The sun., 1880-07-04

r.oir servant, but they mado him their master.
l,,oy nheered him into absolute power over
themselves aud their party.
y.yer was talent more keenly appreciated by
my body OF men than that which he exhibited
on those occasions. The remote illustration
which would have bored the House II II had
been ad,lured to support or explain nm abstract
rrlu,ip'n tirRled II prodigiousiy when 1t was
r,rd 10 dspnragr the honesty or capacity OF a
rowcriul Minister The quaint phraseoloGv
which would have forced the House to laugh nj
the orator had 1t been directed Mt u motion or n
principle, made them laugh with him when /,
was directed against an upright but sensitive
scotsman. Ho hunted down his game likcn
i,v. and rakIng up the history of past contns,s
f.r every allusiOn TINT malice could niis inter.
pret he not only struck. but manglcd and tor
turcd his victim. Had hc felt the passion he
portrayed he would probably have expressed 1t
with less vRor. II required much calm thought
10 prepare that variation OF invective with which
for three years the great middle man who
hated slavery everywhere except on tho benches
OF his own followers. was incessuutly denounced
for the organized hypocrisy" OF the party
which he led. Whatever fame Ia duo to caustic
denuncintlon. applied In appropriate phrase
oogy and accompanied by gestures voice. and
mlmicry all pertinent to the character OF nm
raeh in the campaign ngninst Sir Robert
Peel. Sir Robert wrthed under It. 1t il
fact that after the debate on the third reading
OF tho measure for the repeal OF the Corn laws
in which Disrarli delivered the norcest OF his
philippics. Sir Robert asked tho late Duke Of
Newcastle the ono accompanying the Prince OF
Wales to this country. who was then Earl oi
Lincoln n carry n hostile message 10 D.srlciL
and Il was with thu greatest difficulty tint he
could bo dissuaGcd from this purpose. At
tho end Of the session of 1916 Disrueli had
made hinset sort ot parliamentary Junius
The same ncrimony. the samA pcrsistency with
which Jrnius fastened on Draper and on
Grafton distinguished Disrarl in his attack on
Peel. At the close % his grand ora,ions hr nj
ways fell into his seat with m air Of triumphant
exhaustion. And III" House Of Commons awolu
to the conviction that by dint Of pungcnt per-
sonalitics. and vigorous inyective. and his-
tronic talent tho political writer. and. rs he
was termed ndvcnturrr. had made himself frs,
Joint leader with Lord George Dcntinck and
alerward the sole leader OF the great Tory party
This was q vaat achievement. From tho
days OF Steele downward. as Tharkeray shows
there has been II prejudice in the House
OF Commons against men who write" II
is difficult to explain the grounds OF the
belief: but for n long time 1t was GER
hiny believed that n man who could write
well could not speak well. Secretary Of State
like Addison did not weaken this impression
Burke rather confirmed it by the signal con-
trast between the effect Of his speeches and the
effect OF his writings. Canning ought to have
dssipated it. though none Of his written per-
formances eQuallcd his speeches; hut to the
last. Canning had TO struggle against the preju-
dice with which the King and tho great mobiles
regarded "A literary man." From whatever
source this prejudice arose whether from the
notion that literary men were not practical.
or that they for the most part not
wealthy. or that they were not Trustworthy.
1t is plain that il was not extinguished by
CanninR's success or Disraelis first efforts. But
this was not the only prejudice against which
the associate and successor OF Lord George
Bentinck had to struggle. He was OF
lineage which provoked the contumely Of re-
liRious skeptics and religious bigots; OF skep-
tics who despised it because it is associated
with the persistent retention of prosecuted
faith: of zealots. because the faith retained was
different from their own He was an alien
trying TO turn great crisis in the history OF
England TO his own political advantage. Could
any man fight against heavier odds than these?
What ambition was involved in the challenge
what courage in the conflict what energy and
patience in the success! Yet the conflict was
confronted. the hGh. was fought. the victory won.
Hardly any contemporary writer is so well
fitted as Georg Brandes both by literary habit
and trained critical insight. TO estimate at n
due standard such novels rs those OF Lord
Beaconsfield. which. with their mystic-romantic
flavor and strong recognition Of the power OF
principle in the fortunes OF nations and OF
men. not unfreauently assail Teutonic predi-
lections. His judgments upon Disraeli's
Epb 1nh ole ,,.A
haustive. penetrating. and epgrammatic. The
sxtravagances. often touching the level OF vul-
Garty into which the fancy and dcton OF
Disraei in his imaginative works almost un-
consciously lapse. are vigorously censured.
This bemish time has not removed. 1t 10 as
prominent in Lothar" as in Vivian Grey"
and The Young Duke Lothair" is ora
torical even to dangerous limits. Many pas
sages might be quoted in which the oratorcal
passion approaches much nearer bathos than
the opposite. The style Is loose fiorid. and
weak-kneed. We often hear concentrations OF
Disraeli's vivacity and originality. but no one
would take him as model Of literary style.
VI Disraelfs personal characteristics Herr
Brandes has little to say. having had no oppor-
tunities OF observing them. He seems 10 have
seen him but once. and that was in July 1873
during the Congress OF Berlin He was lodged
OF Prince Bismarck. He was tho declared lion
OF the Congress. and he could exut in the idea
Of having attained the same level OF glory wheu
he looked across from his balcony to his great
neighbOr. Upon the hotel balcony six laurel
bushes and dwarf palm tree had been placed.
80 that Dsraei. whose imagination has ever
dwelt upon laurels. and tho heroes OF whose
romance have ever wandered beneath palms.
had before his eyes the symbols OF his
honors. and moreover tender reminiscencc
OF the cradle Of his race upon opening his win
dow In the morning. Crowds gathered daily as,
leaning on the arm Of Montague Cory. he
crossed the Wilhelmspat2 in walking to tho
Congress. He walked with slow step. and
seemed tired, almost exhausted. Anxiety could
De read in every line OF his face. and he re-
spondcd to the deep and rovernntal greetings
oil the good Berlin hurghors with weary and
mechanical motion Of the hand to his hat No
one could gaZe upon that pale. wrinkled face
without remembering all the battles which
during his life he had fought all the disap-
pointments hs had suffered the troubles ana
WORKINGS he had endured, and the proud
courage with which "a had won tha VII