + At 7.30 a note was brought to John from Mr. Gladstone. Government + beaten by eleven. Happily Gladstone, though ambiguous in one + sentence as to the importance of the vote, was not so in others--or + at all events was understood to mean "stand or fall." + + Cabinet at 2.30 resolved that John should write to the Queen to + offer resignations. Queen meantime writes from Balmoral, foreseeing + the defeat, that she will not accept the resignations. + + Dearest John not depressed, though very sorry for this defeat of + his hopes. He will stand well with the country, and that he feels. + +The Queen could not understand the necessity of her Ministers' resignation. +The amendment upon which they had been defeated by so small a majority +seemed to her a matter of small importance compared with events which made +continuance in office desirable. For Bismarck had just declared war upon +Austria, and the failure of Overend and Gurney had thrown the City into +confusion. After a delay of more than a week, however, she was compelled to +accept their resignations, which had been tendered as early as June 19th. + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _June_ 28, 1866 + + John so well and happy that my joy in his release becomes greater + every hour. There is a sense of repose that can hardly be + described--abounding happiness in his honourable downfall that + cannot be uttered. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _June_ 30, 1866 + + As I wrote to you last in a doubting and disagreeable state of + mind, I am in a hurry to write again, being now perfectly certain + that the blessings of the resignation far outweigh its pains. I do + not care for the charge of fickleness which may with justice be + made against me. I can only confirm it. The defeat made me very + sad. I hoped for many days that John could honourably remain in + office.... On the day of the resignation he was serious--perhaps + sad--and so was I. The next day everything, including his face, + looked brighter, and has gone on brightening; so that now I am only + afraid of being too much uplifted by our downfall, and hardly have + words enough to describe my relief and joy. All the best men are + full of approbation of his conduct. He and Mr. Gladstone have given + an example to the country worth more than a Reform Bill. A short + Tory reign will strengthen the Whig party; a good strong Whig + Opposition will prevent much Tory mischief, so that there is little + regret on public grounds to mix with my unbounded joy on our + private account. Seven years of office had made me aware of its + advantages and its interest, and I saw that John liked it, and I + thought I did; but now I see that he has had enough of it, and any + fear I may have had that he might regret it is for ever gone, and I + have found out how entirely it was an acquired taste with me. I + can't say how often we have already said to one another, "Now that + we are out," as a preface to something pleasant to be done. He said + to me this morning, "The days will not be long enough now." That + "now" would surprise those people who may imagine that time will + hang heavy on his hands. He is in excellent spirits.... We feel as + if fetters had been struck off our minds and bodies. If God grants + us health, how happy we may be, dearest Mary! I have said far too + much on this subject, but you will understand how I have reason to + be both sadder and gladder than other Ministers' wives. + +Prussia and Italy had declared war against Austria, Hanover, Bavaria, and +Hesse on the day the Russell Government was defeated. At Custozza the +Italians were badly beaten by the Austrians, under the Archduke Charles. + + Alas, alas! for poor Italy! Alas for everybody engaged in this most + wicked and terrible German war! Surely it is all wrong that two or + three bad, ambitious--men should be able to cause the death and + misery of thousands upon thousands. Our day at Harrow, Agatha with + us, was very happy. I never had heard John so heartily cheered by + the boys. + +He was in his seventy-fourth year, and he was never again to bear the cares +of office. That summer they went down to Endsleigh, which they had not +visited since the first years of their marriage, + + ENDSLEIGH, _August_ 4, 1866 + + John, Georgy, and I here about 7.30, after a beautiful journey. + Lovely Endsleigh! it is like a dream to be here.... Thoughts of the + old happy days haunting me continually. To church, to Fairy Dell. + Places all the same--everything else altered. + + + +CHAPTER XI + +1866-70 + + +During 1866 Lord Russell finished his "Life of Fox." In the autumn and +winter he and his family travelled in Italy, where they were often +_fêted_ by the people of the towns through which they passed. At the +close of the seven weeks' war Austria had ceded Venetia to Italy, and on +November 7th they witnessed the entry of Victor Emmanuel into Venice as +King of all Italy. It was a magnificent and most impressive sight. Lord +Russell was full of thankfulness and joy at the deliverance of Venetia from +foreign rule, and the triumph of a free and united Italy. + +In the memoir of Count Pasolini by his son (translated by the Countess of +Dalhousie) the following passage occurs: + +Lord John Russell was then in Venice, and came to view the pageant from our +windows in Palazzo Corner. When my mother saw this old friend appear with +the tricolor upon his breast, she said, "Fort bien, Milord! nos couleurs +italiennes sur votre coeur!" He shook her by the hand, and answered, "Pour +moi je les ai toujours portées, Comtesse. Je suis bien content de vous +trouver ici aujourd'hui; c'est un des plus beaux jours de notre siècle!" + +Somebody then said to Lord Russell what a pity it was that the sun of Italy +did not shine more brightly to gild the historical solemnity. "As for +that," said he, "England shows her sympathy by sending you her beloved fog +from the Thames." + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + VENICE, November 8, 1866 + + We are all enchanted with this enchanting place.... Thursday + (yesterday) was the grand and glorious sight--_how_ grand and + glorious nobody who has not been here and probably nobody who has + can conceive.... Newspapers will tell you of the countless gondolas + decorated with every variety of brilliant colours--alike only in + the tricolor flag waving from every one of them--and rowed by + gondoliers in every variety of brilliant and picturesque garb--and + they will tell you a great deal more; but they cannot describe the + _thrill_ of thousands and thousands of Italian hearts at the + moment when their King, "il sospirato nostro Re," appeared, the + winged Lion of St. Mark at one end of his magnificent gondola, a + statue of Italy crowned by Venice at the other. So spirit-stirring + a celebration of so great an event we shall never see again, and I + rejoice that our children were there. + + + _Lord Russell to Lady Minto_ + + VENICE, _November_ 11, 1866 + + ... We have been delighted with this place, but especially with + being here to see the crowning of the edifice of Italian + Independence. The people have rather their hearts full than their + voices loud. When the Italian flag was first raised none of the + crowd could cheer for weeping and sobbing. It is a mighty + change.... We have seen many pictures. I am exceedingly struck with + the number of fine pictures, the magnificent colouring, and the + large conceptions of the Venetian painters--faulty in drawing very + often, as Michelangelo said long ago, but wonderfully satisfying to + the imagination. + +They returned to England early in 1867. + +It was a critical time in the history of the franchise. Neither Lord Derby +nor his followers liked Reform, but the workmen of England were at last set +upon it, and Disraeli realized that only a party prepared to enlarge the +franchise had any chance of power. Unlike his colleagues, he had no fear or +dislike of the people. His imagination enabled him to foresee what hardly +another statesman, Conservative or Radical, supposed possible, that the +power of the Democracy might be increased without kindling in the people +any desire to use it. He divined that the glamour which wealth and riches +have for the majority of voters would make it easy to put a hook in the +nose of Leviathan, and that the monster might be ultimately taken in tow by +the Conservative party. His first move in the process of "educating his +party" was to offer the House a series of Resolutions upon the principles +of representation. These were intended to foreshadow the nature of the +Government's proposals and also to prepare their way. By this device he +hoped to raise the Bill above party conflict, and to lead the more +Conservative of his followers up a gently graduated slope of generalities +till they found themselves committed to accepting a somewhat democratic +measure. His plan was frustrated by the determination of the Opposition to +force the Government to show their hand at once. + +He consequently placed before his colleagues a measure which based the +franchise on the occupation of houses rated at £5, coupled with several +antidotes to the democratic tendencies of such a change in the shape of +"fancy franchises," which gave votes to men of certain educational and +financial qualifications. His proposals seem to have been accepted by the +Cabinet with reluctant and hesitating approval. On examining more carefully +the effects of the £5 franchise upon town constituencies Lord Cranborne +(afterwards Lord Salisbury) retracted his previous assent, and Lord +Carnarvon followed his lead. + +On the very day that Lord Derby and Disraeli were pledged to define their +measure they found themselves threatened with the resignation of two most +important members of the Government. At a hasty Cabinet Council, held just +before they were to speak, it was agreed, after about twenty minutes' +discussion, that the borough rental should be raised to £6. The Opposition, +however, declared a £6 franchise to be still too high, and they were now +backed by a considerable section of the Conservative party itself, who felt +that when once they were committed to Reform it would at least be wise to +introduce a measure likely to win them popularity as reformers. Lord Derby +and Disraeli yielded to pressure from within their party, and Lord +Cranborne, Lord Carnarvon, and General Peel resigned. The subsequent +history of the Bill consisted in a series of surrenders on the part of +Disraeli. All the clauses and qualifications which had originally modified +its democratic character were dropped, and Gladstone succeeded in carrying +nearly all the amendments his first speech upon the Bill had suggested. + +When the Bill finally passed Lord Salisbury described it as a measure based +upon the principles of Bright and dictated by Gladstone; and what many +Conservatives thought of Disraeli's conduct is reflected in the speeches of +their ally Lowe: "Never, never was tergiversation so complete. Such conduct +may fail or not; it may lead to the retention or loss of office; but it +merits alike the contempt of all honest men and the execration of +posterity." [64] Gladstone, writing to Dr. Pusey at the end of the year, +said: "We have been passing through a strange, eventful year: a deplorable +one, I think, for the character and conduct of the House of Commons; but +yet one of promise for the country, though of a promise not unmixed with +evils." The feeling of romantic Tories in the country is expressed in +Coventry Patmore's poem "1867," which begins: + + In the year of the great crime, + When the false English Nobles and their Jew, + By God demented, slew + The Trust they stood twice pledged to keep from wrong. + +[64] Morley's "Life of Gladstone," vol. ii, p. 235. + +The last and longest struggle took place over the compound householder. On +May 17th Mr. Hodgkinson proposed and carried an amendment that in a +Parliamentary borough only the occupier should be rated, thus basing, in +effect, the franchise upon household suffrage, and forcing upon Disraeli a +principle which he had begun by announcing he would never accept. To make +the following letters intelligible it is only necessary to add that in 1866 +Lord Amberley had been returned to Parliament as Radical member for +Nottingham: + + _Lord Russell to Lady Georgiana Russell_ [65] + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _January_ 22, 1867 + + MY DEAREST GEORGY,--I have been very negligent in not writing to + you before, as I meant to do, but laziness after exertion is very + pleasant. My exertion was not small, as, besides speaking at the + beginning of the evening, I sate up for the division, and did not + get home till near four in the morning. The triumph was very great; + Derby and Cairns and the foolish and wicked Tories were beat, and + the wise and honest Tories, like Salisbury and Carnarvon, helped + the Liberals to defeat them.... We shall have a great fight in + Committee; but I still trust in a reasonable majority for not + pushing amendments too far, and then the Bill will be a great + triumph of sense over nonsense.... We had Dickens Saturday and + Sunday--very agreeable and amiable.... + + Your affectionate father, R. + +[65] This letter ought to be dated July 22, 1869, and addressed to +Lady Georgiana Peel. It refers to the debate on the Irish Church Bill. + + + _Lady Russell to Mr. Rollo Russell_ + + 37 CHESHAM PLACE, BELGRAVE SQUARE, S.W., + + _February 21, 1867_ + + ... Your Papa and I dined yesterday with Lord and Lady Cork. I + heard some funny stories of Mrs. Lowe.... Here's the best. Mr. Lowe + was talking of the marriage service, of the absurdity of making + everybody say, "With all my worldly goods I thee endow"--"For + instance, I had not a penny." _Mrs. L_.: "Oh, but Robert, you + had your brains!" _Mr. L. (sharply)_: "I'm sure I didn't endow + you with _them_." Very funny; but very cruel, too, in answer + to what was meant so affectionately.... Now, I must get ready to + walk with your Papa. He keeps well and strong, in spite of the + cloudy political atmosphere (hazy, perhaps, rather than + cloudy)--nobody thinking or feeling anything clearly or warmly, + except him and Gladstone and a score or two of others. He feels + that the Government has so discredited itself and the Tory party + generally, that the Whig party might be in a capital position if it + chose. But the general indifference of Whig M.P.'s to Reform, and + their selfish fear of dissolution, come in the way of public spirit + and combined action. + + Your Papa is writing to Mr. Gladstone, from whom he has just + received an account of the debate. Disraeli's clever and artful + speech appears to have had more effect on the House (and even on + our side of it) than is creditable.... Johnny has made a very good + impression--so we hear from Mr. Brand, Hastings, [66] Mr. + Huguesson, and Gladstone--by his maiden speech. All these, except + Gladstone, heard it, and concur in warm praise, both of matter and + manner. It is a great event in his life, and I am so thankful it is + well over. + +[66] Afterwards Duke of Bedford. + + + _Lord Russell to Lady Minto_ + + LONDON, _May 21_, 1867 + + MY DEAR NINA,--As you have been so much bothered with the compound + householder, you will be glad to learn that he is dead and is to be + buried on Thursday. It was supposed he was the last and best + product of civilization; but it has been found out that he was a + son of Old Nick, and a valiant knight of the name of Hodgkinson has + run him through the body. + + The Duke of Buccleuch, with whom Fanny and I have been having + luncheon, says that Dizzy is like a clever conjuror. "Is that the + card you wished for, sir?-and is that yours, and yours, and yours?" + But politics are rather disgusting than otherwise. ... Fanny and I + went yesterday to see the Queen lay the first stone of the Hall of + Science and Art. [67] It was a grand sight--great respect, but no + enthusiasm, nor occasion for it. + + Lotty is going to give us dinner to-morrow. I call her and Mary, + L'Allegra e la Penserosa. _Fanny_: "And what am I?" "L'Allegra + e Penserosa." I have no more nonsense to tell you. I should like to + go to Paris in July or August, but can we? Let me know when you + will be there. + + Your faithful + + TRUSTY TOMKINS + +[67] The Albert Hall. + +A few weeks later he wrote again to Lady Minto: "Our Reform Bill is now +brought to that exact shape in which Bright put it in 1858, and which he +thought too large and democratic a change to be accepted by the moderate +Liberal party. However, nothing is too much for the swallow of our modern +Tories." + +In August, 1867, Lord Russell's eldest daughter, Georgiana, married Mr. +Archibald Peel, [68] son of General Peel, and nephew of the statesman, Sir +Robert Peel. + +[68] The marriage service was at Petersham, in the quaint old village +Church, hallowed by many sacred memories. + +The daughters, who had now left the old home, were sadly missed, but +intimate and affectionate intercourse with them never ceased. Lady +Russell's own daughter, the youngest of three families--ten in all--thought +in her early childhood that they were all real brothers and sisters, a +striking proof of the harmonious happiness of the home. In November, 1867, +Lady Victoria Villiers wrote to Lady Russell: "How I long to make our home +as pure, as high in its tone and aims, as free from all that is low or even +useless for our children, as our dear home was to us." + +On Lord Russell's birthday, August 18, 1867, Lady Russell wrote in her +diary: + + My dear, dear husband's birthday. Each year, each day, makes me + feel more deeply all the wonderful goodness of God in giving me one + so noble, so gentle, so loving, to be my example, my happiness, my + stay. How often his strength makes me feel, but try to conquer, my + own weakness; how often his cheerfulness and calmness are a + reproach to my anxieties. Experience has not hardened but only + given him wisdom. Trials have taught him to feel for others; age + has deepened his religion of love. All that so often lowers + commoner natures has but raised his. + +In February, 1868, Lord Derby resigned, owing to ill health. "With Lord +Derby [says Sir Spencer Walpole [69]] a whole race of statesmen +disappeared. He was the last of the Prime Ministers who had held high +office before the Reform Act of 1832; and power, on his fall, was to be +transferred to men not much younger in point of years, but whose characters +and opinions had been moulded by other influences. He was, moreover, the +last of the Tories. He had, indeed, by his own concluding action made +Toryism impossible; for, in 1867, he had thrown the ramparts of Toryism +into a heap, and had himself mounted the structure and fired the funeral +pile." Disraeli succeeded him as Prime Minister. + +[69] "The History of Twenty-five Years," vol. ii, p. 287. + + + _Lady Russell to Mr. Rollo Russell_ + + CHESHAM PLACE, _February_ 18, 1868 + + ...Lord Derby is supposed to be dying, I am sorry to say. It is + horrible to hear the street criers bawling out in their catchpenny + voices, "Serious illness of Lord Derby." I feel for his wife and + all belonging to him without any of the flutter and anxiety about + your father which a probable change of Ministry would have caused a + few years ago. He will never accept office again. This is right, I + know, and I am thankful that on the conviction of its being so he + has calmly made up his mind--yet there is deep sadness in it. The + newspapers are not favourable to his pamphlets on Ireland [three + pamphlets published together afterwards under the title, "A letter + to the Right Hon. Chichester Fortescue"]. He does not care much + about this, provided men in Parliament adopt his views or something + like them. + + We find London very sociable and pleasant ... people all looking + glad to meet, and fresh and pleasant from their country life, quite + different from what they will be in July.... + +Lady Russell, as well as her husband, was always anxious to encourage +perfect freedom and independence of thought in her children. The following +passages are from a letter to her daughter on her fifteenth birthday: + + 37 CHESHAM PLACE, _March_ 28, 1868 + + ... Every day will now bring you more independence of mind, more + capacity to understand, not merely to adopt the thoughts of others, + to reason and to form opinions of your own. I am the more sure of + this, that yours is a thoughtful and reflective mind. The voice of + God may sometimes sound differently to you from what it sounds even + to your father or to me; if so, never be afraid to say so--never + close your mind against any but bad thoughts; for although we are + all one in as far as we all partake of God's spirit, which is the + breath of life, still the communion of each soul with Him is, and + must be, for that soul alone.... Nothing great is easy, and the + greatest and most difficult of all things is to overcome + ourselves.... Life is short, and we do well to remember it, but + each moment is eternal, and we do still better to remember that.... + Heaven bless you and guide you through the pleasures and + perplexities, the sorrows and the joys, of this strange and + beautiful world, to the source of all light, and life, and + goodness, to that Being whose highest name is Love. + +The everlasting Irish question had been coming again to the front. During +1867 the Fenians had attempted to get the grievances of Ireland redressed +by adopting violent measures. There had been an attempt upon the arsenal at +Chester, numerous outrages in Ireland, an attack at Manchester upon the +prison van, in which two Fenian leaders were being taken to prison, and a +subsequent attempt to blow up Clerkenwell jail. The crisis had been met by +suspending the Habeas Corpus Act in Ireland. Lord Russell, when Prime +Minister, had replaced Sir Robert Peel, as Chief Secretary, by Mr. +Chichester Fortescue, who later received the same office from Mr. +Gladstone. In February, 1868, Lord Russell published his letter to Mr. +Fortescue advocating Disestablishment in Ireland, but declaring himself in +favour of endowing the Catholic Church with part of the revenues of the +disestablished Church. In April Gladstone succeeded in carrying three +Resolutions against the Government on the Irish Church question, and though +Disraeli tendered his resignation, dissolution was postponed until the +autumn. The same month Lord Russell presided at a meeting in St. James's +Hall in support of Disestablishment. At the general election in the autumn +the Liberals came in with a large majority; Gladstone became Prime +Minister, and in the following year carried his Bill for the +Disestablishment of the Irish Church. [70] Lady Russell's views on the +question of Church and State are shown in the following letter: + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _May_ 20, 1868 + + MY DEAREST MARY,--...How can one write letters in such weather as + we have had? A fine May is surely the loveliest of lovely things, + and the most enjoyable, at least to lucky mortals like ourselves + who are not obliged to be "in populous city pent"--and those who + have never seen Pemmy Lodge in its May garments of lilac, laburnum, + wild hyacinth, hawthorn, and the tender greens of countless shades + on trees and shrubs, are not really acquainted with it.... I have + been going through the contrary change from you as regards Church + and State. I thought _I_ was strongly for the connection (at + least of _a_ Church with the State, certainly not _the_ + Church of England as it now is), but reflection on what the history + of our State Churches has been, the speeches in St. James's Hall of + the Bishops fostered by the State, and Arthur Stanley's pamphlet, + which says the best that _can_ be said for connection, and yet + seems to open my eyes to the fallacy of that best, and the + conversations I hear, have opened my eyes to the bad principle at + the very root of a State Church. If _all_ who call themselves + teachers of religion could be paid, it might be very well, best of + all perhaps; but I'm afraid there are difficulties not to be got + over, and the objections to the voluntary system diminish on + reflection.... This new political crisis raises John's hopes a + little; but he has small faith in the public spirit of the Liberal + party, and even now fears some manoeuvre to keep Dizzy in. + + Ever, dearest Mary, your most affectionate sister, + + F. RUSSELL + +[70] Mr. Froude, in a talk with an Irish peasant on the grievances +of his country, remarked that one cause of complaint was removed by +Disestablishment of the Church. "Och, sure, your honour, that is +worse than all. It was the best gravance we had, and ye've taken it +away from us!" + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _December_ 3, 1868 + + MY DEAREST MARY,--Yesterday's _Pall Mall_ and Sir David + Dundas, who dined with us, set us all agog with the news that the + Ministry are to resign at once, probably have now resigned; + certainly much the wisest course for themselves, and John rather + thinks the best for everybody.... How different this change of + Ministry is to us from any there has been before since we were + married, and for John since long before! There is now only a keen + and wholesome interest for the country's sake--none of the + countless agitations which at all events on the formation of the + three last Ministries, of which John was either the head or a + prominent member, more than overpowered satisfaction and pride, + perhaps not to himself, but to his wife in her secret heart. As to + pride, I never was prouder of him in one position than in another, + _in_ than _out_, applauded than condemned; and I had + learned to know the risks, not to health only or chiefly, for that, + precious as it was, seemed a trifle in comparison with other + things, but to the power of serving his country, to friendship, to + reputation in the highest sense, which are involved in the + formation of a Government. These are matters of experience, and in + 1846 I was inexperienced and consequently foresaw only good to the + country and increase of fame to him from his acceptance of the + Prime Ministership. I now know that these seldom or never in such a + state of parties as has existed for many years and still exists, + can be the _only_ consequences of high office for him, + although, thank God, they have always been _among_ the + consequences, and my only reasonable and permanent regret (for I + don't pretend to the absence of passing and unreasonable regrets) + is for the _cause_ of office being over for him. What a letter + full of _John_, and just when I ought to be talking of + everybody else except _John_; but you will guess that if he + were not perfectly cheerful--and he is more, he is full of + patriotic eagerness--I could not write all this.... Thanks for your + sympathy about Johnny--we were _very_ sorry, I need not + say[71].... I don't at all mind the beating, which has been a + glorious one in every way, but I _immensely_ mind his not + being in Parliament.... + + Your most affectionate sister, F.R. + +[71] Lord Amberley was defeated in the General Election. + + + Mr. Charles Dickens to Lady Russell + + GAD'S HILL PLACE, HIGHAM BY ROCHESTER, KENT + + Saturday, December 26, 1868 + + MY DEAR LADY RUSSELL,--... I cannot tell you how highly I esteem + your kind Christmas remembrances, or how earnestly I send all + seasonable wishes to you and Lord Russell and all who are dearest + to you. I am unselfishly glad that Lord Russell is out of the + turmoil and worry of a new Administration, but I miss him from it + sorely. I was saying only yesterday to Layard (who is staying + here), that I could not get over the absence of that great Liberal + name from a Liberal Government, and that I lost heart without it. + + Ever faithfully yours, + + CHARLES DICKENS + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Victoria Villiers_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _February_ 4, 1869 + + We have had such a gay time of it--that is, from Saturday to Monday + only; but we have had such a quiet life in general that that seems + a great deal. The Gladstones with daughter Mary to dine. Gladstone + was unanimously pronounced to be most agreeable and delightful. I + never saw him in such high spirits, and he was as ready to talk + about anything and everything, small and great, as if he had no + Ministerial weight on his shoulders. He carries such fire and + eloquence into whatever he talks about that it seems for the moment + the most important subject in the world. + + + _Lady Russell to Mr. Rollo Russell_ + + 37 CHESHAM PLACE, _March_ 2, 1869 + + London is extremely agreeable now, not rackety, but sociable--at + least to the like of us who do not attempt to mix in the very gay + world.... + + Arthur Russell called last night after hearing Gladstone's great + speech [on Irish Disestablishment], well pleased himself and + expecting the country to be so--_the_ country, Ireland, more + especially. _On_ the whole your father is satisfied, but not + _with_ the whole; he does not approve of the churches being + left to the Protestants for ever, as there is nothing granted to + the Roman Catholics. Neither does he like the appropriation of + national money to charities. [72] + +[72] The Bill transferred to the new disestablished Episcopal Church all +the churches, all endowments given since 1660, while the remaining funds +were to be handed over to the Government for the relief of poverty and +suffering. + +Lord Russell had followed up his first letter to Mr. Chichester Fortescue +by two more letters, in which he again advocated both the disestablishment +and disendowment of the Irish Church. He warmly supported Gladstone's +measure; though he again insisted that the funds of the Irish Church should +be used to endow the other Churches. He was in constant attendance at the +House of Lords, and during the same session he proposed, without success, a +measure which would have added a limited number of life peers to the Second +Chamber. These incursions into politics seem in no way to have taxed his +strength. + + _Lady Russell to Mr. William Russell_ + + _June_ 3, 1869 + + It is a great misfortune that we have so few really eminent men + among the clergy of England, Scotland, or Ireland--in any of the + various communities. Such men are greatly needed to take the lead + in what I cannot but look upon as a noble march of the progress of + mankind, the assertion of the right to think and speak with + unbounded freedom on that which concerns us all more deeply than + anything else--religion. I believe that by the exercise of such + unbounded freedom we shall reach to a knowledge of God and a + comprehension of the all-perfect spirit of Christianity such as no + Established Church has ever taught by Creeds or Articles, though + individuals of all such Churches have forgotten Creeds and + Articles, and taught "true religion and undefiled" out of the real + Word of God and their own high and holy thoughts. