The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1881-05-28
"reminiscences of BeacOnsfield.

was not an eXtraVagant man In the way
OF gratifying his own personal whims or
tastes; on the contrary, his habits were
simple, his wants few and his individual
caprices seldom costly. But he was very
free with his money-when he had it
and he never refused any one who asked
him favor. There is a well authenti-
Gated story of his giving to an impe-
cunious friend the last sovereign in his
pocket and then walking home because
he had not money enough to pay for
cab.
1t was said that his wife, who was the
widow of his fellow member for wv
combe, Mr.. Lewis, proposed to him,
and not he to her. She had conceived
great admiration for him during the
life OF her first husband. After the
death of Mr.. Lewis she found herself
the mistress of a large fortune, and
without any incumbrance in the shape
OF children or poor relatives. She had
the foresight to see that great career
was open to Disraeli, but that he was
hampered by debt and the want of mon
ey. She proposed to lend him-practi-
cally to give him-av very large sum of
money. He declined the generous offer.
de could not, he said, accept such a
favor from any one most positively not
from a woman. &c Not even from your
wifep'' asked Mrs. Lewis, placing her
hand in his. She conquered, and he
was her devoted friend and lover ever
after
But Mr.. Disraeli was essentially an
actor, in private as well as in public
life, and it has been limited that he even
acted his protested love for his wife,
and really had no romantic or. sincere
affection for her-regarding her only as
a nephew might look upon a rich and
affectionate old aunt, who would give
him all the money he wanted so long as
he was good and kind to her. This was,
most probably, baseless SANDER. Mr..
DisraeG was not sensualist. He had a
most vivid imagination, which enabled
him to invest any object with the at
tributes and charms which he desired it
to possess. In this way he made of his
wife-who certainly was neither beauti-
full nor very highly gifted with intellect
"a paragon of everything that was
charming and worshipful, and he &C
cordingly thus worshiped her. .,..g
One of the unexplained mysteries in
Mr.. Disraeli's political life is that most
curious declaration of his made at
meeting of his. constituents at Aylesbury,
Buckinghamshire, concerning the Queen.
He said, in his most emphatic and DELHI
crate manner, that her, Majesty had be-
come physically, morally and mentally
incapacitated from discharging her func-
tons as a sovereign" The reporters
for the London papers who were present
all of them experienced stenographic
reporters and accustomed to take down
Mr.. Disraeli's speeches in the House,
were astounded as they recorded these
extraordinary words and could scarcely
believe that they had correctly under
stood his meaning. They consulted
with each other at the end of the speech
and found they all agreed in their notes
of this sentence. Still, fearing there
might be some mistake, and wishing to
be positively certain, they deputed one
of their number, Mr.. Thompson Cooper,
Of the Times staff and editor of "The
Men of the Times, to 60 to Mr.. Disraeli
and ask if they had correctly under
stood him. 'tRead your paragraph
as you have it, said Mr.. Disraeli
to Mr.. Cooper. He read it. "You
are quite right" said MIR. Disraeli;
"that is exactly what l said and
what | meant to say" The excitement
which this strange phrase, when pub
lished in the London papers, created
throughout the kingdom is still well re-
membered. Mr.. Disraeh never retracted
it, nor made any explanation of it. But
it was this lady-who, in Mr.. Disraeli's
opinion, was physical, moral and
mental wreck-whom he afterward
made Empress of India, and from whose
hands he received his titles of Earl, Wis.,
count and Knight of the Garter.
Nor did this strange utterance at all
initiate against the cordial and affec-
tionate relations between the Queen and
himself. She always was fond of him,
and at times displayed her friendship
for him in such pronounced manner
that the story went abroad that she in
tended to order him to marry her, He
was a wicked wit who said, in relation
to this story, that ''there were two Johns
who stood in the way of the proposed
nuptials Bull and John Brown"
Mr.. Disraeli's relations with Mr.. Glad
stone were. curious. Bitterly as they OPP
posed each other in public, each of them
respected and admired the other Oc-
casionally, but not often, it fell out that
they met each other in society--at din
ner or at some other social gathering.
And then it was amusing to see the awk-
wardness and embarrassment OF Glad
stone and the ease and self-possession of
Disraeli. The latter once said in priv
ate that he thought Gladstone would die
either in monastery as a Roman Cath
olic lay brother or in a mad-house.
Some tattler took the tale to Gladstone
and it made him very angry. But after
Gladstone had written his anti-V atican
pamphlet Disraei. remarked that there
was no longer any danger Of the monas-
terry; and after the last general election,
which resulted in Gladstone's victory, he
said, with a sigh, "Perhaps it is and
not Gladstone who is to end his days in
q mad-house. ~ Y. Graphic.