, 1870-11-20
LORD MACAULAY


ERls >1yHc-zris conversational Pow
cr<, Etc.
Eso,a an Asftcle in the Gtntien.an's Na,asine.
And IL there wlH little in lie action or his
voice to recommend Macaulays epeechas,
the,o was sill less iu his ptrsoual appearance.
What you saw when ynu fixed our oyo upon
tue owner Of that slillll, monotouous roice.
vas ehort, ihick-set mln, ~ atif as m au-
t;natop, with head and shoulders like those
OF q Goldfish, standing With his left 1land thrown
.,tlifni his back, Md uslEg Lila right nov mud
ttitn without any particular grace to on-
rlRsize b sentence by y sesiea Of short,
slarp. p.jesha. AL the expression Of his
b!uc, aud distinguished, liko Jeasey's, by its
letnncns and 0rilliancy- Ills hnr WAS OF
beautiful jel black. Yet II you listened to this
auto1nAton, with its glittetiug blue eyo, lis
sxa1,hy complexion, and its rounded features,
fcriL stream OF felc,,ous sentences, tic stiif
mud boyish form disappeared by magic, and,
cren tho BbIi1 voice censod 10 crate on the
car, as you followed TINT mastery and gym
metticat discussion OF the question. 80 in
Gcuious. go iiiouahttul. 80 iieh in fiue islu.-
tlatiopH, and ycu hold your breath to istcn
TO tho exccgitAtaons Of the noments
With group Of friends l.ls those he met
| 1t LausdnWne Hos,sn, ut no sood, or in ST.
Jsmea' Place, with Tom Moore and Daau
atl1uan, or Campbell at his eile, M,c1ula5
|
ono elae 10 silence, unloss Sidney Smith Or
| jeffrey happened to ba within earshot. He
was tho tyrant Of tho Table, aud rarely tot
| Grated any talk but his own. JEFFREY used to
quiz him on one Of Lis acLiovcu,euts in THIS
lire at Sir J. Stephens, wheEs Lo iirs: 81
isnesd his hort hy a,sauis,tiou On ,ho Mono
i4ai' Io1d Moatsasle s l. r"aai sieep With 'ss IN
account Of tho classical acau;1rmen.s Of Lady
Jane Grey and her siste1s, and epent the rest
OF tic evening, very pleasantly, ~ puro eoill-
o1uy. And this is borne out BY the letter tT
rival upon his occasional flashes Of silence a.
ter Liz return from India: "But Dc not be-
1ieve." sidney Smith used to cay. "that Ma
cantay ever did hear NY voice. Somst,nes.
whtn have told good ttofy. have Thought
to m,.e1t ors ,roo5 T., Aaeapl.y hey hs VII h.!r 10
sS IL IL & ,honsSss asEs aees le
liashes Of lightning. "Whiie other =, en- wore
thinking What to say and how to FAY Il, Ma:
esulas said It all md great deal more '
.sen ,hEt of sir James Macintosh, ana Ii
poNcrs Of illustration wcEe equal to those oi
Jeffrey. Tecming With thoughts, criticism,
apt quotation aud racy Illustrations, and on
duwed with high animal spirite, = quisl
s s1a feSP.sqs cy sSsn serss ssnrs,ea 81 g:
force, and then only for a few seconds. i
professional talkcr or rival he put down ii
an Instant, without the slightest hesitation o.
crmF1nc:iou, and Lampled upon him in tut
bargain il he showed any resistance. Casting
:s,.e round the table. with his quiet elane:i
thuub with \ terk.ot inpaticnce, After LII
| fsslicn in the House Of Commons and brok!
in At the fret PAUSE with II can tel
: ysn something better than that,
; "of Maeaplsys rasse q knoxlease,,
! 6eiievcd. 70 Wonderful is his meinory; and
} As m Illustration. ho tells MS how, At a break
fast u. Aoneton Mines, MacauIay astouishet
: and amust the guests by his familiarity viii
the cid Irish slang ha1lads, 1.-The night befor
, Lsr.y was stretched" ae., nany m,,' q Which b
! ries. ale cettainly,~ easa Moore, "obeye
i n,cet wonderfu11s Rloisse injunction, DO Il
{ things but forget" The hea1er otteu 1ouge
. tor MRcanlavs memosT, says one who Ia
Q often rat by bis site, to CARY Oh what
d beard in single morning IN an after-dinne
g His etyle is too impersonal. OF its hin
y It l., Of couzee, perfect and perhaps no ma
J. | ever wrote with moro precision than tho mo-
J. brilliant Of the Edinburgh Reviewers. ! {
d not believe 1t ia possible to find single loo:
+ OF elipshod ecnterce in al his writings. Is
) might as well hunt for halting line or fal
QUANTITY in - Virgil ~ search for soleeie
8 IN Nscaulay'e English Perhaps now and th'
Il you may detect hlm in ming an dd cnpfand4
h illustration, al in tho case Of his comparison
!, Noursa Bey and Napoleon and bis descriptl
~ of the astopishn,ent Of the MAmelukes wh
X they found 4 mSn who wss scarcels i've e
bieh and rode Ike butcher s ths exsFe great
d. Eestion. even in an illustration OF this ktI
ss- Z ~ au,henlio as one Of Hsl'sms ngts 4;s
n for, with all bis powers Ct im.g.nat';' aa
lid Macaulay preferred to to take even
ia mort t1iding touches OF poEtrsIture n
'ee the personal recol!ertions Of contcmpof'
ng critics, TO developing them, like the =
fe elias, from The derth OF his own console
m | nesa: He hid keen eye for the ellg
ot est hint that could b turned to aecount
at skstehinE the portrait Of man, and you b,
ke Gully 70 turn TO his essAys ut random, 20 Ac
is son, Chatham, C1iye, s.Haetings, or Machiays
,uh 70 soc 1t glance how thoroughly he read
ia bin subject. hor he ransacked tho top Bhel
tor Of old libraries for political squibs, for
gh disries. and volumea OF correspondence,
ast fclcs that might appal even the heRst OF
Tor stouteat cGmmentator, and for nuye'a
I'M | poems that had been sent 10 tho txunkml
his by their own sutbota, ~ soon - they
i'm | pAe6ed through the pIesa, 10 ps,k up b