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _August_ 18, 1869 + + My dear husband seventy-seven this day. God be thanked for all that + has made it a calm and bright and blessed one to us. + + Our happiness now is chiefly in the past and present as to this + world, in memory more than hope. But the best joys of the past and + present are linked to that future beyond the grave to which we are + hastening.... Bright and beautiful day. We sat long together in + bowling-green and talked of the stir in men's minds on + Christianity, on all religions and religion, our own thoughts, our + hope, our trust. + + + _Lord Russell to Lady Georgiana Peel_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, RICHMOND PARK, _August_ 18, 1869 + + MY DEAREST GEORGY,--... Your very kind and warm congratulations + delight me. It is sad that the years pass and make one older and + weaker and sillier, but as they will pass all the same, it is well + to have one bright day in each year when one's children can recall + all the past, and feel once again gratitude to the Giver of all + good. + + Your affectionate Father, RUSSELL + + + _To Mr. Archibald Peel_ + + MY DEAR ARCHIE,--Thanks for your good wishes. Happy returns I + always find them, as my children are so affectionate and + loving--many I cannot expect--but I have played my part, and think + the rest will be far easier than my task has been. + + Your affectionate F.I.L. (Father-in-Law) + + RUSSELL + +On October 26th they left home for Italy, travelling across France in deep +snow. They reached the Villa Garbarino, at San Remo, on November 3rd, and +remained there till April, 1870. "The five months," Lady Russell writes, +"were among the very happiest of our lives, and we reckon it among the +three earthly paradises to which our wanderings have taken us--La Roche, +St. Fillans, and San Remo. It was a very quiet life, but with a pleasant +amount of society, many people we much liked passing through, or staying +awhile, or, like ourselves, all the winter." + +They also became friendly with several of the Italians of San Remo, whom +they welcomed at little evening gatherings at their villa. Their landlord, +the Marchese Garbarino, was an ardent patriot. He it was who had decorated +the ceiling of his drawing-room with the four portraits: Cavour, Garibaldi, +Mazzini, and Lord John Russell, so it was to him a delightful surprise to +have Lord John as his tenant. + + _Lord Russell to Lady Minto_ + + SAN REMO, _November_ 23, 1869 + + I am very sorry that headache and neuralgia should have been added + to illness and dislike of writing, as your reason for not inquiring + how we were going on. We sit here in the receipt of news without + any means of reciprocity, but we can speculate on France, Italy, + and Ireland. Of those, the country which most interests and most + concerns me, is Ireland.... I have heard much of Lady and Lord + Byron, and from good sources. I can only conclude that he was half + mad and loved to frighten her, and that she believed in the stories + she circulated. [73] The Duke of Wellington said of George IV's + story that he was at the Battle of Waterloo, "At first it was a + lie, than a strong delusion, and at last downright madness." + + Brougham's conversation with William IV on the dissolution was + another delusion, and so on in perverse, wicked, contradictory + human nature. Those who like to probe such systems may do so--the + only wise conclusion is Swift's, "If you want to confute a lie, + tell another in the opposite direction." Madame de Sévigné tells of + a curate who put up a clock on his church. His parishioners + collected stones to break it, saying it was the Gabelle. "No, my + friends," he said, "it was the Jubilee," on which they all hurrahed + and went away. If he had said it was a machine to mark the hour, + his clock would have been broken and himself pelted. + + I hope your second volume is coming out soon. [74] There are no + lies in it, and therefore you must not expect a great sale. I must + stop or you will think me grown a misanthrope. Fanny and Agatha are + well. If the day had been fine the Crown Princess and her sister + would have come here to tea, and you would have had no letter from + me. Do send me a return, when your mankind is gone a-hunting. + +[73] The publication of "Astarte," by the late Lord Lovelace, +containing the documents and letters relating to Byron's separation +from his wife, has now made it quite clear that the grounds for +separation were real. + +[74] The second volume of "Life and Letters of Sir Gilbert Elliot, +First Earl of Minto." + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + SAN REMO, _December_ 1, 1869 + + Your letter of November 24th found the Amberleys here.... They were + preceded by the Crown Princess of Prussia and Princess Louis of + Hesse, announced by telegram in the morning, and a young Prince + Albert of Prussia, son of the Prince Albert of our Berlin days, and + a suite of two gentlemen and a lady, who came from Cannes, where + they are living, on Friday, to pay us a visit, dined with us, slept + at the nearest hotel, and were off again Saturday morning, we going + With them as far as Bordighera; and on Monday arrived the Odos [75] + for one night only, sleeping at an hotel. You see that our usual + quiet life was for a while exchanged for one of--... Well, I beg + pardon for this interruption and go back to our illustrious and + non-illustrious visitors. The illustrious were as merry as if they + had no royalty about them, and as simple, too, dining in their + travelling garments, brushing and washing in my room and John's, + enjoying their dinner, of which happily there was enough (although + the suite was unexpected owing to my not having received a letter + giving details), chatting and laughing afterwards till half-past + eight, when they walked in darkness, and strange to say, mud! but + with glorious stars overhead, the five minute' distance to their + hotel, accompanied by Agatha and me. The drive to Bordighera next + morning was the pleasantest part of the visit to us all--John, + Princess Louis, and Prince Albert in their carriage, Crown + Princess, Agatha, and I in ours. It is wonderful to hear Princesses + express such widely liberal opinions and feelings on education, + religion, nationality, and if we had talked politics I dare-say I + should add that too. Their strong love for their Vaterland in spite + of their early transplantation is also very agreeable. + + The Amberleys had been ten days with Mill at Avignon--a good + fortification, I should imagine, against the wiles and + blandishments of priests of all degree to which they will be + exposed at Rome.... Little Rachel [76]is as sweet a little + bright-eyed lassie as I ever saw, hardly saying anything yet, but + expressing a vast deal. + +[75] Mr. Odo Russell (afterwards Lord Ampthill) and his wife. + +[76] Daughter of Lord and Lady Amberley, born in February, 1868. + + + _Lord Russell to Colonel Romilly_ + + SAN REMO, _December_ 4, 1869 + + MY DEAR FREDERICK,--I had understood from you that you wished to + propose some alterations in my Introduction to the Speeches, and I + was much obliged to you for so kind a thought. But it appears by a + letter from Lizzy that she and you think that all discussions of + the future (which are announced in my preface) ought to be omitted. + In logical and literary aspects you are quite right; but I must + tell you that since 1832 Ireland has been a main object of all my + political career.... I am not without hope that the House of + Commons will pass a reasonable Land Bill, and adhere to the plan of + national education, which has been in force now for nearly forty + years. At all events, the present government of Ireland gives no + proofs of the infallibility of our rulers. Tell Lizzy that it is + not a plate of salted cherries, but cherries ripe, without any + salt, which I propose to lay before the Irish. + + Yours affectionately, + + RUSSELL + +In the closing passage of the "Introduction" referred to in the above +letter Lord Russell gives a modest estimate of his own career: "My capacity +I always felt was very inferior to that of the men who have attained in +past times the foremost place in our Parliament, and in the Councils of our +Sovereign. I have committed many errors, some of them very gross blunders. +But the generous people of England are always forbearing and forgiving to +those statesmen who have the good of their country at heart; like my +betters, I have been misrepresented and slandered by those who knew nothing +of me, but I have been more than compensated by the confidence and the +friendship of the best men of my own political connection, and by the +regard and favourable interpretation of my motives which I have heard +expressed by my generous opponents, from the days of Lord Castlereagh to +those of Mr. Disraeli." + + _Lady Russell to Mr. Rollo Russell_ + + SAN REMO, _February_ 17, 1870 + + How awful Paris will be after the easy, natural, unconventional + life of San Remo, one delight of which is the absence of all + thought about dress! Whatever may be and are the delights of + Paris--and I fully intend that we should all three enjoy + them--_that_ burden is heavier there than in all the world + beside--and why? oh, why? What is there to prevent human nature + from finding out and rejoicing in the blessings of civilization and + society without encumbering them with petty etiquettes and fashions + and forms which deprive them of half their value? Human nature is a + very provoking compound. It strives and struggles and gives life + itself for political freedom, while it forges social chains and + fetters for itself and wears them with a foolish smile. And with + this fruitless lamentation I must end. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + SAN REMO, _February_ 23, 1870 + + I don't know a bit whether we shall be much in London during the + session--it will be session, not season, that takes us there.... + The longer I live the more I condemn and deplore a rackety life for + _any_ girl, and therefore if I do what I myself think right by + her and not what others may think right, she shall never be a + London butterfly. Would that we could give our girls the ideal + society which I suppose we all dream for them--that of the wise and + the good of all ages, of the young and merry of their own. No + barbarous crowds, no despotic fashions, no senseless omnipotence of + custom (see "Childe Harold," somewhere).[77] I wonder in this age + of revolution, which has dethroned so many monarchs and upset so + many time-honoured systems of Government and broken so many chains, + that Queen Fashion is left unmolested on her throne, ruling the + civilized world with her rod of iron, and binding us hand and foot + in her fetters. + +[77] A favourite stanza of Lady Russell's in "Childe Harold":-- + + What from this barren being do we reap? + Our senses narrow, and our reason frail, + Life short, and truth a gem which loves the deep, + And all things weighed in custom's falsest scale; + Opinion an omnipotence, whose veil + Mantles the earth with darkness, until right + And wrong are accidents, and men grow pale + Lest their own judgments should become too bright, + And their free thoughts be crimes, and earth have too much light. + + BYRON. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + SAN REMO, _March_ 2, 1870 + + I am writing in my pretty bedroom, at an east window which is wide + open, letting in the balmiest of airs, and the spring twittering of + chaffinches and larks and other little birds, and the gentle music + of the waves. Below the window I look at a very untidy bit of + nondescript ground, with a few white-armed fig-trees and a number + of flaunting Italian daisies--a little farther an enclosure of + glossy green orange-trees laden with fruit; then an olive + plantation, soft and feathery; then a bare, brownish, pleasant + hill, crowned by the "Madonna della Guardia," and stretching to the + sea, which I should like to call blue, but which is a dull grey. Oh + dear, how sorry we shall be to leave it all! You, I know, + understand the sort of shrinking there is after so quiet, so + spoiling, so natural and unconventional a life (not to mention + climate and beauty) from the thought of the overpowering quantity + of people and business of all sorts and the artificial habits of + our own country, in spite of the immense pleasure of looking + forward to brothers and sisters and children and friends. + + + _Lady Russell to Mr. Rollo Russell_ + + SAN REMO, _March_ 17, 1870 + + ... No doubt we must always in the last resort trust to our own + reason upon all subjects on which our reason is capable of helping + us. On a question of _language_, Hebrew for instance, if we + don't know it and somebody else does, we cannot of course dispute + his translation, but where nobody questions the words, everybody + has a right--it is indeed everybody's duty--to reflect upon their + meaning and bearing and come to their own conclusions; listening to + others wiser or not wiser than themselves, eagerly seeking help, + but never, oh never fettering their minds by an unconditional and + premeditated submission to _anybody_ else's, or rather + _pretending_ so to fetter it, for a mind will make itself + heard, and there's much false modesty in the disclaimer of all + power or right to judge--that very disclaimer being in fact, as you + say, an exercise of private judgment and a rebellion or protest + against thousands of wise and good and learned men. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + SAN REMO, _March_ 23, 1870 + + You must take John's second letter to Forster, [78] which will + appear in the _Times_ and _Daily News_, as my letter to + you for to-day, as I had already not left myself much time for you, + so that copying them, although they are not long, has left me + hardly any. I think you will agree with him that now, when the + moment seems come for a really national system of education, it + would be a great pity not to put an end to the teaching of + catechisms in rate-supported schools. People may of course always + have their little pet, privately supported sectarian schools, but + surely, surely, it's enough that the weary catechism should be + repeated and yawned over every Sunday of the year, where there are + Sunday schools. I wonder whether you are in favour of compulsory + attendance. I don't like it, but I do like compulsory rating, and I + wish the Bill made it general and not local, and I also want the + education to be gratis. + +[78] In February Mr. Forster introduced the Elementary Education +Act. It passed the second reading without a division. In Committee +the Cowper-Temple Clause was admitted by the Government. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + SAN REMO, _April_ 6, 1870 + + We go on discussing the Education Bill and all that is written + about it with immense interest, but oh, the clergy! they seem + resolved to fulfil the prophecy that Christ came not to bring peace + on earth, but a sword.... How true what you say of want of + earnestness in London society and Parliament! + +On April 7th they left San Remo, "servants [79] all in tears," she writes, +"and all, high and low, showering blessings on us, and praying for our +welfare in their lovely language." At Paris they stayed with Lord Lyons at +the British Embassy. The Emperor Napoleon and Empress Eugénie showed them +much kindness during their visit to Paris. One evening Lord and Lady +Russell and their daughter dined at the Tuileries, Lady Russell sitting +next the Emperor and Lord Russell next the Empress. It has been told since +that at this dinner the Emperor mentioned a riddle which he had put to the +Empress, and her reply. + + _Emperor._ Quelle est la différence entre toi et un miroir? + _Empress._ Je ne sais pas. + _Emperor._ Le miroir réfléchit; tu ne réfléchis pas. + _Empress._ Et quelle est la différence entre toi et un miroir? + _Emperor._ Je ne sais pas. + _Empress._ Le miroir est poli, et tu ne l'es pas. + +[79] Their Italian servants. + +On April 27th, after six months' absence, Lord and Lady Russell were once +more at Pembroke Lodge. + + _Lady Russell to Mr. Rollo Russell_ + + 37 CHESHAM PLACE, _May_ 26, 1870 + + ... We came up, your father and I, on Tuesday to dine with + Clarendons, and stayed all yesterday to dine with Salisburys. Many + things strike me on returning to England and English society: the + superiority of its best to those of any other nation; the larger + proportion of vulgarity in all classes; ostentatious vulgarity, + aristocratic vulgarity, coarse vulgarity; the stir and activity of + mind on religion, politics, morals, all that is most worthy of + thought. What is to come of it all? Will goodness and truth + prevail? Is a great regeneration coming? I believe it in spite of + many discouraging symptoms. I believe that a coming generation will + try to be and not only call itself Christian. God grant that each + of my children may add some little ray of light by thought, word, + and deed to help in dispelling the darkness of error, sin, and + crime in this and all other lands. + + + _Lady Russell to Mr. Rollo Russell_ + + _June_ 2, 1870 + + I wish most earnestly for legal and social equality for women, but + I cannot shut my eyes to what woman has already been--the equal, if + not the superior, of man in all that is highest and noblest and + loveliest. I don't at all approve of any appearance of setting one + against the other. Let equal justice be done to both, without any + spirit of antagonism.... I can well believe in all the delights of + Oxford, and envy men that portion of their life. + + +CHAPTER XII + +1870-78 + + +In July, 1870, public attention was abruptly distracted from Irish and +educational questions by the outbreak of the Franco-German War, which +followed immediately upon the King of Prussia's refusal to promise France +that he would never, under any circumstances, countenance his cousin Prince +Leopold's candidature for the Spanish throne. War came as a surprise to +every one, even to the Foreign Office, and its real causes were little +understood at the time. The entire blame fell on Napoleon. Only some, who +had special information, knew that Bismarck had long been waiting for the +opportunity which the extravagant demand of France had just given him; and +very few among the well-informed guessed that he might have had a hand in +contriving the cause of dispute itself. Napoleon, since his annexation of +Savoy, had so bad a reputation in Europe, a reputation which Bismarck had +managed to blacken still more in their recent controversy over Luxembourg, +that people were ready to take it as a matter of course that Napoleon +should be the aggressor. Finally, by publishing through the _Times_ +the secret document in M. Benedetti's own hand, which assured help to +Germany in annexing Holland, if Germany would help Napoleon to seize +Belgium, Bismarck destroyed all remaining sympathy for France. + +Now, however, that the inner history of events has come to light, we know +that it was Germany who fomented the quarrel, though both Austria and +France must be held responsible for the conditions which made the policy of +Germany possible. The significant suppression of the part of Bernhardi's +memoirs dealing with his secret mission from Bismarck to Spain, and the +fact that a large sum of Prussian money is now known to have passed to +Spain, [80] while the Cortes was discussing the question of succession, +make it probable that Bismarck not only took advantage of French hostility +to Prince Leopold's candidature, but deliberately instigated the offer of +the Spanish throne to a German prince, because he knew France was certain +to resent it. + +[80] Lord Acton, "Historical Essays and Studies." + +Napoleon, however, must be held responsible, inasmuch as since the close of +the Seven Weeks' War, he had intrigued with Austria to induce her to +revenge herself by a joint attack with him upon Germany, hoping that he +might win with Austria's help those concessions of territory along the +Rhine, which Bismarck had peremptorily refused him as a _pour-boire_ +after Sadowa. Austria, too, must take a share of the responsibility, since +through the secret negotiations of the Archduke Albrecht she had encouraged +Napoleon in this idea. Both Napoleon and the Archduke were convinced that +those South-German States which had been annexed by Prussia for siding with +Austria would rise, if their attack on Prussia could be associated with the +idea of liberation. Bismarck's cleverness in picking the quarrel over the +question of the Spanish succession, a matter which did not in the least +concern South-Germany, proved fatal to their expectations. This triumph of +diplomacy, together with the success of his master-stroke of provocation, +the Ems telegram, decided the fate of France. As edited by Bismarck, the +King of Prussia's telegram describing his last interview with the French +Ambassador at Ems, infuriated the French to the necessary pitch of +recklessness, while to Germans it read like the account of an insult to +German-speaking peoples, and tended to draw them together in resentment. + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + SALTBURN, _August_ 24, 1870 + + Don't you sometimes feel that a few weeks' delay in beginning this + horrible war might have given time to Europe to discover some + better means than war for settling the dispute? We are full of + schemes for the prevention of future wars. The only compensation I + see for all these horrors is the conviction they bring of the + amount of heroism in the world and of the progress made in humanity + towards enemies--especially sick and wounded. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + SALTBURN, _August_ 30, 1870 + + Poor Paris! You may well say we must be sorry for it, having so + lately seen it in all its gay spring beauty--and though no doubt + the surface, which is all we saw of its inhabitants, is better than + the groundwork, how much of good and great it contains! How the + best Frenchmen everywhere, and the best Parisians in particular, + must grieve over the deep corruption which has done much to bring + their country to its present dreary prospects. I did not mean that + any mediation or interference of other Powers would have prevented + this war, but that there ought by this time to be a substitute + found for all war. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + SALTBURN, _September_ 7, 1870 + + Don't you find it bewildering to be hurried at express speed + through such mighty pages of history? And if bewildering and + overpowering to us, who from the beginning of the war could see a + probability of French disaster, what must it be to Paris, to all + France, fed with falsehood as they have been till from one success + to another they find their Emperor and an army of 80,000 men + prisoners of war! But what a people! Who would have supposed by + reading the accounts of Paris on Sunday, the excess of joy, the + _air de fête_, the wild exultation, that an immense calamity, + a bitter mortification had just befallen the country! that a + gigantic German army was on its way to their gates! I should like + to know whether many of those who shouted "Vive l'Empereur" when he + left Paris, who applauded the war and hooted down anybody who + doubted its justice or attacked Imperialism, are now among the + shouters of "Vive la Republique" and the new Democratic Ministry. + Let us hope not. Let us hope a great many things from the downfall + of a corrupt Court, and the call for heroism and self-sacrifice to + a frivolous and depraved city--frivolous and depraved, and yet + containing so much of noble and good--all the nobler and better, + perhaps, from the constant struggle to remain so in that + atmosphere. Even if, as God grant, there is no siege, the serious + thoughts which the prospect of it must give will perhaps not be + lost on the Parisians. I, like you, long that the King of Prussia + may prove that he spoke in all sincerity when he said that he + fought against the Emperor, not France, and be magnanimous in the + conditions he may offer--but what does that precisely mean? John + says he is right to seek for some guarantee against future French + ambition. Hitherto he has acted very like a gentleman, as John in + the House of Lords declared him to be, and may still be your model + sovereign. + + + _Lady Russell to Mr. Rollo Russell_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _November_ 3, 1870 + + Your letter is so interesting and raises so many serious thoughts + that I should like to answer it as it deserves, but can't do so + to-day as I am obliged to go to London on business, and have hardly + a moment. The kind of "gigantic brains" which you mention are, I + agree with you, often repulsive--there is a harshness of + _dissent_ from all that mankind most values, all that has + raised them above this earth, which cannot be right--which is the + result of deficiency in some part of their minds or hearts or both, + and not of excess of intellect or any other good thing. If they are + right in their contempt of Christian faith and hope, or of all + other spiritual faith and hope, they ought to be "of all men most + miserable"; but they are apt to reject Christian charity too, and + to dance on the ruins of all that has hitherto sustained their + fellow-creatures in a world of sin and sorrow. That they are not + right, but wofully wrong, I firmly believe, and happily many and + many a noble intellect and great heart, which have not shrunk from + searching into the mysteries of life and death with all the powers + and all the love of truth given them by God to be used, not to lie + dormant or merely receive what other men teach, have risen from the + search with a firmer faith than before in Christ and in the + immortality which he brought to light. I believe that many of those + who deem themselves sceptics or atheists retain, after all, enough + of the divine element within them practically to refute their own + words. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _January_ 4, 1871 + + I wonder whether the solemn thoughts which must belong to the end + of a year, and the solemn services by which it has been celebrated + both by Germans and French, will lead them to ask themselves in all + earnestness whether it is really duty, really what they believe to + be God's will, which guides them in the continuance of a fearful + war--whether earthly passions, earthly point of honour, do not + mingle with their determination. If they do ask themselves such + questions, what will be the answers? I, too, am often tempted to + wish peace at any price, yet neither you nor I would act upon the + wish were we the people to act. It was the peace at any price + doctrine that forced us into the Russian war. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _January_ 25, 1871 + + Hopes of peace at last, thank God! I can think of little else--the + increasing and accumulating horrors, miseries, and desolation of + this wicked war have been enough to make one despair of mankind. + France alone was in the wrong at first, but both have been wrong + ever since Sedan, so at least I think, but it is too long a matter + to discuss in a letter. If the new Emperor [81] does not grant most + honourable terms to Paris, I shall give him up altogether as a + self-seeking, hard-hearted old man of fire and sword. I dare say + you have not heard as many sad stories as we have of the losses and + disasters and unspeakable sorrows of people in Paris, known to + other people we have seen. I won't repeat any of them, as it can do + no good. I am glad to know that the Crown Prince _hates_ the + war, _hates_ the bombardment, and opposed it strongly, and + then again opposed sending shells into the town, and was very angry + when it began to be done. Indeed, everything that we hear of him is + highly to his credit, and one may hope much for the welfare and + good government of United Germany from him and his wife. + +[81] King William of Prussia had just taken the title of German +Emperor. + + + _Lady Russell to Mr. Rollo Russell_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _January_ 26, 1871 + + ... We are rejoicing and thanking God for the blessed news of the + coming surrender of Paris. Alas for all the wasted lives--wasted, + _I_ think, on both sides, for I cannot perceive that it was on + either side one of those great and holy causes in which the blood + shed by one generation bears fruit for the next. The _Times_ + was too quick in drawing conclusions from Jules Favre being at + Versailles, but there can be little doubt that terms are under + consideration, and I hope the Germans will show that they are not + so spoiled by success as to be ungenerous in their demands. As to + Alsace and Lorraine, I fear that it is a settled point with them. + If so, they ought to be all the more ready to grant terms + honourable in other respects. Do you see that a brave man in the + Berlin Parliament raised his voice against annexation of French + provinces, on the discussion of address to the new Emperor on his + new dignity? ... What wonderfully interesting lectures Tyndall is + giving. + + + LONDON, _July_ 12, 1871 + + We lunched yesterday, all three, with Bernstorffs, [82] to meet + Crown Prince and Princess--best of Princes and Princesses. It was + interesting and agreeable. John and I had the luck to sit beside + her and him. I was delighted to hear him say, "I hate war," with an + emphasis better than words. + +[82] Count Bernstorff was German Ambassador in London. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _July_ 27, 1871 + + ... I suppose Agatha told you of the Emperor of Brazil's visit to + us at 7 a.m.--it was amusing to get up at six to receive an + Emperor, impossible to put on much ceremony with one's garments at + that unceremonious hour, and fortunately unnecessary, for His + Majesty was chatty and easy. He took a turn along West walk, + admired the view, had a cup of chocolate, thanked us for our + courtesy, and was off again before eight with his sallow-faced, + grimy gentleman in waiting, who looked as if the little sleep he + ever had was with his clothes on. We tried to see another Emperor + [83] on Tuesday, having at last made out our journey to + Chislehurst. Unluckily he and his son had gone to town, but we + found the Empress. How unlike the splendid, bejewelled, + pomp-and-gloryfied Empress of the Tuileries: her dress careless and + common, her face little, if at all, painted, and thereby to my eye + improved--but so altered. She seemed, however, in good spirits. She + did not talk of France, but feared for England anything tending to + diminish authority of "powers that be." + +[83] Napoleon III and the Empress Eugénie were living at Chislehurst. + +On August 18, 1871, Lord Russell's seventy-ninth birthday was celebrated at +Pembroke Lodge by the school children under the cedar in the garden. "His +serene and cheerful mind, a greater blessing year by year as enjoyments one +by one drop away. He looks back with gratitude, he accepts the present with +contentment. He looks forward, I think, without dread." In September they +went abroad, and took for the second time the house at Renens-sur-Roche, in +Switzerland, where they had stayed in 1855. Lady Russell's mind was still +full of horror of the recent war. + +The first morning at Glyon (she writes to her sister, Lady Dunfermline) was +one of merciless rain, but the afternoon did well enough for Chillon, to +which use we all put it, and very interesting, grimly and horribly so, we +found it. Men are less wicked and less cruel, tyrants are less tyrannical +nowadays than when so-called criminals, often the best men in their +country, were chained by iron rings to dungeon stones for years and years, +or fastened to pillars and tortured by slow fires, or thrown down +"oubliettes" into the lake below, falling first on a revolving machine +stuck full of sharp blades--of all which horrors we were shown the scene +and the remains. But I hope that some centuries hence travellers will +wonder at even the present use to which Chillon is put, that of an arsenal, +and thank God that they did not live in an age when sovereigns and rulers +could command man to destroy his brother-man. + +From Switzerland they moved down to the South of France to get to a warmer +climate. They had taken a villa for the winter at Cannes, where they had a +happy time, brightened during the Christmas vacation by the visits of their +sons with friends from Oxford. In his old age Lord Russell seemed to enjoy +more and more the companionship of the young, and entered with spirit into +their merry jests and their eager conversations on great subjects, +discussed with the freshness and enthusiasm of youth. + +Lord Russell, as the following letters show, was still taking keen interest +in education questions: + + _Lord Russell to Colonel Romilly_ + + RENENS, _September_ 27, 1871 + + I see the Bishop of Manchester has been speaking in favour of "a + very moderate form of dogmatism" to be imposed on Dissenters who + wish their children to have religious teaching. I am quite against + this moderate form, which consists in making a Baptist child own + that he is to believe what his godfathers and godmothers promised + for him--he having neither godfathers nor godmothers. Every form of + persecution is in my eyes detestable, so that I shall have to fight + a new fight for freedom of education. + + + _Lord Russell to Lady Minto_ + + CANNES, _January_ 6, 1872 + + MY DEAREST NINA,--Your New Year's Day letter shows that you write + as well as a volunteer as on compulsion.... I am sorry to have + annoyed Maggie by my allusion to the Hertfordshire incumbent. Here + is my case. Sixty-three years ago my father, with others founded a + Society to teach the Bible to young boys and girls, which they + called "Schools for all." One should have thought there was no harm + in the project, and that they might have been left alone. Not so. + The clergy were furious. Sixty years ago they founded the National + Society, and ever since they have libelled our schools.... Last + year or the year before the H.I. [Hertfordshire Incumbent] attacked + my proposals. I left him alone, but I carried the day, and excluded + formularies from schools provided by rates. Still the bishops and + clergy fulminate against us, shut out Baptists from the schools + where they have influence, and declaim against us. Now I happen to + have a great respect for the Bible, and while I have life will not + cease to defend our Bible schools. You will say, if I do not, that + in time the world will come round to Christianity, which is at a + low