The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-28 00:00:00

- ._,e*

PRICE 41'. STAMPED, SD.

LECTURE ON LORD MACAULAY, BY

MR. CHARLES BUXTON, M.P.

On Wednesday evening, Mr, C. Buxton, one of
the representatives of the borough of Maidstone,
delivered a lecture to the members of the Literary
and Mechanics' Institution in that town, on "" The
Life of Lord 31aeauly." On the' platform were
many of the leading inhabitants of the town, and

there were from 1,200 to 1,500 persons present.
Mr. BUXTON, who was very warmly greeted,
commenced by observing that on Monday fortnight
were laid in Westminster Abbey the mortal remains
of the man who, of all the men of our day, would
have the most powerful and enduring influence
upon the mind of the people of England. Other
statesmen had had a career of higher splendour—
other orators hucl wielded the weapons of debate with
a more skilful hand—other administrators had woa
more applause in the transaction of national affairs
—other writers had shown more originality and
subtlety of intellect—other poets had displayed a
loftier power of imagination—but was there any
writer of any time, whatever his genius, whose
works had at once gained such a grasp on the
mind, not of England alone, but of America and
of Europe, or which were so likely to retain
that grasp, as those of the great man
'so lately deceased ? The career of Lord
Macaulay was unique in this respect—that while
he stood among the foremost of those who had won
the ear of the world by the force and beauty of
their written words, he also, by his spoken words,
had given a series of powerful impulses to the cause
of progress and reform. In treating this subject,
he (Mr. Buxton) proposed first to dilate upon what
Lord Macaulay did, and then upon what he was.
The hon. gentleman then proceeded to notice the
works of the late noble lord, from which he quoted
several extracts to show that, while gifted with the
niefs'rfigorons aniregtotioperwere of reasoniag, • -
could yet " play with a topic like a kitten with a
ball." He (Mr. Buxton) knew that his lordship
looked upon style as of the utmost importance in
writing, and the blottings out and changes in his
manuscript showed that he polished his sentences
with extreme care. Speaking of the late lord's
" History of England," the hon. gentleman said he
thought it would have been a still more wonderful
work of art if the author had been willing to vary
and set off its brilliancy by occasional simplicity
and repose ; but with that one drawback—if draw-
back it could be called—of an excess of splendour,
it was unquestionably one of the noblest monu-
ments of literary labour with which the world had
been enriched. He knew that its accuracy had
been impugned; but with the exception of a few
trivial errors, he believed the book stood on a rock,
and could not be shaken. It was melancholy that
the splendid expectation held out in the preface of
bringing up the history to within the memory of
men now living had been so far from fulfilment,
but the fragment that had been published had
done a work of transcendant importance, not merely
in the influence which it would have, for centuries
to come, on the mind of the English people, but
even more in training the people of Europe to the
idea of making a bold stand for freedom, teaching
them the value of constitutional Government, and
giving the noble example of true courage and
patriotism. He walked home from Lord Macau-
lay's funeral with the son of one of the most illus-
trious Prussians of the present day, who said " Cer-
tainly you have had a grand ceremonial at the burial
of Lord Macaulay, but your appreciation of his writ-
ings is not to be named in the same breath with the
appreciation of them in Germany. There every one
is penetrated with reverence for them, as showing
the way to tread the path to freedom." Not only,
however, was Lord Macaulay, beyond all dispute,
the king of essayists, and one of the princes among
historians, but he also took no low place among the
poets of England. No one would claim for him a
place beside our greatest masters. His poems were
not like theirs, new creations, nor were they ar-
rayed in language of divine beauty ; but vet who
could deny the name of poetry to lyric effusions of
such extraordinary force and fire as proceeded from
the pen of the noble lord, varied with descriptions
at once so true and beautiful. As a politician, his
name would not go down to posterity with the lustre
attained by some other great men, as he had not
given that close attention to the details of public
business necessary to win the highest place in such
an arena as Parliament. He (Mr. Buxton) remem-
bered that, after his election for Newport, his lord-
ship, on meeting him one day, asked him how he
liked the House of Commons. He replied that he
was extremely pleased with it. The noble lord said,
"Nell, I can'tunderstand that ; how I used to hate
it ;" and went on to dilate upon the nuisance of sit-
ting there night after night, listening to dull
speeches. But though Lord Macaulay would not
have left a mighty nave as one of a great race of
statesmen, he had nevertheless attained a position of
considerable height among them; and, though his
talents as an orator were not equal to those he pos-
sessed as an author, some of his speeches would al-
ways be counted among the greatest and most suc-
cessful that had ever been uttered in England. Hav-
ing then referred to the construction by Lord Ma-
' caulay of the code of laws for India, which he (Mr.
Buxton) believed would some day be found of essen-
tial value to the well-being of that country, the hon.
gentleman noticed a variety of points in the life of
the late noble lord, and remarked that though there
might at times be a seeming isolation in his manner
towards those who had no tie with him, to those
who had the felicity of his acquaintance he was not
Macaulay the historian, or Macaulay the politician,
but Macaulay the talker—the last of that wonder-
ful galaxy of conversers who had made Holland
House so famous in days gone by: He displayed
the most hearty, untiring, and animating tender-
ness to his relatives, and stood forth to the world
as a man as stout-hearted, as truthful, and who

loved old England as dearly as any of the heroes he
delighted to portray.
The hon. gentleman resumed his seat amid great
applause, and a cordial vote of thanks was accorded
to him for his interesting lecture.