The Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1822-1829, 1825-07-07

habit of confusion mainly 10 his want
of self confidence , ior the times of
success to which | allude We're on his
first return from tho continent. in
the summer of 1914, on concluding
TIE peace, when lie vas greeted on
his entry into The House by the uni
yersal cheers of all parties. This, Of
course. elevated his spirits, Il he then
spake with the most mcmbarrassed
1ueney and ,igor. He was not "A
popular Minister, and | firmly be.
licve that this conviction hung, In
common a heavy weight upon his ia
c%ulties. His abilities were unques
tionably most ignorantly 4. absurdly
moderated ; ", when once accident
makes man butt for thc VIKINGS who
pander for his opponents. il spreads
II %contagion through the light heads
aud hearts Of the populace which it
is dill nit to resist. An epigramma-
fist, having got his cue. goes on
hammering his brains, year after
year. upon one string :; and II he can
but have his Jest and his point, and
the applause Of ingenuity for a clever
dlstiCl,, cares not for truth or Jus
tice, or how many poisoned daggers
he fixes in the heart OF another.
Lord Castlereagh was laborious aud
well informed perhaps he was not
quick enough to master all the yarl-
Gus points which forced themselves
upon his attention !; and he had not
that sort Of convenient ingenuity
which enables n man To skim the sur.
face IN such a manner as 10 disguise
ignorance. lie was apt sometimes
to penetrate Il little, when he had
neither strength To go through nor
to extricatc himself. lie had had a
great rise ; but yet in no degree
such AZ many OF those on whom none
Of the odium which attended him
fell. His mother was "A C0ntUdy, of
the highest English nobility ; his
fathers family had for some gener-
ations enjoyed wealth. His fathers
mother was the daughter OF an East
India Governor, Of immense riches
for those days. AT the time of the
marriage of Lord Castlcreagh's mo
thcr, her father, the Earl Of fart
fort, was Lord Lieutenant of Ire
land i; and Lord Castlcreagh was
brought np in England among the
Scymours ; 4. Lord Orford's letters
will prove that he gave carly indica-
tons of great talents. never met
with a man Of less naughty and more
Conciliatory manners than Lord
Castlereagh. have encountered,
aud | suppose most persons have en-
countcred, men, thinking themselves
great. who have appeared rs ifthey
could not see onc,a AS Hone Was cover
ed with an Invisible cloak, q. was, To
them, as ifone did not exist /; go
lofty were their optics. and 50 high
they carried their nose and chin !;
and yet these wcrc not men Of noble
blood, high pretcntlons, ard invested
with high functions like Lord Cas-
tlcreagh ; men, perhaps, ofsome ia
lent. but who seem 10 think them
selves gifted with an absolute mo
nop0lg of genius and talent. I do
not think such men fit to govern the
complicated machine of state, howe
yer they excel in some single faculty.
George P0rS0nby vas a very indit-
fcrcnt speaker, though he was put at
the head OF a party, and had been
Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Per-
haps he was worn out at this time,
though not sixty ; for his know.
ledge was scanty, his ideas were
new, and lie always treated n sub
jet i'll a strangely detached manner,
as If his whole ambition was coniin-
cd To a few cpigrammatic remarks.
Francis Horner was a rising speak
or. when he WAS taken off in the
flower Of his age. He was calm,
rational, strong and SO a%rgnmcnta-
tive and clear, as To fix the attention
and carry with him very frequently
the conviction of a part Of his audi
ence against their will ; yet he ne
yer rose to cloqucnce, and had al
ways something Of Il professional
manner.
The manner Of Wiiberf1rce had a
little too much Of the pulpit. His
voice was weak aud shrill ; and his
person extremely unfavorable. But
lie had the prudence to speak seldom
except on great topics, on which, his
opinions aud arguments were, from
the habits Of his life, extremely de-