ebb at present. Men will understand at last that they ought to + love God and to love their neighbour as themselves, not to steal, + or commit murder, or cheat their neighbours. The Athanasian Creed + is making a pretty hubbub. It was invented as a substitute for + Christianity, and taken from Aristotle.... + + Ever yours affectionately, + + RUSSELL + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + CANNES, _November_ 29, 1871 + + What is to be the result of the Republican ferment in our country? + It may not be widespread, and it certainly hardly exists above the + working classes, yet I feel that the germ is there--and who can say + how far it is doomed to flourish, or whether it will die away.... + Ours has been so free and independent and prosperous a nation, that + the notion of any fundamental change in the Constitution is awful. + Yet when we boast of our freedom and prosperity we should not + forget the enormous mass of misery, vice, filth, and all evil which + disgraces all our large towns--nor the brutish ignorance and apathy + which pervades much of our rural population. And it is well worth + the most earnest thought and study, on the part of all Englishmen + and women, to find out whether our form of government has or has + not any share of the blame and to act accordingly. I have great + confidence in the British people. They have never liked hasty, + ill-considered changes; they hate revolution; and I hope I am not + too trustful in believing that we shall go on in the wise and the + right path, whatever that may be, and in spite of the freaks and + follies of many a man whose aims are more selfish than patriotic. + +While at Cannes Lord and Lady Russell saw a great deal of Princess +Christian, who was living near them, and was in great anxiety and sorrow +about the illness of her brother, the Prince of Wales, who nearly died in +December, 1871. His illness was the occasion of a display of loyalty and +sympathy from thousands of British subjects. Lady Russell received the +following reply to a letter she wrote from Cannes to the Queen: + + _Queen Victoria to Lady Russell_ + + OSBORNE, _January_ 22, 1872 + + DEAR LADY RUSSELL,--I meant ere this to have thanked you for your + very kind letter of the 1st, but my dear son's illness brought with + it much writing besides much to do, in addition to which, there is + the correspondence with _four_ absent married daughters, which + is no light task. I thank you now _both_ most warmly for the + great kindness of your expressions about my own long and severe + illness, when you so kindly wrote to Lady Ely to inquire, and + relative to this last dreadful illness of my dear son's, coming, as + it did, when I was far from strong myself. Thank God! I was able to + be near him and with my _beloved_ daughter, the Princess of + Wales (who behaved so beautifully and admirably), during that + terrible time, when for nearly a week his life hung on a thread. + Indeed, for a whole month _at least,_ if not for five weeks, + his state was one of the greatest anxiety and indeed of danger. + Since the 4th we may look on his progress as steady and good, and I + hear that he was able to drive out yesterday for a little while. + But great quiet will be necessary for a long while to come. You are + very kind in your accounts of Helena, who no doubt must have + suffered much from being so far off.... I hear that she is really + better and stronger. She speaks often of the pleasure it is to her + to see you and Lord Russell, of whom I am delighted to hear so good + an account. Though not very strong and not free from rheumatic + pains at times, I am much better and able to walk again out of + doors, much as usual. + + With kind remembrances to Lord Russell and Agatha, + + Ever yours affectionately, V.R. + +In the spring they all came back to England. Lord John had benefited in +health by wintering abroad; he was still vigorous enough to resist in the +House of Lords the claim of the United States for the _Alabama_ +indemnity, and to give a presidential address to the Historical Society; +but the years were beginning to tell on him. + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _April_ 18, 1872 + + John did not venture out--still looks tired and not as he did when + we arrived, but no cold. Sad, most sad to me, that when I take a + brisk turn in the garden, it is no longer with him--that his + enjoyments, his active powers, yearly dwindle away--that it is + scarcely possible he should not at times feel the hours too long + from the difficulty of finding variety of occupation. Writing, + walking, even reading very long or talking much with friends and + visitors all tire him. He never complains, and I thank God for his + patience, and oh! so heartily that he has no pain, no chronic + ailment. But alas for the days of his vigour when he was out and in + twenty times a day, when life had a zest which nothing can restore! + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _August_ 8, 1872 + + Filled with wonder, shame, remorse, I begin on a Thursday to write + to you. What possessed me to let Wednesday pass without doing so I + can't tell, but I think it happens about once a year, and I dare + say it's a statistical mystery--the averages must be kept right, + and my mind is not to blame--no free will in the matter. This + brings me to an essay in one of the magazines for August--I forget + which--on the statistics of prayer. Not a nice name (perhaps it's + not correct, but nearly so), and not a nice article, it seemed to + me--but I only glanced at it; produced, like many other faulty + things of the kind, by illogical superstition on the part of + Christian clergy, most of whom preach a half-belief, some a whole + belief, on the efficacy of prayer for temporal good. Then comes the + hard unbeliever, delighted to prove, as any child can do, that such + prayer cannot be proved to avail anything. He is incapable of + understanding the deeper and truer kind of prayer, but he convinces + many that all communion with God is fruitless, or perhaps that + there is no God with whom to hold it. This may not be the drift of + the article, for, as I said, I have not read it, but it _is_ + the drift of much that is talked and written nowadays by men and + women of the author's school. I wish there were no schools in that + sense. They always have done and always will do harm, and prevent + the independence of thought which they are by way of encouraging. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _Christmas Day,_ 1872 + + I do indeed feel with you how wonderful the goodness and the + contented spirit of many thousands of poor, pent-up, toiling human + beings, who live in God's glorious world and leave it without ever + knowing its glories, whose lives are one struggle to maintain life; + and I think with you how easy it ought to be for us who have + leisure for the beauty of life, in nature and in books, in + conversation and in art. And yet, it was to the rich that Christ + gave His most frequent warnings. Is it then, after all, easiest for + the poor to do His will and love Him and trust Him in all things? + +The summer and autumn and winter had been spent almost entirely at Pembroke +Lodge, but when Parliament met early in 1873 they moved to London, where +they had taken a house till Easter. + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + LONDON, _February_ 19, 1873 + + Scene--a drawing-room; hour 11.30 a.m. A young lady playing the + pianoforte by candle-light. An old lady writing, also by + candle-light. An old gentleman five minutes ago sitting reading + also by candle-light, but now doing the same in a room below. Three + large windows through which is seen a vast expanse of a + semi-substantial material of the hue of a smoked primrose; against + it is dimly visible an irregular and picturesque outline, probably + of a range of mountains, some rocky and pyramidal, others + horizontally banked. Altogether, a mystery replete with grandeur in + the effect--none of your Southern transparency leaving nothing for + the imagination. _Seriously,_ it's laughable that human beings + should congregate so as to produce these effects, and that we among + others should by preference be among the congregators. Your day at + Napoule is like something in a different world altogether. + + You are rather hard, John says, and he is not disposed to be + otherwise, on Parliamentary sayings and doings. I can say nothing + from myself, as I have not read one single speech, except that I + cannot bear the humiliating exclusion of _any_ kind of useful + knowledge from a University out of false consideration for + religious or irreligious scruples. [84] Surely young men had better + be taught boldly to face the fact that men differ than be dealt + with in this ridiculously tender and most futile manner. + +[84] The Irish University Bill was being discussed in the Commons, one +clause of which proposed to exclude theology, philosophy, and history from +the curriculum of the New University. + +In August, 1873, after the publication of Lord Russell's book, "Essays on +the History of the Christian Religion," they spent some six weeks at +Dieppe, where Lord Russell's health again considerably improved. + + _Mr. Disraeli to Lord Russell_ + + GEORGE STREET, HANOVER SQUARE, _May_ 8, 1873 + + MY DEAR LORD,--I have just finished reading your book, which I was + much gratified by receiving from the author.... I cannot refrain + from expressing to you the great pleasure its perusal gave me. The + subject is of perpetual interest, and it is treated, in many + instances, with originality founded on truth, and with wonderful + freshness. The remarks suggested by your own eminent career give to + the general conduct of the theme additional interest, like the + personal passages in Montaigne. I wish there had been more of them, + or that you would favour the world with some observations on men + and things, which one who is alike a statesman, a philosopher, and + a scholar could alone supply. In your retirement you have the + inestimable happiness of constant and accomplished sympathy, + without which life is little worth. Mine is lone and dark, but + still, I hope I may send my kindest remembrances to Lady Russell. + + Yours with sincere respect and regard, + + B. DISRAELI + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _July_ 3, 1873 + + You will not be disappointed, I do believe, with John's book, high + as your expectations are. The spirit of it at all events is that of + your letter: that of love and reverence for what you truly call the + wonder of wonders--the Bible--as well as that of perfect freedom of + thought. Had that perfect freedom always been allowed to mankind by + kings, rulers, and priests, in all their disguises, we should never + have had the "trash" of which you complain inundating our country + and thinking itself a substitute for the simple lessons and + glorious promises of Christ. Whereas in proportion as it is less + "trashy," it approaches more nearly, though unconsciously, to what + He taught, borrowing what is best in it from Him, only giving an + earthly tone to what He made divine. I have, perhaps, more + indulgence than you for some of the anti-Christian thinkers and + writers of the day--those who love truth with all their souls, who + would give their lives to believe that-- + + "Dust thou art, to dust returnest, + Was not spoken of the soul," + + but who seek a kind of proof of this which never can be found. They + are very unhappy in this world, but I believe they are nearer + heaven than many comfortable so-called believers, and will find + their happiness beyond that death upon which they look as + annihilation. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _October_ 22, 1873 + + Louisa [85] writes in such warm admiration of Minto indoors and + out, it did me good to read it, and such joy in meeting you. Shall + I ever be there again, I wonder?--a foolish wonder, and foolisher + still when let out! Dear old oak-room--to me too Granny Brydone is + always present there. I _cannot_ think of it without her image + rising before me. How perfect she was! How far above the common + world she and Mama, and yet both spending their lives in the + discharge of common, and what many would call, petty duties! How + little it signifies what are the special duties to which we are + called, how much the spirit in which we do them! I don't think I + ever longed so much for long talks day after day with you. Don't + say such hopes are visionary, though, alas! they have over and over + again vanished before our eyes. + +[85] Lady Louisa Howard, formerly Lady Louisa Fitzmaurice (daughter +of Lord Lansdowne), one of Lady Russell's earliest friends. + + + _Lady Russell to Lord Amberley_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _October_ 28, 1873 + + DEAREST JOHNNY,--... Rollo bought Mill's autobiography, and I + have read the greater part of it. Deeply interesting it is, and his + lovableness comes out in it as much as his intellect--but deeply + sad too, in more ways than one. I live in dread of the possible + effect on you and Kate of the account of his education by his + father--the principles right, the application so wofully wrong. + Mill was a learned scholar, a great thinker, a good man, partly in + consequence, partly in spite of it.... Happily you have more Popes + than one, as good for you as it was for the world in days of old. + Happily, too, there's such a thing as love, _innate, intuitive, + instinctive_ (oh, horrible!), which is wise in proportion to its + depth, and will be your best and safest guide. How strange Mill's + utter silence about his mother I How beautiful and touching the + pages about his wife! How melancholy to know that such high natures + as his and hers generally fail to meet in close intimacy here + below, and therefore live and die more than half unknown, waiting + for the hereafter. God bless you, my very dear children. + + Your loving MOTHER + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _November_ 9, 1873 + + Visit from Mr. Herbert Spencer, who stayed to dinner. Long, deep, + interesting conversation; all amounting to "we know nothing," he + assuring me that the prospect of annihilation has no terrors for + him; I feeling that without immortality life is "all a cheat," and + without a Father in heaven, right and wrong, love, conscience, joy, + sorrow, are words without a meaning and the Universe, if governed + at all, is governed by a malignant spirit who gives us hopes, and + aspirations never to be fulfilled, affections to be wasted, a + thirst for knowledge never to be quenched. + +"1874 opened brightly and peacefully on our dear home," she writes; but it +was to prove one of the saddest years in their lives. Only some of the +heavy trials and sorrows that they were called upon to bear from this time +onward will be touched upon here. They were borne by Lord and Lady Russell +with heroic courage and unfaltering faith. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Dunfermline_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _February_ 25, 1874 + + I am now just finishing the "Heart of Midlothian," and with more + intense admiration for it than ever--the beauty and naturalness of + every word spoken by Jeanie and Effie _before_ the last + volume, of a great deal of Davie Deans, of many of the scenes + scattered through the book are, I think, not to be surpassed. More + tenderness and depth and heart-breakingness I should say than in + any of Sir Walter's.... I turned to Sir Walter from "The + Parisians." I doubt whether I shall finish it, a false, glittering, + disagreeable atmosphere. + + + _Lady Russell to Lord and Lady Amberley_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _March_ 2, 1874 + + MY DEAR CHILDREN,--... We had a charming visit from Sir Henry + Taylor a few days ago, a long quiet real "crack" about many books + and many authors, with a little touch of the events of the + day-change of Ministry, causes of our utter defeat, which he thinks + obscure, so do I--not creditable to the country, so do I--in so far + as Disraeli can hardly be reckoned more trustworthy or consistent + than Gladstone, and Gladstone's untrustworthiness and inconsistency + are supposed to have caused his overthrow. The Queen made Sir John + Cowell write me a note to find out whether John would be disposed + to go to the great banquet next Tuesday and sleep at Windsor. + Kindly done of her--of course he declines. I read Herbert Spencer + on "The Bias of Patriotism," yesterday--much of it truly excellent. + To-day I am at "Progress" in the Essays ... of which I have read + several here and there. Whenever I have the feeling that _I_, + not Herbert Spencer, have written what I am reading, I have the + delightful sensation of complete agreement and unqualified + admiration of his (or _my_) wisdom. When I have _not_ + that feeling, I stop to consider, but even then have sometimes the + candour to come to his conclusions; while at some passages, less + frequent, I inwardly exclaim, "I never did, I do not now, and I + never shall agree." The want of what Sir Henry Taylor calls "the + spiritual instinct" is striking in him. It is strange to turn to + him as I have done from "Memorials of a Quiet Life," which raises + me into an atmosphere of heavenly calmness and joy, or ought to do + so, although nobody ever felt the trials and sorrows of life more + keenly than Mrs. Hare.... + + Good-bye, dearest children, your pets [86] are as well and as dear + as pets can be. + + Your loving, MOTHER. + +[86] Rachel and Bertrand, who stayed for the winter at Pembroke Lodge while +their parents were abroad. + +In April Lady Russell lost her sister, Lady Dunfermline, who died in Rome. +In May, Lord and Lady Russell's second son, who was dearly loved for his +generous and noble nature, was seized with dangerous illness. He lived, but +never recovered. In the summer, Lady Amberley and her little daughter +Rachel, who was only six years old, died of diphtheria within a few days of +each other. + +There is a touching reference to Lord Russell in a letter, written many +years after his death, from Miss Elliot, daughter of the Dean of Bristol, +to Lady Russell. + + One of the very last times I saw him you were out, and he sent word + that he would see me when he knew I was at the door; when he + literally bowed his head and said, "The hand of the Lord has been + very heavy on us--very heavy," and spoke of little Rachel. I never + remember being more touched and awed by the reverence I felt for + him. + + + _Queen Victoria to Lady Russell_ [87] + + WINDSOR CASTLE, _June_ 29, 1874 + + DEAR LADY RUSSELL,--I cannot remain silent without writing to + express to you my deep and sincere sympathy with you both, and + especially with your poor son on this most sad event, which has + deprived him of his wife, and his little children (whom I saw so + lately) of an affectionate mother, in the very prime of life! I saw + the sad announcement in the papers this morning and could hardly + believe it, never having heard even of her illness. This sad event + will, I know, be a terrible blow to you, and to Lord Russell, and I + know that _you have_ had much sorrow and anxiety lately. Dear + Lady Russell, I have known you both too long not to feel the truest + and deepest interest in all that concerns you and yours--in weal + and woe--and I would not delay a moment in writing to express this + to you. You will, I know, look for support and for comfort where + _alone_ it can be found, and I pray that God may support and + comfort you and your poor bereaved son. + + Ever yours affectionately, + + V.R. + + I should be very grateful if you would let me have any details of + poor Lady Amberley's illness and death. + +[87] On several occasions Lord Russell had been prevented by the +state of his health from accepting invitations to Windsor. In +April, 1874, he and Lady Russell were touched by the Queen's +kindness in coming to visit them at Pembroke Lodge, and she had +then seen Lord Amberley's children. + + + _Queen Victoria to Lady Russell_ + + WINDSOR CASTLE, _July_ 3, 1874 + + DEAREST LADY RUSSELL,--Your two sad and touching letters have + affected me deeply, and I thank you much for writing to me. It is + too dreadful that the dear little girl whose bright eyes and look + of health I so well remember at Pembroke Lodge should also be + taken. May God support your poor unhappy son, for whom your heart + must bleed, and whose agony of grief and bereavement seems almost + too much to bear. But if he will but trust our Father in Heaven, + and feel all is sent in love, though he may have to go through + months and years of the bitterest sufferings, and of anguish + indescribable, he will find peace and resignation and comfort come + at last--when it seems farthest. _I_ know this myself. For + you, dear Lady Russell and dear Lord Russell, I do feel so deeply. + Your trials have been so great lately.... I shall be really + grateful if you would write to me again to say how Lord Russell + bears this new blow, and how your poor son Amberley is. Agatha, who + is so devoted a daughter, will, I am sure, do all she can now to + help and comfort you, but she will be deeply distressed herself. + And poor dear Lady Clarendon is dying I fear, and poor Emily + Russell only just confined, and unable to go and see her. It is + dreadful. + + With fervent prayers that your health may not suffer, and that you + may be mercifully supported. + + Ever yours affectionately, + + V.R. + + + _Lord Russell to Lady Minto_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _July_ 3, 1874 + + MY DEAR NINA,--We are struck down by the death of my dear pet, + Rachel, who was taken from us to stay with her parents at + Ravenscroft. It was but too natural that Kate should wish to have + her child with her, but the event is heart-breaking--such a + darling, so bright, so pretty. + + "Elle a duré ce que durent les roses, + L'espace d'un matin." + + I am always touched by those French verses, and now I apply them + tearfully. + + Ever yours affectionately, + + RUSSELL + +In the summer of 1874 Lord Russell took Aldworth, Tennyson's beautiful home +near Haslemere, where they remained for some months. + + _Lady Russell to Lord Amberley_ + + ALDWORTH, HASLEMERE, _November_ 10, 1874 + + We have been going on in a happy humdrum way since I last + wrote--humdrum as regards events, and all the happier that it + should be so--but with no lack of delightful occupation and + delightful conversation, and that intimate interchange of thought + which makes home life so much fuller than society life. However, it + would not do to go on long cut off from the world and its ways and + from the blessing of the society of real friends, which unluckily + can't be had without intermixture of wearisome acquaintances. + + Rollo's reader is reading Molesworth's "History of England for the + last Forty Years," and Agatha takes advantage and listens, and I + read it by myself, and as your father knows it all without reading + it and likes to be talked to about it, we have been living a good + deal in the great events of that period, and we find it a relief to + turn from the mazy though deeply interesting flood of metaphysics + which this age pours upon the world, to facts and events which also + have their philosophy, and a deep one too. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, December 28, 1874 + + Finished "Life of Prince Albert." It is seldom that a revelation of + the inner life of Princes would raise the mind to a higher region + than before--although we all know that they _have_ an inner + and a real life through the tinsels and the trappings in which we + see them. But this book can hardly fail to raise any mind, warm any + heart, brace any soul. Would that we all, in all conditions of + life, kept truth and duty ever before us, as he did even amid the + pettinesses of a Court--the solemn trifles of etiquette which would + have stifled the nobleness of a less noble nature. Would that all + Princes had a Stockmar, [88] but there are not many Stockmars in + the world; if there were, there would soon not be many Princes of + the kind which now abounds, beings cut off from equality, + friendship, freedom, by what in our supreme folly we call the + "necessary" pomp and fetters of a Court. Noble as Prince Albert + was, those things did him harm, and as Lady Lyttelton says, nobody + but the organ knew what was in him.... The Queen appears in a + charming light--truthfulness, humility, unbounded love for him. + +[88] "One of the best friends of the Queen and the Prince Consort +was Baron Stockmar. This old nobleman, who had known the English +Court since the days of George III, and loved Prince Albert like a +son, was a man of sturdy independence, fearlessly outspoken, and +regarded with affectionate confidence both by Queen Victoria and +her Consort."--_Daily News_, May 7, 1910. This was what Lady +Russell felt about him; his fearless outspokenness at Court always +impressed her. + + _Lady Russell to Lord Amberley_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _December_ 29, 1874 + + M. d'Etchegoyen [89] has given me Mill's three essays. I have read + "Nature," a great deal of which I like much, but were it to be read + by the inhabitant of some other planet, he would have a very false + notion of this one; for Mill dwells almost entirely on the ugly and + malevolent side of Nature, leaving out of sight the beautiful and + benevolent side--whereas both abound, and suggest the notion of two + powers at strife for the government of the world. If you bring the + "Conscious Machine Controversy," I may read it, although I feel + very uncharitable to the hard, presumptuous unwisdom of some modern + metaphysics. + +[89] The Comte and Comtesse d'Etchegoyen (_née_ Talleyrand) +were intimate friends of Lord and Lady Russell. He was a French +Republican, who had been obliged to leave Paris at the _Coup +d'État_. + + + _Lady Russell to Lord Amberley_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _March_ 28, 1875 + + This is our Agatha's birthday, and the spirit moves me to write to + you. Every marked day, whether marked by sorrow or by joy, turns my + heart, if possible, more than usual to you, and makes me feel more + keenly how all the joy and perfect happiness once yours has been + turned to bitter sorrow and desolation. I find it is far, far more + difficult to bear grief for one's children than for oneself, and + sometimes my heart "has been like to break" as I have followed you + in thought on your long and dreary journey, and remembered what + your companionship was when last you went to the sunny South, to so + many of the same places. You have indeed been sorely tried, my + child, and you have not--would that I could give it to you--the one + and only rock of refuge and consolation, of faith in the wisdom and + mercy of a God of love. But I trust in Him for you, and I know that + though clouds hide Him from your sight, He will care for you and + not forsake you--and even here on earth I look forward to much + peaceful happiness for you, in your children, in books, in nature, + in duties zealously done, in the love and sympathy of many--"Mutter + Treu ist ewig neu," and that you may find some rest to your aching + heart in that Mutter Treue, which is always hovering round you, + wherever you are, and to which every day seems to add fresh + strength and renewed longing to give you comfort, is my daily, + nightly hope and prayer. May this letter find you well and cheerful + and able to enjoy the loveliness of sea and sky and mountain; if + so, I know it will not sadden you to get this drop out of the ocean + of my thoughts about you--thoughts which the freshness of the + wounds makes it intensely difficult for me to utter.... Kiss my two + precious little boys and keep us in their memory. Is Bertrand as + full of fun and merriment as he used to be? Poor pets! they look to + you for all the tenderness of father and mother combined in order + to be as happy as children ought to be. Give it them largely, my + child, as it is in your nature to do.... God bless you all. + +In August, 1875, Lady Russell notes in her diary that her husband had +written a letter to the _Times_ giving his support to the Herzegovina +insurgents. During the few years preceding 1876 he had become convinced +that the days of Turkish misrule in the Christian provinces must be ended. +[90] He frequently spoke with indignation of the systematic murders +contrived by the Turkish Government and officials, and felt that the cause +of the oppressed Christians deserved support, and that the time for +upholding the rule of the Sultan as a cardinal principle in our policy had +passed. He threw himself with the greatest heartiness into a movement for +the aid of the insurgents. Though in his eighty-third year he was the first +British statesman to break with the past and to bless the uprising of +liberty in the near East. In the following letter, written from Caprera on +September 17, 1875, the generous sympathy between him and Garibaldi found +fresh expression. + +[90] In 1874 he wrote that from Adrianople to Belgrade all government +should be in the hands of the Christians. + + MON ILLUSTRE AMI,--En associant votre grand nom au bien-faiteurs + des Chrétiens opprimés par le Gouvernement Turc, vous avez ajouté + un bien precieux bijou a la couronne humanitaire qui ceint votre + noble front. En 1860 votre parole sublime sonna en faveur des + Rayahs Italiens, et l'Italie n'est plus une expression + géographique. Aujourd'hui vous plaidez la cause des Rayahs Turcs, + plus malheureux encore. C'est une cause qui vaincra comme la + premiere, et Dieu bénira vos vieux ans.... Je baise la main à votre + precieuse épouse, et suis pour la vie votre devoué G. GARIBALDI. + [91] + +[91] "MY ILLUSTRIOUS FRIEND,--In associating your great name with the +benefactors of the Christians oppressed by the Turkish Government, you have +added a most precious jewel to the crown of humanity which encircles your +noble brow. In 1860 your sublime word was spoken in favour of the Italian +Rayahs, and Italy is no longer only a geographical expression. To-day you +plead the cause of the Turkish Rayahs, even more unhappy. It is a cause +which will conquer like the first, and God will bless your old age. I kiss +the hand of your dear wife, and remain for life your devoted G. GARIBALDI." + +About a year later Lady Russell writes: "Great meetings at the Guildhall +and Exeter Hall--fine spirit-stirring speech of Fawcett at the last. The +feeling of the nation makes me proud, as it does to remember that John was +the first to foresee the magnitude of the coming storm, when the first +grumblings were heard in Herzegovina--the first to feel sympathy with the +insurgents.... Many a nation may be roused to a sense of its own wrongs, +but to see a whole people fired with indignation for the wrongs of another +and a remote country, with no selfish afterthought, no possible prospect of +advantage to what are called 'British Interests,' is grand indeed." + +The last entry calls to mind a passage by Mr. Froude in the Life of Lord +Beaconsfield [92]: + +"The spirit of a great nation called into energy on a grand occasion is one +of the noblest of human phenomena. The pseudo-national spirit of Jingoism +is the meanest and the most dangerous." + +[92] "Life of the Earl of Beaconsfield," J.A. Froude, p. 251. + +At the beginning of 1876 Lord Russell still retained so much health and +vigour that his doctor spoke of him as being in some respects "like a man +in the prime of life." But another great sorrow now befell them. Their +eldest son, Lord Amberley, died on January 9th. He was only thirty-three. +In his short life he had shown great independence of mind and unusual +ability. His two boys [93] now came to live permanently at Pembroke Lodge. +Something of his character may be gathered from the following letter from +Dr. Jowett, who had known him well at Oxford. + + _Professor Jowett to Lady Russell_ + + _January_ 14, 1876 + + I am grieved to hear of the death of Lord Amberley; I read it by + accident in the newspaper of yesterday. I fear it must be a + terrible blow both to you and Lord Russell. + + I will not intrude upon your sorrow, but I would like to tell you + what I thought of him. He was one of the best men I ever knew--most + truthful and disinterested. He was not of the world, and therefore + not likely to be popular with the world. He had chosen a path which + was very difficult, and could hardly have been carried out in + practical politics. I think that latterly he saw this and was + content to live seeking after the truth in the companionship of his + wife, whose memory I shall always cherish. Some persons may grieve + over them because they had not the ordinary hopes and consolations + of religion. This does not add to my sorrow for them except in so + far as it deprived them of sympathy and happiness while they were + living. It must inevitably happen in these times, when everything + is made the subject of inquiry with many good persons. God does not + regard men with reference to their opinion about Himself or about a + future world, but with reference to what they really are. In + holding fast to truth and righteousness they held the greater part + of what we mean by belief in God. No person's religious opinions + affect the truth either about themselves or others. One who said to + me what I have said to you about your son's remarkable goodness + (while condemning his opinions) was Lady Augusta Stanley,[94] who + herself, I fear, has not long to live. + +[93] Frank (afterwards Earl Russell), who was then ten years old, +and Bertrand, three years old. + +[94] Wife of Dean Stanley. + + + _Dean Stanley (Dean of Westminster) to Lady Russell_ + + DEAR LADY RUSSELL,--Will you allow one broken heart to say a word + of sympathy to another?--the life of my life is ebbing away--the + hope of your life is gone. She, I trust, will find in the fountain + of all Love the love in which she has trusted on earth. He, I + trust, will find in the fountain of all Light the truth after which + he sought on earth. May God help us both in His love. + + Ever yours most truly, + + A.P. STANLEY + + + _Queen Victoria to Lady Russell_ + + OSBORNE, _January_ 11, 1876 + + DEAR LADY RUSSELL,--My heart bleeds for you. A new and very heavy + blow has fallen upon you, who were already so sorely tried! Most + deep and sincere is my sympathy with you and Lord Russell, and I + cannot say how I feel for you. It is so terrible to see one's + children go before one! You will be a mother to the orphans and the + fatherless, as I know how kind and loving you were always to them. + + Trusting that your health will not suffer, and asking you to + remember me to Agatha, who will be a great comfort to you, as she + has ever been, believe me always, + + Yours affectionately, + + V.R. + +In March they began once more to see their friends. "Seeing those I have +not yet seen," she writes, "is like meeting them after years--so changed is +our world." + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _March_ 15, 1876 + + The dear old beech-tree in the wood blown down, and with it + countless recollections of happy hours under its shade with merry + boys climbing it above our heads, and little Agatha playing at our + feet, and her elder sisters chatting with us and looking for nests + and flowers. All, all gone. The bitter gales of sorrow have blown + down our fair hopes and turned our joys to sorrow. Poor old + beech-tree! Like us, it had lost its fair boughs; like it, we shall + soon lay down our stripped and shattered stems. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _April_ 25, 1876 + + The loveliness of early spring--its nameless, countless tints, its + music and its flowers, never went deeper into my soul--but oh! the + happy springtide of life, where is that? + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Charlotte Portal_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _January 27_, 1877 + + Do not grieve too much over all our trials, dear Lotty. We have not + long to bear them now, and all will be made clear by and by. All + the sorrows of all the world will be seen in their true light, and + tears will be wiped from all eyes for ever. I often think, though I + try to drive away the thought, how unspeakably soothing and happy + it would have been to look back upon blows as must fall to the lot + of all who live long, instead of to a life of many strange and + unexpected and terrible shocks of many kinds. But oftener, far + oftener, I feel the brightness and blessedness of my lot; so bright + and so blessed in many wonderful ways; and never, never at any + moment would I have exchanged it for another. Dearest Lotty, your + loving letter has brought all this upon you, and it shall go with + all its selfishness to Laverstoke, and not into the fire, where I + am inclined to put it.... God bless you, dear Lotty. + + Your loving sister, + + F.R. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Charlotte Portal_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _January_ 4, 1878 + + I am reading the third volume of Prince Albert, and love and admire + him more and more--but am very angry with the book as regards John: + the unfairness from omission of all particulars which he alone + could have given with regard to his resignation on Roebuck's + motion, and his non-resignation after Vienna, is something I cannot + forgive. + +Early in this year, 1878, Lady Russell writes of a dinner-party at Lord +Selborne's: + + Agatha and I dined in town, with the Selbornes. I between Lord + Selborne and Gladstone, who was as usual most agreeable and most + eloquent, giving life and fervour to conversation whatever was the + subject. "The Eastern Question," the "Life of Prince Albert," the + comedy of "Diplomacy," the different degrees of "parliamentary + courage" in different statesmen, etc. He said that in his opinion + Sir Robert Peel, my husband, and, "I must give the devil his due," + Disraeli, were the three statesmen whom he had known who had the + most "parliamentary courage." + +In the summer of 1877 Lord Russell had taken a house overlooking the sea +near Broadstairs. But he was falling into a gradual decline, the +consequence of great age, and after they came home from Broadstairs, he +never again left Pembroke Lodge. + + _Lady Russell to Lady Charlotte Portal_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _January_ 11, 1878 + + Do not think too much of the pain to me, but of the mercy of there + being none to him, in this gradual extinction of a mind which gave + light to so many, of affections which made home so happy. My worst + pain is over--was over long ago--the pain of first acknowledging to + myself my own loneliness, without the guide, the example, the + support, which so long were mine--without those golden joys of + perfect companionship which made the hours fly when we sat and + talked together on many an evening of blessed memory, or strolled + together among our trees and our flowers, or snatched a few moments + together from his days and nights of noble toil in London. All this + is over, all this and much more, but gratitude that it _has + been_ remains, and the bright hope of a renewal of companionship + hereafter gives strength and courage for present duties and passing + trials. + +Mr. George W.E. Russell, in the closing passage of an article on his +uncle, [95] wrote of these last years of his life: "... Thus in peace and +dignity that long life of public and private virtue neared its close; in a +home made bright by the love of friends and children, and tended by the +devotion of her who for more than five-and-thirty years had been the good +angel of her husband's house." + +[95] _Contemporary Review_, December, 1889. + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _April_ 19, 1878 + + I have just been sitting with my dearest husband; he has said + precious words such as I did not expect ever to hear from him, for + his mind is seldom, very seldom clear. We were holding one + another's hands: "I hope I haven't given you much trouble." "How, + dearest?" "In watching over me." Then by and by he said, "I have + made mistakes, but in all I did my object was the public good." + Again, "I have sometimes seemed cold to my friends--but it was not + in my heart." He said he had enjoyed his life. I said, "I hope you + enjoy it now." He said, "Yes, except that I am too much confined to + my bed.... I'm very old--I'm eighty-five." He then talked of his + birthday being in July. I told him it was in August, but our + wedding-day was in July, and it would be thirty-seven years next + July since we were married. He said, "Oh, I'm so glad we've passed + it so happily together." I said I had not always been so good to + him as I ought to have been. "Oh yes, you have, very good indeed." + At another moment he said, "I'm quite ready to go now." Asked him + where to? "To my grave, to my death." He also said, "Do you see me + sometimes placing my hands in this way?" (he was clasping them + together). "That always means devotion--that I am asking God to be + good to me." His voice was much broken by tears as he said these + things. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _April_ 20, 1878 + + Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone to tea. Both most cordial and kind. Mr. + Gladstone in his most agreeable mood. Eastern Question only + slightly touched. Other subjects: increase of drunkenness; + Northumberland election, which has raised his spirits, whether + Albert Grey be returned or not; Life of Prince Albert, whom he + admires heartily, but who according to him (and John) did not + understand the British Constitution. Called Stockmar a "mischievous + old prig." Said "Liberty is never safe," that even in this country + an unworthy sovereign might endanger her even now. John sent down + to say he wished to see them. I took them to him for a few + minutes--happily he was clear in his mind--and said to Mr. + Gladstone, "I'm sorry you are not in the Ministry," and kissed her + affectionately, and was so cordial to both that they were greatly + touched. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _May_ 9, 1878 + + Great day. Nonconformist deputation presented address to John on + the fiftieth anniversary of Repeal of the Corporation and Test + Acts. Alas! that he could not see them. All cordial and friendly, + and some with strikingly good countenances. Edmond Fitzmaurice + happened to call, stayed, and spoke admirably. Lord Spencer also + called just before they came to congratulate him, but I stupidly + did not think of asking him to stay. Those of the deputation who + spoke did so extremely well. It was a proud and a sad day. We had + hoped some time ago that he might perhaps see the deputation for a + moment in his room, but he was too ill for that to be possible. + +Lord Russell died on May 28, 1878, at Pembroke Lodge. + + _Queen Victoria to Lady Russell_ + + BALMORAL, _May_ 30, 1878 + + DEAR LADY RUSSELL,--It was only yesterday afternoon I learnt + through the papers that your dear husband had left this world of + sorrows and trials peacefully, and full of years, the night before, + or I would have telegraphed or written sooner! You will believe + that I truly regret an old friend of forty years' standing, and + whose personal kindness in trying and anxious times I shall + _ever_ remember. "Lord John," as I knew him best, was one of + my first and most distinguished Ministers, and his departure + recalls many eventful times. To you, dear Lady Russell, who were + ever one of the most devoted of wives, this must be a terrible + blow, though you must have for some time been prepared for it. But + one is such trials and sorrows of late years that I most truly + sympathize with you. Your dear and devoted daughter will, I know, + be the greatest possible comfort to you, and I trust that your + grandsons will grow up to be all that you could wish. + + Believe me always, yours affectionately, + + V.R.I. + + + _Mr. John Bright to Lady Russell_ + + _June_ 1, 1878 + + DEAR LADY RUSSELL,--... What I particularly observed in the + public life of Lord John--you once told me you liked his former + name and title--was a moral tone, a conscientious feeling, + something higher and better than is often found in the guiding + principle of our most active statesmen, and for this I always + admired and reverenced him. His family may learn from him, his + country may and will cherish his memory. You alone can tell what + you have lost.... + + Ever very sincerely yours, + + JOHN BRIGHT + + + _Lady Minto to Lady Russell_ + + _June_ 4, 1878 + + I have been thinking of you all day, and indeed through many hours + of the night.... I rather wished to hear that the Abbey was to have + been his resting place--but after all it matters little since his + abiding place is in the pages of English history.... What none + could thoroughly appreciate except those who lived in his intimacy + was the perfect simplicity which made him the most easily amused of + men, ready to pour out his stores of anecdote to old and young--to + discuss opinions on a level with the most humble of interlocutors, + and take pleasure in the commonest forms of pleasantness--a fine + day, a bright flower. Nor do I think that the outside world + understood from what depth of feeling the tears rose to his eyes + when tales of noble conduct or any high sentiment touched some + responsive chord--nor how much "poetic fire" lay under that + _calm,_ not cold manner.... I remember often going down to you + when London was full of some political anger against him--when + personalities and bitterness were rife--and returning _from_ + you with the feeling of having been in another world, so entire was + the absence of such bitterness, so gentle and peaceful were the + impressions I carried away. + +Lady Russell went with her family early in July to St. Fillans, in +Perthshire, for a few months of perfect quiet among the Scotch lakes and +mountains. Queen Victoria's kindness in asking her to remain at Pembroke +Lodge was a great comfort to her. + + _Lady Russell to Lady Charlotte Portal_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _June_ 30, 1878 + + Just a word with you, my own Lotty, before leaving home. Oh the + blessing of being still able to call it home, darkened for ever as + it is, for the multiplying memories with which it is thronged make + it dearer as well as sadder every day of my life! Lotty, shall I + ever believe that he has left me, quite left me, never to return? + Will the fearful silence ever cease to startle me? Whenever I came + in from a walk or a drive I used to know almost before I opened his + door, by the sound of his voice, or of _something,_ whether + all was well with him, and now there is only that deadly silence. + And yet, I often feel if I had but courage to go in, surely I + _must_ find him, surely he _must_ be waiting for me and + wanting me. But how foolish to talk of any _one_ form of this + unutterable blank, which meets me at every turn, intertwined with + everything I say or do, and taking a new shape every moment, and + the yearning and the aching which have been my portion for four + years--the yearning for my other lost loved ones, for my dear, dear + boys, seems more terrible than ever now that this too has come upon + me.... I pass my husband's sitting-room window--there are the roses + he loved so well, hanging over them in all their summer beauty, but + he does not call me to give him one. I come in, and there on the + walls of my room are pictures of the three, but not one of them + answers me--silence, nothing but deadly silence! I know all is + well, and I feel in my inmost heart that this last sorrow is a + blessed one, saving us from far worse, and taking him to his rest, + and I never for a moment forget what treasures beyond price are + left to my old age still. + + +CHAPTER XIII + +1878-98 + + +Lady Russell survived her husband nearly twenty years. From the time of +Lord Russell's death in May, 1878, till 1890, she kept no diary, but not +long before her death she wrote for her children a few recollections of +some of the events during those twelve years. + +In May, 1880, Lady Victoria Villiers died, leaving a widowed husband and +many children. Her death was a great sorrow to Lady Russell, who wrote of +her as "a perfect wife and mother." + +In the summer of 1883 her son Rollo bought a place--Dunrozel--near +Haslemere, and from this time till 1891 Lady Russell spent a few months +every year at Dunrozel.[96] In 1891 and 1892 she took a house on +Hindhead--some miles from Haslemere--for a few months. She enjoyed and +loved the beautiful wild heather country, which reminded her of Scotland, +but after 1892 she felt that home was best for her, and never again left +Pembroke Lodge. + +[96] They named it Dunrozel after Rozel in Normandy, supposed to be the +original home of the Russells. + +In 1885 the marriage of her son Rollo to Miss Alice Godfrey was a great +happiness to her. But in little more than a year, soon after the birth of a +son, Mrs. Rollo Russell died, and again Lady Russell suffered deeply, for +she always found the sorrows of her children harder to bear than her own. + +To retire more and more from the world of many engagements and important +affairs was easy to her, easier than it proves to many who have figured +there with less distinction. Playing a prominent part in that world does +not make people happy; but, as a rule, it prevents them from being +contented with anything else. It was not so with her; in the days most +crowded with successes and excitements her thoughts kept flying home. She +had always felt that a quiet, busy family life was the one most natural to +her. When she was a girl at Minto, helping to educate her younger brothers +and sisters, she had written in her diary: + + _August_ 26, 1836 + + Chiefly unto children, O Lord, do I feel myself called; in them I + see Thy image reflected more pure than in anything else in this + sinful though beautiful world, and in serving them my love to Thee + increases. + +Her wish was fulfilled to an unusual degree. One of a large family of +brothers and sisters, she was still helping in the education of the younger +ones when she married, and her marriage at once brought her the care of a +young family; soon, too, children of her own; while her old age brought her +the charge of successive grandchildren. During the lifetime of Lord and +Lady Amberley their children often spent many months at Pembroke Lodge +while their parents were abroad, and when both father and mother had died +the two boys came to live with their grandparents. Ten years later her +youngest son's boy was brought to her on the day of his mother's death, +when he was two months old, and remained with her till her son's second +marriage in 1891. The children of her stepdaughters were also loving +grandchildren to her, and often came for long visits to Pembroke Lodge. + +Lady Russell had sometimes thought that when days of leisure came, she +would give some of her time to literary work, and write reminiscences of +the many interesting men and women she had known and the stirring events +she had lived through; but the unexpected and daily cares and duties which +came upon her made this impossible. [97] She was one who would never +neglect the living needs of those around her, and she gave her time and +thoughts to the care of her grandchildren with glad and loving devotion. + +[97] The only book Lady Russell published was "Family Worship"; a small +volume of selections from the Bible and prayers for daily use. It was first +published in 1876. + +One of her greatest pleasures was to see her own ideals and enthusiasms +reflected in the young; and next to the care of her family the prosperity +of the village school at Petersham was perhaps nearest her heart. It grew +and flourished through her devotion. In 1891 it was generously taken over +by the British and Foreign School Society, but the change made no +difference to her interest nor to the time she gave to it. The warm +affection of the people of Petersham was a great happiness to her; after +long illness and enforced absence from the village she wrote to her +daughter: "You can't think what good it did me to see a village friend +again." + +The feeling among the villagers may be gathered from two brief passages in +letters written after her death: a gardener in Petersham alluded to her as +"our much-loved friend, Countess Russell," and another man--who had been +educated at Petersham School--wrote: "She was really like a mother to many +of we 'Old Scholars.'" + +Lady Russell's letters will show that her interest in politics remained as +keen as ever to the end; and she eagerly watched the changes which affected +Ireland. To the end of her life she retained the fervour of her youthful +Radicalism, and with advancing years her religious opinions became more and +more broad. To her there was no infallibility in any Bible, any prophet, +any Church. With an ever-deepening reverence for the life and teaching of +Jesus, she yet felt that "The highest Revelation is not made by Christ, but +comes directly from the Universal Mind to our minds." [98] Her last public +appearance in Richmond was at the opening of the new Free Church, on April +16, 1896, which she had joined some years before as being the community +holding views nearer to her own than any other. + +[98] Rev. F.W. Robertson, of Brighton. Sermons, 1st Series. + +There is a side of Lady Russell's mind which her letters do not adequately +represent. She was a great reader, and in her letters (written off with +surprising rapidity) she does not often say much about the books she was so +fond of discussing in talk. Among novelists, Sir Walter Scott was perhaps +the one she read most often; Jane Austen too was a favourite; but she also +much enjoyed many of the later novelists, especially Charles Dickens and +George Eliot. + +In poetry her taste was in some respects the taste of an earlier +generation; she could not join, for instance, in the depreciation of Byron, +nor could she sympathize with the unbounded admiration for Keats which she +met with among the young. Milton, Cowper, Burns, Byron, and Longfellow were +among those oftenest read, but Shakespeare always remained supreme, and as +the years went by her wonder and admiration seemed only to grow stronger +and deeper with every fresh reading of his greatest plays; and the +intervals without some Shakespeare reading, either aloud or to herself, +were short and rare. She had not an intimate knowledge of Shelley, but in +the later years of her life she became deeply impressed by the beauty and +music of his poetry, which she liked best to hear read aloud. + +Tennyson she loved, and latterly also Browning, with protests against his +obscurity and his occasionally most unmusical English. The inspiration of +his brave and optimistic philosophy she felt strongly. She was extremely +fond of reading Dante, and she was better acquainted with German and +Italian poetry than most cultivated women. But though she read much and +often in the works of famous writers, this did not prevent her keeping +abreast with the literature of the day. She was strongly attracted by +speculative books, not too technical, and by the works of theologians whose +views were broad and tolerant of doubt. In 1847 she mentions reading some +of Dr. Channing's writings "with the greatest delight"; and some years +afterwards she wrote: "Began 'Life of Channing'; interesting in the highest +degree--an echo of all those high and noble thoughts of which this earth is +not yet worthy, but which I firmly believe will one day reign on it +supreme." In later years she was deeply impressed by the writings of Dr. +Martineau, and read many of his books. But she was not interested in +philosophical inquiry for its own sake; it was the importance of the moral +and religious issues at stake in such discussions that attracted her. +History and biography it was natural she should read eagerly, and it was +characteristic of her to praise and condemn actions long past with an +intensity such as is usually excited by contemporary events. Until a few +years before her death she rose early to secure a space of time for reading +and meditation before the duties of the day began. Unless ill-health could +be pleaded, fiction and light reading were banished from the morning hours. +She believed in strict adherence to such self-imposed sumptuary +regulations, whether they applied to the body or to the pleasures of the +mind. + +In the course of her long life she became personally acquainted with nearly +all the principal writers of the Victorian era, and some of them she knew +well. + +Among the earliest friends of Lord and Lady John Russell were Sydney Smith, +Thomas Moore, and Macaulay. There is a note in verse written by Lady John +to Samuel Rogers, which will serve at least to suggest how readily her +fancy and good spirits might run into rhyme on the occasion of some family +rejoicing or for a children's play. + + _To Mr. Rogers, who was expected to breakfast and forgot to + come_ + + CHESHAM PLACE, 1843 + + When a poet a lady offends + Is it prose her forgiveness obtains? + And from Rogers can less make amends + Than the humblest and sweetest of strains? + + In glad expectation our board + With roses and lilies we graced; + But alas! the bard kept not his word, + He came not for whom they were placed. + + Sad and silent our toast we bespread, + At the empty chair looked we and sighed; + All insipid tea, butter, and bread, + For the salt of his wit was denied. + + Now in wrath we acknowledge how well + He the "Pleasures of Memory" who drew, + For mankind from his magical shell + Gives the "Pains of Forgetfulness" too. + +Rogers wrote in answer:-- + + CARA, CARISSIMA, CRUDELISSIMA,--If such is to be the reward for my + transgressions, what crimes shall I not commit before I die? I + shall shoot Victoria to-day, and Louis Philippe to-morrow. + + But to be serious, I am at a loss how to thank you as I ought. How + I lament that I have hung my harp upon the willow! + + Yours ever, + + S.R. + +In later years Thackeray and Charles Dickens were welcome guests, and the +cordial friendship between Lord and Lady John and Dickens lasted till his +death in 1870. Dickens said in a speech at Liverpool in 1869 that "there +was no man in England whom he respected more in his public capacity, loved +more in his private capacity, or from whom he had received more remarkable +proofs of his honour and love of literature than Lord John Russell." + +Among poets, Tennyson and Browning were true friends; Longfellow also +visited Pembroke Lodge, and impressed Lady Russell by his gentle and +spiritual nature; and Lowell was one of her most agreeable guests. With Sir +Henry Taylor, whose "Philip van Artevelde" she admired, the intercourse +was, from her youth to old age, intimate and affectionate. + +Mr. Lecky, a faithful friend, gave a picture of the society at Pembroke +Lodge, which may be quoted here: + +For some years after Lord Russell's retirement from ministerial life he +gathered around him at Pembroke Lodge a society that could hardly be +equalled--certainly not surpassed--in England. In the summer Sunday +afternoons there might be seen beneath the shade of those majestic oaks +nearly all that was distinguished in English politics, and much that was +distinguished in English literature, and few eminent foreigners visited +England without making a pilgrimage to the old statesman. [99] + +[99] "Life of Lord John Russell," by Stuart J. Reid, p. 351. + +Mr. Frederic Harrison was one of Lady Russell's best friends in the last +years of her life, and her keen interest in the Irish Question brought her +into close and intimate intercourse with Mr. Justin McCarthy, who knew her +so well in these days of busy and sequestered old age that his +recollections, given in the last chapter of this volume, are valuable. + +Among the men of science she knew best were Sir Richard Owen, a near +neighbour in Richmond Park, Sir Joseph Hooker, and Professor Tyndall, one +of the most genial and delightful of her guests. + +There is a passage in Sir Henry Taylor's autobiography which speaks of her +in earlier times, but it expresses an impression she made till her death on +many who met her: + +I have been rather social lately, ... and went to a party at Lord John +Russell's, where I met the Archbishop of York.... A better meeting was with +Lady Lotty Elliot, the one of the Minto Elliots who is now about the age +that her elder sisters were when I first knew them some sixteen or eighteen +years ago.... They are a fine set of girls and women, those Minto Elliots, +full of literature and poetry and nature; and Lady John, whom I knew best +in former days, is still very attractive to me; and now that she is +relieved from the social toils of a First Minister's wife, I mean to renew +and improve my relations with her, if she has no objection.... She is very +interesting to me, as having kept herself pure from the world with a fresh +and natural and not ungifted mind in the world's most crowded ways. I +recollect some years ago going through the heart of the City, somewhere +behind Cheapside, to have come upon a courtyard of an antique house, with +grass and flowers and green trees growing as quietly as if it was the +garden of a farm-house in Northumberland. Lady John reminds me of it. + +The charm of her company, apart from the kindliness of her manner, lay in +an immediate responsiveness to all that was going on around her, and the +sense her talk and presence conveyed of a life controlled by a homely, +dignified, strenuous tradition. It was the spontaneity of her sympathy +which all her life long drew to her defenders, dispirited or hopeful, of +struggling causes, and so many idealists, confident or resigned, shabby or +admired. Any with a cause at heart, an end to aim at beyond personal ends, +found in her a companion who seemed at once to understand how bitter were +the checks or how important the triumphs they had met, and to them her +company was a singular refreshment and inspiration, amid the polite or +undisguised indifference of the world. She could listen with ardour; and if +this sympathy was there for comparative strangers, still more was it at the +service of those who possessed her affection. She reflected instantaneously +their joys and troubles; indeed, she made both so much her own that those +she loved were often tempted at first to hide their troubles from her. Such +natures cannot usually disguise their emotions, and though she could +conceal her own physical sufferings so as almost to mislead those with whom +she lived, her feelings were plainly legible. If anything was said in her +presence which pained her, her distress was visible in a moment; and as a +beautiful consequence of this transparent expressiveness, her gaiety was +infectious and her affection shone out upon those she loved with tenderest +radiance. + + * * * * * + +After Lord Russell's death political events can no longer be used as a +thread to connect her letters and other writings together; but the +following passages, chosen over many years, will, it is hoped, give to +those who never knew her some idea of her as she is remembered by those who +did. + +On Lady Georgiana Peel's first birthday after the death of her father Lady +Russell sent her the following verses: + + To GEORGY + + _For her Birthday, February 6, 1879._ + + TUNE: _"Lochnagar."_ + + What music so early, so gently awakes me, + And why as I listen these fast falling tears; + And what is the magic that so swiftly takes me + Far back on my road, o'er the dust of dead years? + + Voice of the past, in thy sweetness and sadness + Thy magic enthralling, thy beauty and power, + Oh voice of the past! in thy deep holy sadness, + I know thee and yield to thee one little hour. + + Once more rings the birthday with merry young laughter, + Our bairnies once more are around us at play; + Their little hearts reck not of what may come after, + As lightly they weave the fresh flowers of to-day. + + Now to thy father's loved hand gaily clinging, + To ask for the kiss he stoops fondly to gi'e; + To his care-laden spirit once more thou art bringing + The freshness of thine, bonny winsome wee Gee![100] + + Thy rosy young cheek to my own thou art pressing, + Thy little arms twining around me I feel. + And thy Father in Heaven to thank for each blessing, + I see thee beside me in innocence kneel. + + When the dread shadow of sickness is o'er me, + I see thee, a lassie all brightness and bloom; + Still, still through thy tears strewing blossoms before me, + Still watching beside me through silence and gloom. + + * * * * * + + Hushed now is the music! and hushed be my weeping + For days that return not and light that hath fled. + No more from their rest may I summon the sleeping, + Or linger to gaze on the years that are dead. + + Fadeth my dream--and my day is declining, + But love lifts the gloamin' and smooths the rough way; + And I hail the bright midday o'er thee that is shining, + And think of a home that will ne'er pass away. + +[100] The name she was called by in her childhood. + +Early in 1879 Lady Russell began again to have more intercourse with her +friends in London, and in May she went with her son and daughter to the +Alexandra Hotel for a short stay in town. She writes in her Recollections: + + In May (1879) we spent ten days at the Alexandra Hotel, in the + midst of many kind friends and acquaintances. It was strange to be + once more in "the crowd, the hum, the shock of men" as of old--and + all so changed, so solitary within.... We there first saw Mr. + Justin McCarthy--he has since become a true friend, and his + companionship and conversation are always delightful; as with so + warm a heart and so bright an intellect they could not fail to be. + +In April, 1880, when Mr. Gladstone's candidature in Midlothian was causing +the greatest excitement and enthusiasm, Lady Russell received this letter +from Mrs. Gladstone. + + 120, GEORGE STREET, EDINBURGH, _April_ 4, 1880 + + MY DEAR LADY RUSSELL,--We are so much touched by your letter and + all the warmth and kindness you have shown to ourselves and Mary + and Herbert. How can I thank you enough? I see in your letter all + the memories of the past, and that you can throw your kind heart + into the present moment lovingly. The old precious memories only + make you more alive to what is going on, as you think of _him_ + who had gone before and shown so noble an example to my husband. No + doubt it did not escape you, words of my husband about Lord + Russell.... All here goes on splendidly; the enthusiasm continues + to increase, and all the returns have thrown us into a wild state + of ecstasy and thankfulness. It is, indeed, a blessing passing all + expectations, and I look back to all the time of anxiety beginning + with the Bulgarian horrors, all my husband's anxious hard work of + the past three or four years--how he was ridiculed and + insulted--and now, thank God, we are seeing the extraordinary + result of the elections, and listening to the goodness and + greatness of the policy so shamefully slandered; righteous + indignation has burst forth.... I loved to hear him saying aloud + some of the beautiful psalms of thanksgiving as his mind became + overwhelmed with gratitude and relieved with the great and good + news. Thank you again and again for your letter. + + Yours affectionately, + + CATHERINE GLADSTONE + + + _Sir Mount Stuart Grant Duff [101] to Lady Russell_ + + _June_ 8, 1883 + + As to the public questions at home--alas! I can say nothing but + echo what you and some other wise people tell me. One is far too + much _out_ of the whole thing. I do not fear the Radical, I + greatly fear the Radical, or crotchet-monger.... Your phrase about + the division on the Affirmation Bill [102] rises to the dignity of + a _mot,_ and will be treasured by me as such. "The triumph of + all that is worst in the name of all that is best." + +[101] At that time Governor of Madras. + +[102] In the April of 1881 Gladstone gave notice of an Affirmation +Bill, to enable men like Mr. Bradlaugh to become members of +Parliament without taking an oath which implied a belief in a +Supreme Being. But it was not till 1883 that the Bill was taken up. +On April 26th Gladstone made one of his most lofty and fervid +speeches in support of the Bill, which, however, was lost by a +majority of three. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Agatha Russell_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _June,_ 1883 + + ... I have been regaling myself on Sydney Smith's Life and + Letters--the wisdom and the wit, the large-hearted and wide-minded + piety, the love of God and man set forth in word and deed, and the + unlikeness to anybody else, make it delightful companionship.... I + long to talk of things deep and high with you, but if I once began + I should go on and on, and "of writing of letters there would be no + end." That is a grand passage of Hinton's [on music]. I always feel + that music means much more than just music, born of earth--joy and + sorrow, agony and rapture, are so mysteriously blended in its + glorious magic. + + + _Lady Russell's Recollections_ + + In July, 1883, I went with Agatha to see Dunrozel for the first + time ... I was simply enchanted--it was love at first sight, which + only deepened year after year.... We had a good many pleasant + neighbours; the Tennysons were more than pleasant, and welcomed us + with the utmost cordiality, and we loved them all. + + At that time Professor Tyndall and Louisa [103] were almost the + only inhabitants of Hindhead. They were not yet in their house, but + till it was built and furnished lived in their "hut," where they + used to receive us with the most cheering, as well as cheerful, + friendliness. + +[103] Mrs. Tyndall. + + + _Lady Russell to Miss Lilian Blyth_ [104] _[Mrs. Wilfred + Praeger]_ + + DUNROZEL, HASLEMERE, _November_ 16, 1883 + + Your letter is just like you, and that means all that is dear and + good and loving.... Indeed, past years are full of happy memories + of you all, not on marked days only, but on all days. At my age, + however, it is better to look forward to the renewal of all earthly + ties and all earth's best joys in an enduring home, than to look + back to the past--to the days before the blanks were left in the + earthly home which nothing here below can ever fill, and this it is + my prayer and my constant endeavour to do. We go home to dear + Pembroke Lodge next Tuesday ... going there must always be a + happiness to us all, yet this lovely little Dunrozel is not a place + to leave without many a pang. + +[104] Daughter of the Rev. F.C. Blyth, for many years curate at +Petersham. + + + _Lady Russell to Miss Bühler_ [105] + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _December_, 1883 + + ... I find my head will not bear more than a certain amount of + writing without giddiness and dull headache ... and there are so + _many_ correspondents who must be answered; friends, + relations, business people, that I am often quite bewildered; ... + so, please, understand that I shall always write _when I can_, + but not nearly always when I _would like_ to do so. Go on + letting yourself out whether sadly or happily, or in mingled + sadness and happiness, and believe how very much I like to see into + your thoughts and your heart as much as letters can enable me to do + so.... As for Scotland, oh! Scotland, my own, my bonny Scotland! if + you associate that best and dearest of countries with your present + _ennui_ and unhappiness, I shall turn my back upon you for + good and all and give you up as a bad job! So make haste and tell + me that you entirely separate the two things, and if you don't + admire "mine own romantic town" and feel its beauty thrill through + and through you, you must find the cause in anything rather than in + Edinburgh itself! Such are my commands.... In the meantime let it + be a consolation and a support to you to remember that it is by + trials and difficulties that our characters are raised, developed, + strengthened, made more Christ-like.... Good-bye, good-bye. God + bless you. + +[105] Miss Bühler (who died some years ago) had been governess to +Lady Russell's grandson Bertrand. She was Swiss, and only nineteen +when she came, and Lady Russell gave her motherly care and +affection. + + + _Lady Russell to Sir Henry Taylor_ + + _February_ 29, 1884 + + I have just been reading with painful interest "Mémoires d'un + Protestant condamné aux Galères" in the days of that terribly + little great man Louis XIV. I ask myself at every page, "Did man + really so treat his fellow-man? or is it all historical nightmare?" + I never can make the slightest allowance for persecutors on the + ground that "they thought it right to persecute." They had no + business so to think. + + + _Mr. Gladstone to Lady Russell_ + + _December_ 14, 1884 + + I thank you for and return Dr. Westcott's interesting and weighty + letter.... A very clever man, a Bampton lecturer, evidently writing + with good and upright intention, sends me a lecture in which he + lays down the qualities he thinks necessary to make theological + study fruitful. They are courage, patience, and sympathy. He omits + one quality, in my opinion even more important than any of them, + and that is reverence. Without a great stock of reverence mankind, + as I believe, will go to the bad.... + +During the strife and heat of the controversy on Home Rule, Lady Russell +received the following letter from Mr. Gladstone: + + 10, DOWNING STREET, WHITEHALL, + + _June_ 10, 1886 + + MY DEAR LADY RUSSELL,--I am not less gratified than touched by your + most acceptable note. It is most kind in you personally to give me + at a critical time the assurance of your sympathy and approval. And + I value it as a reflected indication of what would, I believe, have + been the course, had he been still among us, of one who was the + truest disciple of Mr. Fox, and was like him ever forward in the + cause of Ireland, a right handling of which he knew lay at the root + of all sound and truly Imperial policy. It was the more kind of you + to write at a time when domestic trial has been lying heavily upon + you. Believe me, + + Very sincerely yours, + + W.E. GLADSTONE + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Agatha Russell_ + + DUNROZEL, HASLEMERE, _August_ 30, 1886 + + ... Our Sunday, mine especially, was a peaceful, lovely + Sabbath--mine especially because I didn't go to any church built + with hands, but held my silent, solitary worship in God's own + glorious temple, with no walls to limit my view, no lower roof than + the blue heavens over my head. The lawn, the green walk, the Sunday + bench in the triangle, each and all seemed filled with holiness and + prayer--sadness and sorrow. Visions of more than one beautiful past + which those spots have known and which never can return, were there + too; but the Eternal Love was around to hallow them.... + + + _Lady Russell to Miss Bühler_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _November_ 24, 1886 + + MY DEAREST DORA,--I am afraid you will say that I have forgotten + you and your most loving and welcome birthday letter, but as I know + you will not _think_ it, I don't so very much mind. Nobody at + seventy-one and with many still to love and leave on earth, can + hail a birthday with much gladness.... The _real_ sadness to + me of birthdays, and of all marked days, is in the bitterly + disappointing answer I am obliged to make to myself to the + question: "Am I nearer to God than a year ago?" ... I never answered + your long-ago letter about your doubts and difficulties and + speculations on those subjects which are of deepest import to us + all, yet upon which it sometimes seems that we are doomed to work + our minds in vain--to seek, and _not_ to find--to exult one + moment in the fullness of bright hope and the coming fulfilment of + our highest aspirations, and the next to grope in darkness and say, + "Was it not a beautiful dream, and only a dream? Is it not too good + to be true that we are the children of a loving Father who + stretches out His hands to guide us to Himself, who has spoken to + us in a thousand ways from the beginning of the world by His + wondrous works, by the unity of creation, by the voices of our + fellow-creatures, by that voice, most inspired of all, that life + and death most beautiful and glorious of all, which 'brought life + and immortality to light,' and chiefly by that which we feel to be + immortal within us--_love_--the beginning and end of God's own + nature, the supreme capability which He has breathed into our + souls?" No, it is _not_ too good to be true. Nothing + perishes--not the smallest particle of the most worthless material + thing. Is immortality denied to the one thing most worthy of it? + + I sent you "The Utopian," because I thought some of the little + essays would fall in with all that filled your mind, and perhaps + help you to a spirit of hopefulness and confidence which + _will_ come to you and abide with you, I am sure. You will + soon receive another book written by several Unitarians, of which I + have only read very little as yet, but which seems to me full of + strength and comfort and holiness.... Good-bye, and God bless you. + + Your ever affectionate, + + F. RUSSELL + + + _Lady Charlotte Portal to Lady Russell_ + + _January_ 26, 1887 + + DEAREST FANNY,--I wonder if you are quite easy in your conscience, + or whatever mechanism takes the place with you of that rococo old + article. Do you think you have behaved to me as an elder ought?--to + me, a poor young thing, looking for and sadly requiring the + guidance of my white-headed sister? Our last communications were at + Christmas-time--a month ago. Are you all well? Are you all entirely + at the feet of the dear baby boy? [106] Or have your republican + principles begun to rebel against his autocratic sway? ... I have + been amusing myself with an obscure author named William + Shakespeare, and enjoying him _immensely_. Amusing myself is + not the right expression, for I have been in the tragedies only. I + had not read "Othello" for ages. How wonderful, great, and + beautiful and painful it is (oh dear, why is it so coarse?). Then I + also read "Lear" and "Henry VIII," and being delightfully ignorant + I had the great interest of reading the same period (Henry VIII) in + Holinshed, and in finding Katharine's and Wolsey's speeches there! + Then I have tried a little Ben Jonson and Lord Chesterfield's + letters. What a worldling, and what a destroyer of a young mind + that man was. Can you tell me how the son turned out? I cannot find + any information about him. The language is delightful, and I wish I + could remember any of his expressions.... Now give me a volume of + Pembroke Lodge news in return for this. Public matters, the fear of + war, the arming of all nations, make me sick at heart. How + wonderful and admirable the conduct of that poor friendless little + Bulgaria has been. Then Ireland, oh me! but on that topic I won't + write to the Home Ruler! + + Your affectionate sister, + + C.M.P. + +[106] Arthur, son of Mr. Rollo Russell. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Charlotte Portal_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _January_ 27, 1887 + + DEAREST LOTTY,--It was but yesterday that there rose dimly to my + memory the vision of a lady with the initials--C.M.P., and who + knows how long I might have remained in the dark as to who and what + she might be but for this letter, in which she claims me as a + sister! and moreover an elder and a wiser sister! one therefore + whose doings and not-doings, writing and not-writing, must not be + questioned by the younger.... + + We have imagined ourselves living in a state of isolation from our + fellow-creatures, but yours far exceeds ours and makes it almost + into a life of gaiety. I'm most extremely sorry to hear of it, + though most extremely glad to hear that your minds to you a kingdom + are. What good and wholesome and delightful food _your_ mind + has been living on. Isn't that Shakespeare too much of a marvel to + have really been a man? "Othello" is indeed all you say of it, and + more than anybody can say of it, and so are _all_ the great + plays. I am reading the historical ones with Bertie.... Alas, + indeed, for the coarseness! I never can understand the objections + to Bowdlerism. It seems to me so right and natural to prune away + what can do nobody good--what it pains eyes to look upon and ears + to hear--and to leave all the glories and beauties untouched.... + The little Autocrat is beginning to master some of the maxims of + Constitutional Monarchy--for instance, to find out that we do not + always leave the room the moment he waves his hand by way of + dismissal and utters the command of "Tata." I waste too much time + upon him, in spite of daily resolutions to neglect him.... I don't + at all know whether Lord Chesterfield succeeded in making his son + like his own clever, worldly, contemptible self, but will try to + find out. _Have_ you read "Dean Maitland"? [107] Now, Fanny, + do stop, you know you have many other letters to write.... + + Ever thine, + + F.R. + +[107] "The Silence of Dean Maitland," by Maxwell Grey. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Georgiana Peel_ + + DUNROZEL, HASLEMERE, SURREY, _September_ 9 [1887] + + ... Your account of the Queen and her visit interested us much.... + I often wish she could ever know all my gratitude to her and the + nation for the unspeakable blessing and happiness Pembroke Lodge + has been, and is; joys and sorrows, hopes fulfilled, and hopes + faded and crushed, chances and changes, and memories unnumbered, + are sacredly bound up with that dear home. Will it ever be loved by + others as we have loved it? It seems impossible.... + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Charlotte Portal_ + + DUNROZEL, HASLEMERE, _September_ 12, 1887 + + DEAREST LOTTY,--I don't think I am writing because your clock is on + the stroke of Sixty-three, for these clocks of ours become + obtrusive, and the less they are listened to the better for our + spirits. I wonder whether it's wrong and unnatural not to rejoice + in their rapid movements as regards myself. I often think so. There + is so much, or rather there are so many, oh, so many! to go to when + it has struck for the last time, and the longing and the yearning + to be with them is so unspeakable--and yet, dear Lotty, I cling to + those here, not less and less, but more and more, as the time for + leaving them draws nearer. God grant you many and many another + birthday of happiness, as I trust this one is to you and your + home.... Your letter was an echo of much that we had been saying to + one another, as we read our novel--not only does nobody, man or + even woman, see every change and know its meaning in the human + countenance, and interpret rightly the slight flush, the hidden + tremor, the shade of pallor, the faint tinge, etc.; but we don't + think there _are_ perceptible changes to such an extent except + in novels.... I think a great evil of novels for girls, mingled + with great good, is the false expectation they raise that + _somebody_ will know and understand their every thought, look, + emotion.... How glad I am that you have a rival baby to + worship--ours is beyond all praise--oh, so comical and so lovely in + all his little ways and words.... + + Your most affectionate sister, + + F.R. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Georgiana Peel_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _November_ 28, 1887 + + ... We have been having such a delightful visit from Lotty ... we + _did_ talk; and yet it seems as if all the talk had only made + me wish for a great deal more. Books and babies and dress and + almsgiving and amusements and the nineteenth century, its merits + and its faults, high things and low things, and big things and + trifles, and sense and nonsense, and everything except Home Rule, + on which we don't agree and couldn't spare time to fight. We did + thoroughly agree, however, as I think people of all parties must + have done, in admiration of a lecture, or rather speech, made at + our school by a very good and clever Mr. Wicksteed, a Nonconformist + (I believe Unitarian) minister on Politics and Morals. The + principle on which he founded it was that politics are a branch of + morals; accordingly he placed them on as high a level as any other + duty of life, and spoke with withering indignation of the too + common practice, and even theory, that a little insincerity, a + little trickery, is allowable in politics, whereas it would not be + in other matters. [108] We were all delighted. + +[108] Lady Russell often quoted a saying attributed to Fox, +"Nothing which is morally wrong can ever be politically right." + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Charlotte Portal_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _March_ 7, 1888 + + "Adam Bede" was as interesting a sofa companion as you could have + found; a very lovely book--wit and pathos almost equally good, + pathos quite the best though, to my mind. We are reading aloud + another charming book of Lowell's, "Democracy," and other essays in + the same volume; and I flutter about from book to book by myself, + and have still two books of "Paradise Lost" to read, and am + wondering what is going to happen to Adam and Eve. I was very + miserable when I found she ate the forbidden fruit. She had made + such fair promises to be good. Alas, alas! why did she break them? + That story of the Fall, though I suppose nobody thinks it verbally + true, is always to me most full of deep meaning, and seems to be + the story of every mortal man and woman born into this wondrous + world. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Charlotte Portal_ + + DUNROZEL, HASLEMERE, _October_ 3, 1888 + + Agatha gone yesterday to Pembroke Lodge--Rollo gone to-day to join + her, so my wee bairnie and I are "left by our lone," as you used to + say. "Einsam nein, dass bin ich nicht, denn die Geister meiner + Lieben, Sie umschweben mich." [109] I think it's good now and then + to let the blessed and beautiful memories of the past have their + way and float in waking dreams before our eyes, and not be forced + down beneath daily duties and occupations and enjoyments, till the + pain of keeping them there becomes hard to bear. Yet, "act, act in + the living present" is very, very much the rightest thing; though I + don't think I quite like the past to be called the _dead_ + past, when it is so fearfully full of keenest life. + +[109] "Lonely--no, that am I not, for the spirits of my loved ones, +they hover around me." + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Georgiana Peel_ + + DUNROZEL, HASLEMERE, SURREY, _October_ 8, 1888 + + ... We have had Rollo's old Oxford friend, Dr. Drewitt, here for + two nights--the very cheerfulest of guests. He is head of the + Victoria Hospital for Children, and what with keen interest in his + profession, and intense love of nature, animate and inanimate, I + don't think he would know how to be bored. Hard-worked men have far + the best of it here below, although we are accustomed to look upon + "men of leisure" as those to be envied; but how seldom one finds a + man or woman, who lives a life in earnest, and who has eyes to see + and observe, taking a gloomy view of human nature and its + destinies. I wonder what you have been reading? I have taken up + lately that delightful book, Lockhart's "Life of Sir Walter Scott," + and dipping into many besides.... Some of our pleasantest + neighbours have paid us good-bye visits; Frederic Harrisons, and + the charming and wonderful old Miss Swanwick [110].... + +[110] Miss Anna Swanwick. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Charlotte Portal_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _March_ 13, 1889 + + How could you, could you, could you think that my mental vow not to + write on the all-absorbing political catastrophe was because I sing + "God save, Ireland" in one sense, and you in another! The vow was + made because if once the flood-gates of my eloquence are let loose + on that subject, there is a danger that the stream will + Tennysonially "go on for ever." It is, however, a vow made to be + broken from time to time, when I allow a little ripple to flow a + little way and make a little noise, and then return to the usual + attitude towards non-sympathizers; and, like David, keep silence + and refrain even from good words, though it is pain and grief to + me, and my heart is hot within me. I am speaking of the mere + acquaintance non-sympathizers, or those known to be too bitter to + bear difference of opinion; but don't be afraid, or do be afraid, + as you may put it, and be prepared for total removal of the + flood-gates when _you_ come. Don't you often feel yourself in + David's trying condition, knowing that your words would be very + good, yet had better not be spoken? I don't like it at all. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Charlotte Portal_ + + DUNROZEL, _September_ 4, 1889 + + DEAREST LOTTY,--It was nice to hear from you from Minto. What a + strange sensation it always gives me to write or to hear that word + of _Minto._ [111] I am sure you know it too--impossible to + define, but like something beautiful and holy, not belonging to + this world. I like to hope that such memories have been stored up + by the younger spirits who have succeeded us, while "children not + hers have trod our nursery floor." But in this restless, fly-about + age can they ever be quite the same? ... I see that luckily I have + no room to go on about lovely, lovable, sorrowful Ireland. Alas! + that England has ever had anything to do with her; but better times + are coming, and she will be understood by her conquerors at last, + and be the better for them. Hush! Fanny, no more; even that is too + much. God bless thee. + + Ever thine, + + F.R. + +[111] Lady Russell had written in 1857 to her father about Minto: "I can +well imagine the loveliness of that loveliest and dearest of places. There +is now to us all a holy beauty in every tree and flower, in rock and river +and hill that ought to do us good." Later, in a letter to her sister, Lady +Elizabeth Romilly, she writes of "the Minto of old days, that happiest and +most perfect home that children ever had." + +In 1889 the "Life of Lord John Russell" by Mr. Spencer Walpole, was +published. + + _Mr. Gladstone to Lady Russell_ + + HAWARDEN CASTLE, CHESTER, _October_ 30, 1889 + + MY DEAR LADY RUSSELL,--The week which has elapsed since I received + from Mr. Walpole's kindness a copy of his biography has been with + me a busy one; but I have now completed a careful perusal of the + first volume. I cannot help writing to congratulate you on its + appearance. It presents a beautiful and a noble picture. Having so + long admired and loved your husband (and the political characters + which attract love are not very numerous), I now, with the fuller + knowledge of an early period which this volume gives me, both + admire and love him more. Your own personal share in the + delineation is enviable. And the biographer more than vindicates + the wisdom of your choice; his work is capital, but it could not + have been achieved except with material of the first order. O for + his aid in the present struggle, which, however, is proceeding to + _our_ heart's content. Believe me always most sincerely yours, + W.E. GLADSTONE + +A little later Mr. Gladstone sent Lady Russell a proof copy of an article +by him on the Melbourne Ministry, [112] from which the following passages +are here quoted: + + ... He [Lord John Russell] brought into public life, and he carried + through it unimpaired, the qualities which ennoble manhood--truth, + justice, fortitude, self-denial, a fund of genuine indignation + against wrong, and an inexhaustible sympathy with human + suffering.... With a slender store of physical power, his life was + a daily assertion of the superiority of the spirit to the flesh. + With the warmest domestic affections, and the keen susceptibilities + of sufferings they entail, he never failed to rally under sorrow to + the call of public duty. There were no bounds to the prowess or the + fellow-feeling with which he would fling himself into the breach on + behalf of a belaboured colleague; ... in 1852 an attack upon Lord + Clarendon's conduct as Viceroy of Ireland stirred all the depths of + his nature, and he replied in a series of the noblest fighting + passages which I have ever heard spoken in Parliament ... At the + head of all these qualities stands the moral element. I do not + recollect or know the time in our own history when the two great + parties in the House of Commons have been led by men who so truly + and so largely as Lord John Russell and Sir Robert Peel identified + political with personal morality. W.E. GLADSTONE + +[112] _Nineteenth Century_, January, 1890. + + + _Lady Charlotte Portal to Lady Russell, after reading Mr. + Walpole's "Life of Lord John Russell" December 26, 1889_ + + ... I long that every one should know as we do what the + extraordinary beauty of that daily life was. I always think it was + the most perfect man's life that I ever knew of; and that could + better bear the full flood of light than any other. + +In January, 1890, after nearly twelve years' break in her diary, Lady +Russell began writing again a few words of daily record. On the 6th she +mentions a "most agreeable" visit from Mr. Froude; the same day she +received Mr. Justin McCarthy to dinner, and adds that the talk was "more +Shakespeare than Ireland." + + _Lady Russell to Mr. Justin McCarthy_ [113] + + _November_ 19, 1890 + + DEAR MR. MCCARTHY,--I hardly know why I write to you, but this + terrible sin and terrible verdict make us very, very unhappy, and + we think constantly of you, who have been among his closest + friends, and of all who have trusted him and refused to believe in + the charge against him. You must, I know, be feeling all the + keenness and bitterness of sorrow in the moral downfall of a man + whose claims to the gratitude and admiration of his country in his + public career nothing can cancel. It is also much to be feared that + the great cause will suffer, at least in England, if he retains the + leadership. It ought not, of course; but where enthusiasm and even + respect for the leader can no longer be felt, there is danger of + diminution of zeal for the cause. Were he to take the honourable + course, which alone would show a sense of shame--that of + resignation--his political enemies would be silenced, and his + friends would feel that although reparation for the past is + impossible, he has not been blinded by long continuance in + deception and sin to his own unworthiness, and to the fact that his + word can no longer be trusted as it has been, and as that of a + leader ought to be. I dare not think of what his own state of mind + must be; it makes me so miserable--the unlimited trust of a nation + not only in his political but in his moral worth must be like a + dagger in his heart. Were he to retire, the recollection of the + great qualities he has shown would revive, and the proof of remorse + given by his retirement would draw a veil over his guilt, and the + charity, which we all need, would not be withheld from him. I know + that numerous instances can be given of men in the highest + positions who have retained them without opposition in spite of + lives tainted with similar sin; but this has not been without evil + to the nation, and I think there is a stronger sense now than there + used to be of the value of high private character in public men, in + spite of a great deal of remaining Pharisaism in the difference of + the measure of condemnation meted out to different men. I think too + that the unusual and most painful amount of low deception in this + case will be felt, even more than the sin itself, by the English + people. Pray forgive me, dear Mr. McCarthy, for writing on this sad + topic; but I have got into the habit of writing and speaking freely + to you, even when it can, as now, do no earthly good to anybody. + + There is one consolation in the thought that should he retire + Ireland is not wanting in the best and highest to succeed him. Pray + do not write if you prefer not, though I long to hear from you, or + still better see you. + + Yours most sincerely, + + F. RUSSELL + +[113] Written after the Parnell O'Shea divorce case. + + + _Lady Russell to Mr. Justin McCarthy_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _November_ 22, 1890 + + DEAR MR. MCCARTHY,--I cannot rest without telling you how very + sorry I shall be if my letter gave you one moment's pain. I knew + how close and true a friend you were of Mr. Parnell, and how + unchanging your friendship would be; but I did not know which + course that unchanging friendship would lead you to take. Not a + doubt can ever cross our minds of the patriotism which has dictated + your action and that of your Irish colleagues. Do not allow any + doubt to cross yours or theirs, that it is the intensity of love + for the great cause which led many in England to wish for a + different decision. Nothing would be more terrible, more fatal, + than any coldness between the friends of Ireland on the two sides + of the Channel. May God avert such a misfortune, and whatever + happens, believe me always most sincerely yours, + + F. RUSSELL + + + _Mr. Justin McCarthy to Lady Russell_ + + _November_ 24, 1890 + + DEAR LADY RUSSELL,--I ought to have answered your kind letter + before, for I value your sympathy more--much more--than I can tell + you in words. I am afraid the prospect is dark for the present. Mr. + Gladstone sent for me to-day and I had some talk with him. He was + full of generous consideration and kindness, but he thinks there + will be a catastrophe for the cause if Parnell does not retire. The + Irish members _cannot_ and _would not_ throw over + Parnell, but he may even yet decide upon retiring. All depends on + to-morrow, and we have not seen him. I have the utmost faith in his + singleness of public purpose and his judgment and policy, but it is + a terrible crisis. + + With kindest regards, very truly yours, + + JUSTIN MCCARTHY + + + _Lady Russell to Mrs. Warburton_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _November_ 23, 1890 + + MY DEAREST ISABEL,--... Yes, dearie, it _was_ a delightful + visit, leaving delightful memories of all kinds; chats gay and + grave trots long and short, drives, duets--will they ever come + again? I am very glad this heart-breaking Irish thunderclap did not + fall while you were here. It makes us so unhappy. Poor Ireland! her + hopes are always dashed when about to be fulfilled. Nothing can + palliate the fearful sin and almost more fearful course of + miserable deception; but he might, by taking the one right and + honourable course of resigning his leadership--if only for a + time--at least have given a proof of shame, and have saved England + and Ireland from the terrible pain of discussion and disagreement, + and from the danger to Home Rule which his retention of the post + must cause. His Parliamentary colleagues have done immense harm by + their loud protestations in his favour. There is much to excuse + them, but not him, for this course. Our poor Davitt is miserable, + and is braving a storm of unpopularity by writing strongly against + his (Parnell's) retention of the leadership. His whole thought is + for Ireland, and he knows that his advice is that of a true friend + to her--as well as to the wretched man himself.... + + Your ever affectionate, + + MAMA + +Mr. Michael Davitt had taken a house in Richmond, and was living there at +this time. Some years earlier Lady Russell had read his "Prison Diary," and +had written the following poem. She did not know him at that time. + +_Written after reading Michael Davitt's "Leaves from a Prison Diary"_ + + DUNROZEL, _September,_ 1887 + + Man's justice is not Thine, O God, his scales + Uneven hang, while he with padlocked heart + Some glittering shred of human tinsel sees + Outweigh the pure bright gold of noblest souls, + Who from the mists of earth their eyes uplift + And seek to read Thy message in the stars. + + Thou hearest, Lord, beneath the felon's garb + The lonely throbbing of no felon's heart, + The cry of agony--the prayer of love + By agony unconquered--love, heaven-born, + That fills with holy light the joyless cell, + As with the daybreak of his prayer fulfilled, + The glorious dawn of brotherhood for man, + And freedom to the sorrowing land that bore him, + For whose dear sake he smiles upon his chains. + Thou gatherest, Lord, his bitter nightly tears + For home, for face beloved and trusted hand, + For the green earth, the freshly blowing breeze, + The heaven of Liberty, all, all shut out. + + His vanished dreams, his withered hopes Thou knowest, + The baffled yearnings of his heart to snatch + From paths unhallowed childhood's tottering feet, + And lay a rosy smile on little lips + With homeless hunger pale, to curses trained, + Whereon no kiss hath left a memory sweet. + + His chainless spirit, bruised by prison bars, + Wounded by touch of fellow-men in whom + Thy image lost he vainly sought, Thou seest + Unsullied still, lord of its own domain, + Soar in its own blue sky of faith and hope. + + Such have there been and such there yet will be, + From whom the world's hard eye is turned in scorn, + But still for each a nation's tears will fall, + A nation's heart will be his earthly haven, + And when no earthly stay he needeth more, + Will he not, Father, feel Thy love enfold him, + And hear Thy voice, "Servant of God, well done." + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Charlotte Portal_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _November 26, 1890_ + + Alas! alas! the last fortnight has indeed been one of darkness and + sorrow over the country; railway and ocean horrors breaking many + hundreds of hearts, disgrace to England in Africa, disgrace to a + trusted leader dashing down the hopes of Ireland and bringing back + disunion between the two nations. We made ourselves miserable over + last night's news of the determination of his parliamentary + followers to stand by him, and his acceptance of their re-election. + Poor old Gladstone! I am sure you must admire his letter to Mr. + Morley. To-day we are told to have a little hope that it may have + influence in the right direction, but we hardly feel any. We + heartily agree with every word you say on this most painful matter. + The one consolation is to see such an increase of opinion that a + leader must be a man of high private, as well as public, character. + How often I have deplored the absence of any such opinion! + + + _Lady Russell to Mr. Justin McCarthy_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _November 27, 1890_ + + DEAR MR. MCCARTHY,--Your most kind letter was a relief to me as + regarded the spirit in which you had taken what I wrote, but also + made us very, very sad, and nothing that we have heard or read in + newspapers since has given more than a mere ray of hope. And why + should this be? Surely the path of honour and duty is plain. It + cannot be taken without pain; but such moments as this are the test + of greatness in men and nations. Gratitude untold is due to Mr. + Parnell. Those who have been his friends will not withdraw their + friendship; but surely that very friendship ought to resolve that + the vast good he has done in the past should not be undone for the + future, to his own eternal discredit, by encouragement to him to + retain the leadership. Surely the claims of your country stand + first; and is not the impending breach between English and Irish + Home Rulers a misfortune to both countries, too terrible to be + calmly faced? Already there is a tone in the Freeman's Journal + which I could not have believed would be adopted towards men like + Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Morley, who have identified themselves heart + and soul with Ireland. Of course, they are far above being turned + for a moment from their course by any such comments, but it must be + a pain to them nevertheless. It almost seems aberration of mind in + Mr. Parnell to be deaf to Mr. Gladstone's words of true patriotism, + echoed as they are throughout England and Scotland, and I cannot + but believe in thousands of Irish hearts besides. Surely this must + have gone far to convince his friends that they would be more than + justified in convincing him that retirement for awhile is his duty, + or, if they cannot convince him, in acting upon their own + convictions, if these are such as I hope. Indignation against the + terrible revelations of his guilt has driven some English + newspapers into language deeply to be deplored; but on the whole + the feeling, as shown in speeches and in the Press, has been + healthy and just. Sir Charles Russell's words struck us as among + the very best. It is the deepest and highest love for Ireland that + makes men speak and write as they do. + + Dear Mr. McCarthy, I think you can do much, and I know how firm, as + well as how gentle, it is your nature to be. Save us all, for God's + sake, from the dreaded disunion and the ruin of the cause. Do not + let England and Ireland be again looked upon as separated in their + hopes, interests, aspirations. May Mr. Dillon and Mr. O'Brien help + to the good work; but too much can hardly depend on men at a + distance, excellent and patriotic as they are. + + Good-bye, dear Mr. McCarthy. May God guide and unite our two + countries on the road of justice and truth and happiness. Pray, + pray forgive me once more for writing. + + Ever most sincerely yours, + + F. RUSSELL + +In 1891 Mr. Rollo Russell married Miss Gertrude Joachim, niece of the great +violinist, Dr. Joachim, and Lady Russell found new joy in his happiness. + + _Queen Victoria to Lady Russell_ + + _January_ 1, 1891 + + DEAR LADY RUSSELL,--You are indeed right in thinking that I should + always take an interest in anything that concerned you and your + family, and I rejoice to hear that your son is going to make a + marriage which gives you pleasure, and trust it may conduce to your + comfort as well as to his happiness. It is a long time since I have + had the pleasure of seeing you, dear Lady Russell, and I trust that + some day this may be possible. Past days can never be + forgotten--indeed, one loves to dwell on them, though the thought + is mingled with sadness. Pray remember me to Agatha, and believe me + always, + + Yours affectionately, + + V.R.I. + + + _Lady Russell to Mr. Rollo Russell_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _January_ 14, 1892 + + ... Most truly do you say that, while we can shelter ourselves from + the demands that assail our physical being, no defence has been + found against the bitter blasts which batter against our mental and + spiritual structure--no _defence_, only endurance, in hope and + faith and endeavour after Marcus Aurelius's "Equanimitas," and the + knowledge that the higher man's mental and moral capacity the + greater is his capacity for suffering.... And nobody has shown more + than you do in "Psalms of the West" that sorrow is not + _all_ sorrow, but has a heavenly sacredness that gives + strength to bear its burden "in quietness and confidence" to the + end. How entirely I feel with you that this has been a glorious + century. Not all the evil and the misery and the vice and the + meanness and pettinesses which abound on every side, as we look + around, can blind me to the blessed truth that the eyes of mankind + have been opening to see and to deplore these things, and to give + their lives to the study of their causes, and the discovery and + practice of means to put an end to them. The wonderful intellectual + strides, which my long life enables me not only to be aware of, but + to remember as they have one by one been made, are in close + connection with this moral and religious development; and all these + together will, I believe, raise the education of the people + (already so far above the standard of fifty, much more of a hundred + years ago) to something of the kind to which you look + forward--"more high, more wide, more various, more poetic, more + inspiring, more full of principles and less full of facts "--a + consummation devoutly to be wished. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _June_ 22, 1892 + + Day of much weakness. The sense of failing increases rapidly. May + the short time that remains to me make me less unfit to meet my + God. Oh, that I could begin life again! How different it would be + from what has been. I have had everything to help me upward; joys + and sorrows, encouragement and disappointment, the love and example + of my dearest husband and children in our daily companionship and + communion, the never-failing and precious affection and help of + brothers, sisters, and friends--and yet my life seems all a failure + when I think what it might have been. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Charlotte Portal_ + + THE GRANGE, HINDHEAD, HASLEMERE, _July_ 20, 1892 + + Yes, elections are hard tests of character, and there are too, too + many excellent people on both sides who are led on to say hard, + unjust, untrue things of their opponents.... But there _is_ + another side to elections--a grand and noble one--which makes me + feel to my inmost soul the greatness and the blessed freedom of + this dear old country, and always brings to my mind what John used + to say with something of a boy's enthusiasm, "I _love_ a + contested election." + + + THE GRANGE, HINDHEAD, _October_ 6, 1892 + + Tennyson died about one o'clock a.m. A great and good light + extinguished. + + _October 7th_ + + Agatha and I early to Aldworth. Went in by Hallam's wish to the + room where he lay. I dread and shrink from the sight of death, and + wish to keep the recollection of the life I have known and loved + undisturbed by its soulless image. But in this case I rejoice to + have seen on that noble face the perfect peace which of late years + was wanting--it was really "the rapture of repose." A volume of + Shakespeare which he had asked for, and the leaves of which he had + turned over yesterday, I believe to find "Cymbeline," at which + place it was open, lay on the bed. His hands were crossed on his + breast, beautiful autumn leaves lay strewn around him on the + coverlet, and white flowers at the foot of the bed. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Charlotte Portal_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _November_ 2, 1892 + + Oh, Lotty, how is it that, standing as I am on the very brink of + the known, with the unknown about to sweep me into its depths, how + is it that there is still such intense interest in the course of + this wondrous world, in all the problems now floating about + unsolved, in all the social, moral, political work going on around + us. It is true that these things are of eternal moment, and + therefore links between earth and heaven. Yet it often seems to me + foolish to care about them very much when the solution of all + enigmas is so near at hand. + + + _Lady Russell to Mrs. Rollo Russell_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _March_ 17, 1893 + + ... The chief Pembroke Lodge event since I wrote is that I went on + Monday to Windsor Castle to luncheon; after which morning meal with + the household, almost all strangers to me, I saw the Queen alone + and had a good long and most easy and pleasant conversation with + her. She was as cordial as possible, and I am _very_ glad to + have seen her again; although there was much sadness mingled with + the gladness in a meeting after a period of many, many years, which + had brought their full number of changes to me--and some to her. + + + _Lady Russell to Mr. Rollo Russell_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, RICHMOND, SURREY, _July_ 7, 1893 + + I feel intensely all you say about laying aside, if it were + possible, one's own personality and seeing the silent growth of all + truth and goodness, without the disturbance of names and parties; + but the world being as it is for the present, we can only keep our + minds fixed on the good and the true, with whomsoever and with + whatsoever party we may find it, and follow it with honest + conviction. If I could, I would put an end to Party Government + to-morrow, and my great wish for M.P.'s is that each one should, + upon each subject, vote exactly according to his opinion, and no + Ministry be turned out except upon a vote of want of confidence. I + honour and love Mr. Gladstone, and while ardently sympathetic with + him on Home Rule and all other Liberal measures, I am no less + antipathetic on Church matters. Happily, however, they have become + with him matters chiefly of personal attachment to Anglicanism, and + no longer (I believe) likely to affect his legislation. + "Gladstonian" is a word he does not admit, nor do those of whom it + is used. + + _July_ 9, 1893.--Well, to go on with our politics: "a new + policy" Home Rule undoubtedly is, a new departure from the + "tradition" of any English party; but _not_ a departure from + Liberal principles, only a new application of old ones, and I think + it is a pity to speak of it as being against Liberal principles, + for is there anybody of average intelligence who would not have + predicted that if it should ever be adopted by any party it would + be by the Liberals? Exactly the same thing was said about Turkey: + the Whig tradition was to support her, Liberals were forsaking + their principles by taking part with Bulgaria against her. It is + the proud distinction of Liberals to _grow_ perpetually, and + to march on with eyes open, and to discover, as they are pretty + sure to do, that they have not always in the past been true to + their principles. There is no case exactly parallel with that of + Ireland; but there are some in great measure analogous, and it is + the Liberals who have listened to the voice of other countries, + some of them our own dependencies, in their national aspirations or + their desire for Parliaments of their own, expressed by + Constitutional majorities. I admire the Unionists for standing by + their own convictions with regard to Home Rule, and always have + done so; but I cannot call it "devotion to the Union _and to_ + Liberal principles," and I am not aware of there being a single + Home Ruler not a Liberal. The Unionists, especially those in + Parliament, have been, and are, in a very dangerous position, and + have yielded too readily to the temptation of a sudden transference + of party loyalty upon almost every question from Liberal to Tory + leaders. But for those, whether in or out of Parliament, who have + remained Liberals--and I know several such--I don't see why, after + Home Rule is carried, they should not be once more merged in the + great body of Liberals, and have their chances, like others, of + being chosen to serve their country in Parliament and in office.... + + I am reading a book by Grant Allen, "Science in Arcady." ... He + brings wit and originality into these essays on plants, lakes, + spiders, etc. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Agatha Russell_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _September_ 22, 1893 + + ... With regard to the modern attraction of ugly subjects + (_not_ when the wish to remedy gross evils makes it a duty to + study and live among them; but as common talk between young men and + young women), I feel very strongly that the contemplation of God, + and all that is God-like in the souls that He has created, is our + best safeguard against evil, and that the contemplation of the + spirit of evil, and all the hideous variety of its works, gradually + taints us and weakens our powers of resistance. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Agatha Russell_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _October_ 21, 1893 + + ... I entirely agree with you, that poetry and music "teach us of + the things that are unseen" as nothing else can do. Music + especially, which is an unseen thing, not the product of man at + all, but found from man as a gift from God's own hand. I don't know + what at some periods of my life I should have done without these + blessed sympathizers and outlets and uplifting friends. + + + _Lady Russell to Mrs. Drummond_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _December_ 16, 1893 + + Your long interesting letter is most welcome. You are very good and + brave to do so much for the good of others, while suffering + yourself. How much harder it is to _bear_ patiently, and keep + up sympathy and fellow-feeling within us in spite of illness, than + to do any amount of active work while in health. I always find my + highest examples in those who know how to "suffer and be strong," + because it is my own greatest difficulty. + + Oh, my dear child, what opinions _can_ poor I give on the + almost insoluble problems you put before me? I wish I knew of any + book or any man or woman who could tell me whether a Poor Law, even + the very best, is on the whole a blessing or a curse, and how the + "unemployed" can be chosen out for work of any useful or productive + kind without injury to others equally deserving, and what are the + just limits of State interference with personal liberty. The House + of Lords puzzles me less. I would simply declare it, by Act of the + House of Commons, injurious to the best interests of the nation and + for ever dissolved. Then it may either show its attachment to the + Constitution by giving its assent to its own annihilation, or + oblige us to break through the worn-out Constitution and declare + their assent unnecessary. It is beyond all bearing that one great + measure after another should be delayed, or mutilated, year after + year, by such a body, and I chafe and fret inwardly to a painful + degree. Oh for a long talk with you! I will not despair of going to + you, "gin I be spared" till the days are reasonably long. + + + _Lady Russell to Lady Agatha Russell_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _October_ 10, 1894 + + ... Alas! for our dear Oliver Wendell Holmes! He has left the world + much the poorer by his death, but much the richer by his life and + works.... Lord Grey gone too, and with him what recollections of my + young days, before and after marriage, when he and Lady Grey and we + were very much together. We loved them both. He was a very trying + political colleague to your father and others, but a very faithful + friend. The longer I live the more firmly I am convinced that in + most cases to know people well is to like them--to forget their + faults in their merits. But no doubt it is delightful to have no + faults to forget. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _March_ 3, 1894 + + Touching accounts of meeting of the Cabinet--the last with dear + noble old Gladstone as Minister. Tears in the eyes of his + colleagues. He made his last speech as Minister in the House of + Commons, a grand and stirring one. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _January_ 23, 1895 + + Finished "Erasmus" a few days ago--a great intellect, much wit, + clear insight into the religion "falsely so-called" of monks and + clergy, but a soul not great enough to utter his convictions aloud + in the face of danger, or to perceive that conciliation beginning + by hypocrisy must end in worse strife and bitterness. He saw the + evil of the new dogmas and creeds introduced by Luther, of + _any_ new creed the rejection of which was penal, but he did + not or would not see the similar evil of the legally enforced old + creeds and dogmas. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _May_ 15, 1895 + + Armenian refugees here to tea--a husband and wife whose baby + _she_ had _seen_ murdered by Turkish soldiers, and a + friend who is uncertain whether his wife is alive or + murdered--these three in native dress; hers very picturesque, and + she herself beautiful. The three refugees, all of whom had been + eye-witnesses of massacres of relations, looked intensely sad. She + gave an account of some of the hardships they had suffered, but + neither they nor we could have borne details of the atrocities. + What they chiefly wished to express, and did express, was deep + gratitude for the sympathy of our country, veneration for the + memory of John as a friend of the Christian subjects of the Sultan, + and thanks to ourselves.... They kissed our hands repeatedly, and + the expression of their countenances as they looked at us, though + without words, was very touching. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _February_ 24, 1896 + + Visit from Mr. Voysey, earnest, interesting, and pathetic in + accounts of Whitechapel experiences. His Theism fills him with the + joy of unbounded faith in a perfect God; but his keen sense of the + evil done by the worship of Jesus as another and equal God leads + him to a painful blindness to that divine character and teaching. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _August_ 5, 1897 + + Sinclair [115] has been reading a great deal to me since my illness + began. Miss Austen's "Emma," which kept its high ground with me + although I had read it too often to find much novelty in the + marvellous humour and reality of the characters. Then "Scenes of + Clerical Life" ... the contrast between the minds and the + brain-work of Jane Austen and George Eliot very striking. Jane + Austen all ease and spontaneousness and simplicity, George Eliot + wonderful in strength and passion, and fond of probing the depths + of human anguish, but often ponderous in long-drawn philosophy and + metaphysics, and with a tediously cynical and flippant tone + underlying her portraits of human beings--and a wearisome lingering + over uninteresting details. Her defects are, I think, far more + prominent in this than in her best later books. + +[115] "While in Norfolk Street (in 1882) engaged Sinclair, my good and +faithful Sinclair, as maid and housekeeper" (_Recollections_). She +remained with Lady Russell till her death, and served her with devotion to +the end. + +In the summer of 1897 she had a severe illness, from which, as the +following letter shows, she partially recovered. + + _Mrs. Warburton to Lady Agatha Russell_ + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _October_ 11, 1897 + + You can't imagine, or rather you can, what a happiness it is to be + able to record a perfect drive round the Park again with Mama this + most beautiful day, she enjoying it as of yore, and as full of + pleasure and observation as I ever remember. In short, it is quite + difficult to me to realize how ill she has been since I saw her in + June. She seems and looks so well. She is a marvellous person, so + young and fresh in all her interests, sight and hearing betraying + so little sign of change. She says she is out of practice, and her + _playing_ is not as easy or as vigorous as it was, I thought; + but how few people of her age would return to it at all after such + a long illness. (There are the sounds of music overhead as I sit + here in the drawing-room--how she enjoys it!) ... About the + reading--Dr. Gardiner [116] was against her being prevented from a + little--she enjoys it so much. Sinclair reading to her is a great + comfort. + +[116] Medical attendant and valued friend for over twelve years, +partner to Dr. Anderson, of Richmond, with whom he attended Lady +Russell till her death. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _November_ 15, 1897 + + Eighty-two this day. God be praised for all he has given to + brighten my old age. God be praised that I am still able to love, + to think, to rejoice, and to mourn with those dear to me. But the + burden of wasted years of a long life, in which I see failure on + every side, is weighty and painful, and can never be lightened. I + can only pray that the few steps left to me to take may be on a + holier path--the narrow path that leads to God. My own blessings + only brought more vividly to my mind the masses of toiling, + struggling, poverty-stricken fellow-creatures, from whom the + pressure of want shuts out the light of life. + + My Agatha well, weather beautiful, and seventy very happy boys and + girls from the school to see a ventriloquist and his acting dolls + (drawing-room cleared for the occasion). The children's bursts and + shouts of laughter delightful to hear. + +Lady Russell was wonderfully well that day--her last birthday on earth--and +joined in the fun and laughter as heartily as any of the children. Old age +had not lessened her keen enjoyment of humour, nor dimmed the brightness of +her brave spirit. + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _December_ 11, 1897 + + A beautiful day for old scholars' meeting. Ninety-four came, a + larger number than ever before; table spread in drawing-room and + bow-room. Not able to go down to see them, but all went well and + merrily. I was able to get to my sitting-room in the afternoon, and + all came up to me by turns for a hand-shake. It was pleasant to see + so many kindly, happy faces. + + + PEMBROKE LODGE, _January_ 1, 1898 + + What will 1898 bring of joy or sorrow, good or evil, life or death, + to our home, our country, the world? May we be ready for all, + whatever it may be. + +Six days later she was attacked by influenza, which turned to bronchitis, +and very soon she became seriously ill. There was for one day a slight hope +that she might recover, but the rally was only temporary, and soon it was +certain that death was near. + +The last book that her daughter had been reading to her was the "Life of +Tennyson," by his son, which she very much enjoyed. She begged her daughter +to go on reading it to her in the last days of her life, and her keen +interest in it was wonderful, even when she was too ill to listen to more +than a few sentences at a time. + +For some years Lady Russell had found great amusement and delight in the +visits of a little wild squirrel--squirrels abounded among the old trees at +Pembroke Lodge--which gradually became more and more tame and friendly. It +used to climb up to her windows by a lilac-bush or a climbing rose-tree and +look brightly in at her while enjoying the nuts she gave it on the +window-sill. Before long it became very venturesome, and would enter the +room daily and frisk about, or sit on her writing-table or on the tea-table +in perfect content, taking food from her hand. On the last day of her life +the doctor [117] was sitting by her bedside when suddenly he noticed the +beautiful little squirrel bounding in at her window. It was only a few +hours before she died, but her face lighted up at once, and she welcomed +her faithful little friend, for the last time, with her brightest smile. + +[117] Dr. Anderson, who had been for nearly thirty years a true and devoted +friend. + +During her illness she had spoken confidently of recovery, but the night +before her death she realized quite clearly that the end was near. Her son +and daughter were with her; and just before she sank into a last sleep she +spoke, in a firm clear voice, words of love and faith. Her mind had +remained unclouded, and her end was as calm and peaceful as those who loved +her could have wished. She died on January 17, 1898. + + + +CHAPTER XIV + + +The immense number of letters received by Lady Russell's son and daughter, +from men and women of all classes and creeds, bore striking testimony to +the widespread and reverent devotion felt for her memory. Only very few +selections will be given here. The first letter--written on the day of her +death--is from Mr. Farrington, the respected minister of the Richmond Free +Church, who had known Lady Russell intimately for many years. + + _Rev. Silas Farrington to Lady Agatha Russell_ + + _January_ 17, 1898 + + To me your mother has become more and more an inspiration--a kind + of tower of cheerful courage and strength. By her steadfast mental + and moral bravery, by the sunshine she has been beneath the heavy + clouds that have been sweeping over her, she has made one ashamed + of the small things that troubled him and rebuked his petty + discontent and repining. No one can ever be told how much I both + have honoured and loved her for the very greatness of her noble + spirit. + + + _Rev. Stopford A. Brooke to Lady Agatha Russell_ + + _January_ 18, 1898 + + How little I thought when I saw Lady Russell last [118] that I + should see her no more! She looked so full of life, and her + interest in all things was so keen and eager that I never for a + moment thought her old or linked to her lite the imagination of + death. It is a sore loss to lose one so fresh, so alive, so ardent + in all good and beautiful things, and it must leave you in a great + loneliness.... How well, how nobly she lived her life! It shames us + to think of all she did, and yet it kindles us so much that we lose + our shame in its inspiration. + +[118] On October 31, 1897. + + + _Mr. Frederic Harrison to Lady Agatha Russell_ + + _February_ 16, 1898 + + ...The news of the great sorrow which has fallen on you came upon + my wife and myself as a dreadful surprise.... Over and over again I + tried to say to the world outside all that I felt of the noble + nature and the grand life of your mother, but every time I tried my + pen fell from my hand. I was too sad to think or write; full only + of the sense of the friend whom I had lost, and of the great + example she has left to our generation. She has fulfilled her + mission on earth, and all those who have known her--and they are + very many--will all their lives be sustained by the memory of her + courage, dignity, and truth. She had so much of the character of + the Roman matron--a type we know so little nowadays--who, being + perfect in all the beauty of domestic life, yet even more + conspicuously raised the public life of her time. I shall never, + while I have life, forget the occasions this last summer and autumn + when I had been able to see more of her than ever before, and + especially that last hour I spent with her, when you were away at + Weston, the memory of which now comes back to me like a death-bed + parting. To have known her was to ride above the wretched party + politics to which our age is condemned. I cannot bear to think of + all that this bereavement means to you. It must be, and will + remain, irreparable. + + + _Mr. James Bryce [119] to Lady Agatha Russell_ + + _March_ 10, 1898 + + Your mother always seemed to me one of the most noble and beautiful + characters I had ever known--there was in her so much gentleness, + so much firmness, so much earnestness, so ardent a love for all + high things and all the best causes. One always came away from + seeing her struck afresh by these charms of nature, and feeling the + better for having seen how old age had in no way lessened her + interest in the progress of the world, her faith in the triumph of + good. + +[119] The Right Hon. James Bryce, British Ambassador at Washington. + + + _Mrs. Sinclair to Mr. Rollo Russell_ + + _January_, 1900 + + I loved and honoured my dear lady more than any one I ever served. + In my long life of service, where all had been good and kind to me, + she was the dearest and best. + +The funeral service was held on the 21st of January in the village church +at Chenies, where her husband had been buried among his ancestors. The +Burial Service of the Church of England, the solemnity and beauty of which +she had always deeply felt, was read in the presence of many friends and +relations assembled to pay their last tribute of respect to her memory. + +Not long before her death Lady Russell had written these lines: + + O shadowy form majestic, nearer gliding, + And ever nearer! Thou whose silent tread + Not ocean, chasm, or mountain can delay, + Not even hands in agony outstretched, + Or bitterest tears of breaking hearts, that fain + Would stay thy dread approach to those most dear. + Vainly from thee we seek to hide; thou wield'st + A sceptred power that none below may challenge; + Yet no true monarch thou--but Messenger + Of Him, Monarch supreme and Love eternal, + Who holdeth of all mysteries the key;-- + And in thy dark unfathomable eyes + A star of promise lieth. + Then O! despite all failure, guilt and error, + Crushing beneath their weight my faltering soul, + When my hour striketh, when with Time I part, + When face to face we stand, with naught between, + Come as a friend, O Death! + Lay gently thy cold hand upon my brow, + And still the fevered throb of this blind life, + This fragment, mournful yet so fair--this dream, + Aspiring, earth-bound, passionate--and waft me + Where broken harmonies will blend once more, + And severed hearts once more together beat; + Where, in our Father's fold, all, all shall be fulfilled. + +RECOLLECTIONS OF FRANCES, COUNTESS RUSSELL + +BY JUSTIN McCARTHY + + +Some of the dearest and most treasured memories of my lifetime are those +belonging to the years during which I had the honour of being received +among her friends by the late Countess Russell. + +That friendship lasted more than twenty years, and its close on this earth +was only brought about by Lady Russell's death. + +There hangs now in my study, seeming to look down upon me while I write, a +photograph of Lady Russell with her name written on it in her own +handwriting. That photograph I received but a short time before her death, +and it is to be with me so long as I live and look upon this earth. + +I had some slight, very slight, acquaintance with the late Earl Russell, +ever best known to fame as Lord John Russell, some years before I became +one of his wife's friends. I met Lord John Russell for the first time in +1858, when he was attending a meeting of the Social Science Association, +held in Liverpool, where I was then a young journalist, and I had the good +fortune to be presented to him. After that, when I settled in London, I met +him occasionally in the precincts of Westminster Palace, and I had some +interesting conversations with him which I have mentioned in published +recollections of mine. During all that time I had, however, but a merely +slight and formal acquaintanceship with his gifted wife. + +When I came to know her more closely she had settled herself in her home at +Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park, and it is with that delightful home that +my memories of her are mainly associated. She received her friends and +acquaintances in general there on certain appointed days in each week. I +need hardly say how gladly I availed myself of every opportunity for the +enjoyment of such a visit, and especially for the enjoyment of Lady +Russell's conversation and companionship. + +I have known many gifted women, among them many gifted authoresses, but I +have not known any woman who could have surpassed Lady Russell in the +varied charms of her conversation. Most of us, men and women, have usually +the habit of carrying our occupations with us, metaphorically at least, +wherever we go, and therefore have some difficulty in entering with full +appreciation into conversational fields in which we do not find ourselves +quite at home. + +Lady Russell was not like most of us in that quality. Her chief natural +interest, one might readily suppose, would have been centred in questions +belonging to the domain of politics, national and international, she having +been for so great a part of her life the wife and the close companion of +one of England's leading statesmen. + +But Lady Russell was endowed with a peculiarly receptive mind, and she felt +an interest quite natural and spontaneous in every subject which could +interest educated and rational human beings--in art, literature, and +science; in the history and the growth of all countries; in the condition +of the poor and the struggling throughout the world; in every effort made +by knowledge, benevolence, and enlightened purpose for the benefit of +humanity. She had evidently also a strong desire to add to her own large +stock of information, and she appears to have felt that whenever she came +into converse with any fellow-being she was in communication with one who +could tell her something which she did not already know. + +In this characteristic she reminded me strongly of William Ewart Gladstone. + +There is, or there used to be, a common impression throughout many social +circles in this country, that when Gladstone in private was the centre of +any company, he generally contrived to keep most of the talk to himself. +This always seemed to me an entire misconception, for I had many +opportunities of observing that Gladstone in social companionship seemed +much more anxious to get some new ideas from those around him than to pour +out to them from his own treasures of information. + +Lady Russell loved to draw forth from the artist something about his art, +from the scholar something about his books, to compare the ideas of the +politician with her own, to lead the traveller into accounts of his +travels, to get from the scientific student some of his experiences in this +or that domain of science, and from those who visited the poor some +suggestions which might serve her during her constant work in the same +direction. + +Even on subjects concerning which the greatest and sharpest divisions of +opinion might naturally arise--political questions, for instance--Lady +Russell seemed as much interested in listening to the clear exposition and +defence of a political opponent's views as she might have been in the +cordial exchange of sympathetic and encouraging opinions. When I first +began to make one of Lady Russell's frequent visitors, there was, of +course, between us a natural sympathy of political opinion which was made +all the stronger because of momentous events that had lately passed, or +were then passing, in the world around. + +The great Civil War in the North American States had come to an end many +years before I began to visit Lady Russell at her home, and I need hardly +remind my readers that by far the larger proportion of what we call +"society" in England had given its sympathies entirely to the cause of the +South, and had firmly maintained, almost to the very end, that the South +was destined to have a complete victory over its opponents. Lady Russell +gave her sympathies to the side of the Northern States, as was but natural, +seeing that the success of the North would mean the abolition of that +system of slavery which was to her heart and to her conscience incapable of +defence or of palliation. + +I had paid my first visit to the United States not many years after the end +of the Civil War--a visit prolonged for nearly two years and extending from +New York to San Francisco and from Maine to Louisiana. I had therefore a +good deal to tell Lady Russell about the various experiences I had had +during this my first visit to the now reunited States, and the lights which +they threw for me on the origin and causes of the Civil War. + +I may say here that Lady Russell was always very anxious that the public +should fully understand and appreciate the attitude taken by her late +husband with regard to the Civil War. In a letter written to me on October +20, 1879, Lady Russell refers me to a speech made by her husband on March +23, 1863, and she goes on to say: + +It shows unanswerably how strong was his opinion against the recognition of +the Southern States, even at a moment when the tide of battle was so much +in their favour that he, in common, I think, with most others, looked upon +separation as likely to be the final issue. As long as the abolition of +slavery was not openly announced, as he thought it ought to have been, as +one of the main objects of the war on the part of the Federals, he felt no +warm sympathy with their cause. But after President Lincoln's proclamation +it was quite different, and no man rejoiced with deeper thankfulness than +he did at the final triumph of the Northern States, for no man held slavery +in more utter abhorrence. + +I have thought it well to introduce this quotation just here because it is +associated at once with my earliest recollections of Lady Russell, and at +the same time with a subject of controversy which may almost be said to +have passed out of the realms of disputation since that day. + +The American States have now long been absolutely reunited; there is no +difference of opinion whatever in this country with regard to the question +of slavery, and yet it is quite certain that during the American Civil War +a large number of conscientious, humane, and educated Englishmen were +firmly convinced that the American Republic was about to break in two, and +that the sympathies of England ought to go with the rebelling Southern +States. It is well, therefore, that we should all be reminded of Lord +Russell's attitude on these subjects. + +I had much to tell Lady Russell of the various impressions made on me +during my wanderings through the States, and by the distinguished American +authors, statesmen, soldiers--Emerson, Longfellow, Bryant, Oliver Wendell +Holmes, Charles Sumner, Wendell Phillips, General Grant, General Sherman. +With the public career of each of these men Lady Russell was thoroughly +acquainted, but she was much interested in hearing all that I could tell +her about their ways of life and their personal habits and characteristics. + +Then there were, of course, political questions at home concerning which +there was deep sympathy between Lady Russell and me, and on which we had +many long conversations. She had the most intense and enlightened sympathy +with the great movements going on in these countries for the spread of +political equality and of popular education. + +Every statesman who sincerely and actively supported the principles and +measures tending towards these ends was regarded as a friend by this +noble-hearted woman. + +I had been for many years a leader-writer and more recently editor of the +_Morning Star_, the London daily newspaper which advocated the views +of Cobden and Bright, and I had more recently still been elected to the +House of Commons as a member of the Irish Nationalist Party, and thus again +I found myself in thorough sympathy with the opinions and the feelings of +my hostess. + +Lady Russell had long been an advocate of that truly Liberal policy towards +Ireland which is now accepted as the only principle by all really +enlightened Liberal English men and women; and she thoroughly understood +the condition, the grievances, the needs, and the aspirations of Ireland. +The readers of this volume will see in some passages extracted from Lady +Russell's diaries and letters how deep and strong were her feelings on the +subject. She followed with the most intense interest and with the most +penetrating observation the whole movement of Ireland's national struggle +down to the very close of her life. Her letters on this question +alone--letters addressed to me--would in themselves serve to illumine even +now the minds of many English readers on this whole subject. Lady Russell +was in no sense a partisan on any political question--I mean she never gave +her approval to everything said or done by the leaders of any political +party merely because the one main object of that party had her full +sympathy and approval. Reading over many of her letters to me on various +passages of the Home Rule agitation inside and outside Parliament, I have +been once again filled with admiration and with wonder at the keen +sagacity, the prophetic instinct, which she displayed with regard to this +or that political movement or political man. + +All through these letters it becomes more and more manifest that Lady +Russell's devotedness was in every instance to principle rather than to +party, to measures rather than to men. By these words I do not mean to +convey the idea that her nature led her habitually into any cold and +over-calculating criticism of political leaders whom she admired, and in +whom she had been led to feel confidence. + +Her generous nature was enthusiastic in its admiration of the men whose +leadership in some great political movement had won her sympathy from the +first; but even with these her admiration was overruled and kept in order +by her devotion to the principles which they were undertaking to carry into +effect, and by the fidelity with which they adhered to these principles. +Even among intelligent and enlightened men and women we often find in our +observation of public affairs that there are instances in which the +followers of a trusted leader are carried away by their personal devotion +into the championship of absolute errors which the leader is +committing--errors that might prove perilous or even, for the time, fatal +to the cause of which he is the recognised advocate. + +Lady Russell always set the cause above the man, regarding him mainly as +the instrument of the cause; and if the alternative were pressed upon her, +would have withdrawn from his leadership rather than tacitly allow the +cause to be misled. This, however, would have been done only as a last +resort and after the most full, patient, and generous consideration of the +personal as well as the public question. + +We men do not expect to find in an enthusiastic, tender, and what may be +called exquisitely feminine woman the quality of clear and guiding +discrimination between the policy of the leader and the principles of the +cause which he undertakes to lead. We are inclined to assume that the woman +in such a case, if she has already made a hero of the man, will be apt to +think that everything he proposes to do must be the right thing to do, and +that any question raised as to the wisdom and justice of any course adopted +by him is a treason against his leadership. + +Lady Russell never seemed to me to yield for a moment to any such sentiment +of mere hero-worship. She set, as I have said, the cause above the man, and +she measured the man according to her interpretation of his policy towards +the cause. + +But at the same time she was never one of those who cannot be convinced +that some particular course is not the wisest and most just to adopt +without at once rushing to the conclusion that the leader who makes any +mistakes must be in the wrong because of wilfulness or mere incapacity, and +is therefore not worthy any longer of admiration and trust. + +I have many letters from her, written at the time of some serious crisis in +the fortunes of the Irish National movement, which show the keenest and the +earliest intelligence of some mistake in the policy of the party on this or +that immediate question without showing the slightest inclination to +diminish her confidence in the sincerity and the purposes of its leaders, +any more than in the justice of the cause. I can well recollect that in +many instances she proved to be absolutely in the right when she thus gave +me her opinion, and that events afterwards fully maintained the wisdom and +the justice of her criticism. The reason why so many of Lady Russell's +opinions were conveyed to me by letter was that I had to be, like all my +companions of the Irish Parliamentary Party, a constant attendant at the +debates in the House of Commons, and that many days often passed without my +having an opportunity to visit Lady Russell and converse with her on the +subjects which had so deep an interest for her as well as for me. I +therefore was in the habit of writing often to her from the House of +Commons in order to give her my own ideas as to the significance and +importance of this or that debate, of this or that speech and its probable +effect on the House and on the outer public. Lady Russell never failed to +favour me with her own views on such subjects, and the views were always +her own, and were never a mere good-natured and friendly adoption of the +opinions thus offered to her. + +Then, when I had the opportunity of visiting her at Pembroke Lodge, we were +sure to compare and discuss our views in the conversations which she made +so delightful and so inspiring. + +One of her marvellous qualities was that her interest and her intellect +were never wholly absorbed in the passing political questions, but that she +could still keep her mind open to other and entirely different subjects. +The chamber of her mind seemed to me to be like one of those mysterious +apartments about which we read in fairy stories, which were endowed with a +magical capacity of expansion and reception. + +I have come to her home at a time when, for those whose lives were mainly +passed in political work, there was some subject then engaging the +attention of all politicians in these countries--some subject in which I +well knew that Lady Russell was deeply and thoroughly interested. + +But it sometimes happened that there were friends just then with her who +did not profess any interest in politics, and who were mainly concerned +about some new topic in letters or art or science, and I often observed +with admiration the manner in which Lady Russell could give herself up for +the time to the question in which those visitors were chiefly interested, +and could show her sympathy and knowledge as if she had not lately been +thinking of anything else. About this there was evidently no mere desire to +please her latest visitors, no sense of obligation to submit herself for +the time to their especial subject, but a genuine sympathy with every +effort of human intellect, and a sincere desire to gather all that could be +gathered from every garden of human culture. + +Many of Lady Russell's letters to me on the events and the fortunes, the +hopes and the disasters of our Irish National movement have in them an +actual historical interest, such as the one dated November 27, 1890, which +is quoted in this volume. It was written during the crisis which came upon +our Irish National party at the time when the hopes of Mr. Parnell's most +devoted friends in England as well as in Ireland were that after the result +of a recent divorce suit Parnell would resign, for a time at least, the +leadership of the party and only seek to return to it when he should have +made what reparation was in his power to his own honour and to public +feeling. In a letter of December 26, 1891, Lady Russell says: "Your poor +country has risen victorious from many a worse fall, and will not be +disheartened now, nor bate a jot of heart or hope." + +Lady Russell's letters not merely illustrate her deep and noble sympathy +with the cause and the hopes of Ireland, but also they are evidence of the +clear judgment and foresight which were qualities at once of her intellect +and of her feeling. Scattered throughout her letters to me are many other +evidences of the same kind with regard to other great political and social +questions then coming up at home or abroad. I wish to say, however, that +her letters do not by any means occupy themselves only with political +questions, with Parliamentary debates, and with legislative measures. To +paraphrase the words of the great Latin poet, whatever men and women were +doing in arts and letters, in social progress, and in all that concerns +humanity, supplied congenial subjects for the letters written by this most +gifted, most observant, most intellectual woman to her friends. + +One certainly has not lived in vain who has had the honour of being +admitted to that friendship for some twenty years. + +I have no words, literally none, in which to express adequately the +admiration and the affection and the devotion which I felt for Lady +Russell. No higher type of womanhood has yet been born into our modern +world. + +Lady Agatha Russell is rendering a most valuable service to humanity in +preparing and giving to the world the records of her mother's life which +appear in this volume. A monument more appropriate and more noble could not +be raised over any grave than that which the daughter is thus raising to +the memory of her mother. + + + +APPENDIX + +MEMORIAL ADDRESS + +BY FREDERIC HARRISON + + +After Lady Russell's death a few friends decided--unknown to her family, +who were touched by this mark of respect--to put up a tablet to her memory +and hold a Memorial Service in the Free Church at Richmond, Surrey. The +tablet, which is of beaten copper, beautifully worked, bears the following +inscription:-- + +In memory of Frances Anna Maria, daughter of Gilbert, second Earl of Minto, +and widow of Lord John Russell, who was born November 15, 1815, and died +January 17, 1898. In gratitude to God for her noble life this tablet is +placed by her fellow-worshippers. + +The Memorial Service was held on July 14, 1900, when the tablet was +unveiled and the following address was delivered by Mr. Frederic Harrison. + + Now that our gathering of to-day has given full scope to the loving + sorrow and filial piety of the children, descendants, and family of + her whom we meet to commemorate and honour--now that the minister, + whom she was accustomed to hear, and the worshippers, with whom she + was wont to join in praise and prayer, have recorded their solemn + union in the same sacred memory, I crave leave to offer my humble + tribute of devotion as representing the general circle of her + friends, and the far wider circle of the public to whom she was + known only by her life, her character, her nobility of soul, and + her benefactions. + + I do not presume to speak of that beauty of nature which Frances + Countess Russell showed in the sanctity of the family, in the close + intimacy of her private friends. Others have done this far more + truly, and will continue to bear witness to her life whilst this + generation and the next shall survive. My only title to join my + voice to-day with that of her children and of this congregation + resides in the fact that my memory of her goes back over so long a + period; that I have known her under circumstances, first, of the + highest public activity, and then again, in a time of severe + retirement and private simplicity; that I have seen her in days of + happiness and in days of mourning; at the height of her influence + and dignity in the eyes of our nation and of the nations about us, + as well as in her days of grief and disappointment at the failure + of her hopes, and the break up of the causes she had at heart. And + I have known her always, in light or in gloom, in joy or in misery, + the same brave, fearless, natural, and true heart--come fair or + foul, come triumph or defeat. + + Yes! it was my privilege to have known Lady Russell in the lifetime + of the eminent statesman whose name she bore, and whose life of + toil in the public service she inspired; I knew them + five-and-thirty years ago, when he was at the head of the State + Government and immersed in public cares. And I am one of those who + can bear witness to the simple dignity with which she adorned that + high station and office, and the beautiful affection and quiet + peace of the home-life she maintained, like a Roman matron, when + her husband was called to serve the State. And it so happened that + I passed part of the last summer that she lived to see, here in + Richmond, within a short walk of her house. There I saw her + constantly and held many conversations with her upon public + affairs; and perhaps those were amongst the last occasions on which + her powerful sense and heroic spirit had full play before the fatal + illness which supervened in that very autumn. + + I do not hesitate to speak of her powerful sense and her heroic + spirit, for she united the statesman-like insight into political + problems with the unflinching courage to stand by the cause of + truth, humanity, and justice. She was not impulsive at all, not + hasty in forming her decisions, still less did she seek publicity + or take pleasure in heading a movement. But, with the great + experience of politicians and of political things which in her long + life and her rare opportunities she had acquired, she saw straight + to the heart of so many vexed problems of our day; and when once + convinced of the truth, she held fast to it with a noble + intrepidity of soul. In a life more or less conversant with public + men now for forty years past, I have rarely known either man or + woman who had a more sound judgment in great public questions. And + I have known none who surpassed her in courage, in directness, and + in fixity of purpose. No sense that she and her friends had to meet + overwhelming odds would ever make her faint-hearted. No desertion + by friends and old comrades ever caused her to waver. No despair + ever touched that stalwart soul, however dark the outlook might + appear; for it was her faith that no right or just cause was ever + really lost, however for the time it were defeated and contemned. + + Lady Frances Elliot, as she was before marriage, came of a race of + soldiers, governors, and tried servants of the State, and she + married into a race which has long stood in the front rank of the + historic servants of the Crown and of the people. But neither the + house of Elliot nor that of Russell in so many generations ever + bred man or woman with a keener sense of public duty, a more + generous nature, and a more magnanimous soul. In the annals of that + famous house, whose traditions are part of the history of England, + there has been no finer example of the old motto, _noblesse + oblige_, if we understand it to mean--those who have high place + inherit with it heavy responsibilities. That idea was the breath of + her life to Countess Russell, as assuredly it was also to her + husband, and she whose memory we keep sacred to-day is worthy to + take her place beside that Rachel Lady Russell of old, who, more + than two centuries ago, suffered so deeply in the cause of freedom + and of conscience; she whose blood runs in the veins of the + children who to-day revere the memory of their mother. + + The Italians call a man of heroic nature--a Garibaldi or a + Manin--_uomo antico_--"one of the ancient type"--one whom we + rarely see in our modern days of getting on in the world and + following the popular cry. I have never heard the phrase applied to + a lady, and, perhaps, _donna antica_ might be held to bear a + double sense. But we need some such phrase to describe the fine + quality of the spirit which lit up the whole nature of Frances + Countess Russell. She had within her that rare flame which we + attribute to the martyrs of our sacred and secular histories--that + power of inspiring those whom she impressed with the resolve to do + the right, to seek the truth, to defend the oppressed, at all cost, + and against all odds. + + It has been my privilege to have listened to many men and to some + women who in various countries and in different causes have been + held to have exerted great influence, and to have forced ideas, + principles, and reforms on the men of their time. But I have + listened to none in our country or abroad who seemed to me to + inspire the spirit more purely with the desire to hold fast by the + right, to thrust aside the wrong, to be just, faithful, + considerate, and honourable, to feel for the fatherless and the + poor, and not to despise the humble and the meek. I know that all + my remaining term of life there will remain deeply engraven on my + memory all that she said, all that she felt, in the last + conversation I ever held with her at the very commencement of her + last fatal illness. Weak and suffering as she was, unable to rise + from her invalid chair, she asked me to come and tell her what I + knew, and to hear what she felt about the public crisis of that + time (I speak of the end of 1897). The storm of South Africa was + even then rising like a cloud no bigger than a man's hand out of + the southern seas. I listened to her: and her deep and thrilling + words of indignation, shame, pity, and honour sank into my mind, as + if they had been the last words of some pure and higher spirit that + was about to leave us, but would not leave us without words of + warning and exhortation to follow honour, to serve truth, to eschew + evil and to do good, to seek peace and ensue it. I knew well that I + was listening to her for the last time; for her life was visibly + ebbing away. But I listened to her as to one who was passing into a + world of greater permanence and of more spiritual meaning than our + fleeting and too material world of sense and sight. And for the + rest of my life I shall continue to bear in my heart this message + as it seemed to me of a nobler world and of a higher truth. + + Yes! she has passed into a nobler world and to a higher truth--the + world of the good and just men and women whose memory survives + their mortal career, and whose inspiring influence works for good + ever in generations to come. In this Free Church I can speak + freely, for I too profoundly believe in a future life of every good + and pure soul beyond the grave, in the perpetuity of every just and + noble life in the sum of human progress and enlightenment. And in a + sense that is quite as real as yours, even if it differ from your + sense in form, I also make bold to say, this corruptible must put + on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality--Death is + swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, + where is thy victory? Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye + steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of Humanity, for + as much as ye know that your labour is not in vain in Humanity. + + Surely we have before us a high example of what it is to be + steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in good work, in the memory + of Frances Elliot Countess Russell, who united in herself + principles typified in the historic mottoes of her own house and + that of her husband's--who kept her high courage under all + adversities and opposition, in the spirit of _che sarà sarà_, + "stand fast come what may"--in the spirit of that other motto of + the Elliots, _suaviter el fortiter_, "with all the gentleness + of a woman and all the fortitude of a man." + + +INDEX + +Abbotsford +Abercromby, Lady Mary (_see also_ Dunfermline, Lady)-- + Marriage + letters from Lady John Russell + letters from Lady Minto + correspondence with Lord John Russell + letter from Lord Minto + visit of Lady John Russell + _mentioned_ in the letters +Abercromby, Mr. Ralph, afterwards Lord Dunfermline + Minister at the Hague +Aberdeen, Lord-- + The Ecclesiastical Titles Bill + consents to form a Ministry + and Lord John Russell + and the Eastern Question + and Reform + Lord John's resignation + Lord John's appreciation of + resignation +Abergeldie Castle +Acton, Lord, "Historical Essays and Studies" +Adams, Mr. +Adelaide, queen of William IV +Admiralty, the, + Lord Minto at + Mrs. Drummond's description +"Adullamites," the +Affirmation Bill, Gladstone's +_Alabama_, case of the +Albert Hall, foundation stone laid +Albert, Prince Consort-- + and Lord John + Prussian sympathies + visit to Pembroke Lodge + and Italy + at Coburg + death + "Trent" affair + "Life of Prince Albert," + _otherwise mentioned_ +Aldworth +Allen, Grant, "Science in Arcady" +Althorp, Lord + and the Irish Coercion Bill +Amberley, Lady + death of +Amberley, Lord, _see also_ Russell, John-- + Engagement + defeated at Leeds + returned for Nottingham + maiden speech + defeat in 1868 + letters from Lady Russell + death of + _otherwise mentioned_ +American Civil War, the-- + England's position + seizure of the Southern Commissioners + Lord Russell's speech on + feeling in England +Anderson, Dr., of Richmond +Anti-Corn Law League bazaar at Manchester +Armenian refugees at Pembroke Lodge +_Arrow_, the, coasting vessel +Athanasian Creed, the +Aumale, Duc d' +Austen, Jane + "Emma," +Austria-- + Influence in Germany + unpopularity of the Government + and Denmark + Palmerston's policy towards + Conference of Vienna + proposals of, and resignation of Lord John Russell + and Italy + after Solferino + Peace of Villafranca + and the proposed Congress at Zurich + Prussian war on + cession of Venetia + cause of the Franco-German War +Azeglio, Marquis d', Piedmontese Minister + + +Balmoral + Lord John Russell at +Baring, Mr., Chancellor of the Exchequer + tariff proposals +Beaumont, Lord +Bedford, (6th) Duke of +Bedford, (7th) Duke of, + letters from Lord Russell + visit of Lord and Lady John Russell + on the attacks on Lord John + letter from Lady John + death +Bedford, (9th) Duke of +Bennett, Rev. W.J.E., of St. Paul's +Berlin, Lord Minto appointed Minister +Bernard, Dr., acquitted +Bernstorff, Count +Berrys, the Miss +Bessborough, Lord, Irish opinions + on the Coercion Bill +Birmingham, + enfranchisement + bombs manufactured in +Bismarck, Count-- + In Berlin + and Palmerston + declares war on Austria + the Franco-German War +Blyth, Miss Lilian [Mrs. Wilfred Praeger] + letter from Lady Russell +Blyth, Rev. F.C. +Bognor, news of Reform at +Boileau, Mr., letters to Lady Melgund +Bonaparte, Louis +Bourbons, the + Napoleon's questions concerning +Bowhill +Bowood, Lady John Russell at +Bowring, Sir John, cause of the war with China +Bradlaugh +Braico, Dr. Cesare +Brazil, Emperor of, at Pembroke Lodge +Bright, John-- + Defeat of + at Chesham Place + speeches + and Reform + letter to Lady Russell + _otherwise mentioned_ +British and Foreign School Society +Broadstairs, visit of the Russells +Brooke, Rev. A. Stopford, + letter to Lady Agatha Russell +Brooks's, + news of Lord John's acceptance of the Colonial Seals +Brougham, Lord-- + and Lord Melbourne's dismissal + and the Corn Law + and William IV +Browning, Robert +Brunow, Baron, Russian ambassador +Bryant, W.C. +Bryce, Mr. James, letter to Lady Agatha Russell +Brydone, Mrs., death +Buccleuch, Duke of + lends Bowhill to Lord John + on Disraeli +Bühler, Miss + letters from Lady Russell +Buller, Charles +Buol, Count, Austrian Minister +Burdett, Sir Francis, and Lord John Russell +Burnet, Bishop +Burns, Robert +Byron, Lady +Byron, Lord + "Giaour," + "Childe Harold," _quoted_ + + +Cairns, Lord, _mentioned_ +Campbell, Lord, "Lives" +Canada, + Governorship offered to Lord Minto + Lady Fanny and the Patriots +Cannes, Lord and Lady Russell at +Canning, Lord Granville's correspondence with +Canning, Sir Stratford, British Ambassador at Constantinople +Carnarvon, Lord, resignation +Castlereagh, Lord +Catholic Emancipation Bill +Cavour-- + and Napoleon III + resignation + the terms of unity + and Garibaldi + _otherwise mentioned_ +Ceremonies, religious, + Lady John Russell's opinion concerning +Channing's, Dr., writings +Charles X +Chartist movement +Chartres, Duc de +Chelmsford, Lord, saying of +Chenies, Lady Russell's funeral at +Chester, Fenian attempt on the arsenal +Chesterfield, Lord, "Letters" +Chillon +Chinese War, the + Lord John Russell's speech + Palmerston's policy +Chorley Wood, Rickmansworth +Christian, Princess, at Cannes +_Chronicle_, the, and the Eastern Question +Church of England + the Gorham case +Clarendon, Lady +Clarendon, Lord-- + Viceroy of Ireland + at the Foreign Office + letter to Lord Russell + letter from Lord Russell + despatch to Naples + letter to Lord Granville +Coalition Ministry, the + results +Cobden, Richard-- + Oratory + Lord William Russell on + comments on Lord John, + motion regarding the China measures + defeat in 1857 + Free Trade Treaty with France + _otherwise mentioned_ +Cockburn, Lord Chief Justice, speech +Coercion (Ireland) Bill +Coombe Wood, Richmond +Conservative Party, the-- + "Moderate Reform" + split on Catholic Emancipation + position in 1852 +Conspiracy to Murder Bill +Corn Laws, the-- + Lord John Russell's proposal + repeal of + Macaulay on + Peel's measure + repeal passed +Cowley, Lord +Cowper, William +Cranborne, Lord, resignation of + (_see also_ Salisbury, (3rd) Marquis) +Crimean War-- + Events leading to + victories + Lord Malmesbury's report + Bright's History _cited_ + French alliance +Currie, Mr. Raikes + + +_Daily News_, the-- + and the Eastern Question + attack on Lord John + Lord Russell's letters + on Baron Stockmar, article _quoted_ +Dante +Davitt, Michael, "Leaves from a Prison Diary" +Denmark, war with Schleswig-Holstein +Derby, (14th) Earl of-- + Ministry, 1851 + fails to form a Government, 1855 + cabinet, 1858 + resignation in June + denounces the Government's policy + and the franchise + resignation, 1868 + illness + _otherwise mentioned_ +Derby, (15th) Earl of (_see_ Stanley, Lord) +Dickens, Charles-- + On the ragged schools + "David Copperfield," + at Pembroke Lodge + congratulates Lord John Russell + letters to Lady John Russell + Lady Russell's preference for + on Lord John Russell, _quoted_ +Dieppe, the Russells at +Dillon, John, on Lord John's resignation +Dillon, John, and Parnell +Disraeli, Benjamin (Earl of Beaconsfield)-- + personality + Budget + and Free Trade + Lady John Russell, on + on Lord John Russell's motion + his Franchise Bill + the Duke of Buccleuch on + succeeds Lord Derby + resignation + letter to Lord Russell + Parliamentary courage + _otherwise mentioned_ +Drewitt, Dr. F.D. +Drouyn, M. de L'Huys, resignation of +Drummond, Mrs. (_see also_ Lister, Adelaide) + on the Minto family, _quoted_ + letter from Lady Russell +Duff, Sir Mount Stuart Grant, letter to Lady Russell +Dufferin, Lord, letter to Lady John Russell + letter from Lady John Russell +Dunfermline, Lady (_see also_ Abercromby, Lady Mary) + letters from Lady Russell + death in Rome + Dunrozel, Haslemere +Durham, Bishop of, letter from Lord John Russell +Durham, Lord, in Canada + + +Eastbourne +Eastern Question, the, events leading to the Crimean War + Lord Palmerston's policy + Gladstone on +Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, the +Edinburgh +Edinburgh University +Education, Lord Russell and +Education Bill + Mr. Forster's Act +Elba, Napoleon in, Lord John Russell's account +Eliot, George + "Adam Bede," + Lady Russell on, +Elliot, Charles [Lady Russell's brother] +Elliot, George [Lady Russell's brother] +Elliot, George [uncle of Lady Russell] +Elliot, Gilbert [brother of Lady Russell] +Elliot, Gilbert, afterwards Dean of Bristol +Elliot, Henry [brother of Lady Russell] + _mentioned_ in the letters + goes to Australia + visit of +Elliot, John [uncle of Lady Russell] + member of Parliament for Hawick +Elliot, Lady Fanny, quotation from "Reminiscences of an Idler" + description of, (_see_ Russell, Lady John) +Elliot, Lady Charlotte (_see_ also Portal) + _mentioned_ in the letters + Sir Henry Taylor and +Elliot, Lady Harriet +Elliot, Miss, daughter of the Dean of Bristol, a reference to Lord Russell +Emerson, R.W. +Endsleigh +English society, Lady Russell on +Etchegoyen, Comte d' +Eugénie, Empress, and the Russells at Chislehurst +Eversley, Lord +_Examiner, the, on Lord John Russell's resignation +Exeter Hall, lecture by Lord John at + meetings + + +Factory children, education of, Bill for +Farrington, Rev. Silas, letter to Lady Agatha Russell +Fawcett, Professor, speech +Fazakerlie, Miss +Fenians, movement of 1867 +Fitzmaurice, Lord + "Life of Lord Granville" _quoted_ +Florence, robbers of + the Russells in +Foreign Exchanges, Mr. Goschen's book on +Forster, W.E. + the Elementary Education Act +Fortescue, Chichester, Chief Secretary for Ireland + Lord Russell's three pamphlets +Fox, Charles James-- + and Lord John Russell + Napoleon on + foreign policy + _otherwise mentioned_ +Fox Club, the +France-- + The July revolution + deposition of Louis Philippe + and the Greek crisis + and Denmark + the _coup d'état_ of December, 1851 + events leading to the Crimean War + Cobden's Free Trade Treaty +Franchise, Mr. Locke King's motion +Franco-German War, outbreak +Franklin, Sir John +"Free Church," the +Free Church of Scotland, establishment +Free Church, Richmond, the memorial tablet +Free Trade, the new principle + Lady John and + number of Free Traders in 1846 +Froude, J.A., at Chesham Place + on removal of Irish grievances + "Life of Lord Beaconsfield," passage _quoted_ + + +Garbarino, Villa +Gardiner, Dr. +Garibaldi-- + Cavour and + and the Sicilian rebels + attack on Naples + at Pembroke Lodge + letter to Lord John + _otherwise mentioned_ +George III + Napoleon on +George IV, death + Napoleon on + story of +Germany-- + The _Zollverein_ + influence of French affairs on + the Crown Princess + the Franco-German War + the Crown Prince and the war +Gibbon, historian, appearance +Gladstone, Right Hon. W.E.-- + and Lord John Russell + and the Corn Laws + at the War and Colonial Office + his first great speech + his first Budget + resignation + Italian sympathies + letters regarding the Neapolitan prisoners + Budgets + defeated at Oxford + and the Franchise + introduces the Reform Bill, March, 1866 + reports Government defeat to Lord John + and Disraeli's Franchise Bill + letter to Dr. Pusey _quoted_ + the Irish Church question, 1868 + visits to Pembroke Lodge + speech on Irish Church disestablishment + conversation on Parliamentary courage + the Affirmation Bill + letters to Lady Russell + his article on the Melbourne Ministry + and Parnell + Lady Russell on + "Gladstonian," the term + his last Cabinet + _mentioned_ in the letters + Justin McCarthy on +Gladstone, Mrs. + letter to Lady John Russell + at Pembroke Lodge +Glenelg, Lord +Godfrey, Miss Alice (_see_ Russell, Mrs. Rollo) +Gortschakoff, Prince, Russian emissary +Goschen, Mr., appointment +Graham, Sir James + resignation +Grant, General +Granville, Lord-- + Letter to Lady John + correspondence with Canning + sent for by the Queen + and Italy + correspondence with Lord Clarendon +Gray, Maxwell, "The Silence of Dean Maitland" +Greece, the crisis of 1850 + Russian policy +Greville, Charles-- + _Cited_ on Lord John Russell + on the Greek crisis +Grey, Lady +Grey, (2nd) Earl-- + Prime Minister + resignation, May, 1834 +Grey, (3rd) Earl, + death +Grey, Sir George, + "Security of the Crown" Bill + and Fergus O'Connor + rumoured Irish rebellion + and the Conspiracy laws +Guizot, + and Louis Philippe + dismissal and his reply to Louis Philippe + + +Habeas Corpus Act, suspension +Harcourt, Sir William Vernon, letter to Lady Russell +Harrison, Frederic-- + Friendship with Lady Russell + letter to Lady Agatha Russell + the Memorial address +Hatton, Sir Christopher, life +Hawick + freedom presented to Lord John Russell +Herbert, Sidney + resignation + on the Italian question +Herzegovina, insurgents of +Hill, Rowland, Penny Postage +Hindhead +Hodgkinson, Mr., amendment +Holland House + dinners at +Holland, Lady, + in Portugal + death, 1845 +Holland, Lord + in Portugal + Napoleon on +Holmes, O.W. + death of +Home Rule Controversy, the + Lady Russell on +Hooker, Sir Joseph +Hoole, Alderman +Hope, James +Horsman, Mr., opposition to Reform +Howard, Lady Louisa +Howick, Lord, motion of, thrown out + (_see also_ Grey, (3rd) Earl) +Hudson, Mr., mission to Italy +Hudson, Sir James, letter from Turin to Lady John +Huguesson, Mr. +Humboldt, friend in Berlin +Hume, appearance +Hungary, Kossuth's revolution + + +Ireland-- + The Viceregal Court + situation in 1843 + Lady John Russell on the Irish question + state of, 1845 + condition in 1846 + Peel's measures for, 1846 + Lady John Russell on the condition of + measures for relief + the rebellion of 1848, preparations + suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act + rumoured rebellion in the South + visit of the Queen, 1849 + reception of Lord Russell's letter to the Bishop of Durham + Lord Russell's pamphlets + the Fenian movement, 1867 + the Irish Church question, 1868 + Gladstone's measure + Lord Russell's sympathy towards + Lady Russell and the Irish movement +Irish University Bill +Italy-- + and Austria + Lord John Russell and united Italy + Lord Granville and + federation + first Parliament + defeat at Custozza + cession of Venetia + the Russells in + visit of Lord Russell, 1869 + + +Jamaica Bill, 1839 +Jaucourt, attaché +Jeffrey, Francis, Lord, letter to Lady John Russell +Joachim, Dr. +Joachim, Miss Gertrude (_see_ Russell, Mrs. Rollo) +Josephine, Empress +Jowett, Dr., letter to Lady Russell + + +Keats, John +Kent, Duchess of +King, Mr. Locke, franchise motion +Kinglake, _cited_ + his book +Kossuth, reception in London + + +Lacaita, Mr. (afterwards Sir James Lacaita), mission to the Russells +Lansdowne House, Lord John Russell at +Lansdowne, Lady +Lansdowne, Lord-- + and Lord Minto + Lord John Russell and + Irish views + and the suffrage + refuses office + and Lord John's resignation + letters to Vienna +Lausanne +Layard, Henry +Lecky, W.E.H., a picture of Pembroke Lodge _quoted_ +Liberals-- + Position in 1837 + number in 1846 + Lady Russell on +Lincoln, President +Lister, Adelaide (_see also_ Drummond, Mrs.) +Lister, Elizabeth (Lady Melvill) +Lister, Isabel (_see also_ Warburton, Mrs.) +Lister, Miss + letters to Lord John Russell +Lister, Tom (_see_ Ribblesdale, Lord) +Lockhart, "Life of Sir Walter Scott" +London-- + Lady John Russell's life in + London society, Lady John Russell on + news of the revolution in France + Lord John Russell returned for + Italian conspirators in +Longfellow, H.W. +Lords, the House of-- + On the Corn question + Peel's Irish Land Bill thrown out + vote of censure on Lord Palmerston + Lord Russell's proposition + Lady Russell on +Louis XIV +Louis XVIII, Napoleon's opinion regarding +Louis Philippe, + and the Parisians + deposition in 1848 + visits Pembroke Lodge +Louis, Princess, of Hesse +Lovelace, Lord, "Astarte" +Lowe, Robert-- + On Disraeli, _quoted_ + opposition to Reform + his retort on Gladstone + _otherwise mentioned_ +Lowell, J.R. + "Democracy" +Lyons, Lord, + on the American situation + in Paris, 226 +Lyttelton, Lady, on Prince Albert +Lytton, Bulwer, "The New Timon," _quoted_ + + +McCarthy, Justin-- + Friendship with Lady Russell + correspondence with Lady Russell + "Recollections of Frances, Countess Russell" +Macaulay, letter to his sister + _otherwise mentioned_ +Malakoff, Duc de, French Ambassador +Malmesbury, Lord, + accounts of the Crimea + reports fall of the Derby Government +Manchester-- + Enfranchisement + Anti-Corn Law League Bazaar + attack on the prison van +Manchester, Bishop of, and education +Manning, Cardinal +Manzoni, "Carmagnola" +Martineau, Dr., writings +Maynooth College, endowment of +Mazzini +Melbourne, Lord-- + Dismissal, 1834 + Ministry, 1837 + return to power + his famous remark + Government of 1835 + defeat in 1841 + at Woburn + _otherwise mentioned_ + Mr. Gladstone's article on the Melbourne Ministry +Melgund, Lady (see also Minto, Lady)-- + Letter from Lady John Russell + letters from Mr. Boileau + letters from Lord John Russell +Melgund, Lord +Melrose Abbey +Michelangelo +Militia Bill, the + Lord John Russell defeated on +Mill, J.S., + "Autobiography," + "Nature," Lady Russell's remarks + _otherwise mentioned_ +Milton + "Paradise Lost" +Minto House-- + Description + return to in 1831 + in 1834 + the home at + Lord John Russell at + visit of Lord and Lady John Russell +Minto, Lady (mother of Lady Russell)-- + Home influence of + illness in Berlin + death of her mother + a description + arrival of Lord John Russell + letters to Lady Mary Abercromby + "A Border Ballad" + letters written from Endsleigh + letter to Lord John Russell + letters from Lady John Russell + illness, 1852 + death + _mentioned_ in the letters +Minto, Lady (Lady Melgund)-- + Letters to Lady Russell + letters from Lord Russell +Minto, Lord-- + At Minto + and Reform + appointed Minister in Berlin + and the Peel Ministry + First Lord of the Admiralty + Mrs. Drummond's recollections _quoted_ + and Lord John Russell + visits to Lady John Russell + in London + on Lord John Russell + death of Lady Minto + letters from Lady John Russell + on Lord John Russell's acceptance of the Colonial Seals + death + _otherwise mentioned_ +Minto village +Moffatt, George, letter to Lady John Russell +Moore, Thomas-- + Songs at Bowood + "Remonstrance" + lines _quoted_ by Lady John Russell + papers of, edited by Lord John Russell + _otherwise mentioned_ +Morley, Lord-- + "Life of Gladstone" _cited_ on Lord Russell's resignation + Mr. Rollo Russell's letter to _The Times_ + _cited_ on the conduct of other Ministers + _otherwise mentioned_ +Motley, J.L., on _The Times_ +_Morning Advertiser_, and the Eastern Question +_Morning Herald_, and the Eastern Question +_Morning Post_, and Palmerston's Eastern policy +_Morning Star_, the + + +Napoleon I-- + in Elba, Lord John Russell's account + story of the poisoning + letters to Josephine +Napoleon III-- + and the Provisional Government + his _coup d'état_ of December, 1851 + policy + Orsini outrage on + peace of Villafranca + Le Pape et le Congrès + and Cavour + Sir James Hudson on + his idea of "United" Italy + Garibaldi on + and Lord Russell + and the Franco-German War + prisoner of war + at Chislehurst +National debt, reduction +National Guard of Paris + singing the "Parisienne" + Louis Philippe and the +Neapolitan prisoners at Pembroke Lodge +Newcastle, Duke of, at the War Office + _otherwise mentioned_ +Newspapers +Nice, cession to France +Nicholas, Emperor + partition of Turkey proposed + death +Nonconformist deputation to Lord Russell +Norton, Mrs., description of Rogers, _cited_ +Norwich, Hinds, Bishop of +Nottingham Castle, burning of + + +O'Brien, Smith +O'Brien, William, and Parnell +O'Connell, Daniel + arrest in 1843 + and Lord John Russell +O'Connor, Fergus, and the Chartists +Orsini +Osborne +Owen, Sir Richard +Oxford +Oxford movement, the, Lord John Russell and + + +Pacifico, Don, compensation +Palmerston, Lady +Palmerston, Lord-- + On the dismissal of Lord Melbourne, _cited_ + and Grey + at the Foreign Office + the Greek crisis, 1850 + his finest speech + the Queen's letter to Lord John Russell + reception of Kossuth + the Militia Bill + and the _coup d'état_ + dismissal + and Lord John Russell + resignation on the Eastern Question and resumption of office + return to power, his first Cabinet + policy + Lord John in the Colonial Office + policy in the Crimea + his appeal to Lord John Russell + his reply to Lord John's offer to resign + China policy + general election of 1857 + Conspiracy to Murder Bill + resignation on the Conspiracy Bill amendment + Ministry of 1859 + Italian policy + the Cabinet of 1859 + social legislation under + illness in 1865 + death, + _otherwise mentioned_ +Panmure, Lord +Papal Bull, September, 1850 +Paris-- + Louis Philippe and + deposition of Charles X + carnival + Wellington in + life in + visit of the Russells + horrors of the war +Paris, Comte de +"Parisienne," the +Parliament, opening in 1836, description +Parnell, C.S. +Party Government, Lady Russell on +Pasolini, Count, memoir _quoted_ +Patmore, Coventry, "1867" +Paul, Herbert, on Coercion Bill + _cited_ on the Commons' debate on the Greek crisis + on Russell's resignation +Peel, Archibald + letter from Lord Russell +Peel, General + resignation +Peel, Lady Georgiana, + letter from Lord Russell + verses to + letter from Lady Russell +Peel, Sir Robert-- + The Ministry of 1835 + his Tamworth manifesto + resignation + his position in 1837 + return from Italy + defeat + Ministry of 1841 + the Corn Law + position in 1843 + resignation, 1845 + and Russell + influence + gives up Protection + return to power, 1846 + Lady John Russell on his speech + Lord William Russell on + his measures for Ireland + revenge of the Protectionists + and the revolution in France + his last speech and death + Parliamentary courage + Gladstone on + _otherwise mentioned_ +Peel, Sir Robert, Chief Secretary for Ireland +Peelites, alliance with the Whigs +Pembroke Lodge-- + Offered by the Queen to Lord John + the "Wishing Tree" + the home at + visit of Louis Philippe + other French visitors + literary visitors + a few recollections + Windsor summer-house + visit of Garibaldi + a Cabinet dinner + verses written for the summer-house + visit of Queen Victoria + children at + a picture by Lecky + Armenian refugees at + _otherwise mentioned_ +People's Charter, the, 1837 +Persigny, M. + memoirs +Petersham, + church at + school at +Petersham Park +Phillips, Wendell +Pitt, William +Plombières + secret treaty of +Poerio +Poor Laws, Lady John Russell on +Pope, Napoleon's designs concerning the +Portal, Lady Charlotte, + letters from Lady John + letter to Lady Russell + Walpole's "Life of Lord John Russell" +Presbyterian Church of Scotland +Protectionists, + abandoned by Peel + and the Coercion Bill + and the Peelites +Prussia + and Denmark + Napoleon and + war on Austria +Prussia, Crown Prince of +Prussia, Crown Princess of +_Punch_, ballad on Lord John Russell +Pusey, Dr., letter from Gladstone, _quoted_ +Puseyites, the +Putney House, Lady Russell's description + + +Redcliffe, Lord Stratford de, policy +Reform, Lord John Russell and +Reform Bill of 1831 + 1832 + Lord John Russell's Bill + 1854 + Disraeli's Bill, + 1866 +Reid, Stuart, _cited_ +Renens-sur-Roche + the Russells at +Revolutionary movement of 1848 +Ribblesdale, Lady, 1st Lady John Russell + marriage with Lord John Russell + her death +Ribblesdale, (2nd) Lord +Ribblesdale, (3rd) Lord +Richmond, visit of Garibaldi +Richmond, Duke of (1836) +Richmond Free Church +Richmond Park +Rigby, Dr. +Ripon, Lord +Robertson, Rev. F.W. +Rodborough Manor, purchased by Lord John +Roebuck, Mr.-- + Motion of confidence + motion for a Commission of Inquiry + the debate on + comments on Lord John +Roehampton House +Rogers, Samuel-- + Letters to Lord and Lady John Russell + note to Lady John, written in his ninetieth year + breakfasts + Lady Russell's verses to + his reply +Roman Catholics, Lady John Russell on + the Papal Bull, September, 1850 +Romilly, Colonel + on Lord John accepting the Colonial Seals + letters from Lord Russell +Romilly, Lady Elizabeth, + letters from Lady John Russell + _otherwise mentioned_ +Romilly, Sir Samuel +Roseneath, Lord John Russell's stay at +Russell, Lord Arthur +Russell, Arthur, son of Mr. Rollo +Russell, Bertrand, son of Lord Amberley +Russell, Earl (Frank, son of Lord Amberley) +Russell, Lady Emily +Russell, George William Gilbert +Russell, George W.E., on his uncle, _quoted_ +Russell, John (_see also_ Amberley, Lord) +Russell, Lady Agatha + _Letters from_-- + Mrs. Drummond + Lady Russell + Mrs. Warburton + Mr. Farrington + the Rev. Stopford Brooke + Mr. Frederic Harrison + Mr. James Bryce +Russell, Lady Georgiana (_see also_ Peel, Lady Georgiana) + letter from Lady Russell + letter from Lord Russell + married to Mr. Archibald Peel + _otherwise mentioned_ +Russell, (1st) Lady John (_see_ Ribblesdale, Lady) +Russell, Lady John-- + Birth and early life at Minto + beginning of her Diaries + visit to the Continent + return to Minto + at Roehampton House + in Berlin + return to Minto, 1834 + at the Admiralty + description by Mrs. Drummond + visits of Lord John + her engagement + at Endsleigh + birth of John + lines to her son + at Woburn + illness in Edinburgh + on the government of Ireland + at Chorley Wood + illness in 1847 + birth of George William Gilbert + the Petersham School + birth of Francis Albert Rollo + recollections of the crisis in December, 1851 + book of poems + and Samuel Rogers + birth of Mary Agatha + death, of her mother + in Vienna + Italian sympathies + visit of Mr. Lacaita + relations with her father + lines for the summer-house at Pembroke Lodge + return to Endsleigh + in Venice + on Irish Church disestablishment + Visit to Italy, 1869 + her views on elementary education + in Paris + in Switzerland + at Cannes + sorrows of 1874 + death of Lord Amberley + the "Life of Prince Albert" + death of Lord Russell + her subsequent life + "Family Worship" + her love of children + her religion + favourite authors + lines on Samuel Rogers + his reply + friendships + "Lines to Georgy" + sympathy for Ireland + on the home at Minto + lines written after reading "Leaves from a Prison Diary" + visit to the Queen + on Home Rule + illness in 1897 + last illness and death + funeral + "Lines on Death" + "Recollections" by Justin McCarthy + memorial address by Frederic Harrison +Russell, Lady Victoria (_see also_ Villiers, Lady Victoria) +Russell, Lord Charles, letter to Lady John Russell +Russell, Lord John-- + and the Oxford movement + efforts for Reform + loss of the first and introduction of the second Reform Bill + his engagement to Lady Fanny Elliot + at Minto + _mentioned_ in the earlier letters + his speech on sugar + returned for the City of London + early life and career + his account of Napoleon + the "Remonstrance" of Thomas Moore + character and personality + and the Queen + on Endsleigh, _quoted_ + and the Corn Laws + speech on the Irish question + his Free Trade letter + called to office + letters from Lady Russell + the first Reform Bill + Irish views + opposes the Coercion Bill, 1846 + his Ministry, 1846 + measures for the relief of Ireland + the offer of Pembroke Lodge + his Irish Coercion Bill + suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act + school founded at Petersham + at Balmoral + his letter to the Bishop of Durham + resignation and resumption of office + events leading to the fall of the Ministry + resignation + and the dismissal of Palmerston + foreign policy + defeated on the Militia Bill + and the Protestant Nonconformists + his attitude towards Lord Aberdeen + and Palmerston + in the Coalition Cabinet + the Reform Bill withdrawn + resignation + the attack, on + fails to form a Government + British Plenipotentiary at Vienna + in the Colonial Office + his policy at Vienna + resignation + "Life of Fox" + lecture at Exeter Hall + in Italy + his speech on the Chinese question + returned for the City + reception at Sheffield + the amendment to Lord Palmerston's Conspiracy Bill + Italian sympathies + Foreign Secretary under Palmerston + his share in the creation of Italy + determines England's Italian policy + despatch of 27th October, 1860, _quoted_ + becomes Earl Russell + speech on the American War + Prime Minister + the Reform Bill + in Venice + his pamphlets on Ireland + character from the Diary + visit to Italy, 1869 + the "Introduction," _quoted_ + in Paris + opinion on education + at Cannes + "Essays on the History of the Christian Religion" + sorrows of 1874 + the Herzegovina insurgents + his last years + Nonconformist deputation to + death + Gladstone on + recollections of Justin McCarthy + and the American Civil War + _otherwise mentioned_ + _Letters to_-- + Lord Melbourne + Lady Mary Abercromby + Lady Russell + Duke of Bedford + Lady Minto + the electors of London + Lord Clarendon + Lady Minto (Lady Melgund) + Lady Georgiana Russell + Archibald Peel + Colonel Romilly +Russell, Lord William, letter to Lady John, +Russell, Lord Wriothesley, + letter to Ladyl John, + on the attacks on Lord John, +Russell, Odo (afterwards Lord Ampthill), + letter to Lord John, +Russell, Rollo-- + his letter to The Times, + letters from Lady Russell, + marriage, + letter from Mrs. Sinclair, + otherwise mentioned, +Russell, Mrs. Rollo (Miss Alice Godfrey), death of, +Russell, Mrs. Rollo (Miss Gertrude Joachim), + letter from Lady Russell, +Russell, Rachel, daughter of Lord Amberley, +Russell, Rachel, Lady, +Russell, Sir Charles, and Parnell, +Russell, William, Lord, +Russia-- + Napoleon and, + and England, + Napoleon on, + and the Greek Crisis, + Baron Brunow's wish for, + Palmerston's policy towards, + events leading to the Crimean War, + Lord John's negotiations, + + +St. Fillans, the Russells at, +Salisbury, (2nd) Marquis of-- + On Disraeli's Franchise Bill, _quoted_, + and Reform, +Salisbury, (3rd) Marquis of, +San Remo, portrait of Lord John at, + the Russells at, +Sardinia, the King of, and Garibaldi, + Lord John's speech on, +Savoy, Napoleon's designs, + cession of, +Schleswig-Holstein, war with Denmark, + negotiations, +Scotland, Lady Russell's love for, +Scott, Sir Walter-- + "Lay of the Last Minstrel," + Minto, + "Ivanhoe," + "Heart of Midlothian," + _otherwise mentioned_, +Scottish Church, the, secession from, +Security of the Crown Bill, +Sedan, +Sedition Bill, Ireland, +Selborne, Lord, +Sévigné, Mme. de, story related by, +Shakespeare, +Sheffield, reception given to Lord John Russell, +Shelley, +Sherman, General, +Shooting, Lady Russell on, +Simpson, Sir James, letter to Lady John Russell, +Sinclair, Mrs., + letter to Rollo Russell, +Slave question, the, + the Jamaica Bill, +Smith, John Abel-- + Letter from Lord John, + letters to Lady Russell, + his fears for Lord John's seat, +Smith, Sydney, + "Life and Letters," +Soult, Marshal, + at the coronation, +South Africa, +Spain-- + Napoleon on, + Napoleon's policy towards, + Prince Leopold's candidature, +Spaventa, in England, +Speculative Society of Edinburgh University, +Spencer, Herbert, + "The Bias of Patriotism," +Spencer, (2nd) Earl, death, +Spencer, (4th) Earl, Letter to Lady John, +Spencer, (5th) Earl, +Stanley, Dean, pamphlet, + letter to Lady Russell, +Stanley, Lady Augusta, +Stanley, Lord, afterwards 15th Lord Derby, + and the franchise, +Stockmar, Baron, + Gladstone's estimation, +Sugar question, Lord John Russell's speech +Sumner, Charles +Swanwick, Miss Anna +Swift, Dean, on lies, _quoted_ +Switzerland + visits of the Russells +Sydenham, Lord, on Lord John Russell's sugar speech + + +Talleyrand, Napoleon and +Tavistock +Taylor, Jeremy +Taylor, Sir Henry-- + Visit to Pembroke Lodge + "Philip van Artevelde" + a picture of Lady Russell + letter from Lady Russell +Tennyson, Alfred + Aldworth taken by Lord Russell + death of + "Life of Tennyson" his son +Test and Corporation Acts, repeal +Thackeray, "Sterne" and "Goldsmith" +_Times, The_-- + Lord Melbourne's dismissal + and Palmerston + Rollo Russell's letter + on the state of America + Lord Russell's letter + publication of the secret document +Tory Party-- + Breaking up of + position in 1843 + influence of Lord Derby on +Tractarianism +_Trent_, the, Confederate emissaries seized +Trevelyan, Mr., and the Chartists +Trevelyan, Sir George, "Life of Macaulay," _cited_ +Tuileries, the clock incident + a dinner at +Turin, the Parliament of 1860 +Turkey-- + Events leading to the Crimean War + the Herzegovina insurgents + Lady Russell on +Tyndall, Mrs. +Tyndall, Professor + + +Unionists, Lady Russell on the +United States, European policy towards +Unsted Wood, 70 + + +Vattel, jurist, _quoted_ +Venetia, and the Federation + cession to Italy +Vestris, Mme. +Victor Emmanuel-- + Policy + and the Peace of Villafranca + and Garibaldi + King of Italy + entry into Venice +Victoria, Queen-- + First Parliament + coronation + and Peel + Court balls + and Lord John Russell + on events in France + the Chartist movement + letter to Lord John Russell regarding the public prayer + at Balmoral + visit to Ireland, 1849 + and Palmerston, the letter to Lord John Russell + conversation with Lady John Russell on Palmerston + visits to Pembroke Lodge + sends for Lords Aberdeen and Lansdowne + letter to Lord John Russell asking him to serve under Lord Aberdeen + Palmerston's return to power + Lord Derby's Cabinet, 1858 + sends for Granville and afterwards for Palmerston + and Italy + visit to Coburg + death of the Prince Consort + letter to Lord Russell on Palmerston's illness + refuses Lord Russell's resignation, 1866 + lays foundation stone of the Albert Hall + letter to Lady Russell at Cannes + invitation to Lord Russell + letter to Lady Russell on death of Lady Amberley + character + letter to Lady Russell on death of Lord Amberley + letter to Lady Russell on death of Lord Russell + requests Lady Russell to remain at Pembroke Lodge + letter to Lady Russell on marriage of her son + visit of Lady Russell to Vienna + Conference of + "Vienna Note," the +Villafranca, peace of +Villiers, Lady Victoria-- + Letter to Lady Russell + letter from Lady Russell + marriage + death of + _otherwise mentioned_ +Villiers, Montagu, Bishop of Durham, + vote of thanks to Lord John Russell +Villiers, Mrs. E. +Voysey, Mr. + +Wales, Prince of, illness, 1871 +Wales, Princess of +Walpole, Sir Spencer + _cited_ on Lord John's resignation + "Life of Lord John Russell" + "The History," _quoted_ +Walton, Isaac +War Office incompetence +Warburton, Mrs. (_see also_ Lister, Isabel)-- + Letter from Lady Russell + letter to Lady Agatha Russell +Waterloo, + Lady John Russell's impressions, + George IV and +Wellington, Duke of-- + Policy + resignation in 1830 + Waterloo + the temporary Cabinet + personality from the letters + despatches + Napoleon on + and George IV +Westcott, Dr. +Westminster Abbey, coronation of Queen Victoria +Westminster School +Whigs, the-- + Position in 1841 + and the Corn Laws + and Peel's Sedition Bill + alliance with the Peelites + and Russell +Wicksteed, Rev. Philip H., speech of +William IV-- + Dismisses Melbourne + opening of Parliament, February, 1836 + death + and Brougham +Windsor Castle + Lady John Russell at +Wiseman, pastoral letters (1850) +Woburn Abbey +War, Lady John Russell on +Woman, Lady John Russell on her position +Wood, Lady Mary +Wood, Sir Charles + retirement +Wyhoff, Chevalier, "Reminiscences of an Idler" + + +Yarrow +Young Ireland party + + +Zürich, Congress at, Napoleon's plans + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LADY JOHN RUSSELL*** + + +******* This file should be named 10980-8.txt or 10980-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/9/8/10980 + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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